Interesting new tablet

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by PLUCKYHD

I was wrong they bought blind type whatever that is....err why not just by swype it works.

http://africa.ibtimes.com/articles/6...ng-youtube.htm

I seriously hope google does buy swype... I am not a fan of the virtual keyboard on android, iphone, or even the ipad for that matter (although the ipad is much easier to type on than a phone). My next phone was going to have to have physical keyboard, but since using swype, I actually prefer it over a physical keyboard.

[bcjenkins]

Originally Posted by PLUCKYHD

I would argue without apple you wouldnt have the touchscreen smart phones

Perhaps the argument is that we wouldn't have had the explosion of better refined experiences. The first touchscreen smartphone was released in 2000 by Ericsson.

B

[eric3a]

I'm still confused by tablets.
Yeah I want one (for no particular reason other than I'm a geek), and I'm sure my use would be mostly video playing, video downloads via rss feeds, music and web access.
Pretty much how I use my Viliv S5 right now, especially during my very frequent trips.

Many tablets have very small HDs (SSDs to be more correct). The Motorola has 32 GB. 32GB isn't much to store a selection of music, and 720p videos.
I guess if I can copy/paste from an external HD, that might do the trick, but it's cumbersome. I believe I can't do that from the iPad, so that is that for the iPad as far as i am concerned.

Then I already have a 4G dongle (paid by my company for work). It works with all my PCs, and I don't want to end up paying another subscription just to get my tablet online. I use Sprint for my 4G, and I don't see that they support Android. Maybe they never will? So that might limit me to Win7 tablets.

So maybe just continue to wait for a good Win 7 tablet. The Viliv X70 second generation seems on par with what i maybe looking for. Or the Samsung slider they just showed at CES...

Confused enough to just wait it out for a few more months basically...

Eric

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by eric3a

Many tablets have very small HDs (SSDs to be more correct). The Motorola has 32 GB. 32GB isn't much to store a selection of music, and 720p videos.

You're not really supposed to be carrying your whole video library on the thing, though many people will be able to carry their music and photo libraries... For videos, you'd just sync what you are planning to watch or stream it.

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

You're not really supposed to be carrying your whole video library on the thing, though many people will be able to carry their music and photo libraries... For videos, you'd just sync what you are planning to watch or stream it.

or you setup your server to stream music/videos/picture locally or outside the house

[wayner]

Originally Posted by PLUCKYHD

or you setup your server to stream music/videos/picture locally or outside the house

Which is why we need an iPlaceshifter app ASAFP! The mobile web server and AirVideo are okay but they are not ideal, especially when it comes to LiveTV.

iTunes is both the best and worst thing that iDevices have going for them.

iTunes is great for syncing music and videos but at everything else it sucks. In Windows there is no way to just move one photo from your PC to your iDevice - you have to put it in a folder and sync - that is stupid. And moving files for other Apps to your iPad also tends to be kind of painful, Apple should really do something to fix this.

It is amazing how much of a lead Apple has in the tablet space. Other than the Galaxy Tab there is pretty much no competition that you can buy today. And even the stuff coming in the next 6 months is no cheaper, sometimes requires a contract and in many cases has a smaller screen.

I find the iPad ideal as a media consumption device especially when you are sitting on the couch. It is great to be able to check your email, browse the web (like SageTV forums), etc with this on your lap and have the battery last all day. But the iPad is not good for typing - especially when you make a mistake since it is so hard to go back and make corrections - why the iPad doesn't have cursor keys is beyond me!

I have a Kindle2 but I have hardly used it since I got my iPad. The Kindle2 is better as a pure book reader but why bother carrying it around when you can have a device that can do much, much more. But I use the Kindle App on my iPad all the time - too bad you can't get Kindle magazine subs on Kindle for iPad.

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by wayner

Which is why we need an iPlaceshifter app ASAFP! The mobile web server and AirVideo are okay but they are not ideal, especially when it comes to LiveTV.

iTunes is both the best and worst thing that iDevices have going for them.

iTunes is great for syncing music and videos but at everything else it sucks. In Windows there is no way to just move one photo from your PC to your iDevice - you have to put it in a folder and sync - that is stupid. And moving files for other Apps to your iPad also tends to be kind of painful, Apple should really do something to fix this.

Orb does livetv ok.

As for photos that is the one place having a Mac helps. iPhoto syncs great with it and we can chose by date by person however we want to synch with each device. Again not worth buying a Mac just for that but it does work great. In fact iPhoto and imovies are two really really great and easy to use software I love on thie Mac. Windows live photo gallery has come along way as well, but for home movies iMovie is hard to beat.

