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I have had an ipad since release. We have used it for school, presentations, documents, email, etc. I can already say it is nothing compared to the xoom.
I've had it less than a day, and I have run into a few quirks. The ipad did too, like wifi dropping on me constantly on release. Anyhow, just sitting here chatting with a friend, browsing the market, internet, xda, etc, I can't help but notice how much better it is than my ipad. Quickly swapping between apps, voice input, etc. I can plug it into the TV and instantly show my wife an article I've found.
Sure the apps aren't there yet, but they will be. The quirks will be fixed, and it can only get better. For all the "I'm taking it back" threads I just don't get it. I'm hooked.
This is the tablet I was looking for.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
i envy you. I originally was going to wait for the xoom but i got impatient and bought an ipad. Then xoom came out and i sold my ipad and bought it. First day amazed, second annoyed. Im getting ALOT of keyboard lag and I need a good pdf reader. The ones for the phone are not cutting it. Tried ez and repligo both lag like crazy.
Definitely returning this for the xoom for ipad 2. Ipad 2 will be my placeholder until Honeycomb gets more apps and bugs fixed.
iPad has nothing over the Xoom? Really? Not even a better screen (I would take IPS and much much better viewing angles and color reproduction over higher resolution)? Lighter weight? Thinner body? Better, more diverse accessories? And that's not even mentioning the better app store at launch which you just handwaved away but a lot of us consider to be pretty important.
It's one thing to be a fan of the Xoom (which I am). I'll even admit that I do have an anti-Apple bias and that I'll probably never purchase an Apple product. But it's another to completely toss all objectivity out the window and just become a cheerleader for a product that so obviously isn't perfect.
It's not as if the benefits I listed above are limited to Apple. Samsung's new Honeycomb tablet is taking care of 3, potentially 4, things from that list. It'll have a lighter weight than even the iPad 2, a thinner body than even the iPad 1 and Xoom, all while having pretty much the same internals as the Xoom. It also might have a better screen (still looking into this). And the delayed release of the product after the release of the SDK means launch customers will have a lot more apps available to them.
Liking a device doesn't mean you have to be blind to it's shortcomings.
EDIT: I just noticed that most of my recent posts are criticisms of the Xoom and I want to clarify. I'm not trying to bash the product. I just think we should be holding Honeycomb tablet makers to, at the bare minimum, the standards that Apple has set with its wildly successful iPad. Clearly that's being done with some factors. Xoom has more connectivity options, a higher resolution screen, an OS that's better suited for tablet work and productivity, etc. But it's obviously not being done with others, especially screen quality which is a huge HUGE deal with tablets, and I don't think Honeycomb tablet manufacturers should get a pass on that.
You plug your tablet into a tv to show her an article?
I own both as well and I love the potential here but wouldn't say that the I pad 1 has nothing on the xoom. The screen is better as mentioned before. Colors and viewing angles. Also overall OS smoothness. The ipad is silky smooth everywhere. The Xoom is smooth sometime then it gets choppy. Right now that is my biggest disappointment. I mean functionally it is fine the the chop gets a little annoying tbh.
On the ipad for example I neverrrrr had a case of music coming in and out while I surfed the web or download files using filer. On this device I randomly get delays in sound when I perform other tasks. Like ashura3 mentioned not to hate on the xoom after all I actually have one and I am going to keep it for sure but being objective the ipad is pretty slick in what it actually does. And insult to injury google and Motorola have had alot of time to look at what apple did before shipping this device. We are comparing the almost 1 year old device on top of that all the early reports and videos I watched and read about yesterday on the ipad show an extremely fast polished ipad2.
I understand its limited in certain aspect but take like functions or apps and compare how the work and objectively it is hard to say the I pad has nothing on the xoom.
ashura3 said:
It also might have a better screen (still looking into this). And the delayed release of the product after the release of the SDK means launch customers will have a lot more apps available to them.
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If I supply is correct the display is a 16bit tft. That would explain the differences I see when looking at the two and comparing the IPS 32bit display on the ipad. All the other downsides of the Xoom can be easily addressed but like the lack of SD or 4g upgrade on the ipad, there is no way the xoom screen will be as nice unfortunately. It isn't a terrible screen but there is a difference and it is pretty obvious to everyone I nave showed both devices to.
But the iPad 2 has a magnetic dust cover!!!!
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I have an ipad and just got the Xoom. The Xoom is certainly a nice device, I don't think the screen is so bad but it isn't IPS.
I think Motorola blew it big time although I hope they do succeed. They should have released the wifi version before Apple announced the ipad 2 event. As a consumer that just wants a wifi tablet, are you really going to spend $800 on a Xoom or $500 (less for a ipad 1) for a ipad? Even if both are the same price, how many people do you think are going to buy the Xoom over an ipad? Let's hope the Xoom does better than the Zune.
The whole user experience of the Xoom isn't nearly as good as what iOS offers. I'm keeping my Xoom as I would rather have Android than Apple (sd slot, usb and I like the file system better for my field work). If Apple had released a 2x res screen with sd slot as some rumors had mentioned, I would have stuck with iOS.
Long term, Android has a good shot but I don't see the Xoom making a dent getting Apple's market share. The cost, hardware and software don't surpass the Apple user experience. There is no compelling reason to switch from iOS or choose Android unless you're a fan of the platform.
I don't have an iphone nor a Mac so no fanboy here but you can't beat the ipod and the ipad is getting to be just as iconic. Jha has done a good job but I think he completely underestimates what Apple is in the market to think that the Xoom is going to compete against the ipad at the same cost.
google voice... the ipad has it...
