And so far with the exception of maybe the Samsung, they all suck. Most, especially those from the likes of Archos, are under-powered media players with Android slapped on them, branded as a tablet. I remember one was so bad a reviewer initially didn't even publish the review. When they finally did, it was horrendous, the worst thing they've ever reviewed. The device was pretty much useless in every respect.
In general, it's "you get what you pay for" vs. an iPad. If it costs 1/4 of an iPad's price, then that's what you're going to get.
And what's a 2.8 inch "tablet"? That's like an iPod, and 3.2" is closer to an iPod touch. 4.3" is like one of the larger Android phones. Tablets really don't begin until 7" and up, although arguments could be made for 5".
Right, I know the arguments about what size screen is a proper tablet size. Certainly 10 inches is a tablet. 2.8 inches not so much. I get all that.
People are fairly uniform is their assessment of the Motorola Xoom as being clearly better than the iPad. That isn’t out yet, it won best of show at CES.
Most who are aware of the Herotab MID816 believe that it is better than the ipad.
Faster processor - 1.2G. The OS is on a removable internal flash card. Up to 64 gigs total storage (apart from any external drive you may have hooked up to. And less than half the price - under $250. Faster, does more, half the price.
Here are some links on this product.
http://www.slatedroid.com/herotab-m816/ - this one is a section of a droid message board all about this particular product. They all think they’ve got a better product than the ipad at half the price. The only problem they’re having is buying one. They’re selling fast, and they’re generic.
That Samsung Arm A8 chip at 1.2 ghz is clearly faster than the ipod, and provides better performance.
Here’s a link to prices of products, mostly tablets, with the Samsung S5PV210 chip -
http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/S5PV210.html#search
And the Herotab runs Flash great, and the Ipad doesn’t run it at all.