Hey Guys,
I'm on the fence on getting this for my birthday (Aug 6th) but I have a few concerns. I have done a lot of research but am coming up empty on these questions.
1.) eBooks. I love Kindle and Nook and as a full time college student it is imperative that I have access to these two apps. Are they available for the Tab with Tablet optimization?
2.) Application support. I love Netflix and I see that that it is not supported or available yet (even with the APK). This is the same for Hulu (sorry it's ridiculous that you need to root and use a hacked flash that will more than likely be blocked like most exploits for Hulu), so is there any chance that these apps will be available by year's end for the Tab?
3.) I love gaming as well, how is that for the tab? (I'm talk along the lines of Nova, Assassin's Creed, Plant's vs Zombies, etc...) While I like Angry Birds, I'm not spending $500 for something I can play in my Chrome Browser.
4.) Is it really worth it?
I detest Apple with a passion and thus I am trying to avoid getting an iPad 2, but with a fully working Hulu app and Netflix app it's tempting though I would like a tablet that will compliment my future Samsung Attain (Galaxy S 2 on AT&T when launched...whenever that is).
Thank You
1) Sure. Ebooks are no problem. My favorite (Mantano reader) also says it's honeycomb ready - so it should work. The display is awesomely sharp and beats the Ipad in display quality.
2) Pretty sure they will update Netflix for tablets, they have an official version out:
https://market.android.com/search?q=netflix&so=1&c=apps
3) Yes you can play on it, but thats and "app question" and android can't beat the Ipad on that one. If optimized for tegra, it blows the Ipad stuff away. More polygons and still more FPS. Those chips are from Nvidia...
http://www.nvidia.com/object/tegra-zone.html
There are also more games for it but not tegra optimized.
4) You need to know the answer to this one. Do you really need/want a tablet or are you just hyped?
There is a tablet optimized version of nook and kindle. Netflix said that 10.1 is going to to be the first honeycomb tablet to get it soon. Its a great tablet emulator work nice, and the game loft games that they have made available work great. There is also a decent number of terra 2 optimized games. Ipad has alot of useful apps for college, more games, and higher quality apps in general. Lack of a flash player on the ipad is extremely annoying, and the UI is really boring and restricted. Can't run emulators on the Ipad because apple blocks them. Browser on honeycomb is really buggy when it comes to text entry, ipad browser is smooth and stable, but honeycomb has more features.
I have both and I use m galaxy tab much more. Just wish app development would pick up
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1. Haven't looked at the Nook app, but the Kindle app looks nice on Honeycomb.
2. Hard to say what Netflix and Hulu are doing. Netflix has promised more device support. But we have no idea when. And it's been a long wait already.
3. Android gaming is decent. There seem to be enough good games that I don't think I would shy away from an Android tablet for this reason. But I do believe iPad does have an advantage here in numbers and sometimes quality. Plants vs Zombies for example is lower resolution on Android, while iPad has an HD version. Also Anandtech.com did find the Apple A5 to be a more powerful processor than the Tegra 2 (Tegra 2 is older afterall).
4. In my opinion, Android 3 isn't ready for me. I've decided to return mine and hope Android 4 is more stable later this year.
I don't care much for Apple either. I bought my first Apple device last year, the iPad 1 because there were no good 10 inch Android tablets (Viewsonic G-Tablet and upcoming Archos 101 were pretty low end running Android 2.2 and no Google apps). So I folded and got the iPad. Probably took me a good two weeks to get used to all the things I can't do with it, and I'm still kinda hating iTunes. But the iPad has excellent apps and lots of them (100,000 now tablet optimized). And it's really the apps I use it the most for anyway.
If I had some assurance from Samsung that they would update to Android 4.0 rather soon after it's release this fall, I might have been willing to live with the GT 10.1. But I'm still waiting for Samsung to release Gingerbread on my Galaxy S Vibrant, so I'm not confident.
This tablet is a lot better with opera mobile installed. no more typing lag while browsing .
1. Yes Kindle is tablet optimized so it is on par with ipad 2 IMHO it exceeds it. There is also a wide variety of Ebook readers that are tablet optimized in the market place.
2.Well i actually believe there should be a netflix app for this tab soon. Remember that netflix for android is really new and is still barley rolling out for phones! so a honeycomb app shouldn't be all too far fetched. Remember, netflix is really trying to expand its streaming services and in order to do that it needs to sink into as many devices as possible that's why you see a netflix logo on all sorts of devices, ps3,xbox,ipad,iphone,blu-ray players, there is not reason a tablet version should not be possible especially with the popularity of the ipad app.
