Related
After having a bit of time to play with my Xoom, I'd thought I'd tell everyone how I felt about the Xoom and whether you should be think of upgrading from your Galaxy Tab.
Build quality
The Xoom is very will built, all the components are solidly put together - there are no rattles or any bendy bits. That said the extra weight of the tablet is definitely noticeable compared to the Tab, and certainly makes reading while holding the tablet in one hand less comfortable - plus you don't really need the larger screen for this use.
The screen does not go quite as bright as the Tab, and is not so readable in sunlight. Also it attracts fingerprints like moths to a light, after an hour of using it it looked worse than an iPad does after a whole day, though you can't really see the fingerprints while the screen is on.
Software
This is the main part I was excited about - there has been quite a bit of hype surrounding Honeycomb. Sadly, IMHO, quite a bit of it is just hype -- the main changes are in the home screen and the task/notifications bar. Both of these work really well, the 3D carousel effect when turning pages of the Home screen is really smooth, and the new notification system works really well giving you a system which works quite like a desktop. Sadly you can't pinch the screen to show all of your desktops at once.
The rest of it though, it is pretty buggy. The settings app and gmail apps have force-closed on me a number of times - these are pretty important parts of the OS and so it's seriously disappointing to see them not quite finished. The Facebook app seems to work for a few mins then crashes and won't work until I restart the device.
The browser is very nice, with proper tabs (and incognito tabs!), but if you dare to switch on Flash 10.2 all the time then the whole thing is no faster than the Tabs browser with Flash enabled -- in fact it's quite possibly worse than my Tab with an OC kernel and the latest leaked ROM.
But main problem is - where is the software? Google made much issue about Android 2.x not being fit for tablets but the truth is all they've mostly done is what Samsung did - the email app now has one pane with a list of your emails in and another showing the content of your email. It's the same with the other apps, nowhere is there an incredibly large difference in functionality between the modified Samsung apps and the new Honeycomb ones.
Sure you get a film editor app, but that was pretty much put in to grab a bit of press after Apple put iMovie on the iPad - I'm sure most people, me included, would prefer a decent photo editing/retouching app more than a pretty basic video editing one.
No free, Xoom optimized apps with the device or a store for them like you get with Samsung.
And then we get to media playback, or rather, the almost complete lack of it. So you've just bought a nice new tablet that will play "HD". Like to play your MKV on it? Nope. AVI? Nope. Xvid? Nope. DivX? Nope. WMV? Nope. MP4 and MP4 only (to the point where you have to rename M4V files to MP4 to make them work even though they are the same thing but with a different extension). Yes I know I can use RockPlayer etc but this simply isn't as good as native support. If Archos could afford it the Moto sure can.
That might not be so bad if there was a store like the Samsung Movies Store or iTunes where I could buy or rent a movie in a compatible format. Except this being a "Google Experience" device there are no apps apart from the few that Google put on there (and aside from film studio that's just upgraded standard Android apps). So you have a tablet that doesn't support that vast majority of media formats used by the largest desktop OS; I feel justified in saying that is a slight fail -- is Youtube supposed to be my entire source of entertainment? It's not like you can call the quality of most Flash videos on the web HD.
The one upside is the tegra 2, and all the nice games it will let you play. Except there are only a couple at the moment, and if the Tegra Zone app is to be believed, most of them won't be out for another couple of months. That said the few that are available are very nice, and run perfectly smooth.
Overall
Overall I'd give the Xoom 7/10. It's good, and the first Honeycomb tablet, but I think it will probably not be in the top 5 come the end of the year.
I can understand some people might buy it over others on the promise of slightly quicker updates, but I'm seriously considering taking mine back and waiting for the Tab 8.9, I have a few more days to play around with it before I decide. Sure it will have customized interface so it might not get updates as quickly, but actually it will do much more out of the box than the Xoom does, and it will still probably do more than the Xoom will even after the Xoom has received an update.
I used to be someone who bought plain Android devices on the basis that they quicker updates (have an NS, had an N1, etc), but a lot of the time it makes little difference. Google doesn't actually release updates often enough anymore for that to be much of an issue, and in some cases these days manufacturers have actually made things better than Google did (e.g. the standard browser in the Galaxy S on 2.2 is far better than the stock browser on a Nexus S on 2.3).
Sadly in this case the bad experience reflects badly on Motorola even though it isn't really their fault - they've had nothing to do at all with the software. At the same time that is their fault - it's their tablet and if I was head of a Motorola I'd want to make sure the software I was putting my name on did everything I wanted and worked properly - Android manufacturers should stop getting so desperate to compete with Apple and actually focus on the quality of their own products.
So my advice would be wait. And possibly in this case don't let the factor of whether it's a pure Google device affect your decision so much -- Honeycomb is still an infant and it really needs some features added on for a full tablet experience.
* I was completely aware the Xoom would come with no added extras like the Tab did when I bought it. I just thought Google would have put more work into making Honeycomb for great for tablets.
That's a pretty accurate description. I went through 2 XOOM's which I bought once they released the WIFI only model, and my experience was the same if not worse. Lots of potential, but they really missed the mark with that one. The second XOOM had a hardware failure and refused to charge, and since I was pretty let down overall, and that needle thin power adaptor is just waiting to snap off, I got rid of it entirely. I bought my first Galaxy Tab WIFI model Monday from Tigerdirect, got it Wed and have used it since and I absolutely love it.
That's an interesting review.
It surprised me that honeycomb still isnt working perfectly. I thought that they would update it regularly.
The Xoom seemed to me, to be a liitle bit too fast released device.
I also agree that it probably wont be the best in the flow of the year - off course.
I think HTC looks quite promising, if they release a bigger version of their Flyer.
Let's see if the Companies learn from the others - if a company releases later, it always has a lower risk of failing, because it can learn out of the mistakes of the others...
And then we get to media playback, or rather, the almost complete lack of it. So you've just bought a nice new tablet that will play "HD". Like to play your MKV on it? Nope. AVI? Nope. Xvid? Nope. DivX? Nope. WMV? Nope. MP4 and MP4 only (to the point where you have to rename M4V files to MP4 to make them work even though they are the same thing but with a different extension). Yes I know I can use RockPlayer etc but this simply isn't as good as native support. If Archos could afford it the Moto sure can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, x1,000. I own an original iPad, and picked up a T-Mo Galaxy Tab for $100 on Craigslist. Once the wifi Xoom came out, I went to Staples to pick one up.
Disappointment doesn't begin to capture it. Such a lovely screen...why, why, why wouldn't you include a Movies app with the tablet? Videos that played flawlessly on the Tab would stutter and whimper on the Xoom. That's just inexcusable.
I also co-sign everything you said about Facebook; I had the same experience with Seesmic.
