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I'm sure the Galaxy Tab will be slightly more powerful... But I can't believe by much.
The Archos Tablets are coming out late September-mid October.
There will be many different sizes... 10.1", 7", 4.3"... etc.
I see people saying the Galaxy tab will cost more than 600$. That's absurd.
All of Archos's tablets are <$300
I own a Vibrant, and believe me, I love it. But I personally will be getting an Archos 10.1 . $299 isn't asking for much.
What do you think.
http://www.archos.com/products/ta/index.html?country=us&lang=en
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Of course I am expecting some sort of hack to run the Market on the Archos... that's honestly the only down side but not necesarily a deal breaker.
I would be really hesistant to get an Archos tablet - they've been putting these out for a little while now, but their track record has not been great. Maybe this will change with their new designs - I hadn't heard or read up on the Archos 70 - but they just released the Archos Home 7 a few months ago, and it was not particularly well received.
EDIT: The Archos spec sheet says they are using an ARM A8 based processor, so it could be on par with the A8-based Hummingbird in terms of CPU power - no mention of what GPU is being used though. The GPU on the Hummingbird is an absolute (mobile) beast.
I honestly was about to buy a Z-180 til i heard of the Archos.
And yes... the GPU on the Galaxy S's are supreme...
10.1" Galaxy Tab = king. 7" is too small for me for a tablet. Tablet = halfway between smart phone and netbook. 7" tablet = halfway between smartphone and tablet. Lol
Spec wise, id say the Gtab has a great edge just because of its on board gpu. What you need to think about is how much of a difference that makes to you.
If you just want normal stuff, then no big deal. If you want to play 3d games or play true high def content then the Tab looks way better. If not then well.... The opposite.
Personally I think the archos is just for watching stuff, and the Tab is more of a daily driver.
I wouldn't think about pricing just yet, because until we get numbers from samsung, everything is bull****. Just cast it from your mind.
For me, the Tab is the right size. The appeal is that it'll fit in a coat pocket, or you can just toss out into a bag. 10 inches is huge (anyone who just smirked: shame on you!) and although the nice big screen is ok at home, to me its just impractical in public, particularly since you have to grasp it, not just let it rest in your hand.
Finally, does the archos have a phone in it? That would make.a difference to me to be honest.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Yeah it's all down to personal preference about 7" or 10"... A tablet would be more of an 'at-home' thing for me... My phone is for the go aha.
I'm sure the Archos would be able to handle some 3d games though. We'll see...
They both hop on the 1GHz. I don't know much about Archos GPU though.
andershizzle said:
Yeah it's all down to personal preference about 7" or 10"... A tablet would be more of an 'at-home' thing for me... My phone is for the go aha.
I'm sure the Archos would be able to handle some 3d games though. We'll see...
They both hop on the 1GHz. I don't know much about Archos GPU though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah, the archos should handle the games and stuff as well as an equivalently specced phone, its certainly no slouch. Just the tab is 'better'.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I'm in the same dilemma right now too...not sure whether to go with the archos 7 inch or 10 inch....or whether to buy the galaxy tab....and a major deciding factor will be the pricing of the tab once its announced...
Yes if the Tab is any more than 400 I probably will go with the Archos... Can't beat $299
The only thing about the GPU in the Hummingbird is that there is nothing to do (yet) with all that power. It's in a league of it's own when it comes to graphics horsepower, and until we see more Android devices take up the PowerVR SGX540 GPU, I doubt we'll see anything take advantage of that power.
Hell, unless/until we start playing games at 720p on TV/Monitors via HDMI, it's not entirely clear we need that kind of graphics processing either. Take a look at the "Epic Citadel" tech demo of the Unreal 3 engine running on the iPhone 4 (which uses the less powerful PowerVR 535 I think) to see what can be accomplished with a GPU with 1/3 the power of the Hummingbird.
Comparing things like that cross platform is fairly useless.
There ate several things that can run on my iphone's old hardware and i know if it were in Android with the same hardware it would run like a dog. Look at Symbian. Very.few Symbian phones use "modern" hardware, but Symbian has no problem with lag.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
mesasone said:
The only thing about the GPU in the Hummingbird is that there is nothing to do (yet) with all that power. It's in a league of it's own when it comes to graphics horsepower, and until we see more Android devices take up the PowerVR SGX540 GPU, I doubt we'll see anything take advantage of that power.
Hell, unless/until we start playing games at 720p on TV/Monitors via HDMI, it's not entirely clear we need that kind of graphics processing either. Take a look at the "Epic Citadel" tech demo of the Unreal 3 engine running on the iPhone 4 (which uses the less powerful PowerVR 535 I think) to see what can be accomplished with a GPU with 1/3 the power of the Hummingbird.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you put it like that, then I'd say that the added GPU power adds a degree of future proofing. I suspect that what with the slew of droid based tablets arriving, people will start developing things that take advantage of the screen size. Particularly since tablets have a lot more battery so you can game for a lot longer, and thus might be interested in prettier visual.
Food for thought anyway.
The equivalent 7" archos is a great looking device tho. Although, can someone fill me in on a few things (i know nothing of the devices). Firstly, the spec just says the GPU is '3d OpenGL' but doesn't say the actual chip set. Would like to know what it is. Secondly, it says up to 250gigs, and I assumed that was a choice of internal flash-drives, but the spec sheet has 8gig flash and 250gig HD. Does that mean you connect a HD with USB or a changeable 2.5" drive or something ?
Certainly would help me understand
As long as it has decent quality and runs latest stock android.
Sent from galaxy s. JG4 + oneclick lag fix version 2.3
BigJayDogg3 said:
Comparing things like that cross platform is fairly useless.
There ate several things that can run on my iphone's old hardware and i know if it were in Android with the same hardware it would run like a dog. Look at Symbian. Very.few Symbian phones use "modern" hardware, but Symbian has no problem with lag.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh, like what specifically?
Heavy gunner.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
LostAlone said:
If you put it like that, then I'd say that the added GPU power adds a degree of future proofing. I suspect that what with the slew of droid based tablets arriving, people will start developing things that take advantage of the screen size. Particularly since tablets have a lot more battery so you can game for a lot longer, and thus might be interested in prettier visual.
Food for thought anyway.
The equivalent 7" archos is a great looking device tho. Although, can someone fill me in on a few things (i know nothing of the devices). Firstly, the spec just says the GPU is '3d OpenGL' but doesn't say the actual chip set. Would like to know what it is. Secondly, it says up to 250gigs, and I assumed that was a choice of internal flash-drives, but the spec sheet has 8gig flash and 250gig HD. Does that mean you connect a HD with USB or a changeable 2.5" drive or something ?
Certainly would help me understand
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an 8GB Flash Memory 7" tablet, expandable with Micro SD, and then there's a 7" tablet with an actual internal 250GB Hard Drive.
The 10" has a 8GB internal (micro SD expandable) for 299$ and 16GB internal (micro SD expandable) for 349$
Ah ok I get ya.
I assumed that it was one device with aftermarket add ons *facepalm* the 250gig version sounds pretty GOOD in theory at least
WARNING - LONG POST AHEAD
Anyways, I think what will make the real difference to the choice will be how much you want mobile data. There seems to be two schools of thought on how to use a tablet device here:
a) Those who would be wanting a tablet to augment their current device.
b) Those who see a small form factor tablet as a total alternative.
For those in camp A, the archos has to be a better device. Not only because of cost, but the extra capacity is definitely a head turner.
For those in camp B, the Tabs 3g radio and actual phone capabilities wins the game hands down.
Personally I am much more of a B. I would certainly be happy with an archos. However, since Im not the kind of person who would use it at home, it'd only do service as a media device on long trips. And it'd make me happy in that capacity.
However, since the Tab offers that same performance (less capacity, but I can't see why I would ever need to load up 250gigs of anything) and extras, I just see myself using it more. In my head I can see me using it to hold my notes or whatever I'm working from, and then I can just kick over to a web browser to find what I need or take calls or whatever, all in one device. Of course, I can still use my phone as a phone and my Tab the same as the archos, but I have the choice.
I think that the times I am sitting on a station waiting for a train or whatever, I would kick myself for not having the data use, and anytime where I have to scrabble through my pockets for my phone.
Am still waiting on pricing of course. If the Tab is ridiculously priced (I maintain that this isn't likely to happen) then I may well say screw it and get an archos or indeed another tablet, because much as I love the tab, I'm only willing to pay so much for what I see as the bonuses of using one. If the Tab is competitively priced against the archos, I can't see why anyone would buy the archos (unless they are comitted to carrying a silly amount of media), because even if you never use the added 3g functionality, you know its there. I figure a lot of people will be waiting on the pricing, because if the Tab is say 50-100 bucks more than the archos, its a no brainer. 100-150 more, and its a personal preference. Any more than that and its to much.
