Related
Returned my G-Tab today, and bought the Xoom. I think I am having 2nd thoughts though.
I love the G-tab's size, and GUI (go figure). But saw the Xoom at Best Buy, and it was too irresistable to pass up. However, the xoom's size reminds me too much of the Ipad, and I just can't seem to get use to the Honeycomb GUI yet.
I guess the Xoom may just take some warming up to.
Anyone else feel my pain?
Guess I am just looking for some support.
nealwheels said:
Returned my G-Tab today, and bought the Xoom. I think I am having 2nd thoughts though.
I love the G-tab's size, and GUI (go figure). But saw the Xoom at Best Buy, and it was too irresistable to pass up. However, the xoom's size reminds me too much of the Ipad, and I just can't seem to get use to the Honeycomb GUI yet.
I guess the Xoom may just take some warming up to.
Anyone else feel my pain?
Guess I am just looking for some support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never had a Galaxy tab and would not want one (at least the current 7" model). I need more screen real estate. I already have an Android phone to cover the smaller screens. I don't like panning and zooming everything.
i love my xoom more and more everyday. I love the hardware accelleration in the browser but I don't like the lack of flash or. Lack of tablet optimized apps at the moment one thing to always remember is updates will always come sooner on a Google eperience device
android_geoff said:
i love my xoom more and more everyday. I love the hardware accelleration in the browser but I don't like the lack of flash or. Lack of tablet optimized apps at the moment one thing to always remember is updates will always come sooner on a Google eperience device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And we already know those are coming, just takes patience. Good point about the Google Experience. Hopefully we will see some updates in the coming weeks.
yes I've seen alot of demos for new apps so I know there on there way. Its weird though if you go to the market and click apps for tablets there's only 16. Half of which are games but if you go to games for tablets section there are more
android_geoff said:
yes I've seen alot of demos for new apps so I know there on there way. Its weird though if you go to the market and click apps for tablets there's only 16. Half of which are games but if you go to games for tablets section there are more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of my wish list items for market improvement.
I had the Tab and it was a neutered Android phone. Xoom is the way to go...give it some time.
ur serously saying that u liked Android 2.2 on a tab more then honeycomb?
I had a Gtab originally. I got rid of it because the service through TMobile was spotty and the screen was too small. I however love my xoom. Especially since I found a good converter program for all my movies. Once we get SD card support ill be golden
nealwheels said:
Returned my G-Tab today, and bought the Xoom. I think I am having 2nd thoughts though.
I love the G-tab's size, and GUI (go figure). But saw the Xoom at Best Buy, and it was too irresistable to pass up. However, the xoom's size reminds me too much of the Ipad, and I just can't seem to get use to the Honeycomb GUI yet.
I guess the Xoom may just take some warming up to.
Anyone else feel my pain?
Guess I am just looking for some support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an owner of the Tab and the ipad.....I have realized that 10 inches is for home and vacation use. 7 inches is portable and can be taken anywhere. I have an Evo which I thought was huge before I got the Tab....now it seems tiny.
I might buy the wifi Xoom if it is priced right but I already know from experience with 10 inches that it will stay at home.
Sent from my SPH-P100 using XDA Premium App
I sold my Galaxy Tab yesterday, I'm so gald to get rid of it. It was incredibly slow even after overclocking and 2.2 was NOT meant for tablets.
2.2 may not be meant for tabs, but at least it runs flash and all the apps work without being buggy.
mitchweight said:
2.2 may not be meant for tabs, but at least it runs flash and all the apps work without being buggy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ran flash incredibly slowly, and the browser crashed all the time... sure.
Bauxite said:
Ran flash incredibly slowly, and the browser crashed all the time... sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
really? I haven't had any problems with Flash or Dolphin. I watch more videos on the Tab than on my iPad (of course...lol).
Haven't rooted the Tab either (but rooted my Evo almost immediately after getting it)....haven't felt a need. The speed is fine for me.
Though I enjoyed the greater screen real estate (versus my EVO), the Galaxy Tab really is (as someone else already mentioned) just a neutered Android phone. After using the Xoom for several days, and using apps designed for Honeycomb, the difference is remarkable (just try Pulse, YouTube, CNN, or any of the games optimized for 3.0).
I do miss flash in my browser a bit, but that will come soon. I definitely do NOT miss the capacitive buttons on the bottom (a requirement for pre-Honeycomb devices)...it was terribly annoying to be enjoying a video or reading a document and having to be careful with the way I held so as not to accidentally press one of those buttons.
Also, the location of the stereo speakers on the Xoom is so much more sensible than the speaker on the G-Tab, where, once again, if you weren't holding it 'just-so' the sound would be muted by the palm of your hand.
**I have yet to significantly miss the SD card or flash. I do wish we could permanently set the UA string on the stock browser though, and I'm looking forward to the Citrix Receiver being updated for Honeycomb**
For me, flash, UA string, and Citrix will make this device a real killer, and it's good to know they will all be coming very soon.
khov07 said:
Though I enjoyed the greater screen real estate (versus my EVO), the Galaxy Tab really is (as someone else already mentioned) just a neutered Android phone. After using the Xoom for several days, and using apps designed for Honeycomb, the difference is remarkable (just try Pulse, YouTube, CNN, or any of the games optimized for 3.0).
