Is there an Android Hardware that is NOT a phone? Like a tablet?

[John Quach]

It seems to me Android has to be a phone. It cannot be a small little tablet.

But there IS an Android tablet is there? Similar to how Ipod Touch is to Iphone?

The reason I ask is because I don't have a computer powerful enough to emulate Android and I cannot afford a monthly plan for an Android phone at this time. I heard that installing Linux on this netbook of mine would be able to emulate Android much faster than Windows 7 Starter which I have. But I don't want that.

Until recently, I've given little interest to these tablets that everyone seems to be using. That changed when I read into developing for Android. But in order to one day create popular apps, I need to immerse myself into this market.

So is there an Android tablet thats like an Ipod Touch?

[Tim Moores]

Archos has several comparatively low-cost Android tablets in various sizes: http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/31/archos-drops-five-android-tablets-from-2-8-to-10-1-inches/. Pay attention to the Android version they're running, though: low cost hardware often doesn't run the latest version and may not be upgradeable. I'm sure you can find more devices by searching for something like "android tablet".

[John Quach]

Thank you for the link.

But they seem to be restricted to "proprietary" apps and they can' access the Apps market. I'm looking into getting other tablets and I may just have to save up for several months.

I do have a couple questions:

- Do I need a higher version of Android?

- And will any Android device "allow" me to test my apps on it? I've looked into Iphone development and they come with some strings attached (50 bucks a year).

[Tim Moores]

Low-cost Android tablets frequently omit the Google apps (Market, Maps, GMail etc.) because those cost money to license from Google. If cost is not an objective then you can go for the latest Motorola Xoom (or some other higher-end tablet), and you'll have all the Google apps including Market.

Some Android devices do not allow you to install your own apps, but those I'm aware of are all phones that are obtained through a carrier, and even within that group they're a tiny minority.

I don't understand what you're asking with "do I need a higher version of Android" - for doing what? If you're serious about Android tablets you'll want at least Android 3. Again, for cost reasons, the lower-end tablets like the ones I linked to use Android 2. But Archos has higher-end tablets running Android 3 as well: http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/15/archos-q9-tablet-is-a-beefy-honeycomb-running-machine/