Database Users

Would you recommend this?

Hi guys. I am a graduate student and I've been wanting to buy a tablet. Most out there are expensive and in terms of battery life, my 14" laptop with an SSD beats them all. Only problem is, of course, the size of the laptop.
So I have some questions regarding this kinde fire. Looking at the interface, it looks like a constricted version of android and as Besos said, its more of a multimedia device.
The main functions I'm looking for my tablet are: email, reading, viewing videos of PPT lectures, web browsing, watching movies occasionally. Without the tablet being rooted, would all this be possible or is it just for games, web surfing, and videos/music? I would like to leave my device unrooted for as long as possible.
Plus, looking at the specs, this thing would make an excellent android tablet.
Also, how does this GPU compare to the nVidia Tegra?
Thanks!

Get a reading device. A kindle (not Fire) offers quite a lot for a low price.
That's for the reading. For the other stuff, I would not know what to reccomend.

theomni said:
Hi guys. I am a graduate student and I've been wanting to buy a tablet. Most out there are expensive and in terms of battery life, my 14" laptop with an SSD beats them all. Only problem is, of course, the size of the laptop.
So I have some questions regarding this kinde fire. Looking at the interface, it looks like a constricted version of android and as Besos said, its more of a multimedia device.
The main functions I'm looking for my tablet are: email, reading, viewing videos of PPT lectures, web browsing, watching movies occasionally. Without the tablet being rooted, would all this be possible or is it just for games, web surfing, and videos/music? I would like to leave my device unrooted for as long as possible.
Plus, looking at the specs, this thing would make an excellent android tablet.
Also, how does this GPU compare to the nVidia Tegra?
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
From what I have read the AF is built to be first and foremost an ereader. Games probably secondary especially with only 512MB of RAM (unless they are from Amazon App Store.) I could be wrong though.
If I were you, I would look harder at other REAL tablets and not closed garden ereaders like the AF appears to be. The dual core CPU would be great on an android tablet. It already is on many. And, by many accounts, quad cores are not too far away. Tabs that are tablets first though.
Price is important. Desired functions are more so. IMO.
Would I recommend? No.

I've been hearing that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus might be coming out with a price near $250. If that is the case, I'll get that instead. Luckily, I will have until the end of October to decide, since that's when the Samsung Tab will be releasing. However, I'm assuming/hoping that we will know its price by next week or so.
Hell, I'll be willing to pay upto $300 for it. I preordered the Kindle Fire with a leather cover for a total of $250.

theomni said:
I've been hearing that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus might be coming out with a price near $250. If that is the case, I'll get that instead. Luckily, I will have until the end of October to decide, since that's when the Samsung Tab will be releasing. However, I'm assuming/hoping that we will know its price by next week or so.
Hell, I'll be willing to pay upto $300 for it. I preordered the Kindle Fire with a leather cover for a total of $250.
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Click to collapse
Wise move. A lot of new items will be released and I suspect many (if not most) in your price/needed specs range will far exceed the AF.
Wish I had these options in grad school!

You cold do this all on the NC for $150 or less, unrooted. Also, the NC can be rooted and custom ROMs are available.

I would say yes. Both quick office and documents to go are available in the amazon app store

A couple of people at work have mentioned the Amazon Kindle Fire in passing. I've looked at the specs, it looks pretty poor.
Several people have shown me their iPad 2 or HP tablet - huge 10.1" things.
One person has compared his iPad camera with my Galaxy Tab 7's camera and said the Galaxy Tab comes out better.
I can fit my Galaxy Tab in my pocket. It has Kindle for Android on it.
I chose my device carefully out of some really budget budget devices, and larger & more expensive devices.
Here you can now pick up a Galaxy Tab 7" 3G (GPS, Wifi) 16Gb for £399 from Tesco's Electronics dept, £349 from BestBuy, £299.99 from Tesco Direct (24hr wait, but the desk is in the store!) or £299.98 from PCWorld. I got mine from Tesco Direct, because it was a weekend and the nearest PCWorld that stocks them is over the road from work.
If you don't need 3G (I understand the Fire doesn't have 3G) I believe you can now pick up a 32Gb Wifi-only model from Asda (Walmart) for £249 ($387) and it will be an order of magnitude better than the Fire. There's also a heap of cheap things on eBay from China (that Maplin (Radio Shack) buy & resell with enormous margins)

When people ask me about it, I reply with:
Do you want a next gen Kindle, or do you want a tablet?
That seems to get them into the right frame of mind. The Fire is no more or less a next gen Kindle. It's aimed to compete against the Nook Color and the iPod Touch, being a portable media device.

thanks a lot guys! I actually just cancelled my preorder for the KF and bought the HTC Flyer.