I do miss flash in my browser a bit, but that will come soon. I definitely do NOT miss the capacitive buttons on the bottom (a requirement for pre-Honeycomb devices)...it was terribly annoying to be enjoying a video or reading a document and having to be careful with the way I held so as not to accidentally press one of those buttons.
Also, the location of the stereo speakers on the Xoom is so much more sensible than the speaker on the G-Tab, where, once again, if you weren't holding it 'just-so' the sound would be muted by the palm of your hand.
**I have yet to significantly miss the SD card or flash. I do wish we could permanently set the UA string on the stock browser though, and I'm looking forward to the Citrix Receiver being updated for Honeycomb**
For me, flash, UA string, and Citrix will make this device a real killer, and it's good to know they will all be coming very soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. It's definitely a neutered Android phone...but it stills does everything I need it to do for a portable device. I would probably feel different if it was my only tablet and I didn't already have an iPad for the past year that's had Pulse, the new CNN app, plus too many games that I have spent a fortune on!
Is Word with Friends optimized for the Xoom? A friend brought her husband's Xoom in for me to play with and we downloaded it and the letters were cut off. i thought it was under the tablet optimized section.
I am eyeing the wifi Xoom simply because I prefer Android to iOS but not having Netflix, Hulu, and my games might be too much to give up. Hopefully we'll see more advancement with the Android tablets.
This must be my 6th tablet if I include the 'first out of the post' compaq tablets eons ago, a toshiba laptop/tablet, 2 different ipads and an advent vega, so I'd like to think I've got a fairly balanced view on tablets.
I won't get into any of the usual iOS/Android flames, suffice to say in my opinion after a week of using Honeycomb on the Xoom, Android is much more suited to a tablet format than iOS on an iPad, which is really just a big phone, albeit a very slick one.
I'm sure most on this forum will be used to acting as guinea pigs for new technologies and that's a choice most of us have made by getting this device to see the possibilities of an Android tablet, so a few bugs was expected. A couple more updates and there's no reason why Android tablets will be just as slick as an iPad (as it is in the smartphone world now).
Now the hardware just needs to improve. While the Xoom is nice solid tech, it is heavy. I was trying to use it standing on up a train and after a while, it was particularly uncomfortable to use. The screen could be brighter too.
My one unexpected observation though is the screen size. Is it me or is a more rectangular 10.1" just not as easy to type on as the squarer 9.7" iPad?
I find that the wider screen means the keyboard either takes up all the screen or is squashed and the keys are not as easy to use. When I had the iPad, I found typing in landscape mode absolutely no problem. On the Xoom it's not quite as easy to type quickly on.
Anyway, just my opinion... while each day I like honeycomb more and more, I'm not entirely convinced that the Xoom will be my final Android tablet.
thx. xoom's really a sweet device, although it has few bugs. enjoy mine very much too
The think about android is that you can change the UI the way you like, you can have the sweet thumb keyboard app and that problem its solved. I find it hard to the ipad will let you change that UI keyboard setting.
I agree the xoom is too heavy, maybe they should realese a keyboard like asus transformer so it can be held in the lap (sorry for my english).
The screen on the xoom is the same as a widescreen monitor you use on a pc. The ipad is somekind of cropped. you can tell if you play videos on ipad...they dont fit the screen.
The only think that im a little sad about the xoom is devs arent interested right now to release honeycomb support. Not even all google apps have honeycomb support but i guess its matter of months or maybe they are waiting for xoom 2
I also had my Xoom for a week, and like you enjoy using it so far.
You can try to install this thumb keyboard for easier typing, even though it’s in beta, I have not had any problems use it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1055327
I only took the Xoom on the train for one day and also found it difficult to use. My issue is more to do with the size than the weight. So I went back to use my Galaxy Tab and leave the Xoom for mainly home use.
The only real issue I've found with Honeycomb/my Xoom is the chronic shortage of apps designed for tablets specifically.
VaKo said:
The only real issue I've found with Honeycomb/my Xoom is the chronic shortage of apps designed for tablets specifically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes , my thoughts exactly !
SwiftKey tablet beta resolves any typing issues, I've been using it since before it went public beta, was part of the early testers. They've already listened to many of my suggestions, which is just great IMO.
i totally agree about the apps. I'm willing to wait...but is it me is the number of apps going down the market? It was 67 a few days, 64 yesterday and 60 rightnow.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
Does anyone notice that number of apps for tablet on android market decrease overtime ? The first day i got my xoom, there were 67 apps, 2 weeks ago: 64 apps. now there are 60 apps.
I wouldn't worry to much about the apps, with the huge list of android tablets dropping this year we can all expect to see a rather consistent flow of new apps......Hopefullly
tritran18518 said:
Does anyone notice that number of apps for tablet on android market decrease overtime ? The first day i got my xoom, there were 67 apps, 2 weeks ago: 64 apps. now there are 60 apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because when you click "Featured" Android Tablet apps, those are just "Featured". There are actually WAY more than that (150+) Honeycomb "optimized" apps in the Market.