Ehhhh.... this is what were supposed to do. Early adopters are basically testers, if you guys see anything you don't like, email google and suggest them. You guys are doing a great job of testing out the device. Also, in order for android tablet apps to increase in numbers fast, there's gotta be customers for developers to sell to right? I purchased a xoom to fill my needs, it does get laggy sometimes but it isnt such a dealbreaker to me right now. Looking at the I pad 1 or 2 it doesn't matter. It's still the same ****ty grids of icons from page to page. But I,too, really think motorola should just release the damn wifi version before the I pad 2 takes a whole bunch of customers.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
My emphasis was more on the software experience rather than hardware. I don't see how iOS is going to hold its own once Honeycomb has its kinks worked out. The user experience is just that superior to the iOS grid of icons.
The xoom isn't that special for hardware. Every few months something faster or thinner or brighter is going to come along, but I don't see Apple drastically changing their operating system anytime soon and I think Honeycomb itself is going to be the real threat.
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Sirchuk said:
My emphasis was more on the software experience rather than hardware...
The xoom isn't that special for hardware... but I don't see Apple drastically changing their operating system anytime soon and I think Honeycomb itself is going to be the real threat.
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AMEN to that! I was just thinking that this morning... This isn't really a "war" between Apple and non-Apple. It's about user experience, needs etc. Since hardware is always obsolete the moment you leave the store (or click check out) the software is the main determinant. Unfortunately, it looks bad right now for HC. But the more I see users post their homescreens with all the wild widgets and customization going on the more I feel "home". I LOVE the apps on the iPad and the screen (I'm playing with a coworker's iPad today) but the user experience is reminiscent of my iPhone...
Just out of curiousity, does anyone know what the Frequency Response is on the Xoom, I can't find it listed anywhere in the specifications. I know its listed for the iPad. I would like to know what it is on the Xoom though.
Anyone?
Being an owner of both, I have to say that the iPad has the luxury of being on the market for a whole year. Last April, iPad was in the same position as a Xoom is today with the uncertainty, bugs and the like. Compairing to Xoom today, its not really in that bad of a position. My Xoom has already replaced my ipad and I'm super excited to see where this thing can go.
I've had my Xoom since launch, and have not had a single issue of lag, or sound problems. Everything has ran very smoothly... Not a android or apple fanboy, I've used them all, i just like the notification system and widgets on honeycomb much better than the ipad.
Coming from a Xoom owner and having played with the ipad 2 this weekend, I'll admit that Apple has just thought everything out much better than Motorola has.
In this, I don't blame Google...I love honeycomb and think its the better OS, but right now I can't recommend the Xoom to anyone I know unless they already know they want the Xoom (which are people like us).
You can just tell that Apple has thought a lot of things through...the design on the ip2 is amazing...it really does feel a lot nicer than my Xoom...its more balanced in one hand. The case, while IMO stupid, is also well thought out…the fact that they even thought of that was awesome...ive always been wondering when companies would design cases/covers that work WITH the item and looks fully integrated...the first ipad case was a pos, and the Motorola case is also ****. A lot of you will say the case is great yadda yadda, but get real, you can tell they put maybe 2 FTEs for like a week to design that thing. The way the magnets work on the iPad is great...a lot of third party case makers will probably use that to turn the iPad on/off.
The volume buttons on the Xoom are also incredibly frustrating to use...i have to actually use my fingernails to use them...again not a deal breaker since I deal with it, but still...not well thought out.
Again, I am not talking about the aps, which should catch up, but the hardware…and yea, I know “we aren’t the average consumer blah blah,” but I want the avg consumer to adopt honeycomb because they are the mass consumers that developers will flock to get. The avg consumer wants something that is pretty…really the iPad does make it feel “magical” whereas the Xoom is industrial.
Since people are focused on tablet centric aps, it is like the app stores are starting over again and the Xoom is somewhat like the G1. It took Android about 1-2 years to (IMO) catch up to Iphone’s apps (still some missing, but I’d generally say the phone apps are pretty much right up there with iOS)….so I am guessing it will take about that long for the tablet aps to catch up. In that time, maybe Honeycomb will get mass adoption…until then, I think iPad 2 is better for me too in the end. However, my nexus s will never go anywhere unless the iphone 5 fixes notifications and gives me SOME flexibility…doubtful.
It is incredibly frustrating for me because while I hate the walled-garden approach, being completely open without regulations has its qualms too…Right now neither OS is close to being perfect, but the iPad can do more now. Xoom has the potential to be amazing…I have 4 CNN widgets on one screen to get the latest news and its very pretty, but then I can’t watch Netflix in an airport? SOME devices will get Netflix…SOME devices will get Hulu…SOME devices will get mlb.tv support…three things I want to do a lot of while traveling….Sure Play On will fix a lot, but again, that is a work around. And while Playon has been great, its not perfect…nor free. Motorola has possibly forced me to leave Honeycomb.
Flash is dead…sorry, but Adobe has had a good amount of time now. I loaded flash 10.2 on my updated Xoom and while it is better, it’s not near a good user experience.
Ultimately, that is what Apple gets…it’s the user experience…not specs. Everything they have done, from banding, to hardware design, to software design, has been designed to make the user feel like they are really doing something COOL. Technology is such a black hole to some people, that the simple fact of “flicking a movie from an ipad to a TV” DOES seem magical to them…even though techies know that’s not a big deal.
Also, choices, while ultimately great, can lead to some pretty negative things…if I was an apple salesman, all I would have to say is “Fragmentation, your device may not be up to date in half a year,” which we all know is bull****, but to an avg consumer, that is one frightening sentence.
Flame Suit On.
I have both. I still like the Xoom better though.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
I agree that the Apple ipad is a terrific device. the platform is about five years old now considering it is a large ipod touch/iphone and 2nd gen in its current form factor. In 18 months Android became the No. 1 smartphone OS and this is the first stab at a market Apple defined.
