OT: Android Tablet Thread

[dbdynsty25]

I was asking a serious question cause I dont have a clue !!!!!!!!!!!!

That does answer my question though

It's all good man. If you didn't find the iPad fits your needs, you likely won't be happy with the Xoom either. Extremely similar in function and usability.

[Rodster]

I have a question for you guys that follow this stuff. Do you guys think the Xoom is the answer to the Ipad or just another imitation? I know some of you guys rave about the Droid and the OS and how the Droid OS has more market share than the Iphone or at least that's the perception I got.

[Naples39]

I'm keeping an eye on the development of tablets. Honestly they are much more useful than I would've ever thought.

On the one hand, yeah, it is pretty much just a smartphone with a super-big screen. On the other hand, that big screen makes more of a difference than you would think. For instance, my wife has an android phone and used to have an ipod touch. We NEVER used either at home. OTOH, our iPad gets used like crazy, and guests can't keep their hands of it (yes, even those with fancy smartphones). Maybe some of that is novelty, but it is pretty shocking.

It's getting to the point where I almost prefer browsing the internet at home with the iPad on the couch or in bed than sitting at my desk.

I'm also watching the android tablets because there are some obvious advantages they could bring to the table that Apple holds back on;
-flash support
-sd card storage
-better video out options
-more open file system
-multimedia compatibility (file formats)

The things to watch out for if leaving Apple;
-battery life
-screen quality
-immature android versus mature iOS
-volume of apps

I'm not getting rid of my laptop by any means, but I use the iPad a lot. For instance, I always used to take my laptop on short (non-business) trips---I can't see myself doing that anymore. Just throw the iPad in the bag. I also am convinced my parents should get one rather than a laptop for trips/vacation house (probably waiting for iPad2, but I don't expect much from that--cameras? yawn).

[wco81]

Motorola has to underprice the iPad. Being around the same price or higher than a brand which is known to have high prices is not a good way to get market share.

Plus, a lot of people are skeptical on the category, especially when "real computers" can be had for less, which provide more functionality.


Besides being better to use in bed or on the couch, tablets represent a new UI paradigm -- touch screen on a bigger screen isn't just more of the same as a smart phone because the larger screen permits more multitouch gestures. Computers have become more and more entertainment devices (20 years ago, the biggest things in computers were word processors and spreadsheets, compared to now it's media, social networking, games, etc). For a lot of people, the form factor is better suited to these uses.

But they're not for everyone.

[dbdynsty25]

I have a question for you guys that follow this stuff. Do you guys think the Xoom is the answer to the Ipad or just another imitation? I know some of you guys rave about the Droid and the OS and how the Droid OS has more market share than the Iphone or at least that's the perception I got.

What do you mean answer to the iPad? All of the tablets are used for essentially the same purpose...entertainment. None are going to be a real answer to a full fledged laptop as far as I'm concerned. Now, I definitely prefer the Android OS because of the customization that it allows. It can do absolutely every an iPad can do...and more (see Naples post above). However, some people like to keep all of their devices in the same family so I can completely understand why the iPad has a following. It's a great device that does what it's supposed to.

I completely hate iTunes and I refuse to be tied to it for any reason (it kills me when I have to manage my music on my iPod that's in my car) and the iPad lives and dies by it. Android is much more open and even the stuff that isn't supported natively can be supported by an app that someone creates (divx movies anyone?). Apple refuses to allow anyone to create apps that may cut into their iTunes profits and that's completely within their right. It's their system and tons of people love it and that's fine.

So there isn't a cut and dry answer to is the Xoom an answer to an iPad...truthfully, nothing will answer the iPad completely nor will anyone outsell them. Same way the iPod has still yet to be surpassed where there are numerous devices that are significantly better (Cowon J3, Zune HD). Sure, Android will probably get more marketshare soon now that they have a true tablet OS (Gingerbread) but that's because it's going to be spread across a bunch of different manufacturers. The beauty of Android tho is that if you want a Motorola device but you love the software that Samsung comes up with...there is damn sure going to be a port and you're going to be able to use Samsungs version on your Motorola. It's all about freedom for me...Android is the only OS that offers that right now. Hopefully more emerge cuz I love competition.