FWIW smart move!
Now take a look at the adonit jot stylus. Amazing.

I've been looking for a pen/stylus to buy.
Would that work with the HTC flyer or am I better of buying the HTC scribe pen for it?

Gotta say I am not familiar with the stylus scribe for the HTC. One would presume an item custom made for a dedicated device would be preferable. I can say the adonit jot performs amazingly on the Transformer on SuperNotes!
You might try it out. If it doesn't work for you, return it. It would appear their Return Policy is liberal enough here.

New A500 coming out

Not sure if this is news to you lot but was chatting to my sis in-law today who works in acer here in Taiwan and she says a totally new A500 is coming out at the end of the year. She didn't have many details (not her dept) but she said there would be a lot of changes. Couldn't get anything else out of her she's a bit slow on the tech stuff so don't ask me
Just a heads up to any who knows someone thinking of purchasing, maybe hold off til the new year.

I don't doubt it. It's about teh right time for all these companies to bring out the next generation ( Like the Asus Transformer Prime)
I've just ordered by Acer as the price has plummeted now and I picked up 16gb model for £240 new and will be happy enough with it. better than waiting for new model and paying £200 more for it

furrypotato said:
I don't doubt it. It's about teh right time for all these companies to bring out the next generation ( Like the Asus Transformer Prime)
I've just ordered by Acer as the price has plummeted now and I picked up 16gb model for £240 new and will be happy enough with it. better than waiting for new model and paying £200 more for it
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Yeah the price here has dropped almost $200 in the last month.

It will probably have a keyboard built in like asus following their footsteps for sure. If I can go back I would buy 10" laptop for the price and I can do a lot more with that then a tablet.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

dito33 said:
It will probably have a keyboard built in like asus following their footsteps for sure. If I can go back I would buy 10" laptop for the price and I can do a lot more with that then a tablet.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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I thought the same thing and bought an Acer Aspire 10 inch netbook with 2 gigs of ram and a 320 gig hard drive.
But the screen resolution does not compare if you want to watch movies and the android is faster.
I bought it thinking it was less expensive since it had a keyboard and I could install windows programs.
I already had one tablet.
I use the tablet 95 % of the time.
I was wrong in thinking the netbook was a better buy for the money.
I did however purchase it as a special deal for $350. and got over $150. back because it took so long to come. Shipping kept changing the delivery date so I kept complaining. So it was a good buy.

dito33 said:
It will probably have a keyboard built in like asus following their footsteps for sure. If I can go back I would buy 10" laptop for the price and I can do a lot more with that then a tablet.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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A netbook is not going to do more than a tablet, infact it does less. A fullsize laptop however is a different story.

irishmoe said:
Not sure if this is news to you lot but was chatting to my sis in-law today who works in acer here in Taiwan and she says a totally new A500 is coming out at the end of the year. She didn't have many details (not her dept) but she said there would be a lot of changes. Couldn't get anything else out of her she's a bit slow on the tech stuff so don't ask me
Just a heads up to any who knows someone thinking of purchasing, maybe hold off til the new year.
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This might possibly be the A200 we have a leaked ROM of over in the A100 section... AFAIK, it's a cut down version of the A500, but that's all i know about it.

FloatingFatMan said:
This might possibly be the A200 we have a leaked ROM of over in the A100 section... AFAIK, it's a cut down version of the A500, but that's all i know about it.
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She was pretty positive it was the a500. But thats obviously another possibility.

As far as netbooks they suck.I found the best of both worlds.I bought a 11.6 inch HP dm1 with the new and APU. I never usemy desktop no morehas all the power for anything.and can get 7 hours on a charge for average use. Web browsing and word processing. 4-5 hours video stuff.This vision CPU with fusion tech Rocks.8 gig ram 500 gig hard diskand all the other kewl stuff Chics love well geeky ones.
With that said I love the tablet while traveling waiting at doc offices and sitting on couch surfing/reading.my spouse lol at me laying on couch with laptop on my legs and tablet on the laptop well notebook keyboard.
Tablets with a slide out keyboard I think would be to bulky and hard to hold.especially 10 inches. 10 inches is to much for my hands without the keyboard extra.
I stop rambling now.
giggles

The whole thing about using a tablet is that it's instant-on/instant-off. Press the power switch, your app loads and you're ready to go in seconds. Netbooks and laptops can do more ... but press the power button, wait for it to boot, maybe unsuspend, wait for your browser to load, network to connect, and so on. I use my A500 a LOT simply becuase I can quick do something and then be done with it and move on with life. I'm using me netbook a LOT less since I got my A500.
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

Thinking between the Xoom and Xoom Family

I just had 2 quick questions.
1) Does the family edition have a notification light like the original? I see a thing that looks like a light on the side, but I dont see anyone confirming it works like the original one.
2) I plan on using the camera a lot (I am being serious), but I was wondering if the lack of 2nd flash makes a real difference.
Thanks to anyone that can answer this!