The screen ipad screen is better than the Xoom, the Apple ecosystem of getting media from itunes onto the tablet is idiot-proof, it certainly has the apps and it looks like video performance for movies and games is improved with the ipad2. For the average consumer (or maybe below average from our technical point of view) looking to play movies or listen to music, not caring about the encoding and wanting a plug and play experience, yes, this is a better solution than Android offers. Maybe Google Music will change that.
But that doesn't mean Xoom and Android are doomed. I couldn't care less about which platform is more popular. I guess I'm in the minority as I don't use it for games or movies. I wan't more than the ipad can give me. I want user expandable memory, multitasking, usb hosting, freedom to decide what programs make sense for me, rooting and the list goes on. I use mine to carry manuals and work information and as good as the ipad looks, for reading, characters look better on a Xoom. Maybe I want iboobs on my device, do I need Steve to tell me, no, it is inappropriate and I can't have it? At 47, I can have my wife tell me that. Steve doesn't tell me I don't want Flash!
I've use the Flash beta to watch Fox News TV it was flawless. That's probably the first and last time I'll use it as I didn't miss it with my ipad. How can it be dead when it is only available via a leaked beta?
It isn't an us or them situation. Think of it like a John and Paul relationship where there is some competition and some collaboration that makes a great overall experience. You may like Paul, I may like John but one without the other isn't nearly as good. ipad makes Android better and vice versa. Look at RIM, no reason for them to improve their user experience and now it looks like 2012 will be the year they're rolling out something "new".
Personally I'm waiting for HTC to design a Honeycomb tablet, they obviously know something about build quality and design that other manufactures do not. I don't care if that tablet is running HTC Sense, it will preform well and be beautiful.
mgerbasio said:
wall of text
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Agree with you there. As a future tablet owner and android fan, I'm really having a hard time deciding on which tablet to pick. Every time I see a video of the xoom, the great browser and ui look, I'm sold. But then when Apple shows something like garageband, or other games/apps for the ipad, along with its "exterior", I'm sold for that aswell . This leaves me right in the middle, not a really good place to make a choice :/.
Apple just made a great move with its pricing, especially the 500 dollar model, which I believe is also there just to draw people to the store, where some decide to go for more memory. Here in Belgium, people won't choose something else over an iPad if the device isn't priced like atleast 50-100 euro cheaper, due to the "apple halo", which still exists here. I"m afraid a huge majority of people here falls into the "cartoony htc evo movie with the really annoying customer trying to buy an iphone 4 cuz it has the wifis"-category. There's also virtually no marketing for android (here). All of this leads to less sales => less developers.
Android is becoming a big hit on phones, but due to a lot of those being slow phones, game developers can't really bring their best, which is a little unforunate for people like me with SGS's.
Have the XOOM and the iPad 1. Went and played with the iPad 2 yesterday for quite a while. Nothing there to make me want to shed the XOOM or upgrade iPad 1, but agree with almost everything you say about a far more smoother user experience. That being said, I came home and read that the Samsumg Galaxy TAB 10.1 will come with a Super AMOLED display and that was all I needed to know to choose my next tablet. See below...
"The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a fancy new Super AMOLED screen"
"The Galaxy Tab 10.1's screen is far better than the Apple iPad's in our opinion"
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/379227/hands_samsung_galaxy_tab_10_1/
Eclair~ said:
Personally I'm waiting for HTC to design a Honeycomb tablet, they obviously know something about build quality and design that other manufactures do not. I don't care if that tablet is running HTC Sense, it will preform well and be beautiful.
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When has HTC ever, EVER been ahead in performance especially related to graphics? They stink at anything related to GPU or video acceleration.
CJNYC said:
Have the XOOM and the iPad 1. Went and played with the iPad 2 yesterday for quite a while. Nothing there to make me want to shed the XOOM or upgrade iPad 1, but agree with almost everything you say about a far more smoother user experience. That being said, I came home and read that the Samsumg Galaxy TAB 10.1 will come with a Super AMOLED display and that was all I needed to know to choose my next tablet. See below...
"The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a fancy new Super AMOLED screen"
"The Galaxy Tab 10.1's screen is far better than the Apple iPad's in our opinion"
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/379227/hands_samsung_galaxy_tab_10_1/
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Holy crap. PLEASE Samsung don't ruin it by using a Tegra 2. PLEASE.
CJNYC said:
Have the XOOM and the iPad 1. Went and played with the iPad 2 yesterday for quite a while. Nothing there to make me want to shed the XOOM or upgrade iPad 1, but agree with almost everything you say about a far more smoother user experience. That being said, I came home and read that the Samsumg Galaxy TAB 10.1 will come with a Super AMOLED display and that was all I needed to know to choose my next tablet. See below...
"The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a fancy new Super AMOLED screen"
"The Galaxy Tab 10.1's screen is far better than the Apple iPad's in our opinion"
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/379227/hands_samsung_galaxy_tab_10_1/
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I honestly don't believe that. They are the first people who have used the GTab 10.1 to say that, and according to Engadget its a TFT LCD just like the Xoom. However, they also go on to say in the video that it may be same panel used on the original Galaxy Tab. Which they were impressed with.
muyoso said:
When has HTC ever, EVER been ahead in performance especially related to graphics? They stink at anything related to GPU or video acceleration.
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By preform well I meant "good enough", not ahead of anyone.
All this Google vs Apple bantering reminds me so much of the IBM/Microsoft vs Apple desktop OS war. How IBM built up the open architeture for their PCs vs Apple closed hardware system.
Not that whats going on is 100% like back then. Apple's gone cheaper(tablet wise) than its competition and I think thats a heavy blow dealt to the Android side. Android, however has something that Apple doesn't have, mass market appeal. HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Kyocera, Sony, Dell, Acer, LG, Toshiba, Viewsonic, Archos to name a few.
Kinda like the PC.