It would be considerably more useful if there was a tablet part of the market, similar to iTunes having an iPad only part. There's no easy way to identify tablet optimized apps.
This is from a UK XOOM and I've a feeling that for some reason, Market is different in europe.
The fact that lists like this exist says volumes about the state of tablet support in the android market, but here is one of the user-compiled lists of apps that are either optimized for or work well with honeycomb:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/mot...al-optimized-honeycomb-apps-list-n-170-a.html
There's also the game compatibility thread in the xoom apps and themes section here on xda.
great resource... thanks!
scratch that... android c+?)&@l only allows 'registered users' to view links. Way to support open source guys!
Agreed. I'm sure the list is useful, but that kind of garbage makes me keep right on walkin.
yea its ridiculous
Is it that hard to register a free account?
in all honestly you should all already have android central accounts...it's the most popular android development site...
Xoom Gripes
First off, for what I use it for, my Xoom is better than my iMac and my MacBook Pro. That said, I have a couple of issues with it.
I hate the placement of the ports. I got a case from KeviKev (which is the bees knees), and I cannot prop it up while charging without putting strain on the cable/port.
When plugged-in to my TV (HDMI), the screen orientation changes in a very strange way. I turned the tablet upside-down so I could prop it up with the HDMI cable plugged in, and the picture on the TV went upside-down, too. I know I can lock the orientation, but I would like it if it were more intelligent about the way it handles screen orientation.
These flaws (if I can even call them that) are not an issue when I use the tablet out on the street, or when I lay it down on its back when I'm not really using the screen anyway. There isn't much that I can say about my Xoom that isn't praise. I have the U.S. 3G version and I live in Germany, and the lack of mobile broadband isn't a complete turn-off like I had anticipated. Kudos to Motorola and Google.
Hi all, it's been a long time since I've been around here! As the title says, I'm attempting to move from the iPad 2 to the transformer. I'll miss the thinness and the weight, but there are several reasons why.
I've been thinking of a switch to android for a while, and I think it may be mature enough now. Of course we will see what apple has going tomorrow. Maybe a wow, maybe not. If this move goes well, I'll be passing my iPhone 4 down to my gf and getting a sgs2
This was getting too long so let me cut to the chase:
Which browser? I use atomic and icab now, the former is faster the latter is more full featured. I need web form upload.
Does the android marketplace designate which apps are made for honeycomb? I looked but didn't see anything that stuck out.
What about photo management and development. I'm using filterstorm pro on iPad 2 but I'm guessing there's nothing like that for android?
Any good video editing, simple like iMovie but preferably support avhcd lite?
How's the native rss reader? I use reeder at present and I love it. I don't care for pulse and flipboard newspaper readers.
Native rdp any good? Better solutions?
I use mynzb (I can still use on iPhone but I prefer not just hitting web interface if possible for sabnzbd)
At the end of this I'm really wanting to give it a solid go, but have limited time to see if it works out (and ensure I don't have any potential build issues) so I appreciate your bearing with me and the help!
Anyone else switch from iPad to transformer? Tips?
Thanks again!
Hello, hope this helps:
h00ligan said:
Hi all, it's been a long time since I've been around here! As the title says, I'm attempting to move from the iPad 2 to the transformer. I'll miss the thinness and the weight, but there are several reasons why.
I've been thinking of a switch to android for a while, and I think it may be mature enough now. Of course we will see what apple has going tomorrow. Maybe a wow, maybe not. If this move goes well, I'll be passing my iPhone 4 down to my gf and getting a sgs2
This was getting too long so let me cut to the chase:
Which browser? I use atomic and icab now, the former is faster the latter is more full featured. I need web form upload.
Dolphin HD Beta (you have to side load this one)
Does the android marketplace designate which apps are made for honeycomb? I looked but didn't see anything that stuck out.
It's not as easy to figure out which are honeycomb optimized. You have to look in the app details. But most apps automatically stretch to full screen. So it's mostly not an issue.
What about photo management and development. I'm using filterstorm pro on iPad 2 but I'm guessing there's nothing like that for android?
Any good video editing, simple like iMovie but preferably support avhcd lite?
You're most likely not going to get any imovie level movie editor. There's the stock video editor that comes with 3.1, but it's really basic.
How's the native rss reader? I use reeder at present and I love it. I don't care for pulse and flipboard newspaper readers.
THere are two good ones, Feedly (uses google to sync Rss) and pulse
Native rdp any good? Better solutions?
I use mynzb (I can still use on iPhone but I prefer not just hitting web interface if possible for sabnzbd)
At the end of this I'm really wanting to give it a solid go, but have limited time to see if it works out (and ensure I don't have any potential build issues) so I appreciate your bearing with me and the help!
Anyone else switch from iPad to transformer? Tips?
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll have to look up side loading! Thanks for the advice.
I also just moved from an Ipad 2 to transformer.
Right away, I noticed a few things:
1. There is no native honeycomb ebook reader.
2. You cannot play video in full screen because the status bar is always sticking out there. Seriously????
3. 16:10 is terrible for read books. however, I admit that it has some advantages for viewing wider webpages.
4. Zinio. I used to have zinio on my ipad 2... man... that thing was smooth...However, it is not the case on the transformer.