The TLDR version:
With my lifestyle, the phoneness of the Tab makes it a real winner. To others, perhaps not, but then again we all have to make our own choices as to what device/s fits for us
MOD EDIT IN BOLD.
LostAlone said:
Ah ok I get ya.
BJD3's abbv. version.
I'd like a tablet that can replace my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly the same boat im in. Id have to get one off contract since i just bought a captivate and plan on keeping it.
My thing is i just refuse to pay for two data plans, especially when i have AT&Ts grandfathered unlimited plan. And without 3G i can't justify the purchase of a tablet to myself.
So for me to even consider a tablet, it would HAVE to include a telephone. This is one reason i was so excited about the Streak, nut Dell kept dragging their feet bringing it to the US.
At this point, the Tab hits all my check marks, it just has to be priced somewhere south of 550 USD.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I currently own and use an Archos 5IT 5" android tablet.
Hardware wise, it outperforms the T-mobile Galaxy S that my roommate uses, with a processor that is clocked at 600mhz. I do not remember the chipset information off the top of my head, but it is a TI chip that has some solid power on the graphics side, and OpenGL support is available now with the latest firmware updates.
The biggest issue with Archos 5IT is that while updates have been constant for the device, there is no plans to put Android 2.0+ on the device, it is currently running 1.6 and will continue to do so until a 3rd party is able to port over something newer.
The new Archos tablets will not have any "phone parts" included in them, that is part of the reason for the lower price.
It will also include their standard Archos Media Center addin, which is a rather nice full function media application that runs overtop Android on the 5IT. I use their built in media center application over any Android based ones due to its simple UI and built in access to network shares, and all in all its pretty solid.
Otherwise, I have had nothing but good things to say about the device, in spite of its few quirks, most of which are being addressed with the newest models.
I plan on using my Vibrant's "MobileAP" for 3g Data on Archos if ever needed. Why pay for two plans? Heh. So the phone capabilities don't mean much for me. Even then it'd be an at home kind of system.
Ill admit the Archos is a good tablet, but two things keep me from getting it.
It lacks a multitouch screen, and it doesn't have a 3G connection.
While I'd prefer a capacitive screen, but if the screen is like the one in my Fuze, i can deal with that, and as I've said, i can't justify a tablet if any size if it diesnt have a SIM card slot.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
This is just so unfair.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAbsmHMAhrQ&feature=player_embedded
Uhhhmm... Why?
what is so unfair?
it works and does the same as the phone version, just bigger
Maybe he meant unfair because we cant get a decent FW for our phones because Samsung is focusing on the tablet.
It is really a strange feeling. Besides the size difference, I caught myself with envy that my phone could do the same thing, just being smaller.
But in fact it can't, because we never get the software.
Paulo
so what.. remember it has drawbacks too..
1. propriatary adapter instead of true hd socket.
2. no removeable replaceable battery..i like having spare batteries ready.
3. strange resolutin 1024x600
4. no super oled screen. .supposedly bad viewing angle support.
5. expensive.. will see price when carriers pick it up
there's a bigger chance i'll pick up one of these
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.44673
instead of the Tab, just because of price/size matters
it might not be as good as the Tab, and not even close to our phone, but it's great for size and compatibility to runt he same apps we run on our phones at a larger screen
I think of it as a really good backup of my stuff on the SGS phone, in case crap happens and i need to restore all the info back quickly
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Operating System: Google Android 2.1
Processor: Telechips TCC8902
CPU Frequency: 720MHz ARM11
Ram: 256M DDR2 RAM
Flash: 2GB
External memory: Support micro SD/TF card up to 32GB
Display: 7" TFT LCD with resistance screen touch
Resolution: WVGA 800*480-pixel resolution
Touch Control: Full size touch operation, sliding menu, functional icon dragging
Orientation Sensors: With accelerometer, automatic steering display screen
Network: IEEE802.11b/g Wi-Fi network connection
Camera: Built-in 300K Pixels camera
Microphone: Built-in
Speaker: Built-in 1 speaker
Slots: 1 * TF card (support up to 32G)
1 * 3.5mm earphone
1 * Mini USB
1 * HDMI Out (support 1080P HDMI TV out)
1 * Power supply
Support Video Formats: MPEG1/MPEG2/WMV9/MPEG4-SP/ASF/DIVX/H.263/H.264/RMVB/MOV/MKV/TS/FLV
Support Audio Formats: WMA/MP3/WAV/OOG/AAC/EAAC
Support Picture Formats: JPG/GIF/BMP/PNG
Language: Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Battery: Built-in 3000mAh Lithium battery (manufacturer rated)
Input/Output Adapter: Input: 100-240V (EU plug)
Accessories: 1 * AC power adapter
1 * Stylus
1 * USB host cable
1 * English user manual
Manufacturer's Warranty: - 12 Months excluding physical damages (see specifications for terms and details)
Specifications
Dimensions: 7.17 in x 4.53 in x 0.59 in (18.2 cm x 11.5 cm x 1.5 cm)
Weight: 12.03 oz (341 g)
ppeccin said:
Maybe he meant unfair because we cant get a decent FW for our phones because Samsung is focusing on the tablet.
It is really a strange feeling. Besides the size difference, I caught myself with envy that my phone could do the same thing, just being smaller.
But in fact it can't, because we never get the software.
Paulo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alot of companies do this type of tatic of focuing all materials and personale on a new product development. i dont believe samsung does this and tries to allocate its resources equally....
These pure tablet PC's are the most overrated technology ever anyway..
Hybrids such as the Lenovo Ideapad U1 make more sense, because touchscreens don't provide good enough feedback for typing. I understand that pure touchscreen-exclusive tablets seem cool, but they are actually a step back in productivity, and ergonomics. And only a company which makes a puck mouse seem cool (and in reality, focuses on irrelevant design issues rather than real ones) could bring these into fashion..
Don't waste money on them, until they can at least modify the shape of the touch screen panel to provide proper tactile feedback (ie, surface changes or lumps).
Instead, just get a netbook or a convertible tablet...
the problem with Laptops/Tablets is the weight and poor battery life compared to the tablets
i have a laptop, and it sits at home 90% of the time because of that
instead my SGS has almost replace my laptop entirely, just missing a mouse and keyboard, then i'll be set
looking forward to Froyo, which already confirmed support for BT mouse+keyboards, yay!
I'm sorry, Allgamer, but I have to ask, why are you pushing the SGS so hard?
1) 2 weeks ago, you were claiming that you were a power user, who had to swap your mobile phone batteries once a day, you have a BT headset, which you probably need to charge once a day, and now, a bluetooth keyboard you'll need to charge every 2 or 3 days too? You have a problem with Hybrid battery life (of 5 to 8 hours), but no problems shutting down your mobile to swap batteries constantly?
2) We both know the SGS is awkward to hold (and hurts your wrist after a while), and you can't really lay it down on the table.
3) You complain about the weight, but, the U1 tablet weighs 700gm and the entire hybrid weighs 1.7kg. My CCNA book weighs 1.6 KG as reference. You are in your 20's I thought, and you are already having trouble carrying a book?
4) Power users need productivity, and the SGS is TOTALLY inefficient. One problem is screen size, which makes it difficult to perform many tasks efficiently.
Sorry, but your comments are certainly starting to raise red-flags. By the sounds of things, you either aren't being honest to yourself, are exaggerating your use as a power user, or are trying to make things difficult for yourself.
Tablets don't entirely make sense, but they do as convertible hybrids.. Smartphones make sense for some things, but I have serious trouble believing that "power users" are best suited to using a mobile.
Too big for my pocket. And if I can take that with me, I also can take my netbook.
It's not much bigger...
For gaming+TV it would rock. There is no TV-tuner built in?
Also I need possibilities to run openoffice on it, so I can use it for presentations...
rdenis said:
Finally someone called out this moron for his load of BS he keeps spewing - I'm guessing he's about 14 and gets beat up a lot..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't say that..
But it's the same effect I saw when selling Apple equipment. People become so involved with their devices, that they begin to take an unrealistic look at how good they REALLY are. Apple Mac Pro's are the perfect example.
* In general, the video cards being sold with the Mac Pro's are generations behind those available on PC's. But people love them.
* Some people also LOVED the Apple might mouse, despite the right button being near-impossible to click successfully, because they didn't realise the competition allowed scrolling left and right too.
* Over time, all OSX users seemed to have convinced themselves that Windows crashed every day (even if iPhoto was crashing right in front of them).
*It's the same effect which has convinced Linux users that UAC is more intrusive than PolicyKit (it's actually the opposite).
Either way, the tablet seems targeted at the gimmicky crowd. Their main benefit is casual browsing, and watching movies. But lets face it, touchscreens are still HORRIBLE for typing, and most of us would like to be able to chat to someone whilst watching a movie.
But that's just my thoughts.. Time will tell, but you can't fix the ergonomics issues with tablets, until they are at least bendable, the pixels on the screen can displace themselves forward or backwards (or simply change smooth to rough) or have a perfectly polished neural interface (but neural interfaces are still under heavy development)
Speaking of which... what happened to the flexible display I read about a prototype a year or two ago?