3. Gaming well its hard to judge it really depends on what you want to play. Yes there are games on here that you listed like NOVA and plants and zombies, there are also console quality games that are tegra optimized that blows the ipad games out of the water only problem is there isn't all too many but with the awesome color screen the 10.1 has they sure look better. And lastly there is tons of emulators in the market place for all kind of consoles so your tab can run Ps1,n64,gba,gbc,snes games with no problem!
4. hmm well i bought it in all the hype but i always wanted a tablet for some reason and i bought it and can honestly say it is worth it at the moment but i feel its will be way more worth it later on lets say android icecream sandwhich! but if you can get the tab now go for it!
Related
Just as the title says. If you have been using the IPad for awhile now, is this a huge step forward or do you wish you would have waited for the IPad 2 (if it is comparable hardware-wise).
I like the Xoom better, mostly because I love the Android OS and despire iOS.
One of the biggest selling points for me is the unified file system... iOS required me to upload two copies of files, one to each application if I wanted to share it between two. That tied with using iTunes to copy anything to it drove me nuts.
I did own an iPad though because I needed an ebook reader that could handle large PDFs with ease and no decent Android tablet existed (Win7 tablets had no decent slate ones, my laptop is a convertible tablet). I sold that last week, for the same amount I paid for it actually, in order to buy my Xoom today.
not a fair fight
I don't know that you can compare the 2 fairly. The xoom does everything the I pad does and more(other than the iPod stuff) that being said, I like the xoom better. I think ios, while innovative, is now outdated and I hope apple comes correct with an ios update on the I pad 2. For me the diffference is the desktop widgets vs icons, there is no comparison. It'll be better to compare this vs the ipad2 next week.
bogatyr said:
I like the Xoom better, mostly because I love the Android OS and despre iOS.
One of the biggest selling points for me is the unified file system... iOS required me to upload two copies of files, one to each application if I wanted to share it between two. That tied with using iTunes to copy anything to it drove me nuts.
I did own an iPad though because I needed an ebook reader that could handle large PDFs with ease and no decent Android tablet existed (Win7 tablets had no decent slate ones, my laptop is a convertible tablet). I sold that last week, for the same amount I paid for it actually, in order to buy my Xoom today.
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I like the xoom better. Now besides the obvious hardware advantages I take that into account.. But a XOOM (Honeyvcomb) just fits me better. I don't think you can go wrong with either tablet, but pick the one that suits your needs and you will be happy.
The iPad was a great toy, but having used this Xoom for only a few hours, I have to say that I can actually see myself being productive on it. Just with gmail, talk and the browser it is already exponentially more useful than my iPad ever was.
KwestJones said:
I don't know that you can compare the 2 fairly. The xoom does everything the I pad does and more(other than the iPod stuff) that being said, I like the xoom better. I think ios, while innovative, is now outdated and I hope apple comes correct with an ios update on the I pad 2. For me the diffference is the desktop widgets vs icons, there is no comparison. It'll be better to compare this vs the ipad2 next week.
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Except my major complaint about the file system is something Apple intentionally put into their mobile OS. I doubt that will change in the iPad two. It isn't like they weren't aware that applications might want to access the same files.
The widget thing though... that I would expect in the next release of the iPad.
I like the xoom better......
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
I honestly can't wait to see the next iPad, I really wanna see what Apple does to impress. They usually impress well, and this time should be no different. Honestly this will be very interesting. I want to see what will make the iPad 2 so much better than other Android tablets coming out this year. I try to stray away from all this "fanboy" stuff and think based off of the information given to me.
Judging from current leaks (not a good way to judge, I know) the iPad 2 hardware wise isn't blowing anything out of the water. iOS, while beautiful, is limited in terms of customization unless you jailbreak... and if widgets from past Android versions work on the Xoom, I don't know.. I've gotten used to them. They offer delightful way to customize.
This may just be a choice of personal preference, especially if you want apps.
As a "pick up and go" device.. I think the iPad1 is still stronger than the Xoom at this point in time... I'm seeing major battery drain on my Xoom doing light tasks like Google Talk and Browsing.. And browsing on the iPad is still a much smoother experience.. scrolling in the Xoom browser is craptastic as it has been on all Android devices i've used.
But if you were to ask me to compare Xoom to other Android tablets/phones.. it's definately WAY better than those.. I think the iPad has just as much use and most apps are running way better on my iPad than the Xoom.
Of course, we have to play the waiting game and hope devs code properly for Honeycomb and we should see more polished, faster apps.