5. Newspapers: where is my businessweek on honeycomb? or the daily?
6. No home button. No lock rotation button. Everytime I try to unlock it I have to make sure it's not upside down so I can find the damn power button. Don't tell me that apple has patented the home button and rotation button.
7. Market: I was astonished when I open the market and found out the main page apps are actually not made for tablet.
8. Porn: now works. still not in full screen though (God, I hate that status bar)
So are you sticking with it?
Seems really odd that status bar won't hide! I thought kindle for android existed?
Porn...well..there was always that one or three sites that worked with iPad - don't know the site policy so I'll refrain from specifying Heh.
If you are used to some apps in iOS, you'll find that a lot of those unfortunately have no Android counterpart. However, given you have decided to try Honeycomb for a drive, I'd recommend you to have a look at the nearest alternatives.
For an E-reader, try Google Books, Amazon Kindle or Zinio for it. Zinio is still new to Android so definitely expect lag and bugs. There's no capable video editor sadly, but RSS readers are aplenty; there's Minimal Reader widget right here at XDA, and there's also Feedly as someone already said. Best browsers to go for that combine speed and features are Skyfire, Dolphin HD and Opera, though Opera has no Flash yet due to lack of source code.
I wanna add that is there a way to skip the lock screen at all? seems quite odd to me that you have to go for an extra step because the power button is already really really..really...really hard to press. There is no way I am pressing it on accident!!
Btw, thanks for the all the app suggestions. I am trying them out as right now.
As far as I can tell, the default lockscreen cannot be disabled, sorry. If you have any more questions regarding Honeycomb or the Transformer, just ask us.
OP, here's the thread with all the compatible apps so far for our tablet:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1032381
unquick said:
I also just moved from an Ipad 2 to transformer.
Right away, I noticed a few things:
1. There is no native honeycomb ebook reader.
2. You cannot play video in full screen because the status bar is always sticking out there. Seriously????
3. 16:10 is terrible for read books. however, I admit that it has some advantages for viewing wider webpages.
4. Zinio. I used to have zinio on my ipad 2... man... that thing was smooth...However, it is not the case on the transformer.
5. Newspapers: where is my businessweek on honeycomb? or the daily?
6. No home button. No lock rotation button. Everytime I try to unlock it I have to make sure it's not upside down so I can find the damn power button. Don't tell me that apple has patented the home button and rotation button.
7. Market: I was astonished when I open the market and found out the main page apps are actually not made for tablet.
8. Porn: now works. still not in full screen though (God, I hate that status bar)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. What do you mean by Native? Aldiko works perfectly in high resolution. Asus even included their own book reader.
2. I'll give you this. But only because I haven't tried all the video players on the market.
3. I think its fine. And its actually perfect for comic and magazine reading unlike the ipad.
4. Zinio works well enough for me.
6. Eh, there's a soft home button obviously. No hard button because... this is honeycomb and not gingerbread or any older flavor. And you can lock orientation. Click on the clock then again. I've always found the ipad's hardware lock switch redundant and dumb.
7. The top section of the market's main page clearly says featured tablet apps... thats right. It's there. Click on it and you'll see more. The ipad had quite a head start so obviously you can't compare the number of apps just yet.
8. Yes! Adobe Flesh!
So yeah, the ios is smoother because if obvious reasons. But HC is already very good and useable. I have both and I find myself using the TF a whole kit more often.
PS: the most reeder-ish reader is Newer. And its free!
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
2) the ipad has the home button. the status bar in honeycomb is the equivalent of that to the ipad. without it, you can't go home. honeycomb doesn't have a hardware home button. it's not technically part the screen.
I don't need a signature.
Also best ebook reader app is nook. Try it and u will never miss ibooks again.
Sent from my Samsung Epic
Thanks for the input. I saw the tablet section but see apps mentioned that are not listed in there, so that was a bit confusing coming from the segregated iPad/iPhone layout with plus signs for universal
Any additions welcome. Thanks!
jjsoviet said:
As far as I can tell, the default lockscreen cannot be disabled, sorry. If you have any more questions regarding Honeycomb or the Transformer, just ask us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can. Look under security. I disabled mine the first day.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
Zinio in market is great.
Kindle honeycomb version hides status bar buttons as dies the native YouTube and video buttons.
Other book readers work fine but status bar information shows.
As more apps get updated to work with 3.1 honeycomb which was just released more will use the lights out feature and dim out the status bar.
I'm very disappointed with what the 3.1 updated did to the browser. It's basically unusable for me now because the keyboard lag is so bad. I'm using Opera Mini, I think it's a great browser, it's so fast. The only complaint is it doesn't let you change the user agent string, so you always get mobile versions of websites. Grrr. Hope Opera fixes this. Dolphin HD is pretty awesome too. Firefox should be beaten with a rubber hoses for what they released.
Android Market does a piss poor job identifying Tablet optimized applications. They have a "Featured Tablet Apps" section, however there are other apps that are tablet optimized that aren't include. And after seeing how crappy Zombies vs Plants looks on a tablet, I definitely want to know before hand which games are optimized for tablet screens. Android needs to fix this.