Polished turd
The Apple platform is supposed to be this well polished I had the first and second Iphone and I wouldn't go back again.
iOS sucks thats the reality!
end of story
oh and anyone waiting for HTC to save the day, looking at the flyer and the bloatware they call sense I think I will stay with the moto and xoom
Gtab doesn't have an amoled screen, heck they can't even provide super amoled+ for all of their SGS II. It also has a tegra 2 chip. Even if not, it would still "only" be super amoled, and believe me (I have an original SGS), text does not look good with the Pentile subpixel structure, even though the SGS has a PPI of like 230. Going down to 160 would be horrible for text.
Source: Engadget
HTC was quite disappointing this H1 of 2011, no leaps forward, and the flyer will probably end up like the Tab 1, unfortunately.
The problem with the android 3.0 tablets is that they are the ones that have to convince the consumer (seeing as they are more expensive/new to the market). The first thing the average consumer sees is that the xoom/whatever tablet is plasticy, relatively heavy and "fat", which is not really the best first impression.
Cooki3s said:
Gtab doesn't have an amoled screen, heck they can't even provide super amoled+ for all of their SGS II. It also has a tegra 2 chip. Even if not, it would still "only" be super amoled, and believe me (I have an original SGS), text does not look good with the Pentile subpixel structure, even though the SGS has a PPI of like 230. Going down to 160 would be horrible for text.
Source: Engadget
HTC was quite disappointing this H1 of 2011, no leaps forward, and the flyer will probably end up like the Tab 1, unfortunately.
The problem with the android 3.0 tablets is that they are the ones that have to convince the consumer (seeing as they are more expensive/new to the market). The first thing the average consumer sees is that the xoom/whatever tablet is plasticy, relatively heavy and "fat", which is not really the best first impression.
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Isn't the Xoom made out of aluminum? I haven't held one yet, but I'm assuming since you say this that it isn't obvious to tell?
I was talking more about android tablets in general, although I believe atleast a part of the back of the xoom is aluminium, but a part is "rubbery" if I'm correct. They don't have any of them here in Belgium so I wouldn't know for sure tbh.
thats my point though...I want Android/honeycomb to be popular so it gets more and more support....
It IS important whether you guys will admit it or not..Google isnt spending money to make techies happy...they want to make money, and the money is not here...its with the average joes...imo Honeycomb is NOT the problem...its the OEMs...one reason I was disappointed Nokia didn't hop on board because I think their hardware with Android could own Apple...
After having an ipad I will tell you the build on Xoom is actually as good and in some ways better
iceytea said:
All this Google vs Apple bantering reminds me so much of the IBM/Microsoft vs Apple desktop OS war. How IBM built up the open architeture for their PCs vs Apple closed hardware system.
Not that whats going on is 100% like back then. Apple's gone cheaper(tablet wise) than its competition and I think thats a heavy blow dealt to the Android side. Android, however has something that Apple doesn't have, mass market appeal. HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Kyocera, Sony, Dell, Acer, LG, Toshiba, Viewsonic, Archos to name a few.
Kinda like the PC.
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Deja vu for sure.
iOS and Android each have their strengths and weaknesses. The iPad2 and Xoom hardware each have strengths and weaknesses. Some people prefer the feel of a closed ecosystem behind a pay-to-play walled garden, others prefer on open ecosystem with a vibrant dev community.
You can compare specs (or have a pissing contest) all you want but in the end trying to convince people who's preference differs from your own to instead prefer the same product you prefer is a waste of time, energy and keystrokes. Your inability to change their minds does not mean your own preference is inferior. It just means different people have different preferences. Let them.
In the long run what this competition means is that we all get a bunch of awesome gadgets to choose from. So stop worrying that some people prefer different things than you do. Spend that time and energy enjoying your preferences instead.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
HTC build quality far surpases motorola in my opinion. HTC phones ive owned and known have all been very reliable and beautifully well made. While sense isnt brilliant i still believe a HTC honeycomb tablet will be the one to have. It will look good and be well made. With far better customer services than motorola too.
I was lucky enough to get a nexus one. Stock android OS with a HTC phone. Its built brilliantly. That new samsung nexus s just looks abit flimsy to me.
What are you talking about ? iOS doesn't have a vibrant dev community? I think there's is larger than Android... You have to hack your Android to be completely "open" the same way some jb iOS. Same difference
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jamaicansolja said:
What are you talking about ? iOS doesn't have a vibrant dev community? I think there's is larger than Android... You have to hack your Android to be completely "open" the same way some jb iOS. Same difference
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you completely missed the point of my post, I'll let someone interested in pissing contests explain the differences between creating apps and hacking and modding an OS.
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I was using my friends iPad2 last night....
I've had my Xoom since they came out and I've never used an iPad (or any other tablet to be honest) before. I gotta be honest. I was seriously impressed and became immediately more dissatisfied with all the shortcomings of the Xoom. The browser experience was by far superior, as was UI Performance. That baby was silky smooth. Made my Xoom feel... weak?
Which really comes to my biggest complaint. The Xoom has superior hardware to the iPad2, right? So that must mean the Xoom has far inferior software. Get on the ball Google and get this **** working right. A good barometer of success would be getting Facebook to render properly in the browser. It just seems like google and moto aren't interested in gaining customers.
PS. I'm typing this on my xoom and hating the laggy interface.
*puts on flame retardant suit*
*hands OP a bucket of water* You'll need this.
chg ur xda to 'classic' on left bottom. i do used ipad 2 b4 n for me ipad 2 is really smoother than xoom, n the gesture controls r cool, too. but anyway, i enjoy my xoom much more than ipad 2.my xoom have no laggy at all, seriously.
Here's a thought, sell your Xoom and buy an ipad if that is what you like better.
apollyon0810 said:
Get on the ****ing ball Google and get this **** working right.