But so far, i'm not seeing any outstanding differences between the Xoom and iPad.. and the iPad is doing it better given it's got a lot more time under it's belt.
I wanted the Xoom/Honeycomb to wow me more.. I wanted to be saying "iPad what?" but I can't... yet..
And now iPad2 will be announced next Wednesday and probably stretching it's legs out even further over Honeycomb.. sigh.
schnoz said:
Just as the title says. If you have been using the IPad for awhile now, is this a huge step forward or do you wish you would have waited for the IPad 2 (if it is comparable hardware-wise).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my review below
I have had an iPad since july of last year, sold it yesterday in prepartion for the Xoom purchase today. Walked into Verizon purchased the Xoom and walked right out no hassle, no activation required. Here my Mini Review so far, with some comparisons to my previous 32gb ipad.
Hardware:
Nice heft, feels really solid and has that industrial feel. I do not feel I am going to drop it because it slips out of my hand... i always felt that way when holding an ipad.
its a 16:10 screen so it is wider than it is long. Should be perfect for movies.
Screen is a finger print magnet like ipad.
Software:
Gmail- is incredible on this thing. Drag and drop, color labels, etc. the workflow with gmail is priceless and so fluid. I cannot speak of the general "email" app because i only use gmail.
youtube- way way faster loading videos on this than it was on the ipad. it has some eye candy, which is always nice.. esp for android.
browser- Browser is great! and it loads pages faster than my ipad did. also it has tabs and THEY DO NOT RELOAD ON SWITCHING!! I had 8 tabs open... flipping through them flawlessly! As always using google account you can sync bookmarks and such between desktop and xoom.
Havent tried the music app yet
The gallery is like your standard vanilla android gallery.. loaded all my picasa pics from the cloud.
Other apps- there are very few "tablet apps" in the market. The 2 I did DL was pulse and accuweather. Pulse was pretty basic but did take advantage of the fragments. Accuweather is slick... but they need to polish up some pixelation i saw tapping the background "live" water.
Apps like facebook and kindle scale up nicely. While some apps dont like the speedtest app.
Speaking of speed test, i did a load on my wifi connection at 15mbps down and 3 up and i pull 14mbps down and 2 up. My ipad could never pull above 10mbps. I also noticed my signal holding strong than it did on my ipad.
Workflow is great!! This is what i have been missing on ipad... background task, unintrustive notifications.
Thats all I have right now... so far I am liking the decision i made. But i know i will be missing my apps the ipad had!!! Android cant match it yet... it will take some time.
It really is like comparing apples to oranges.
I look at the ipad as purely an "app launcher". The OS itself has zero functionality. But the app quality is great and it's runs very smoothly. Then again Apple did have their own OS to work off of when the created iOS so it's not like starting something from scratch as with Android.
The Xoom (and Android in general) is more a fully featured OS that has functionality aside form launching apps. However this is also the downside, there is a lot more that can go wrong (example - the multitasking can bog the OS down). I think eventually Android will be as smooth as iOS, but right now it's not. But if you want a full featured, incredibly functional device, the Xoom trumps the iPad.
Basically if you just want to launch apps the iPad is great. If you want anything else out of the tablet, you have to go with Xoom.
For me, the Xoom beats my iPad. This is my first Android device period, and I have used iOS strictly since waiting in line for the first iPhone.
I gave my iPad to my wife to use for things around the house - airplay to the stereo, recipes in the kitchen, quick additions to the grocery list...
It is excellent at what it does - appealing to the broadest base of users possible. But I could not truly be productive on it. I want to IM, email, read RSS, edit docs, and keep track of a multitude of other things at the same time - and even with the multitasking bar at the bottom, it feels like a single-task device.
Here are specific things it did that made it feel like a single-tasker:
- With many things running, exiting and entering the browser effectively had to reload every tab because it couldn't keep it all in memory.
- Alerts were cumbersome, interrupting and not persistent.
- Many productivity apps would lose state when they were put in the background (suspend).
- There were many good replacement browsers for Safari - but you could never bind any of them to open links by default. So you always felt like a second class citizen using them.
- Many large productivity apps show their loading screen again to get back in when you quickly switch out and back again. I feel the lack of RAM consistently.
I enabled developer mode in OS 4.3 on the iPad so I could use swipe gestures to move between apps and get back to the homescreen without using the button. But it made all of these flaws stand out even more. Even if they upped the RAM, these gesture controls don't hold a candle to the Honeycomb task switcher or WebOS' card view. Apple's paradigm breaks down in that use case and they need a real overhaul.
