Sorry for the editorial here but I just had to get this off my chest regardless if anyone reads it or responds. I love my Nexus 7 (2013) but it's been giving me a lot of problems (hardware and software). I decided to upgrade to a bigger tablet and sell my nexus 7 in the process but there weren't really any 10" tablet that enticed me. I have a Note 2 and I love it, but can't stand the hardware buttons on the Note 10.1 (2014 edition). I briefly considered getting a Nexus 10 but it's a year old hardware and I would be very angry if I bought it only for Google to get off their ass and actually announce/release a new Nexus 10 a few weeks or a months later. So....I went to my nearest Apple store and picked up an iPad Air 64gb.
I'm not gonna lie, I loved it. I haven't used iOS in so long but the feel and fluidity of the iPad just brought me back. I went through the app store buying all the apps I've ever wanted but were never ported (or were gimped) on android. Man I was flying high.......until I actually started using the apps and I fell fast and hard. Is there anyone else on here who owns even one iDevice? Because I don't know if iOS is just objectively this bad or if years on android has spoiled me.
First of all, I completely forgot what a horrible experice you can have using iTunes. Ever since I discovered MediaMonkey and sold my iPod I haven't had any experience with iTunes beyond helping my Mom here and there. I think it's been so long that I manged to convince myself that iTunes wasn't so bad. The fact that iTunes and the app store don't automatically sync my purchases still to this day is mind boggling. If I buy something on my brand new out of the box Nexus 7, it's available in my app list on the Play store and across all devices. If I buy something on my iPad then uninstall it, I can't recover it on iTunes on my computer unless i manually plug in my iPad and sync it first. I appreciate the fact that unlike the Play store web browser, iTunes actually auto suggests titles based a first few letters of my search query but what good is it if iTunes crashes ALL THE DAMN TIME. I've had iTunes crash 7 times in one hour. Hell, I've made in-app purchases that don't download to my device for over 24 hours.
In apps, I kept getting buried under menus. I had to back out over and over just to get to certain menu options. I found myself unconsciously swiping from the left. I was one of the people calling for full screen mode on android with a hidden nav bar but man I never thought I would miss it so much. I hold the iPad on the bottom and every time I wanted to go back I had reach up to hit the back button.
iPad has the best Japanese keyboard hands down. However why they wouldn't give you the option of re-sizing the keyboard on such a large device I'll never understand. My fingers can barely reach some keys. Whenever I want to type effectively I have to hold the tablet in one hand and peck with the other. Same thing goes for the home screen. Also, you would think webpages would be clearer but the text size was basically the same as on my nexus 7 (at least for the pages I regularly visit). Just little annoyances building up like pictures downloaded from the web getting saved in my camera roll. Let's not even get into the 4:3 aspect ratio.
The absolute worst thing and the one thing that has me returning the iPad? Multitasking. Trying to download my whole comic book collection was an exercise in patience. It took (honestly) 16 hours for my full library to download. Every time the iPad screen went off, the download paused. Every time I played a video in Youtube, the download paused. This is most frustrating OS experience I've had lately on such a premium well made device. The worst part is that I knew all this going in but I figured the experience just had to be better than the last time I used it, and I couldn't be more wrong. It's changed aesthetically but it's still the same software that pushed me to android to be with.
Now I'm over $1000 (cases and accessories) in and I find myself completely disenchanted by the experience. I just lost $80 in app purchases and I don't know if Apple charges a restocking fee but despite all that I'm still returning the iPad today. ::sigh:: I wish I could download half these apps on the Play store. Hell even the Bamboo Paper app I like so much is available for my Note 2 but not compatible with the Nexus 7 (????) and that's a watered down version to begin with. I think it's hilarious that the ecosystem that's so highly touted wasn't enough to keep me.
Anyway I just had to get this off my chest. For anyone who actually read it to the end, first, thanks and second, if you still use an iDevice along side your android devices then what is keeping you tied to the OS? I honestly tried, because there's nothing I hate more than returning things that aren't defective, but I'm willing to pay a restocking fee because it just isn't worth it to me right now. I wish Goggle would get their game together.
Another thing I never realized. Using the iPad feels like using a resistive screen. The glass is not glue down and so there is a gap that makes tapping on the iPad feel more hollow. Pressing down on the glass distorts the screen which is unfortunate because many of the stylus I used require so much force to work well. I kept wondering why the glass on my Nexus 7 felt more solid. I am surprised none of the reviews I watched/read have mentioned this.
That was an interesting read. I have a friend that did a similar thing. After his Android tablet was stolen he bought an iPad and then just ended up returning it to Bestbuy. Personally I've never owned any iDevice but I've used them plenty and it just doesn't feel as natural to me. In my opinion they are just pretty devices that suffer terribly from software annoyances and lack of functionality.
I was long time ago a iPhone, iPod and iPad user, but even with the advances in IOS7 I'm still feel this platform is not for me, too many constrains and limitation to my taste. Right now I love every aspect of my Nexus 7 (2013) and even the lack of ext SD is not a bummer for me, but I have the 32GB version.
Still I recommend the iPad to those of my friends that grow up under the Apple umbrella. I got a couple of former iPad users converted to the Nexus, but only when I feel they want a change or are open to test different shores. I see some advantages using iPad for some users, so I'm not a IOS hater, just is not for me.
<-------- to much words to say nothing, damn, I becoming dumber....
I agree with basically all of your points. Multitasking is much faster on Android for sure, I can switch between apps very quickly and they will also stay open unlike iOS when they might get cut off. iTunes is horrible, as always, but I don't use it anymore. Spotify is all I need for music and everything else I can handle on the device itself. I've used Android for quite some time I'd like to think, but the same thing keeps me from using it exclusively and that's the feel when you touch the screen. It's hard to explain but it's noticeable especially in scrolling. Android has gotten much, much better lately, but it just doesn't feel as connected as iOS does and that really annoys me. I'm quite sensitive to small details like this, most people seem to not even notice these things. My older issues have been basically fixed, like inconsistent app design (Holo fixes this). I like Android, it's quick and efficient but for my usage patterns I prefer iOS. Also my most used apps, Tweetbot and Alien Blue, have good alternatives on android but not quite as good, that's also part of the reason but that's just because I'm heavily invested in the iOS ecosystem.
Go ahead and disagree, but please use some arguments with some thought put into them.
How was the low memory crashes?
"Is there anyone else on here who owns even one iDevice? Because I don't know if iOS is just objectively this bad or if years on android has spoiled me."
This statement alone made me swap my 16gig iPhone 5s (my first iPhone) for a Note 3. iOS felt "fisher-price" compared to all my years with Android. Being there with my Droid OG and seeing how far Android has come is truly amazing. I should have never doubted Android.
And for Apple to release such a fast CPU and to only gimp it with 1gig of memory across the board is ridiculous. All the "lowmem" errors in the diagnostic log and crashes was a joke.
freemini said:
I agree with basically all of your points. Multitasking is much faster on Android for sure, I can switch between apps very quickly and they will also stay open unlike iOS when they might get cut off. iTunes is horrible, as always, but I don't use it anymore. Spotify is all I need for music and everything else I can handle on the device itself. I've used Android for quite some time I'd like to think, but the same thing keeps me from using it exclusively and that's the feel when you touch the screen. It's hard to explain but it's noticeable especially in scrolling. Android has gotten much, much better lately, but it just doesn't feel as connected as iOS does and that really annoys me. I'm quite sensitive to small details like this, most people seem to not even notice these things. My older issues have been basically fixed, like inconsistent app design (Holo fixes this). I like Android, it's quick and efficient but for my usage patterns I prefer iOS. Also my most used apps, Tweetbot and Alien Blue, have good alternatives on android but not quite as good, that's also part of the reason but that's just because I'm heavily invested in the iOS ecosystem.
Go ahead and disagree, but please use some arguments with some thought put into them.
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Click to collapse
Android lags heavily in certain apps and it is very noticeable when you scroll. I think only dyed to the core fanboys would defend that. But that's more a Google thing than it is an Android thing. I have over 1000 pics in Quickpic and it loads and scrolls so smoothly with absolutely no hiccups. However attempting to scroll through the "All Apps" section of the Play Store is a nightmare. A lot of Google made apps lag horribly with the only exception I've found so far being surprisingly Maps and Keep. Scrolling is smoother on iOS but it has it's wealth of problems. I had 12 re-springs yesterday attempting to use Safari with only 3 tabs open. Switched to Dolphin and it was only marginally better. It also lagged though not as noticeably as Android.
I agree that iOS offers a very consistent experience and design language and some of the apps are just better designed than their counterparts will ever be on android. I blame Google here though. When I was considering 10" tablets, one of the things that swayed me, beyond the fact that they're weren't options I liked in Android, was the fact that the Play Store just doesn't have many tablet optimized apps. I know some people are going to say it's up to the devs to redesign their apps but why would they bother when Google seems be making it a moot point. Instead of incentivising them to make better optimized tablet apps, Google instead went the opposite route and made their tablet UI more like a Phablet UI. My Nexus 7 just feels like scaled up Note 2 without the Stylus or memory slot and yet my Note 2 (which I still don't understand) has access to more productivity apps than the Nexus. It can't just be because it has a stylus, those are a dime a dozen and I have 2 Bamboo stylus that work very well on my Nexus, so why the limitation when the larger screen would benefit more from handwriting and drawing.
iOS is only slightly better. They may have better optimized tablet apps but all a lot the apps do is move things around while giving you the illusion of more real estate. On my brother's iPhone 5s and my iPad Air, the Bamboo Paper app gives us the same number of lines when we open a notebook. While Android is guilty of leaving phone UI's on tablets so you're left with a lot of white space, iOS is the opposite. Every little bit of your screen is filled but a lot of times it's just by apps that scale up their visuals instead actually optimizing it. Though I should add that I am one of those people that prefers to always use my tablet in portrait mode unless an app forces landscape mode. This is even more evident on the home screen and settings and why I complained about the Keyboard. Apple literally just scaled up everything in their tablets. The keyboard, the icons, the layout...everything is exactly the same as on their phones.
I suppose it would be easy for me to get heavily invested back into the ecosystem. I have hundreds of apps I bought previously (when I was still an iPhone user) but for about 98% of those I'm forced to re-buy the tablet version if I want them again. Never thought I would say this, but if I could load the App store on my Android device while still keeping everything fundamentally android, I'd be happy as hell. I know iPad is better built but some decisions like leaving a space between the glass and the screen or putting both speakers at the bottom seem very odd to me. Sometimes the screen feels very plastic because of the give.
mi7chy said:
How was the low memory crashes?
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I got a lot of those but only using browser apps. Surprisingly none of the other 30 apps I used crashed even once but the web browsers just went crazy crashing left and right sometimes just from clicking on a link.
cdmoore74 said:
"Is there anyone else on here who owns even one iDevice? Because I don't know if iOS is just objectively this bad or if years on android has spoiled me."
This statement alone made me swap my 16gig iPhone 5s (my first iPhone) for a Note 3. iOS felt "fisher-price" compared to all my years with Android. Being there with my Droid OG and seeing how far Android has come is truly amazing. I should have never doubted Android.
And for Apple to release such a fast CPU and to only gimp it with 1gig of memory across the board is ridiculous. All the "lowmem" errors in the diagnostic log and crashes was a joke.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I would never consider iOS for a phone and to be honest unless Samsung does something really stupid to the Note line I think all my phones moving forward will a Galaxy Note (I love the Nexus line but the functionality offered by the Note line is unmatched). I just thought Apple might provide a better tablet experience and if it had I would have stuck with it. There's no loyalty in tech. I buy what works best for me and if that happens to be Apple or Android I show my support by buying their products. I'm just surprised that Apple didn't do it for me. I was really expecting to move forward with an iPad in my backpack and a Note 2 in my pocket.
I have a 5th gen iPod Touch and absolutely love it. As far as music players, I just don't think they get any better. As far as phones and tablets, I'm pretty much always going to be an Android fan. I do have an Acer Iconia W510, running Windows 8.1 but it's running an x86 processor and not using that RT crap. With its keyboard dock, I think of it as more of a laptop than a tablet, with the added bonus of being able to get the keyboard out of my way.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Analyss14 said:
I got a lot of those but only using browser apps. Surprisingly none of the other 30 apps I used crashed even once but the web browsers just went crazy crashing left and right sometimes just from clicking on a link.
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Click to collapse
Exactly my experience, but it seems isolated to the iPad air. I've had my 5S for about a month and I don't have a single LowMemory log, I have a fair share of Alien Blue crashes though.
I would like a small ipod with blue tooth so I can exchange music....
But I think it s too much to ask!
I had the first ipad, an ipad 2 and an ipad4. In the end, I always come back to Android and the ipads go to the wife/kids.
I won't even consider an ipad until Apple adds a proper file management system. I have multiple file types for projects and don't want to try and keep track of what app I need to open to get to my data.
Actually, not having USB OTG would be a problem for me since I use usb-rs232 adapters that wouldn't work with idevices. I rarely use this but when I need it, it is certainly easier than carrying a laptop. I guess I'm be more inclined to get a Surface 2 Pro and a 7" android device. without a file manager, apple is useless to me.
If it wasn't Nexus, probably a Samsung Note for the S-Pen. I'd like to try it and see if it is any good.
