AARP's new RealPad

covetsthesun wrote:
Just curious. Didn't know much about it and wondered if anyone had tried it. I can scratch it off my list now.

thanks
cts

My DW wanted a "tablet" (why I do not know..) so for our first try we got a real cheapo ($79 8" Proscan) from Big Lots.

While it "works", it has a lot of quirks due to how cheaply it was made.

One of the nice things about the Proscan was it IS a no frills no bloatware clean install of Android.

The downside of the Proscan was extremely weak Wifi radio in this thing.. It has only about 20ft range from your access point.

Additionally it randomly freezes when ever it feel like it.. Have to keep a paper clip handy to "reset" its mind..

After a lot of research I determined that Acer Iconias tended to have a lot less complaints about weak Wifi and freezing.

Then I started looking at what processor it was using.. Many are using "ARM" processors, some are using a generic "mobil" processor which they do not disclose the manufacturer and some are using a Intel "Atom" processor.

I have built a few low power home PCs using an Intel Atom processor and was very impressed with the speed of that processor.

So, I found a Acer Iconia 8" screen tablet running a Atom processor, no real major online complaints.

Started watching the price on Amazon.. Started at $117, then week by week it started jumping up in price.. It hit $170 on Amazon and we were in disbelief..

Stopped in our local Sams club and there it was, the same model as Amazon but it was only $129.

We bought it right then (they only had two in stock)..

Got it home and discovered it was loaded with four screens worth of unneeded bloatware (this is a bunch of PAY Apps which are preinstalled that you do not need and pretty much all of them require creating accounts and signing onto more addon stuff)..

But we did find that all the bloatware IS removable (however if you ever need to "restore" the OS that bloatware is in the install package and you will have to remove it again).

The Acer also included a GPS radio (does not include GPS software or maps) so you can use the tablet like a GPS IF you download a App for it..

Acer Iconia as a very strong Wifi Radio, easily found not only our access point but a handful of others around the neighborhood (and the houses are quite a distance away from us).

As far as freezing, pretty rare, only seems to do that when you run into a badly written App.. And badly written apps are out there..

As far as ARRP goes.. they are nothing more than a money maker, they make money hand over fist and everything they touch or do is for them.. Not you. Think about it a moment.. YOU PAY THEM money upfront to get supposed "discounts".. You would have to get a lot of "discounts" to make it worth it.. I would not expect anything less from a Tablet they have created..

AAA is another sore spot, they too sell a Tablet but they too are doing it for THEIR OWN GOOD..