In the last month there has been an explosion of tablets. Ever since Apple released the iPad all companies tried to release similar products but at a more affordable price. In a market where people are searching for the cheap products and not necessary for the best, shanzai players have a chance to get noticed. There have been many Chinese companies that started to produce tablets using the Android OS. Android was free and mature enough to run on a tablet. Being open source also meant that they could tweak it and put it on there custom hardware.
First there ware tablets that ran on the VIA CPUs. They had Android 1.5 as the OS and poor video playback capabilities. Also, because of the CPU and bad implementation of the Android OS, they were rather slow and far from being an iPad killer. But shanzai manufacturers learned to listen what on what the public wants. So in the next month they started to release better and better tablets. The Android OS also has been upgraded to a newer version. At first Android 1.6, followed by Android 2.1 and recently more and more tablets start to have Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1. Sadly, the android version that came with the tablet was the one the user got stuck with. The manufacturers not having a support center or any intention in upgrading the tablets they already sold.
This is a thing that you must be aware off when buying a shanzai Android tablet. There are a few manufacturers that offered upgrades, and here I must mention Wits and there A81E tablet witch was one of the first tablets to get Android 2.2 and Flash. Currently you can find tablets with better hardware that the Wits A81E. The good thing on the other hand is that, being cheap tablets, the community grows fast so there is a big change that what ever tablet you buy there is already someone that cooked a custom and ROOTed ROM that has better performance than the original ROM.
What tablet is the best? This depends on what you are looking for. Shanzai tablets will usually have a less professional ROM or build quality than, lets say the Samsung Galaxy Tab. This is not always the case, but for some models it is mostly true. But they also cost about 1/3 of the price. What tablet to get also depends on your budget and on the functions you want it to have. Most tablets over 200$ can handle 720p videos with no problem. You can also find cheaper tablets that have HDMI out and can play HD videos, but most of them run Android 2.1.
If you want flash than you will need Android 2.2 at least and a Cortex A8 (or better) CPU. A good tablet with Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1 cost about 250$. Depending on what other features you want (GPS, capacitive touchscreen, etc.) the price can get even higher. Still, a shanzai Android tablet are far cheaper than other tablets and some are real iPad alternatives for 1/3 of the price. Below you can find a comparison between different Android tablets.
| SmartQ V5 | Herotab M5 | |
| Android version | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Screen size | 5" | 5" |
| Screen resolution | 800x480 | 800x480 |
| Screen type | resistive | resistive |
| Multi-touch | No | No |
| CPU | TCC 8900 | Telechips |
| CPU Clock | 600MHz | 800MHz |
| RAM | 256MB | 256MB |
| Camera | no | no |
| 3D Acceleration | no | yes |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g |
| Internal Storadge | 2GB | 2GB |
| G-Sensor | Yes | Yes |
| 720p video | Yes | Yes |
| Android Market | No | Yes |
| Flash 10.1 | No | no |
| Other | Multi-boot:Android, Linux, Windows CE | - |
| Where to buy | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Dreambook W7 NEW!!! HOT!!! |
Herotab C9 HOT!!! |
Herotab C8/ Dropad A8 |
Wits A81G |
Wits A81G | Herotab MID816 |
Herotab MID802/A8Pad | SmartQ V7 | Wopad WR701 | Herotab G701/X5A/G802 | |
| Android version | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Screen size | 7" | 7" | 7" | 7" | 7" | 8" | 8" | 7" | 7" | 7"/7"/8" |
| Screen resolution | 1024x600 | 800x480 | 800x480 | 800x480 | 800x480 | 800x600 | 800x600 | 800x480 | 800x480 | 800x480 |
| Screen type | capacitive | capacitive | capacitive | capacitive | resistive | resistive | resistive | resistive | capacitive | resistive |
| Multi-touch | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Ask Seller | No | yes | 2points |
| CPU | Freescale I.MX515 | Samsung S6PV210 | Samsung S5PV210 | TI OMAP3 Cortex A8 | TI OMAP3 Cortex A8 | Samsung S5PV210 | Freescale IMX515Cortex A8 | TCC8900 | RK2818 | TCC8902 |
