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*OFFICIAL* Xoom vs iPad 2 Discussions

Compared to its main competitor the xoom, the ipad2 is cheaper, lighter, thinner, and faster. There's no denying it. So if someone is in the market for a tablet, and does their research, the ipad2 is a logical choice.

Totally agree - it is _A_ logical choice - but it's not the right choice for everyone, any more than the Xoom would be.

Yes but fill rate is fill rate. It's a hard number that always translates into real world results. A 1/4 mile run may not tell you everything about a car but it sure tells you a lot.

Not if your intent is to haul peaches to the market. ;)

Fill rate only translates into real world results where and when that matters - and it's not true that it does for all uses.
 
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I actually went down and played with the iPad 2 at BB yesterday. And I'll tell you something, WOW! I'm still unimpressed by iOS in general, but damn did they absolutely nail the form factor. Anyone who says that the iPad 2's thinness and lightness is not that important needs to get one of these things in there hands. I walked around to the Xoom in the store after handling the iPad 2 and it was a night and day difference. Which is sad because the Xoom is far from big or bulky, but Apple really set the bar high on form factor this time. It's a good thing I don't like iOS and love Android, otherwise I might be tempted to buy an iPad 2.

I couldn't agree more on the form factor. My wife's 32 gig iPad2 is amazingly thin and light. 1.33 lbs vs 1.5 may not SEEM like much on paper, but, that is a pretty big difference. And the thin factor....yea, that's highly impressive. And as "gimmicky" as I though the magnetic cases would be, they really ARE awesome. Quite frankly if I had waited on the Xoom purchase I'd be seriously considering the iPad2 myself. However, at the end of the day I'm a Droid boy and I'd SERIOUSLY miss certain features only found on Android. TRUE multitasking, notifications, flash....all things that I use in my regular workflow on a daily basis. But, I can understand why Apple leads this space. No question. IMO, the "real competition" hasn't even started. Xoom is sort of a prelude of what to expect over the next year. I think that if we can get the apps and get the OS finished and polished, the tablet landscape will be a very different place a year from now. Then again, it doesn't look like Apple is just sitting around waiting for everyone to catch up, either, so, this will be quite the battle to watch and be part of. Competition, however, is a REALLY good thing no matter which "side" you're on.
 
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I'm an Android user but the iPad 2 is looking more and more tempting. I saw those Anandtech specs and benchmarks and it looks formidable.

I think i miss Hulu and Netflix more on the Xoom than I would Flash on the iPad 2.

I saw this link to this "first thoughts" video on Engadget and it talks about iPad 2 vs Xoom vs Galaxy Tab from the perspective of an Android user.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-oWVaO-bnM

I was not expecting this! The Xoom has more ram and a Tegra 2 but yet it still took a beating when compared to the ipad 2! I was expecting the A5 chip to be kinda soft and deliver only a margin increase over the original ipad. Apple Delivered! The iphone 5 will be awesome and we have no Android devices that can counter this now that it is proven that Apple's A5 processor can easily defeat a Tegra 2.
We also have no Android devices coming in the near future that can outperform the Apple A5 chip , now that it is proven that Apple's A5 processor can easily defeat a Tegra 2


Apple iPad 2 GPU Performance Explored: PowerVR SGX543MP2 Benchmarked - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

Apple iPad 2 GPU Performance Explored: PowerVR SGX543MP2 Benchmarked - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
 
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Well, it looks like the Android tablet to get now is the Samsung 8.9 Galaxy Tab w/ the Exynos processor.
It will probably have the same GPU type setup as the A5. It will also have the 1280x800 resolution.

I just got the iPad 2 but will be getting an Android tablet. If I had to choose an Android Honeycomb tablet, it would be Samsung:

1) Cisco VPN. Samsung has signed a deal w/ Cisco. This is the most important thing for me.
If not, I can always use my iPad and hack it to hotspot w/ Cisco VPN

2) Video codecs. My Galaxy S phone was able to play every video format that I could throw to the iPhone 4 (using VLC).
The built in player could play decent bit-rate videos whereas my other Android phones had problems even using Rock-player. The 7" Tab could play a lot of videos as well.

3)Weight. The Samsung 8.9 is rumored to be similar weight to the iPad 2.
Well, The iPad 2 is only 3 ounce more than the Nook Color. It is 30% lighter than the original iPad and XOOM. I was leaning toward a 7" full time but Apple shown that it is possible to comfortably hold a 9-10" tablet for a long time. Holding an iPad 2 actually felt better and more comfortable than holding a much smaller 7" NOOK Color.

I own the iPad 1, iPad 2, and Nook so I can say the iPad 2 is the most comfortable device right now.

4) GSM. I need GSM when I am traveling abroad. I might get by w/ just wifi if I am tethering to a phone that can VPN.

5) Wolfson Audio processor. The Galaxy Phone and 7" had the wolfson audio DAC (Digital Audio converter) and it made a big difference in terms of music audio playback.


Now the question is, how much will SAMMY be asking for their slate tablet?
 