If you are looking for a 10" tablet, I have now had many android tablets. I currently have the Note 10.1 2014 and the Nexus 7. The Shield is not really a tablet but I have it as well. The Note 10.1 2014 is far and way the most useful tablet I have owned. It has great battery life and a spectacular screen. It is smaller and lighter than the Nexus 10. I am not a fan of the home button it has but that would be my only complaint. I like the Nexus 7 a bunch also it is great for throwing in a pocket on the go. I am totally against iAnything.
The main issue I have with android apps are the pdf readers, I have tried every pdf app but non of the scroll smoothly, not even basic text books.
ios app developers have to keep their apps top notch to compete within the appstore, on google play there are threemmajor pdf apps ( paid)
Ezpdf, repligo reader, mantano reader
All of them have major problems witth either speed of rendering, highlighting difficulties , clumbsy menus and much more.
And note another weird thing, non of them have implemented immersion mode, in fact the only reader app that has enabled it is moon reader.
I get that 4.4 is on a very low share of their market but still these are paid apps, they should have taken the time to implement it.
Nexus 7 with its quadcore hits a wall when it comes to these apps
RKight said:
I have a 5th gen iPod Touch and absolutely love it. As far as music players, I just don't think they get any better. As far as phones and tablets, I'm pretty much always going to be an Android fan. I do have an Acer Iconia W510, running Windows 8.1 but it's running an x86 processor and not using that RT crap. With its keyboard dock, I think of it as more of a laptop than a tablet, with the added bonus of being able to get the keyboard out of my way.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Same here. Loved my iPod 5G in the few months I had it. Very decent camera built in as will.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013)
---------- Post added at 06:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:16 AM ----------
Only thing I miss after selling my iOS device is the exclusive apps/games like Bastion, Limbo etc. That's all.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013)
You should try iPhone, Once you did, you would never say this again
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Different strokes...
I've owned an iPhone and an iPad and I was a Mac developer for 17 years.
I'll never go back to Apple products again as long as I live. My experiences with the new iDevices has been execrable. But what's much worse is the attitude that Apple fans have "Try an iPhone and you'll never go back." Right. Because we're all exactly the same, want the same things - value the same things.
No wonder people call them iSheep. They want everyone to be exactly the same.
Well, screw that.
To paraphrase Edgar Friendly from Demolition Man
"You see, according to Steve Jobs' plan. *I'm* the enemy. Because I like to think, I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech, freedom of choice. I'm the kind if guy who would sit in the Best Buy and think "Gee, should I have the big screen or the 3D screen phone with the side order of 7" tablet?" I *want* high cholesterol. I want to eat bacon, butter and buckets of cheese alright? I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinatti in a non-smoking section. I wanna run around naked with green jell-o all over my body reading a Playboy magazine. Why? Because maybe I feel the need to, okay pal? I've *seen* the future, you know what it is? It's a 47 year-old virgin in gray pajamas soaking in a bubble bath, drinking a broccoli milkshake and thinking "I'm sophisticated because I have a fricking iPhone". You wanna live the Apple way, you gotta live Jobs' way. What he wants, when he wants, how he wants. Your other option: come down here, maybe flash your own ROMs."
Cool story. I read it till the end. We should create ex-IOS support group.
Here's my story (long one) :
I still have my launch day iPad2. Mainly since it's in pieces atm.
I've been repairing it several times since spring this year. It was poorly assembled to begin with, the glass was lifting and it'd cut my thumb every now and then.
It finally stopped charging. So I bought a replacement charge connector to fix it.
End up damaging the wifi antenna while opening it.
Bought replacement part. First one didn't work.
2 parts later, I got it fixed.
At this time, the glass was cracked beyond help. Bought a replacement part to fix it.
At this point, I ended up ripping the 4 pin speaker connector.
I'm just gonna solder the wires directly to the main board to fix it.
Then I'm going to flip it on CL.
Around the same time my iPad2 was problematic, my iPhone4 home button gave up.
Didn't feel like going through the same ordeals as the iPad, I sold the iPhone 4 with broken home button on CL for $175.
When I finally finished repairing my iPad2, I'm pretty sure I could get at least $300 for it, since others are asking $350-400.
At the same time when 2 of my iDevices gave up, I had to buy cheap replacements: LG Optimus L9 $150 and B&N Nook HD $150.
I had tried Android prior to this point, but hated them (poorly made, slow, weird interface).
When my L9 and Nook HD work great, fast, so flexible, and everything that's not iOS, I was BLOWN AWAY!
I ended up learning a lot more about Android, rooting, found Samba client app, my life is finally complete again.
I've since bought: Nexus 4, Note 2 and 2x Nexus 7 2013.
At this point, it'd take a lot of Google eff-ups (like the updated G maps), to make me want switch back to iOS.
Oh, and I also sold my iPod Nano 8GB on CL for $75, because the button was starting to wiggle on me. And the buyer bought it knowing about the problem. Bought a Clip+ & 64GB uSDXC and still left with some change.
BTW, Apple wanted $200-400 to repair the iPad2 for the stopped charging issue.
Last, I figured out why my Android experience a long time ago (2.2) was horrible: combination of immature OS and cheap Chinese made crap (don't know why, my friends had garbage like H20 and HTC at that time), was what got me.
Related
Just as the title says. If you have been using the IPad for awhile now, is this a huge step forward or do you wish you would have waited for the IPad 2 (if it is comparable hardware-wise).
I like the Xoom better, mostly because I love the Android OS and despire iOS.
One of the biggest selling points for me is the unified file system... iOS required me to upload two copies of files, one to each application if I wanted to share it between two. That tied with using iTunes to copy anything to it drove me nuts.
I did own an iPad though because I needed an ebook reader that could handle large PDFs with ease and no decent Android tablet existed (Win7 tablets had no decent slate ones, my laptop is a convertible tablet). I sold that last week, for the same amount I paid for it actually, in order to buy my Xoom today.
not a fair fight
I don't know that you can compare the 2 fairly. The xoom does everything the I pad does and more(other than the iPod stuff) that being said, I like the xoom better. I think ios, while innovative, is now outdated and I hope apple comes correct with an ios update on the I pad 2. For me the diffference is the desktop widgets vs icons, there is no comparison. It'll be better to compare this vs the ipad2 next week.
bogatyr said:
I like the Xoom better, mostly because I love the Android OS and despre iOS.
One of the biggest selling points for me is the unified file system... iOS required me to upload two copies of files, one to each application if I wanted to share it between two. That tied with using iTunes to copy anything to it drove me nuts.
I did own an iPad though because I needed an ebook reader that could handle large PDFs with ease and no decent Android tablet existed (Win7 tablets had no decent slate ones, my laptop is a convertible tablet). I sold that last week, for the same amount I paid for it actually, in order to buy my Xoom today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the xoom better. Now besides the obvious hardware advantages I take that into account.. But a XOOM (Honeyvcomb) just fits me better. I don't think you can go wrong with either tablet, but pick the one that suits your needs and you will be happy.
The iPad was a great toy, but having used this Xoom for only a few hours, I have to say that I can actually see myself being productive on it. Just with gmail, talk and the browser it is already exponentially more useful than my iPad ever was.
KwestJones said:
I don't know that you can compare the 2 fairly. The xoom does everything the I pad does and more(other than the iPod stuff) that being said, I like the xoom better. I think ios, while innovative, is now outdated and I hope apple comes correct with an ios update on the I pad 2. For me the diffference is the desktop widgets vs icons, there is no comparison. It'll be better to compare this vs the ipad2 next week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except my major complaint about the file system is something Apple intentionally put into their mobile OS. I doubt that will change in the iPad two. It isn't like they weren't aware that applications might want to access the same files.
The widget thing though... that I would expect in the next release of the iPad.
I like the xoom better......
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
I honestly can't wait to see the next iPad, I really wanna see what Apple does to impress. They usually impress well, and this time should be no different. Honestly this will be very interesting. I want to see what will make the iPad 2 so much better than other Android tablets coming out this year. I try to stray away from all this "fanboy" stuff and think based off of the information given to me.
Judging from current leaks (not a good way to judge, I know) the iPad 2 hardware wise isn't blowing anything out of the water. iOS, while beautiful, is limited in terms of customization unless you jailbreak... and if widgets from past Android versions work on the Xoom, I don't know.. I've gotten used to them. They offer delightful way to customize.
This may just be a choice of personal preference, especially if you want apps.
As a "pick up and go" device.. I think the iPad1 is still stronger than the Xoom at this point in time... I'm seeing major battery drain on my Xoom doing light tasks like Google Talk and Browsing.. And browsing on the iPad is still a much smoother experience.. scrolling in the Xoom browser is craptastic as it has been on all Android devices i've used.
But if you were to ask me to compare Xoom to other Android tablets/phones.. it's definately WAY better than those.. I think the iPad has just as much use and most apps are running way better on my iPad than the Xoom.
Of course, we have to play the waiting game and hope devs code properly for Honeycomb and we should see more polished, faster apps.
But so far, i'm not seeing any outstanding differences between the Xoom and iPad.. and the iPad is doing it better given it's got a lot more time under it's belt.
I wanted the Xoom/Honeycomb to wow me more.. I wanted to be saying "iPad what?" but I can't... yet..
And now iPad2 will be announced next Wednesday and probably stretching it's legs out even further over Honeycomb.. sigh.
schnoz said:
Just as the title says. If you have been using the IPad for awhile now, is this a huge step forward or do you wish you would have waited for the IPad 2 (if it is comparable hardware-wise).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my review below
I have had an iPad since july of last year, sold it yesterday in prepartion for the Xoom purchase today. Walked into Verizon purchased the Xoom and walked right out no hassle, no activation required. Here my Mini Review so far, with some comparisons to my previous 32gb ipad.
Hardware:
Nice heft, feels really solid and has that industrial feel. I do not feel I am going to drop it because it slips out of my hand... i always felt that way when holding an ipad.
its a 16:10 screen so it is wider than it is long. Should be perfect for movies.
Screen is a finger print magnet like ipad.
Software:
Gmail- is incredible on this thing. Drag and drop, color labels, etc. the workflow with gmail is priceless and so fluid. I cannot speak of the general "email" app because i only use gmail.
youtube- way way faster loading videos on this than it was on the ipad. it has some eye candy, which is always nice.. esp for android.
browser- Browser is great! and it loads pages faster than my ipad did. also it has tabs and THEY DO NOT RELOAD ON SWITCHING!! I had 8 tabs open... flipping through them flawlessly! As always using google account you can sync bookmarks and such between desktop and xoom.
Havent tried the music app yet
The gallery is like your standard vanilla android gallery.. loaded all my picasa pics from the cloud.
Other apps- there are very few "tablet apps" in the market. The 2 I did DL was pulse and accuweather. Pulse was pretty basic but did take advantage of the fragments. Accuweather is slick... but they need to polish up some pixelation i saw tapping the background "live" water.
Apps like facebook and kindle scale up nicely. While some apps dont like the speedtest app.
Speaking of speed test, i did a load on my wifi connection at 15mbps down and 3 up and i pull 14mbps down and 2 up. My ipad could never pull above 10mbps. I also noticed my signal holding strong than it did on my ipad.
Workflow is great!! This is what i have been missing on ipad... background task, unintrustive notifications.
Thats all I have right now... so far I am liking the decision i made. But i know i will be missing my apps the ipad had!!! Android cant match it yet... it will take some time.
It really is like comparing apples to oranges.
I look at the ipad as purely an "app launcher". The OS itself has zero functionality. But the app quality is great and it's runs very smoothly. Then again Apple did have their own OS to work off of when the created iOS so it's not like starting something from scratch as with Android.
The Xoom (and Android in general) is more a fully featured OS that has functionality aside form launching apps. However this is also the downside, there is a lot more that can go wrong (example - the multitasking can bog the OS down). I think eventually Android will be as smooth as iOS, but right now it's not. But if you want a full featured, incredibly functional device, the Xoom trumps the iPad.
Basically if you just want to launch apps the iPad is great. If you want anything else out of the tablet, you have to go with Xoom.
For me, the Xoom beats my iPad. This is my first Android device period, and I have used iOS strictly since waiting in line for the first iPhone.
I gave my iPad to my wife to use for things around the house - airplay to the stereo, recipes in the kitchen, quick additions to the grocery list...
It is excellent at what it does - appealing to the broadest base of users possible. But I could not truly be productive on it. I want to IM, email, read RSS, edit docs, and keep track of a multitude of other things at the same time - and even with the multitasking bar at the bottom, it feels like a single-task device.
Here are specific things it did that made it feel like a single-tasker:
- With many things running, exiting and entering the browser effectively had to reload every tab because it couldn't keep it all in memory.
- Alerts were cumbersome, interrupting and not persistent.
- Many productivity apps would lose state when they were put in the background (suspend).
- There were many good replacement browsers for Safari - but you could never bind any of them to open links by default. So you always felt like a second class citizen using them.
- Many large productivity apps show their loading screen again to get back in when you quickly switch out and back again. I feel the lack of RAM consistently.
I enabled developer mode in OS 4.3 on the iPad so I could use swipe gestures to move between apps and get back to the homescreen without using the button. But it made all of these flaws stand out even more. Even if they upped the RAM, these gesture controls don't hold a candle to the Honeycomb task switcher or WebOS' card view. Apple's paradigm breaks down in that use case and they need a real overhaul.
For me, iOS is still the most bulletpoof, whille still super-functional OS - and I want to rely on for my smartphone. I don't need to achieve these levels of productivity in that use case. But for a tablet OS, Honeycomb wins, and the Xoom makes an excellent showcase for it.