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I think it's painfuly obvious that Honeycomb has more potential than the pads iOS, mouse, keyboard, HDMI, the ability to hook up hard drives etc, but I would be inclined to agree with your statement. Gingerbread is uber laggy, after reading reviews I was surprised that more people didn't pick up on it when writing their reviews maybe the idea of the Tegra 2 blinded them? But then again it is a new OS, blah blah blah...
The OS will bed in and evolve, of course, I just hope we don't have to wait for the new incarnation of the Xoom to see it's full potential.
The Xoom has its problems, but being laggy isn't one of them.
I've been using Apple products pretty heavily for the last three years, and they are good but they get pretty boring after a while. Everything is the same and each upgrade brings minor changes to more of the same. I've already decided to return to Linux when I finally replace my Macbook. It's just so hard to get excited about anything Apple does anymore, and I think they're beginning to suffer from the same curse of ubiquity that plagued Microsoft for so long.
I bet that the Xoom and other Honeycomb tablets have less polish than iOS for the iPad, but Apple has also been at the tablet game for a year longer than Google, so I'm more than happy to give Google a bit more time to address these issues.
But the Xoom isn't laggy.
This is not the most appropriate way to vent your frustrations.
Thread closed. As others have stated, perhaps your best bet would be to sell your device and buy an iPad.
I typically do not post raves, but this time I have to rave about the Transformer. This is what everyone that try's to do an android tablet should be making. I got the Gtab last fall and did all the moding to get a usable tablet. Worked pretty good I had to say. Until now. The TF is outstanding. I had the pleasure of quieting a couple friends with iPads on Friday. The TF tore through internet pages, video on Youtube and anything else they could challenge me with.
I have been a fan of Asus for awhile and will continue to praise their product.
FYI, buy from a reputable vendor and you wont have the headaches.
Yeah this thing is amazing. I remember watching a reviews before I ordered it, saying the back felt cheap because it had a strange pattern but it feels so nice, and of course, doesn't scratch!
+1 had to go show it to my old boss the ultimate apple product fanboy, he looked for a bit, then quickly found a reason not to talk to me anymore normally he would argue with me about how apple is far superior, there is no argument that really holds water in the ipad vs eeepad shootout
I completely agree. After I messed around with most tablets out there. (Xoom, Iconia, iPad 1 and 2, etc...) I finally settled on the TF and I do not regret a thing. I absolutely love the little guy. The transformer is easily my favorite tablet and product that I've purchased from ASUS.
Almost a year ago Asus was showing off that 12 inch win7 tablet/laptop/transformer, and I wanted it so bad back then...
Januari this year I bought the Toshiba Folio 100, and after modding it, it does work very well imo... But when I walked through a MediaMarkt XL store (just to look aroudn and play around with some stuff), I saw this transformer, and I knew I was going to buy it, but I wanted to make sure it really was what it looked like... so I read and watched a lot of reviews, and bought it the next day!
It's so nice that I even leave my 15" HP ProBook at home most of the time!
(The wallpaper is a live video wallpaper)
I have to agree on that.
The Transformer is a very well done and smartly design product.
Kudo's to asus !
The keyboard integration is so good that i'm using the tablet almost exclusivly with the dock.
It's light, easy to use, the trackpad is awesome, the connectivity is top notch and the battery life is....well it's basicly the longest battery life there is in any device. Want to use it all day long in your garden downloading movie, watching them and browsing internet while chatting with friend ? You can ! This thing just can't run out of juice !
Gratz Asus! Waiting for you to roll out Ice cream as soon as you can.
Same here, Kudos to Asus! I'm moving on close to 2 months since the release and couldn't be happier...no problems. And, oh so, glad I got the dock/keyboard that really makes it unique and above the rest.
And please with all the card slots, etc. it offers that others don't. Also, pretty impressed that they rolled out the new update in a timely fashion for 3.1, while it looks like other tablets were waiting.
Guess that's why it's reported Asus Transformer is best selling android tablet!
I'm a happy customer and use it every day, all day long most time with a great battery life between it and my keyboard.
I must say that I'm also very pleased with the TF101. There have been lots of other posts/threads which slam them for the light bleed, non-working issues, etc., but really, I think ASUS has done a great job considering that it's their first foray into Android, AND they come with a product that no one else offers (dock functionality). It takes a hell of a lot of QA to make sure that it's ready for production, and despite myself having to return a faulty dock, I also give Kudos to them.
In fact, as I was reporting on my faulty dock issue a while ago, I received a PM from ASUS themselves! They offered to exchange my complete setup for a brand new one (dock, tablet, cables, etc.), however I declined because everything is working great for me once exchanging my faulty dock at the store I purchased it from.
Getting that message and noting that ASUS themselves are watching these boards, as they know we have a great passion for 'pimping out' devices gives me another great feeling.
Has anyone else been in contact by ASUS on XDA?
Regardless, yes. Kudos to you ASUS!
I, too, love my Transformer plus dock. Mine has no light bleed, no creaking, no problems at all. And I'm a total n00b when it comes to Android, but by reading the manual and the helpful advice here and another forum, I've gotten most or all of my questions answered. If even a beginner like me can feel comfortable, Asus has hit it out of the park.
xTRICKYxx said:
Yeah this thing is amazing. I remember watching a reviews before I ordered it, saying the back felt cheap because it had a strange pattern but it feels so nice, and of course, doesn't scratch!
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Mine feels extremely solid, and well built...not sure where the reviewers are getting this unless they were stuck with some bad ones...
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garak0410 said:
Mine feels extremely solid, and well built...not sure where the reviewers are getting this unless they were stuck with some bad ones...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
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Review units are usually from pre-production or 1st production runs, and almost always have disclaimers that they are pre-prodution run review units. It also explains some of the early units that appear on the market having some QA issues.
I have a B05 UK model, and have none of the problems mentioned, it's got fantastic build quality, and my Apple loving boss has last week sold his ipad2 and bought one too after seeing mine+dock.