[Badgun]

Seriously, you really need to decide what you are going to use the tablet for. If you are going to use it primarily for media and games, I would go with the iPad. I use mine for a lot of things, but I watch a lot of media on it and Android doesn't have Netflix, Hulu+, or Xfinity. To me those are three apps I cannot live without. Maybe they are coming at some point for the Android, but why pay $200 more for the tablet and not have some really key apps. I have had my ipad for since last April but I have found myself using it more and more lately. I doubt I will get an Ipad 2 unless there are some groundbreaking changes, which I doubt there will be.

[Rodster]

I think DB summed it up best wrt the Ipad. I rarely use my Ipod and I too hate Itunes. If I get one it's to jump on the net and browse, play a few games, maybe an occasional ebook.

[Murph]

I think DB summed it up best wrt the Ipad. I rarely use my Ipod and I too hate Itunes. If I get one it's to jump on the net and browse, play a few games, maybe an occasional ebook.

That's prety much all I use my laptop for. Maybe an iPad will just lighten my load that much more.

[wco81]

It'll be a long time before you can replace a laptop with a tablet.

When you're sitting up, have to do some bit of typing, you're going to need a laptop. For things like encoding video or editing photos, the processing power (especially of the new Sandy Bridge laptops) can't be matched.

Tablets are for people who can afford them just to use in a couple of unique situations where the weight makes a difference. There will be some apps. and content that's unique to tablets, which may get more people to buy over time.

[Rodster]

Alright i'm itching for a tablet, is there anything that warrants not buying a Xoom or is the iPad 2 still the way to go? I'm going strictly WiFi.

Also what kind of built in memory is recommended 16/32/64GB?

[wco81]

All depends on what you're going to use it for.

Interest in the Xoom seems to have tailed off because the initial reviews weren't favorable.

Plus other Android tablets have come out, if that's the way you want to go. For instance, the Transformer is $400 and uses the IPS screen tech that is popular on the iPad. You can add a keyboard dock for another $150 that makes it look like a netbook. It has additional battery to extend power.

Samsung is putting out their second-generation tablet, including a 10.1 inch model which is thinner than the iPad2 and almost has as good battery life.

If you're mainly going to use it to surf, then it won't matter between iPad and Android. But if you're interested in trying out games and other apps, the selection on the iPad is better and developers who are interested in making money will target the iPad first, meaning it's more likely to get games with better graphics. The A5 SOC in the iPad2 has benchmarked better than the Tegra2 in the Xoom.

There will be tablets with other SOCs later this year which might be more competitive.

As for storage, if you want to put a lot of movies and photos on there, then you need more capacity. But iPad is getting some good streaming apps. like HBO Go so there's less of a need to store movies there.

[Rodster]

Thanks wco that was helpful. Yeah no movies or photos, just apps, games and web, streaming is good to hear. I'm just not a big fan of Apple so I would like to get something that has a good amount of support.

One question I have is Android vs iOS. If a device uses an Android OS can I count on using those apps whether I use a Xoom or Galaxy?

[wco81]

That's the theory.

But for some people, fragmentation is becoming an issue. Developers have to test their software on more devices because there's a much wider range or variety of hardware being used for Android, not just in performance capabilities but competing vendors. So they have to deal with all these hardware differences, the way PC developers, esp. game developers have to deal with different CPUs, graphics cards, sound cards, etc.

Android also has software integration issues. I'm not completely up on what's happening with their tablet apps. I know they have a real small number of them designed for the Honeycomb OS. But the apps. written for other Android OS versions supposedly scale up better on Android tablets than the way iPhone apps. are displayed on iPads.

But in the next year, they're suppose to come out with a release called Ice Cream sandwich, which is suppose to bring all the smartphone OS versions with the Honeycomb OS for tablets. Then in theory, the apps. written for either will run better on that OS.

Apple may also have their own teething problems if they go to a "Retina Display" type of screen, with 4 times the number of pixels, for the iPad3. Then all those apps. would have to be re-written to take advantage of the screen.

You really have to look at the kind of things you want, like whether there are some games available on one but not the other. You have to make sure a particular model can run Netflix, Hulu, has the ESPN app. etc, if you wanted to watch a lot of video.

[dbdynsty25]

The HTC Flyer is where it's at now as far as Android Tablets go...it's legit. But I still think the iPad 2 is the ultimate tablet right now...as much as it hurts me to say.