Oh, and a bonus for me - I have gigs and gigs of photos that I just happen to use Picasa to manage. Never used the web albums though. I always used the iPad to show photos by syncing what I could - but I rarely plug it into my computer so it was always out of date. But with the Xoom, all I have to do is tell Picasa to sync what I want with web albums and they show up on the Xoom - without using up storage! Genius.
Can't wait to see this excellent tablet and tablet OS evolve.
is scrolling and pinch to zoom smooth?
scores87 said:
is scrolling and pinch to zoom smooth?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCilGpUvXuE&t=2m01s
+1 Xoom
The iPad pales in comparison and only can aspire to one day be recycled into a Xoom
I like the Xoom better because of Android, but I am also getting an iPad 2. I have too many apps and Android has a while to catch up in that regard. But I'm keeping my Xoom.
I have both the iPad and the Xoom... I havent touched the iPad since I got the Xoom. I just love Honeycomb over the iOS. That being said, I won't get rid of the iPad until Google releases a movie store so that I can rent movies while I travel.
Why not have both!!?
I know I've been called a "technology whore" before so what the hell... I was thinking about buying my wife an iPad2 for her birthday; in part so I don't have to feel too bad about having spent $571.09 (price on bill) on the Xoom. So I could enjoy the best of both worlds.
I had an iPad, ended up getting it for a steal and just to tie me over until the android tablets started rolling out.
Since I picked up the Xoom, I haven't touched the iPad since. I gave it to my wife...and now she wants a Xoom too lol...so it will likely be on eBay soon.
Even without Flash/4G, I've enjoyed every bit of it. Once we get those 2 things, a few custom roms etc, I'll be in heaven.
Used handbrake to shrink some of my bluray collection for a trip next week...looks/runs fantastic.
My $0.02
I haven't touched my iPad since the night of the 24th. I loved it when I got it and I used it every single day. It is extremely useful and handy to have.
The Xoom has done everything I was doing on the iPad with the exception of Netflix which I do miss and hope to have return some day one can believe Nvidia's press release. Other than that I want more apps and I want them faster than it is possible for developers to get them ready but I am happy with my choice. I love the cameras, I love the ability to have widgets and more control over the device. I am looking forward to LTE and Flash being on the device and eventually the SD card being unlocked. I don't miss my iPad.
I'm on fence on whether to buy a Motorola Xoom (32GB WiFi EU) or an iPad 2. In terms of price, here in Malta the Xoom seems more worth it as I can get it for 498 euro whilst the iPad 2 Wifi 32GB is at 609.
My main concerns are regarding software, and more importantly, apps availability. Now, before you bash my question, I've read a lot of reviews for both devices, and I've gone through lists for Honeycomb apps, but I'd like input from actual Xoom owners that are using it day to day.
Thanks in advance,
Emmanuel
well email and surfing is alot more fun and productive on a Xoom compare to an Ipad2 because of the integrated email and the flash enabled full size browser experience
but if you look at the build quality of them it sure looks like the Ipad2 went thought a lot more intensive QA then the Xoom since on the back of the xoom you kind of able to push in the plastic a bit.... thats makes me a sad panda
anyway comparing xoom vs ipad 2... there is only one logical answer
android =widgets
IOS = no widgets
and with widgets you get your information a lot faster like news, socks and twitter on one page... so yeah and i do use that alot
productivity = xoom
build quality = ipad2
that said i still think the ipad2 really rocks since it's a finished product but it does not have the widgets
I've owned an iPad and now I own a XOOM. For me personally, the ipad doesn't come close - the OS is far too restrictive and the dependency on iTunes was a killer for me (I use linux on all of my home machines, forcing me to run a windows virtual machine just to activate the damned thing).
With that said, the XOOM, or rather, Honeycomb doesn't even come close with regards to app availability. Even if you take the huge headstart that apple have (1 year+), the ipad has simply always been better marketed and there are a lot more apps available. Let's not even get started on the android market place; it's dire. The worst. And for some reason, it's even worse on honeycomb than it is on phones; no ability to rate apps, plenty of bugs (some of which have been addressed in 3.1), no ability to view only tablet apps, terrible filtering and search in general, etc. Apple's app store is how it should be done, the android market place has a long way to come.
The situation is improving for honeycomb and I personally wouldn't dream of going back to the ipad, but for friends and family who couldn't care less about the restrictive nature of iOS and the other things that I dislike, I would recommend the ipad.
With all that said, it looks really weird to see me almost recommending Apple, because I personally can't stand the software. Oh well...
Well, I've never owned an I pad but I have just purchased the xoom and I LOVE it!!!
Most comparisions regard the xoom better, but with the I pad having loads more apps - to some people, this is the deal breaker.
However, if you want a true tablet experience and not just an oversized iPod touch, then go for the xoom.
The xoom has better OS, greater browser and keyboard, better cameras and support flash, it is also not tied down to any PC software such as iTunes and includes more customization options such as widgits. (Android includes a free turn by turn navigation system too)
Oh and the maps and YouTube apps are better on the xoom and have more features (Google property pays off)
I made my decision and I'm happy with my xoom - but the choice is yours.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
I have to disagree. I think the xoom build quality is top notch and better than the iPad. It's just when I hold the iPad I feel like it will break... to thin for my liking.
Now applications look better in my opinion on the iPad. Like it was mentioned here the Apple eco system keeps me away.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
I have owned an iPad, and will likely own an iPad 2 when the current shortage lets up. There is very little left to say about the iPad (either version) that hasn't been said already. They are exceptional devices, gamechangers, perfectly designed to introduce mobile technology to mainstream users. Almost anyone can be up and running in 15 minutes with an iPad, even with no experience and iOS rewards those who embrace its deliberate limitations.
My first experience with Android was with an Archos 5 tablet, and then an Archos 101. I bought both as relatively inexpensive ways to get acquainted with Android. and both were very frustrating experiences in different ways. They really made me begin to view Android as a very niche market.
However, when I needed a new phone and decided that I couldn't wait for a Windows Phone 7 device to be offered here, and refused to get an iPhone, I opted for the Galaxy s and a whole world opened up to me...which then led me to my new Xoom.
I have been playing with it for about half a day now after doing a great deal of reading...I unlocked it, tried to root it and ran into the "stuck on the red M" problem, spent about 2 hours reading and sorting out how to get myself out of the trap via adb, rooted it at last, installed CWM then flashed the Tiamat kernel and finally began loading up my apps. Loved every moment of it. The build quality of the device, in my opinion, is excellent. It feels much better and more substantial in my hands than the iPad. The screen is top notch and I really like the honeycomb environment for work and play.
Most of all, I like the fact that Android is a living, breathing OS. SO much to explore and learn and investigate.
The iPad, for all it's many good points, as I said before rewards those who embrace its limitations. The Xoom rewards those who refuse limitations, who are willing to spend the time and effort to learn how it works and discover ways to do it better.
The iPad is the USS Enterprise...sleek and beautiful but cold and a bit sterile for all its power. What you see is what you get.
The Xoom is the Tardis...a hodgepodge of history and possibility, all wrapped in a shell of sweet wonder....and it is bigger on the inside.
With a Xoom I could have never ever owned a PC and set it up and get it working. It does not require you to hook it up to itunes first. With the iPad... yea I dont know about 15 minutes but after you hook it up to your computer to unlock it (lol) you can finally use it. In my house we have both, I like the Xoom better
you said
"The iPad, for all it's many good points, as I said before rewards those who embrace its limitations. The Xoom rewards those who refuse limitations, who are willing to spend the time and effort to learn how it works and discover ways to do it better."
I couldn't have said it better. The Xoom is my third Android tablet, my second Tegra2 tab, and the most hands-on and most rewarding and fun to own. I have never liked the Apple zeitgeist and have always avoided that product. I prefer the freedom to mess around, get into scrapes and come back from the brink with a better tab and a lot more knowledge. I think that as an open source, Android will continue to grow and evolve in wonderful ways and I want to be along for the ride.
Also, this thing is built like a tank.
rschenck said:
The iPad is the USS Enterprise...sleek and beautiful but cold and a bit sterile for all its power. What you see is what you get.
The Xoom is the Tardis...a hodgepodge of history and possibility, all wrapped in a shell of sweet wonder....and it is bigger on the inside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That made me giggle . But I think the ipad are like the dalek. Cold personality and desire only perfection. seek only to dominate the world!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
inspiron41 said:
That made me giggle . But I think the ipad are like the dalek. Cold personality and desire only perfection. seek only to dominate the world!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Steve Jobs as Davros ...*shudder*
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
i'll keep this short as can be...
iPad/iOs = Checkers.
Xoom/Honeycomb = Chess.
I have played around with both Ipad and Xoom. I currently own a Xoom. Ipad is probably fine if you want something simple with few options(not talking about apps).
The Xoom is pretty cool, and even cooler after unlock & root. The downside is app / game availability, but it's getting better every day.
The killer for me between the two is multitasking. The xoom has it, the ipad not so much.
And also, no itunes. The xoom works out of the box.
The Ipad on the other hand has more accessories, wee..
Keep in mind that these sorts of issues are ultimately a matter of taste, so the things I don't like the iPad may not bother you at all.
I bought an iPad2 and returned it within 48 hours. I really can't explain my utter contempt for that device, but I just hated everything about it. I'm not an Apple hater, mind you; I owned every iPhone through the 3GS and was one of those dorks standing in line on launch days. I really, really wanted to like the iPad 2, but after having owned two Android handsets (and being a big gadget whore) I couldn't stomach going back to an iOS product.
What I hated about the iPad 2:
-Screen resolution sucks
-Too thin and flimsy feeling
-Stock keyboard is HORRIBLE and there's no way to change it
-No widgets
-No UI customization, period
-Cameras suck
-"Notification system" is sort of a joke
-"Multi-tasking" is also sort of a joke
-Far higher cost for iPad apps vs. iPhone/iPod apps, developers nickel & dime you for every little thing (subscriptions, in-app purchases, etc) - seriously, the whole ecosystem was like a giant money sucking vacuum
-QA on my particular unit was terrible - massive light leaks around the edges of the screen and 3 stuck pixels within 1 day of use (and this is not an isolated issue, though Apple is replacing defective units but making sure to blame their supplier)
iOS is getting long in the tooth, and this is hugely magnified in tablet form, especially with the crappy-looking display. I felt like I was using old technology, despite the awesome internal specs. The best comparison I can come up with between Honeycomb and iOS on a tablet is something like Windows 7 compared to Windows 3.1.
hello,
i'm maltese too, on a xoom us wifi .. from amazon.com
worked out to 508 eu including hsbc's 'conversion charge' of 8 eu or so.
ipad vs xoom.. depends on what you need.
if you want a platform to play stuff from itunes.. ipad
if yiu want a portable computer you can meddle with.... xoom of course.
build quality, screen and battery life are excellent too.
cheers
btw where is that price from?
when i bought mine it was closer to 600eu for wifi eu
which is why i got the us one..
While I will state now I am no expert on iOS or the Ipad1/2 I will say this:
My Xoom has me constantly entertained and I've NEVER felt I needed an app that I didnt have at least 4 decent choices of. I have also never left limited on my Xoom for any tasks I wish to undertake, I stream all my media from my computer (via WiFi OR 3G) so everywhere I am I have access to all my media (and now thanks to Google Music moreso) and with Remote Desktop I have access to my Linux and Windows machines no matter where I am. The Xoom constantly feeds me information without having to do anything but look at my homescreens.
I have played with friends Ipad1/2's and while for the most part things seemed smooth and work well I always had this feeling of being lost when looking through the app screens, its like all the icons look the same (same size, many of them same colors) just felt very sterile and un-enjoyable and you get ZERO information without going from one app to another just felt like so much work for simple basic information readily available on my Xoom.
I've never been a fan of iOS or Apple's strategy towards their customers but I really tried to look at my 2 options without bias before choosing my Xoom. As several others are stated you really dont have any choices with Apple products, you take what your given and if you dont like your options you dont have any more to look at.
Android (despite its fragmentation in some areas and flaws, hiccups in others) is the best choice if you like options and a desire to learn more and have real options with your chosen device. If you want something simple that tells you what you want then Apple products are for you. If you dont mind a hiccup with something here and there and having the ultimate say in the apps and add-on parts for your device then I say without a doubt Android is the way to go. Widgets are the best thing to happen to phones/tablets as it gives you so much information without having to do anything to get it and you can always enter into that app for a more detailed look and more options.
As for the comment on Apple App Store having more options, maybe it does but judging by the amount the Android Market has grown over 1 year I highly doubt Apple will be able to say the same thing next year. More and more developers either jump ship from Apples restrictions in apps or choose to release their products on both Android and iOS platforms which means in many cases the Apple App Store is slowing down and stagnating in some areas due to the open nature of app development for Android OS, its infinitely easier to write and sell and app for Android than iOS.
As a side note a friend of mine and I compared apps, we both had some niche apps and some common ones... my total cost was about $40 (like I said I have some apps that cost about $15, my phone apps only had a grand total of like $10) but all in all his total for all similar (sometimes the same app) was about $200, that alone pushed my decision for another android device with the Xoom vs Ipad2.
If your cheap and want to hack get the Xoom. If you want to easily be able get VIDEOS to play fluently for rent or TV episodes get iPad. I got the ipad because it was so gay to get Videos on the thing. Having to convert then drag to device verse iTunes makes iTunes seem easier. Especially is JB.