[eric3a]

You're not really supposed to be carrying your whole video library on the thing, though many people will be able to carry their music and photo libraries... For videos, you'd just sync what you are planning to watch or stream it.

You're right. That's how it's designed for most people.... but I tend to travel a lot so have different needs.
I spend a lot more time in planes (about 400 hours a year) than most people spend commuting to work so storage of sufficient number of videos giving me a good selection is a big point for me. Of course a lot of these hours are spent asleep (luckily!), but it still leaves a lot of sitting around. Battery life is also important, especially in those middle of nowhere airports with no lounge, no plugs and long delays, but less and less so as many more planes now have power at the seat.
Streaming doesn't work in planes and rarely works well in hotels around the world.

My music library alone is around 30GB anyway! But I am fine traveling with "only" 10GB.
My Viliv's 60 GB is barely enough for my use but I can swap videos onto an external HD once in a while. It's a really great little machine that fits in my pocket and doesn't take much space on the tray so it doesn't interfere with the food and the peanuts! I wouldn't mind a more powerful 7' version...

Once in a while I look at the Archos 70 (the latest version not the first one). They make one with a 250GB HD. Shame it's Archos and they're cheap for a reason though.
Can I have an Archos 70 250GB properly made by Samsung or Sony with a great screen?!! I'll pay the premium.

It's interesting to see how differently people end up using the same basic device. Many of the tablet uses mentioned on forums don't appeal to me, and I am sure ny view of a tablet as a glorified PMP doesn't make sense to many.

Eric

[eric3a]

A good write up here on the upcoming Viliv X70 Slate.
Probably the tablet I'll end up with.
Eric

[Helheim]

I just upgraded my iPhone 3GS, that I only had a year, to an Android and couldn't be happier! The email app always "crashed" on my iPhone and was a pain. Can't wait for some of these new tablets to come on the market.

[jedispork]

My girlfriend has become obsessed with tablets. About the only one that works properly out of the box is the ipad. Still she keeps buying these cheap android tablets and expects me to do all these mods etc. For most of them you have to go online and find a custom firmware to get the tablet in a usable condition.

The latest one she picked up was the pandigital from kohls for 40 bucks. They had some kind of super sale and she bought 3 of them. Surprisingly if you find the right directions it can be a very usable tablet but I was not able to get the market working properly. I found the apk for the software we needed anyway.

I dislike apple very much but the ipad is by far the highest quality compared to the android tablets I have been able to play with. It runs smooth and has the most accurate and responsive touch screen. I much prefer a full keyboard and mouse when I'm home. When I'm away I usually don't care about going on the net unless I'm stuck somewhere for a while. Still my girlfriend buys all this stuff and harasses me to get it working for her. I had a hero for my phone and found it to be one of the most annoying pieces of electronics garbage I have ever used.

[mayamaniac]

It's funny that Plucky is an Apple fan boy now.

Don't be loyal to a brand, especially when they don't even pay you. Just use what works. I love SageTV because it is the best for what it does, but if someone makes a better product, I will definitely switch. I have an iPhone also, but by the time my contract ends, I will see what is the best smart phone and buy that, no brand loyalty from me.

For android tablets, this Xoom might be the first good one as it runs Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The Galaxy Tab is decent, but playing around with it, it doesn't seem as refined as the iPad. And the reason has to be that Android 2.2 isn't made for tablets.

[TallMomof2]

I love my Samsung Galaxy Tab. Years ago I started with the Palm Pilot and its clones. Tried an iPod Touch, it was okay but I couldn't type decently on it. Plus, I'm not a huge Apple fan. Tried several of their products but just not for me. I've been using smartphones the last few years with mixed results. Win CE was .... meh. Picked up a used Droid last fall and really bonded with Android. Plus, I had a *real* keyboard. As useful as my beloved Palms but with added bonuses of phonecalls and internet. My only quibble is that the screen is a bit small for my middle aged eyes.

I've tried a few cheap 7" Android tablets (great form factor for my uses) and they were ...cheap. You get what you pay for. Picked up a Galaxy Tab right after Christmas when they went down to $499 at Costco with no Verizon contract. If only the Tab didn't have the phone features disabled I wouldn't even use my Droid. I haven't even picked up my Kindle and I read 3 hours daily! The Tab makes a great eReader.

The 10" form factor is better for watching video but watching video on the Tab is fine, certainly much better than on my Droid.