| CPU Clock | 1GHz | 1GHz | 1GHz | 800MHz | 800MHz | 1200MHz | 800MHz | 600MHz | 600MHz | 800MHz |
| RAM | 512MB | 512MB | 512MB | 256MB | 256MB | 512MB | 512MB | 256MB | 256MB | 256MB |
| Camera | 2PM | 2MP | 1.3MP Front | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| 3D Acceleration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi b/g/n | 802.11 b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g |
| Internal Storadge | 8GB | 2GB | 4GB | Unknown (only for OS) | Unknown (only for OS) | 2GB | 4GB | 2GB | 4GB | 2GB/4GB/2GB |
| G-Sensor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 720p video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Android Market | No (can be installed) | No (can be installed) | No (can be installed) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Flash 10.1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Other | 3G, Can make calls and SMS | GPS, E-Compas | HDMI Port, USB Port, 3500mAh battery | GPS* | GPS* | - | 4200mAh batery | Multi-boot: Android, Linux, WindowsCE | metal case | - |
| Where to buy | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Malata zPad T8 NEW!!!! HOT!!!!!! |
Malata zPad |
Flytouch2 | Herotab M10 | Zenithink ZT-180 | |
| Android version | 2.2 (Roumours say upgrade to 3.0 soon) | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| Screen size | 9.7" | 10.1" | 10.1" | 10" | 10.1" |
| Screen resolution | 1024x768 | 1024x600 | 1024x600 | 1080x768 | 1024x600 |
| Screen type | capacitive | capacitive | Resistive | capacitive | resistive |
| Multi-touch | yes | Yes | no | Yes | No |
| CPU | Tegra2 | Tegra2 | Infotm x220 | Freescale IMX515 Cortex A8 | ZT-180 |
| CPU Clock | 1GHz (Dual Core) | 1GHz | 1GHz | 1GHz | 800MHz |
| RAM | 1GB | 1GB | 256MB | 512MB | 256MB |
| Camera | 1.3MB | yes (1.3MP) | no | no | no |
| 3D Acceleration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | yes |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g/n | 802.11b/g/n | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g |
| Internal Storadge | 16GB | 16GB | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB |
| G-Sensor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 720p video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Android Market | No (can be installed) | no | no | No | No |
| Flash 10.1 | Yes | Yes | no | Yes | no |
| Other | 3G (WCDMA) | 3200mAh Batery, very good CPU | Lan port | 5000mAh Batery | - |
| Where to buy | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now |
These are some of the best Android tablets. I know that some tablets don't come with Android Market out of the box. That is not a problem since installing the official Android Market is easy and you can find many tutorial on how to do this. So don't hesitate to get a tablet even if it sais that Android Market is not installed. Iit can be instaled in a couple of minutes. I also did not include older tablets like the Eken M001 or Apad E7001. Even though you can still find these tablets ont he market, there are better alternatives with at least Android 2.1 at almost the same price.
Like I said, choosing the best Android tablet for you depends on your need and on your budget. Most of the tablets have a fairly large comunity so it won't be that hard to get custom ROMs and help in case you brick your tablet. If you find any mistakes don't hesitate to contact me. You can use the contact form from my main website (SF-Zone.net).
This is a very serious question. Most of these tablets can be found on eBay (maybe with different names) but my advice is to stay away from eBay when it comes to this. Sellers usually post incorect or misleading information in order to sell the tablet faster. I know that somtimes they seem to be about 10$-15$ cheaper there, but you must be very carefull when it comes to eBay. Also, most of the time you won't get any support from the seller once you gave a rating. My advice is to buy it from a verified and reputable source. There are a lot of websites out there that are specilized in selling electronics. Also read what others have written about a specific website. I also recommend eBay-like websites. They are just as bad since the website is not the one that is selling the tablet, but it is just a place where different sellers post there offers.The source I included is a verified and trustworthy website. Feel free to buy a tablet from there.