Tablet Computers, which one and why?

I have an iPad 3, a couple other tablets, and a high-end laptop- if all I'm doing is surfing the net or sending emails, I reach for the iPad every time- it has by far the best user interface of any tablet I've tried (and I've tried nearly all of them)- if I'm doing actual work, I will only use the laptop as I would never trust anything important to a tablet, no matter who makes it.

I'm interested in the new Transformer Prime HD- if it ends up being as good as the iPad, then it might be a better choice (imho, anyway, as I prefer the Android platform).

The difference in price from a cheap tablet to a good one is not really that much, so you should dismiss the cheap ones if you plan to use your tablet often- a shitty interface is really frustrating and you'll be sorry later if you bought the device with saving a few bucks in mind.

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

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Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Otherwise you want Android, preferably with v4.0 (ICS).

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Go on then, why?

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Perhaps you should have read the other line in that post.

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iPad if you want to pay for most of your apps, don't want expandable storage, and want to look like a stupid fucking schoolgirl.

So Android is better because the apps are free? and the storage is expandable? (no one will see me using it so looking like a schoolgirl won't bother me. :)

Any other reasons or are those two pretty much it? (They do sound good compared to apps you have to buy, and storage isn't expandable though).


Also all my computers and laptops and netbooks have been windows based, transferring stuff to an apple iPad would be a disadvantage I suspect. Don't know about that with an Android.

Also some of my study will be podcasts, I have an iPod but would like it on the tablet too. Podcasts can be watched on Androids?

CM, it's all down to what you want to do - I checked them all out and played with them all; my undergraduate studies were in electronic engineering (this also covered various s/w courses, RAM, ROM, input/output devices, etc) so I had half an idea what the specs mean...

It just comes down to what you want to use it for. I got a Kindle Touch because I don't want to watch videos on it, don't want to connect to the internet on it, don't want it as a music player; I just want to store lots of books in one place that is very small and portable, can be read anywhere (coffee shops, planes, etc) - it is perfect for that.

People I know with an iPAD 2 love it, but they just send emails, play videos and games, facebook, not much more.

If you want better techonlogy (but not always better build quality...) then the Samsungs are good, but expensive; the expensive ones are very good in all departments, but you're approaching twice the price of an iPad 2 for reasons that may be of no concern to you and you may never use.

If you like a tablet for convenience and style, but want lots of laptop type functionality then the ASUS transformer is the way to go; I've seen them at 16,000 now at Powerbuy, but they are the last of a batch that is about to be superceded, still a good buy though.

You can spend fuk loads, you can spend 35,000 on a phone that becomes a tablet that becomes a netbook and has brilliant screen, memory, processsor and battery life, but if you just play some videos, link to some websites and send some emails then there's no benefit over a 13,500 iTard2.

You should decide what you want it for. Don't forget the Kindle Fire which has has a colour screen can play videos, email, search the web and be a book reader, Barnes and Noble also do one called Nook, but they are primarily sold as book readers so the internet experience will be slower and clunky, the screen is quite small for video, 7", etc. But, they are only $200.

Decide what you want it for then go with the tablet that best matches your requirements, don't be fooled by the latest and greatest specs, especially if they are not linked to your purpose of buying.

From what you outlined, an iPAD 2 at 13,500 is gonna be a good buy, imo. Good luck. :)

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Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

And why does it say iPad's only have 32 or 64GB? That surely isn't storage space

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He needs more power it seems BB. :)

^ He doesn't, he's just got used to hearing the big numbers quoted on Laptops, but they are different devices sold for a different purpose - how much space do you need to run the Winows operating system nowadays???

If you're talking about boomboom, then I don't know, at my age, I've forgotten... :(

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Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Don't forget the Kindle Fire which has has a colour screen can play videos, email, search the web and be a book reader

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I left my iPad at work and picked up my Kindle Fire yesterday for the first time in at least a month- while it's a much cheaper alternative, the interface was really poor (and very frustrating when I was trying to make a post) compared to the iPad- cost aside, there's just no comparison.

The Kindle Fire is primarily a device for delivering and reading/watching media.

