Author Topic: Android tablets to rival iPad (Read 70834 times)

Ath · « **Reply #50 on:** March 24, 2011, 08:55 AM »

While it rests on its stand (being charged) on the sideboard in the living room, it's a photo frame.
-phitsc (March 24, 2011, 08:29 AM)

That's what my Motorola Milestone does (kinda) when settled in it's (official) deskstand. The deskstand has a magnet in a specific place, recognized by the phone, that switches it to Deskstand mode (a special Motorola supplied app)

. The same goes for the car-holder, a magnet in another spot triggers the car-mode, and loads the default navigation app.
It's required for the phone/tablet to have hardware support for that ofcourse $:-\$

Deozaan · « **Reply #51 on:** July 16, 2011, 02:22 PM »

Someday I think I will own something like this:

Product Image.jpg

http://usa.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/

It's an Android tablet with a dockable keyboard with touchpad. The dock adds more battery life and some USB ports, etc. So it's basically an Android and a netbook combined. Click the image above for more details.

tomos · « **Reply #52 on:** July 16, 2011, 03:47 PM »

Someday I think I will own something like this:

(see attachment in previous post)http://usa.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/

It's an Android tablet with a dockable keyboard with touchpad. The dock adds more battery life and some USB ports, etc. So it's basically an Android and a netbook combined. Click the image above for more details.
-Deozaan (July 16, 2011, 02:22 PM)

saw that in the junk mail - has an IPS screen too

phitsc · « **Reply #53 on:** July 26, 2011, 08:38 AM »

Found a good short overview over current Android tablets:

14 best Android tablets in the world

and in the first comment the amazing:

http://www.android-tablet-comparison-world.com/

How many years since the original iPad was launched? And still there is no tablet available comparable in form factor, weight, performance and price running Android

Renegade · « **Reply #54 on:** July 26, 2011, 09:42 AM »

and in the first comment the amazing:

http://www.android-tablet-comparison-world.com/

-phitsc (July 26, 2011, 08:38 AM)

DAMN~! That's one WICKED COOL site!

3 clicks to this:

Screenshot - 2011-07-27 , 12_37_47 AM.png

Android tablets to rival iPad

THAT is how things should work! F**K! I am inspired again! I've regained my faith in the web's potential to not just be total crap, and to excel in actually intelligent functionality!

JEEZ! Seriously! I'm impressed! Every time I try to shop at some site, I'm bombarded by 100 trillion miles of shit that I just don't care about and forced to dig through it all to find what I want. I'm so sick of that. That site seriously has some serious mojo there!

Deozaan · « **Reply #55 on:** July 26, 2011, 10:11 AM »

How many years since the original iPad was launched? And still there is no tablet available comparable in form factor, weight, performance and price running Android
-phitsc (July 26, 2011, 08:38 AM)

Huh? The first 3 Android tablets in that article are comparable to iPad 1/2. . .

phitsc · « **Reply #56 on:** July 26, 2011, 10:39 AM »

How many years since the original iPad was launched? And still there is no tablet available comparable in form factor, weight, performance and price running Android
-phitsc (July 26, 2011, 08:38 AM)

Huh? The first 3 Android tablets in that article are comparable to iPad 1/2. . .
-Deozaan (July 26, 2011, 10:11 AM)

The Transformer and the Xoom are heavier, the 10.1 is not available (at least not in Europe).

(so, well, yeah, ok, they are comparable

)

TheQwerty · « **Reply #57 on:** July 26, 2011, 11:48 AM »

… the 10.1 is not available (at least not in Europe).
-phitsc (July 26, 2011, 10:39 AM)

Should be available in the UK pretty soon, so it's getting closer.

40hz · « **Reply #58 on:** July 26, 2011, 01:18 PM »

I'm actually holding out for HP's webOS and TouchPad.

Primarily because of what they're doing to make life as easy and profitable as possible for developers. They have understandable and sane developer's licensing, good software tools, support for OpenSource partnering, and a very fair (70% to developer) revenue sharing schedule. Details here.

Best of all, just about anybody who wants in can do so easily - and for free. Compare that to what you need to go through (and put up with) to be an iOS developer.

Maybe 1984 wasn't "just like 1984."