Xoom =iPad none is clear winner
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
jamaicansolja said:
If your cheap and want to hack get the Xoom. If you want to easily be able get VIDEOS to play fluently for rent or TV episodes get iPad. I got the ipad because it was so gay to get Videos on the thing. Having to convert then drag to device verse iTunes makes iTunes seem easier. Especially is JB.
Xoom =iPad none is clear winner
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure I would call the Xoom cheap (not in build quality and certainly not in price) and I don't see what the sexual orientation of the iPad has to do with the issue.
I feel the video converting question is a non issue. For me, converting via iTunes or by a third party app is just as big a pain, and the iPad's native video app is even more limited codec-wise than the Android stock Video. Anyway, just use a player like MoboPlayer or VPlayer which can show pretty much anything, and you are golden.
However I agree that there is no real BEST TABLET...it is just a matter of personal preference.
jamaicansolja said:
If your cheap and want to hack get the Xoom. If you want to easily be able get VIDEOS to play fluently for rent or TV episodes get iPad. I got the ipad because it was so gay to get Videos on the thing. Having to convert then drag to device verse iTunes makes iTunes seem easier. Especially is JB.
Xoom =iPad none is clear winner
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So spend more money for the more restrictive device? Also, you don't have to hack the xoom. The Xoom has more option out of the box than the ipad.
You didn't manage to get gay videos on the Xoom?
Croolis said:
btw where is that price from?
when i bought mine it was closer to 600eu for wifi eu
which is why i got the us one..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's on www.expansys.com.mt, excluding VAT.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
After I could compare the Ipad2, 10.1 and Transformer for days now, I decided to go and buy an Ipad2. Yes, I turned my back on Android and here's why:
10.1:
Very nice lookings, high quality and hardware but there is a big problem: the colors. On some pictures the saturation is so high that it kills lots of details every time 2 similar colors are nearby. Here you can see what I mean, check the right circle where orange and red meets - if the orange circle would be more reddish, you could hardly tell there are 2 rings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bkovoLXw4&feature=player_detailpage#t=208s
If you compare it to a perfect calibrated monitor, it looks like crap. Flashy, colorful and nice but details are gone. That's the one and only weaknes from what it offers. It's 16:9 display is a winner when it comes to videos but video playback is poor. Ipad2 is much better, even for flash, later more to come about it.
Another MAJOR problem is Samsung support. Android is a fresh system and needs tons of support. Samsung provides NONE. For EU, they still have no release dates or closer info about their device - just lol. For me, the 10.1 is just a step in the process to upgrade to Tegra3. They built the shell now and can use it for the next device to compete with Apple. Same like they did to the 10.1v - no support, they just forgot about it.
Transformer:
Diplay is pretty good but the build quality is crap. After I saw the Archos tablets with the bronze frame, I knew where Asus bought their stuff. Both have those sharp metal frames which are wrapped around the screen. TF and Archos have gaps between the frame and glas, with some kind of rubber to fill it. Asus tried to even out the sharp edges but you can see how cheap it is. Archos tablets can cut in your finger if you swipe around the edges ! For me: complete garbage quality, should cost 250$ max to satisfy the minimalist who just want's to read or something.
Ipad2:
This device is pretty awesome. First I thought the 4:3 diplay sucks for reading but after I measured books and calculated ratios, they were ALL closer to Ipad2 standards. That menas you will have less wasted space on Ipad. When surfing internet you will learn to love 4:3, everything fits perfectly while you feel how broken sites are on 16:9. The drawback are 16:9 movies without a border and the good about it, you have FULLSCREEN ! in emulators without scaling. There are also a lot of older movies/series with 4:3, which I prefer on travel anyway.
It is fluent everywhere and feels like my Galaxy S after getting the lagfix. Stock 3.1 is bull**** compared to it. The only point where it is superior, are widgets.
Root/Jailbreak/Flash:
Jailbreaking an Ipad is a piece of cake, visit a website, click on a button, your done. No bull**** to flash around or to risk your device. After that you have Cydia which is an alternative market. You can also add repos to it, so you gain access to apps of all kind, also the not so legal ones.
You can play Flash Videos on Ipad using Iswifter or other apps. Inconvinient sometimes but to my surprise, they are fluent on the Ipad - Androids are sluggish. The Ipad even played a movie fluent with 10 other flash animations around it !
The crappy part about the Ipad is itunes and the structure how app files are arranged. Every app has it's own folder, so if you use FTP or something to transfer via network, you have to put those files IN the app folder, so they can find it. Not a big deal, if the app folder wouln't be named like 429403290239203023948393. Android is way better, copy somewhere on SD and browse it. Sure you can use itunes to put everything together but Itunes won't work with Jailbroken apps from Cydia. This breaks the use of my NAS server at home, leaving me with ****ty USB-to-PC solutions if I want it the easy way. Music and Videos which are supported by NAS can be played over UPNP but I found more nice apps for that on Android as I could on Ipad.
Conclusion:
10.1 is a nice device but it's like to own a ferrari and only have crappy roads to drive on. Android kills the Tab, sadly. It's good for smartphones but not for tabs - it's worse as an alpha build of windows. Every manufactuerer does what he wants, there are no standards. Compatibility between Android versions are a joke - imagine you upgrade from win7 to win8 and everything stops working - arrrrrrrgh.
This may be fixed with 4.0 but it will take another 1-2 years for the software. Until then, there will be Win8, which could break Androids neck (if it's compatible to Win7 programms!). Also I can sell the Ipad2 for 200-300 bucks, even if Ipad3 is released, so screw it, will lose ~150-200€ to it. But it will buy me at least 6 months of fun.
The best is, I don't have to care about the future. There is no "will it work after OS upgrade" problem with Apple.
Wow there are so many problems with this post I don't even know where to begin. I think I will just address your last line:
The best is, I don't have to care about the future. There is no "will it work after OS upgrade" problem with Apple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try telling that to the iPhone 3G users who upgraded to ios4 and had a device that was next to worthless. Apple pushed that update out to ose iPhones knowing it would turn it into a piece of **** 100% of the time.
dcc22 said:
Root/Jailbreak/Flash:
Jailbreaking an Ipad is a piece of cake, visit a website, click on a button, your done. No bull**** to flash around or to risk your device. After that you have Cydia which is an alternative market. You can also add repos to it, so you gain access to apps of all kind, also the not so legal ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having met way more people with iPodTouch4/IP4/IPad1&2 that do this than those who DO NOT do this, it makes me wonder if the ideology of app devs to take preference to iOS for financial considerations is not completely flawed.
....what is the point of this post?
your inability to play with android OS and tweak it is not an excuse for you to say that android is flawed..with that said, i agree some stuff need to be fix, but its minor stuff such as typing on the browser...and...well thats it for me.
if you want something that work out of the box, agreed pick ipad 2, but if your geeky or you like linux pick android, more custimization then IOS can ever dream of.
THE firmwares with ripped features for different devices, as they become incompatible with every next release the iphone 3g and now 3gs with ios5. Don't tell me jailbreak is easy, it took the developers 3 months to make a jailbreak for ipad 2 which is still raw with compatibility issues! If buying the idevice is an excuse for free apps...probably games in your case with a new handheld gaming device than off board ye pirate! People jailbreak the device for customisation which is the soul of android os (which is not fresh but time tested and evolving i need not wait a whole year for new features to sprout, mostly inspired and already popular in other os!).
Ever heard of DFU mode, recovery mode? Similar terms and combos are used here! Atleast in android thanks to diversity if one model ain't suitable there is a myriad to choose from! Compare two devices of same platform when making a point.
I agree with G1 and the person above but since you decided to share...let me take a turn.
Why you felt the need to justify your iPad 2 choice in an Android related forum is beyond me.
You either realize or fail to see that Apple purposefully limits their tech. Minimal upgrades between generations. Even the newest iPhone won't support 4G from what I have heard yet they want to use LTE patents against Google?
Your train of thought that the iPad 2 is perfect is already starting to form.
The iPad's dimensions do not in any way make it better for video, reading, and web surfing. I was just having a debate with a friend who started complaining about where the dock port was on my Galaxy Tab 10.1. He was quickly shut up when I pointed out that cell phones have the port at the bottom so our hands can grip the sides. However a tablet is meant to be held in LANDSCAPE...that's why sticking the port in a different place was a smart decision.
Point being...he turned into another person claiming everything is horrible with Android. Guess what? He never owned an Android device. He actually has a Touch Pro 2 right now. IGNORANCE!
Look I've had an iPad. I know that jailbreaking it is POINTLESS. Your battery dies out super fast, the app selection is fairly weak, and all of that jailbreaking does nothing but try to replicate an Android experience. But it fails.
Unlike you, I do care about the future. I don't want to live in a world where everybody has the same glossy tablet with a slippery back so you can drop the darn thing. I don't want to be told what I can and cannot do on my tablet. I do not want to support any company intent on holding back technological progress for the sake of money or who buys patents just to sue other companies out performing them.
You have EVERY right to buy an iPad 2 but just know that your choices and who you choose to support speaks volumes. I have friends just like you. One day they're talking about freedom and openness. The next day they're justifying EVERYTHING Apple does. Cool. As long as I have a choice too.
As for your claims about Windows 8, it only serves to buttress how you allowed us yourself to come to your decision.
"Ignorance is bliss." That should be Apple's new tagline.
I love the OP and how he compares the worst of Android tablets to the best of iPad2 lol
4:3 is perfect for reading books with less wasted screen space. Yay! Now try reading comics and watching WS movies You prefer 4:3 movies? Good for you
Jailbreaking is easy for the iPad2 NOW! But do you know how long it took for the jailbreak to come out? That's right, they've been working on it since the iPad2 was released in March. Four months for a jailbreak to give you the 3rd party features equivalent of... Android. Who knows how long it will be the next time a new iPad/iDevice comes out. Compares that to the usual quick turn-around of rooting an Android device.
I'm happy that you're happy with your iPad 2. It's a nice device. But it sounds like you're just an iOS fan who tried Android and didn't like it.
I'm so glad you guys posted such thorough responses, so now I don't have to. I particularly like the point about why an Apple Fanboy felt the need to post his decision in an Android forum was beyond sensible.
goalweiser said:
I agree with G1 and the person above but since you decided to share...let me take a turn.
Why you felt the need to justify your iPad 2 choice in an Android related forum is beyond me.
You either realize or fail to see that Apple purposefully limits their tech. Minimal upgrades between generations. Even the newest iPhone won't support 4G from what I have heard yet they want to use LTE patents against Google?
Your train of thought that the iPad 2 is perfect is already starting to form.
The iPad's dimensions do not in any way make it better for video, reading, and web surfing. I was just having a debate with a friend who started complaining about where the dock port was on my Galaxy Tab 10.1. He was quickly shut up when I pointed out that cell phones have the port at the bottom so our hands can grip the sides. However a tablet is meant to be held in LANDSCAPE...that's why sticking the port in a different place was a smart decision.
Point being...he turned into another person claiming everything is horrible with Android. Guess what? He never owned an Android device. He actually has a Touch Pro 2 right now. IGNORANCE!
Look I've had an iPad. I know that jailbreaking it is POINTLESS. Your battery dies out super fast, the app selection is fairly weak, and all of that jailbreaking does nothing but try to replicate an Android experience. But it fails.
Unlike you, I do care about the future. I don't want to live in a world where everybody has the same glossy tablet with a slippery back so you can drop the darn thing. I don't want to be told what I can and cannot do on my tablet. I do not want to support any company intent on holding back technological progress for the sake of money or who buys patents just to sue other companies out performing them.
You have EVERY right to buy an iPad 2 but just know that your choices and who you choose to support speaks volumes. I have friends just like you. One day they're talking about freedom and openness. The next day they're justifying EVERYTHING Apple does. Cool. As long as I have a choice too.
As for your claims about Windows 8, it only serves to buttress how you allowed us yourself to come to your decision.
"Ignorance is bliss." That should be Apple's new tagline.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
God, I really like this post. Spoke about everything I wanted to say.
I dont want to be told what I can or cannot do. I want to tweak, optimize and control every setting that I can. There are tons of problems with JB and everyone, even a non-apple user like me, knows it. And without JB youre just living in a matrix that Steve Jobs dictates.
I would really like to hear the OP thoughts on flash. My friend tried to buy something on the web and couldnt use her credit card on the iphone. in the end I bought it for her using-yes my samsung 10.1- and she wrote me a check. And Steve Jobs is saying people dont need/shouldnt use/ cannot use flash on their mobile device.
This kinda makes me think of how I am training my 2 year old son to use the potty.
hmmm
I just recently got a galaxy tab 10.1, after spending the last month using an ipad2, I need both tablets for an app i am building.
And I can tell you this much, anyone that has an iphone will love an ipad2. Anyone that uses an ipad2 will be very very very happy with it.
But trust me, use that device for a month, then switch to honeycomb..... and it will blow you away.
One think I can say about apple is so easy to use, than it becomes boring after a while.thats why I have the samsung galaxy tab.
evolishesh said:
One think I can say about apple is so easy to use, than it becomes boring after a while.thats why I have the samsung galaxy tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apple's draw over its competitors has been its simplicity for years - well before Android. Back in the day it was Microsoft. The sad truth is that reduced functionality in a shinier package is what most people want. Thankfully for those of us with a bit more intelligence, we have products like Android to keep us entertained.
