From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

I have been considering my 'smartphone' usage/needs after the
discussion over in uk.telecom.voip. As I said there much of my
problem with using a smartphone is simply its small size. So I've
started looking at Android tablets around the 10" to 11" sort of size.

This would replace my existing smartphone and, probably, my Kobo
reader so size/weight would only be a little, if any, more.

Looking at AliExpress (my smartphone came from there, so I'm aware of
the possible risks etc.) a very short search has come up with this
one:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009631178317.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.seoads.1.3251c2bbzEkgJA

It seems amazingly cheap for what it provides.

My requirements will be fairly simple, I'll not be running videos or
playing games so won't be pushing the processor. I'll run Termux on
it to provide a command line for E-Mail and Usenet (basically the same
as I do from my laptop).

I'll want to use it as a 'phone. I'll likely install Libby to read
books.

... and that's probably about it.


For about -u90 with 1TB 'ROM' it seems a bargain. Am I missing
something very obvious or is it just that 'tablet' isn't such a
desirable device as 'smartphone'?
--
Chris Green
-+
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

On 2025-09-20 10:17, Chris Green wrote:

I have been considering my 'smartphone' usage/needs after the
discussion over in uk.telecom.voip. As I said there much of my
problem with using a smartphone is simply its small size. So I've
started looking at Android tablets around the 10" to 11" sort of size.

This would replace my existing smartphone and, probably, my Kobo
reader so size/weight would only be a little, if any, more.

Looking at AliExpress (my smartphone came from there, so I'm aware of
the possible risks etc.) a very short search has come up with this
one:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009631178317.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.seoads.1.3251c2bbzEkgJA

It seems amazingly cheap for what it provides.

My requirements will be fairly simple, I'll not be running videos or
playing games so won't be pushing the processor. I'll run Termux on
it to provide a command line for E-Mail and Usenet (basically the same
as I do from my laptop).

I'll want to use it as a 'phone. I'll likely install Libby to read
books.

... and that's probably about it.

For about -u90 with 1TB 'ROM' it seems a bargain. Am I missing
something very obvious or is it just that 'tablet' isn't such a
desirable device as 'smartphone'?

I can't comment on anything from AliExpress as I never use it, but some general things you might need to consider ...

* I agree that smartphones are difficult to read, but IME tablets are
no better - after all, they're probably running the same OS or at
least different versions of it, so the font and its size will be the
same, and, as discussed in another thread elsewhere, you may not be able
to alter it in critical places such as the lock screen or home screen,
which means that on either without spectacles I can read the time but
not the date or day of week, which is damned irritating.

* You will have to check that any model you buy has telephone
functionality, not all do, and that it is at least 4G with LTE
call-making, preferably 5G ditto. The model you link above appears to
meet these requirements, which I agree does appear almost too good to be
true at the price advertised, see the prices in the note below [**]. If
you decide to buy it, please review it either here or at AliExpress and
link to your review here.

* IME, for taking photos, tablets can be awkward to hold, but
nevertheless mine does take better panoramas than my much newer Pixel 8a smartphone. Particularly for taking photos, to guard against accidental dropping, try and get a case which either has a wrist strap attached or
to which one can be attached.

- IME, over long phone calls, tablets can become *VERY* uncomfortable
to hold.

** For example, my tablet is an old model now, a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T719 which I bought in 2016. The models of this sold by Samsung in
the UK couldn't make phone calls, so I had to buy a grey model import
via Amazon for about an extra -u50, about -u400 total. Initially, I
wanted it to have phone functionality as a back-up phone in case my main phone, a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 GT-N7100 bought in 2012, went down, which happened just a year or so later, causing me to celebrate my own
foresight, and I ended up using the tablet until earlier this year I got
my Pixel 8a, costing -u443 so not much different in real terms allowing
for inflation over the intervening years, but IME the latter is a big improvement in call quality, convenience, etc, in fact almost everything except taking panoramas.
--

Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:

I have been considering my 'smartphone' usage/needs after the
discussion over in uk.telecom.voip. As I said there much of my
problem with using a smartphone is simply its small size. So I've
started looking at Android tablets around the 10" to 11" sort of size.

This would replace my existing smartphone and, probably, my Kobo
reader so size/weight would only be a little, if any, more.

Looking at AliExpress (my smartphone came from there, so I'm aware of
the possible risks etc.) a very short search has come up with this
one:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009631178317.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.seoads.1.3251c2bbzEkgJA

It seems amazingly cheap for what it provides.