But 2011 could well be if Apple has anything to say about it.

phitsc · « **Reply #59 on:** July 26, 2011, 02:42 PM »

… the 10.1 is not available (at least not in Europe).
-phitsc (July 26, 2011, 10:39 AM)
Should be available in the UK pretty soon, so it's getting closer.
-TheQwerty (July 26, 2011, 11:48 AM)

You know how it goes. The first 3 each shop gets go to the first of the 59 pre-orders. The next shipment with the next 10 is then due one month later. The first deliveries will also be the 16 GB ones only. Then, after another 6 months, when the 32 GB ones get available, the far superior successor has already been announced for 3 months and delivery is *imminent*. Damn, I'm so sick of it.

phitsc · « **Reply #60 on:** July 26, 2011, 02:51 PM »

I'm actually holding out for HP's webOS and TouchPad.

Primarily because of what they're doing to make life as easy and profitable as possible for developers. They have understandable and sane developer's licensing, good software tools, support for OpenSource partnering, and a very fair (70% to developer) revenue sharing schedule. Details here.

Best of all, just about anybody who wants in can do so easily - and for free. Compare that to what you need to go through (and put up with) to be an iOS developer.

-40hz (July 26, 2011, 01:18 PM)

I guess that's the only way to ever have a chance of motivating enough developers to develop for the platform. Without apps, the platform will have a tough job no matter how good webOS and its 'native' applications are.

Ath · « **Reply #61 on:** July 26, 2011, 04:58 PM »

… the 10.1 is not available (at least not in Europe).
-phitsc (July 26, 2011, 10:39 AM)
Should be available in the UK pretty soon, so it's getting closer.
-TheQwerty (July 26, 2011, 11:48 AM)

In Holland, Vodafone has the 10.1v (branded for Vodafone, but the 'fat' 10.9 mm version) available (isn't that available in all the Vodafone countries?), but the new (and thinner, 8.6 mm) 10.1 will only be available somewhere around August/September, AFAIR.
Big disadvantage of the 10.1 is it has a mere 3 mpx camera, opposed to the 10.1v 8 mpx camera. That is going to save you some storage, but cost you image quality I presume.

tsaint · « **Reply #62 on:** July 26, 2011, 05:41 PM »

2 points...
1. I don't think I'd consider a tablet without a usb port. I have an iconia (A500) and I can, and do
- plug a logitech mini receiver for a mouse into it when needed
- when i bring it to work, I can grab a usb keyboard lying around to plug into it
- connect my olympus camera directly to it to transfer photos
- record tv programs from my tv onto a usb drive and then plug that into the tablet to watch
- plug in an external hard drive containing pics or music
2. Does it rival the ipad2? I grabbed this list from somewhere.

RAM 512 MB iPad2 vs 1 G Acer
No USB port iPad2 (need external sd/usb adapters *) vs USB port Acer
No SD Card slot iPad2 (need external sd/usb adapters *$29) vs SD Card slot Acer
No HDMI output port iPad2 (need external adapter $39) vs HDMI output port Acer
No Camera flash “bulb” iPad2 vs Camera flash “bulb” Acer
Camera Rear less than 1 MP (0.92) iPad2 vs 5 MP Acer
Camera Front less than 1 MP (0.7) iPad2 vs 2 MP Acer
Speaker 1 iPad2 vs 2 Speakers Acer
No Browser Tabs iPad2 vs Browser Tabs Acer
No Adobe Flash Player iPad2 vs Adobe Flash Player Acer
Requires iTunes even for file transfers iPad2 vs Normal file transfers – USB, SD card, etc. Acer
Wifi Price $567 iPad2 vs $449 Acer Iconia A500
Screen 1024 x 768 iPad2 vs 1280 x 800 Acer
GPS iPad2 3G Only vs Acer GPS w/Wifi

Weight doesnt seem all that different to me, the screen on the iconia looks fine when i watch or read stuff on it.
Since I have a 3G phone which I'm always carrying, and dont want TWO phone accounts/data plans, I prefer to use tethering than have a wifi enabled tablet
So I'd say the iconia clearly rivals the ipad2, except perhaps in "cachet" .

Renegade · « **Reply #63 on:** July 26, 2011, 06:36 PM »

2 points...
1. I don't think I'd consider a tablet without a usb port. I have an iconia (A500) and I can, and do
- plug a logitech mini receiver for a mouse into it when needed
- when i bring it to work, I can grab a usb keyboard lying around to plug into it
- connect my olympus camera directly to it to transfer photos
- record tv programs from my tv onto a usb drive and then plug that into the tablet to watch
- plug in an external hard drive containing pics or music
2. Does it rival the ipad2? I grabbed this list from somewhere.