I bought it on Friday evening. I returned it on Sunday afternoon. I can handle rough edges with software, but this goes beyond that. And selling it for $600? Yeah...not so much.
That said, I'm keeping an eye on the Asus Transformer; $399 is a sweet price point.
rnoboa said:
That said, I'm keeping an eye on the Asus Transformer; $399 is a sweet price point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're interested, here's my short review of the Transformer, originally posted in the Transformer XDA forum. I do compare it to my Galaxy Tab, so I don't think it's unreasonable to post here!
Regards,
Dave
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I've had my Transformer for 4 full days now, and I've a few comments to make for prospective purchasers.
First of all, a little background - I've had Android phones since the original G1 was released in the US (I was there when it was released), and since then have owned the HTC Hero, the HTC Desire, and now the Desire HD (and a Pulse Mini as a backup device).
I also have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7", which I've been using since October last year and I still think is a fantastic device, so most of my observations on the Transformer (henceforth called the TF) will be in comparison to Galaxy Tab (henceforth called the GT). As an aside, I also have a Toshiba AC100 Android netbook, so I think I have some feel for how the TF will be once the keyboard dock arrives.
Build quality
The TF feels like a really high quality device. I know some people have reported issues with back light bleed etc, but I've had no such issues. The aluminium case is really nice to the touch, as is the back of the device which is a plastic made to look a bit like carbon fibre.
Design - the design is generally really nice, though if I had one criticism it is the size of the bezel is rather large. Additionally, it does feel a little odd holding the device in portrait mode as it comes over as very tall and thin, especially when compared to the GT.
The IPS display is lovely and crisp, though it does seem a little less bright than the display on the GT.
OS and software
This is both simultaneously the best and worst feature that the TF has over the GT. In general browsing use, the TF is much more like a laptop/desktop experience than the GT, and you can see Honeycomb has great potential. However, it does feel very much like an unfinished product.
When the GT first came out, the stock browser was notoriously laggy (fixed in later iterations), and the TF suffers from the same issue - in fact it is worse because whilst the GTs browser was basically just laggy, the TFs browser is laggy and buggy.
Specifically, clicking on links in other applications often causes the browser to pop up, but it doesn't load the new page - this can be fixed by "killing" the browser and restarting it, but it shouldn't be this way. Whilst I much prefer the native browser when it works correctly, I'm now using Opera Mobile for day to day use.
Honeycomb Gmail on the TF is a revelation - it is a far superior client than the client on the GT.
Other minor Honeycomb/TF complaints are:
1. There doesn't seem to be a way to clear all notifications easily.
2. Just getting to the Settings menu is overcomplicated.
3. The keyboards do seem overly large in my opinion, and there don't seem to be enough long press options to get to alternate characters, though I'm aware these are easily replaceable.
4. Overall the TF performance is good, but I don't feel that Honeycomb is taking advantage of the dual core Tegra 2, and thus in general use it doesn't really feel any faster than my single core GT.
Media Playback
This is an easy one - the GT is a better media player than the TF, simply because it natively supports more formats (e.g. DivX).
I'm not unused to transcoding video to H264, as I had to do this often on my earlier Android devices, but with the advent of Cortex A8 class devices with Neon, I found software players like RockPlayer more than acceptable. This does not seem to be the case for the TF, since Tegra 2 doesn't support Neon instructions. However, the AC100 is a Tegra 2 device, and the built-in media player is much better than the stock TF one too, so really I think that Asus should have done more here.
With the TF, I'm back to having to transcode media, and to be honest for the most part that means I'll just my GT instead.
Overall Usage
Here's where it gets interesting!
The TF provides a very different experience to the GT and for the most part it is very enjoyable- when I bought the device, I knew it be mostly be a "coffee table" device, and that the size, weight, and built-in 3G of the GT was going to a distinct advantage over the TF when it comes to travelling.
What I didn't expect is that the GT still holds some advantages at home too.
Put simply, the TF is still too big and heavy sometimes - when I get up in the morning, I usually take my GT off charge and slip it into the pocket of my dressing gown, and this means it goes with me when I go to make a coffee, visit the "office" in the bathroom etc.
Also, late at night, if I want to watch something whilst lying in bed, the GT is simply much more comfortable to hold for any period of time, and coupled with better media support is always going to be the preferred option.
The Future
I don't think it is really fair to judge the TF until the keyboard dock becomes available, because I honestly think this will significant change the nature of the device.
When I first got my AC100, it was running Eclair and to be honest it was pretty rubbish, but it got so much better when Froyo landed.
I can see the TF similarly getting a completely new lease of life once the dock arrives.
Also, Honeycomb does feel like a work in progress, and I'm hoping for regularly updates to this device, which again should improve the experience, along with more Honeycomb specific apps on the market.
Conclusion
I think the TF is a fantastic product and the price is extremely good for what it is. I certainly wouldn't want to put anyone off buying one if they have a genuine interest this form factor. In the UK at least, I think the Xoom has priced itself out of the market massively, which currently leaves the TF as the 10.1" tablet of choice.
The biggest issue for me is that 10.1" tablets are generally too big and heavy, and whilst newer tablets may be lighter, they will still be similarly sized unless they can dramatically reduce the size of the bezel.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9" may well be a better compromise, and I will be looking closely at this once it arrives. However, it won't fit in a jacket pocket, so would still likely just be a coffee table tablet for me.
Ultimately, I think my ideal tablet device would be a 7" form factor device like the GT, similar internal hardware to the TF (dual core, IPS, memory etc), and built-in 3G. Until something like this ships, I think my GT will still be my primary media consumption/browsing device.
Steve Jobs may think that there is no market in 7" tablets, but in my case he's wrong!
Thank you soooo much for the Tab vs Xoom reiew. I was looking at the Xoom a couple weeks ago, but when I saw Sprint marked the Tab down to $199, I bought it instead. Although the Xoom is a gorgeous device, I am becoming quite sold on the 7" size. After using my Tab for a week, I love it! Now if the Xoom was only, say $100 more than the Tab, I may change my mind, but as it is now, it's way too expensive for what it offers out of the box. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Xoom have a price drop soon.
How bad is Honeycomb? The reviews of the G-Slate, Xoom, and even Eeepad Transformer suggest that Honeycomb itself is... not ready and quite laggy. How does it compare to plain old Froyo on a 7'' Tab?
so if understand correctly, android market does not install the tablet version of gmail or any other app on the galaxy tab?
You will have special section of apps created for the Honeycomb and for 2.2 or 2.3.
Apps that are not suppose to work will not be shown on the Market.
Some apps created for phones freeze or fail to work but overall you can find apps that suit your needs. I would agree that at this point software has rough edges but this is always an issue for the early adopters. The 1st iphone had no software choices at all and it took more than half a year to get something else.