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1- i still do and i always carry a spare battery with me when i go out, that's how often i use the SGS phone, and i keep an extra spare in the car, for when the one i have runs out, and i need another spare to keep with me.
the BT headset doesn't get charge every day, battery life is quite good, only gets charge once every week or two depending on usage, i use the phone for online activities not for yapping
BT keyboard is just a convenient for typing faster, they are foldable, it shrinks down to a pda size, still fits in a pocket, they existed since the Palm times, what's what made the BT keyboard popular, battery life depend on how much you type on it. you won't be charging a BT keyboard as often as you would charge a BT headset.
2- no idea how you are holding it, but it works just the same, for typing with the on screen keyboard it's pretty natural, i even do it one handed when i'm busy with a drink on the other hand, it's not as quick as when you type with both thumbs, but it's doable for SMS and IM, definitely you wont want to type a long email with a single thumb
holding the phone for voice call will just be natural as well, like using any other phone, the only thing that bugs me is the proximity sensor, as it takes a split second to go back to the dialing pad screen, before you can switch to another application to look up for information meanwhile chatting with the customer
3- yes because i don't like to travel with bags, it has nothing to do with lifting weight it's just ruins the look of your shirt, it shifts the shirt to a side with the weight and it doesn't look good, you don't want to hang out with a lady or partying with buddies carrying a laptop/ipad/tablet around is just trouble (it can get beer in it, it can get stolen if you leave it on the side of the restaurant/bar/anyplace, you might forget it if the meeting is going so well and having too much fun, ladies will look at you like a geek, some nicer restaurant will throw you a bad eye for pulling out a laptop on the table, you go to a cinema with a laptop and pull it out they'll automatically think you are going to capture the movie, been there done that, not fun, it was totally stupid if you ask me, since when you can get a decent recording out of a laptop webcam? LOL )
all of that aside, when you pull out an iphone or the SGS, no one will complain to you, instead people would say WOW! can i see that, can i do this, can i play that, can i... you get the idea, it's totally 2 side of the spectrum
That's what Apple is selling, and that's what people like, non geeky devices that works, and Samsung is just riding the same wave.
Personally i don't care, i just want a device that is better than Windows crapile, and the combination of Samsung hardware + Android OS have done that for me.
If PalmOS was still around on a phone similar to SGS i'd have gone the PalmOS way instead, as the OS is much more polished, still buggy, but there are tons of Apps for it... too bad the company went under bought by HP, and trashed to the pages of history.
4- for me productivity means being able to get online and log on to servers anywhere i'm in, for documents we got ThinkFreeOffice which is sufficient for me, and i was able to convert my old Palm Doc To Go office to the Android version of Doc To Go. with the SGS i can hookup to all my different companies accounts (15+), and they will all each keep their own separate contact list, in Wincrap mobile it would have been a major mess, you can't have both personal and work accounts together, now that's efficiency for me.
same goes with IM, i can be online with all my email accounts and people can contact me all over, it's so easy, in Wincrap i had to use those jabber IMs to do the same and it was always disconnecting because it goes through jabber and it's not stable enough to make IM conversation a good experience as people always said i was offline when i was not.
Since i switched to SGS using the stock push email & IM, i've not had any problem, all my customers are happy, and when customers are happy, i'm happy.
Typing is decent with SGS, it can be better with a BT keyboard, too bad i can't use it yet until Froyo is out.
Browsing speed is amazing, i can look up stuff instantly, this is a great topic when having a coffe with friends and customers, i'm a forgetful person i depend on a reliable PDA for my work, so it's amazing for people when they see i can jump back and forth between apps in the phone to look up about the stuff i forget during our conversations and then continue with the meeting.
It is just so natural this phone, compared to all previous ones. the best thing is, it's small, it can go anywhere, even under water if you put it on one of those waterproof bags for PDAs available on DX
If being able to do everything you need to do at anywhere and at anytime is not efficient for you, then i don't know what is, but for me that is exactly the type of device i need to do my work, and hobby, and entertainment, and picture, and recording, and specially the GPS as i use it every day while i drive, my Speedo in the car is broken.
was trying to install some custom mods to the car and screwed up the speedo needle fuel tank needle is dead as well, good think it lights up when it runs low in gas.
All in all you don't need to believe me, but that is truly how magnificent this phone works for people that knows how to use it.
I give free lesson and consulting on how to use it and get the most out of it and people love it, as usual I'll extend my hand for anyone that needs help with the phone in the GTA area, just PM me to book for an appointment.
i carry the XDA App anyways, i use it all the time to check my PMs and forum topics when i'm idle
andrewluecke said:
I'm sorry, Allgamer, but I have to ask, why are you pushing the SGS so hard?
1) 2 weeks ago, you were claiming that you were a power user, who had to swap your mobile phone batteries once a day, you have a BT headset, which you probably need to charge once a day, and now, a bluetooth keyboard you'll need to charge every 2 or 3 days too? You have a problem with Hybrid battery life (of 5 to 8 hours), but no problems shutting down your mobile to swap batteries constantly?
2) We both know the SGS is awkward to hold (and hurts your wrist after a while), and you can't really lay it down on the table.
3) You complain about the weight, but, the U1 tablet weighs 700gm and the entire hybrid weighs 1.7kg. My CCNA book weighs 1.6 KG as reference. You are in your 20's I thought, and you are already having trouble carrying a book?
4) Power users need productivity, and the SGS is TOTALLY inefficient. One problem is screen size, which makes it difficult to perform many tasks efficiently.
Sorry, but your comments are certainly starting to raise red-flags. By the sounds of things, you either aren't being honest to yourself, are exaggerating your use as a power user, or are trying to make things difficult for yourself.
Tablets don't entirely make sense, but they do as convertible hybrids.. Smartphones make sense for some things, but I have serious trouble believing that "power users" are best suited to using a mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have spare batteries too.. one i leave at work in case i forget.. i also use the external wall chargers.. the onese that go from purple to blue when charged... i have a couple of the g9 batteries i got from the samsung website and find they work even better than the g7 batteries..
I'll probably stick to my SGS and HP Elitebook 2730 tablet for when I need a larger display. With the extra battery slice on the latter I can easily rival the IPad's battery life yet do a heck of a lot more. It is heavier but I don't mind.
Given that Google says Froyo isn't designed for tablet use I'll probably hold off on the Tab either way though.
____________
Any typos or other oddities in this post are brought to you by the letters G & T, the number 9000, and Swype.
funkeh said:
I've been browsing this forum for a little while now and found AllGamers threads very helpful indeed and it hasn't cost me a penny.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's usually a major thing i keep in mind, like to stick with FREE stuff, because i'm poor... well not exactly true, i just spend money like there's no tomorrow, buying whatever i feel like on the spot if it tickles my fancy.
so FREE helps a lot, LOL
99% of the apps i suggest from android market are free, as i try to save were i can, so that i can spend it else when when i go out drinking
Any further posts in this thread, by any member, that are not directly related to the thread topic (i.e. the relative merits of the Galaxy Tab vs. the regular SGS variants) will met with immediate disciplinary action.
Android looks relatively Vanilla on the Tab. Can someone use the tab firmware to cook a similar ROM for the Galaxy S?
Intratech said:
Android looks relatively Vanilla on the Tab. Can someone use the tab firmware to cook a similar ROM for the Galaxy S?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure once we (some one from XDA) can get their hands on a working unit, that might actually be possible
as the Tab shares so much in common with the SGS, except for the screen size
we might need to edit the Aspect Ratio / resolution on the Tabs ROM and we might be able to use on our phones
i like the Gmail app version running on the Tab, you can split the screen, we can't do it yet with our current version when in landscape mode
Outlook lovers will love that feature
Let me start off by saying that I am no 'company fanboy' of any sorts, but rather a 'gadget fanboy' who tries to assess devices as objectively as possible.
I am current owner of a rooted Droid X (running gingerbread theme, undervolted, overclocked, with sysctl enabled, ~ approx. 2 days batt life on extended)
No, I am not teed about the current lack of flash, sd card support. thats not my gripe.
* My main gripe is a hardware limitation. I just find it heavy to use after prolonged use (after 20 min of continuous usage).
* I find the screen to be subpar compared to its main competitor, the iPad, which uses a IPS display resulting in a higher contrast ratio, deeper blacks, wider viewing angles, and better color reproduction
Xoom, Viewsonic G-tablet, iPad1
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* I find holding the xoom to be an uncomfortable affair compared to the iPad1. Now, I am an iPad1 user as well. I'm starting to realize why iPad has a thicker bezel. It makes it easier on the user to hold and use.
* Native google apps are buggy. I wasn't able to play a lot of YouTube videos, and the Google Maps application with vector support was surprisingly choppy. Everyone zoom into San Francisco until the buildings show. Tilt it so you can see a lot of the buildings. Start scrolling. Its pretty choppy. For some this is barely an issue, to me, it irks me.