It's just hard to beat it right now. Android tablets are getting closer, but it's going to take another iteration or two of the OS for them to catch up from a functionality standpoint. A little too buggy still. If you're willing to deal with some bugs for more functionality and customization, then by all means, get a Xoom because it definitely has better hardware than the iPad...but from an overall point of view, the iPad still is the best device.

[wco81]

Actually, the Xoom doesn't have better hardware than the iPad2.

The Tegra2 doesn't benchmark as well as the A5 in graphics and the screen on the Xoom reportedly isn't as good. Xoom has more RAM and a microSD slot, which may or may not be enabled yet.

The Galaxy may have a more competitive SOC and Transformer has IPS screen like the iPad2. RIMM Playbook is suppose to have a pretty good SOC but it's a 7-inch screen and they have fewer apps., though they're trying to get Android apps. to run. Playbook supposedly runs Flash better than the Android apps.

NVidia has been showing their quad-core SOC, so more powerful tablets are on the way. Of course, Apple will do the same but I'm hoping more for a higher-resolution display (which may require more powerful GPU just to get the same level of graphics as the current model).

[Rodster]

I may wait for the next batch of ipads.

[dbdynsty25]

Actually, the Xoom doesn't have better hardware than the iPad2.

A larger, higher resolution and quality screen, LTE & SD Card Expansion. Those are WAY more important than the 1fps you gain from the a5 over the tegra 2.

[wco81]

Higher res but inferior viewing angles. It also seems to be more of a widescreen aspect ratio, which some may prefer for viewing movies but isn't as good for surfing.

The graphics difference comes into play for the UI, since things like scrolling and zooming depends on it. What percentage of Xoom users are actually going ahead and getting LTE service already?


But these differences probably aren't going to be significant compared to upcoming designs.

[dbdynsty25]

Higher res but inferior viewing angles. It also seems to be more of a widescreen aspect ratio, which some may prefer for viewing movies but isn't as good for surfing.

The graphics difference comes into play for the UI, since things like scrolling and zooming depends on it. What percentage of Xoom users are actually going ahead and getting LTE service already?

The viewing angles to me are identical...I mean I have both of them sitting here on my desk right now. So unless you've seen em for yourself...it's all speculation and regurgitation of something you've read. And I'm not sure why the aspect ratio matters? It's like 16:9 compared to 16:10...it's like a half inch. If you're looking at web pages in Vertical orientation, it's going to be narrow, sure, but why would you do that? These things are meant to be viewed in landscape when it comes to web and video.

Scrolling and zoom is about equal in terms of usability (slight edge to ipad, the software is more mature obviously)...and the amount of users upgrading the Xoom to LTE is irrelevant...we're talking specs. I could give two f*cks if you want LTE personally...I would want the device with the best hardware. LTE being available over 3G At&t or Verizon is a better spec no?

[Rodster]

When is the ipad 3 getting released? The original ipad got quickly replaced by the ipad 2.

[dbdynsty25]

When is the ipad 3 getting released? The original ipad got quickly replaced by the ipad 2.

Hasn't even been rumored yet. Gonna be a while. Probably next year sometime since you still have trouble even finding the 2s in a lot of stores.

[Rodster]

Here's some of the stuff I dug up about the ipad 3 http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-co ... now-937498

[wco81]

If LTE isn't being used by Xoom users, it might as well be like 4WD for people who never drive offroad.

If you're still getting 3G coverage most of the time, then why saddle yourself with a first-generation part that's going to be less efficient?

By the time LTE is more pervasive, two more generations of devices may have come and went.

[dbdynsty25]

Again, LTE saturation is irrelevant when we are talking SPECS. The capability is there in nearly every major city in the USA...how much more saturated does it need to be before it's a legitimate SPEC?

So if you're going to go to the store and buy a device...all things being nearly equal, you buy the SLOWER device, even though it's the same price? That makes a sh*t ton of sense. Wco bot needs to be reprogrammed.

[pk500]

Actually, the Xoom doesn't have better hardware than the iPad2.

A larger, higher resolution and quality screen, LTE & SD Card Expansion. Those are WAY more important than the 1fps you gain from the a5 over the tegra 2.

USB port, too. That would be a must for me since I download a ton of fights, races and European sporting events through the faster wired connection on my laptop and would want to watch them on a tablet off a thumb drive.