For me, iOS is still the most bulletpoof, whille still super-functional OS - and I want to rely on for my smartphone. I don't need to achieve these levels of productivity in that use case. But for a tablet OS, Honeycomb wins, and the Xoom makes an excellent showcase for it.
Oh, and a bonus for me - I have gigs and gigs of photos that I just happen to use Picasa to manage. Never used the web albums though. I always used the iPad to show photos by syncing what I could - but I rarely plug it into my computer so it was always out of date. But with the Xoom, all I have to do is tell Picasa to sync what I want with web albums and they show up on the Xoom - without using up storage! Genius.
Can't wait to see this excellent tablet and tablet OS evolve.
is scrolling and pinch to zoom smooth?
scores87 said:
is scrolling and pinch to zoom smooth?
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Click to collapse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCilGpUvXuE&t=2m01s
+1 Xoom
The iPad pales in comparison and only can aspire to one day be recycled into a Xoom
I like the Xoom better because of Android, but I am also getting an iPad 2. I have too many apps and Android has a while to catch up in that regard. But I'm keeping my Xoom.
I have both the iPad and the Xoom... I havent touched the iPad since I got the Xoom. I just love Honeycomb over the iOS. That being said, I won't get rid of the iPad until Google releases a movie store so that I can rent movies while I travel.
Why not have both!!?
I know I've been called a "technology whore" before so what the hell... I was thinking about buying my wife an iPad2 for her birthday; in part so I don't have to feel too bad about having spent $571.09 (price on bill) on the Xoom. So I could enjoy the best of both worlds.
I had an iPad, ended up getting it for a steal and just to tie me over until the android tablets started rolling out.
Since I picked up the Xoom, I haven't touched the iPad since. I gave it to my wife...and now she wants a Xoom too lol...so it will likely be on eBay soon.
Even without Flash/4G, I've enjoyed every bit of it. Once we get those 2 things, a few custom roms etc, I'll be in heaven.
Used handbrake to shrink some of my bluray collection for a trip next week...looks/runs fantastic.
My $0.02
I haven't touched my iPad since the night of the 24th. I loved it when I got it and I used it every single day. It is extremely useful and handy to have.
The Xoom has done everything I was doing on the iPad with the exception of Netflix which I do miss and hope to have return some day one can believe Nvidia's press release. Other than that I want more apps and I want them faster than it is possible for developers to get them ready but I am happy with my choice. I love the cameras, I love the ability to have widgets and more control over the device. I am looking forward to LTE and Flash being on the device and eventually the SD card being unlocked. I don't miss my iPad.
So after watching Apple royally screwing up the launch for their customers (not themselves, of course), I decided to give the Xoom a try. I had already tried the original iPad and really loved it for what it could do, especially the battery life which was simply amazing.
Funny thing is, I'm really enjoying the web experience of the Xoom more than the iPad. I just hated the checkerboard while scrolling but I guess the iPad 2's engine has solved that problem. I also am enjoying the Xoom's speakers which are much louder than the iPad as that was one of my main issues since I like listening to the talk radio while in the shower. One thing I have noticed is that there seem to be more free apps for the Android than on the iOS side which is another huge plus.
I have read that many Xoom users were having issues with the browser crashing but so far after using it almost all day I have experienced just one force close. I agree with those that say the Xoom feels like a half baked product or was launched a bit too soon but if Google's commitment to their android OS is any indication then I see no reason why the Xoom can't become a serious iPad 2 competitor.
I have been using the Xoom since about 12:30pm and the battery finally died around 8:30pm, not bad at all but still nothing compared to the iPad which gave me almost 11 hours for the same type of use i.e web surfing and watching some videos on Youtube. Before I bought the Xoom I also played around with the new iPad 2 which was on display at my local BestBuy store and I really liked the design but something about the widgets that just seemed so boring compared to the honeycomb.
Yes I know the iPad 2 just spanks the Xoom as far as graphics go, according to Anandtech but then I never use the tablet for gaming. For that I have my 2010 Mac Pro and I don't really game much even on that. For me the Xoom is full of potential and because of that reason is a gamble while the iPad is safe territory but the potential is somewhat limited.
From the reviews/comments I thought I would really hate the Xoom but so far I'm really having fun with this thing!
It took me a couple weeks to notice the browser issues. I've actually had quite a few browser related problems since then. The Xoom is a riot. I love Honeycomb.
The Xoom is for geeks and techies. IPad is for ggeneral population
ipad2 for wife and xoom for me.