To those that are on the fence for a tablet, and are a current Android smartphone user, I would highly recommend the iPad2 as it is lighter, thinner, and cheaper than its main competitor, the Xoom. Not to mention the 100k+ native iPad application support. And whats wrong with diversifying your OS portfolio? If you think about it, who woulda thought that an Apple product would be cheaper than its main competitor?
I don't mean to knock on the Xoom, but its just not ready yet, and I'm extremely worried that tablet developer support on android will not be as successful as the iPad due to android tablet pricing ($800, no wifi confirmation yet, $539 pricing is still a rumor).
Personally, I'm on the fence with this device. All the Xoom needs is time, so that the bugs can be closed and application support increases. Not to mention the root community on the tablet will explode hopefully in the near future. To be honest, I would LOVE to have an undervolted, overclocked android tablet that can give me almost twice the batt life. I'm still deciding whether to return this and get the iPad2.
However, I do find the xoom's 1280 x 800 16:9 form factor to be superior than the iPad when it comes to web browsing. The web browsing experience on the xoom is phenomenal.
Insanely unnecessary thread. Threads like this have saturated this website. extremely redundant. come on
Opinions
Assholes
dudeimgeorge said:
Insanely unnecessary thread. Threads like this have saturated this website. extremely redundant. come on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its an opinion. so had i made a thread only praising the xoom would that be unnecessary as well?
you can easily not respond to it. the post was created in order to garner discussion. thats all.
iPad doesn't have 100k+ native apps, it has 65k... I think your preference on the thicker bezel is also just that, preference. I prefer the Xoom's smaller bezel. Viewing angles on the Xoom are an issue for you? I'm looking at might from an off-angle right this moment and can still read the screen fine. Also, what are you using to judge the color representation? Any kind of professional tools, or is this just your eyes, which are far from what I'd call accurate?
aohus said:
its an opinion. so had i made a thread only praising the xoom would that be unnecessary as well?
you can easily not respond to it. the post was created in order to garner discussion. thats all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it would be unnecessary. People who like the Xoom like it, people who don't, don't. There's plenty of reviews out there on professional sites that people can go to.
I was with you for a minute, until your advertisement for the iPad 2.
The Honeycomb SDK has been out for LITERALLY LESS THAN 2 WEEKS. Developers couldn't really develop until they got their own hardware as the emulator sucks. There is one honeycomb device, do you think there will never be any others? I find the app argument really weak. Give it a couple of months and there will be several Honeycomb devices, probably a 3.0.1 or 3.1 android update.
Maybe you can live with the limitations of iOS, but I cannot. Those poor notifications send me into a rage.
Your assessment is just opinions how you feel about the device. When people are looking for an actual review they are going to read your crap and get a bad impression. The ipad cant really be classified as a tablet since there is no real difference between it and an iphone besides size. The only thing apple has is apps and a tablet should be about more than just apps. Android offers a different experience as a whole. But you just mention basically how much your hand hurts because you lack some muscle strength to hold something that weighs the same amount as the original ipad.
aohus said:
its an opinion. so had i made a thread only praising the xoom would that be unnecessary as well?
you can easily not respond to it. the post was created in order to garner discussion. thats all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude are you stupid? what you just said is exactly what i claimed as redundant. Had he written this days ago, specifically on the launch date, well this would be a great NEW THREAD. Opinions are great, but having multiple batches of the same crap bloats this forum and is just lazy. go out of your way and look for the countless people who are voicing their beautiful opinions on what they think about this product. all this is garnering is redundancy, and you are no better, hot shot
Elysian893 said:
iPad doesn't have 100k+ native apps, it has 65k... I think your preference on the thicker bezel is also just that, preference. I prefer the Xoom's smaller bezel. Viewing angles on the Xoom are an issue for you? I'm looking at might from an off-angle right this moment and can still read the screen fine. Also, what are you using to judge the color representation? Any kind of professional tools, or is this just your eyes, which are far from what I'd call accurate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
one can easily find the difference in display quality by the naked eye. If that isn't enough, there are multiple reviews stating the iPad's display is better in terms of contrast ratio, black levels, and color depth.
As for the bezel issue, thats a fair statement to make, its a user preference.
The viewing angles on the iPad IPS display is definitely wider than the Xoom's LCD display. But seriously, i wouldn't consider that a 'dealbreaker.'
Bauxite said:
The Honeycomb SDK has been out for LITERALLY LESS THAN 2 WEEKS. Developers couldn't really develop until they got their own hardware as the emulator sucks. There is one honeycomb device, do you think there will never be any others? I find the app argument really weak. Give it a couple of months and there will be several Honeycomb devices, probably a 3.0.1 or 3.1 android update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, and this is what i stated in the OP
aohus said:
All the Xoom needs is time, so that the bugs can be closed and application support increases. Not to mention the root community on the tablet will explode hopefully in the near future. To be honest, I would LOVE to have an undervolted, overclocked android tablet that can give me almost twice the batt life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dudeimgeorge said:
dude are you stupid? what you just said is exactly what i claimed as redundant. Had he written this days ago, specifically on the launch date, well this would be a great NEW THREAD. Opinions are great, but having multiple batches of the same crap bloats this forum and is just lazy. go out of your way and look for the countless people who are voicing their beautiful opinions on what they think about this product. all this is garnering is redundancy, and you are no better, hot shot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lets not engage in personal attacks here.
the vitriol and negative remarks is atrocious. I would have expected this kind of behavior from apple fanboys. seriously. do we have to be so insecure that we can't critically judge our own product? a shame really.
i'm anxiously awaiting LG, Samsung, and HTC to make its honeycomb debut. Already eyeing the 8.9 inch sammy tablet thats supposed to be very thin and light. we shall see
Xoom is way ahead of its time. The software stack it relies on is way to buggy. From various report on this forum, it can barely play any decent HD video clip and Netflix support is non-existent (probably will never arrive). Yes, over the time the software will improve and stablize. But at its current state (buggy software, no Flash and no microSD support), it is not worth the premium price it is asking for, IMO.
I have a Xoom and a SmartQ R10 (same IPS screen as the iPad). I did a comparison on Slatedroid: http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php?/topic/15865-screen-angles/
The IPS screen, imo, is better. I didn't use graphics and guides to figure this out - it was strictly with my naked eye.
As for the iPad(2), my biggest beef remains which is the walled garden approach to doing things that Apple forces on us. I am not a hater - I own MacOS SL and I love that OS - I personally think it's better than Windows 7. But iOS is a different animal, entirely.
I owned an iPad for a few days, so some examples of what I'm talking about:
- You can't even boot into the iPad until it's connected to iTunes. There's just something blatantly wrong with that way of thinking, imo. I need a desktop OS to use my tablet for the first time.... huh??
- Crippled audio and video support. No AVI, no FLAC, no Vorbis, no MKV etc etc. Yes, you can download (paid) apps to fix this, but why should I have to? Even MS started supporting Xvid AVI's in their Zune HD, last year - and this is MS we're talking about, the king of proprietary lock-down.
(Note: Before the reply of "that's because Apple doesn't support piracy", let me explain what I do. My purchased DVD's are ripped to Xvid AVI's as a standard, or MKV's if I need multiple audio tracks or subs. I made a decision years ago on these formats, as it offered the best compatibility at the time. As for music, I backup my CD's to FLAC and made the decision to use Vorbis as my Cowon music player supports it, it's easier to transcode because the codec is free to use, and it offers better quality than MP3's. But Apple thinks I'm a pirate because I don't use their codecs? I prefer freedom and choice).
- File sharing versus drag and drop. Seriously, why does Apple do this? It's my device, can't I just drop files into it? Are you so afraid that I might use it to play pirated videos that you have to lock this down?
- That HDMI dongle. Seriously, that's just pathetic. Why is so hard to just add a micro-HDMI connector to the iPad2?
- No Flash. EVER. Because Stevey-J has a problem with Adobe, his users pay for it. Don't tell me iPad users don't want it, because we all know that they would like support, deep down inside. Given the OPTION (and I stress that word) of having it if you wanted to, most would choose it. If you don't want Flash, then just don't install it. But give us the option of either / or.
- No external storage. Granted, the Xoom is missing this feature right now, but USB Host mode work (I just confirmed it) and the hardware is there. Apple doesn't add a microSD slot for two reasons - one, because they don't want you actually bypassing their draconian lock-down policies. And two, because no external storage = more money for them for their 32GB / 64GB devices.
The Xoom is FAR from perfect, don't get me wrong. But I suppose it all depends on how you plan to use your device. I tried the iPad1, and I hated it. But that's just me.
Dude who wrote this .....I agree with you
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
roebeet said:
As for the iPad(2), my biggest beef remains which is the walled garden approach to doing things that Apple forces on us. I am not a hater - I own MacOS SL and I love that OS - I personally think it's better than Windows 7. But iOS is a different animal, entirely.