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Whether this performance advantage matters is another matter entirely. Although there aren't many FP intensive iPad apps available today, moving to the A5 is all about enabling developers - not playing catch up to software.

You'd be surprised. the iOS API allows for a lot of flexibility and provides the ability to code now for future "products." Apple let the developers plan way ahead of the actual product launches.

For example, Infinity Blade and another car racing game now have an "iPad 2" versions with better graphics.

I have a bunch of iPhone 4 apps that were never advertised to be "iPad" optimized. These are mainly camera apps, many of which take advantage of the front camera which the 1st generation iPad never had.

I never updated those apps whatsoever but when they were synched to the iPad 2, I was pleasantly surprised.

Wow. Tablet optimized from the get-go. These are apps that I downloaded a year ago like "Instabooth" that is a photo-booth type application. It had triple panes. Heck, I didn't even have to buy iMovie. The iPhone 4 version updated itself and installed for free on the iPad 2 (your apps can be installed on as many machines under your account).

Another example are multi-core optimized apps. There are a few apps now advertised as multi-core aware. It was just a matter of the developer's flipping the switch on their code to enable it. And this is just within 1 day of iPad 2 launch.

This is something Google needs to learn. The actual final HoneyComb SDK was released like 1 day before the XOOM launch.
 
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That's awesome... yet another compelling reason to go with the iPad2. Only a closed eco-system can have a clear road map. Only a clear road map can make what you describe possible. With Android it just seems you're waiting indefinitely for SOME kind of support for everything that ought to be mainstream. I've given up on the idea of an Android tablet. I work too hard for my $$ to sit around waiting for a few folks at XDA to come up with fixes for all the stuff that should have worked to begin with. Everything should work on day one, the way Apple does.
 
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That's awesome... yet another compelling reason to go with the iPad2. Only a closed eco-system can have a clear road map. Only a clear road map can make what you describe possible. With Android it just seems you're waiting indefinitely for SOME kind of support for everything that ought to be mainstream. I've given up on the idea of an Android tablet. I work too hard for my $$ to sit around waiting for a few folks at XDA to come up with fixes for all the stuff that should have worked to begin with. Everything should work on day one, the way Apple does.

Like sdcard,USB, flash and camera......:D
 
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That's awesome... yet another compelling reason to go with the iPad2. Only a closed eco-system can have a clear road map. Only a clear road map can make what you describe possible. With Android it just seems you're waiting indefinitely for SOME kind of support for everything that ought to be mainstream. I've given up on the idea of an Android tablet. I work too hard for my $$ to sit around waiting for a few folks at XDA to come up with fixes for all the stuff that should have worked to begin with. Everything should work on day one, the way Apple does.

Funny, this is why I sold my Nook Color and bought a Xoom.
 
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Good article. The point I made was repeated again in that article:...

And the point I'd made from that article is that while the iPad2 is indeed faster on many things, when you look at web browsing, an example of something I think lots of people enjoy on tablets, the comparison is much closer between the two, not orders of magnitude difference.

Folks, HW specs aside, Android still is stuck with the byte code layer. Though MUCH improved since the 2.1 or lower days, it STILL is a resource liability.

Maybe.

You're aware that the SDK now also supports native code development?

While I'm in the neighborhood - from the article:

Apple improved the Safari JavaScript engine in iOS 4.3, which right off the bat helped the original iPad become more competitive in this test. Even with both pads running iOS 4.3, the iPad 2 is 80% faster than the original iPad here.


The Motorola Xoom we recently reviewed scored a few percent slower than the iPad 2 in SunSpider as well. Running different OSes and browsers, it's difficult to conclude much when comparing the A5 to Tegra 2.


A bug in BrowserMark kept us from running it for the Xoom review but it's since been fixed. Again we're looking at mostly JavaScript performance here. Rightware modeled its benchmark after the JavaScript frameworks and functions used by websites like Facebook, Amazon and Gmail among others. The results are simply one aspect of web browsing performance, but an important one:

35896.png


I cherry-picked one favorable benchmark for benefit of our speed readers/lurkers to help encourage a _full_ reading of the article. ;)
 
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And the point I'd made from that article is that while the iPad2 is indeed faster on many things, when you look at web browsing, an example of something I think lots of people enjoy on tablets, the comparison is much closer between the two, not orders of magnitude difference
Maybe.You're aware that the SDK now also supports native code development?
It seems like the things google optimized are better than ****. Like browser, photoviewer, youtube, gmail, etc. Great things are coming!
 
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Like sdcard,USB, flash and camera......:D

It goes both ways.

As a photographer, you'd appreciate the ability to handle RAW camera files which I believe Honeycomb doesn't support yet the iPad does.

Even though the iPad doesn't have an sd slot, the camera kit allows you to import RAW files. There are even tablet apps that handle RAW files.
No conversion. Sure, you need a $30 adapter but it does RAW nonetheless. As a photographer, which would you rather value?

