Geekhackery: Tablet Specs

A bit of light trollery in a forum thread sent me off to do some research to line up tablet options and specs -- with an eye towards use as an aid for tabletop gaming.

The line that send me off to do some research was encouraged us to "look at the specs for ourselves" -- and I thought, well, all righty then, lets take a look. No sense always shooting from the hip when I say thinks like "iPads are like butterscotch pudding: sweet, smooth, and all around creamy."

Ahem. Anyway, here goes:

[table="width: 500, class: grid, align: center"]
[tr]
[td][/td]
[td]Apple iPad 16 Gig Wifi[/td]
[td]Google Nexus 10[/td]
[td]Microsoft Surface with Windows RT[/td]
[td]Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9"[/td]
[td]Rad. Gnome's initial Reactions[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Processor (with Passmark benchmarking score)[/td]
[td]Dual-core Apple A6x with quad-core graphics
(passmark score: 1352)[/td]
[td]Dual-core 1.7Ghz Samsung Exynos (passmark score: 4041)[/td]
[td]Quad-core nVidia Tegra 3 (passmark score: 2032*)[/td]
[td]Dual-core 1.5Ghz OMAP4470 (passmark score: 2549)[/td]
[td]Surprised the iPad scored low here -- it doesn't feel like it's performance suffers. See below[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Screen Resolution[/td]
[td]2048x1536[/td]
[td]2560x1600[/td]
[td]1366x768[/td]
[td]1920x1200[/td]
[td]Surprised the Surface is so low.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]OS[/td]
[td]iOS[/td]
[td]Android 4.2[/td]
[td]Windows RT[/td]
[td]Android 4.0 (highly customized)[/td]
[td]This is the crux.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]RAM[/td]
[td]1 G[/td]
[td]2 G[/td]
[td]2 G[/td]
[td]1 G[/td]
[td]Hm. Makes me want to sit down with a Nexus 10 and a Retina iPad and see how they feel. [/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]APP Store[/td]
[td]Apple APP Store(800,000 apps)[/td]
[td]Google Play Store (700,000 apps)[/td]
[td]Windows Store (135,000 apps)[/td]
[td]Amazon App Store[ (3583 apps)[/td]
[td]Wow. (see below)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]USB Input[/td]
[td]No[/td]
[td]Micro USB[/td]
[td]USB 2.0[/td]
[td]Micro USB[/td]
[td]Not sure this matters. Cloud options and bluetooth are making this a non-issue[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]HDMI out[/td]
[td]With Adapter[/td]
[td]Micro-HDMI[/td]
[td]No[/td]
[td]Micro-HDMI[/td]
[td]A feature I value in my iPad.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]VGA out[/td]
[td]With Adapter[/td]
[td]no[/td]
[td]no[/td]
[td]no[/td]
[td]as above. This is a feature I really value in my iPad. I'd miss it. [/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]WiFi[/td]
[td]80211.a/b/g/n
802.11n on 2.4 and 5 Ghz[/td]
[td]802.11 b/g/n[/td]
[td]802.11 a/b/g/n[/td]
[td]Dual-band WiFi (MIMO) 802.11 b/g/n[/td]
[td]Meh. Not much distinction here. I do know from personal experience that the Kindle's dual band does make a big difference using weak signals.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Battery Life[/td]
[td]up to 10 hrs[/td]
[td]9 hours[/td]
[td]up to 8 hours[/td]
[td]10 hours[/td]
[td]These are advertised numbers: might be a bit inflated on all counts[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Price[/td]
[td]$499[/td]
[td]$499[/td]
[td]$499[/td]
[td]$299[/td]
[td]All the same price? That's convenient![/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

*The passmark score for the Microsoft Surface's nVidia Tegra chip is based on it's use in the Asus Nexus 7; I was not able to find a score for the Tegra as it performs in the Surface. All other scores represent the chips in their specific devices.

You could take umbrage with a lot of the choices I've taken to put this comparison together. For one thing, I'm trying to do my best to compare equivalent device choices that you can make for roughly the same price (with the exception of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, which is a whole lot less expensive, and it shows).

There are some hidden differences, too. For example, the OS for the Surface takes up a surprisingly large chunk of the onboard memory (the 32g Surface RT has only 15g of available memory out of the box)

So, the idea behind the comparison I'm making here is what could you get on the different devices for the same money.