I have the original Xoom and I'm happy with it. However, if I was buying a new tablet today, I'd pass on Motorola as the Asus Transformer Prime is the best out there right now. The camera on the TP specifically got high marks in the reviews.
The Xoom Family is $400 w/16gB and the TP is $500 with 32gB, but the $100 difference buys you so much more than 32gB.
Bad news is TP just started shipping and they're tough to get. You may also want to see what is announced next week at CES.

mgerbasio said:
I have the original Xoom and I'm happy with it. However, if I was buying a new tablet today, I'd pass on Motorola as the Asus Transformer Prime is the best out there right now. The camera on the TP specifically got high marks in the reviews.
The Xoom Family is $400 w/16gB and the TP is $500 with 32gB, but the $100 difference buys you so much more than 32gB.
Bad news is TP just started shipping and they're tough to get. You may also want to see what is announced next week at CES.
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I thank you for the reply, but I got a transformer atm. I love it mostly for the apps it has, but it feels awkward to hold. I love the feel of the Xoom so I am jumping ship. Since I dont play games/do much past email/posting news/editing (during conventions) I was looking for something more professional. I love the status light of the Xoom, but I like the Family edition more. However that stupid light is a deal breaker so I want to know ><

mgerbasio said:
I have the original Xoom and I'm happy with it. However, if I was buying a new tablet today, I'd pass on Motorola as the Asus Transformer Prime is the best out there right now. The camera on the TP specifically got high marks in the reviews.
The Xoom Family is $400 w/16gB and the TP is $500 with 32gB, but the $100 difference buys you so much more than 32gB.
Bad news is TP just started shipping and they're tough to get. You may also want to see what is announced next week at CES.
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Click to collapse
I'm on my second prime that I'm getting ready to return. between the dead pixel, light bleed and both non working GPS is driving me crazy. the camera is not better than the xoom in most cases the xoom is better in low light especially video recording. if I were to pay more than 400 today then I would try my luck to find a prime with working GPS and no screen issue. but I only paid 340 total for my xoom with three chargers (2 home 1 car) and a portfolio case so this makes the prime not worth it for me. only wish the xoom comes with IPS display, the prime thanks to IPS + is so easy to view outdoor.

Too bad about the quality problems because on paper the specs sound great. I had one on pre-order for weeks but cancelled it as my usage really isn't the gaming and the Xoom works fine for what I'm doing. One think I wanted it for was notes as it said it had a pressure sensing display. I decided to wait and see what CES brings. Maybe a real Xoom 2 or the next Thinkpad.

should i buy a xoom or wait

I sold my Ipad 2 cause it was gettin boring. I've had android phones for the past 3 years. I now have the SGS2E4GT. Should I get a Xoom or wait for something better? Or is there something better out there right now?
thanks for the advice.

The Xoom is a good buy if you can get it at the right price.
I've had iphone, ipad etc and really like my new Xoom
it feels like YOUR tablet unlike ipad which has too many restraints put on it by apple
you can set it up just as you like it
I too got bored of the whole apple thing a while ago.
I bought a transformer prime on release in December but returned it as it had issues and for £500 I wasn't willing to accept that
My Xoom was only £249 and as yet everything works perfect
I changed my Xoom to the US version to get ICS early and its great
Its true there will be better tablets out but at a premium cost
For now the Xoom is awesome value
Sent from my LG-P920 using xda premium