SolusCado said:
Apple's draw over its competitors has been its simplicity for years - well before Android. Back in the day it was Microsoft. The sad truth is that reduced functionality in a shinier package is what most people want. Thankfully for those of us with a bit more intelligence, we have products like Android to keep us entertained.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right. I love android and its platform
Um, wow. Glad everyone else said already literally everything I could think of responding to the OP with.
And personally, I will never buy a Win8 tablet until I can wipe it and install Android, Ubuntu or MeeGo on it.
Lorddeff07 said:
hmmm
I just recently got a galaxy tab 10.1, after spending the last month using an ipad2, I need both tablets for an app i am building.
And I can tell you this much, anyone that has an iphone will love an ipad2. Anyone that uses an ipad2 will be very very very happy with it.
But trust me, use that device for a month, then switch to honeycomb..... and it will blow you away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the non-ipad users, could you elaborate some points on that? I just want to know some actual comparisons aside from the well advertised facts, ex: flash.
All of these tablets have their quirks and flaws. Mostly with the software. I actually need to return my second 10.1 because it's been randomly turning off like my first. Must be due to heat.
In any case, I will wait for the next batch of tablets instead. Hopefully we start getting some stuff that's really spectacular. Like a processor that can handle the native resolution of HC and has more video codecs.
Colors are pretty drab on ipad and saturated on tab. Both screens need calibration.
Tabs screen is brighter and higher Res. Side by side with same pics regardless of source tab wins everytime. Anyone saying otherwise needs prescription checked.
There's a reason ipadhd is coming. Apple knows full well there display is now second rate.
dcc22 said:
After I could compare the Ipad2, 10.1 and Transformer for days now, I decided to go and buy an Ipad2. Yes, I turned my back on Android and here's why:
10.1:
Very nice lookings, high quality and hardware but there is a big problem: the colors. On some pictures the saturation is so high that it kills lots of details every time 2 similar colors are nearby. Here you can see what I mean, check the right circle where orange and red meets - if the orange circle would be more reddish, you could hardly tell there are 2 rings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bkovoLXw4&feature=player_detailpage#t=208s
If you compare it to a perfect calibrated monitor, it looks like crap. Flashy, colorful and nice but details are gone. That's the one and only weaknes from what it offers. It's 16:9 display is a winner when it comes to videos but video playback is poor. Ipad2 is much better, even for flash, later more to come about it.
Another MAJOR problem is Samsung support. Android is a fresh system and needs tons of support. Samsung provides NONE. For EU, they still have no release dates or closer info about their device - just lol. For me, the 10.1 is just a step in the process to upgrade to Tegra3. They built the shell now and can use it for the next device to compete with Apple. Same like they did to the 10.1v - no support, they just forgot about it.
Transformer:
Diplay is pretty good but the build quality is crap. After I saw the Archos tablets with the bronze frame, I knew where Asus bought their stuff. Both have those sharp metal frames which are wrapped around the screen. TF and Archos have gaps between the frame and glas, with some kind of rubber to fill it. Asus tried to even out the sharp edges but you can see how cheap it is. Archos tablets can cut in your finger if you swipe around the edges ! For me: complete garbage quality, should cost 250$ max to satisfy the minimalist who just want's to read or something.
Ipad2:
This device is pretty awesome. First I thought the 4:3 diplay sucks for reading but after I measured books and calculated ratios, they were ALL closer to Ipad2 standards. That menas you will have less wasted space on Ipad. When surfing internet you will learn to love 4:3, everything fits perfectly while you feel how broken sites are on 16:9. The drawback are 16:9 movies without a border and the good about it, you have FULLSCREEN ! in emulators without scaling. There are also a lot of older movies/series with 4:3, which I prefer on travel anyway.
It is fluent everywhere and feels like my Galaxy S after getting the lagfix. Stock 3.1 is bull**** compared to it. The only point where it is superior, are widgets.
Root/Jailbreak/Flash:
Jailbreaking an Ipad is a piece of cake, visit a website, click on a button, your done. No bull**** to flash around or to risk your device. After that you have Cydia which is an alternative market. You can also add repos to it, so you gain access to apps of all kind, also the not so legal ones.
You can play Flash Videos on Ipad using Iswifter or other apps. Inconvinient sometimes but to my surprise, they are fluent on the Ipad - Androids are sluggish. The Ipad even played a movie fluent with 10 other flash animations around it !
The crappy part about the Ipad is itunes and the structure how app files are arranged. Every app has it's own folder, so if you use FTP or something to transfer via network, you have to put those files IN the app folder, so they can find it. Not a big deal, if the app folder wouln't be named like 429403290239203023948393. Android is way better, copy somewhere on SD and browse it. Sure you can use itunes to put everything together but Itunes won't work with Jailbroken apps from Cydia. This breaks the use of my NAS server at home, leaving me with ****ty USB-to-PC solutions if I want it the easy way. Music and Videos which are supported by NAS can be played over UPNP but I found more nice apps for that on Android as I could on Ipad.
Conclusion:
10.1 is a nice device but it's like to own a ferrari and only have crappy roads to drive on. Android kills the Tab, sadly. It's good for smartphones but not for tabs - it's worse as an alpha build of windows. Every manufactuerer does what he wants, there are no standards. Compatibility between Android versions are a joke - imagine you upgrade from win7 to win8 and everything stops working - arrrrrrrgh.
This may be fixed with 4.0 but it will take another 1-2 years for the software. Until then, there will be Win8, which could break Androids neck (if it's compatible to Win7 programms!). Also I can sell the Ipad2 for 200-300 bucks, even if Ipad3 is released, so screw it, will lose ~150-200€ to it. But it will buy me at least 6 months of fun.
The best is, I don't have to care about the future. There is no "will it work after OS upgrade" problem with Apple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the same thing,I had the transformer for week return it and waited for the galaxy tab,I love the galaxy tab but too much force closes and app crashing.I exchange tab for ipad2 and jailbreak it.
I am very happy with the ipad,but I miss honeycomb,hope ice-cream sandwich and all manufactures they stop using nvidia Tegra
The hardware is there, and Google is revving up for Ice Cream Sandwich right now, which will hopefully bring some much needed changes to current Android
Tablets.
Sent from my Fascinate with MIUI Gingerbread
The fact that you're here means you don't mind getting your hands dirty.
So you have one simple choice - have your device running as you want it by managing the device yourself, loading ROMs from XDA - or not and wait until Apple decide to fix something.
XDA is fantastic - here there's talented bunch of guys & gals mixing & matching the best features from roms of different vendors into something unique.
There is no comparison between Apple & Android.
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Take the time to tweak your device with everything available on these forums, it becomes an entirely different device.
Sent from my Samsung Fascinate
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you are trolling here, but eh, I'm bored so I'll bite.
Those of us who find the Tab to be a pleasant experience must be in denial huh? Don't you think that's a pretty presumptuous and arrogant statement? How do you know what my experience with it has been? Or anyone else's for that matter?
I would usually sit here and try to help you solve your lagginess issue, maybe seeing if you have some sort of rouge process going on or if you are even on the latest firmware. Maybe point you to some of the great custom ROMs the developers here have given us. But, nope. You speak for everyone and everyone must be having the same ****ty experience as you, and if we say we don't we must be lying.
I will tell you though that my experience has been fantastic. The only time I get lag on the homescreen is when I have a live wallpaper up. I've never had any browser lag or lag anywhere else. I have a ton of widgets on my screens too. No lag. Of course though I'm totally lying, but you knew that already right?
I'm finished being sarcastic. Honestly if you aren't happy with the device, go sell it and get an Ipad again. Nobody is stopping you. The Tab is a fantastic product and I would go so far as to say it is the best tablet on the market as of this very moment. But it is not for everybody, especially for people who have no idea what they are doing.
Posting threads like this serves no purpose other than being a troll and drawing the ire of members like myself.
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine a couple weeks back too, and my experiences are similar to yours. I still can't understand how a dual core device can be this laggy! I'm hoping its all due to the Samsung bloatware, so I'm going to load up a custom ROM over the weekend and see how that goes... you should try it too
I really like the additional screen space coming from a 4.2" Xperia Arc, and Honeycomb is a lot zippier now than it was back in April when I had the Xoom for a couple of weeks. I still believe its a better tablet than the iPad2 though. That thing seems so zippy because all it is is a magnified iPhone. There's almost nothing running in the background which gives it the appearance of being a lot quicker and better battery life. Load it up with widgets and lets compare them then.
My biggest problem though, is the lack of a good pdf app. I've tried tons of them and they are all really slow to load, very jerky pinch to zoom, and slow scrolling. Hope this improves with ICS
And to the poster above this, I don't get why you even bothered posting if you're going to be so incredibly unhelpful
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks... I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience...
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lance,
I have watched my brother in law's ipad closely, and you are right. It is faster and more responsive (once tweaked) than my SGT was out of the box. However, the others are right too.
I have rooted and tweaked my SGT and it now makes my ios friends raise their eyebrows. You happily partied all over your ipad, making many changes suggested on user sites like this one. Now you need to do the same with your SGT. If you are unable or unwilling to do that, you are not an idiot or a molester of small animals, you are just one of those people that the ipad was designed for. So get another one, and enjoy it.
I prefer my Android gadgets, because they are more flexible. I am not locked into iTunes, and I have access to my 650GB music library that is not as compressed as AAC. I have a FREE SDK that works rather well, when i want to write my own apps. There are a few paid apps that I depend upon for day to day stuff, just like I would for iOs devices. For me, and many of the others in this form, that is what they want.
Sent from a distant planet with the aid of my towel.
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand how you feel, and I felt the same way when I first handled the SGT 8.9 the UI lag was horrendous .. I felt the product manager of the device should be sacked (or worse done to him) for ever allowing such a device out the door in such state. To make matters worse for me, there was an ipad close by and the UI flow was like watching man utd beat arsenal 8-2 .. I promptly returned the device.
However my opinion has since change since coming here lots of people have filled me in with some tweaks and work around which resolves most of the laggy issue. (You can check out the SGT 8.9 Q & A section its a sticky under this section for people experience with the device)
First of if you can't be bothered to root your device, try the ADW launcher ex, everyone who tried that said its greatly improves the performance and eliminates the lag issue.
You can also if you are feeling adventurous root the device. And install some of the numerous roms around.
just try and take advantage of the open nature and make it yours. Soon ipad owners would be looking at your tab and feeling the envy.
Just my 2 cents
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Please go get your ipad back dude. I have none of the issues you speak of. This thread is a total waste. I don't even believe you own a tab.
By saying "you like Android phones" I'm assuming you mean in comparison to the iPhone. Most of the same issues you’re experiencing in an Android vs. iPad tablet comparison apply to a phone comparison also so your statement's kind of confusing.
iOS is so "buttery smooth" because it's locked down like a prison with Apple exerting Orwellian control over the entire eco-system. I bought my G-Tab and paid more than an equivalent iPad because, for what I do, the collection of individual apps works better than the homogenous equivalents on the iPad. And I did that knowing the iPad had a better display and that the UI and navigation were smoother and more mature.
This forum is fascinating because of the disparity in experiences everyone has. I've had two G-Tab's (Wi-Fi and 3G) and never had a force close on either and I have over 50 apps installed. There's occasional stutter and lagginess but I'd say it appears (for me) less than 5% of the time. One huge difference between iOS and Android is that Android, with its limitless ability to be tweaked, can get hosed by people using badly written apps and the use of memory managers, task killers, battery monitors and the like. Every XDA forum I participate in has people *****ing about some function being hosed and then go on to elaborate about all the crap they've done to their device and ****ty low-rent apps they're using. And they don’t understand why their phone’s getting crappy battery life and has tons of issues no one else seems to be experiencing. I guess freedom comes at a price and it can be abused.
I've had a G-Tab in one form or another since August and have been really satisfied with it. I took my new 3G version on a trip over the weekend and it performed flawlessly and got fantastic battery life with 3G active continuously and download speeds of 8MB in TX (vs. less than 1MB for an iPad). I sat across from someone using an iPad on the flight home last night. The local video he was playing was gorgeous. Compared to mine, his WSJ app looked like crap as did Solitaire and a bunch of other stuff I saw him use. Meanwhile, I was streaming Hulu, HBOGO, and TV shows from my home server using the planes Wi-Fi. I can also play music I have stored on my home server, the Amazon cloud, or from the 2K songs I store locally using my $9.99 Rhapsody monthly subscription. All while reading magazines and newspapers using Next Issue and Press Reader. I’d gladly trade options and versatility for “buttery smooth” any day. iOS is great for a subset of device owners because of its constraints and consistency. But those restrictions are why I chose Android. Android can become smoother through s/w and h/w evolution but iOS will never become more open. Hopefully OP bought his G-Tab somewhere with a liberal return policy so he can return it.
BarryH_GEG said:
By saying "you like Android phones" I'm assuming you mean in comparison to the iPhone. Most of the same issues you’re experiencing in an Android vs. iPad tablet comparison apply to a phone comparison also so your statement's kind of confusing.
iOS is so "buttery smooth" because it's locked down like a prison with Apple exerting Orwellian control over the entire eco-system. I bought my G-Tab and paid more than an equivalent iPad because, for what I do, the collection of individual apps works better than the homogenous equivalents on the iPad. And I did that knowing the iPad had a better display and that the UI and navigation were smoother and more mature.