I suspect that's a case of things that are too good to be true probably are. Comparing the specs:

Model No.: MI Pad 7 Pad Ultra
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Deca Core (Latest 10 Core)
SIM/TF: 2 SIM Card Slots (Nano SIM) + 1 TF Card Slots (Maximum support extension 128GB)
Screen: 11 Inch 4K Screen
Resolution :2560*1600
Camera: Front Camera 16MP+ Rear Camera 32MP
Memory: 22GB RAM+2T ROM/22GB RAM+1TB ROM /22GB RAM+512GB ROM
System: Android 14 System
Battery: 20000mAh High Density Lithium-ion battery

with the genuine Xiaomi Pad 7 (-u279): https://www.mi.com/uk/product/xiaomi-pad-7/specs

Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 Mobile Platform, Octa-core, up to 2.8GHz
8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, LPDDR5X + UFS 4.0
3200 x 2136, 345 ppi
Rear camera:13MP 1/3.06" 1.12++m pixel size
Front camera:8MP 1/4" 1.12++m pixel size
Battery&charging: 8850mAh (typ)

the Xiaomi has substantially worse specs, and the battery is 2.25x bigger on the Aliexpress tablet. Given the energy density limits of what you can fit
in the volume, I suspect they are lying about the battery capacity. Which leads me to wonder whether they are lying about the rest too.

In particular 22GB RAM is also an odd number - most chips are power of two sized, so that's 16GB + 4GB + 2GB which is a very odd size to pick. Maybe there's a 6GB chip out there (6 and 12GB phones do exist), in which case
16+6 is possible, but it's a very weird combination. It feels like
they've decided they need to have a bigger number than 16GB and just
invented something.

Going rate for a 500GB SSD is about -u30, so that's a decent chunk of the
price in the storage alone. The Snapdragon 8 won't come cheap either.

Also for an Aliexpress grade tablet you won't get security or software
updates. The Xiaomi will get security updates until 2028-03-01 which isn't that great compared with other brands giving 7 years of support.

It appears there's also a 14" Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra which still has lower specs than your Aliexpress and it's about $800: https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-best-Android-tablet-isn-t-from-Samsung-Xiaomi-Pad-7-Ultra-review.1043674.0.html

So yours is likely a knockoff of the name.

For about -u90 with 1TB 'ROM' it seems a bargain. Am I missing
something very obvious or is it just that 'tablet' isn't such a
desirable device as 'smartphone'?

The other question is whether it makes phone calls. eg iPads have 5G but
they can't do phone calls. There's nothing about calls in the Aliexpress listing. (it does say 30h of 'calling' battery life but that could be Whatsapp/etc).

TL;DR - I think this is like one of those 16TB micro SD cards for a tenner. Looks good on the surface but turns out to give you much less than
advertised.

Takeaway: Aliexpress is not the right place to buy this kind of product as
it's full of lying and fakery.

Theo
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Theo wrote:

In particular 22GB RAM is also an odd number - most chips are power of two sized, so that's 16GB + 4GB + 2GB which is a very odd size to pick.

I think many cheap tablets use a 'RAM doubler' compression technique ...
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2025-09-20 10:17, Chris Green wrote:

I have been considering my 'smartphone' usage/needs after the
discussion over in uk.telecom.voip. As I said there much of my
problem with using a smartphone is simply its small size. So I've
started looking at Android tablets around the 10" to 11" sort of size.

This would replace my existing smartphone and, probably, my Kobo
reader so size/weight would only be a little, if any, more.

Looking at AliExpress (my smartphone came from there, so I'm aware of
the possible risks etc.) a very short search has come up with this
one:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009631178317.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.seoads.1.3251c2bbzEkgJA

It seems amazingly cheap for what it provides.

My requirements will be fairly simple, I'll not be running videos or playing games so won't be pushing the processor. I'll run Termux on
it to provide a command line for E-Mail and Usenet (basically the same
as I do from my laptop).

I'll want to use it as a 'phone. I'll likely install Libby to read
books.

... and that's probably about it.

For about -u90 with 1TB 'ROM' it seems a bargain. Am I missing
something very obvious or is it just that 'tablet' isn't such a
desirable device as 'smartphone'?

I can't comment on anything from AliExpress as I never use it, but some general things you might need to consider ...