USB slot is useless if I can't handle importing native video footage into an editing app. The same camera connection kit allows you to import h.264 Canon .mov files. Slashgear even reported they were able to import original AVHCD video files from a Panasonic camera straight into iMovie w/ the camera connection kit. Can the Android movie maker even handle files not created by the tablet? E.G. a movie file from your dslr when you go on vacation?

Like I said, it goes both ways. Specs are meaningless unless you can't use them. If I can't play high profile bitrate 720p file, what good is an HDMI or SDcard?

If I was a photographer like yourself, I'd give up SDcard, USB, camera & flash for the ability to handle native hi-res files and video footage while away on location.
 
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It seems like the things google optimized are better than ****. Like browser, photoviewer, youtube, gmail, etc. Great things are coming!

Maybe so. ;)

My takeaway is that both are top-notch devices and there will be some controversy as development continues to improve for each device.

Either way, we consumers are going to be the big winners on this!
 
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It goes both ways.

If I was a photographer like yourself, I'd give up SDcard, USB, camera & flash for the ability to handle native hi-res files and video footage while away on location.

If you were a real photographer you'd use a real camera like a Canon 1ds mkiii and a real photo editor like Photoshop.
 
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If you were a real photographer you'd use a real camera like a Canon 1ds mkiii and a real photo editor like Photoshop.

I've yet to meet a real photographer who confined themselves to a single tool.

I'm just saying. ;)

PS - Never used Photoshop myself - couldn't figure out where to put the chemicals in. :)

~~~~~Back on topic:

Several of the mods are working in this area - evidently, one of them found enough overlap and areas of interest to merge them.

Odd this came up, glad it did, because I was just re-reading the OP in this resulting thread and I was going to ask if no one out there has both, can we get a couple of volunteers with each one to run some agreed app until the device dies (or hits a 50% mark or something reasonable - don't want to put anyone out) so we can have a real-world comparison on battery life?

If that's not an important benchmark, I don't know what is.
 
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And I'm just saying that neither I pad or xoom are cameras or editing tools.

I enjoy the Photoshop.com app, free-in-Market, for those quick snapshots at parties where people go, ooh, ahh, send me a copy - a few quick adjustments, and then email from my gallery, all from my Android phone.

I've always believed the worst camera is the one you're not carrying when needed.

Still don't own a digital camera, prefer to work with film (someday I'll change) but when not carrying kit, any port in a storm is my way of thinking.

Don't see why that would be different with an iPad2 or a Xoom - or that there's really a single right answer.

But I've been wrong on these things before and your mileage may vary.
 
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If you were a real photographer you'd use a real camera like a Canon 1ds mkiii and a real photo editor like Photoshop.

I'm not a real photographer. I was giving examples of how a real photographer like yourself could see the benefit with a so-called closed system despite it's technical spec disadvantage.

In fact the closed system with my example is better suited for a pro photographer like yourself.

Specs can go both ways.

Say you are on-location and want to quickly view RAW photos from your real Canon 1ds mkiii , you can do that with an iPad. You cant do that with the current open system. But your response is to use Photoshop and a real camera. I never said these device replaces any of those things. They only help and are tools.

You don't have to wait back to go to your office or fire up a laptop to view those images. I never said anything about editing and there is no disagreement about using Photoshop, Lightroom, or Capture One.

In fact, you can even use an ipad 2 as a light meter (there are apps that use the built in cam sensor), and a remote controller for your Canon 1ds. You can go on a 3 day photoshoot with your real camera and an iPad, etc..

See you can talk specs, I was giving examples of real tangible benefits for a pro-photographer like yourself. Sometimes a closed eco-system can give you real tangible workflow benefits. Unfortunately, by your response, you can easily dismiss them.
 
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Who is doing this? Would be nice to get a brief explanation when threads are merged. It's starting to get very confusing.

One of the mods. I know when I mod a forum and merge threads I at least give a post stating that much so as to avoid the confusion. This does seem a little odd to me, as well.

Guys - please - answered a few posts up.

I'm not the one that did it, but I know the reason, so there it is.

And site guidelines state when questioning mod actions, please use the !Report button or PM one of us or our boss, Phases, if unhappy with us.

I answered as soon as asked, but really, it's off-topic now.

Thanks, EarlyMon ;)
 
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I'm not a real photographer. I was giving examples of how a real photographer like yourself could see the benefit with a so-called closed system despite it's technical spec disadvantage.
.....
See you can talk specs, I was giving examples of real tangible benefits for a pro-photographer like yourself. Sometimes a closed eco-system can give you real tangible workflow benefits. Unfortunately, by your response, you can easily dismiss them.

As you say in your first statement.....
 
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Well, it looks like the Android tablet to get now is the Samsung 8.9 Galaxy Tab w/ the Exynos processor.
It will probably have the same GPU type setup as the A5.

Sorry to burst your bubble but the Exynos uses the Mali 400 gpu. So far it has proven to be weaker than either the Tegra 2 or the TI OMAP 4430 SoC. The OMAP SoC seems to have the most potential.

LG Optimus 3D Preliminary Performance - OMAP4 Tested - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
 
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