IMO, the Tab is hands down better than the iPad but I think the iPad is too big and too much part of the walled in garden that is Apple.

[ChaOConnor]

The Xoom FTW in my opinion... I hate saying "iPad killer", but it's the first to directly take a swipe at their share I'd say.

For what it's worth, I just sold my 32 GB iPad WiFi and am flying with just a rooted Nook Color. Seems like a big step backwards, but I couldn't be happier! I love the form factor, the fact it runs everything my Motorola Droid does (faster too...) and it's a great e-reader to boot.

I used to have an iPhone, now I have a Droid.
I used to have an iPad, now I have a Nook Color (Android Tablet in reality)

I will be hard pressed to ever go back to iAnything, until they come out with the next "revolution" (I use that term loosely, but you have to give credit where credit is due).

All in all, it's a very exciting time to be a technology enthusiast.

OBTW, those Acer Win 7 tablets are kind of cool too... not sure about Win 7 tablets, but what the heck, I still have an HP TC1100 that I put Win 7 on... pretty decent little tablet actually.

[Nelbert]

I think Apples biggest strength atm is their strangehold on their platform, which at least makes a consistant os on the devices for both the devs and the users. Personally I don't like Apple kit, but in terms of marketing Style over substance and keeping people in a walled garden the iPod started the steamroller. I doubt the iPad will manage to keep the momentum going past the end of next year though.
Unfortunately in typical Apple fashion V2 is out this year, and no doubt V3 next year. There is only so long they can keep replacing their items like a new seasons fashion accessory and the market will keep paying at current prices.
Androids biggest weakness is the Google endorsed fragmentation which means tablets are arriving with different versions and some shocking build quality. In turn that gives the devs headaches when their app won't work on phone x, tablet y and only partially on device z.
The weakness comes not because users think the £90 tablet is at fault, but because it's sold as an Android Tablet and then gives the impression Android is shoddy. My HTC Desire has more power than many of the tablets that rushed off the shelves in the Xmas swindle.
The indians have a $35 tablet currenly being given out to the education market, but going on-sale to the public later this year. By the end of the year they hope to have the cost down to $10 retail... for the complete tablet
With V3 coming soon and the chinese factories set to put it on anything and everything with or without a keyboard, Chrome is likely to have a shaky future ahead of it if any. You can already get Android tablet cases with USB keyboards build in for a few dollars, so who's going to pay the premium for a netbook with Chrome?

In a couple of years I'd expect Google to have got themselves and their OS sorted, the versions on devices more consistant and for Apple to be playing second fiddle.

[PLUCKYHD]

Apple coming out with a new model every year is no different than every other electronics company out there. New TVs,blu ray players, everything has something "new" each year in their next model. I don't know why you are singling apple out for that. We live in a disposable society and that is the way it is.

[dravenone]

I saw more tablets at CES than I wanted to. I thought the RIM (blackberry) tablet was impressive. Nothing will kill the iPad as nobody else can sell an iOS device, all the android devices will be competeing amongst themselves, folks will get confused with all the opions and buy an iPad.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by dravenone

I saw more tablets at CES than I wanted to. I thought the RIM (blackberry) tablet was impressive. Nothing will kill the iPad as nobody else can sell an iOS device, all the android devices will be competeing amongst themselves, folks will get confused with all the opions and buy an iPad.

Really. Let's look at this compared to the desktop. If what you are saying is true... People today, when they go an buy a desktop are so hugely confused that they just go ahead an buy a Mac. I guess MS is dead... by all this "confusion" around desktops as well.

There is much talk about the the mythical fragmentation in Android. I say mythical, because, for the most part, it's a FUD word, invented by Apple folks that are too blind to see that 'fragmentation' is standard part of technology. I'd fully agree that Android has more variety of devices than iOS, but iOS is still fragmented. You have iOS devices that will not run the latest iOS. You have iOS devices with multiple screen sizes. You have some iOS devices with cameras and some without, some with gps and some withou, etc, etc. Fragmentation exists there as well.

Fragmentation is a good thing, for the most part, for consumers. Because Android devices compete with other offerings, we can expect to see those devices getting better and better, much like we see with desktop computers today. I own a Nexus one. Everyone wrote about how the Nexus one was a 'Failed' product because it didn't ship as many devices as the iphone. It wasn't a failure. It did exactly what needed to happen, which was set the minimum bar for what an android phone should be. Even today, with the Nexus S, I'm not even slightly tempted to buy a Nexus S because the Nexus one phone was such a good phone. Up until the release of the Nexus One we had 'ok' android devices, but since then, there have been some great devices. Fragmentation and competition within the platform is a good thing.