There's obviously a lot of other options. My iPad choice was the newest retina display option, but at the lowest memory size -- for another $100 you can get the 32 gig version. Or you could opt for the iPad 2, earlier version, and pay a little less at the expense of resolution, etc. Similar wiggle potential is available in the other columns -- I could have chosen any number of different android tablet models, or the Windows Surface Pro instead of the RT, but I think these choices give us a rough place to begin an examination.

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Key Points of Interest.

I've cherry-picked a dozen points of comparison from a longer list from a comparison chart on Tablet Nation. I'm trying to focus on the key factors that tabletop RPG players and DM may want to consider. We're so un-photogenic, as a group, I'll assume that no one cares which model has the better cameras, for example.

Some are fundamental -- OS, processor, and so on. It's difficult to make comparisons between the actual processors, but I've provided the Passmark benchmarking scores for some sort of direct comparison.

I'd argue, though, that for the sorts of work we will be doing, processor speed is not going to be much of an issue. We're not playing high-action games or really testing the video/graphic abilities of these devices, so I'd encourage you to not pay too much attention to those passmark scores.

Far more important are some of the other elements I've cited. VGA/HDMI output, for example, opens up a whole host of additional uses for your tablet. VGA is only available on the iPad, but using microHDMI you can output from the Nexus 10 and the Kindle as well.

App Store and App Counts

In the end, I think this is one of the most critical points of comparison. I new all along that my Kindle was showing me only a small subset of the apps available through the broader android channels, but I really had no idea how big a difference there was until I looked it up. 700,00 vs 3600? That's .5% of android apps make it through the Amazon filters.

Also note: App counts are what's available in the stores, not what's appropriate for the devices: both android and apple counts include apps that are designed for phones rather than tables. I know that the app count for iPad apps is around 300,000, but I wasn't able to find the equivalent number for android.

Also Also note: Remember that the android market does not have any sort of control or curation that I'm aware of, while Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft clearly have controls over what's available. So the Android app count is inflated by a flood of apps that would not have made it through similar filters in the other platform ecosystems.

The Bottom Line

Hey, I'm not here to tell you what to buy. I'm an apple fan, an amazon fan, and I'm not a hater of android or microsoft tablets. For me, the important factors are the availability and quality of apps, the ways the device can be used to facilitate gaming, and factors like battery life that allow the device to keep up with me during a long gaming day.

The kindle is attractive for it's low price point -- you get a lot of device for nearly half the price. But it's important to keep in mind that the kindle is there to sell you amazon's digital content -- books, movies, music, whatever. There are other apps, and you can do some things with it, but when you start to use it for things other than books, movies, or music, you really start to feel the stress on the system. So, while I'd recommend it (or it's little cousin) in a heartbeat for someone looking for a device for books, movies, and music, I don't think it's the right device for a gamer to use for gaming.

Of the other three, it's my opinion that -- at least for now -- the App ecosystem for the iPad is an incredibly important factor. This disparity is changing, but for the useful life of whatever device you choose (probably 2-3 years) the android market's offerings for tabletop gamers will probably not surpass those in those in the apple store. Someday, in all likelihood, that will be different, but for now, I think iPad wins on that point.

A big unknown to me there is the Microsoft app store -- I just don't know if there's much in there at all for tabletop gamers. The big advantage they have is that their platform will actually run most of the web services and software that apple users need a special app to access. So, the lack of apps may not be a big deal. [Note: It's pointed out by @Arravis in the comments below that the Surface RT won't run all windows applications; the DDI tools are web-based, so I would hope that they would work, but I have no way of testing it. See the comments below for more thoughts on this.]

Other selling points -- screen resolution -- may not be a huge factor for our needs. If I were shopping for a gaming tablet on a budget, I'd certainly not consider that an important criteria. So, the surface's low resolution in this comparison is perhaps a non-issue.

There are plenty of other articles you should take a look at as you consider your options. One in particular is "An iPad user tries the Microsoft Surface Pro. The writer has recently tried to work only on his iPad (using his iPad as a notebook replacement), and having come out of that experience with mostly good feelings about the iPad, he gives the surface a try.

