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Android Tablets
zilspeed - 26/11/10 at 03:52 PM

Not the kind of tablet you take for your medication.

Anyone tried one / got one.

Considering one as a Christmas present for someone.

Probably a 10.2" Android 2.1 version.

eznfrank - 26/11/10 at 05:00 PM

Which tablet in particular? I'm writing this on a Dell Streak, which is around 5" but plenty big enough for what I want. It runs Android also which is great, no probs at all. Some of them can be used as phones too (inc Dell Streak) which is a bonus but you do feel a bit like Dom Jolly holding it up to your ear. Other than that no issues at all. Pretty good for web browsing and not bad for videos and music.

[Edited on 26/11/10 by eznfrank]

DanP - 26/11/10 at 09:37 PM

I have an iPad and it's excellent, 10" screen great software, loads of apps, a little heavy though if I'm honest

I used a galaxy tab last week with a 7" screen and to be honest was pretty disappointed with it, if you want an android tablet wait until 2.3 or 3.0 android comes out - that's when the proper 10" android tablets will be around, all the big manufacturers are waiting till early next year to release their tablets.


HTH
Dan

tegwin - 26/11/10 at 10:29 PM

Can you get one of the basic small tabs and run windows 7 or ubuntu on it rather than android??

ChrisW - 26/11/10 at 11:26 PM

We've got a couple of Samsung galaxy's in the office. I like the size - they fit in the pockets in my combats for example - but usability wise my iPad kicks the crap out of them.

Using iPad now. I was worried when I got it that I'd be bored of it quick, but the opposite is the case. I use it every day.

Chris

craig1410 - 27/11/10 at 01:04 AM

Replying from my iPad just now and there is still nothing on the market which can compete with it. Current android os is not designed for tablets and it shows. Also, other tablet makers can't compete on price which might surprise some of the Apple haters out there. This is the reason for the 7" displays on the likes of the galaxy tab. Apple have got huge economies of scale, especially with displays and flash ram. Battery life is superb too.

If you want a tablet now then it has to be an iPad. If you wait 6 months for some worthy competitors then the ipad2 will be out so it will be ahead of the pack again. Apple have stolen a march once again just like they did with the iPhone. You'd think the competition would have learned a lesson last time but it seems they didn't...

zilspeed - 27/11/10 at 07:47 AM

Thanks for the replys folks.

Regarding the OS, I believe it's pretty much embedded in the tablets I was thinking of.

Regarding the Ipad, I've had a go and agree with all said, great bit of kit and the rest don't compete really.

However.

Budget not Ipad sized.

craig1410 - 27/11/10 at 09:19 AM

If budget won't stretch to iPad, how about iPod Touch? Almost the same screen resolution with the retina display, and many of the same features and apps. My son has one and loves it. I'd sooner give someone an iPod touch just now than a half baked android tablet. Nothing against android but it's just not ready to do tablets properly yet and could be a potentially frustrating and disappointing experience.

Craig.

Jasper - 27/11/10 at 11:55 AM

Or how about a net book? I've just ordered an Acer Aspire for £220 delivered so I can keep in touch with my business when I'm away and as it runs Windows 7 it'll be easy to sync everything up, 8 hour battery and under a kilo weight.

orton1966 - 27/11/10 at 01:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by craig1410
Replying from my iPad just now and there is still nothing on the market which can compete with it. , other tablet makers can't compete on price which might surprise some of the Apple haters out there.

If you want a tablet now then it has to be an iPad. If you wait 6 months for some worthy competitors then the ipad2 will be out so it will be ahead of the pack again. Apple have stolen a march once again just like they did with the iPhone. You'd think the competition would have learned a lesson last time but it seems they didn't...


Firstly I’m no Apple hater, I even have an I phone but I do struggle sometimes with the Apple fan club.

Firstly Apple products are almost always technologically conservative, the I-pad being a case in point, spec wise it has nothing that a sub £300 net book offers. Likewise the original I-phone had nothing spec-wise over its competitors.

What Apple do better than anyone is make their products beautiful and incredibly tactile, they make their user interfaces intuitive and have totally nailed the update/install model. You register with the I/App store when you register the product and from that moment on new ‘app’s’ are a couple of screen taps away. This is what made the I-pod an instant success before this there were plenty of good mp3 players BUT you needed to be a little bit geeky, using software on your PC to rip and mp3 compress music from CD’s, suddenly the world and his mum could download music, Likewise the I-phone, it wasn’t a better phone but it was beautiful, tactile and intuitive to use and yes there was the app store making it fun and easy to add new software to your phone. I’m guessing the I-pad is more of the same.