One other small complaint about the Market. Why does it only work in landscape mode? I do like holding my tablet in portrait mode a lot, and it sucks this Market doesn't work that way.
The status bar always showing up during most video play back doesn't bother me. The screen is 16:10 and the videos are usually 16:9, so there is still a little unused space at the top and bottom anyway. And the native Google video player does dim the status bar so you barely notice it. I'm fine with this, though would like to see other video players be able to dim the status bar like the native one does.
No home button doesn't bother me. Sure there are times I grab the tablet upside down and can't find the power button immediately. And as someone that has used an iPad for a year I sometimes even instinctively move my thumb towards where I think it should be. But overall I think I like the clean front glass with no buttons. Kinda wish it has no logo either, but oh well.
My main complaint about the Transformer vs iPad is the comfort. Holding my iPad just feels so much more comfortable and I imagine the iPad 2 is even more so with it being lighter and thinner. The Transformer has lots of edges, especially when held in portrait. While this makes it looks better aesthetically when docked with it's keyboard, it is a sacrifice to it's comfort as a tablet in hand.
But it's $100 cheaper, lighter than most other Android tablets, and I like Android more than iOS. So I think I'm happy.
Well it arrived today, here are a couple of tidbits and quick first impressions
Pros:
Not as heavy as I thought it would be
Screen is very nice. Comparing to iOS devices, it's more iPhone than iPad.
Battery seems to charge pretty quickly
I like some of the customization choices
It plays flash but (see below)
Love the gmail client
The font, once getting used to it, is more crisp than apple's offering on the iPad.
Cons:
wifi is a disaster, the radio power must be soooo low or drivers not optimized.. anything to do to boost it? Given I have numerous other devices connecting way better, I'm not tearing part my network because one can't power a radio or optimize drivers. I get virtually no connection in a room where my iPad connects at 100-130.
Opera, dolphin, stock browsers all feel incomplete and slow to do anything (maybe wifi related)
Steep learning curve for privacy options with the google auto sign in stuff, this is down to me.
Android marketplace is kind of a mess.
Fwiw, mine came shipped With 3.0.1. I don't notice any glaring issues in an hour's use..but havent checked for bleed, balance, etc. And I may not.
Right now, tbh, things are going to have to get a lot better for me to replace an iPad, or even a netbook with this device, but I just started...so I recognize these thoughts are premature and my have a lot to do with lack of familiarity. The wifi issue would be a huge deal breaker if I can't do anything other than reposition routers..it will go back.
unquick said:
I also just moved from an Ipad 2 to transformer.
Right away, I noticed a few things:
1. There is no native honeycomb ebook reader.
2. You cannot play video in full screen because the status bar is always sticking out there. Seriously????
3. 16:10 is terrible for read books. however, I admit that it has some advantages for viewing wider webpages.
4. Zinio. I used to have zinio on my ipad 2... man... that thing was smooth...However, it is not the case on the transformer.
5. Newspapers: where is my businessweek on honeycomb? or the daily?
6. No home button. No lock rotation button. Everytime I try to unlock it I have to make sure it's not upside down so I can find the damn power button. Don't tell me that apple has patented the home button and rotation button.
7. Market: I was astonished when I open the market and found out the main page apps are actually not made for tablet.
8. Porn: now works. still not in full screen though (God, I hate that status bar)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2. Funny how in your 3rd point, you mentioned 16:10, but your 2nd point contradicts it. Since you know the screen is 16:10 (1280x800), you should know most videos are 16:9 or 4:3 right? So if the menu were to disappear and you get to "full screen" your video, it'll only stretch it and make the stuff look long and skinny.
O, I'm feeling more optimistic. I had forgotten the update is to 3.1 not 3.0.1 and the slowness may have been the update DL in the bg... It's installing now, wish me luck
@frosty, I think he just doesn't want the distracting light, not necessarily the aspect.
frosty5689 said:
2. Funny how in your 3rd point, you mentioned 16:10, but your 2nd point contradicts it. Since you know the screen is 16:10 (1280x800), you should know most videos are 16:9 or 4:3 right? So if the menu were to disappear and you get to "full screen" your video, it'll only stretch it and make the stuff look long and skinny.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am OK with 16:9 videos. However, the status bar actually shrinks 4:3 videos.
@ravizzle, where can I find this Nook app?
@knx2, thanks for info. I had it disabled. It made me a lot happier.
just got a used a500, but its laggy has hell on web browser when typing.
It took three wipes and on the last I had to disable reinstall of apps so the keyboard and system sounds would work.
Its running stock 3.2 do not have root etc.
Also I have found some games that use the tilt feature do not work right, the ones from android 2.1 up. I have some good games but can not play them as I used too. MX Mayhem is one of the games.
I'm new to honeycomb too.
Any help would be great thanks
I'll start by saying you may want to sit down and read around in these forums. Both this one and the Iconia A500 General to get a feel of some of the issues with the A500 or Honeycomb.
I don't know why your tablet is or was consistently "laggy" with 3.2 on it. But it appears you've managed to get it to work better for you by doing those wipes. The tablet does display some lag usually when it's woken up initially but after you've used it for a few seconds it will generally zip along. This is true of all HC based tablets.