It's an Amazon proprietary product for that exact purpose. The fact that you can install apps on it is a bonus, but I wouldn't choose it as a tablet for every day use.

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Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

Also all my computers and laptops and netbooks have been windows based, transferring stuff to an apple iPad would be a disadvantage I suspect. Don't know about that with an Android.

Also some of my study will be podcasts, I have an iPod but would like it on the tablet too. Podcasts can be watched on Androids?

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There are various MS Office apps for Android.

"Podcasts" are usually MP3's so you can play those without problem.

Plus the iPad needs addons for various things, and of course the only one who makes and sells them (at stupid prices) is Apple.

I wouldn't touch one with a shitty stick.

There are plenty of threads in here, including one on tablets, why don't you have a look.

A big plus is getting away from Apple's restrictions with things like DRM, and that godawful fucking iTunes shit.

Viewsonic is fucking great, no complain so far

for surfing, you need Opera, it's awesome

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Originally Posted by Bettyboo

If you want better techonlogy (but not always better build quality...) then the Samsungs are good, but expensive; the expensive ones are very good in all departments, but you're approaching twice the price of an iPad 2 for reasons that may be of no concern to you and you may never use.

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I have to say that when I buy my next tablet in 12-18 months time, I probably will be thinking of a 10" samsung. But then I have lots of little micro-controllers about the place doing stuff and it would be nice to connect to some of them using the bluetooth dongels i put in them.... something apple thinks is utter unreasonable unless you pay them several 10'sk

the entry version of iPad is not a bad compromise in terms of pricing and functions,

but the future belongs to Android, so the iPad is just a throw away little gadget like most apple devices

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Originally Posted by hazz

I have to say that when I buy my next tablet in 12-18 months time, I probably will be thinking of a 10" samsung. But then I have lots of little micro-controllers about the place doing stuff and it would be nice to connect to some of them using the bluetooth dongels i put in them.... something apple thinks is utter unreasonable unless you pay them several 10'sk

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12-18 months is several lifetimes in technology shifts these days. Be interesting to see what choices are revealed at CES 2014!

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Originally Posted by Butterfly

the entry version of iPad is not a bad compromise in terms of pricing and functions,

but the future belongs to Android, so the iPad is just a throw away little gadget like most apple devices

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I used to think that as well, until I talked with a software/app developer.

He said that (from a development standpoint) Android is actually a bitch to program for, due to differences in the various manufacturers systems- basically, he said you don't write an Android app- you write an HTC app, then a Samsung app, then an Asus app, etc- with Apple at least you can reach a huge audience by writing a single app- with tens of millions of iPads sold, the market isn't going anywhere.

^ That's horseshit, otherwise the Market would be full of "HTC", "Samsung" and "ASUS" versions of every app.

He's obviously pretty crap at developing.

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Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

I presume you can just connect your Ext. HDD to those iPad 2's?

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no...

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

^ That's horseshit, otherwise the Market would be full of "HTC", "Samsung" and "ASUS" versions of every app.

He's obviously pretty crap at developing.

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Maybe, but I think he does pretty well for himself.

I'm not a developer, so I can't really comment, and I don't much care one way or the other, but I'm passing along what I heard.

He writes apps for all companies and platforms, and said Android is the biggest pain because all manufacturers roll out their own versions, and what works great for Samsung may not work so well on an HTC- also, he complained about fragmentation in the market, with ICS only having been introduced to less than 10% of handheld devices so far, and he sees some of the big players backing off Android somewhat lately.

You can call it 'horseshit' if you want- maybe it is- I would think insight from someone who actually creates apps for a living would be worth something, though.:)

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Originally Posted by FailSafe

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

^ That's horseshit, otherwise the Market would be full of "HTC", "Samsung" and "ASUS" versions of every app.

He's obviously pretty crap at developing.

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Maybe, but I think he does pretty well for himself.

I'm not a developer, so I can't really comment, and I don't much care one way or the other, but I'm passing along what I heard.

He writes apps for all companies and platforms, and said Android is the biggest pain because all manufacturers roll out their own versions, and what works great for Samsung may not work so well on an HTC- also, he complained about fragmentation in the market, with ICS only having been introduced to less than 10% of handheld devices so far, and he sees some of the big players backing off Android somewhat lately.