* I agree that smartphones are difficult to read, but IME tablets are
no better - after all, they're probably running the same OS or at
least different versions of it, so the font and its size will be the
same, and, as discussed in another thread elsewhere, you may not be able
to alter it in critical places such as the lock screen or home screen,
which means that on either without spectacles I can read the time but
not the date or day of week, which is damned irritating.

You're not really saying that something running on an 11" screen will
have the same size font(s) as the same thing running on a 6" screen
are you? My memory of using a 7" tablet (some years ago) was that it
was simply the same 'picture' but bigger.

* You will have to check that any model you buy has telephone functionality, not all do, and that it is at least 4G with LTE
call-making, preferably 5G ditto. The model you link above appears to
meet these requirements, which I agree does appear almost too good to be true at the price advertised, see the prices in the note below [**]. If
you decide to buy it, please review it either here or at AliExpress and
link to your review here.

Yes, I know that, I'm specifically searching for 5G **SIM** when
getting down to the nitty-gritty. 5G WiFi often confuses things.

* IME, for taking photos, tablets can be awkward to hold, but
nevertheless mine does take better panoramas than my much newer Pixel 8a smartphone. Particularly for taking photos, to guard against accidental dropping, try and get a case which either has a wrist strap attached or
to which one can be attached.

I'm not going to take pictures with it, I have a camera with
viewfinder for that. (Yet another reason I don't like smartphones,
they're not good picture taking devices).

- IME, over long phone calls, tablets can become *VERY* uncomfortable
to hold.

Yes, I guess that's an issue, smartphones are bad enough! :-)
--
Chris Green
-+
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

On 20/09/2025 12:57, Chris Green wrote:

Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2025-09-20 10:17, Chris Green wrote:

I have been considering my 'smartphone' usage/needs after the
discussion over in uk.telecom.voip. As I said there much of my
problem with using a smartphone is simply its small size. So I've
started looking at Android tablets around the 10" to 11" sort of size.

This would replace my existing smartphone and, probably, my Kobo
reader so size/weight would only be a little, if any, more.

Looking at AliExpress (my smartphone came from there, so I'm aware of
the possible risks etc.) a very short search has come up with this
one:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009631178317.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.seoads.1.3251c2bbzEkgJA


It seems amazingly cheap for what it provides.

My requirements will be fairly simple, I'll not be running videos or
playing games so won't be pushing the processor. I'll run Termux on
it to provide a command line for E-Mail and Usenet (basically the same
as I do from my laptop).

I'll want to use it as a 'phone. I'll likely install Libby to read
books.

... and that's probably about it.


For about -u90 with 1TB 'ROM' it seems a bargain. Am I missing
something very obvious or is it just that 'tablet' isn't such a
desirable device as 'smartphone'?

I can't comment on anything from AliExpress as I never use it, but some
general things you might need to consider ...

* I agree that smartphones are difficult to read, but IME tablets are
no better - after all, they're probably running the same OS or at
least different versions of it, so the font and its size will be the
same, and, as discussed in another thread elsewhere, you may not be able
to alter it in critical places such as the lock screen or home screen,
which means that on either without spectacles I can read the time but
not the date or day of week, which is damned irritating.

You're not really saying that something running on an 11" screen will
have the same size font(s) as the same thing running on a 6" screen
are you? My memory of using a 7" tablet (some years ago) was that it
was simply the same 'picture' but bigger.

* You will have to check that any model you buy has telephone
functionality, not all do, and that it is at least 4G with LTE
call-making, preferably 5G ditto. The model you link above appears to
meet these requirements, which I agree does appear almost too good to be
true at the price advertised, see the prices in the note below [**]. If
you decide to buy it, please review it either here or at AliExpress and
link to your review here.

Yes, I know that, I'm specifically searching for 5G **SIM** when
getting down to the nitty-gritty. 5G WiFi often confuses things.

* IME, for taking photos, tablets can be awkward to hold, but
nevertheless mine does take better panoramas than my much newer Pixel 8a
smartphone. Particularly for taking photos, to guard against accidental
dropping, try and get a case which either has a wrist strap attached or
to which one can be attached.

I'm not going to take pictures with it, I have a camera with
viewfinder for that. (Yet another reason I don't like smartphones,
they're not good picture taking devices).

- IME, over long phone calls, tablets can become *VERY* uncomfortable
to hold.

Yes, I guess that's an issue, smartphones are bad enough! :-)

why are you holding them !!!!!!!

Dave
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

Takeaway: Aliexpress is not the right place to buy this kind of product as it's full of lying and fakery.