I owned an iPad for a few days, so some examples of what I'm talking about:
- You can't even boot into the iPad until it's connected to iTunes. There's just something blatantly wrong with that way of thinking, imo. I need a desktop OS to use my tablet for the first time.... huh??
- Crippled audio and video support. No AVI, no FLAC, no Vorbis, no MKV etc etc. Yes, you can download (paid) apps to fix this, but why should I have to? Even MS started supporting Xvid AVI's in their Zune HD, last year - and this is MS we're talking about, the king of proprietary lock-down.
- File sharing versus drag and drop. Seriously, why does Apple do this? It's my device, can't I just drop files into it? Are you so afraid that I might use it to play pirated videos that you have to lock this down?
- That HDMI dongle. Seriously, that's just pathetic. Why is so hard to just add a micro-HDMI connector to the iPad2?
- No Flash. EVER. Because Stevey-J has a problem with Adobe, his users pay for it. Don't tell me iPad users don't want it, because we all know that they would like support, deep down inside. Given the OPTION (and I stress that word) of having it if you wanted to, most would choose it. If you don't want Flash, then just don't install it. But give us the option of either / or.
- No external storage. Granted, the Xoom is missing this feature right now, but USB Host mode work (I just confirmed it) and the hardware is there. Apple doesn't add a microSD slot for two reasons - one, because they don't want you actually bypassing their draconian lock-down policies. And two, because no external storage = more money for them for their 32GB / 64GB devices.
The Xoom is FAR from perfect, don't get me wrong. But I suppose it all depends on how you plan to use your device. I tried the iPad1, and I hated it. But that's just me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have summarized this very consistently as opposed to the OP. It is getting really bad in this forum that I have to ask whether it is worth to visit.
knut150 said:
You have summarized this very consistently as opposed to the OP. It is getting really bad in this forum that I have to ask whether it is worth to visit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some of his points are a little off. i agree with many, but as far as codec support goes, the xoom tablet does not have much codec support. you can't play FLAC, Vorbis, MKV's natively on the Xoom, so its the same for both iDevices and the Xoom tablet.
However, that being said, it doesn't mean its the fault of honeycomb, thats motorola's decision to not support various codecs.
i'm just trying to be rational. it really comes to this.
Either Wait, and see how the other honeycomb tablets turn out
OR, if you need to buy a tablet now, you essentially have two choices when it comes to premium tablets, the xoom or the iPad2.
so you have $800 vs $499 at the moment.
a device thats thinner and lighter, cheaper compared to a singular $800 tablet with a better OS (honeycomb).
aohus said:
so you have $800 vs $499 at the moment.
a device thats thinner and lighter, cheaper compared to a singular $800 tablet with a better OS (honeycomb).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong. $729 compared to $800. 3G vs 4G upgradable + expandable memory
The wifi Xoom isn't out yet so you can't compare a wifi only iPad 2 to the Xoom just yet.
Any post that starts off with "I am not a fanboy" is a really good warning that you're about to read a post by a fanboy who doesn't want to be thought of as a fanboy.
Heavy? Don't you find a hardback book to also be heavy if you're wasting energy trying to hold it up for 20 minutes? Get the motorola cover which has a built in stand and use it. or put a throw pillow on your lap and rest it there. The iPad 1 weighs 1.5lbs. The Xoom weighs 1.6lbs. You really think that additional ounce and a half makes more than a negligible difference? Any object of more than about 1/4 pound will start to feel heavy after 20 minutes. The product you're complaining about here is not the Xoom. You're complaining about gravity and your arms. There are multiple work-arounds available beyond those I mentioned above.
Judging from the screenshots you're primarily using your Xoom in Portrait mode, most likely because that's what your Portrait-centric iPad taught you to do. Your Xoom and Honeycomb are both Landscape-centric. Try to make the switch. You'll have a better experience.
"I would highly recommend the iPad2"
Why would anyone take advice about a product from someone who has never touched or used that product?
"I don't mean to knock on the Xoom"
Yes you do. That was the whole point of your post.
aohus said:
some of his points are a little off. i agree with many, but as far as codec support goes, the xoom tablet does not have much codec support. you can't play FLAC, Vorbis, MKV's natively on the Xoom, so its the same for both iDevices and the Xoom tablet.
However, that being said, it doesn't mean its the fault of honeycomb, thats motorola's decision to not support various codecs.
i'm just trying to be rational. it really comes to this.
Either Wait, and see how the other honeycomb tablets turn out
OR, if you need to buy a tablet now, you essentially have two choices when it comes to premium tablets, the xoom or the iPad2.
so you have $800 vs $499 at the moment.
a device thats thinner and lighter, cheaper compared to a singular $800 tablet with a better OS (honeycomb).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct - I was mixing my GTAB experience with my Xoom experience. After the fact I realized that the Xoom is actually more crippled codec-wise than my GTAB. That's a surprise.
Vorbis does play OOTB however, I'm a heavy Vorbis user. But the video support is bizarre - MKV works, but only to a point. Depends on the audio / video codec inside. And Xvid AVI's do NOT work, which is worse than my GTAB. FLAC doesn't have OOTB support but apps like Rockbox can fix that.
My bigger point is that the Xoom at least allows you to copy the files and then use an app, if available, to run the content. The iPad doesn't allow that - you have to have the app in advance (usually not free) and then use iTunes file sharing to move the content over. It's much less efficient.
I did do some audio / video testing on an iPad, so I know what was available and the cost for the apps. Vorbis, in particular, really annoyed me because that's my audio codec of choice. The Xoom actually sees Vorbis files, AND reads their tags. That's actually better than my GTAB.
Bad marks on Xvid AVI's, though - I hope that will be fixed. There's no WMA / WMV support either -- that could just be a build.prop change, however.
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Once considered a novelty, 8-inch Windows tablets are now everywhere: Lenovo has two; Acer has two, Dell has one, so does Toshiba. Not to be left out, Some Chinese manufacturers recently started shipping their own 8-inch Windows tablet.
For
Good battery life
Nice display
Solid design and build quality
Full desktop functionalities
HDMI support
MicroSD card support
Sensible price
Against
Slightly sluggish performance with heavier applications
Poor cameras
Small internal storage
BOTTOM LINE
The Acube iWork 8 may not stand out in any one area, but it is a small Windows tablet with a solid design, a pleasant display and long battery life.
Key Features
8-inch IPS capacitive touchscreen of 1280 x 800 px resolution;
1.8GHZ Intel Atom Bay-Trail-T Z3735E Quad-core Processor, Intel HD Graphic (Gen7) GPU
1GB of LPDDR3 RAM
Windows 8.1
16GB of SSD built-in Storage
2MP front-facing camera/2MP rear-facing camera
Back-mounted stereo speakers
Wi-Fi 802.11
Bluetooth v4.0
USB 2.0 host (dongle required)
Micro SD card slot
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
HDMI V1.4
5,000mAh Li-Po battery
What is the Cube iWork 8?
The Cube iWork 8 an 8-inch, Windows 8.1 tablet joining the not so great but insanely priced Ramos i8pro and the more impressive Dell Venue Pro 8 as a place where you can get all the benefits of a full Windows PC like access to Microsoft Office and the ability to download desktop applications all in a much smaller, compact body.
As a member of the second generation of 8-inch Windows 8 tablet line, it is definitely thinner and lighter, yet still dogged by some minor performance issues.
Design
Looks aren't everything. But to the extent that good design and build quality matter (especially on budget devices like these), Cube is off to a fine start. Unlike most of its rivals, the iWork 8 is more designed for horizontal use, you could tell that from its boot screen and also the logo placement on its back. It makes sense because most of the applications are made for landscape mode. But whenever you want to use it in portrait, the small bezel really helps you to have a solid hold.
You'll be hard-pressed to find an 8-inch tablet that isn't thin, light and easy to hold in one hand. Nonetheless, all that's true of the Cube iWork 8: measuring at 206*126*10mm, it immediately makes a good case for choosing an 8-inch tablet over a 10- or 11-inch one. The small bezel makes it look even more compact than the Dell Venue 8 pro and the Acer Iconia W4. Weighing at only 340g, it is even lighter than my first 7-inch Galaxy Tab.
One thing that makes the iWork 8 a bit strange to use at first: It appears to be missing a Start button. More precisely, it has one; it's just not where you'd expect it to be. Instead of a touch-sensitive Start button built into one of the bezels, the tablet has a physical Start key located on the top horizontal edge of the device, right next to the volume rocker. I'll be honest, it took me quite a little while to stop tapping the bezels and go straight for the physical button. That said, now that I've gotten the hang of it, I have to give Cube credit for at least choosing the button location carefully. Since the key sits on the top edge, over toward the left, it's easy to hit when you're using the tablet in landscape mode, and also when you flip it over into portrait, at which point the button is within reach of your right thumb. Still, a capacitive key would've been even easier.
