the tablet war is heating up

[Banshee16]

I think we have done very well with this thread. Helping a fellow person who's wife's phone got busted, isn't insane but being decent to another person. I just hope we have been helpful and imformative to those who are concidering or have purchased Tablets. Where else can you get people going out, checking out new tablets and coming back and give there honest opinoin on it. We have avoided the typical apple is better than android or android is better than apple war. Unlike the edition wars we see ruin a good thread.
I don't have any android products but thanks to those who do I have learned what they like and don't like about them. And I and others who have an Ipad have tried to do the same for them.

I think overall, this has been a great thread. Sorry to dominate it with crack talk (sorry for the pun).

Overall, the discussion in this thread has been Shakespeare, compared to the Sesame Street going on on pretty much every tech forum I've visited, to read about tablets.

So, a credit to everyone for respecting each others' opinions.

On tablet talk, most of the reviews of the TouchPad seem pretty much the same....hardware is decent, but bulky. The potential of WebOS is great, because, from an interface design, it is a really great start. But slowness issues (possibly bugs), and a very small number of apps.

Discussion of the fact that HP may license the OS to other manufacturers such as Samsung are rather interesting though. If it starts popping up on other devices, that could create a justification for the development of more apps.

Unfortunately, no tablet has met the iPad 2 in reviews. I'm not sure if that's bias, or if it's just outright better. At the moment, the kings seem to be Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and iPad 2. Of course, the 10.1 is the closest in terms of weight etc....but gives up many of its advantages to accomplish that....no ports, no memory expansion, etc.

Now, with reports that a quad core ASUS EEE Pad Transformer II is on the way this fall....well.....that's food for thought.

Banshee

 

[Fast Learner]

A consistent complaint has been a lack of UI responsiveness, something you hear with many Android tablets and phones, too. It's one of the areas where the iPad really shines and you can see Apple's first-mover advantage: they had years to get that working really well.

 

[Felon]

Unfortunately, no tablet has met the iPad 2 in reviews. I'm not sure if that's bias, or if it's just outright better. At the moment, the kings seem to be Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and iPad 2. Of course, the 10.1 is the closest in terms of weight etc....but gives up many of its advantages to accomplish that....no ports, no memory expansion, etc.

Now, with reports that a quad core ASUS EEE Pad Transformer II is on the way this fall....well.....that's food for thought.

I remember watching CNet's Buzz Out Loud a week or so ago and the topic that came up was a report that the iPad dominated the tablet market by some ridiculously high percentage. Donal Bell, the resident tablet reviewer, mused that he's gotta start giving out some better reviews. I don't think its bias, as a lot of the folks in tech world are getting tired of the guy in the black turtleneck and his tendency towards really crappy responses to issues ("just don't hold it that way"). the iPad just happens to be a pretty cool gizmo.

The challenge for other manufacturers is that beating the iPad in the hardware department means losing in the pricetag arena. Likewise, making a tablet OS that can outperform the iPad (especially in multitasking) means either a less responsive tablet, or a faster processor. The latter not only bumps up the price but also diminishes battery life, and is the main reason we won't be seeing a real Windows contender for at least a year.

And the (Apple) App Store? Man, that is the 800 lb. gorilla. The only reason I don't have an iPad right now is because the thing I mainly want to do with a tablet PC is read Marvel Digital Comics Online.

High hopes for the Amazon tablet. They have enough sense to at least put a Micro SD slot in it, I'll bet. Maybe a real SD or micro USB, and on the high-end Hollywood they could swing a real USB. The thing that encourages me is that for Amazon, the hardware is not the endgame as it is with HP, Samsung, or Motorola. They want you to shop Amazon, and they're loaded enough to do a little loss-leading in order to ensure that.

 

[falcarrion]

I remember watching CNet's Buzz Out Loud a week or so ago and the topic that came up was a report that the iPad dominated the tablet market by some ridiculously high percentage. Donal Bell, the resident tablet reviewer, mused that he's gotta start giving out some better reviews. I don't think its bias, as a lot of the folks in tech world are getting tired of the guy in the black turtleneck and his tendency towards really crappy responses to issues ("just don't hold it that way"). the iPad just happens to be a pretty cool gizmo.