Screen size and resolutiin make Xoom almost a laptop.
I like Xoom but prefer Galaxy Tab because of size and weight.
This must be my 6th tablet if I include the 'first out of the post' compaq tablets eons ago, a toshiba laptop/tablet, 2 different ipads and an advent vega, so I'd like to think I've got a fairly balanced view on tablets.
I won't get into any of the usual iOS/Android flames, suffice to say in my opinion after a week of using Honeycomb on the Xoom, Android is much more suited to a tablet format than iOS on an iPad, which is really just a big phone, albeit a very slick one.
I'm sure most on this forum will be used to acting as guinea pigs for new technologies and that's a choice most of us have made by getting this device to see the possibilities of an Android tablet, so a few bugs was expected. A couple more updates and there's no reason why Android tablets will be just as slick as an iPad (as it is in the smartphone world now).
Now the hardware just needs to improve. While the Xoom is nice solid tech, it is heavy. I was trying to use it standing on up a train and after a while, it was particularly uncomfortable to use. The screen could be brighter too.
My one unexpected observation though is the screen size. Is it me or is a more rectangular 10.1" just not as easy to type on as the squarer 9.7" iPad?
I find that the wider screen means the keyboard either takes up all the screen or is squashed and the keys are not as easy to use. When I had the iPad, I found typing in landscape mode absolutely no problem. On the Xoom it's not quite as easy to type quickly on.
Anyway, just my opinion... while each day I like honeycomb more and more, I'm not entirely convinced that the Xoom will be my final Android tablet.
thx. xoom's really a sweet device, although it has few bugs. enjoy mine very much too
The think about android is that you can change the UI the way you like, you can have the sweet thumb keyboard app and that problem its solved. I find it hard to the ipad will let you change that UI keyboard setting.
I agree the xoom is too heavy, maybe they should realese a keyboard like asus transformer so it can be held in the lap (sorry for my english).
The screen on the xoom is the same as a widescreen monitor you use on a pc. The ipad is somekind of cropped. you can tell if you play videos on ipad...they dont fit the screen.
The only think that im a little sad about the xoom is devs arent interested right now to release honeycomb support. Not even all google apps have honeycomb support but i guess its matter of months or maybe they are waiting for xoom 2
I also had my Xoom for a week, and like you enjoy using it so far.
You can try to install this thumb keyboard for easier typing, even though it’s in beta, I have not had any problems use it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1055327
I only took the Xoom on the train for one day and also found it difficult to use. My issue is more to do with the size than the weight. So I went back to use my Galaxy Tab and leave the Xoom for mainly home use.
The only real issue I've found with Honeycomb/my Xoom is the chronic shortage of apps designed for tablets specifically.
VaKo said:
The only real issue I've found with Honeycomb/my Xoom is the chronic shortage of apps designed for tablets specifically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes , my thoughts exactly !
SwiftKey tablet beta resolves any typing issues, I've been using it since before it went public beta, was part of the early testers. They've already listened to many of my suggestions, which is just great IMO.
i totally agree about the apps. I'm willing to wait...but is it me is the number of apps going down the market? It was 67 a few days, 64 yesterday and 60 rightnow.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
Does anyone notice that number of apps for tablet on android market decrease overtime ? The first day i got my xoom, there were 67 apps, 2 weeks ago: 64 apps. now there are 60 apps.
I wouldn't worry to much about the apps, with the huge list of android tablets dropping this year we can all expect to see a rather consistent flow of new apps......Hopefullly
tritran18518 said:
Does anyone notice that number of apps for tablet on android market decrease overtime ? The first day i got my xoom, there were 67 apps, 2 weeks ago: 64 apps. now there are 60 apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because when you click "Featured" Android Tablet apps, those are just "Featured". There are actually WAY more than that (150+) Honeycomb "optimized" apps in the Market.
It would be considerably more useful if there was a tablet part of the market, similar to iTunes having an iPad only part. There's no easy way to identify tablet optimized apps.
This is from a UK XOOM and I've a feeling that for some reason, Market is different in europe.
The fact that lists like this exist says volumes about the state of tablet support in the android market, but here is one of the user-compiled lists of apps that are either optimized for or work well with honeycomb:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/mot...al-optimized-honeycomb-apps-list-n-170-a.html
There's also the game compatibility thread in the xoom apps and themes section here on xda.
great resource... thanks!
scratch that... android c+?)&@l only allows 'registered users' to view links. Way to support open source guys!
Agreed. I'm sure the list is useful, but that kind of garbage makes me keep right on walkin.
yea its ridiculous
Is it that hard to register a free account?
in all honestly you should all already have android central accounts...it's the most popular android development site...
Xoom Gripes
First off, for what I use it for, my Xoom is better than my iMac and my MacBook Pro. That said, I have a couple of issues with it.
I hate the placement of the ports. I got a case from KeviKev (which is the bees knees), and I cannot prop it up while charging without putting strain on the cable/port.
When plugged-in to my TV (HDMI), the screen orientation changes in a very strange way. I turned the tablet upside-down so I could prop it up with the HDMI cable plugged in, and the picture on the TV went upside-down, too. I know I can lock the orientation, but I would like it if it were more intelligent about the way it handles screen orientation.
These flaws (if I can even call them that) are not an issue when I use the tablet out on the street, or when I lay it down on its back when I'm not really using the screen anyway. There isn't much that I can say about my Xoom that isn't praise. I have the U.S. 3G version and I live in Germany, and the lack of mobile broadband isn't a complete turn-off like I had anticipated. Kudos to Motorola and Google.
The more I use my TF the more I like it. Although I understand that people with problems need to vent I want to add another positive post to the forum.
First off, I do NOT believe that there is such a thing as the "perfect tablet" (but that doesn't mean that there is not a lot of crap out there!). For some the iPad might be the best, for others the XOOM, for some the Transformer or even the Nook Color.
Now here are some of the Transformer's benefits that make it the currently best tablet for me:
The dock. This was probably the main reason for switching from the XOOM. I was looking for a case with Bluetooth keyboard for so long that the dock just came like an answer to my quest. I do a lot of typing so a physical keyboard was a must for me. The additional battery life and connectors are a HUGE plus (see more below). The keyboard is very sturdy and it is fun to type on. And of course the touch pad. Especially when browsing the web the pointer makes it indefinitely easier to click those tiny links!
ASUS's software. The widgets are minimalistic and beautiful. They add to the Honeycomb experience without forcing a manufacturer's UI upon the user. The applications that are included are well designed and work great.
Polaris Office. So far the best office suite that I have tested. This restores my faith in developers caring about productivity on tablet as compared to only entertainment and "consumption".