Yes, however they are improving their reputation in the way of
accepting returns and such.

I bought my current smartphone from AliExpress in May 2021 and it
looked somewhat 'too good to be true' compared with UK prices for
similar 'phones. But it lives up to its spec and got two (or three?)
Android updates over the year or two after I bought it.

I have also returned/rejected a couple of things bought from
AliExpress in the last couple of years and always got a quick response
and a reasonable resolution.

I agree about SSDs and USB sticks, they're an absolute minefield of
fakery. Though I bought a 512Gb SSD from AliExpress in 2020 and it
was exactly what it said it was and is still working well.

So my AliExpress experience is generally OK.
--
Chris Green
-+
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

Theo wrote:

In particular 22GB RAM is also an odd number - most chips are power of two sized, so that's 16GB + 4GB + 2GB which is a very odd size to pick.

I think many cheap tablets use a 'RAM doubler' compression technique ...

Yes, if you read the specs carefully you realise that the 'extra' RAM
is actually borrowed from the 'ROM'. In other words it's really just
what would be called 'swap' on a computer. It's usually possible to
work out what the 'real' RAM size is though.

But as I said I'm not going to need much performance so lots of RAM
and whizzy processor don't matter all that much.
--
Chris Green
-+
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

On 2025-09-20 11:38, Java Jive wrote:

**-a For example, my tablet is an old model now, a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 SM-T719 which I bought in 2016-a [...] about -u400 total-a [...] this year I got
my Pixel 8a, costing -u443 so not much different in real terms allowing
for inflation over the intervening years

Rereading this, I decided to check it out, and as a result the Pixel
looks something of a bargain, to say the least. According to the BoE calculator, -u405 in 2016 is worth -u561 now.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator --

Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

On 2025-09-20 12:57, Chris Green wrote:

Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2025-09-20 10:17, Chris Green wrote:

I have been considering my 'smartphone' usage/needs after the
discussion over in uk.telecom.voip. As I said there much of my
problem with using a smartphone is simply its small size. So I've
started looking at Android tablets around the 10" to 11" sort of size.

This would replace my existing smartphone and, probably, my Kobo
reader so size/weight would only be a little, if any, more.

Looking at AliExpress (my smartphone came from there, so I'm aware of
the possible risks etc.) a very short search has come up with this
one:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009631178317.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.seoads.1.3251c2bbzEkgJA

It seems amazingly cheap for what it provides.

My requirements will be fairly simple, I'll not be running videos or
playing games so won't be pushing the processor. I'll run Termux on
it to provide a command line for E-Mail and Usenet (basically the same
as I do from my laptop).

I'll want to use it as a 'phone. I'll likely install Libby to read
books.

... and that's probably about it.

For about -u90 with 1TB 'ROM' it seems a bargain. Am I missing
something very obvious or is it just that 'tablet' isn't such a
desirable device as 'smartphone'?

I can't comment on anything from AliExpress as I never use it, but some
general things you might need to consider ...

* I agree that smartphones are difficult to read, but IME tablets are
no better - after all, they're probably running the same OS or at
least different versions of it, so the font and its size will be the
same, and, as discussed in another thread elsewhere, you may not be able
to alter it in critical places such as the lock screen or home screen,
which means that on either without spectacles I can read the time but
not the date or day of week, which is damned irritating.

You're not really saying that something running on an 11" screen will
have the same size font(s) as the same thing running on a 6" screen
are you? My memory of using a 7" tablet (some years ago) was that it
was simply the same 'picture' but bigger.

Judge for yourself (1.67MB):
https://www.macfh.co.uk/Temp/Phone_Tablet.jpg

As you can see, the time and the icons are certainly bigger on the
tablet, but everything else is pretty much the same font size, certainly
not different enough to make any difference as to whether I need glasses.

* You will have to check that any model you buy has telephone
functionality, not all do, and that it is at least 4G with LTE
call-making, preferably 5G ditto. The model you link above appears to
meet these requirements, which I agree does appear almost too good to be
true at the price advertised, see the prices in the note below [**]. If
you decide to buy it, please review it either here or at AliExpress and
link to your review here.

Yes, I know that, I'm specifically searching for 5G **SIM** when
getting down to the nitty-gritty. 5G WiFi often confuses things.

Yes, the model you highlight seems to have that functionality, but
sometimes you'd have to read the specs very carefully to avoid getting
less than you thought.