The days of Apple ruling the roost are long gone, you can get better and cheaper buy buying non-Apple these days. My phone is a HTC that's WAY better than anything Apple make, my tablet is an Asus and ditto....
My tab definitely feels solid too. I don't get all the "cheap" complaints because mine has been just fine and dandy. I do have a little bit of light bleed but it's really only visible when the entire screen is black, and honestly, it's something I can overlook. Just a minor annoyance, and I'll take dealing with it given the price
<3 the TF!
Have to agree pretty much with all the previous posts here. Have read most all the other posts of complaints and honestly while some were bonafide issues I rather felt some were suffering from too high expectations. My TF is quite probably from the initial release go-round and pretty much has been fine. A few annoyances? Sure. The dock battery drain is troublesome as is the charger (email to Asus was NEVER even acknowledged sad to say) but hoping future software fixes will be forthcoming.
Overall, I'm pleased and impressed.
Baconstrip said:
My tab definitely feels solid too. I don't get all the "cheap" complaints because mine has been just fine and dandy. I do have a little bit of light bleed but it's really only visible when the entire screen is black, and honestly, it's something I can overlook. Just a minor annoyance, and I'll take dealing with it given the price
<3 the TF!
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well I can't tell if I have any light bleeding... I've ran several dead pixel and light bleeding test programs and all of the colors of 100 percent solid. My settings screen and my browser bookmark page look like they have light bleed but several people have told me that is by design.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
I am very satisfied as well. I also have the keyboard version and it's not only usefull when writing longer texts (e.g. emails) but it gives the extra boost in battery life which is very welcomed!
I'm definitely not selling mine!
I'm thrilled with almost everything about it.
I also own an iPad and can comment without bias. The TF is better in nearly every way (especially the OS). The one area I think the iPad wins is the structural strength. It just feels tougher. I do like the really simple design but unfortunately apple let that spill over into every facet of the device.
TF for the win (especially with prime! 1.5)
Not untill this has netflix,hulu plus, words with friends honeycomb edition and potrait frame rate fix honeycomb tabs would never be an iPad killer
bboyle said:
I typically do not post raves, but this time I have to rave about the Transformer. This is what everyone that try's to do an android tablet should be making. I got the Gtab last fall and did all the moding to get a usable tablet. Worked pretty good I had to say. Until now. The TF is outstanding. I had the pleasure of quieting a couple friends with iPads on Friday. The TF tore through internet pages, video on Youtube and anything else they could challenge me with.
I have been a fan of Asus for awhile and will continue to praise their product.
FYI, buy from a reputable vendor and you wont have the headaches.
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My cousin, a huge apple fan boy, talked trash about my tablet for a while. Then he came over the shoot pool with me yesterday, and he saw my tablet with the keyboard dock, and he was like on nice you got a new netbook? I guess your tablet was not enough.
I told him this is my tablet and then showed him how it works, he was like Sh!t, why cant apple do cool stuff like that!!
"Android" steals the best stuff, and improves on it" I had to laugh at him.
Brandon
cowballz69 said:
Not untill this has netflix,hulu plus, words with friends honeycomb edition and potrait frame rate fix honeycomb tabs would never be an iPad killer
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To each their own! Plenty of people could care less about those apps and don't even miss them when they're gone.
dan-htc-touch said:
+1 had to go show it to my old boss the ultimate apple product fanboy, he looked for a bit, then quickly found a reason not to talk to me anymore normally he would argue with me about how apple is far superior, there is no argument that really holds water in the ipad vs eeepad shootout
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Reality check.
Rational arguments favoring the iPad 2 would include build quality, form factor (half as thick and also lighter), resale value, screen quality (brighter at max, dimmer at min, less reflective), performance (iPad's PowerVR crushes Tegra 2, no problems with 720p h.264 and iOS 5 has no problems even with 1080p h.264 whereas my TF cannot currently decode 720p acceptably, negating for me the advantage of the 16:10 screen). Also consider O/S maturity and reliability (most obviously the default Honeycomb launcher+browser are junk although ADW+Opera are much better, if buggy), the development tools (the Android emulator in particular is laughable - the iPad emulator in XCode is literally ~100x faster), app selection (Netflix an obvious example, there are thousands more), app quality (same app on both platforms is almost always inferior on TF) - in fact I don't see Android app performance ever approaching iOS here on similar hardware due to the overhead imposed by the Dalvik VM. Also, iTunes movies, TV shows, audiobooks etc. are one click away (although you have to pay for them vs torrents/Handbrake etc). Maybe if I had I non-rooted non-wifi-only Xoom I could try Google movies - I wouldn't known since I have an Asus TF and it has not been white-listed yet (BTW this kind of will-it-install/run/work roulette would not fly on the iTunes store). AirPlay, AirPrint and Home Sharing also 'Just Works.'.
I guess none of these arguments 'hold water' to you but if Google, OEMs like Asus and users rationalize away these things I think you can pretty much kiss this platform goodbye.
... which would be unfortunate because the Transformer's advantages are not insignificant - for $100 less (32GB vs 32GB) I get the MicroSD slot (plus SD with the dock) which gives me 64gb swappable storage in addition to the 32gb onboard (vs 64gb total on iPad), Apple's 'walled garden' is breached so I can install 3rd party keyboards, cloud-based music players, launchers, widgets etc. I also don't have to worry about Apple yanking the Kindle app etc for not paying the tithe etc.
I was very impressed at the review posted on Android Police.
It's like they are reviewing a different tablet from the one I have.
It's a shame as people might be discouraged from buying a great product.
I personally wouldn't have bought it base on the article posted.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...iew-an-embarrassing-lazy-arrogant-money-grab/
My response (added to the comments on Android Police)
I do agree with some of the observations made by the reviewr.