The challenge for other manufacturers is that beating the iPad in the hardware department means losing in the pricetag arena. Likewise, making a tablet OS that can outpace the iPad (e.g. multitasking) means either a slower tablet, or a faster processor. The latter not only bumps up the price but also diminishes battery life, and is the main reason we won't be seeing a real Windows contender for at least a year.

And the (Apple) App Store? Man, that is the 800 lb. gorilla. The only reason I don't have an iPad right now is because the thing I mainly want to do with a tablet PC is read Marvel Digital Comics Online.

High hopes for the Amazon tablet. They have enough sense to at least put a Micro SD slot in it, I'll bet. Maybe a real SD or micro USB, and on the high-end Hollywood they could swing a real USB. The thing that encourages me is that for Amazon, the hardware is not the endgame as it is with HP, Samsung, or Motorola. They want you to shop Amazon, and they're loaded enough to do a little loss-leading in order to ensure that.

I know there is an offical Marvel comics Ipad app. but I'm not sure if thats what your looking for.
As for Android tablets. I don't think we will see one tablet selling as many as the Ipad2. There is going to be so many Android units to choose from. And if you add in the mid range and the low range. The numbers increase twice fold.
This will only lower the number of sales for brands.

 

[Felon]

I know there is an offical Marvel comics Ipad app. but I'm not sure if thats what your looking for.
As for Android tablets. I don't think we will see one tablet selling as many as the Ipad2. There is going to be so many Android units to choose from. And if you add in the mid range and the low range. The numbers increase twice fold.
This will only lower the number of sales for brands.

The point I was covering isn't that the iPad is doing better than any one tablet. Rather, it's dominating the entire market at the 90% marker or better.

Which I'm fine with for the most part. I take pride that I buy products based on their actual merits, not their branding.

I think we will reach a point where smartphones will be what cuts into the iPad market more than other tablets. As I mentioned a few posts ago, HTC is coming out with 4.7" screen Windows smartphone. That's a natural progression from the direction smartphones have been going (4.5 for the Inspire, 4.3 for Thunderbolt, Charge, and several others). Maybe Dell got ahead of themselves with the Streak.

 

[falcarrion]

I see the tablet market and the smartphone market as two different markets.
I don't see any unit with a screen size smaller than 7 being a threat in the tablet market. Right now market leans toward a big screen. From 9 to 10 seems to be the sweet spot for tablets.

 

[Banshee16]

A consistent complaint has been a lack of UI responsiveness, something you hear with many Android tablets and phones, too. It's one of the areas where the iPad really shines and you can see Apple's first-mover advantage: they had years to get that working really well.

Well.....that's kind of a loaded complaint. The performance paradigm has been set by Apple obviously. But one of the ways they do that is by making their UI *simple*. I'm not sure it's even a UI. IMO, descriptions of it being no more than a grid of icons do seem correct to me.

Many of the other tablets seem to be a little bit slower. But.....they do *more* in some ways. With some reviews, it seems that the reviewers will count slower speed against some of these other devices...but then turn around and and ignore the concept that those devices give other abilities.....true multitasking, widgets, etc. etc.

I've tried many of these devices in any case, and these speed differences are very, very minor. One thing I *have* noticed is that some of the Android devices seem to slow down over time, but then be faster after a reboot.

Banshee

 

[falcarrion]

The funny thing about the abilities of a tablet is its limits are set by the manufacturer. for example: the Ipad1 can't mirror it's display. but a jailbroken Ipad 1 can. The true potenial that these units can do is amazing. Basicly almost everything that Ios5 will bring this fall can be done now with a jail broken ipad.

 

[Banshee16]

The funny thing about the abilities of a tablet is its limits are set by the manufacturer. for example: the Ipad1 can't mirror it's display. but a jailbroken Ipad 1 can. The true potenial that these units can do is amazing. Basicly almost everything that Ios5 will bring this fall can be done now with a jail broken ipad.

Do people with iPad 2's and iPhone 4's get to upgrade to the new OS?

I didn't think that the next OS was going to be a big change. I thought it was just a bunch of minor tweaks.

Banshee

 

[falcarrion]

According to the Apple website. iOS5 will include more than 200 new features for your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.
iOS5 is compatible with:
iphone 3gs
iphone 4
ipod touch 3rd gen
ipod touch 4th gen
ipad
ipad 2