RAM 512 MB iPad2 vs 1 G Acer
No USB port iPad2 (need external sd/usb adapters *) vs USB port Acer
No SD Card slot iPad2 (need external sd/usb adapters *$29) vs SD Card slot Acer
No HDMI output port iPad2 (need external adapter $39) vs HDMI output port Acer
No Camera flash “bulb” iPad2 vs Camera flash “bulb” Acer
Camera Rear less than 1 MP (0.92) iPad2 vs 5 MP Acer
Camera Front less than 1 MP (0.7) iPad2 vs 2 MP Acer
Speaker 1 iPad2 vs 2 Speakers Acer
No Browser Tabs iPad2 vs Browser Tabs Acer
No Adobe Flash Player iPad2 vs Adobe Flash Player Acer
Requires iTunes even for file transfers iPad2 vs Normal file transfers – USB, SD card, etc. Acer
Wifi Price $567 iPad2 vs $449 Acer Iconia A500
Screen 1024 x 768 iPad2 vs 1280 x 800 Acer
GPS iPad2 3G Only vs Acer GPS w/Wifi

-tsaint (July 26, 2011, 05:41 PM)

Acer wins!

Fatality!

wraith808 · « **Reply #64 on:** July 26, 2011, 10:27 PM »

2 points...
1. I don't think I'd consider a tablet without a usb port. I have an iconia (A500) and I can, and do
- plug a logitech mini receiver for a mouse into it when needed
- when i bring it to work, I can grab a usb keyboard lying around to plug into it
- connect my olympus camera directly to it to transfer photos
- record tv programs from my tv onto a usb drive and then plug that into the tablet to watch
- plug in an external hard drive containing pics or music
2. Does it rival the ipad2? I grabbed this list from somewhere.

RAM 512 MB iPad2 vs 1 G Acer
No USB port iPad2 (need external sd/usb adapters *) vs USB port Acer
No SD Card slot iPad2 (need external sd/usb adapters *$29) vs SD Card slot Acer
No HDMI output port iPad2 (need external adapter $39) vs HDMI output port Acer
No Camera flash “bulb” iPad2 vs Camera flash “bulb” Acer
Camera Rear less than 1 MP (0.92) iPad2 vs 5 MP Acer
Camera Front less than 1 MP (0.7) iPad2 vs 2 MP Acer
Speaker 1 iPad2 vs 2 Speakers Acer
No Browser Tabs iPad2 vs Browser Tabs Acer
No Adobe Flash Player iPad2 vs Adobe Flash Player Acer
Requires iTunes even for file transfers iPad2 vs Normal file transfers – USB, SD card, etc. Acer
Wifi Price $567 iPad2 vs $449 Acer Iconia A500
Screen 1024 x 768 iPad2 vs 1280 x 800 Acer
GPS iPad2 3G Only vs Acer GPS w/Wifi

Weight doesnt seem all that different to me, the screen on the iconia looks fine when i watch or read stuff on it.
Since I have a 3G phone which I'm always carrying, and dont want TWO phone accounts/data plans, I prefer to use tethering than have a wifi enabled tablet
So I'd say the iconia clearly rivals the ipad2, except perhaps in "cachet" .
-tsaint (July 26, 2011, 05:41 PM)

These have all been brought up before. And I bought into it the first time. But I can say after having one for a while, none of those are really issues in everyday use, at least for me. And no, you don't need to use itunes to transfer. The rabid anti-pad knee jerk reaction is just as annoying personally as the rabid apple apologists. In the end, they're all tools (though less so than some of the users

), so use what you want, and let the money do the talking, IMO.

tsaint · « **Reply #65 on:** July 27, 2011, 12:14 AM »

Just to be clear, I carefully phrased my post because I'm quite unrabid, maybe through indolence, maybe through rugged individualism. I clearly said it's a rival...the list was evidence of that. My point 1 addressed MY preference and why.
My post didn't seem worth getting excited about really.. this isn't a zdnet type forum after all.