I get virtually no lag on my A500 and I have quite a few apps installed, but I too get a little choppiness when I've woken it from sleep.
Re: browser lag when typing. It happens, again on all HC based tablets. You may want to check into alternative browsers. Dolphin for Pad is pretty good (that's what I use), but there's also Firefox, Opera and others.
Games which are not optimized for tablets and Honeycomb are not guaranteed to work properly. Older games which require the use of sensors are especially prone to issues. Some work. Some don't. Your only guarantee is if you get games that specifically state that they are made to work on Honeycomb. That's just how it works and it is what it is. There are a number of technical reasons why it's justified but I won't get into it.
Many people when they purchase these tablets with Honeycomb figure that all Android apps will work perfectly since it's also a version of Android but this just isn't the case. Tablets consist of bigger screens than phones and because of that sensors are calibrated at different dimensions and angles. Apps and Games need to be optimized for these changes and until they are, some will have trouble. Games are especially affected because they depend more on dimensions and sensor calibration. Sometimes developers will release an entirely different version of an app or a game made specifically for Honeycomb.
Your best bet right now is either to bear with the issues or get rid of the tablet. Ice Cream Sandwich will come along and SHOULD unify the Android Market in the long run. Your experience won't change by switching from one Android Tablet to another since Honeycomb is at the forefront of the trouble (being an offshoot of Android, made for tablets). ICS also won't solve these issues instantly or quickly as various developers will need time to bring their apps/games up to speed, so you'll just have to be willing to just stick with/through it until it does. If you are unable to do this or you feel the issues are just too much to handle, return the tablet or sell it if possible and get an iPad 2 which has a more streamlined market currently.
If you're open to rooting and installing a custom recovery and rom then you could quite possibly fix your problems with lag for the most part. I have reduced lag on the keyboard for my speed of typing (45 wpm on tablet) to less than a second at the worst, even in portrait mode.
Neoprimal said:
I'll start by saying you may want to sit down and read around in these forums. Both this one and the Iconia A500 General to get a feel of some of the issues with the A500 or Honeycomb.
I don't know why your tablet is or was consistently "laggy" with 3.2 on it. But it appears you've managed to get it to work better for you by doing those wipes. The tablet does display some lag usually when it's woken up initially but after you've used it for a few seconds it will generally zip along. This is true of all HC based tablets.
I get virtually no lag on my A500 and I have quite a few apps installed, but I too get a little choppiness when I've woken it from sleep.
Re: browser lag when typing. It happens, again on all HC based tablets. You may want to check into alternative browsers. Dolphin for Pad is pretty good (that's what I use), but there's also Firefox, Opera and others.
Games which are not optimized for tablets and Honeycomb are not guaranteed to work properly. Older games which require the use of sensors are especially prone to issues. Some work. Some don't. Your only guarantee is if you get games that specifically state that they are made to work on Honeycomb. That's just how it works and it is what it is. There are a number of technical reasons why it's justified but I won't get into it.
Many people when they purchase these tablets with Honeycomb figure that all Android apps will work perfectly since it's also a version of Android but this just isn't the case. Tablets consist of bigger screens than phones and because of that sensors are calibrated at different dimensions and angles. Apps and Games need to be optimized for these changes and until they are, some will have trouble. Games are especially affected because they depend more on dimensions and sensor calibration. Sometimes developers will release an entirely different version of an app or a game made specifically for Honeycomb.
Your best bet right now is either to bear with the issues or get rid of the tablet. Ice Cream Sandwich will come along and SHOULD unify the Android Market in the long run. Your experience won't change by switching from one Android Tablet to another since Honeycomb is at the forefront of the trouble (being an offshoot of Android, made for tablets). ICS also won't solve these issues instantly or quickly as various developers will need time to bring their apps/games up to speed, so you'll just have to be willing to just stick with/through it until it does. If you are unable to do this or you feel the issues are just too much to handle, return the tablet or sell it if possible and get an iPad 2 which has a more streamlined market currently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thanks.
I have found it seems to be getting better with the UI lag not happening all the time, but I have tried to disable the flash on sites to try and speed pages up.
It all depends on what site I am on for the lag on text input.
I have rooted devices before, but not going to do this one as I'm waiting to see if it gets ics and hopefully that might make it better re faster..
Its growing on me I and finding it a it better than the 32gb hp touchpad I had after the fire sale.
I have skyfire and that's not to bad, will give other browsers a try at a latter date.
Thanks again.
Cool beans.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk
Hello all. I'm on a bit of a budget and I'm going to buy one of these two tablets. Right now I'm leaning towards the a500. Was hoping to get some input and opinions on what you think I should do. I realize posting this in this forum I might get slightly biased opinions, so be it.
The only thing that makes me hesitate on the Acer is it has a slightly slower processor out of the box, but we're only talking .2ghz. What has the Acer been OC'd to still running stable?
Also, I see the wifi card uses the 2.4ghz spectrum, I believe this should allow me to tether this to my evo 3d with no problems?