However, I do like the tablet a lot, I really wasn't looking to buy a tablet when I drove to Bestbuy, but since my HTC flyer is not performing as it used to, and I love the pen, I decided to go with this one after testing it for a while.
And I have to say I like it, it's plenty fast, I do agree that the multi tasking is more a gimmick, but it's really not the reason why I bought it.
Something I do have to note, mine is not flexible at all, I was really amazed at your video. Mine will not flex or make any sounds. I does looks very plastic, but other than that I have nothing bad to say in regards to the built quality. I do miss the aluminum on my HTC flyer, but the overall construction of this device is really good.
I don't have misaligned issues or parts or corners that look out of place, it feels completely solid.
I guess that different people have different opinions and everyone has different needs or expectations for devices.
I do respect the point of view presented in this article, but also disagree with some of the observations.
I would recommend interested people to actually go and try it out yourself.
Also, something I did notice when I started playing with it, is that mine felt much more heavy compared to the one the Samsung representative had at Bestbuy.
The Samsung lady had a black one what felt surprisingly light, could it bee there is kind of a demo version?
Anyway, the only point I completely agree with reviewer is that the multitasking is only gimmick... other than that my experiences been completely different and I really love the tablet, its my first 10 inch, and my first Samsung tablet, before I had Dell, HTC, and I also own a Nexus 7.
I find the built of the Samsung to be vastly superior of that of the N7.
Read this one from GSMArena. Their very thorough as you'll see (it's 10 pages). I think a lot of reviewers are just assuming the Note's a standard G-Tab with a pen and not really spending the time to appreciate it how well it does the things tablets are primarily used for.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note_10_1-review-798.php
In all of those reviews I've been noticing that there are issues not present in retail models. I actually watched a 40min russian review on youtube and they found a lot of problems, including creaking, pen sensor not working correctly and so on. Otherwise, the review was very well done and I tend to trust the reviewer. My feeling is, some of these review units are dodgy, maybe preproduction units.
Yep I went on quite a rant in my response to the review on Android Police Google+ page. I really do not get all the negative reviews of this product.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
Thankful
I'm just thankful I bought this tablet before reading reviews.
It's fantastic, im thinking of selling my N7, which I also love.
And yes, I agree the are testing preproduction models.
I just hate that they are missleading people which might have bought it.
I haven't used my computer since I bought this beast, I'm having exactly the same internet experience as my pc.
Without the wait of coming up out if hibernation.
One thing that really annoys me about these reviews is their assumption that HD (Infinity) and QVGA (iPad) are the *norm* now. They aren't - the vast majority of tablets in the 10.1 inch size are still 1280x800.
The reviewer is also a bit confused on some key points.
1. The Note 10.1's battery life is actually not that great. It ranks in around 8.5hrs of continuous use on video loop at 50% brightness. The Prime gets 10.5hrs. It seems what that the Note 10.1 does get right is long standby times which is actually very useful since most of us tend to use tablets in 'bursty' ways - off most of the time, then use for a bit then off for a long time.
2. His complaint about the power cord must come from not realising that Galaxy Tabs (of which the Note is one) can use the same peripherals (mostly) including the synch cable. A little digging and he could find a 6' synch/charge cable.
3. I don't have my Note yet - should be here in a few days - but I've fondled a Tab 2 10.1 and the back felt pretty sturdy. As someone else noted, they may have gotten pre-release units. As for 'everyone using aluminum" not really true. Apple does. Asus does on the Prime and Infinity only - the TF300 doesn't. And aluminum on the Prime is why it sucked... it made the GPS unusable. As for the pen feeling like a hollow rod.. if they'd made it heavier - it would have made the tablet heavier.. and you know what his comment would have been then...
4. NFC. Seriously? The lack of NFC was one of his big buttons? I have NFC on my Galaxy Nexus and it's essentially useless. And not for trying. No one else has NFC, so 'bump' is pointless. I can't use it as a credit card replacement. I can't use it to replace my office ID card. I can't find TecTiles at any store - and no one carries any other kind of NFC tokens. I CAN use it to read my British passport, but that gets kind of dull after a while.
5. Camera. This is one of those 'no way to win' things. Yes, I'd be happier if the Note had a 8MP camera. Yet everyone seems to be happy with the Nexus 7 - which has NO back camera. The back camera for me will be mostly for quicky shots and barcoding. How good is it for that? Wellll.. the reviewer was so wrapped up in not looking bad that he couldn't bring himself to test the camera - which makes him a bad reviewer.
And gee - look - once again a reviewer forgets to test GPS, WiFi and BT.
Having come from the Asus Prime disaster - the fact that almost no one here so far has posted any serious issues with the Note 10 gives me confience that this will be a good tablet.
I couldn't stand reading THST android police article. I had to stop after a while. They don't know what the hell they talking about..lol. they seem very biased. I will admit the grey version doesn't look no where near as good as the white one. I agree with THST they likely received a prproduction unit. My plastic back doesn't flex or is wavy. Plus my device right out the box performed well. They went overboard on bashing this device.
I like ASUS and will say Samsung deserves more credit on this tablet. I'm glad I didn't read the reviews also. I just got it off of reading specs, Watching unboxing videos, and Samsung promo videos on it. Those were enough to catch my interest enough to try it out. A very pleasant experience being my first Samsung tablet I've ever used.
These reviewers are too stuck on ipad3 resolutions now. Now if a tablet doesn't have 1080P or better, they write the display off as subpar. 720P is good enough for me as this display isn't your run of the mill 1280x800 dpslay. They did something with it to make it look better than other tabs with same resolution. Maybe its the color reproduction or whatever but I know this display is one of the better ones I've seen. 720P movies and videos/you tube look great on it.