Connectivity. I was amazed. I have setup media sharing on my PC so I could stream videos and music to my PS3s. The first time I fired up MyNet it automatically detected my PC and the content was instantly available. No settings to alter, no messing around. Then just yesterday I connected my external HDD (NTFS) where I ripped all my movies in HD (as compared to the 640x480 res for my iPod). It also was detected and mounted automatically and the content plays flawlessly (with Mobo Player). SD card, microSD card, everything works out of the box; I remember how much trouble that was with the XOOM...
The display. Well, admittedly, an IPS screen is just great even though it might not have the most natural color reproduction or brightness. However, the viewing angles and contrast are amazing! I also like the wider bezel (compared to the XOOM) which allows for holding it in one hand without touching the actual touch screen (and I have not the biggest hands!). Sure, I have a bit of light bleed but the one on my Nook Color is worse. If I want to see it I will...
Updates. For not being a "Pure Android Experience Device" the ASUS got updates rather frequently. There seems to be a real person from ASUS support active in this forum and on other social media like facebook (in Europe at least).
Weight and Build. The TF feels nice and light when held. That it is made of plastic is unfortunate because it does feel kind of cheap but it is not too flimsy. I was apprehensive about the goldenish color but I have gotten used to it. I covered the back with carbon fiber skin though
So everyone considering to buy one of these I can only recommend it. There might be some lemons out there but you will have that with every device. If you want to wait for the newest gadgets, good luck, because as soon as you buy a high-tech device you can be sure that it's obsolete a week later...
Hope that helps some folks that were still indecisive.
I have to agree with you my experience with the transformer and dock has been wonderful. My roomate asks why I didn't just buy a net book/laptop and whenever I detach the tablet and go to work or a coffee shop it makes it worth it all. Being able to have the tablet for casual use and the dock for longer/power use is the flexibility a lot of people want. For the most part at home it's in the dock just for ease of use, battery, and I don't have to prop it up on something.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Great post!
I would like my Transformer build quality to be a little better, but otherwise I can't complain too much after getting my dock firmware update.
It is so cool to snap the Transformer into the dock and have a netbook with an additional SD card of storage. The keyboard is pretty good, but the trackpad is amazing. I really like the feel of it. Using the trackpad doesn't feel tacked on either, Honeycomb feels like it was designed to be used with a mouse and keyboard.
I also really liked how my tablet was down to about 40% power, and when I put it in the dock it automatically started leeching energy from the dock and recharging itself. Now that is impressive! (The dock wasn't even plugged in.)
Really looking forward to Honeycomb 3.1!
bleclair said:
Great post!
I would like my Transformer build quality to be a little better, but otherwise I can't complain too much after getting my dock firmware update.
It is so cool to snap the Transformer into the dock and have a netbook with an additional SD card of storage. The keyboard is pretty good, but the trackpad is amazing. I really like the feel of it. Using the trackpad doesn't feel tacked on either, Honeycomb feels like it was designed to be used with a mouse and keyboard.
I also really liked how my tablet was down to about 40% power, and when I put it in the dock it automatically started leeching energy from the dock and recharging itself. Now that is impressive! (The dock wasn't even plugged in.)
Really looking forward to Honeycomb 3.1!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point! I forgot the touch pad. Will add it right now
Two things also impressed me about the keyboard dock that I hadn't thought of and wasn't expecting:
1. My Logitech Anywhere MX mouse works perfectly with it. Just plug the adapter into one of the dock's USB ports and it just works. For whatever reason, I didn't think it would, but I'm very happy to see that it works so well.
2. I've been using the dock to charge my Epic while away from a charger. I also hadn't thought about using the dock as a portable charger for my phone, but that works great as well.
Overall, this combo is working better than I expected, and I think my expectations were pretty high. I haven't used my HP Envy 14 notebook since I got the dock, and so I'm left wishing the TF had been available last November. Would have saved me $1000 for the Envy.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
wynand32 said:
2. I've been using the dock to charge my Epic while away from a charger. I also hadn't thought about using the dock as a portable charger for my phone, but that works great as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
However, I noticed you can only charge a device when the tablet is docked.
I still can't believe the dock didn't come with it's own power cord. For $150 it really, really should have.
shoehopper said:
However, I noticed you can only charge a device when the tablet is docked.
I still can't believe the dock didn't come with it's own power cord. For $150 it really, really should have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's true: the tablet has to be docked, but it doesn't have to be open or turned on. So, when stored for carrying it can charge.
And agreed: it would have been nice to have another charger and cable. Given the build quality of the dock and the fact that it includes a full-size battery, I don't know that $150 is enough at retail to give the gross margins they're looking for if they included an adapter and cable. And given that they're pricing the tablet at $399, I'm sure they're happy to maybe squeeze out a few bucks of additional gross margin out of the dock.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
The killer features were undoubtfully keyboard with a trackpad (I hate taking hands off the keyboard just to move focus around), and the battery life.
Also, I see this becoming an awesome combo once running desktop Linux on it is perfected. That way I can pick whether I want the battery-conserving Android or full-size productivity desktop at any given moment.
int_19h said:
The killer features were undoubtfully keyboard with a trackpad (I hate taking hands off the keyboard just to move focus around), and the battery life.
Also, I see this becoming an awesome combo once running desktop Linux on it is perfected. That way I can pick whether I want the battery-conserving Android or full-size productivity desktop at any given moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never used Linux (well, I tried to use it in the late 90s) but just to have the option is exciting! I wish to have an OS that allows for multitasking in different windows, even if it's just 2 or 3. Hopefully the Android of the future will have that!
funnycreature said:
The more I use my TF the more I like it. Although I understand that people with problems need to vent I want to add another positive post to the forum.
First off, I do NOT believe that there is such a thing as the "perfect tablet" (but that doesn't mean that there is not a lot of crap out there!). For some the iPad might be the best, for others the XOOM, for some the Transformer or even the Nook Color.
Now here are some of the Transformer's benefits that make it the currently best tablet for me:
The dock. This was probably the main reason for switching from the XOOM. I was looking for a case with Bluetooth keyboard for so long that the dock just came like an answer to my quest. I do a lot of typing so a physical keyboard was a must for me. The additional battery life and connectors are a HUGE plus (see more below). The keyboard is very sturdy and it is fun to type on. And of course the touch pad. Especially when browsing the web the pointer makes it indefinitely easier to click those tiny links!
ASUS's software. The widgets are minimalistic and beautiful. They add to the Honeycomb experience without forcing a manufacturer's UI upon the user. The applications that are included are well designed and work great.
Polaris Office. So far the best office suite that I have tested. This restores my faith in developers caring about productivity on tablet as compared to only entertainment and "consumption".