Lastly, if anyone has anything to add, or something else I should consider before purchasing, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
The touchpad doesn't run android and only has a port of cm7 which I think is still in beta/alpha. And they're extremely hard to get your hands on one for the price it has been lowered to. And the iconia can be had for $299 for the 16gb model on black friday
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
I would prefer the Touchpad if I could choose again. This is a personal experience for me, and I didn't have a good one with this honeycomb tablet. It has quite a few bugs that a lot of android users are facing, but could be avoided if a custom rom that fixes the bugs is installed, which voids your warranty. Also, Most Honeycomb tablets have the so called "Portrait lag", which makes the tablet slightly choppy or jittery (depends on roms, how much choppy) when it's in a portrait mode. In landscape, it's perfectly smooth. And if you would like to use the tablet in both orientation, I would first wait if the ICS fixes all the issues including the portrait lag. This lag is present in EVERY SINGLE rom I've tried (can't be avoided). Some people are actually saying that ICS will most likely fix the bugs, but bring different bugs to the android tablets. We have to try the ICS on tablets to know for sure. Anyway this is only my opinion, and again, if I could choose, I wouldn't buy an android tablet. I am actually thinking of selling this and getting a Touchpad soon..
Again, this is just my opinion, so all android fans, don't bash on me.
sw6lee said:
I would prefer the Touchpad if I could choose again. This is a personal experience for me, and I didn't have a good one with this honeycomb tablet. It has quite a few bugs that a lot of android users are facing, but could be avoided if a custom rom that fixes the bugs is installed, which voids your warranty. Also, Most Honeycomb tablets have the so called "Portrait lag", which makes the tablet slightly choppy or jittery (depends on roms, how much choppy) when it's in a portrait mode. In landscape, it's perfectly smooth. And if you would like to use the tablet in both orientation, I would first wait if the ICS fixes all the issues including the portrait lag. This lag is present in EVERY SINGLE rom I've tried (can't be avoided). Some people are actually saying that ICS will most likely fix the bugs, but bring different bugs to the android tablets. We have to try the ICS on tablets to know for sure. Anyway this is only my opinion, and again, if I could choose, I wouldn't buy an android tablet. I am actually thinking of selling this and getting a Touchpad soon..
Again, this is just my opinion, so all android fans, don't bash on me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although this is not the first time I've heard of what's been described as "portrait lag", I've never paid attention to it, as my tab stays locked in landscape (personally don't understand why people even use portrait mode, no offense intended).
So I just took it out of lock for the first time since June, when you had to run Gingerbreak locked in portrait mode IIRC.
I just ran through a dozen pages in browser, books, documents, ran through my apps, all my home screens, etc., and experienced nothing close to lag. Could someone maybe elaborate a bit more on the experience please?
tyia
The lag is terrible in 3.1 but it seems to have gone away in 3.2. I haven't used web OS since the 1st palm pre for sprint and although it looks very elegant there isn't enough devs for it and is possibly done with for good which means no future support. Now its been rumored the iconia will see an official release of ics so it will make this tab feel brand new again. The only reason I could see myself getting the touchpad would be to run cm7/9 on it but its a very nice looking piece of hardware. And I'm not an android fan boy. I do have the iconia tab and an evo3d but I also have a ipad and iPod touch so I'm kinda into everything.
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kjy2010 said:
Although this is not the first time I've heard of what's been described as "portrait lag", I've never paid attention to it, as my tab stays locked in landscape (personally don't understand why people even use portrait mode, no offense intended).
So I just took it out of lock for the first time since June, when you had to run Gingerbreak locked in portrait mode IIRC.
I just ran through a dozen pages in browser, books, documents, ran through my apps, all my home screens, etc., and experienced nothing close to lag. Could someone maybe elaborate a bit more on the experience please?
tyia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use portrait mode, because Google is so stupid that they put the status bar on the bottom and made the already narrow 16:9 tablet even narrower and its very annoying to browse the wn where you can see only small amount of the website at a time. This is also why I prefer 4:3 Touchpad. If the status bar is on one side of the screen, say like archos 101 G8, then I personally think it will make viewing web more pleasant. Same goes to PDF, document reading. Portrait mode is much better for that IMO.
And you may have misunderstood what I said, so let me clarify. The bug is called portrait 'lag' but its not lag, but as I explained, its choppiness, and jitteriness (is this even a word..? Lol). It gives users not so good experience. At least to me.
Just wanted to clarify.
Thanks for the responses, gives me more to think about. I probably should wait for the next generation of tabs, but I don't feel like dropping $600+ on one.
Right now I'm probably 65/35 in favor of the a500.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
For the record, my A500 can run stable at 1.6 GHz, though I keep it at 1.4 to be reasonable.... the Tegra 2 seems to overclock well.
Just want to chime in on OC..with Thor's v13 ROM, my a500 oc'ed to 1.5G stable day to day operation
Running 1.68ghtz. Thors 3.9R3 kernel.
But really, who would even try to compare a TP to an Iconia? Especially considering they are no longer in production (unless you buy a notebook pc, then they toss one in).
