Tablets: iPad 2 v Android

[Mostly Harmless]

Nothing really unexpected, dual core, front and rear cameras, etc... The hardware looks nice, slim and sleek.

<Begin rant>

I have been waiting for Honeycomb Android tablets since they were first mentioned. Now months later there is one good tablet on the market (Xoom) and only one version (the expensive kind) is out. The Wifi model is no where to be found. It really ticks me off that I have money in hand ready to spend like a good consumer and I have no idea when I will be able to spend this money. In one day apple has outlined 6 models of the iPad 2 all due out for release with a definite timeline (March 11th). It really bothers me that non of the Android Tablet manufacturers have release anything close to a timeline to let consumers know when they will be able to purchase their products. I have said all sort of bad stuff about Apple, I have gotten quite a few people to switch to Android phones, but when it comes to the details we are beat. G-Slate, wifi xoom???? Where are they? When are they coming out? I have $600 in hand right now ready to go to the pockets of any manufacturer who can release a decent wifi tablet. Please don't make me purchase an iPad 2

<end rant>
<flame away>

 

[A.Nonymous]

Well, you could buy 3 Nook Colors for that price depending on whether you want/need a camera on your tablet or BT.

 

[Bnice]

Well of course they have to drop the iPad2 right away,compare the xoom to the original iPad the xoom put it to shame.

 

[hawk521]

What are the odds that someone will hack the iPad 2 to allow it to run Honeycomb?

Better yet, a dual-boot option!

The specs, price and availability (March 11) of the iPad 2 WiFi only model is certainly getting my attention. If I thought it had a chance to be reloaded with Honeycomb one day in the foreseeable future I'd likely jump on one.

 

[swagner53]

We need to wait till summer to get what we want. There won't be a decent wifi tablet until then.

 

[rubiconjp]

Not to mention the ridiculous pricing of the Xoom. Moto needs to drop the price, quickly.

 

[jroc]

But the price of the iPad 2 is the same as the original. Thats big. We have Motorola with the Xoom at 800 while the iPad 2 with dual core and other added specs at the same price as the iPad 1.

Prices for the Xoom and upcoming Android tablets will have to be exactly the same or less than the iPad if they wanna sell some tablets.

I see it might still have 256MB Ram....interesting....

 

[djclark]

Please don't make me purchase an iPad 2

I never understand this mentality. What is wrong with buying an ipad 2 ? It's an awesome product at a very good price. If the iPad 2 does it for you - buy one.

 

[jroc]

And I just saw it wont be 4G like the Xoom will be.

Some interesting things for ppl to ponder about the new tablets...

 

[macprv]

been a big android fan, i also agree with Mostly Harmless... the ipad one was out ayer ago, a year later ipad 2 is about to come out and a single competitor has been able to put a decent tablet with a decent price.. someone has to do something before the 11th or apple will end with a huge bit of the market...

by the way... ipad 2 has almost the same specs as the xoom.. dual core processor, back and front facing camara, 10 inch screen, all type of sensors, decent storage, etc.. and yet the xoom (with a free of license fee OS) will cost more than the ipad 2... how is that possible? (well according to the rumors)

 

[jroc]

If the Ram is still 256MB for the iPad 2 and it doesnt do 4G I can see the price for the Xoom being justified somewhat. Like for the iPad 2 to to do HDMI out it needs an adapter.

Still I agree, Android tablets need to compete price wise against the iPad 2. Any tablet needs to really unless its offering alot more than Android tablets and the iPad.

 

[Mostly Harmless]

I never understand this mentality. What is wrong with buying an ipad 2 ? It's an awesome product at a very good price. If the iPad 2 does it for you - buy one.

You are right dj, the mentality came off wrong. I have played with both an iPad and Xoom for brief periods of time and what wins it for me is Honeycomb. While I think the exterior of the iPad 2 is really nice, I just can't stand turning on a big screen and looking at a bunch of icons (Windows has been doing this since '95, I do this everyday with my work PC). Honeycomb is so much different and dynamic. You turn it on and at a glance you can check your email, facebook, weather, news without ever entering an app.