Connectivity. I was amazed. I have setup media sharing on my PC so I could stream videos and music to my PS3s. The first time I fired up MyNet it automatically detected my PC and the content was instantly available. No settings to alter, no messing around. Then just yesterday I connected my external HDD (NTFS) where I ripped all my movies in HD (as compared to the 640x480 res for my iPod). It also was detected and mounted automatically and the content plays flawlessly (with Mobo Player). SD card, microSD card, everything works out of the box; I remember how much trouble that was with the XOOM...
The display. Well, admittedly, an IPS screen is just great even though it might not have the most natural color reproduction or brightness. However, the viewing angles and contrast are amazing! I also like the wider bezel (compared to the XOOM) which allows for holding it in one hand without touching the actual touch screen (and I have not the biggest hands!). Sure, I have a bit of light bleed but the one on my Nook Color is worse. If I want to see it I will...
Updates. For not being a "Pure Android Experience Device" the ASUS got updates rather frequently. There seems to be a real person from ASUS support active in this forum and on other social media like facebook (in Europe at least).
Weight and Build. The TF feels nice and light when held. That it is made of plastic is unfortunate because it does feel kind of cheap but it is not too flimsy. I was apprehensive about the goldenish color but I have gotten used to it. I covered the back with carbon fiber skin though
So everyone considering to buy one of these I can only recommend it. There might be some lemons out there but you will have that with every device. If you want to wait for the newest gadgets, good luck, because as soon as you buy a high-tech device you can be sure that it's obsolete a week later...
Hope that helps some folks that were still indecisive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Such positive vibes! maybe it's not as bad as some people are trying to make out
Agree with the OP on most points. People have to keep in mind that the users with bogus units are always going to be the most vocal so it makes it seem like there are more problems than happy customers.
After the latest update that fixed my dock/keyboard, I am 99% happy. I have a discernable amount of light-bleed at the bottom left that bugs me a bit when watching video/on a dark screen. If not for that, i would be at 100%.
My sleep of death issue seems to have gone away and beside the high profile x264 issue, I don't regret my purchase one bit.
the list keeps growing!
Just shamelessly bumping this thread due to plenty of whiny 'I return my Transformer for the iPad' threads...
More things that I love about the TF:
Overclock. Yep, it's done! Several kernels now available (Netarchy's Netformer, Blades' 1.6GHz MEATABALL).
Network integration. I mentioned that in the OP but I have to reiterate how great the TF works with the installed software. The past few days I was cleaning the house a lot and simply turned on my PC, turned on my TF and streamed videos and music without having to adjust anything.
USB ports. Also mentioned in the OP. I found an awesome use for them: hooked up a goose neck USB reading light and the keyboard shone even more
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Take the time to tweak your device with everything available on these forums, it becomes an entirely different device.
Sent from my Samsung Fascinate
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you are trolling here, but eh, I'm bored so I'll bite.
Those of us who find the Tab to be a pleasant experience must be in denial huh? Don't you think that's a pretty presumptuous and arrogant statement? How do you know what my experience with it has been? Or anyone else's for that matter?
I would usually sit here and try to help you solve your lagginess issue, maybe seeing if you have some sort of rouge process going on or if you are even on the latest firmware. Maybe point you to some of the great custom ROMs the developers here have given us. But, nope. You speak for everyone and everyone must be having the same ****ty experience as you, and if we say we don't we must be lying.
I will tell you though that my experience has been fantastic. The only time I get lag on the homescreen is when I have a live wallpaper up. I've never had any browser lag or lag anywhere else. I have a ton of widgets on my screens too. No lag. Of course though I'm totally lying, but you knew that already right?
I'm finished being sarcastic. Honestly if you aren't happy with the device, go sell it and get an Ipad again. Nobody is stopping you. The Tab is a fantastic product and I would go so far as to say it is the best tablet on the market as of this very moment. But it is not for everybody, especially for people who have no idea what they are doing.
Posting threads like this serves no purpose other than being a troll and drawing the ire of members like myself.
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine a couple weeks back too, and my experiences are similar to yours. I still can't understand how a dual core device can be this laggy! I'm hoping its all due to the Samsung bloatware, so I'm going to load up a custom ROM over the weekend and see how that goes... you should try it too
I really like the additional screen space coming from a 4.2" Xperia Arc, and Honeycomb is a lot zippier now than it was back in April when I had the Xoom for a couple of weeks. I still believe its a better tablet than the iPad2 though. That thing seems so zippy because all it is is a magnified iPhone. There's almost nothing running in the background which gives it the appearance of being a lot quicker and better battery life. Load it up with widgets and lets compare them then.
My biggest problem though, is the lack of a good pdf app. I've tried tons of them and they are all really slow to load, very jerky pinch to zoom, and slow scrolling. Hope this improves with ICS
And to the poster above this, I don't get why you even bothered posting if you're going to be so incredibly unhelpful
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks... I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience...
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lance,
I have watched my brother in law's ipad closely, and you are right. It is faster and more responsive (once tweaked) than my SGT was out of the box. However, the others are right too.
I have rooted and tweaked my SGT and it now makes my ios friends raise their eyebrows. You happily partied all over your ipad, making many changes suggested on user sites like this one. Now you need to do the same with your SGT. If you are unable or unwilling to do that, you are not an idiot or a molester of small animals, you are just one of those people that the ipad was designed for. So get another one, and enjoy it.
I prefer my Android gadgets, because they are more flexible. I am not locked into iTunes, and I have access to my 650GB music library that is not as compressed as AAC. I have a FREE SDK that works rather well, when i want to write my own apps. There are a few paid apps that I depend upon for day to day stuff, just like I would for iOs devices. For me, and many of the others in this form, that is what they want.
Sent from a distant planet with the aid of my towel.
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand how you feel, and I felt the same way when I first handled the SGT 8.9 the UI lag was horrendous .. I felt the product manager of the device should be sacked (or worse done to him) for ever allowing such a device out the door in such state. To make matters worse for me, there was an ipad close by and the UI flow was like watching man utd beat arsenal 8-2 .. I promptly returned the device.
However my opinion has since change since coming here lots of people have filled me in with some tweaks and work around which resolves most of the laggy issue. (You can check out the SGT 8.9 Q & A section its a sticky under this section for people experience with the device)
First of if you can't be bothered to root your device, try the ADW launcher ex, everyone who tried that said its greatly improves the performance and eliminates the lag issue.
You can also if you are feeling adventurous root the device. And install some of the numerous roms around.
just try and take advantage of the open nature and make it yours. Soon ipad owners would be looking at your tab and feeling the envy.
Just my 2 cents
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Please go get your ipad back dude. I have none of the issues you speak of. This thread is a total waste. I don't even believe you own a tab.