The power/standby key and all the ports and slots are hosted on the left edge, you will find the 2.5mm DC port, a 3.5mm audio jack, a MicroSD card slot which you will surely need to compensate the small 16GB internal storage, as well as a Mini HDMI port. I am so glad that Cube includes the HDMI output for the iWork 8, which neither Lenovo Miix 2 8 nor Dell Venue 8 Pro has.
Display and Sound
Given that the same series of Bay Trail processors power all these 8-inch Windows tablets, there aren't many opportunities for companies to differentiate themselves: It's design, display quality and maybe camera performance. Fortunately, Cube didn't skimp on the screen -- the 1,280 x 800 IPS panel here is just lovely. Although it lacks the exceptional clarity you’d expect on small tablets like the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HDX 7 or the iPad Mini, colors are punchy, without being too saturated, and the screen is easy to view from various angles. Even at only 30% brightness level, the IPS panel can be bright enough for indoor use, so it is quite possible to enjoy the vibrant screen while still getting long battery life.
The speakers are also great, loud and clear enough for watching movies in a quiet room, but you would want to plug in a headphone to get more refined sound for music.
System & software
In retrospect, it's not surprising that Microsoft decided to showcase Windows 8.1 on 8-inch tablets: Many of the improvements to the OS make it especially easy to use on smaller-screened devices. For example, new keyboard shortcuts allow you to swipe the space bar to cycle through spelling suggestions, and to swipe various letters to expose the punctuation symbols that would otherwise be hidden. Also, you get more options for Live Tile sizes, including an extra small one that seems especially well-suited to smaller displays like this.
Additionally, all of the other headline features in Windows 8.1 can be found here, including an always-visible Start button in the lower-left corner of the desktop, expanded split-screen options and the ability to take photos from the lock screen (an especially handy feature on a smaller device like this). Also, as you've no doubt heard by now, Windows 8.1 ushers in a slew of new first-party apps, including Reading List (an alternative to Pocket), Bing Food & Drink, Bing Health & Fitness, a calculator, an alarms app and a sound recorder. Meanwhile, other built-in programs have received meaningful updates, with Xbox Radio and a new set of photo-editing tools, to name just two examples.
And what of third-party apps? I am happy to report the selection is steadily growing, even if there are still some holes. Flipboard and Whatsapp arrived on the Windows Store recently, so did TED, which launched as I was writing this review. Even before that, we had apps like Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, QQ, Line, Foursquare, Pandora, Rhapsody, Slacker Radio, Amazon Kindle, Nook, Zinio, Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Fitbit, Mint.com, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Hulu Plus, Netflix, ESPN, ABC Family, ABC News, NBC News, CBS, CBS Sports, CNN, MTV and the AP.
At this point, the "Windows doesn't have enough apps" argument simply doesn't carry as much weight: The Windows Store catalog is growing, and it's growing fast. That said, if you buy the Cube iWork 8 (or any other Windows tablet), you still won't find every program you're searching for, at least not on the day you buy it. Some notable omissions? Instagram, Tumblr, HBO Go, Pocket and a first-party NPR player, to name just a few. Some major bank and airline apps would be nice, too. Again, though, given how many heavy-hitters eventually made their way onto the platform, we have faith that most of these holdouts will join the fold at some point or another.
However, the strength of the Win8 system is its accessibility to all desktop Windows applications, which means unlimited productivity. I admit it is not always easy to do everything on an 8-inch screen, but the HDMI port makes sure you are always able to connect to a bigger display.
Running office 365 on the iWork 8 is simply just amazing, never ever had I expected that I can do everything to my PPTs and excel sheets on such a small device. During my 2-day business trip to Guangzhou, I brought both my 15-inch HP laptop and my iWork 8, and I am pleasantly surprised that very seldom did I need to really use my heavy and chunky laptop, the iWork 8 does everything from sending out meeting invitations in Outlook to revising some PPT slides quite well. But if your work does require a lot of text input in Word documents or running some very complicated calculations in Excel, I would suggest you pair the iWork 8 with Bluetooth keyboard.
Performance
As I already discovered when I reviewed the Cube iWork 10, Intel's new Bay Trail processors are powerful enough to handle not just Windows Store apps, but also lightweight desktop programs like Photoshop, Icon Creator and SAP. That's true here as well: The iWork 8 is fit to run all the above programs, along with Microsoft Office 365 and even some games, as we'll describe in a moment. On the Metro Modern UI side, the iWork 8 flies through animations and transitions, and opens apps quickly. It's worth noting that the iWork 8 has only 1GB of RAM, whenever the tasks pile up, the performance could be crippled.
It takes 25 seconds to boot up -- about twice the time it takes Acer Iconia W700 to fully load. That said, it is still much faster than most of the PC which uses traditional SATA disk.
The iWork 8’s biggest talent might actually be web browsing: Pages load quickly and jumping between tabs is a breeze, even with many tabs open, it still remains quite responsive, definitely a much smoother experience than given by the iPad or Android tablets.
If benchmarks mean anything to you, it notched a score of 498ms in the SunSpider JavaScript test. Remember, too, that lower numbers are better, so this actually surpasses the Nexus 7 2013 edition (1141.9ms), Surface RT (968.2ms) as well as the Cube Talk 97 (972.8ms), closely behind the iPad Air (384.0) and the Cube iWork 10 (420.2ms).
The more graphically intense Peacekeeper test returned a score of 624, which again put it way ahead of the Surface RT (329) and the Google Nexus 7 2013 (589), but still falls behind the iPad Air (1132) and the iWork 10 (420.2ms)
As for gaming, the iWork 8’s Bay Trail processor is able to run most of the games you can find in the Windows store. Even so, don't expect it to replace your gaming rig as traditional 3D PC games would struggle due to the insufficient RAM.
I have experienced no struggle in video playback, as the Xunlei Kankan Player I installed on the iWork 8 easily breezed through all the videos I threw at it.
Cameras
The Cube iWork 8 has dual cameras. The 2MP front-facing camera works well with Skype video calls in abundant lighting environment, but I would never use it for selfies given the low quality.
The rear-facing camera is also 2MP, and has auto-focus support, but the photos it takes don’t even have enough quality for Facebook or Instagram updates.
Battery Life
The iWork 8 packs a 5,000mAh Li-Po battery, which Cube specifically claims that it could give the iWork 8 eight hours of battery life. Perhaps with light usage, you can get the tablet to last that long, but in my video-looping test, the iWork managed a more modest seven hours and 11 minutes. With more applications running at the same time, the battery life could even be even shorter, so 6-7 hours of average battery life is what you should expect from the iWork 8.
The annoying issue actually comes with the charging. It takes unnecessarily long time (4-5 hours) to finish a full charge, pretty strange given the tablet only has a 5,000mAh battery.
Wrap-up
Priced at RMB799 (USD129), The Cube iWork 8 certainly makes a much better sense than Ramos’ attempt at an 8-inch Windows 8 tablet – the RMB1499 (USD241) Ramos i8 Pro. While I personally prefer the look of the Acer Iconia W4, the iWork 8’s a still a well-built tablet with a slightly slimmer and lighter body. The screen might not be class-leading, but it is on par with its higher-priced rivals, it has the capacity to keep you working throughout the day.
While it is running on a full version of Windows 8.1, it doesn’t mean it’s capable of the same performance as a conventional desktop or laptop. The power on board is sufficient for typical tablet tasks, but if you attempt anything more intensive, the chinks in the armour begin to show. The 1GB RAM makes sense for tablet tasks, but is certainly insufficient for many of the heavy-weight desktop applications.
To get the best out of Office, you’d need to invest in a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard and mouse, although the HDMI support does mean you can hook it up to a larger display to make working with it more manageable.
If we had to pick a Windows tablet to use as a tablet, The Cube iWork 8 might be a decent choice, but if you need more desktop functionalities, then you’d better go for the bigger iWork 10.
Probably wil cost 180usd for the rest buying outside china. At that price better go with dell venue 8 which can be had for 199 usd during sale
yusoffb01 said:
Probably wil cost 180usd for the rest buying outside china. At that price better go with dell venue 8 which can be had for 199 usd during sale
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where can i buy dell venue 8 for 199 dollars?
amazon during holidays. If it doesnt deliver to you country, then use forwarder like hopshopgo, probably for 20usd more
Wow, that was a really impressive review. Nicely done. Shame about awful cameras though; even the downscaled images here on XDA show really awful chromatic aberration and poor dynamic range.
I'd also make a counterpoint to one thing you said, though: video-looping is actually moderately hard on the battery. Truly typical tablet uses like web browsing and ebook reading, with some video but not non-stop for 7+ hours, could easily reach the 8 hours mentioned. Some of that will depend on how much the WiFi radio is being used, though. It would have been interesting to see what the battery life is if you just disable sleep mode and have it sit there with a web page that auto-refreshes (over WiFi) every thirty seconds, for example.