40hz · « **Reply #66 on:** July 27, 2011, 06:48 AM »

@tsaint -

wraith808 · « **Reply #67 on:** July 27, 2011, 03:16 PM »

Just to be clear, I carefully phrased my post because I'm quite unrabid, maybe through indolence, maybe through rugged individualism. I clearly said it's a rival...the list was evidence of that. My point 1 addressed MY preference and why.
My post didn't seem worth getting excited about really.. this isn't a zdnet type forum after all.
-tsaint (July 27, 2011, 12:14 AM)

I wasn't getting excited by your post (which was the reason for the

) in there. It's just that list is the same one circulated for a while, and a list of features isn't an argument, at least IMO. It's useability and what's useful to you, which is where my buying into it the first time before I had actually used it was a factor. So in the same manner that your post wasn't anything to get excited about, I wasn't getting excited.

And I'm not sure where the zdnet forum bit comes from...

tsaint · « **Reply #68 on:** July 27, 2011, 07:07 PM »

It's good that no one's excited. The zdnet forum reference comes about because
a. zdnet is probably fairly well known so a fair proportion of those reading my post would be aware of the site
b. on an almost daily basis, news pertinent to apple/tablets/ipads/androids appears, resulting in an almost daily ritual of interplatform warfare in their forums.
And regardless of what the news might be, you will find Micro$oft (sic), M$, "walled garden", coolaid, fanboi, "apple hater" used.

xtabber · « **Reply #69 on:** July 27, 2011, 09:12 PM »

Found a good short overview over current Android tablets:

14 best Android tablets in the world

and in the first comment the amazing:

http://www.android-tablet-comparison-world.com/

-phitsc (July 26, 2011, 08:38 AM)

Here's one none of them mention yet but that looks promising: the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet. Supposedly available within the next few days starting at $499.

Similar in many respects to the Toshiba Thrive in terms of size and connectivity (full size USB host, HDMI out, connector for a dock with or without a keyboard). Some interesting touches, like a pen digitizer (and a slot to store the pen) to write on the screen, which is made of Gorilla Glass, and physical Android navigation buttons .

It looks like there is a split developing in the Android table market. Computer manufacturers like Toshiba and Lenovo (and possibly also eventually ASUS and Acer) are looking to compete with Apple in the tablet market much as they compete with it in the laptop market, that is, offer more functionality for the same or less money, and ignore the cool factor. Mobile phone manufacturers (Motorola, Samsung, LG), on the other hand, look to compete with the iPad much in the way they compete with Apple in the mobile phone market, by trying to impress with their cool designs.

Edvard · « **Reply #70 on:** July 27, 2011, 09:54 PM »

Ooh, I like this one: the Bento Box Laptop hybrid...

http://www.yankodesi...-kinda-like-voltron/

Android would be a good fit for it; although it's vaporware for the moment, I think it's a sound concept.

Deozaan · « **Reply #71 on:** July 27, 2011, 11:53 PM »

A 1 TB SSD? That alone would cost something like $2,000!

SKA · « **Reply #72 on:** July 28, 2011, 12:23 AM »

Asus Padfone: (phone+tablet)

http://www.engadget....s-announced-padfone/
http://www.youtube.c...ture=player_embedded

Ska

phitsc · « **Reply #73 on:** July 28, 2011, 02:15 AM »

… the 10.1 is not available (at least not in Europe).
-phitsc (July 26, 2011, 10:39 AM)
Should be available in the UK pretty soon, so it's getting closer.
-TheQwerty (July 26, 2011, 11:48 AM)
In Holland, Vodafone has the 10.1v (branded for Vodafone, but the 'fat' 10.9 mm version) available (isn't that available in all the Vodafone countries?), but the new (and thinner, 8.6 mm) 10.1 will only be available somewhere around August/September, AFAIR.
Big disadvantage of the 10.1 is it has a mere 3 mpx camera, opposed to the 10.1v 8 mpx camera. That is going to save you some storage, but cost you image quality I presume.
-Ath (July 26, 2011, 04:58 PM)

Same in Switzerland. Current estimation for the 32 and 64 GB Models is end of August. But in what quantities?

Concerning the camera: In a tablet I'll go with an inferior camera in favour of a thinner and lighter device.

wraith808 · « **Reply #74 on:** July 28, 2011, 07:54 AM »

Asus Padfone: (phone+tablet)

http://www.engadget....s-announced-padfone/
-SKA (July 28, 2011, 12:23 AM)

That looks decently interesting and similar to the one from AT&T. But more interesting is the attractive woman with stickers directly on her artfully exposed flesh (?)