It's well worth reading -- he was able to play Guild Wars 2 on it (there's a screenshot) which is impressive, but his experience with the Pro's battery life was pretty crippling. Anyway, give it a read. You might also like these articles:

• On Digitaltrends: iPad vs. Surface Pro and iPad vs Nexus 10 vs Surface RT
• On Techspot: Tablets of 2013
• On CRN.com: Head-to-Head: Microsoft Surface Pro vs. Apple iPad 4

The most important takeaway from my own examination and the articles I've been reading to research this is the idea that there really isn't a single, *best* platform. With so many different needs and expectations, each individual user is going to have their own best choice.

So, what do you think? What are the most important factors when you evaluate a choice like this? Performance? Memory? Avaialble software? Price? What else?

 

[Mallus]

If you're looking at it in comparison to other tablets, that point of comparison seems shocking (because when you buy a 32g iPad, you get most of that 32g for storage).

My 3rd gen. 32GB iPad has 5-6GB more available storage than a 64GB Surface Pro (28-29 vs. 23).

I don't consider myself an Apple fanboy (use a PC at the office and a PC laptop at home). My Apple experience is limited to pods, phones, and recently, pads. That said, if I were in the market for a tablet now, I'd get a full-sized iPad. The Nexus is fine choice, but I personally prefer iOS to Android. And go bigger --ie not a mini or 7'-- the extra screen space really helps w/gaming PDFs.

In the end, specs don't mean much. Real-world performance does. Even my --supposedly somewhat under-powered-- 3rd gen iPad is plenty quick in everyday use.

I'd stay away from Surface. The trick with tablets is having the largest number of apps specifically written for them. This is where Apple shines (with their smaller number of production models coupled with a large user base). I don't see any indication that Surface is going to catch on enough to warrant the continuing development of good software custom-designed for its form factor. It doesn't really matter if it'll run any/most Windows 8 applications -- it's matters if it'll run them well given the advantages & limitations of a tablet.

 

[Umbran]

I don't see any indication that Surface is going to catch on enough to warrant the continuing development of good software custom-designed for its form factor. It doesn't really matter if it'll run any/most Windows 8 applications -- it's matters if it'll run them well given the advantages & limitations of a tablet.

I think this is part of Microsoft's strategy - if you have the OS spanning several device types, you don't need on device to catch on, you need the OS to catch on.

Scuttlebutt is that with the next release, Windows 8 is going to allow users to skip the Metro interface if they want. That should help drive adoption of the OS in the business and home-laptop sectors. With that, there's more call to develop for the OS - and a chunk of that will bleed over into the Surface ecology.

 

[Mallus]

Scuttlebutt is that with the next release, Windows 8 is going to allow users to skip the Metro interface if they want. That should help drive adoption of the OS in the business and home-laptop sectors. With that, there's more call to develop for the OS - and a chunk of that will bleed over into the Surface ecology.

Yeah, it might not be such a good idea to dismiss Surface out-of-hand. We're in the early part of Microsoft new strategy, and they certainly have the money to throw at it -- and whatever happens, it's not the same situation as a project like Zune...

Still, Surface's big selling point is it's a "full-fledged PC' in a tablet form. But that's not as simple as having the right specs... it's contingent on developing the apps that feel/work right in that form factor. MS will put the effort into making them. The question remains how many 3rd party developers will, given the less-than-stellar start for Surface, and the fact it's a market with 2 dominant players already (and app ecologies defined by low price points -- very different from MS's core lines of expensive productivity software).

It's a tricky space, and I don't pretend to be an expert on it. But like I said, if I were buying a new tablet now, I'd go with an established ecology, rather than be an early-adopter of MS's new thang.

 

[Umbran]

Yeah, it might not be such a good idea to dismiss Surface out-of-hand.
...
It's a tricky space, and I don't pretend to be an expert on it. But like I said, if I were buying a new tablet now, I'd go with an established ecology, rather than be an early-adopter of MS's new thang.

Oh, certainly, for immediate use for this specific purpose, between the high cost and current low-app availability, Surface is not a great choice. I was more musing on how they may have a route to become a decent choice in the foreseeable future. I expect MS is thinking less about "Surface is a tablet" and more of "Surface is the thing that will eventually replace laptops".