Well put.
My wife wanted a tablet for movies and games and is heavily invested in itunes, so the Ipad2 was her choice.
I, on the other hand, and an android geek and so the Xoom was wht I got this weekend.
I really dislike the whole Itunes echosystem and like my media to be portable to as many devices as possible (My pc, my phone and my tablet and my laptop).
you made the right choice
I have the same setup and it works great. Why only have one when you can have both? Each one has its strengths but I personally use the Xoom and wife uses ipad
kiwiruss said:
Well put.
My wife wanted a tablet for movies and games and is heavily invested in itunes, so the Ipad2 was her choice.
I, on the other hand, and an android geek and so the Xoom was wht I got this weekend.
I really dislike the whole Itunes echosystem and like my media to be portable to as many devices as possible (My pc, my phone and my tablet and my laptop).
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To be honest.. My experience with the Android platform was very short lived. Now I will admit I was running a GTablet (Tegra 2, etc.) with Froyo.
What I found was
General instability - Didnt crash all that much, maybe once or twice over a 10 hour period. In this day in age, crashing is unacceptable - especially for a $400 plus device.
Lack Luster SDK - I didnt find the SDK all that polished. I was surprised to see how much deprication there was and how little developers did not adhere to new develop APIs. One thing that still perplexes me is that the depricated APIs were being suppressed by Google during compile within the Android Framework!!! This caused a bunch of issues on the GTablet - easy to fix but still..
Market - Mostly poor applications - For a platform that has been around now for a while I found over 70% of applications were of poor quality. Either they were unstable, unusable or just down right JUNK. Dont get me wrong I was attracted to the Android platform due to its openness but honestly I also want quality.
Fragmentation - I noticed that though a robust SDK it didn't absorb well the various platforms. Each platform needs to be tweaked for that device to properly work. Typically this should be absorbed by the framework... This lends to the reason why most wait for fixes from their cellular vendors/phone manufactorers and not from Google. I think this is a big mistake. Eventually Google will cave in due to the poor implementation quality from these 3rd party vendors. Information Security will drive this..
Performance - Generally OK but I found too much overhead from the OS and Framework. The OS and framework need some optimization. This will reduce the need of a tablet having 1GB of ram... That is insane for a device like this!
Anyway.... Soo I ended up selling the GTablet and just picked up a IPAD 2... All I can say is that they are in two difference classes - this coming from a Linux/Java developer...
I will eventually head back to Android once it becomes more mature as I am most comfortable in that environment - until I want a tablet that I can be productive with, less on the fiddling side.
^
I've noticed that unless an application comes from a major company, more than likely it will look horrible or just "unkept". Obviously as I have said "more than likely" there are a few exceptions, but other than that many Android applications simply don't match their iOS relatives in terms of aesthetic appeal. Or even overall quality for that matter. I'm shocked that Android doesn't receive horrible backlash from this.
To make things worse, you were using 2.2 on a tablet. Pre-3.0 versions of Android on tablet devices simply fail to even rival the iPad. I wouldn't even choose one myself despite my undying love for Android.
Choice is amazing isn't it. Nobody made a rule you can only pick one and be stuck with it. I agree apps on IOS are superior in general to Android but everything else on Android is better than IOS. The notification system and half ass mutiltasking on IOS alone drives me crazy. Also most apps on IOS are used a bunch in the beginning and then never again, there was even a study on this a while ago. So I only have a few things I do frequently and the Xoom does them excellently.
stanglx said:
To be honest.. My experience with the Android platform was very short lived. Now I will admit I was running a GTablet (Tegra 2, etc.) with Froyo.
What I found was
General instability - Didnt crash all that much, maybe once or twice over a 10 hour period. In this day in age, crashing is unacceptable - especially for a $400 plus device.
Lack Luster SDK - I didnt find the SDK all that polished. I was surprised to see how much deprication there was and how little developers did not adhere to new develop APIs. One thing that still perplexes me is that the depricated APIs were being suppressed by Google during compile within the Android Framework!!! This caused a bunch of issues on the GTablet - easy to fix but still..
Market - Mostly poor applications - For a platform that has been around now for a while I found over 70% of applications were of poor quality. Either they were unstable, unusable or just down right JUNK. Dont get me wrong I was attracted to the Android platform due to its openness but honestly I also want quality.
Fragmentation - I noticed that though a robust SDK it didn't absorb well the various platforms. Each platform needs to be tweaked for that device to properly work. Typically this should be absorbed by the framework... This lends to the reason why most wait for fixes from their cellular vendors/phone manufactorers and not from Google. I think this is a big mistake. Eventually Google will cave in due to the poor implementation quality from these 3rd party vendors. Information Security will drive this..