Also, it would have been nice if you'd mentioned location sensors like GPS (or more likely, lack thereof) up at the top.
>video-looping is actually moderately hard on the battery.
It depends on the SoC; some are optimized for video decoding, and battery will actually last longer on vid-loop test than a more representative test. Engadget's batt test is vid-loop.
>Shame about awful cameras though; even the downscaled images here on XDA show really awful chromatic aberration and poor dynamic range.
It's an entry model; cams are considered a perk on this. I'd be thankful if it has a decent IPS screen and reasonable battery life.
Ignoring the so-called review for the nonce (since IMO it smells like a "sponsored post"), this is the tail-end of the 8" Win tab crop with 1GB RAM & 16GB flash that we'll see this year. Median price should be around $150. One step up would be same setup w/ 2GB and 32GB flash, for probably $200. I'm glad to see that even for the bottom rung, this has both HDMI-out and dedicated charging port. That was a big headache for last year's crop.
Speaking of improvements, I'm also glad to see both MS and Google following Apple's footstep in moving to "squarer" aspect ratios. SP3 is 3:2, and the aborted Surface Mini is rumored to be 4:3. As well, rumored Nexus 9 is said to be 4:3. Wide-screen sucks for portrait use, and sucks for most uses other than watching videos. Most of this year's crop will be wide-screen, but am hoping more will follow the platform vendors' lead for next year.
Add: On the downside, freebie Office is now rental-ware. While it was never a compelling selling point for small Win devices, it's a decent perk. Now, I would consider it a net negative, for the space it takes up on these limited-storage devices. You can't free up the space, since it's undoubtedly baked into the WIMBoot blob.
One solution is a clean install. With basic optimization, a 32-bit 8.1u1 install takes up 7GB incl swap (in binary, 16GB = roughly 15GB binary, so 8GB remaining). That would also speed up disk I/O, since WIMBoot is no longer in play.
e.mote said:
>video-looping is actually moderately hard on the battery.
It depends on the SoC; some are optimized for video decoding, and battery will actually last longer on vid-loop test than a more representative test. Engadget's batt test is vid-loop.
>Shame about awful cameras though; even the downscaled images here on XDA show really awful chromatic aberration and poor dynamic range.
It's an entry model; cams are considered a perk on this. I'd be thankful if it has a decent IPS screen and reasonable battery life.
Ignoring the so-called review for the nonce (since IMO it smells like a "sponsored post"), this is the tail-end of the 8" Win tab crop with 1GB RAM & 16GB flash that we'll see this year. Median price should be around $150. One step up would be same setup w/ 2GB and 32GB flash, for probably $200. I'm glad to see that even for the bottom rung, this has both HDMI-out and dedicated charging port. That was a big headache for last year's crop.
Speaking of improvements, I'm also glad to see both MS and Google following Apple's footstep in moving to "squarer" aspect ratios. SP3 is 3:2, and the aborted Surface Mini is rumored to be 4:3. As well, rumored Nexus 9 is said to be 4:3. Wide-screen sucks for portrait use, and sucks for most uses other than watching videos. Most of this year's crop will be wide-screen, but am hoping more will follow the platform vendors' lead for next year.
Add: On the downside, freebie Office is now rental-ware. While it was never a compelling selling point for small Win devices, it's a decent perk. Now, I would consider it a net negative, for the space it takes up on these limited-storage devices. You can't free up the space, since it's undoubtedly baked into the WIMBoot blob.
One solution is a clean install. With basic optimization, a 32-bit 8.1u1 install takes up 7GB incl swap (in binary, 16GB = roughly 15GB binary, so 8GB remaining). That would also speed up disk I/O, since WIMBoot is no longer in play.
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they sent me free models to test, but it is not sponsored. everything i wrote down was true.
Non-widescreen ratios were normal for years until the more recent trend for 16:9, nothing that Apple are "leading" on. The nice thing about Android and Windows is choice. It's good that there are some non-widescreen devices appearing for those who prefer it, but I'd hate for most of them to switch to that.
Personally I prefer widescreen on a tablet: good for video (one of the most useful things about a tablet, there's a reason they were called "media players" for most of the 2000s); it's better for e-reading (portrait mode is more like a book); and it fits easier in a pocket or a bag. For other purposes, like software, games, I don't think either works out better overall.
It's on desktop monitors I disliked the trend towards widescreen, as it's not like one gains anything by reducing the vertical height.
>Non-widescreen ratios were normal for years until the more recent trend for 16:9, nothing that Apple are "leading" on.
Sorry, Apple iPad leads the way on 4:3 tablets. Yep, 4:3 CRTs existed way back when (I had plenty of them), but wide-screen now dominates computing displays, including tablets. There were a few 4:3 Android tabs, but they're most Shenzhen, and mostly iPad clones.
>The nice thing about Android and Windows is choice
Not for screen ratio. Most Android tabs are 16:10. Win tabs are mostly 16:9 at 10+" sizes, and 16:10 at 8". There is no practical choice unless you want to get a China tab, or some outdated model (Lenovo had some 4:3 ones). But as said, SP3 is 3:2, as is the aborted Surface Mini, and at least some coming Nexus toys are rumored to have a squarer aspect. So perhaps there will be more choice, but not as of yet.
>Personally I prefer widescreen on a tablet: good for video
Yes, video is the primary use-case for CONSUMPTION, which widescreen is good for. It's bad for most everything else. If MS wants to harp on the PRODUCTIVITY angle, then widescreen is a poor choice.
>it's better for e-reading (portrait mode is more like a book)
No, portrait use is awkward with widescreen tablets (unless for a small size like a phone, where one-handed use trumps other consideration). It's a recurring complaint with 16:9 Windows tablets, frequently cited in reviews.
>and it fits easier in a pocket or a bag
Pocketability doesn't apply to tablets. Not too many peeps stick 7" into their back pockets, and Win tabs don't go that small anyway.
>It's on desktop monitors I disliked the trend towards widescreen, as it's not like one gains anything by reducing the vertical height.
The same problem--limited vertical space--applies to widescreen tablets in landscape mode.
I actually rather like widescreen desktop displays - in landscape mode they allow more windows or documents side-by-side (for doing code reviews with reference materials close at hand, this is huge) and in portrait mode they provide an excellent format for a long-but-not-too-wide text column (think about the aspect ratio of the readable portion of each side of a typical paperback book's page); I usually use that orientation for things like email and chat logs, but it can be used for lots of other things.
None of that has much to do with Windows tablets, though. I have good enough vision I can set the DPI scaling to 100% on Surface 2 / Pro / Pro 2 and still have readable text, which lets me snap windows side-by-side the way I do on my work machine, but apparently that's weird?
>in landscape mode [widescreens] allow more windows or documents side-by-side...and in portrait mode they provide an excellent format for a long-but-not-too-wide text column
Side-by-side doc viewing is applicable for desktop-sized (20+") displays, not tablets. Tab displays are already sized-constrained for even single-doc view; SxS-view isn't practical.
Portrait mode for widescreen is likewise constrained. It works for docs with reflowable text, but not for PDFs with mixed graphics/text (ie non-reflowable text) or comics; display width would be lacking for full page views.
I agree that the majority prefer widescreen, mostly because video-watching is by far the prevalent use on mobile devices. I don't agree that widescreen lends itself to productivity in portrait, for the simple fact that Windows hybrids (and Windows 8.1 itself) aren't designed for portrait use. For one, portrait mode means forfeitting use of the keyboard dock for all 2n1s, include Surfaces.
>I have good enough vision I can set the DPI scaling to 100% on Surface 2 / Pro / Pro 2 and still have readable text, which lets me snap windows side-by-side the way I do on my work machine, but apparently that's weird?
Not weird, but an outlier. People normally can't discern text at such dense resolution (assuming default font size), particularly older people. Regardless, for those who prefer it, SxS view work just as well if not better on a squarer display. Split SP3's 3:2 screen in half and you have two 4:3 displays.
Is office included?
Does it include a preinstalled Office 2013 version (Word & Excel) like the Dell Venue 8 Pro or do I have to purchase an Office 365 subscription?
amospfef said:
Does it include a preinstalled Office 2013 version (Word & Excel) like the Dell Venue 8 Pro or do I have to purchase an Office 365 subscription?
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no, it doesn't, u need to purchase the office 365, but there is a one month free trail use.
Any idea if this can boot other operating systems - i'm thinking Xubuntu?
I have an HP Omni 10 and am very disappointed by the fact that it's tied into the pre-installed Windows 8.1 with no way to boot or install any other operating system.
Thanks.
Martin.
does it have gps?
Does the Cube iWork8 (2/32GB) have GPS? thanks
I dun think cube work8 is the cheapest one.
The PIPO W2 is same price but with the latest Baytrail Quad-core, 2gb RAM and 32gb memory. Got one from ebay.co.uk at £139.98. Much cheaper than other brand with same spec.