This forum is fascinating because of the disparity in experiences everyone has. I've had two G-Tab's (Wi-Fi and 3G) and never had a force close on either and I have over 50 apps installed. There's occasional stutter and lagginess but I'd say it appears (for me) less than 5% of the time. One huge difference between iOS and Android is that Android, with its limitless ability to be tweaked, can get hosed by people using badly written apps and the use of memory managers, task killers, battery monitors and the like. Every XDA forum I participate in has people *****ing about some function being hosed and then go on to elaborate about all the crap they've done to their device and ****ty low-rent apps they're using. And they don’t understand why their phone’s getting crappy battery life and has tons of issues no one else seems to be experiencing. I guess freedom comes at a price and it can be abused.
I've had a G-Tab in one form or another since August and have been really satisfied with it. I took my new 3G version on a trip over the weekend and it performed flawlessly and got fantastic battery life with 3G active continuously and download speeds of 8MB in TX (vs. less than 1MB for an iPad). I sat across from someone using an iPad on the flight home last night. The local video he was playing was gorgeous. Compared to mine, his WSJ app looked like crap as did Solitaire and a bunch of other stuff I saw him use. Meanwhile, I was streaming Hulu, HBOGO, and TV shows from my home server using the planes Wi-Fi. I can also play music I have stored on my home server, the Amazon cloud, or from the 2K songs I store locally using my $9.99 Rhapsody monthly subscription. All while reading magazines and newspapers using Next Issue and Press Reader. I’d gladly trade options and versatility for “buttery smooth” any day. iOS is great for a subset of device owners because of its constraints and consistency. But those restrictions are why I chose Android. Android can become smoother through s/w and h/w evolution but iOS will never become more open. Hopefully OP bought his G-Tab somewhere with a liberal return policy so he can return it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stuff you speak of is why I have ran Linux exclusively on my PC for close to 5 years now. Yet I think the OP has a point and was just letting out steam. I too was extremely disappointed when I handled the galaxy tab (in my case it was the 8.9) right from boot the experience was horrendous and the UI lagged SOO much it was embarrassing. This first impression was a real turn off for me and I can understand the feeling of someone who gets a device with such awesome hardware only be bugged down with software. Sure you can always improve with tweaks and mods but if android is ever gonna replicate its success on mobile on tablets. Then the out of the box experience most be killer. Having and awesome out of the box experience and ability to further tweak should not be mutually exclusive. The experience I got on my galaxy s2 even with default rom was exquisite. Just breath taking. Even without Modding or installing a custom rom. That's what I expected from honeycomb. Hopefully most of this out of the box issues would be fixed with honeycomb 3.2 and ICS.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
I must agree with OP. Its a f****g ambaresment how a product can be released in the state it was when it was in the box. Now after tweaking and rooting and flashing and using it for a couple of months its useable. But it still lags, not all the time , but try installing something form market and then go to homescreen, right then its laggy as hell.
But we all know this by now, so i agree with the rest of you that we have no need for this thread. And if OP just read a little before buying he would have found this info about the tab. Anyways welcome hope you get your tab sorted.
nickwarn said:
I must agree with OP. Its a f****g ambaresment how a product can be released in the state it was when it was in the box. Now after tweaking and rooting and flashing and using it for a couple of months its useable. But it still lags, not all the time , but try installing something form market and then go to homescreen, right then its laggy as hell.
But we all know this by now, so i agree with the rest of you that we have no need for this thread. And if OP just read a little before buying he would have found this info about the tab. Anyways welcome hope you get your tab sorted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same experience here.... I've even rooted my tab and it did improve but not as much as I would of liked, this was a month ago though, so i don't know if anything better has comed out. I've thought about getting an iPad but..... I just can't if it can't play flash.... How the hell could you own a tablet and not watch a simple flash video. So if anyone can give me advice on how to make my 10.1 as smooth as some of you have said, then please do tell me how. I love my Gtab but the lag does really bother me enough to have had to remove all my widgets....
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
shoo troll.
Klk450 said:
Same experience here.... I've even rooted my tab and it did improve but not as much as I would of liked, this was a month ago though, so i don't know if anything better has comed out. I've thought about getting an iPad but..... I just can't if it can't play flash.... How the hell could you own a tablet and not watch a simple flash video. So if anyone can give me advice on how to make my 10.1 as smooth as some of you have said, then please do tell me how. I love my Gtab but the lag does really bother me enough to have had to remove all my widgets....
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root your tab is only the first step. You need to flash custom rom after you root your tab, then only you can feel the difference.
I just got my tab last week, wifi only version. I can say I'm really satisfied with the performance and I love my tab. The basic steps are:
1. root your tab
2. flash custom rom
That's all you need to do to feel the difference. You can ignore some of the gimmicks, for instance supercharger, overclock kernel and etc that have been mentioned if you have no freaking idea what they are about at the moment. You will pick them up along the way just like I did.
The one tip that everyone here would tell you - READ THE FORUM!
For instance, the first sticky post in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android Development is a good read and good resource to get you started. Here's the link if you have no idea where it is (Seriously?): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1171089
lancer123 said:
I have owned the samsung galaxy 10.1 for approx 2 weeks. I sold my IPAD 2 to purchase as I have always been a fan of android phones. So far, I find the galaxy to be very unpolished. For example, the screens lag when navigating and apps force close to much. When I scroll up and down on the UI, its not smooth as butter like the IPAD. When I change the screen orientation, its very choppy. The IPAD runs circles around this device. I wish it wasnt the case as I wanted to like it. Even the on screen keyboard is hard to type on. Try copying and pasting a sentence. The arrows you use to drag across the words never line up with what is being clicked. I am not sure how anybody finds this device to be a pleasant experience unless you are in denial and I am not talking about the river. Maybe Ice Cream will fix some of the issues. For now, the tablet serves as a perfect example of what happens when technology is rushed to the market without consideration of quality.
I feel better now.
Lance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you on most counts, except that I don't have any issues with the onscreen keyboard and don't get force closes. There are some things you can do to improve the user experience (alternate launchers, overclocking etc), however it still won't feel like the iPad.
That being said, there are things you can do with the tablet out of the box which you can't do with an iPad:
- Adobe Flash support
- Emulation apps availability (SNES, DOS, Scumm)
- File / Directory browsing
- UI customization
- Non-market / store applications installation
While I would love the overall UI performance to be on par with the iPad, given a choice between the two I would rather have the above functionality instead. There is also the possibility of Android's UI performance improving in the future with all this functionality retained. In case of Apple, apart from limited UI customization perhaps, the other stuff is just not going to be available ever.
PS: And all that's just out of the box, if you root your device there's some far more interesting stuff you can do with the tablet!
---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 PM ----------
pngface said:
My biggest problem though, is the lack of a good pdf app. I've tried tons of them and they are all really slow to load, very jerky pinch to zoom, and slow scrolling. Hope this improves with ICS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have probably tried it already, but EZ PDF is pretty good. I am comparing it to GoodReader on the iPad and I don't have any issues with loading / scrolling / flipping / resizing.
Of course, this maybe dependent on the size and content of the PDFs you are using, so YMMV -- I mostly read book-sized documents, mostly text, and it works fine for me.
I recently bought a GalaxyTab and I have to confirm, it is quite laggy - In comparison to an iPad.
There are several things which can drastically improve the situation:
Use ADW Launcher EX
Custom ROM, Like Task650/Phantom Extreme Stock
Overclock (although, this didn't change a lot)
I found that the first two points are the most important. ADW Launcher makes the whole Homescreen and Applauncher absolutely smooth, just like on an iPad. And no, the stock launcher isn't.
It's great how many possibilites we have with Android, but be honest - I'd rather have ICS without any new features, but just great performance increases. Thats why I switched to Windows Phone in the first place - I don't want apple, but I want smooth scrolling, smooth transitions. And now, just because Android has much more possibilites doesn't mean it has the right to be slow and choppy. Take a look at the Windows 8 Developer Preview. My god, this isn't even an ALPHA and boy it's SO SMOOTH, I cried almost when I saw that.
The only reason I bought my Galaxy Tab is, that Microsoft still needs about a year until their first tablets are out - And I hate waiting
So please Google, get your Team together and tell them to START OPTIMIZING.
PS:
ezPDF is quite good - But the UI is horrible, and I miss the feature to insert Pages into a PDF. Mandano seems a lot more polished and faster, but misses a lot of annotation features.
I agree with the original poster. My tab is rooted, custom rom, adw, etc. My wife's ipad is a far smoother experience than this tablet. Would I switch back to the ipad prison? Not in a million years. My tablet does so much more than the ipad. If an example is needed, how about my choice of swype or thumb keyboard.
root your tab and wait for an ICS port... ICS is said to have hardware acceleration. That is the only thing Honeycomb lacks and that is why its not as smooth as the iPad...
OR
Flash a custom ROM such as Overcome 1.2.1 (didnt like 1.2.2 or 1.2.3) or w/e other one suits you and then come back edit the OP with the overall news... don't judge this book by its cover and remember its NOT iOS
A newbie when rooting is involved but i was wondering if you could give me an idea of what tweaks you have made? i'm considering rooting my device but unsure of what i could do to make it better.
Cpt Streamline said:
A newbie when rooting is involved but i was wondering if you could give me an idea of what tweaks you have made? i'm considering rooting my device but unsure of what i could do to make it better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a custom ROM is the big one, will make a huge difference. I am using Task650 & Phantom's "In Paris V4". I also installed pershoot's kernel and overclocked.
The experience
I love my Galaxy Tab in comparison to my previously owned iPad but the reason is simply because I like playing with roms and hacking to get the most of my device. On my iPad, I felt too restricted and forced to use software I didn't like. Yes, some of the apps are better on the iPad and yes, the interface is a bit smoother but it's nowhere near as attractive and it's far too limiting.
A friend of mine equated the iPad experience with being put in a padded room where he can't hurt himself and everything if fluffy and safe feeling. It made me laugh but somewhat sums up the experience. Personally, I'd rather not be spoon fed the experience but would rather create my own and make it about me.
My hope is that ICS will be a significant jump. realistically, Android tablet manufacturers should be trolling these forums for employees who can tweak up their software.. Why they don't do this, one will never know.
Either way, I don't think attacks on the Op are warranted. These forums are here for people to both vent and discuss like the adults we are.
I feel like this is going to belong. Apologies. (feel free to skip to......)
When I turned 18 in '07, I purchased my first smartphone which happened to be the first generation iPhone on launch day. Since then, I've continued on this strange road with Apple products. That iPhone opened my eyes. It was my everything. Since then, I've had every iPhone (including my purchased & returned iPhone 5.) I am currently using a 4s and am unhappy with it. Well, not unhappy. I don't know the word. I'm just satisfied with it. Not happy, not enthusiastic about it. It's just... there.
My tenure with the iPhone hasn't always been grand. In 2009, my iPhone 3Gs took the biggest crap on me. I ended up replacing it 3 times. When it messed up for a 4th time, I decided that I'd switch to Blackberry. What was Android anyway? it was such a knockoff to my superior iPhone. I stayed with Blackberry for 10 months before going back to an iPhone. This time it was the iPhone 4. I loved it, until I didn't.
In 2011, I finally dumped my iPhone (for what appeared to be the last time) for my first Android phone, the Motorola Atrix. I did everything to hate that phone for the next three months... That was until I loved Android (with the help of this website and forum). Earlier that year, I started working a job at a cell phone retailer and began to learn Android in and out. I got to play with the coolest phones. We don't sell any Apple products, by the way, so it was all Android.
I thought I was done with Apple, that is until the 4s. I ditched my Atrix and newly acquired Droid X2 for the iPhone 4s. I felt bad as if I were regressing to a horrible drug after being sober for so long. Now a year has passed and I see that I've completely effed up.
(....here) I am currently in the market for a new phone. I've purchased the Nexus 4 and I'm waiting for the 5-to-6 weeks to pass until I get it. The thing is, that I'm so used to my iPhone that I'm afraid it will be a frustrating adjustment for me and this device will end up being a $400 (more like $383.93) paperweight. I've watched every unboxing and comparison video that I could find on YouTube and have read as many threads that my eyes could take on XDA.
I can spew out specs for days. Hell, I'm a salesman. I know the flagship phones in and out because I am setting them up all day and fixing issues for customers. It's always fun when they ask me what phone I'm using... Oops?
Are there any Nexus 4 users that switched from an iPhone? What features do you miss? Does the Nexus 4 adequately make the transition seamless?
I'm just looking for a bit of real life users and not a bunch of reviewers on YouTube and LG Reps at my job sounding extra robotic about the phone.
Thanks!
(Kudos if you read this whole thing. Seriously. K-U-D-O-S.)
Nexus is the closest thing to iphone you will ever find in the android world. Fast updates, excellent HW/SW integration, etc.
This year I've had a lot of phones, iphone 4 > sensation > GS2 > atrix > GS2 > GNex > GS3 > nokia e5 > Nexus 4, and a lot of iphones 4S, and no one gets close to a nexus.
Trust me, you could never go wrong with a Nexus
I don't fit in the criterion for responders, but hopefully you can appreciate my contribution.
It's very rare that you'll find an iOS feature that isn't implemented on Android. It's usually the other way around.
Anand Shimpi describes the two operating systems better than I can: iOS is an appliance and Android is an OS. With iOS, you have to work with what you're given and the phone is a tool, in the same way a toaster oven is really convenient for a lot of purposes. However, Android is the whole damn kitchen. It's a real OS and gives you the opportunities to do precisely what you want done.