Performance - Generally OK but I found too much overhead from the OS and Framework. The OS and framework need some optimization. This will reduce the need of a tablet having 1GB of ram... That is insane for a device like this!
Anyway.... Soo I ended up selling the GTablet and just picked up a IPAD 2... All I can say is that they are in two difference classes - this coming from a Linux/Java developer...
I will eventually head back to Android once it becomes more mature as I am most comfortable in that environment - until I want a tablet that I can be productive with, less on the fiddling side.
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ok one issue I have noticed while watching video streams on the Xoom is that the quality seems blurry. On the original iPad the same videos looked very clear and sharp. I watch Twit.live and revision 3 and while they were pretty sharp on the iPad, they just look blurry on the Xoom. What's going on here? Is that related to H.264 issue? I heard there will be a fix for that but I'm not sure. On the positive side tethering the Xoom to my T-Mobile Vibrant was effortless and worked beautifully!
f1restarter said:
ok one issue I have noticed while watching video streams on the Xoom is that the quality seems blurry. On the original iPad the same videos looked very clear and sharp. I watch Twit.live and revision 3 and while they were pretty sharp on the iPad, they just look blurry on the Xoom. What's going on here? Is that related to H.264 issue? I heard there will be a fix for that but I'm not sure. On the positive side tethering the Xoom to my T-Mobile Vibrant was effortless and worked beautifully!
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Are you using flash or HTML5? If it's flash, all the videos are blurry with the leaked 10.2 Flash apk. I'm hoping it's fixed in the final version. HTML5 videos look great although keep in mind the XOOM has a much higher res display than iPad (1280x800 vs 1024x768) and a bigger screen so if the video is low quality it will show on the XOOM and not on the iPad.
Ahh the high res screen. That makes sense! Yes I'm using html 5 and had my dolphin HD browser set to "iPad" in the UA. I had installed the leaked flash apk but it just seemed like a huge mess with it not being touch friendly at all, so I uninstalled it and am hoping they improve flash before releasing it officially. Personally I'm just hoping google would simply get rid of flash crap once and for all and just go with HTML 5.
I got the Xoom and I love it. Once we get the update for official flash and the SD card this thing is going to rock. I have a Samsung Fascinate and I would never buy another Samsung phone.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
I love my xoom! Every time I think I may want to trade it for the iPad2 because maybe iOs has better apps or a better gpu, I think what am I going to be doing 90% of the time on my tablet, browser and gmail. Which does this the best hands down? Xoom!!! Plus the xoom is Google's reference hardware and will be updated quicky and often! The rest will come!
So I am constantly looking for a tablet for college. I originally bought a xoom, but it honestly felt buggy and felt like it was still in it's beta stages. It kind of gave me a bad taste of honeycomb, which is a disappointment because I'm a big fan of Android.
So today I went to the navy base to get the Galaxy 8.9, but unfortunately they dont have it yet. So I figured to get the IPad 2 to try it out with in the return policy. So far it is very smooth going through the home screens and they have a bunch of apps. What I am really impressed with is that they have a bunch of good apps that are perfect for stylus note taking, which is what I would be using my tablet for mostly.
However, I just hate how the hardware is only 500 mb of ram and the resolution is inferior to the galaxy tab. So i need some honest opinions... Does honeycomb have any stylus note taking apps that are as good as the ones on the iPad? Also, the last time I used the xoom was like 2-3 months ago, so I am wondering if the Honeycomb OS got any better as for as speed , less bugs, and pretty much overall smoothness like the iPad? Or if rooting the galaxy tab will solve most of those issues?
Apple- ios is all set to go, gets the high quality media apps first (netflix, HBO go, and on and on) smooth experience.
Android- will soon have as many if not more apps if ICS pans out, full customization, freedom, but buggy. Bugginess can be limited, but still buggy.
I like the support of apps on the ipad and how smooth and easy everything works.
BUT- I am still android through and through. I like how you can set up your tab so that nobody else's looks like yours. Maybe I just need more hugs or something but I love, just love when someone with an ipad looks at my homescreens and widgets and I just watch their jaw drop. Love that. Maybe with Ice Cream Sandwich the experience will be smoother on android tablets and more apps available which IMO closes the door on apple. But that is maybe right now. I have customized my tab so I don't see as many bugs or I have just gotten used to them so I don't notice them as much. As far as note taking apps, more come out every month, one of the many should suit your needs. My vote is for galaxy tab, but again, I'm biased.