By saying "you like Android phones" I'm assuming you mean in comparison to the iPhone. Most of the same issues you’re experiencing in an Android vs. iPad tablet comparison apply to a phone comparison also so your statement's kind of confusing.
iOS is so "buttery smooth" because it's locked down like a prison with Apple exerting Orwellian control over the entire eco-system. I bought my G-Tab and paid more than an equivalent iPad because, for what I do, the collection of individual apps works better than the homogenous equivalents on the iPad. And I did that knowing the iPad had a better display and that the UI and navigation were smoother and more mature.
This forum is fascinating because of the disparity in experiences everyone has. I've had two G-Tab's (Wi-Fi and 3G) and never had a force close on either and I have over 50 apps installed. There's occasional stutter and lagginess but I'd say it appears (for me) less than 5% of the time. One huge difference between iOS and Android is that Android, with its limitless ability to be tweaked, can get hosed by people using badly written apps and the use of memory managers, task killers, battery monitors and the like. Every XDA forum I participate in has people *****ing about some function being hosed and then go on to elaborate about all the crap they've done to their device and ****ty low-rent apps they're using. And they don’t understand why their phone’s getting crappy battery life and has tons of issues no one else seems to be experiencing. I guess freedom comes at a price and it can be abused.
I've had a G-Tab in one form or another since August and have been really satisfied with it. I took my new 3G version on a trip over the weekend and it performed flawlessly and got fantastic battery life with 3G active continuously and download speeds of 8MB in TX (vs. less than 1MB for an iPad). I sat across from someone using an iPad on the flight home last night. The local video he was playing was gorgeous. Compared to mine, his WSJ app looked like crap as did Solitaire and a bunch of other stuff I saw him use. Meanwhile, I was streaming Hulu, HBOGO, and TV shows from my home server using the planes Wi-Fi. I can also play music I have stored on my home server, the Amazon cloud, or from the 2K songs I store locally using my $9.99 Rhapsody monthly subscription. All while reading magazines and newspapers using Next Issue and Press Reader. I’d gladly trade options and versatility for “buttery smooth” any day. iOS is great for a subset of device owners because of its constraints and consistency. But those restrictions are why I chose Android. Android can become smoother through s/w and h/w evolution but iOS will never become more open. Hopefully OP bought his G-Tab somewhere with a liberal return policy so he can return it.
BarryH_GEG said:
By saying "you like Android phones" I'm assuming you mean in comparison to the iPhone. Most of the same issues you’re experiencing in an Android vs. iPad tablet comparison apply to a phone comparison also so your statement's kind of confusing.
iOS is so "buttery smooth" because it's locked down like a prison with Apple exerting Orwellian control over the entire eco-system. I bought my G-Tab and paid more than an equivalent iPad because, for what I do, the collection of individual apps works better than the homogenous equivalents on the iPad. And I did that knowing the iPad had a better display and that the UI and navigation were smoother and more mature.
This forum is fascinating because of the disparity in experiences everyone has. I've had two G-Tab's (Wi-Fi and 3G) and never had a force close on either and I have over 50 apps installed. There's occasional stutter and lagginess but I'd say it appears (for me) less than 5% of the time. One huge difference between iOS and Android is that Android, with its limitless ability to be tweaked, can get hosed by people using badly written apps and the use of memory managers, task killers, battery monitors and the like. Every XDA forum I participate in has people *****ing about some function being hosed and then go on to elaborate about all the crap they've done to their device and ****ty low-rent apps they're using. And they don’t understand why their phone’s getting crappy battery life and has tons of issues no one else seems to be experiencing. I guess freedom comes at a price and it can be abused.
I've had a G-Tab in one form or another since August and have been really satisfied with it. I took my new 3G version on a trip over the weekend and it performed flawlessly and got fantastic battery life with 3G active continuously and download speeds of 8MB in TX (vs. less than 1MB for an iPad). I sat across from someone using an iPad on the flight home last night. The local video he was playing was gorgeous. Compared to mine, his WSJ app looked like crap as did Solitaire and a bunch of other stuff I saw him use. Meanwhile, I was streaming Hulu, HBOGO, and TV shows from my home server using the planes Wi-Fi. I can also play music I have stored on my home server, the Amazon cloud, or from the 2K songs I store locally using my $9.99 Rhapsody monthly subscription. All while reading magazines and newspapers using Next Issue and Press Reader. I’d gladly trade options and versatility for “buttery smooth” any day. iOS is great for a subset of device owners because of its constraints and consistency. But those restrictions are why I chose Android. Android can become smoother through s/w and h/w evolution but iOS will never become more open. Hopefully OP bought his G-Tab somewhere with a liberal return policy so he can return it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stuff you speak of is why I have ran Linux exclusively on my PC for close to 5 years now. Yet I think the OP has a point and was just letting out steam. I too was extremely disappointed when I handled the galaxy tab (in my case it was the 8.9) right from boot the experience was horrendous and the UI lagged SOO much it was embarrassing. This first impression was a real turn off for me and I can understand the feeling of someone who gets a device with such awesome hardware only be bugged down with software. Sure you can always improve with tweaks and mods but if android is ever gonna replicate its success on mobile on tablets. Then the out of the box experience most be killer. Having and awesome out of the box experience and ability to further tweak should not be mutually exclusive. The experience I got on my galaxy s2 even with default rom was exquisite. Just breath taking. Even without Modding or installing a custom rom. That's what I expected from honeycomb. Hopefully most of this out of the box issues would be fixed with honeycomb 3.2 and ICS.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
I must agree with OP. Its a f****g ambaresment how a product can be released in the state it was when it was in the box. Now after tweaking and rooting and flashing and using it for a couple of months its useable. But it still lags, not all the time , but try installing something form market and then go to homescreen, right then its laggy as hell.
But we all know this by now, so i agree with the rest of you that we have no need for this thread. And if OP just read a little before buying he would have found this info about the tab. Anyways welcome hope you get your tab sorted.
nickwarn said:
I must agree with OP. Its a f****g ambaresment how a product can be released in the state it was when it was in the box. Now after tweaking and rooting and flashing and using it for a couple of months its useable. But it still lags, not all the time , but try installing something form market and then go to homescreen, right then its laggy as hell.
But we all know this by now, so i agree with the rest of you that we have no need for this thread. And if OP just read a little before buying he would have found this info about the tab. Anyways welcome hope you get your tab sorted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same experience here.... I've even rooted my tab and it did improve but not as much as I would of liked, this was a month ago though, so i don't know if anything better has comed out. I've thought about getting an iPad but..... I just can't if it can't play flash.... How the hell could you own a tablet and not watch a simple flash video. So if anyone can give me advice on how to make my 10.1 as smooth as some of you have said, then please do tell me how. I love my Gtab but the lag does really bother me enough to have had to remove all my widgets....
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
shoo troll.
