Many Chinese electronics manufacturers jumped on the free Android bandwagon, cranking out dozens of tablet models selling at very attractive prices. Take a gander at the website of one of the more well-known Chinese distributors, Chinagrabber, and you will find many pages of tablets at prices ranging from $75 to $350, free shipping included. Recently, these manufacturers have begun offering Windows-based tablets in addition to Android, again taking advantage of free access to the operating system. Although these tablets look very attractive on the web, "caveat emptor" should be the watch-phrase for those considering buying one. First of all, if the item has a problem requiring that it has to be returned for repair or replacement, arranging to ship the unit off to China is, to say the least, a hassle.
Second, getting technical support can be a frustrating experience. The documentation that comes with the clone tablets is, for all intents, useless. Some sellers have tech support email addresses, but these are often problematic as the folks on the Chinese end are not likely to be well-versed in English and communication issues are common. Much of the time, the seller will refer the buyer to one of a few English-language forums populated by smart techies, mostly from the US, India and Europe. A couple of the good ones are Apad and Android Forums. Would-be buyers should check out these sites to see if they will meet their support needs – or not. While this can work much of the time, getting answers is often an arduous process, and, if the questioner is not technically astute, those answers may as well be in Chinese. To get clone prices low, the manufacturers make compromises that may not fit the expectations of the buyer. Aside from using cheap components, the makers of these clones rarely go to the bother of having their systems go through the Google Android or Windows testing/licensing processes. As a result, some features that one might reasonably expect to have on a system running one of these operating systems, simply don’t exist. For example, many applications that would normally be available from the Android Market, including all of the paid apps, are missing! There are ways to get around some of these limitations, but one needs to be technically savvy. In addition, some apps simply won’t run at all or will run degraded. This is especially true of video applications such as Netflix streaming video and HBO GO. If online video is your thing, you may not be happy with a clone.
In the final analysis, price is what makes these clones attractive. But, hang on – as the market develops and becomes more competitive, major brand name tablet prices are falling rapidly. For example, one can buy a Toshiba Thrive that has all the Android goodies plus much faster main and video processors. It will run virtually anything designed to run under most Android versions. Or for the same price as a clone, the new Kindle Fire is a killer device, albeit with a slightly smaller screen.
In conclusion, if you are technically astute, by all means check out the Chinese clones, but do your homework before opening your wallet. If you don't care to be technically challenged and just want to run apps, buy a major brand tablet, but price-compare first. There are amazing deals out there.
Michael Burwen - 30+ years as a business/market analyst for high-tech industry. Long-time interests are wine/food, woodworking, and consumer electronics.
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