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You absolutely do NOT want a Tab 10.1 for note taking. Even with a stylus, writing on the thing is extremely slow and it doesn't register enough points for any precise lines. I use mine for school too, however, I only use it as a textbook replacement (It beats lugging around giant math and engineering textbooks). For note taking, you might want to look into a tablet with a digitizer for precise stylus input.
Which note taking app do you use on your ipad? Most, like evernote are available on android as well. Do you need a stylus or can you just type your notes?
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I also use my tab for school. I have the textbooks and lectures saved via cloud and access them from the school's WiFi. It is VERY convenient. For note taking I just use the keypad(s) for it. One of my friends has a tab too and he rooted it so it will take most, if not all Bluetooth keyboards. I just use the regular Samsung keyboard with Quick Office, which comes pre-installed. I do have many colleagues that use ipads, but to me, I like having something customizable. The only times where I have had the tab slow down or freeze is with apps that are not Honyecomb optimized. The one I think you should go with the Gtab, 8.9 or 10.1 ( I have the 10.1).
What about the new Boogie Board Rip for notetaking/doodling?
Thanks for the input guys. So far the apps I tried on the iPad is Note Taking HD and Penultimate. Now these apps are very nice and are exactly what I was looking for. I also downloaded Freenote on my Android phone and that one seems to be the best on the Android platform. But, it doesn't seem as polished. Evernote isn't what I'm looking for. I need something that focuses on writing notes with a stylus, because it is a tablet overall.
Tomorrow will be my first time taking the iPad to a full day of class. Im going to see how it goes and how productive I can get with it. So far the Kindle and Course Smart apps are better on the iPad than they were on the xoom :/ . I need to try these apps on the galaxy tab to see how they compare.
First off, I have an android phone, motorola atria.
I have a 32gb wifi iPad, and a chance to trade it for either an acer a500 or samsung galaxy tab 10.1 4g. It would be a straight trade. Would you do it?
I like the apps for the iPad, and there are great games for it. This is my only major road block right now. Hardware wise, I would trade for either one easily, but it's the software side that's keeping me from the simple trade.
Are there apps for android that are specifically made for tablets like iOS and their "hd" version of apps?
It seems the quality of apps and especially games are better right now for iPad?
Ps. In general I do prefer android, I would never trade my atrix for an iPhone. I'm speaking just tablet wise right now.
Go to bestbuy and try the tablets out. The ipad is an awesome tool but it's not for everyone, just like the android tablets. Ultimately you will have to decide what you like best. They are different and you should never buy an ipad and expect it to be an android tab and vice versa. They approach the same problem in very different ways and you should decide which way you like best.
Most apps scale very well with the tablet. I have had it for a couple months now and have not seen an app yet that doesnt properly work with the tab.
As far as gaming goes, most games you could find for ipad you would also find for android. There are some threads about games in the "themes and apps" section of the tab forums that you could check out and youtube to see what they are like.
One thing that I really like about the tab, as far as games go, that i'm not sure the ipad can do is connect to your playstation controller, or a plethora of other gamepads that are out on the market. I hooked my tab up to my 55" tv the other day with hdmi and played shadowgun with my ps3 controller on the big screen.
Both are awesome and it boils down to what you want / like..
I sold my iPad2 for the Tab 10.1 and am very happy that I did...
Things to consider:
4:3 or 16:9 screen
Mono or stereo sound
Simplicity or customization
App Store or Market
There are more but I think you get it...
Either way, both are awesome!
You came to the Gt10.1 forum on XDA to ask us to compare the ipad to our tablet? For your sake I'll assume you're not trolling or trying to start an android vs ipad fight, but really, you're not asking unbiased people here. Did you really think anyone here would tell you to get an ipad? I'd say try them both out and make your own decisions (and for gods sake please don't post your preference here).
I bought the iPad2 and while it was the most liberating experience I've had in mobile computing, ever, it was within a week that the limitations and annoyances of iOS and Apple's whole mindset drive me crazy. I no longer needed to carry a big 17" or 15" laptop, but I wasn't allowed a even a basic file system, and anything I transferred had to be done through the most buggy app ever - iTunes. Yes, you could use DropBox, but only for apps that supported Dropbox. And everyday, as I tried to work on it, it drove me crazy and infuriated me that the device was so close yet failed so hard.
