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Help Which Cheap Android Tablets Have Amazing Bluetooth Range?

P

persistentone

Well-Known Member
I am looking for a very cheap Android tablet that has amazing Bluetooth range. If it had an optional accessory like a bluetooth antenna to further extend range that would be great. I do not need a fast tablet. I want to use the tablet as a remote control for a bluetooth connected device that might be more than 10 feet from the tablet, so I am very sensitive to bluetooth range and reliability.

Are there any good choices for my application? Has any article tested bluetooth range on different tablets?
 
I have no suggestions on what tablets that do have 'amazing' Bluetooth range but for most purposes 10 feet isn't going to be a problem. Even 20 feet and more should be doable. Just keep in mind that Bluetooth involves a very low-wattage signal so the more distance involved, the more that signal is vulnerable to interference, and it's more or less line-of-sight so don't expect a lot of range or consistent connectivity in situations where you might be in a room and the target device is still nearby but down a hallway or something like that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
Bluetooth ver. 5 is pretty recent so it won't be incorporated into any 'cheap' tablets. Just perusing on different hardware spec. listings, most phones and tablets apparently still rely on v4 to 4.2, the issue being the newer versions of Bluetooth have better range and reliability, with cheaper devices tending to use older versions.
Still, if all you need is ten feet or so of coverage this shouldn't be an issue.
 
svim said:
I have no suggestions on what tablets that do have 'amazing' Bluetooth range but for most purposes 10 feet isn't going to be a problem. Even 20 feet and more should be doable. Just keep in mind that Bluetooth involves a very low-wattage signal so the more distance involved, the more that signal is vulnerable to interference, and it's more or less line-of-sight so don't expect a lot of range or consistent connectivity in situations where you might be in a room and the target device is still nearby but down a hallway or something like that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
Bluetooth ver. 5 is pretty recent so it won't be incorporated into any 'cheap' tablets. Just perusing on different hardware spec. listings, most phones and tablets apparently still rely on v4 to 4.2, the issue being the newer versions of Bluetooth have better range and reliability, with cheaper devices tending to use older versions.
Still, if all you need is ten feet or so of coverage this shouldn't be an issue.
Click to expand...

Do V4 and V4.2 have any major differences on coverage distance?

V5 is a pipedream for now. I don't expect that to be mainstream for a year or more.
 
persistentone said:
Do V4 and V4.2 have any major differences on coverage distance?
Click to expand...
Well yes, with higher version numbers there's longer range, but again if all you're needing is ten feet or so this isn't relevant. Even Bluetooth 1.0 was rated at up to 30+ feet.
 
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