A lot of tec-savy people can’t see the benefit of (in theory) Apples behind the curve technology but they are the people who will install patches and persevere with setting changes etc. to get new software working on other platforms. Here lies the truth most people don’t need to be at the cutting edge of technology for them easy to use, hassle free and fun is more important Apple plays well to these people hence their success in the market place

Ninehigh - 27/11/10 at 09:16 PM

I don't know what you lot see in them. Tried one in phones4poo or whatever shop it was, and the bloody thing kept asking me to draw a pattern then kicked off that it was the wrong one! Couldn't get it to do anything, and none of the shopworkers said squat when I proclaimed why it was a bag of s**te

jossey - 27/11/10 at 09:49 PM

I have a few.

They are good I you get one with new firmware.

They are good but not as good as ipads. Really impressed with the wifi for net use.

And used it on my cruise for movies, house n
Music.

Best one I've seen is the wiipad.

Wiipad.us I think.

7" a little small.


Dave

craig1410 - 27/11/10 at 11:21 PM

quote:
Originally posted by orton1966
Firstly I’m no Apple hater, I even have an I phone but I do struggle sometimes with the Apple fan club.

Firstly Apple products are almost always technologically conservative, the I-pad being a case in point, spec wise it has nothing that a sub £300 net book offers. Likewise the original I-phone had nothing spec-wise over its competitors.

What Apple do better than anyone is make their products beautiful and incredibly tactile, they make their user interfaces intuitive and have totally nailed the update/install model. You register with the I/App store when you register the product and from that moment on new ‘app’s’ are a couple of screen taps away. This is what made the I-pod an instant success before this there were plenty of good mp3 players BUT you needed to be a little bit geeky, using software on your PC to rip and mp3 compress music from CD’s, suddenly the world and his mum could download music, Likewise the I-phone, it wasn’t a better phone but it was beautiful, tactile and intuitive to use and yes there was the app store making it fun and easy to add new software to your phone. I’m guessing the I-pad is more of the same.

A lot of tec-savy people can’t see the benefit of (in theory) Apples behind the curve technology but they are the people who will install patches and persevere with setting changes etc. to get new software working on other platforms. Here lies the truth most people don’t need to be at the cutting edge of technology for them easy to use, hassle free and fun is more important Apple plays well to these people hence their success in the market place


You might be surprised to learn that I'm an IT Consultant and, more importantly, a long time PC advocate. I've been building or upgrading my own machines for 30 years and switched to the mac just 3 years ago so I consider myself to be in a good position to judge the merits of Apple's approach, an approach which has a changed so much in recent years that you can basically forget everything before 2006.

Firstly, Apple aren't conservative in the slightest, they simply recognise that a PC's success isn't simply a function of CPU GHz or GPU triangles per second. As a fellow Locostbuilder, I don't need to tell you that sticking a Chevy V8 in a Locost with no consideration for brakes or chassis strength or cooling or handling would be a disaster. Apple is like the Porsche of the computer world, they are not cheap but they are exceptionally well engineered. They also strike a fantastic balance between usable performance, power consumption and noise levels. Also if you need serious performance then you can buy Mac Pro machines which are some of the fastest PCs you can buy today. Even GPUs are right up there with the best and display technology is top rate (S-IPS LCD technology). I've taken a number of Macs apart for upgrades and repairs and they are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside.

Something which is different is Apples approach to product enhancements. Basically most products get refreshed every 6 months and usually this means a bit more speed and memory and disk size for the same price. So depending on when you buy you can get a better or worse spec comparatively. PC buyers see this as bad but in actual fact it makes product selection clearer (no myriad of subtly different models) and means that your new purchase isn't obsolete within a week and resale values hold up very well as a result. This higher resale value more than makes up for initial purchase price being higher and result in lower cost of ownership. They also have a limited but clearly defined selection of product lines. Again many PC people see this as reducing choice but in practice it clarifies purpose and makes choice easier.

Finally, "easy" isn't a bad thing! I for one really like "easy"! It let's me ignore the computer and focus on the task at hand. The ins and outs of computers became mundane for me many years ago I'm sorry to say. I've been building PCs since the 8086 era and there was a time when this was a great way to get value for money with the hardware but these days hardware is ubiquitous and the focus is on the software now. Apple and Google are simply doing a better job of this transition than the likes of Microsoft, and other companies (eg. Dell, HP, Lenovo) have relied on Microsoft for so long that they are also now struggling to move forward.

To me, these are interesting times and I firmly believe that the iPad is the first example of a new breed of device which will become the defacto "PC" for most of us ithe coming years. We will still have desktop computers for heavy processing and large screen use and we will still have traditional laptops for those who need desktop power on the move but iPads and the like will take over completely from netbooks and most other general purpose computing. This is only the start...

I've built a Locost V8 and love it but I wouldn't want to drive it to work every day. It isn't comfortable enough, has minor cooling issues, is noisy, isn't energy efficient and requires continual updates... My Toyota Aygo doesn't suffer from any of these issues (or sticky throttle pedals...) and is reliable and has excellent customer service. Maybe I should rename it iGo as it is very much like my iMac in many ways...

Cheers,
Craig.