You can call it 'horseshit' if you want- maybe it is- I would think insight from someone who actually creates apps for a living would be worth something, though.:)

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I won't dispute the fragmentation issue - that an app written for 2.x or 3.x might not work on 4.x - but it's up to the developer to keep up, as it is for developers on any platform. I wouldn't want to be developing add-ons for Firefox at the moment, for example.

But your previous quote is just a ridiculous generalisation, otherwise there would be separate markets for each manufacturer.

Admittedly, there are problems that come from proprietary hardware on individual devices, and Apple clearly have the advantage on that front as they stick to unified software stack.

But the biggest reason lazy developers don't like Android is because more than half of its apps are free, while Apple's figure is only 25%.

So it's more likely that you have to be a better developer and come up with something innovative in the Android Market if you want to make money, whereas in the Apple world you're more likely up against other developers who charge, making it a more level playing field.

I think Google recognise that there are problems; it's bought Motorola, and I think it's going to try and rein in Android and try to get vendors to standardise a lot more.

If nothing else, they'll save a fortune on fucking patent infringment suits!

:)

^That makes quite a bit of sense to me now having lived with two different android devices for over a year. From device to device I see quirky and unstable characteristics of hardware, OS, and app interface. Even though they both are from the same manufacturer.
Also the android OS seems to go through many incarnations making it seemingly difficult for said manufacturer to keep up with updates and hardware compatibility. Seems like the android is having similar hardware/software compatibilty issues that we saw in the early days of the advent of the Pentium processors.
I'm hoping apple does market a price leader mini ipad. I'd certainly give it a try. Quirky only goes so far.

I've found the most stability by using custom ROMs like MIUI.

I've found the least stability by overclocking slower CPUs to try and run later builds, but to be honest if you do that you're asking for it.

:)

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

But your previous quote is just a ridiculous generalisation, otherwise there would be separate markets for each manufacturer.

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I'll agree with that- I should have made it clearer.

The point is that Android can be a bitch to work on (and reach the same number of potential consumers) as opposed to iOS, and it's a valid concern for the market.

But to get back to the op. He wants to read books and watch vids, So under those circumstances what the difference between a ipad3 and a 10" android?

The android is probably better for video playback
The iPad3 has a better screen for reading books

Beyond that is there really much of a difference that he would see. I don't think he really cares about which platform is harder to develop on?

getting back to the important distractions

The issue with fragmentation and android, is not so much an issue of lazy programmers but one of cost/benefit. each separate target you must develop for is a cost and its a cost that does not make your product look or work better. I am in the process of looking to create a rich client for a tablet and I will admit that I will be initially targeting iOS alone, simply because of the consistency of the hardware base.

With blackberry the fragmentation of the platform, each phone is a different development target, got insane as did the costs of maintaining the code for all those targets. This fragmentation has to be one of the biggest risks to androids future market share and app choice.

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Originally Posted by hazz

The issue with fragmentation and android, is not so much an issue of lazy programmers but one of cost/benefit. each separate target you must develop for is a cost and its a cost that does not make your product look or work better. I am in the process of looking to create a rich client for a tablet and I will admit that I will be initially targeting iOS alone, simply because of the consistency of the hardware base.

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THAT'S what I meant to convey (nicely done, hazz).;)

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Originally Posted by FailSafe

He writes apps for all companies and platforms, and said Android is the biggest pain because all manufacturers roll out their own versions, and what works great for Samsung may not work so well on an HTC

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yep, heard the same thing from devs on Android

don't listen to harryb, he is an Android queen with no clue about what it means to dev for them

all he can do is install or uninstall root ROMs,

Shut up Buttplug, you're a fucking HR clerk, what do you know?

You can't even connect a Windows PC to wifi, you fucking retard.

:smileylaughing:

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Originally Posted by baldrick

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Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

I presume you can just connect your Ext. HDD to those iPad 2's?

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no...

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How does one transfer stuff from a Win 7 Desktop/Netbook to an iPad 2?

Music and vids, PDF and MS Office files etc?