On iOS, jailbreaking is a bit daunting due to the loss of Appstore access and security features. I've also heard that stability is notably worse. However, rooting on Android is a very common and standard process. It's akin to providing yourself an administrative account on Windows, as opposed to a kid's account with limited access and abilities.
In all likelihood, there's not a thing you'll miss about iOS that isn't identically fulfilled by system and third party apps. Except in the case of a few select games and apps (Hype Machine is one that comes to mind) Android equivalents are just that: the same app, but for a different platform.
Now for my bias: I think of iPhones as glorified dumb phones. Widgets are essential for me, and the modularity of the system allows you to actually use an OS fit to your liking. In don't see a functional difference between iPhones today and the Sony Ericsson phone I had on 2003. Both just run apps and give extremely limited access to the file system. I want a real file explorer, and apps that can utilize libs/APIs that significantly improve performance (the reason why iOS browsers not based on Safari suck). I want to install apps that replicate system functions, and do so in better ways. Sometimes, in illegal ways (WiFi sniffing and unpaid tethering), but it's my choice whether or not to do them.
I don't think you'll miss anything about the iPhone. At first, you may think Android is a little clunky, nonstandard, or even un-navigable. But just give it time and you'll come to appreciate the difference between the two OSes. One provides a great out-of-the-box experience that can't be tinkered with, but everything will be generally familiar. The other provides nearly complete freedom to change how you use the phone, at the cost of a dictatorial structure. I prefer the latter, as no phone OS is even close to what I want. Android let's me add, remove, and modify itself to let me get a little closer to having a desktop in my pocket.
raul90 said:
Nexus is the closest thing to iphone you will ever find in the android world. Fast updates, excellent HW/SW integration, etc.
This year I've had a lot of phones, iphone 4 > sensation > GS2 > atrix > GS2 > GNex > GS3 > nokia e5 > Nexus 4, and a lot of iphones 4S, and no one gets close to a nexus.
Trust me, you could never go wrong with a Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my job, I have an extensive in-store experience with all of those, except for the E5. There is a HUGE difference from setting someone's phone up, showing them a bit of cool features, and then having them sign a contract, as opposed to actually owning it and going home with the device to make it your own.
I love the ability to make drag and drop folders that ICS added. I'm hoping to get the same clean experience that I've gotten used to, but I just want more. iOS isn't cutting it anymore.
I will miss the keyboard, though.
Hung0702 said:
I don't fit in the criterion for responders, but hopefully you can appreciate my contribution.
It's very rare that you'll find an iOS feature that isn't implemented on Android. It's usually the other way around.
Anand Shimpi describes the two operating systems better than I can: iOS is an appliance and Android is an OS. With iOS, you have to work with what you're given and the phone is a tool, in the same way a toaster oven is really convenient for a lot of purposes. However, Android is the whole damn kitchen. It's a real OS and gives you the opportunities to do precisely what you want done.
On iOS, jailbreaking is a bit daunting due to the loss of Appstore access and security features. I've also heard that stability is notably worse. However, rooting on Android is a very common and standard process. It's akin to providing yourself an administrative account on Windows, as opposed to a kid's account with limited access and abilities.
In all likelihood, there's not a thing you'll miss about iOS that isn't identically fulfilled by system and third party apps. Except in the case of a few select games and apps (Hype Machine is one that comes to mind) Android equivalents are just that: the same app, but for a different platform.
Now for my bias: I think of iPhones as glorified dumb phones. Widgets are essential for me, and the modularity of the system allows you to actually use an OS fit to your liking. In don't see a functional difference between iPhones today and the Sony Ericsson phone I had on 2003. Both just run apps and give extremely limited access to the file system. I want a real file explorer, and apps that can utilize libs/APIs that significantly improve performance (the reason why iOS browsers not based on Safari suck). I want to install apps that replicate system functions, and do so in better ways. Sometimes, in illegal ways (WiFi sniffing and unpaid tethering), but it's my choice whether or not to do them.
I don't think you'll miss anything about the iPhone. At first, you may think Android is a little clunky, nonstandard, or even un-navigable. But just give it time and you'll come to appreciate the difference between the two OSes. One provides a great out-of-the-box experience that can't be tinkered with, but everything will be generally familiar. The other provides nearly complete freedom to change how you use the phone, at the cost of a dictatorial structure. I prefer the latter, as no phone OS is even close to what I want. Android let's me add, remove, and modify itself to let me get a little closer to having a desktop in my pocket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Glorified dumb phone" -- Couldn't have put it better.
Right now, I'm at the point where customizations are so limited with my iPhone. I want widgets and I want to be able to move my icons where I want them and not be locked to this stupid grid. I've also ALWAYS complained about downloading apps and being kicked out of the app store to my desktop to watch the damned thing download and install. Now that they've added the ability to stay in the app store, it seems like "too little, too late."
I haven't even bothered with jailbreaking my 4s, because I know it still won't do the things that I've seen Android OS phones do.
I feel like I've reached my peak with my iPhone experience and I'd prefer so much more. I just don't want it to feel like some huge trade off because of the little idiosyncratic things that iOS has done for me. It's been very intuitive. I only used Android 2.3 for 5 months before going back to an iPhone. I didn't do much with it other than complain for 2 and a half months! LOL!
From what I hear, 4.2 on the Nexus is the best Android experience yet. That's what made me purchase it without even having a handson experience with it yet.
I came over from iOS, after being with the operating system since my first smart phone, the iPhone 3GS. (I had the 4S just before).
I'm very enthralled by my tech gadgets, and the iPhone is no exception. I jailbroke it, tweaked it to my liking, and have been content with its functionality. However, when I saw the price of this phone--also it's factory unlocked--I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try out Android. I was a bit apprehensive at first to switch over to something completely new, but for me, the transition has been seamless.
I actually avoid much of the cloud-based systems from Apple because I have been with Google to begin with, so the integration of contacts, email, and music were such a relief, and extremely useful. The widgets in Android are analogous to Dashboard X, if you are familiar, but so much better because of their native integration.
I received my Nexus 4 the week of release, and I haven't run into any problems since then. The customization is just as awesome--if you're into that--and it's actually much better on Android because of the limitations set by iOS.
Hopefully this is useful! I'll be happy to provide any more insight if you need.
Zaimojin said:
I came over from iOS, after being with the operating system since my first smart phone, the iPhone 3GS. (I had the 4S just before).
I'm very enthralled by my tech gadgets, and the iPhone is no exception. I jailbroke it, tweaked it to my liking, and have been content with its functionality. However, when I saw the price of this phone--also it's factory unlocked--I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try out Android. I was a bit apprehensive at first to switch over to something completely new, but for me, the transition has been seamless.
I actually avoid much of the cloud-based systems from Apple because I have been with Google to begin with, so the integration of contacts, email, and music were such a relief, and extremely useful. The widgets in Android are analogous to Dashboard X, if you are familiar, but so much better because of their native integration.
I received my Nexus 4 the week of release, and I haven't run into any problems since then. The customization is just as awesome--if you're into that--and it's actually much better on Android because of the limitations set by iOS.
Hopefully this is useful! I'll be happy to provide any more insight if you need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your train of thought seemed to be the same as mine. I saw the price-point and that it was unlocked and figured "what the heck?" This could be my only opportunity to try something new for such an awesome price. I spend that kind of money on my newest iPhone models plus a case to be locked into AT&T (snow Sprint... whew! Don't get me STARTED) to have the same features that I've already had.
The price point is enough trade off for me to buy out of my contract with Sprint and utilize one of the dealer-lines that I get for working where I do. They all require me to provide my own phone, so this is the perfect chance to do so.
As far as customizations, I haven't done anything since my 3Gs because I haven't jailbroken my 4 or 4s. I would LOVE to do more. It's just so hard to get anything done when your have the stock icons and a stock grid. Hell, my Mars Blackmon "theme" is all kinds of ruined (see the attachment). I'm anxious to get into a few more things.
Also, I, like you, have been using google since the days of the invite. So, I'm pretty sure that will be EASY AS EVER to get all of my contacts and stuff over. I'm excited about that. The thing is, I'm so deep into the Apple ecosystem. For example, my iPhone notes automatically update on my MacBook. The same goes for reminders and notifications. I like that. I feel like I'm going to miss that a lot.
Oh, and how's the music player? I'm really OCD when it comes to the organization of the music on my phone.
I don't mind not having expandable memory or LTE. Hell, I haven't had it for this long. LOL! HSPA+ will be a huge improvement over my 0.23mbps averaging Speed Tests on Sprint's network.
morejaylesswar said:
Your train of thought seemed to be the same as mine. I saw the price-point and that it was unlocked and figured "what the heck?" This could be my only opportunity to try something new for such an awesome price. I spend that kind of money on my newest iPhone models plus a case to be locked into AT&T (snow Sprint... whew! Don't get me STARTED) to have the same features that I've already had.
The price point is enough trade off for me to buy out of my contract with Sprint and utilize one of the dealer-lines that I get for working where I do. They all require me to provide my own phone, so this is the perfect chance to do so.
As far as customizations, I haven't done anything since my 3Gs because I haven't jailbroken my 4 or 4s. I would LOVE to do more. It's just so hard to get anything done when your have the stock icons and a stock grid. Hell, my Mars Blackmon "theme" is all kinds of ruined (see the attachment). I'm anxious to get into a few more things.
Also, I, like you, have been using google since the days of the invite. So, I'm pretty sure that will be EASY AS EVER to get all of my contacts and stuff over. I'm excited about that. The thing is, I'm so deep into the Apple ecosystem. For example, my iPhone notes automatically update on my MacBook. The same goes for reminders and notifications. I like that. I feel like I'm going to miss that a lot.
Oh, and how's the music player? I'm really OCD when it comes to the organization of the music on my phone.
I don't mind not having expandable memory or LTE. Hell, I haven't had it for this long. LOL! HSPA+ will be a huge improvement over my 0.23mbps averaging Speed Tests on Sprint's network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can empathize with you with syncing of notes/reminders/things Google doesn't handle because I have an iPad as well. It wasn't too huge of a loss for me because I use a Windows laptop, and my school email is integrated with gmail so the tasks work well. It definitely is something to consider though since you have a MacBook.
If I were in your shoes, it would be difficult to lose all those features because of convenient it makes everything. I'm guessing real world testing will be the only way for you to decide if you can be without it or not.
As far as the music player, I'm particularly OCD about the organization as well. It's not bad, nor is it exceptional; it does what it needs to. Since getting the Nexus, I've uploaded my music into Google Music and have been streaming it all since then--I have the grandfathered unlimited data plan from the 3GS--and it hasn't given me much issues.
The only thing I can say for certain that I sorely miss is music controls via the hardware volume buttons. I used them all the time to avoid taking my phone out of my pocket, or looking at my phone while driving. Fortunately, the feature should be brought back with ROMs in the near future, so there's not really much encouraging me to go back to my 4S.
I actually bought the 16 gb Nexus 4 because the 8 gb wasn't enough space, and I've sold the 8gb while waiting for the 16 gb to come in. I'm using my 4S again tentatively until the 16 gb comes in, and I can't believe how important screen real estate is. I really don't appreciate the 3.5 inch screen on the iPhone, nor the elongated 4 inch screen on the 5; the Nexus 4 really nice. The bigger screen size is much more useful for watching videos, and all around usage since you can see more.
morejaylesswar said:
"Glorified dumb phone" -- Couldn't have put it better.
Right now, I'm at the point where customizations are so limited with my iPhone. I want widgets and I want to be able to move my icons where I want them and not be locked to this stupid grid. I've also ALWAYS complained about downloading apps and being kicked out of the app store to my desktop to watch the damned thing download and install. Now that they've added the ability to stay in the app store, it seems like "too little, too late."
I haven't even bothered with jailbreaking my 4s, because I know it still won't do the things that I've seen Android OS phones do.
I feel like I've reached my peak with my iPhone experience and I'd prefer so much more. I just don't want it to feel like some huge trade off because of the little idiosyncratic things that iOS has done for me. It's been very intuitive. I only used Android 2.3 for 5 months before going back to an iPhone. I didn't do much with it other than complain for 2 and a half months! LOL!
From what I hear, 4.2 on the Nexus is the best Android experience yet. That's what made me purchase it without even having a handson experience with it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've got to ask yourself a few questions. Do I need any advanced functionality? Is it extremely beneficial to be able to glance at my phone and get a lot of information at once? Are there any platform-specific apps that I use?
My father is an older gentleman and only uses his phone to call, text, check email, and check his bank accounts. He occasionally takes pictures, but he's a photographer so he prefers to use his DSLR. I certainly recommend that users like this can use an iPhone and be more content than they would with Android. The iPhone dictates your usage, which can be useful if you don't really know what you have to do. The problem with Android is that the experience from one app to another can be very different. Further, you have so much freedom, it can be difficult to know what to do.
Also, here's a little album that has some of the customizations I made to my phone. Note the navigation bar colors, the widgets, the different dpi (text size) among different apps. I can really do what I want with the phone, however limited phone OSes may be at the moment.
I will put it simply. If you are considering a switch because iPhone feels too locked down, its because it is and you have been spoiled by Android. Android does all iOS does and much more and to a higher level of complexity. I was a former iPhone user and I love that now I am able to use MY phone however I want, not how Apple intended. I can use my phone as hotspot, create an FTP, share any file via NFC or Bluetooth, use whatever ringtone, download whatever typr file I want and being able to open it, sideload apks, pretty much anything I imagine. And no iTunes, either. Good old drag and drop, usable as a pen drive for that matter.