I had the 16G Wifi. I decided that I would sell the iPad2 and buy a used 16G Wifi GalTab 10.1 - an even trade was perfectly acceptable. I ended up selling the iPad2 for $400 and bought a two week old 10.1 for $300.
I only have two annoyances, and unfortunately, both of those can only be solved by rooting (which is only a problem if a person doesnt WANT to root) and that is that Styluses dont work properly on 10.1 w/o specific tuning (through root), and the NavBar at the bottom drives me bananas - again, removed through root.
BUT, beside those two things, the 10.1 is everything I loved about the iPad with 20,000 less annoyances. Perfect? No. But unless you are completely engrained in the Apple/Mac/iOS culture and you love that sort of enforced limitation, then the GalTabs can do FAR MORE than the iPads, just as well, and for less money.
As for apps, almost all the big games for iOS are now being made for Android, so the divide doesn't really exist there anymore. There may be a couple - maybe the ones YOU want - but for the most part, Android has most of them. The only difference are some industry specific apps. I went with iPad in the first place as I work in film, and the devs for film apps only dev for iOS. (screenwriting, slate (clapboard), storyboarding, etc) Film is mostly populated by people that think Apple/Macs are the only devices that can so anything. There are seriously TONS out there that are completely unaware that you can edit or mix sound on PC. Seriously - they think Final Cut Pro is the only program that can do it. That will change as Android grows.
One thing I liked more about the iPad that I thought that I would like more about the 10.1 - the screen ratio. I dont use the device for video playback as much as I thought I would, so the 4:3 ratio of the iPad is actually better to get work done and to read - the 16:9, while better for movie playback is awkward for web browsing, doc editing/creation, and reading.
I am 1000% thrilled I switched from iPad2 to 10.1, and the Samsung is every bit as physically beautiful as the Apple device - even w/o the real metal body.
One thing that I really like about the tab, as far as games go, that i'm not sure the ipad can do is connect to your playstation controller, or a plethora of other gamepads that are out on the market. I hooked my tab up to my 55" tv the other day with hdmi and played shadowgun with my ps3 controller on the big screen.[/QUOTE]
How did u connect ur PS controller to your tab? Please tell me
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there is an app called sixaxis that lets you connect your playstation 3 controller through bluetooth and then you can map the buttons to have it do whatever you like. It's kinda nice.
I'm about to buy the tablet myself in a few days but everywhere and anywhere everyone and anyone says that Android doesn't have nearly as many tablet-optimised apps as the iPad. Do the apps run fine or not? I mean do they look good and is it easy to use them or not? Because for the iPad I know there's a separate category so there'll be apps for that.
So could someone confirm if the apps on this tablet run fine or not?
Thanks
They run crappy.
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Ok just my experience, on android many more apps are tablet optimized.
When I was using an ipad it seemed they were all small or had the option to 2x it making it blurry and horrid.
I guess though the Google play store just doesn't show you apps it they're not compatible though, which is fine because for an app that isn't compatible with tabs there are 10 others that are.
And poster above.. I have no words
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My friend there are more apps in the play Store that you could ever use or even fit into the N7. With all the customizations you can make from OCing to roms the sky is the limit concerning the tablet. All the options that android offers will always keep apple in the rear view mirror.
Yes the apps are easy to access, start and run quickly.
Concerning apps and compatibility always use a browser to see all the apps and look at the comments to see if there are any made by N7 owners. Since I have modified the dpi on mine most apps come up as not available and that is when I check the comments. If it's something I want to buy I'll switch my dpi back to stock. It's a pain but I'm never giving up true tablet ui.
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apps
In my exp i've had by means of trade through best buy almost all of the most recent tabs. in order generic android tab eclair 1, archos 101, ipad, ipad 2, xoom acer a500, playbook, lenovo k1, hp touchpad, playbook again, xoom again, achos 80 g9, acer 501, and nexus 7. Android is my favorite. I also like web os and bb os. ios has better game selection hands down. Android has better free apps hands down bb web had no apps. so all depends on what you want it for
Well with all the quad-core machines coming out these days I'm quite sure there'll be loads of great games for Android too. The third post is interesting. So the apps don't seem like they're just multiplied in size. That's good to know. As long as they look natural I'm happy because the Appstore with all it's apps is horrible [my sister got an iPhone 4S the other day and I kept looking for apps and I wasn't THAT impressed. In fact the Play Store is MUCH better.]
I'm going with the Nexus and I'm sure I'll be a happy customer just like 95% of people who bought the thing. [the 5% are the people who're experiencing problems but even they were happy with their device.]
Thanks for the feedback! Appreciate it very much