* IME, for taking photos, tablets can be awkward to hold, but
nevertheless mine does take better panoramas than my much newer Pixel 8a
smartphone. Particularly for taking photos, to guard against accidental
dropping, try and get a case which either has a wrist strap attached or
to which one can be attached.

I'm not going to take pictures with it, I have a camera with
viewfinder for that. (Yet another reason I don't like smartphones,
they're not good picture taking devices).

It all depends on what the pictures are for ...

In the photo I supplied above, obviously I couldn't use either phone or
tablet to take a photo of the two together, so had get out the SLR
camera to take the photo, a much more involved process. It would have
been much more convenient to use either of the two mobiles if it had
been possible to do so.

In September 1977 I sweated and toiled carrying expensive camera gear up
Ben Cruachan to take a panorama from the summit - including doing the
second half of the ascent in bare feet because a new pair of boots had
became increasingly painful to wear - but didn't realise that I'd have
to take all the shots at exactly the same exposure setting to get a
seamless result, and only when the slides had been developed did I
realise this was a problem. Only recently using digital techniques was
I able to stitch the surviving slides together (some had perished, and
all had lost quite a lot of green giving the final result a magenta cast
which I ought also to try to fix but have yet to do so). The final
result is not bad, but that's an example where a smartphone with a
decent panorama camera such as on my tablet would have got a much better result at much greater convenience.

https://www.macfh.co.uk/Temp/197709%20Ben%20Cruachan%20-%20Panorama%20From%20The%20Summit%20(full).png

Also, to take photos of things like BSODs, labels on equipment to ensure
that you get the correct replacement part, items that you are
dismantling to ensure you can reassemble them correctly, etc, etc are
all much more conveniently done on a smartphone or tablet.

I only get the expensive camera out when going for walk on a day when
the light looks promising. The rest of the time it's more convenient to
use the phone or the tablet.
--

Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:

I have been considering my 'smartphone' usage/needs after the
discussion over in uk.telecom.voip. As I said there much of my
problem with using a smartphone is simply its small size. So I've
started looking at Android tablets around the 10" to 11" sort of size.

This would replace my existing smartphone and, probably, my Kobo
reader so size/weight would only be a little, if any, more.

Looking at AliExpress (my smartphone came from there, so I'm aware of
the possible risks etc.) a very short search has come up with this
one:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009631178317.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.seoads.1.3251c2bbzEkgJA

It seems amazingly cheap for what it provides.

I suspect that's a case of things that are too good to be true probably are. Comparing the specs:

There are literally hundreds of similarly specified tablets on eBay
and Amazon as well as AliExpress at similar prices. I don't believe
they are all fakes.
--
Chris Green
-+
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

Also, to take photos of things like BSODs, labels on equipment to ensure that you get the correct replacement part, items that you are
dismantling to ensure you can reassemble them correctly, etc, etc are
all much more conveniently done on a smartphone or tablet.

I only get the expensive camera out when going for walk on a day when
the light looks promising. The rest of the time it's more convenient to
use the phone or the tablet.

My camera with a viewfinder is a Panasonic TZ60, smaller than most
smartphones and **much** more capable. In particular it has (as I
said) a real viewfinder so it's dead easy to take pictures when
outside in bright sun. It also has a real telephoto lens so pictures
of distant birds/animals/etc. are more possible. It's a far easier and
more comfortable picture taking experience than a smartphone.
--
Chris Green
-+
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

I suspect that's a case of things that are too good to be true probably are.
Comparing the specs:

There are literally hundreds of similarly specified tablets on eBay
and Amazon as well as AliExpress at similar prices. I don't believe
they are all fakes.

There are also hundreds of 9900mAh 18650 batteries advertised, which is physically impossible to fit in that form factor. It just means the lying
is endemic.

Theo
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

I suspect that's a case of things that are too good to be true probably are.
Comparing the specs:

There are literally hundreds of similarly specified tablets on eBay
and Amazon as well as AliExpress at similar prices. I don't believe
they are all fakes.

There are also hundreds of 9900mAh 18650 batteries advertised, which is physically impossible to fit in that form factor. It just means the lying
is endemic.