Now here is where it get's confusing. With the iPad 2 the specs are practically the same as the Xoom (well as far as we see, still haven't see how much ram it has). Both have dual cores, dual cameras, basically the same screens except the iPad 2 puts it in a much nicer package. This doesn't bother me because once again Honeycomb is what really breaks the bank. I plan on carrying this in a backpack, so weight or thickness has no bearing too me. Even if the price is $100 more then the iPad 2 I still think it worth it up until a point. That point is when are these things going to be available???? If Samsung/Motorola/LG would just come out and say this product will be released on "XX/XX/XX" date, even if its a month/two months off it would still give me something to look forward too.

Cliff Notes:
When can I buy an iPad 2-March 11th
When can I buy a G-Slate
When can I buy a Wifi Xoom
When can I buy a 10.1 Galaxy

I have the money to spend, I want Honeycomb on a dual core, dual camera tablet, I want to know when I can buy it.

 

[Bnice]

I don't see how $800 for the xoom is a lot when the original ipad 64GB was about the same price.

 

[macprv]

I don't see how $800 for the xoom is a lot when the original ipad 64GB was about the same price.

no, its not alot... but when you dont need 3g/4g, and there is not other option other than the 800 dls xoom, you are force to compare the only xoom available (800) to the ipad that fits your needs (wifi)499... now theres a big gap... dont you think so

 

[Bob Maxey]

What are the odds that someone will hack the iPad 2 to allow it to run Honeycomb?

Better yet, a dual-boot option!

The specs, price and availability (March 11) of the iPad 2 WiFi only model is certainly getting my attention. If I thought it had a chance to be reloaded with Honeycomb one day in the foreseeable future I'd likely jump on one.

Why? I see no need for dual boot. If you want Android, go for it. but sorry to report, iOS is a great operating system and there is little to nothing to be gained by taking up space with a separate OS and duplicate apps. IMO.

Some of us like the iOS and loading Android brings nothing to the table. Perhaps if there were a truly amazing word processor I might switch. But with JB, I have a better iPad than the current/just released versions. I mean, I can use my flash drives and MicroSD cards, I can theme my iPad, change icons, label colors, add crap to the lock screen, gain unfettered access to root, and load apps from a hundred sources with the push of a button.

Coming soon is something called AirStash. This is a tiny little USB flash drive with a built-in WiFi Router. When turned on, anything stored on the drive shows up on my iPad, and I can stream movies and music to my iPad.

That will make it complete.

Bob

 

[Stuntman]

Apple has had over a year's head start on everyone else in the tablet market. Although I would have liked to see more tablet offerings now, I do feel that it takes these manufacturers some time to build a good enough product to compete with the iPad. I am a bit disappointed there are so few competing products out and the one major competitor, Xoom, is actually incomplete. There is supposed to be a patch coming soon to add some features that it should have had on launch. No doubt, the decision was to get it out now and then finish it later. I would be more disappointed if there were a bunch of competing products out now that just sucked because they needed more development work to refine them.

Apples head start enabled them to grab a big chunk of the market and will probably keep them ahead for some time. Realistically, I do not expect anything to beat the iPad 2 this year. I think that it will be next year at least before we see products as well refined as the iPad 2 that appeals to the main stream.

If you really want a tablet now, your choices are limited. Perhaps the iPad 2 is the best product out now (or at least later this month) including everything like form factor etc. If you are dead set against getting an iPad 2 or just want to see more tablet offerings become available before making your purchase, you need to just hold onto your money and tough it out for a few or several more months. Have patience.

 

[avenuePad]

Wow. I'm really surprised at all the iPad 2 gushing going on here. I wasn't moved at all by this launch "event", in the slightest. Basically, there was a redesign, which isn't bad looking, but didn't blow me away; design is completely subjective, anyway. Most of the features were things that should have been on the original iPad in the first place. The iOS is the exact same OS that is basically on the iPhone. It's pretty funny that the Galaxy Tab got mocked because it was running Android 2.2 and not optimized for a tablet. Google answers that with Honeycomb and now people are saying that simpler is better - the phone OS is fine on the iPad. Pretty ridiculous. Not only that, but Honeycomb looks pretty simple and speedy to me, at least from what I've seen.