Klk450 said:
Same experience here.... I've even rooted my tab and it did improve but not as much as I would of liked, this was a month ago though, so i don't know if anything better has comed out. I've thought about getting an iPad but..... I just can't if it can't play flash.... How the hell could you own a tablet and not watch a simple flash video. So if anyone can give me advice on how to make my 10.1 as smooth as some of you have said, then please do tell me how. I love my Gtab but the lag does really bother me enough to have had to remove all my widgets....
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root your tab is only the first step. You need to flash custom rom after you root your tab, then only you can feel the difference.
I just got my tab last week, wifi only version. I can say I'm really satisfied with the performance and I love my tab. The basic steps are:
1. root your tab
2. flash custom rom
That's all you need to do to feel the difference. You can ignore some of the gimmicks, for instance supercharger, overclock kernel and etc that have been mentioned if you have no freaking idea what they are about at the moment. You will pick them up along the way just like I did.
The one tip that everyone here would tell you - READ THE FORUM!
For instance, the first sticky post in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android Development is a good read and good resource to get you started. Here's the link if you have no idea where it is (Seriously?): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1171089
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you on most counts, except that I don't have any issues with the onscreen keyboard and don't get force closes. There are some things you can do to improve the user experience (alternate launchers, overclocking etc), however it still won't feel like the iPad.
That being said, there are things you can do with the tablet out of the box which you can't do with an iPad:
- Adobe Flash support
- Emulation apps availability (SNES, DOS, Scumm)
- File / Directory browsing
- UI customization
- Non-market / store applications installation
While I would love the overall UI performance to be on par with the iPad, given a choice between the two I would rather have the above functionality instead. There is also the possibility of Android's UI performance improving in the future with all this functionality retained. In case of Apple, apart from limited UI customization perhaps, the other stuff is just not going to be available ever.
PS: And all that's just out of the box, if you root your device there's some far more interesting stuff you can do with the tablet!
---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 PM ----------
pngface said:
My biggest problem though, is the lack of a good pdf app. I've tried tons of them and they are all really slow to load, very jerky pinch to zoom, and slow scrolling. Hope this improves with ICS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have probably tried it already, but EZ PDF is pretty good. I am comparing it to GoodReader on the iPad and I don't have any issues with loading / scrolling / flipping / resizing.
Of course, this maybe dependent on the size and content of the PDFs you are using, so YMMV -- I mostly read book-sized documents, mostly text, and it works fine for me.
I recently bought a GalaxyTab and I have to confirm, it is quite laggy - In comparison to an iPad.
There are several things which can drastically improve the situation:
Use ADW Launcher EX
Custom ROM, Like Task650/Phantom Extreme Stock
Overclock (although, this didn't change a lot)
I found that the first two points are the most important. ADW Launcher makes the whole Homescreen and Applauncher absolutely smooth, just like on an iPad. And no, the stock launcher isn't.
It's great how many possibilites we have with Android, but be honest - I'd rather have ICS without any new features, but just great performance increases. Thats why I switched to Windows Phone in the first place - I don't want apple, but I want smooth scrolling, smooth transitions. And now, just because Android has much more possibilites doesn't mean it has the right to be slow and choppy. Take a look at the Windows 8 Developer Preview. My god, this isn't even an ALPHA and boy it's SO SMOOTH, I cried almost when I saw that.
The only reason I bought my Galaxy Tab is, that Microsoft still needs about a year until their first tablets are out - And I hate waiting
So please Google, get your Team together and tell them to START OPTIMIZING.
PS:
ezPDF is quite good - But the UI is horrible, and I miss the feature to insert Pages into a PDF. Mandano seems a lot more polished and faster, but misses a lot of annotation features.
I agree with the original poster. My tab is rooted, custom rom, adw, etc. My wife's ipad is a far smoother experience than this tablet. Would I switch back to the ipad prison? Not in a million years. My tablet does so much more than the ipad. If an example is needed, how about my choice of swype or thumb keyboard.
root your tab and wait for an ICS port... ICS is said to have hardware acceleration. That is the only thing Honeycomb lacks and that is why its not as smooth as the iPad...
OR
Flash a custom ROM such as Overcome 1.2.1 (didnt like 1.2.2 or 1.2.3) or w/e other one suits you and then come back edit the OP with the overall news... don't judge this book by its cover and remember its NOT iOS
A newbie when rooting is involved but i was wondering if you could give me an idea of what tweaks you have made? i'm considering rooting my device but unsure of what i could do to make it better.
Cpt Streamline said:
A newbie when rooting is involved but i was wondering if you could give me an idea of what tweaks you have made? i'm considering rooting my device but unsure of what i could do to make it better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a custom ROM is the big one, will make a huge difference. I am using Task650 & Phantom's "In Paris V4". I also installed pershoot's kernel and overclocked.
The experience
I love my Galaxy Tab in comparison to my previously owned iPad but the reason is simply because I like playing with roms and hacking to get the most of my device. On my iPad, I felt too restricted and forced to use software I didn't like. Yes, some of the apps are better on the iPad and yes, the interface is a bit smoother but it's nowhere near as attractive and it's far too limiting.
A friend of mine equated the iPad experience with being put in a padded room where he can't hurt himself and everything if fluffy and safe feeling. It made me laugh but somewhat sums up the experience. Personally, I'd rather not be spoon fed the experience but would rather create my own and make it about me.
My hope is that ICS will be a significant jump. realistically, Android tablet manufacturers should be trolling these forums for employees who can tweak up their software.. Why they don't do this, one will never know.
Either way, I don't think attacks on the Op are warranted. These forums are here for people to both vent and discuss like the adults we are.
It might not give you a full blown desktop OS, but it surely has to be a lot faster than the current webtop,and a bit more user friendly than installing GenTop.
I haven't used my Lapdock much because its so slow,so I'm looking forward to having something that is actually usable once we get ICS.
I was initially turned off by the fact we wouldn't be running a full version of Ubuntu, but after doing some thinking,I would rather have something thats faster with some limitations than something full featured that runs slow. Running android and only android has to be faster than any other method of the Webtop interface.
Anyone else agree?
I also agree, and I think that if we want a full-featured OS Webtop we would need a quad-core phone. Gentop is nice however isn't user friendly.
There's also HDMI mirroring but the resolution is upscaled and enlarged so when its plugged into a Lapdock it looks LQ.
Plus mirroring is laggy since its outputting to the phone screen and another screen.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA
What's funny is that Ubuntu Webtop isn't even full featured. It's pretty much just Firefox and a file manager. And yet it's still really slow somehow. You have to download a Webtop mod to get true Ubuntu features. Webtop 3.0 will be very welcomed.
I think it's interesting, and going to be pretty useful, but its going to be majorly flawed. I plugged a mouse into my ics tablet to get a sense of how a tablet os works without a touch screen. First impressions were pretty decent, there were a few oddities, like precision zooming, but for the most part, the experience was ok.
