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Android tablets to rival iPad
Darwin:
I think Rio vs iPod probably boils down to marketing, marketing, marketing and the iPod's wheel. Which indirectly means that it came down to Apple's deep pockets and their position, even then, as being GUI innovators and builders of high quality hardware. They also had a huge Apple fanboy PC userbase to market the iPod to. To make a rather weak comparison, this is like Archos marketing first the Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet (with Archos' own linux based OS on it) in 2008 and the Archos 5 Internet Tablet (Android OS) in 2009. Few people paid the slightest attention. I think that if either device had been marketed as the "iPod Touch GPS" by Apple they would have sold like hot cakes and garnered fabulous reviews. Of course, there are other factors involved: having the capital to produce the things in sufficient numbers to get them onto shelves, initial releases were rather buggy, and zero marketing...
Of course, it didn't hurt that they were flogging aa decent, well reviewed product.
xtabber:
It looks like there will be a flood of Android 3.0 tablets using a 10.1" 1280x800 pixel form factor coming to market within the next 6 months or so. Acer, ASUS, Motorola, Samsung, Toshiba and Viewsonic are the big name brands that have demonstrated working models to date, and there will probably be lots of smaller players as well.
This form factor provides 30% more screen area than the iPad, but many of these devices also sport features to make them more compelling choices, such as removable flash storage, swappable batteries and HD video output.
The only one that seems to have a price tag as of now is the Motorola Xoom at $800 plus a Verizon contract, which seems ridiculously high to me, but I'd expect more competitive pricing by summer, when there will be many choices.
superboyac:
It looks like there will be a flood of Android 3.0 tablets using a 10.1" 1280x800 pixel form factor coming to market within the next 6 months or so. Acer, ASUS, Motorola, Samsung, Toshiba and Viewsonic are the big name brands that have demonstrated working models to date, and there will probably be lots of smaller players as well.
This form factor provides 30% more screen area than the iPad, but many of these devices also sport features to make them more compelling choices, such as removable flash storage, swappable batteries and HD video output.
The only one that seems to have a price tag as of now is the Motorola Xoom at $800 plus a Verizon contract, which seems ridiculously high to me, but I'd expect more competitive pricing by summer, when there will be many choices.
-xtabber (February 14, 2011, 09:38 PM)
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I'm excited about all of those!
xtabber:
Rumors are circulating that Toshiba, Dell, Acer and HTC will all be shipping 10" Android 3.0 tablets in June, priced between $449 and $549. ASUS is also expected to bring out a 10" Android 3.0 tablet with a slide out physical keyboard, priced at $400! If true, there will be some serious alternatives to the iPad by summer.
Also, PCWorld has an article comparing the iPad to the Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom: http://www.pcworld.com/article/222147/which_tablet_works_best_apple_ipad_2_vs_motorola_xoom_vs_samsung_galaxy_tab.html#tk.hp_fv . No real surprises, but it reinforces my negative feelings about the Apple iTunes environment, which is the biggest reason I have long avoided Apple music players and handheld products.
The Toshiba tablet seems particularly promising to me because it makes a point of addressing one of the major issues I have with most of the handheld devices out there, lack of connectivity options. In addition to a mini-USB port, WiFi and Blutooth, it has a standard USB port (which one can supposedly use to transfer data from any USB 2.0 device), a full-sized SD card slot, and an HDMI port. It also has a replaceable battery (for "screwdriver-savvy" users, according to Toshiba). I'd guess the question is whether they can keep the weight down with all that built in.
Darwin:
More Android tablets are appearing in bricks and mortar stores around me - of the Android 2.21 variety, so six months old or more - and I have been impressed with the build quality and ease of use. Of course, the price is comparable to the iPad 1 fire prices I'm seeing (16GB Wi-fi only for $400), but still...
This summer/fall should be VERY interesting. Can't wait (note to self: get a job so you can afford some toys this fall!).
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