The Xoom isn't overpriced when compared to the top of the line iPad 2. When the wireless Xoom comes out, and it will be released soon, it will be priced competitively against the iPad 2. I would personally wait, at least until the iPad 3 comes out.

 

[Bob Maxey]

Apple has had over a year's head start on everyone else in the tablet market. Although I would have liked to see more tablet offerings now, I do feel that it takes these manufacturers some time to build a good enough product to compete with the iPad. I am a bit disappointed there are so few competing products out and the one major competitor, Xoom, is actually incomplete. There is supposed to be a patch coming soon to add some features that it should have had on launch. No doubt, the decision was to get it out now and then finish it later. I would be more disappointed if there were a bunch of competing products out now that just sucked because they needed more development work to refine them.

Apples head start enabled them to grab a big chunk of the market and will probably keep them ahead for some time. Realistically, I do not expect anything to beat the iPad 2 this year. I think that it will be next year at least before we see products as well refined as the iPad 2 that appeals to the main stream.

If you really want a tablet now, your choices are limited. Perhaps the iPad 2 is the best product out now (or at least later this month) including everything like form factor etc. If you are dead set against getting an iPad 2 or just want to see more tablet offerings become available before making your purchase, you need to just hold onto your money and tough it out for a few or several more months. Have patience.

I did a little research looking for Apple iPad 2 info. Glad to report that the new version offers me nothing I need. I do not need Facetime, dual cameras (unless they were mounted side by side for creating stereoscopic images) and the thinner profile matters little to me. Neither does the faster processor.

I already own a better iPad. A quick JB made the product truly useful and actual usefulness is the feature I need most.

That said, I had a look at their new magnetic covers. I dismissed them at first until I discovered that when you close the cover, the iPad shuts off and when you open it, the iPad comes alive. A little thing, but very cool and very Apple like in my view.

Bob Maxey

 

[Bob Maxey]

Wow. I'm really surprised at all the iPad 2 gushing going on here. I wasn't moved at all by this launch "event", in the slightest. Basically, there was a redesign, which isn't bad looking, but didn't blow me away; design is completely subjective, anyway. Most of the features were things that should have been on the original iPad in the first place. The iOS is the exact same OS that is basically on the iPhone. It's pretty funny that the Galaxy Tab got mocked because it was running Android 2.2 and not optimized for a tablet. Google answers that with Honeycomb and now people are saying that simpler is better - the phone OS is fine on the iPad. Pretty ridiculous. Not only that, but Honeycomb looks pretty simple and speedy to me, at least from what I've seen.

The Xoom isn't overpriced when compared to the top of the line iPad 2. When the wireless Xoom comes out, and it will be released soon, it will be priced competitively against the iPad 2. I would personally wait, at least until the iPad 3 comes out.

I gush when appropriate, as would anyone that likes great technology and can appreciate accomplishment. The iPad is why there are Android Tablets. So I will gush and thank Apple for making Android a viable product.

Apple is the only game in town until something else arrives and so far, there are zero Android tablets worth my time. Hell, I might consider a Windows tablet at some point, and if available.

The iPad 2 is thinner, it has dual cameras, a faster processor, longer battery life, and these are not small things nor really possible when the first iPad arrived.

iOS is the same across all three iThingys. Not sure why that is an issue. The next OS will arrive soon.

Bob

 

[PSkeptic]

I gush when appropriate, as would anyone that likes great technology and can appreciate accomplishment. The iPad is why there are Android Tablets. So I will gush and thank Apple for making Android a viable product.

Apple is the only game in town until something else arrives and so far, there are zero Android tablets worth my time. Hell, I might consider a Windows tablet at some point, and if available.

The iPad 2 is thinner, it has dual cameras, a faster processor, longer battery life, and these are not small things nor really possible when the first iPad arrived.

iOS is the same across all three iThingys. Not sure why that is an issue. The next OS will arrive soon.

Bob

The viewsonic gtablet has the same specs as the ipad 2... Except, it does Flash. And, it's $200 less.

 

[Bob Maxey]

The viewsonic gtablet has the same specs as the ipad 2... Except, it does Flash. And, it's $200 less.

So what? Flash is a non-issue in many cases and I am not so sure they have received Adobe Flash Certification yet. Perhaps they have.