---------- Post added at 04:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:06 AM ----------
amospfef said:
Does it include a preinstalled Office 2013 version (Word & Excel) like the Dell Venue 8 Pro or do I have to purchase an Office 365 subscription?
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The PIPO w2 preinstallled win8.1 and full version Office365:good:
For reading pdf files and 'some' books I also prefer 4:3 format, for anything else wide screen seems the better solution.
Unless when the screen is big with high dpi, then more space in all directions prevails. But those are relatively expensive.
But for computing on the same dpi I would take an wide screen over 4:3 anytime. Though I do rotate my screen from time.
For tablet 7" or 8" wide is just more convenient in the hand and to put away in a pocket. You just can't do that with an 4:3.
@SuperSuperFrank: isn't the office version a one year for free subscription?
Buggster said:
For reading pdf files and 'some' books I also prefer 4:3 format, for anything else wide screen seems the better solution.
Unless when the screen is big with high dpi, then more space in all directions prevails. But those are relatively expensive.
But for computing on the same dpi I would take an wide screen over 4:3 anytime. Though I do rotate my screen from time.
For tablet 7" or 8" wide is just more convenient in the hand and to put away in a pocket. You just can't do that with an 4:3.
@SuperSuperFrank: isn't the office version a one year for free subscription?
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Yes, sorry for the misleading. It's 1 year subscription office365
iWork 8 with 2GB/32GB now is on sale at jd.com with RMB699.
Sent from Tapatalk with my Tab 4 (SM-T235Y)
---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------
beholder21 said:
Does the Cube iWork8 (2/32GB) have GPS? thanks
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No GPS
Sent from Tapatalk with my Tab 4 (SM-T235Y)
im looking at voyo a1 8" 114€
and saw the cube iwrok 8" for 110€
both same specs, and look the same also. i mean the butons/ports are on the same place. so i guess they are the same. for the same factory just a different name
any one know any difference?
http://www.dx.com/p/cube-iwork8-8-i...rom-wi-fi-bluetooth-black-338475#.VIX63jGG-UI
http://www.gearbest.com/tablet-pcs/pp_75299.html
Neptune, the company behind the Pine wearable phone, is coming back around, but their efforts are curious now. First, they boast the Neptune Duo, an idea of flipping the watch and phone to make the phone the companion and the watch the core.
The phone part is considered a peripheral. Replaceable, non-essential. The watch is where the magic happens.
But then they update their website. The ability to reserve or pledge for a Duo disappears. In its place, a teaser for their newest idea, one to truly make the personal computer...
It mentions the Hub, as a primary source. I have nothing but speculation and curiosity.
Neptune made a name for themselves when they proposed the idea of a smartwatch that could truly be your only device. The Pine didn't quite live up to those expectations. It fell flat as fast as it rose. But Neptune looks like they're far more professional about this, with plans to change the world through a model that merges two other models that most of us weren't aware of. They plan to balance the understanding of use cases, but make it work with one device? It's interesting, but impossible considering there are many kinds of people.
This isn't even the first time. Canonical built Ubuntu Touch with an intent on allowing you to make a dockable phone that would allow the phone to be a full-on computer for easy and simplified use. That is still in the works, and not even being seen yet from the Aquaris E4.5, the only phone with Ubuntu Touch currently.
What do you think? Can Neptune pull it off for real this time?
A good concept
I recently became the proud owner of a stand alone smart watch.
The main disadvantage of super small stand alone smartphone watches (with only 1.5 inch screen) is that typing sms-es or search criteria becomes a true challenge.
The usage of a companion screen that allows for a bigger interface (and thus a larger keyboard), only when needed, is the perfect solution.
Why is the protocol between the "hub" and the screen a propriatary thing?
I think there is a market for the Duo, if the price is right.
It's no longer the Duo, but the Suite. The protocol is not proprietary. It is actually WiGig, an advancement on existing Wi-Fi that takes form in the unused 60Ghz band, able to send 700mb/s wirelessly. The Hub is the center of the system with flagship specifications. The Pocket Screen is the most equivalent to a phone. The Tab screen is a 10-inch display, Keys for physical function, Earphones for sound and charging, and a dongle for TV use.
WiGig technology is simply not consumer-grade yet. Neptune Suite should change that.
The Hub uses a 2.4in display, and they're currently arguing the choice of OLED vs. E-Ink display. I personally think OLED is a better option. Since the WiGig technology is energy-efficient, the worry of OLED for energy consumption sort of gets canceled out due to streaming data to a completely different device.
Since you'll get the equivalent of a flagship phone in watch size, a phone, tablet, keyboard, headphones and dongle bundled, the price comes out to $900.
Interesting. Thanks for that information. Price seems high.
A nice spec Android smart watch phone: less than $200
A nice Android tablet : less than $200
If one has both already, what does it take to use te tablet as a second screen and keyboard? If tablet connects through the Phone hotspot, All I would need it for is to:
Surf: tablet
Sociale networks: tablet
Video: tablet
Phone: phone
Music: Phone or tablet
Edit contacts, type sms: both with tablet to help me for typing
I admit that it would require some user discipline to do all what the duo/suit can do,
....... for half the price of less
Well, to be fair, this is potentially the strongest smartwatch that will be available. It does more than the Samsung Gear S or Apple Watch, it runs Android, it has Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, 802.11b/g/n/ac + ad for WiGig.
The extra hardware doesn't even operate without the Hub. That seems bad, but it acts as a sort of security feature, and the Hub is the center of all the hardware, so you have the same data at your disposal whether you use the phone or the tablet. Your idea has that issue where data and apps would potentially be out of sync.
With 64GB, this is likely supposed to be the answer to the businessman on the go. Tired of carrying cables to sync data over, and doesn't care about the operating environment, someone who can use Android, iOS, OS X, or Windows. Carries his data on his wrist, never worries about leaving hardware because if it's a good enough product, he can just buy a new Pocket screen at a Wal-mart. Maybe wouldn't mind going out for a jog once in a while, and won't need to carry the Pocket screen because the Hub is a phone at the heart of it.
The price sort of makes sense. On the Indiegogo page, they offer the devices individually, and the Hub + wireless earphones came up for $400, which seems good for a watch of this magnitude. Likely, that's backer price, and it would be $500+ on its own. $900 seems worth it, of course, if you want to entrust the time between here and now, it's $649.
Extremely intrigued by the Neptune...
I'll admit, I'm a bit obsessed with the concept of a true standalone smartwatch, and am a big believer that delegating simple tasks like phone calls and sending/receiving texts and emails (made easier by voice) to a smartwatch while using a small tablet for heavier browsing/app usage is simply a more effective and efficient use of technology. For those reasons, I LOVE what Neptune is trying to do here (especially leveraging WiGig, which I didn't obviously know they were doing...) A few concerns I still have:
- How are app developers realistically supposed to design apps (both in terms of UI and functionality) for a platform that scales from 2.4" all the way up to potentially 60-80" TV's (using the dongle?)
- What's the point of having a hub "always on me" when the cuff is so darn thick that I can't possibly wear it comfortably during my workday, or fashionably outside of work?
That said, I love that they've made the necklace both a charging cord and a more attractive alternative to the standard Bluetooth necklace/headset. They've done a LOT of brilliant things with their new suite, but a few glaring holes still terminal in my mind.
Well, you have the passion for the idea like I do. Something about all that power in a pocketable form factor is always so intriguing, and we already carry phones with high specs, so a high-spec smartwatch would be impressive, as Neptune is going for.
Regarding your issues, I can see what you mean, but this is a fairly moot point. Let me explain...
Android devices of all shapes and sizes exist for all types of purposes. The core of the display driver is the resolution and the pixels per inch. Now, I don't know the PPI for the Hub itself, but it's certainly going to be high. Apps will probably display at their "full size" in the 2.4inch display, but that's like reading a microscope. My mother has an LG Optimus Fuel, and apps such as Pinterest are impossible to use on that thing, as they are sizing for large displays, while being on a very small display. So, yes, some apps won't be optimized to be viewed on that type of display.
As for stretching through the dongle, I'm sure it'll hit a limit and it'll perform like, say, the Amazon Fire TV. A fair size, almost like a tablet was blown up, but you'll have the keyboard at your disposal to manage it. I can't explain that bit, you'd just have to use a Fire TV and see what I mean.
Regarding the design, Neptune is working with Pearl Studios on that front. Pearl Studios focuses on design above all else, so the appearance of the device should be fittingly elegant, especially in workplaces with the suit and tie attire, the business-centric lifestyle. Ultimately, though, it's personal preference, and you probably need to know if you like a 36mm watch before you purchase this. They'll also offer sizes for various wrist sizes, so it won't quite be one-size-fits-all.
I do see what you mean, though. As someone who's mostly working in environments where your appearance should be presentable at minimum, as well as continuing his education, I am not certain how it will be to wear it in my every day life. It's going to be a waiting game from here to April.