Well I will tell you why I went Xoom despite my love of the transformer design and the knowledge that the 4 Proc Prime was on the way....
It basically came down to the "Google Experience"!
The Xoom is basically the unit that was used as the showpiece for HC and Android Tablet and thankfully to have that priviledge Google insisted that the Bootloader be unlocked which was a new thing for anyone familiar with Motorola! ( I have a D2G and don't get me started on Locked Bootloaders there! LOL)
In the end it was a tossup between waiting for the Prime and Keyboard combo or going with the slightly cheaper Xoom 4G and the fact that the transformer had a locked bootloader was the final nail in the transformer coffin!
The 4 Core was very tempting but most of the apps and games don't take advantage and no point in paying a premium until they do! By then those units will be cheaper so maybe then I will upgrade but I have to say I have ZERO regrets going Xoom!
In fact I have been very pleasantly surprised at just how versatile and comprehensive the unit is!
I can read USB Hard drives even those in NTFS format, USB Flash memory keys even use a wired USB Ethernet adapter!
I doubt any iPad can do that!
The fact that the community can patch the Kernal at will means even more magic is possible!
You can never go wrong with a "Google Experience" device be it pad or phone!
My only hope is that Moto will unlock the Droid4 as well cause if they do I will stay Moto for the forseeable future.
They make great Hardware their problems have always been on the software side!
Unlocked bootloader makes that situation go away!

I can tell you this much - I absolutely love my Xoom. I have been going "Android crazy" over the last couple of months. It started black friday with Best Buy's Dell Streak 7 dump ($159) - gave that one to my daughter.
Picked up a Lenovo K1 at Office Depot around Xmas for only $299, which was a steal, but the tablet is not "pure" enough Android for me, and is buggy (it is on eBay now
Then, I found a very nice, barely used Xoom locally for $240. It was manufactured in March, so I was a little worried, but it was absolutely mint, and, like he said barely used. I was NOT disappointed.
Fast forward to last week, my Transformer Prime finally arrived. It is OK, but I am telling you, I like the Xoom better at this point. The Xoom's 1/18 ICS update went so smooth, and the Xoom is quick and stable. The Prime is not as solid right now, and I will honest with you - feels no faster than the Xoom with ICS in normal use (even though benchmarking proves it to be nearly 2x as fast).
I am going to keep both the Prime and the Xoom but the Xoom is a top notch machine. It is pure Android (even the prime has many customizations, though nothing as obtrusive as the Lenovo's).
I would say, yes - if you can get one for a good deal, go for it!!!
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk

I've had both the ipad 2 and the motorola xoom.
To be honest I prefer the ipad 2, its much lighter and has a better interface.
I use the xoom for recipes in the kitchen but I wouldn't want to carry it around all day
I would wait for the new thinner version

Staples had the Xoom for something like $250 if you look on this forum you can find the thread. I guess it all depends on what you're looking to do with it. I passed on the Transformer Prime as the Xoom does what I need, I really don't need quadcore.
The 10" xyboard isn't an option for me as it is too expensive and doesn't offer enough to make me trade in my xoom. The ability to write notes is certainly something I'd like but I'd rather stick with a GED tablet and have the microsd memory slot.
ipad3 is due out in March if you believe the rumors and the hi resolution android tablets should be out between February on June. If I wanted a tablet now, the $250 Xoom at Staples is probably the best buy out there now. ICS reviews on the xoom have been very good, I haven't received it yet as I'm using a LTE xoom.

Which Tablet

So with my tax refund I'm going to buy a tablet. At circuit city.com I can get an Asus transformer or an Acer A500 for the same price (refurbished). Acer has twice the memory so I'm leaning that way but what do you guys think?

That is funny you posted this b/c i was going to post one about it too.
Best Buy has new Transformers 32gb for $399. They also carry the 16gb but it is not on sale and is still $399. But this deal is only this week (til Saturday probably-b/c Sunday starts the shopping week).
Anyways, I bought the Transformer (TF101) and am nothing but totally impressed. It is easy to update, easy to root and there are some really great ROMs over there. Plus it has a keyboard dock that you can buy.
I did NOT get the Transformer Prime (TF201) b/c before I pulled the trigger, I had read, read and read some more and every time the Prime came up with a host of problems and issues, like bad Wifi, GPS, screen light bleeding. Seems that they wanted to push it out as the "first" tablet with Tegra 3 in it but forgot to fix all the other essential parts.
I got it and had it rooted within 20mins (if you get one, let me know and I'll show you the easiest way to do it). Oh and ICS comes out sometime in the next few weeks for it (they said mid-Feb).

Wow I've been. Xda type reading about tablets trying to decide if I wanna bite the bullet and buy myself a tablet also. And I was also leaning toward the Asus transformer not prime. I think with the 32 gb on sale I'm gonna get it. But I still don't know about spending this kind of money. But but I'm tired of web browsing on my little phone screen.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Thanks for the headsup woodrube I went ahead and bought it online. Can u recommend some roms. I think I'm gonna try and Leave it stock to get firmware updates. Not used to that from my vibrant
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Asus
I'm still enchanted with that Tegra 3 Asus rumor for $249.