If you are not somebody who is satisfied by simplicity, but rather seeks customizability and expandability, then it's a no brainer. Especially at that price point.
I have come from a similar position as you morejaylesswar. (iPhone 3 -> 3GS -> 4 -> 4S) I'll give you my quick and dirty opinions after having my Nexus 4 for nearly 3 weeks now. Good and bad.
GOOD:
I love the freedom of android compared to IOS, you can just do so much more. Even more than a jailbroken iphone.
The screen size is great, at first i thought it was maybe a bit big for me but it didn't take long to get used to it, going back to my 4S which i still have seems way to small now in comparison.
Widget, widget, widgets!! i will say no more than that
NFC, i love using NFC tags for switching profiles e.t.c like switching bluetooth on, wifi off and launching the music player for when i get in my car.
EQ for the music player, this was one of my BIG issues with IOS. Why they never added just a simple 3 or 5 band EQ to the iphone i will never know.
BAD:
The camera on the nexus is poor compared to the 4S, outdoor shots in good light are ok but anything else is frustratingly bad, slow shutter speed, noisy images and a flash thats WAY too bright.
Music apps, this is obviously a personal one but if you like using music production apps (Korg e.t.c) you will be disappointed by the lack of apps on the play store, something to do with the lag thats inherent in the android os.
Battery life, my standby time is good but actually using the phone eats the battery like hell, of course this is to be expected with such a large screen but it is just a bit of a shock when first coming over from the 4S.
All in all the goods outweigh the bads for me by a long way, and i can only see me loving android (and my Nexus) more and more as i learn more about android and what i can do with it. I was bored with IOS, i didn't think it had evolved enough in the last few years and had become a bit stale.
morejaylesswar said:
Are there any Nexus 4 users that switched from an iPhone? What features do you miss? Does the Nexus 4 adequately make the transition seamless?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Things I miss about my iPhone 4/5.
iMessages (medium issue)
In areas where I have wifi and no cell signal (ie: work), it was convenient for me to communicate with people who had iOS
Size (minor issue)
Some people will argue this, but my i5 was perfect for jogging, I could hold it in my hand, switch tunes, even text one handed.. a little trickier on the N4 but not impossible.
LTE (minor issue)
Yes I do miss it, it's not as big of an issue but I did love the fast speeds that were available in my city.
Screen (very minor issue)
Side by side the i5's screen (to me) is a tad bit better than the N4.
All in all though, I am very satisfied with the N4. I thought I'd be reaching for my iPhone 5 again (I have a nano converter so I can easily switch it back out) but I find myself just using the N4 exclusively now. As people have said the customization will keep you busy for a while, and just the sheer amount of things you can do vs iOS is just night and day.
Argenist said:
Things I miss about my iPhone 4/5.
iMessages (medium issue)
In areas where I have wifi and no cell signal (ie: work), it was convenient for me to communicate with people who had iOS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just use Google Talk, it's an open platform that's not just locked to Apple users, you can type, voice call, or video call anyone. Be it Android, Apple, PC or whatever...
The reason I would never touch any Apple product is it's proprietary nature that use to lock users in (hardware connectors, quicktime format, iCloud/iMessage etc)
germanj said:
I will put it simply. If you are considering a switch because iPhone feels too locked down, its because it is and you have been spoiled by Android. Android does all iOS does and much more and to a higher level of complexity. I was a former iPhone user and I love that now I am able to use MY phone however I want, not how Apple intended. I can use my phone as hotspot, create an FTP, share any file via NFC or Bluetooth, use whatever ringtone, download whatever typr file I want and being able to open it, sideload apks, pretty much anything I imagine. And no iTunes, either. Good old drag and drop, usable as a pen drive for that matter.
If you are not somebody who is satisfied by simplicity, but rather seeks customizability and expandability, then it's a no brainer. Especially at that price point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Being that I am a Mac user, iTunes (unfortunately) is a huge part of my life. I hate the time it takes to sync my iPhone. I mean, seriously, there is years worth of stuff in my iTunes. I'm a music hoarder. '
You're right, dealing with Android everyday, I'm a bit spoiled. In my down times at work, I'd rather browse on the Galaxy S III at my job than my own phone. I haven't gotten into messing around with it for more than what I do on my iPhone and that's just browsing, updating my social networks, and watching videos. It's just because I don't know WHAT to do. I know I can do more, but man, that's all I can do on my iPhone. LOL. I haven't downloaded an app in forever while I'm out because Sprint's network is PAINFULLY SLOW. I wish I would've stuck with AT&T.
Google boasts having over 700,000 apps. I'm looking forward to getting into that. I also haven't owned an Android device since it went to the "Play Store." The 'Market' was one of my big complaints when I used Android. It just wasn't my well known 'App Store.' Google Play has come a HECK OF A LONG WAY. Man, I'm impressed at how clean it looks and how user friendly it is.
Oh yes i forgot one more thing...
The search facility on the Nexus is nowhere near as good as the Spotlight search on IOS. You cannot for example type a name in and have it show all emails, texts, notes, calendar things related to that search. Also there is no option to search within any exchange email accounts you have setup.
To say that google is the king of search engines this is a little disappointing
keepittidy said:
I have come from a similar position as you morejaylesswar. (iPhone 3 -> 3GS -> 4 -> 4S) I'll give you my quick and dirty opinions after having my Nexus 4 for nearly 3 weeks now. Good and bad.
GOOD:
I love the freedom of android compared to IOS, you can just do so much more. Even more than a jailbroken iphone.
The screen size is great, at first i thought it was maybe a bit big for me but it didn't take long to get used to it, going back to my 4S which i still have seems way to small now in comparison.
Widget, widget, widgets!! i will say no more than that
NFC, i love using NFC tags for switching profiles e.t.c like switching bluetooth on, wifi off and launching the music player for when i get in my car.
EQ for the music player, this was one of my BIG issues with IOS. Why they never added just a simple 3 or 5 band EQ to the iphone i will never know.
BAD:
The camera on the nexus is poor compared to the 4S, outdoor shots in good light are ok but anything else is frustratingly bad, slow shutter speed, noisy images and a flash thats WAY too bright.
Music apps, this is obviously a personal one but if you like using music production apps (Korg e.t.c) you will be disappointed by the lack of apps on the play store, something to do with the lag thats inherent in the android os.
Battery life, my standby time is good but actually using the phone eats the battery like hell, of course this is to be expected with such a large screen but it is just a bit of a shock when first coming over from the 4S.
All in all the goods outweigh the bads for me by a long way, and i can only see me loving android (and my Nexus) more and more as i learn more about android and what i can do with it. I was bored with IOS, i didn't think it had evolved enough in the last few years and had become a bit stale.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The music apps is why I have to keep a mobile Apple product. I've already figured that it would be my iPad, since I use that the least. I'm a musician, songwriter, and recording and mix engineer. There are so many apps that make my life easy when it comes to that stuff. I have apps that control my recording consoles, actual mobile DAWs that allow me to sketch ideas out and export them into their full counterparts on my Mac.
I know that I will be having some tradeoff with the Nexus S speaker vs the iPhone speaker. When I'm at home, but not in my studio, I use my iPhone speaker to play the music that I am writing to at the time. I don't use headphones to write, because I need to hear myself as I go over the material.
Damn, another thing I will miss is the ability to control my iTunes if I have something playing there, but am pacing around my workspace while I'm writing. Unless there is an app that allows me to control those kinds of things wirelessly on Android. That'd be pretty dope.
I'm interested to see how the battery performs. Despite EVERYONE saying the 4s had horrible battery life... I've gotten 1.5 to 2 days out of it sometimes. But that's because I don't run many apps because of my network and all I do is read sports news on it right now. I feel so caged, lol.
keepittidy said:
Oh yes i forgot one more thing...
The search facility on the Nexus is nowhere near as good as the Spotlight search on IOS. You cannot for example type a name in and have it show all emails, texts, notes, calendar things related to that search. Also there is no option to search within any exchange email accounts you have setup.
To say that google is the king of search engines this is a little disappointing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google had that on the Galaxy Nexus until Apple sued them over it and made them change the search because "they had that idea patented." (BREAKING: They also have breathing through the nose, walking upright, and the opposable thumb patented, too.) The less informed customers that shop at my location were nervous that Apple would make them forfeit their device over those lawsuits. LOL. It was so strange.
Argenist said:
Things I miss about my iPhone 4/5.
iMessages (medium issue)
In areas where I have wifi and no cell signal (ie: work), it was convenient for me to communicate with people who had iOS
Size (minor issue)
Some people will argue this, but my i5 was perfect for jogging, I could hold it in my hand, switch tunes, even text one handed.. a little trickier on the N4 but not impossible.
LTE (minor issue)
Yes I do miss it, it's not as big of an issue but I did love the fast speeds that were available in my city.
Screen (very minor issue)
Side by side the i5's screen (to me) is a tad bit better than the N4.
All in all though, I am very satisfied with the N4. I thought I'd be reaching for my iPhone 5 again (I have a nano converter so I can easily switch it back out) but I find myself just using the N4 exclusively now. As people have said the customization will keep you busy for a while, and just the sheer amount of things you can do vs iOS is just night and day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iMessage has saved my life on more than one occasion. Most recently, my brother hadn't paid his half of the phone bill and our phone service was cut off. I had no idea until I was running late for work because of traffic and had to call into my job to let someone know. Long story short, I was able to turn on my hotspot (provided by my job) and iMessage someone to let them know of the situation.
As far as the screen size, most people laugh at me because of how small the iPhone looks in my hands. I'm 6'8" and can palm a basketball with ease. So, holding the Nexus 4 will probably be more natural to my hand than the iPhone is. I'm just used to it.
Zaimojin said:
I can empathize with you with syncing of notes/reminders/things Google doesn't handle because I have an iPad as well. It wasn't too huge of a loss for me because I use a Windows laptop, and my school email is integrated with gmail so the tasks work well. It definitely is something to consider though since you have a MacBook.
If I were in your shoes, it would be difficult to lose all those features because of convenient it makes everything. I'm guessing real world testing will be the only way for you to decide if you can be without it or not.
As far as the music player, I'm particularly OCD about the organization as well. It's not bad, nor is it exceptional; it does what it needs to. Since getting the Nexus, I've uploaded my music into Google Music and have been streaming it all since then--I have the grandfathered unlimited data plan from the 3GS--and it hasn't given me much issues.
The only thing I can say for certain that I sorely miss is music controls via the hardware volume buttons. I used them all the time to avoid taking my phone out of my pocket, or looking at my phone while driving. Fortunately, the feature should be brought back with ROMs in the near future, so there's not really much encouraging me to go back to my 4S.
I actually bought the 16 gb Nexus 4 because the 8 gb wasn't enough space, and I've sold the 8gb while waiting for the 16 gb to come in. I'm using my 4S again tentatively until the 16 gb comes in, and I can't believe how important screen real estate is. I really don't appreciate the 3.5 inch screen on the iPhone, nor the elongated 4 inch screen on the 5; the Nexus 4 really nice. The bigger screen size is much more useful for watching videos, and all around usage since you can see more.
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Yea, I definitely had to do the 16GB, because of how much music I have. I'm certain that my music will overtake this phone... So much so that I'm thinking about just getting an iPod for my car.
Unlimited data is precisely why I chose T-Mobile over AT&T. When I left AT&T last year, I obviously forfeited my unlimited. I don't use much data now (again, blame Sprint) but if I have to do a lot of cloud based things, I'd much rather be on T-Mobile. As well, in my area, when I speed test the T-Mobile phones at my store, I get about 15-20mbps on TMO HSPA+ 42 over AT&T's 3-5mbps on HSPA+ 14.1.
morejaylesswar said:
Being that I am a Mac user, iTunes (unfortunately) is a huge part of my life. I hate the time it takes to sync my iPhone. I mean, seriously, there is years worth of stuff in my iTunes. I'm a music hoarder. '
You're right, dealing with Android everyday, I'm a bit spoiled. In my down times at work, I'd rather browse on the Galaxy S III at my job than my own phone. I haven't gotten into messing around with it for more than what I do on my iPhone and that's just browsing, updating my social networks, and watching videos. It's just because I don't know WHAT to do. I know I can do more, but man, that's all I can do on my iPhone. LOL. I haven't downloaded an app in forever while I'm out because Sprint's network is PAINFULLY SLOW. I wish I would've stuck with AT&T.
Google boasts having over 700,000 apps. I'm looking forward to getting into that. I also haven't owned an Android device since it went to the "Play Store." The 'Market' was one of my big complaints when I used Android. It just wasn't my well known 'App Store.' Google Play has come a HECK OF A LONG WAY. Man, I'm impressed at how clean it looks and how user friendly it is.
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There are hundreds of apps that make your transition from iTunes a breeze. But for perspective, also note there are no apps of this nature in iOS. For example, Kies software from Samsung. A lot of free apps from the market, such as DoubleTwist, easysync, etc. But you don't even need an app for ios->android, once more thanks to the openness (?) of the OS. On iTunes preferences there is a box that let's it organize everything in their own folders (iTunes media folder, Michael Jackson, bad, for example). Its all organized, you would just need to drag and drop into the phone music folder and Google Music takes care of the rest. Not to mention the plethora of music apps.