There is talk about how 'Fragmentation' is something new to developers (apparently). Developers, and I mean real ones, not just the fly by night kind that releases an app is gone, has deal with fragmentation and knows how to deal with it. PCs have been fragmented from the start. Game developers have to account for all sorts of desktop configurations, screen sizes, etc, so dealing with this issue isn't something 'new'.

Android, as platform, provides support to allow for multiple configurations and screen sizes. In many cases, it's just handled, but in cases where you need to do something different for a different form factor, the support is there to handle that. The market also takes care of some of this as well. ie, I won't see applications that not compatible with my device.

For those of you that think the 'user experience' is the same across all iOS devices, well, I know you haven't used 4.x on an older iphone. I watched my brother in law use his new, used, iphone 3g, and I was blown away by how sluggish the UI was . He's touch something and then wait a second to two for the app to load. Or he'd go into a setting screen and the transition would stutter as it was doing it. That's not the same user experience I see on the ipad.

People seem to forget that there are iphone 1 and 2 units out there and tons of older ipod touch first gen devices out there. But when you bring up those facts, Apple fans shrug it off as... No one is using those devices and if they are... they should upgrade anyways, so fragmentation is not an issue. I guess the same arguments don't apply to Android??

Yes, Android is more fragmented that iOS. Is it a bad thing? Probably not. It didn't seem to hurt the PC vs Mac marketshare, and I doubt it will hurt Android in the long run either.

BTW, I see you Apple guys are getting wifi hotspot in your next iOS update. That's pretty cool. If you want to send Google a little thank you for that, I'm sure they won't mind. Wifi hotspot (as long as you don't have extra to use it) is a pretty nice feature that I use all the time on my Nexus One. I didn't need to buy a tablet with a 3g data plan, since I just use share it with my Phone. I'm sure in a few months when the Verizon iPhone starts shipping I'll be reading about how innovative Apple was, once again, to include features like wifi hotpot

Competition is good.... for everyone. You probably have a great iphone right now, not because Apple wanted it that way, but because Android pushed the envelope for features, and Apple has to stay current. (and the same goes for Android).

[PLUCKYHD]

I wish we were getting wii hotspot. That is going to be a verizon only app. ;( I won't use verizon here because they suck on my state. Now I get a hotspot already because I might hack it a bit. that being said I didn't know google invited a wifi hotspot

I did get a interesting article the other day from cisco about security issues with the android. Did see that stuckless? Being a IT man that interested me more of course I treat phone using are wifi no different than laptops or any other computer when it comes to security. Still a interesting article.

the Motorola xoom tablet caught my interest running honeycomb. Of course I wont buy that one because I don't like Motorola for crap.

I was disappointed in the lack of windows tablets. I really excepted stupidly and blindly for windows to step up to the plate. WTF was I thinking they stop being bleeding edge years ago and now play in the background.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by PLUCKYHD

I wish we were getting wii hotspot. That is going to be a verizon only app. ;( I won't use verizon here because they suck on my state. Now I get a hotspot already because I might hack it a bit. that being said I didn't know google invited a wifi hotspot

I agree, Google certainly didn't invent it My point is that you guys are seeing cool extras show up on your phone, like mutitasking, wifi hotspot, and even the abilty to change backgrounds, because there really is serious competition to the iphone.

I did get a interesting article the other day from cisco about security issues with the android. Did see that stuckless? Being a IT man that interested me more of course I treat phone using are wifi no different than laptops or any other computer when it comes to security. Still a interesting article.

I'd love to see the article. Unlike ios fanboys... I take security seriously as well, and I'd really be interested to know what the security flaws are. So far I've seen lots of FUD but nothing with real substance. I did read an article that it was possible to install a 3rd party app and bypass permissions (in some cases)? Was this is?

the Motorola xoom tablet caught my interest running honeycomb. Of course I wont buy that one because I don't like Motorola for crap.

Fortunately for me... i buy products based on their value not on their brand So, if motorola makes a cool tablet at a good value, then I'll probably grab one.

I was disappointed in the lack of windows tablets. I really excepted stupidly and blindly for windows to step up to the plate. WTF was I thinking they stop being bleeding edge years ago and now play in the background.

Windows tablets have some appeal, but I'm not sure that will unfold. I've never seen Windows7 on a tablet, so I have no idea how that would perform... and how it would perform with a real time virus scanner running. If a PC is any indication.. then it doesn't look promising