HP never was really known for support, but, if you wanna get a discontinued item, hey, you get what you pay for
And talk about backtracking;
1. Let's merge with Compaq (2 losers become 1 big loser)
2. Let's buyout Palm, and change the name to Pre, now lets kill the line
3. Let's put out a tab, but nobody wants it
4. Let's kill the tab line
5. Oh, let's also get out of the PC business as well
6. Wait, all the tabs sold at 99 bucks, let's make another 1/4 mil units
7. Wait, we were kidding, we're not getting outta the PC business
8. And those extra tabs??? well, gotta buy a notebook to get one
Is this a company you really want to do business with?
flonker said:
Thanks for the responses, gives me more to think about. I probably should wait for the next generation of tabs, but I don't feel like dropping $600+ on one.
Right now I'm probably 65/35 in favor of the a500.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're going to get an A500 wait until Black Friday, it's only a week away
I have both & use both as intended (for entertainment, quick email, etc.). For better support, I would stick with the Acer unit, even though very good community support is provided for the HP unit, it still is considered a "dead" unit.
i say buy the touchpad. as of now, cm7 runs pretty damn well and webos is a true gem for when you just want to browse, play emulators, use social apps, or schedule your calendar.
Battery life is also phenomenal.
Thanks again for the responses... Can I hit thanks in the xda app somehow? Or, do I have to fire up my laptop?
I had the original Palm Pre and the only real problem I had with it was it's build quality, but I liked webos. Yes, it's a dead OS, but if I can dual boot into a stable version of android that is fine. The build quality on the HP touchpad seems to be excellent as well.
However, I see myself mainly running android, and would think a device where it is the native OS would probably be the best in terms of community/developer support. I've also never had a honeycomb device and it would fun to play around with until ICS.
That being said, I'm a bit worried of build quality with the Acer. I noticed a door covering the microSD slot, and it seemed kinda flimsy.
I figure I can get both for $300 new, but the touchpad would also come with some extras like the folio case and Bluetooth keyboard for that price.
I'm going to get the Acer. The feature that put it over the top? It's getting a port of GTA 3, it had better be a good port. lol.
If you actually took the time to read through this post, please resume living your life immediately.
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The sd/sim port, indeed can seem a bit weak, but, once you know how to get it off correctly, it's ok. Took mine off numerous times and no issues. But it's been a month since i needed to remove it, so it doesn't happen every day. Just don't be the hulk, as really it's easy.
The android community is number one, bar none.
But really, for a few dollars more, you can get the 501 with 3g (just don't get it from at&t as it's sim locked.
I just love rubbing in my download speeds with my friend (iPad owner). He stopped playing games with me. Or when I flash a new rom in 5 minutes, with a completely different theme and look.
The best is when I whip out my 320gb ext HDD and play films.
---------- Post added at 10:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 PM ----------
kjy2010 said:
If you're going to get an A500 wait until Black Friday, it's only a week away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the states that is...
They are like apples and oranges. Both are sweet, but oh, so different.
I bought the 16GB Touchpad from a local Walmart on the morning of the fire sale. I would not have done so otherwise. Do I regret the purchase? No. Do I use it often? No. I am much more interested in my Acer A500 or my little Galaxy Tab 7". They are versatile and FUN! I use whatever device is handy and is charged. That means I also use my 1st gen iPad as much as any other tablet. I just picked up a refurbished Acer W500, so that is my current plaything.
Follow your bliss or your wallet, whatever works, works.
Moscow Desire said:
Running 1.68ghtz. Thors 3.9R3 kernel.
But really, who would even try to compare a TP to an Iconia? Especially considering they are no longer in production (unless you buy a notebook pc, then they toss one in).
HP never was really known for support, but, if you wanna get a discontinued item, hey, you get what you pay for
And talk about backtracking;
1. Let's merge with Compaq (2 losers become 1 big loser)
2. Let's buyout Palm, and change the name to Pre, now lets kill the line
3. Let's put out a tab, but nobody wants it
4. Let's kill the tab line
5. Oh, let's also get out of the PC business as well
6. Wait, all the tabs sold at 99 bucks, let's make another 1/4 mil units
7. Wait, we were kidding, we're not getting outta the PC business
8. And those extra tabs??? well, gotta buy a notebook to get one
Is this a company you really want to do business with?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL. You hit the nail right on the head I'd love to get a TP if I can only find one for $100.It woul be a nice toy to play with for Android ports, but nothing serious. When I first heard of the firesale (literally a couple hours after HP announced it), I dropped into all nearby electronic stores and they were already sold out. I'm seeing all kinds on classifies sites like kijiji and craigslist but they're all $250-300 which is more than I'd like to pay.
So if you can get one for $100, go for it. Otherwise, I'd either recommend the A500 or wait 1-2 months for a newer Tegra 3 device.
Acer all the way.
As of now the Touchpad is dead with webOS and not stable enough with android yet. You really can't do much with it now besides browsing the web and email. I don't like honeycomb very much but at least the Iconia will get the ICS upgrade.
I have the A500 and I am very satisfied, to say the least!
I also bought today the BB Playbook for $199cdn (the deal wasn't to be missed). Very nice machin.
Will be on sale in the US on black friday at Staples
I'd rather get a tetra based tablet, the touchpad is nice but who knows how top end games will be supported on that device. I had a nook color Flanders even the smoothness that it got to only made me want a real tablet
Sent from my ICONIA