Second, I did not see one locally and I want hands on experience before I buy.

Finally, I bought what I needed when I needed it and I am pleased.

Nuff Said.

Bob

 

[PSkeptic]

So what? Flash is a non-issue in many cases and I am not so sure they have received Adobe Flash Certification yet. Perhaps they have.

Second, I did not see one locally and I want hands on experience before I buy.

Finally, I bought what I needed when I needed it and I am pleased.

Nuff Said.

Bob

Except you said there are not comparable tablets running Android... personally, I like being able to view websites, so Flash is moderately important.

As an aside, I got mine at Sears for $372US.

 

[Bob Maxey]

Except you said there are not comparable tablets running Android... personally, I like being able to view websites, so Flash is moderately important.

As an aside, I got mine at Sears for $372US.

Things have changed a bit and every week, something new is announced.

And there were no comparable tablets when I went iPad. The latest version has a faster processor, better battery life, and it is smaller. None of which means much to me.

Bob

 

[mrspeedmaster]

I don't think Apple has anything to worry about.

So, I got myself a NookColor and installed HoneyComb to see what the fuss was all about.
Sure, the build I had was a preview developer build so it is no indication of the final OS.
However, playing with it, I wasn't that impressed. It seemed to me as if Honeycomb just has different home launcher, a task manager with some slick animation,and a tab web browser.
All of these things can be done with Eclair or Froyo. I can get myself a tab browser, a different music player, and a different launcher with 2.2 right now.

However, I do believe, there are probably more differentiation under the hood with the underlining OS, Tegra and multi-processor support. But, with just the GUI and interacting with the OS as an end-user,
I wasn't that impressed nor was I swayed by the hype of HoneyComb. What matter the most was the apps. There was virtually no apps that made we want to be excited about.

The whole Flash, SD-Card, HDMI to me is a bit of irrelevant. I'm not dismissing it entireley but to me, the point of a tablet is not a PC-replacement device. I'm not to be photo-editing with it so the sdcard thing is moot.
I'm not plugging it into the TV. Sure, I can understand people wanting those features but at what % are you going to be using it? If I want any serious computing, I go to my desktop or laptop.

For 90% of my needs, a tablet needs to have incredible battery life, fluid usage and great apps. Shit, 90% of the time I use my tablet is when I'm sitting in the toilet taking a dump. I'm not going to be encoding video or write a word document while taking a shit.
I want to be amused and distracted with reading a magazine or watching a movie. When I'm a passenger on a train, car or plane, I want a device with incredible battery life. I'm going to be watching a Netflix movie while I'm on a treadmill and not dickering around with crappy Flash that is not optimized for touch.

I guess the most important thing I learn from the iPad announcement was the closing statement. Tablets aren't PC-centric type devices. They're simply not.

If they are, I rather spend my money on an AMD fusion netbook or scoff the extra $100 for a MacBook Air.

If Apple wanted a "XOOM"-killer device, don't you think they can do it with the AIR. Simply, chopp of the keyboard and add a touch-interface to OSX and you have your "honeycomb-like" real DESKTOP OS on a tablet. You'll have your SD slots and your USB ports.
Seriously, the MacBook AIR 11" isn't a hard device to retrofit into a tablet form factor. They do have the know-how, the ability and the capability to do so. Why don't you think they haven't done it yet??? Simply, slice the keyboard and they'll have a device that is thinner, more powerful than a XOOM with a full OS with an AIR.

They haven't done it yet because they saw all the failed Compaqs/HP tablet PCs. The Ipad sold more than all these PC tablets of the last 10 years in 8 months.

 

[Mostly Harmless]

I am not going to argue which tablet is better, get one that suits your needs, I like honeycomb and would really prefer to get a tablet with it. If you like the iPad 2 then get it, it won't bother me one bit.

What I am going to argue and give Apple credit is that they can announce a product and give a time line to the consumers as when they can buy it. Motorola, Samsung and LG have failed to do this. They all have websites dedicated to there up and coming tablets and the release date is no where to be found. This to me is very frustrating. At this point I wouldn't care if they were coming out this month or next, just give me a date to look forward too.