Going to post my response about this here.
crystalstylez said:
See this type of review makes me really angry. Its ok if a device really sucks but you can cleary tell this guy has a personal vendetta againsr samsung/Touchwiz. I feel if you dont like something then biased opinions should be left out ans they should not review the product. Samsung has been doing touchwiz for a while now ao what made him think that this tablet would come with stock ui. I don't agree with blogs using there popularity to trash a device. Seriously with the picture of the device in the trash. Go back to the laggy xoom.
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Hmmm.
None of samsung and apple devices disappointed me.
I want buy this because of bad review.
I want check it all by myself.
I seem to remember the Asus Transformer Prime getting excellent reviews when it first came out, go figure. One of the worst tablets I ever owned. :/
The Note 10.1 is the best performing Android tablet I've owned so far, no lag at all, everything is fluid.
When did 1080p on a tablet for android become normal?
acer and asus are there any more with that resolution? cause that article makes it seem that is the normal size lol what a boring read
jobryan26 said:
Yep I went on quite a rant in my response to the review on Android Police Google+ page. I really do not get all the negative reviews of this product.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
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Haha, me too, I think I spent at least 4 hours today rebutting comments on the article, on Google+, and on reddit. Most reviews miss the point of the Note completely.
Honestly, I think we users of the Note should write our own reviews, especially focusing on how we find the S Pen useful. Like really, we should make an effort to write more balanced reviews of the device and post them on Google+, reddit, etc. and try to clear up some of the misconceptions.
Does anyone else's tablet creak, because mine certainly does not. And I have yet to experience any lag while writing whatsoever, it's as close to real time as I can discern. I also noticed that if you run javascript animations in the browser while multitasking with another app open, they continue in the browser, so it's not an illusion of multitasking by any means. I can even write, with no lag, in S Note, while animations run in the browser.
---------- Post added at 11:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:35 PM ----------
habs101 said:
When did 1080p on a tablet for android become normal?
acer and asus are there any more with that resolution? cause that article makes it seem that is the normal size lol
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To be fair, these are the only recent tablets that have come out for $500. I think the point is that at that price they expect a higher resolution, but it's like they expect the S Pen and digitizer to be free, which is incredibly naive.
I think it is good to have a bad review and a good one for the new buyers to find out whats really going on.
Re MSplit Screen
"It only works with the Browser, Polaris Office, S Note, Video Player, Gallery, Email, and that's it. None of those applications are really any good, and I would much rather use Chrome, Google Docs, YouTube, Google Talk, Twitter, and Gmail."
Its a shame to be honets.....it was the reason I wanted to but this tablet.
Do you think guys that custom Roms make it possible for Gmail, Chrome etc?
Same for this one from PC World Australia : (I cannot post direct links yet...)
pcworld.idg.com.au/article/434234/samsung_galaxy_note_10_1_android_tablet/
It seems that the guy who made this review didn't get ANY thing about this tab
qwerty1q said:
I think it is good to have a bad review and a good one for the new buyers to find out whats really going on.
Re MSplit Screen
"It only works with the Browser, Polaris Office, S Note, Video Player, Gallery, Email, and that's it. None of those applications are really any good, and I would much rather use Chrome, Google Docs, YouTube, Google Talk, Twitter, and Gmail."
Its a shame to be honets.....it was the reason I wanted to but this tablet.
Do you think guys that custom Roms make it possible for Gmail, Chrome etc?
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I think the point is that the review is bad in that it's incomplete and/or misguided and/or biased, not that it's a negative review. As in, the assessment is not accurate and thus should not be used as a recommendation for or against the device. That's how I feel, anyway.
It's currently not possible for other apps, and I doubt any implementation based on the Touchwiz implementation will happen (that's a crapton of smali hacking) but I have a feeling CM10 will actually incorporate some sort of multitasking, as Cyanogen himself stated that he wanted to incorporate Onskreen Cornerstone, or at least similar functionality, into CM9 way back in February.
qwerty1q said:
Do you think guys that custom Roms make it possible for Gmail, Chrome etc?
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Regarding split screen... just step back and think for a short moment... and you will understand that the custom rom developers would need to heavily modify Android itself.
The display of information on the screen is a core os function. Having more than one app simultanously using the screen requires changes in the Android core. Otherweise this featute will be limited to special versions of Android (like TouchWiz) and special app using it. These special version will delay Android updates as they need to be adapted to major Android releases until they work again.
Android was designed for small screens of smartphones controlled with fingers. Starting with HC on tablets, Google should have implemented this, but it obviously did not happen.
And the feature is rarely useable on a normal smartphone...
You mean the same guys who justified the 8GB in a Nexus7 WITHOUT micro-SD card slot:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...-expandable-storage-and-why-its-for-the-best/
Those guys are pure attention-grabbers. Just check the number of comments in that review and compare it against other reviews. They were also *****ing a lot about GS3 menu choice. This is like a bimbo threatening to run naked to grab your attention and get advertisement-clicks in his article.
As I recall the reviewers HATED the Note and it went on to record sales.
You have to undertstand that tech reviewers have a couple disadvantages. Quite often they are reviewing buggy pre-release hardware. Next they tend to be spec nerds. They focus more on pure specs than does the damn thing actually work for people.
Honestly who cares what they say? If I wanted an iPad I would have bought one. Face it, by this time next year everything that is awesome now will suck by comparison.
Sent from my awesome Note 10.1
The most shocking thing in those reviews is "oh, and it has an S Pen, you can take notes with it" like it was less important than for example number of megapixels in the rear camera. Even the positive reviews mostly ignore S Pen.
Actually, when reading the review - I didn't finish it though, too annoying - the picture of one of these little dogs that tend to bark at anybody and everything kept appearing in front of my inner eye ... this Amadeo guy must be one of these short people.
I couldn't care less for NFC. And resolution, oh my. Everything about this was already stated here. I care for the pen. And that works good enough