Surprise surprise, if you look at the 1* reviews:

"What can i say a dishonest seller disrespectful towards me didn't care when
i reported issues with the tablet. The tablet is not what it says it is its
a cheap gionee p61 google that & you will see it it also said it in the
tablet. Di not buy from this seller he is dishonest i also had to losge a complaint with aliexpress in regards to this seller & sent them all the pictures etc to prove that the tablet was not what he advertised. The
tablet did nothing but pixelate & so many issues dont be fooled. You will
also see if you read his feedback someone else has left negative feedback

Additional review:

There are other reviews from other sellers who found them to fake tablets
and not what he said they were also here is just some of the messages he
sent to me asking me to compensate me $30.00 barack out of the $265.00 i
paid for the tablet & to keep the tablet. . These people are scammers
thanks to aliexpress for refunding my money stay away from these people on
this store"

I think they may mean a Gionee M61 which is a tablet, not the P61 which is
a phone. Unisoc CPU, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 5MP cameras. https://www.kimovil.com/en/where-to-buy-gionee-m61

Some of the 5* reviews look astroturfed too:

"This tablet has a great auto-brightness feature. It adjusts the screen brightness based on the surrounding light, which saves battery and makes it easier on the eyes."

"The tablet's operating system is very stable. I rarely experience crashes
or glitches, which makes using it a frustration-free experience."

"This tablet comes with a free cloud storage subscription, which is a great bonus. I can store my files in the cloud and access them from anywhere,
which is very convenient."

Each one is the whole of the review text. Who writes real reviews like
that?

Theo
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From Newsgroup: uk.telecom.mobile

Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

On 2025-09-20 10:17, Chris Green wrote:

I have been considering my 'smartphone' usage/needs after the
discussion over in uk.telecom.voip. As I said there much of my
problem with using a smartphone is simply its small size. So I've
started looking at Android tablets around the 10" to 11" sort of size.

This would replace my existing smartphone and, probably, my Kobo
reader so size/weight would only be a little, if any, more.

Looking at AliExpress (my smartphone came from there, so I'm aware of
the possible risks etc.) a very short search has come up with this
one:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009631178317.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.seoads.1.3251c2bbzEkgJA

It seems amazingly cheap for what it provides.

My requirements will be fairly simple, I'll not be running videos or playing games so won't be pushing the processor. I'll run Termux on
it to provide a command line for E-Mail and Usenet (basically the same
as I do from my laptop).

I'll want to use it as a 'phone. I'll likely install Libby to read
books.

... and that's probably about it.

For about -u90 with 1TB 'ROM' it seems a bargain. Am I missing
something very obvious or is it just that 'tablet' isn't such a
desirable device as 'smartphone'?

I can't comment on anything from AliExpress as I never use it, but some general things you might need to consider ...

* I agree that smartphones are difficult to read, but IME tablets are
no better - after all, they're probably running the same OS or at
least different versions of it, so the font and its size will be the
same, and, as discussed in another thread elsewhere, you may not be able
to alter it in critical places such as the lock screen or home screen,
which means that on either without spectacles I can read the time but
not the date or day of week, which is damned irritating.

Well I now have a 10.4" tablet and everything is bigger, no issues at
all. There's a general 'whole system' text size setting which seems
to work just about everywhere and individual apps mostly also allow
setting of text size. So I'm getting exactly what I wanted, more
screen space and bigger text.

* You will have to check that any model you buy has telephone functionality, not all do, and that it is at least 4G with LTE
call-making, preferably 5G ditto. The model you link above appears to
meet these requirements, which I agree does appear almost too good to be true at the price advertised, see the prices in the note below [**]. If
you decide to buy it, please review it either here or at AliExpress and
link to your review here.

As I said before, yes, many tablets don't have 'phone ability but as
long as you look for it there's still a pretty good choice. Review so
far see below.

* IME, for taking photos, tablets can be awkward to hold, but
nevertheless mine does take better panoramas than my much newer Pixel 8a smartphone. Particularly for taking photos, to guard against accidental dropping, try and get a case which either has a wrist strap attached or
to which one can be attached.

Also, as I said before, I'm not going to take photos with it.

In the end I bought this one from Amazon:-

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FF9LCHMX

It cost only -u99 as there was a -u20 'voucher' discount. Prices on
Amazon didn't seem much different than buying diurect from AliExpress
and it arrived next day of course.

So I've got my sub -u100 tablet, with 'phone and perfectly satisfactory performance for my sort of requirements. So far it seems to be very
much 'as specified', while 256Gb isn't enormous I doubt if I'll use
much of it, I've already installed the half-dozen or so apps I need
and total use is only 48Gb.

I moved the SIM across from my old smartphone today and it all 'just
works'.

I haven't really had time to check the battery life.
--
Chris Green
-+
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