Then it hit me, I had been using the scroll wheel a huge amount and on trying to use the device without it, ended up with lists flying everywhere and cramped wrists, similar to using the lapdock*with mobile view..... Unless motorola can add some degree of trackpad scrolling, my lapdock will end up on ebay, or my phone will remain on gingerbread. With my macbook (no multitouch, just two finger scrolling), i have never felt the need to use a mouse for 3 years, sure, arrow keys help, but the single touch lapdock trackpad problem is exasperated by changing to a touch based os.
I just don't see it being practical, i think the concept is great an I think this would be amazing to have, but it would be so much better to have it alongside more of an ubuntu for android type distro for real laptop like flexibility. We also neeeeeed a better scrolling mechanism on the lapdock. Put all of this in place, and I don't think I would need any other laptop!
Give me webtop 3, with its inferior browser (firefox renders better, supports more standards and has real right click operations than chrome beta or the ics browser) and its inability to multitask and show more than one item on the screen and I will be quite disappointed. Having a 16/9 tablet also highlights how ics isn't particularly good for wide screens such as the lapdock as there are several apps that sit in the middle of the display flanked by white space such as the market.
I just really hope we can get a gentop2 port or an ubuntu for android port working if motorola drops the ball and leaves us with a really compromised experience. Potentially they could do a really good job if they can get all apps to work nicely in tablet mode and add side scrolling to the trackpad... please motorola, I'm waiting with both excitement and trepidation.
I agree the touchpad should have had side/two finger scrolling, but the arrow keys/pg up/down makes a half decent substitute.
A couple of concerns I would have:
1. Finding a decent VNC app that works well with the control scheme.
2. Printing from ICS.
When is it coming out??
when we get ICS, Q3 of this year
hopefully the lag go away
webtop is similar to tabletui of cm9?
vespino75 said:
webtop is similar to tabletui of cm9?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Similar, but it only works if you have a dock with your atrix.
essentially, its just like a tablet without the touchscreen if you have a lapdock.
HMZX said:
Similar, but it only works if you have a dock with your atrix.
essentially, its just like a tablet without the touchscreen if you have a lapdock.
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Take a look at the webtop 3 video in the ics demo video thread, looks like a dock may no longer be neccessary
Plus, this is better than the current mirroring solutions as it takes the native display resolution of the hdmi device as opposed to stretching the phone resolution.
webtop 3.0
just got the OTA on my RAZR, first thing I did was plug in my lapdock to check out 3.0, and I have to say it is sooo much better than the old version... most of the lag is gone. Its still not perfect, but it is very usable now. Hopefully they won't delay the update for you guys too much longer
naturalharmoniks said:
just got the OTA on my RAZR, first thing I did was plug in my lapdock to check out 3.0, and I have to say it is sooo much better than the old version... most of the lag is gone. Its still not perfect, but it is very usable now. Hopefully they won't delay the update for you guys too much longer
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Can you post few screenshots and the programs that have been added
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Unfortunately i am on vacation and forgot to put the dock in my bag. As far as programs being added there really isn't anything added they removed more and focused on an Android experience, Firefox is gone, as well as mobile view. Basically it is your phone screen blown up to the size of the monitor... the browser is your browser from your phone as well as the app drawer and everything else... instead of the software running on top of your phone's OS it is your phone's OS magnified. Which makes it a smoother experience and for me more productive. You can switch app display modes from tablet mode to phone more for the ones that don't scale well but I haven't had any issues yet.
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Has anyone tried running a VNC'ed and chrooted linux distro on webtop 3? How does it compare to the gentop2 and other webtop modifications we currently have?
I guess the main question is how well android works as a desktop os and how is the multitasking? I think its great that motorola have removed the provision for the dock and I can see myself using webtop 3 a huge amount hooked up to my TV, but I want a more productive lapdock experience. I wonder how possible an onskreen cornerstone port would be just for webtop or a port of gentop2 to the new ICS ROMs.
I have been using the Overskreen app for a while on my tablet, I think its going to be the first thing I install once we get ICS on the atrix!
Found a lapdock 500 today for $175 so I picked it up lol here are a couple screens
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I want it on my atrix so, so very much. Web browsing, streaming vids, music all stuff android does awesomely made more awesome by lapdock resolution
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Youtube some Webtop 3.0 action and you will see just how night and day the difference is from the Atrix-Webtop 2.0/1.2 experience. My take on it is that it essentially turns your phone interface experience into a tablet+keyboard+mouse experience--meaning that you get to a comparable performance to your phone-mode in tablet-mode, which you can navigate with the keyboard and touchpad in native resolution. ICS has a great deal more flexibility in this department. I watched videos of the RAZR Webtop 3 experience with an eye on the little things like stuttering, delay, touchpad usefulness, keyboard input lag, and other little nitpicks. It's about 85% of what I wish ICS and a lapdock to be capable of. That's a far cry from the 20% I got from the Atrix lapdock and stock (or Gentoo or Ubuntop) experiences I had. It just didn't work at all.
Droid Bionic ROMs were being pulled from the Moto development cloud by the end of June. There's been at least 4 since a couple days ago. The Xyboard something-or-other had it's first the other day. Moto's ICS rollout schedule is so far on track. I feel comfortable conjecturing that we US MB860 users will at the LEAST have a couple flashable development ROMs leaked by the end of July. And those will defffffinitely include Webtop 3.0.
So buck up gents. It's Coming Soon. ICS.
naturalharmoniks said:
Found a lapdock 500 today for $175 so I picked it up lol here are a couple screens
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda app-developers app
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Looks nice, the dpi does look about right for the lapdock, everything is small enough to work nice with a mouse. The lapdock 500 has multi touch scrolling doesn't it? How easy is it to use android with the trackpad and is it ergonomic without multi touch? I use a right click and scroll plug in installed on firebox which makes a huge difference with the terrible trackpad on the atrix lapdock but obviously this won't work on Webtop 3.
Looking forward to your answer, im looking foreward to alot of the improvements but the atrix and it's dock was never designed for Webtop 3 so I'm a little bit nervous about how some things will work. I use my lapdock nearly every day and I want it to be as useful as possible!
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Yes the multi touch scrolling compared to using the ATRIX lapdock I had before is much nicer, before that I typically clicked on the pg up and pg down keys for web pages... for scrolling desktops and app drawer you kind of just click towards the edge of the screen to move over to the next page. The experience in general is much simpler and faster because you don't have to deal with resizing the mobile view or changing between portrait and landscape it is all in one screen now all the time like a regular android device. Windowed mode is no more which makes it feel less like a desktop device but tapping the third button at the bottom left opens a task switcher that works very well.
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