Alternatives to Xoom!!

inkdesigner said:

From day 1, the Xoom has never been on the same plans as phones. The Xoom has always had a tiered data plan pricing. So, purchasing today or purchasing next won't have any large effect on data pricing.

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That's a big help in that I don't have to decide today what to do. Off-line, I was told the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is coming out "soon" with LTE built in - something you confirmed here too. The Tab was rated better, thinner, lighter, etc - but I truly wanted cellular connectivity.

I've used a Xoom - question wasn't do I want a good android tablet, but which is the best to buy. Thinking if the Tab 10.1 LTE comes out soon, my only question will be do I care about SD support?

My phone (original Droid) is lacking wrt system memory, even with moving apps to the SD Card. But my 16 GB MicroSD card sufficient for my music & other files, plus DropBox access as someone else stated will be sufficient for most things. Still, SD would be nice even if to swap in my camera's card for instant upload of properly taken photos/video's. Something to think about.

Thanks for the quick responses.

PittCaleb

In theory, you can just hook up your camera to the XOOM or even the Galaxy Tab via USB host. It knows what a camera is. Google just didn't design Honeycomb to account for nonroot users having access to external storage devices.

The XOOM's build quality is better, but they are about the same with everything else. If SD support isn't important to you, just get whichever is cheaper.

A friend of a friend just relayed to me that the Tablet data plans at VZW "suck." Never priced them, so I don't know. He suggested getting a MiFi to use while not at home and getting a basic WiFi model. Thoughts?

PittCaleb

The MiFi and Tablet data plans cost the same.

scorp64va said:

The MiFi and Tablet data plans cost the same.

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So thoughts on having a MiFi where I could use the tablet or laptop or whatever or just a 3g/lte tablet? Keeping MiFi in the car is great andf will always be with, but if I took into a place - pool, Disney, etc. - it's just another thing to carry and ensure charged.

Thoughts on one vs the other?

I mostly use my Xoom now (which is probably why my laptop completely died on me a couple weeks ago). Would like to have the 4G on it, but I'm getting by with the 3G for now. If I really need to, I can turn on the WiFi Hotspot on the Xoom and connect a laptop through that. Since it's already a metered data plan there's no additional charge.

I also have a 3G MiFi, that's our Internet connection at home until somebody extends a real Internet connection into our subdivision.

So, if you don't already have a MiFi, I'd just get a tablet and use it's 3G/4G connection for other devices when you need to.

Thanks scorp64va... I know my Droid can be a hotspot, but they charge. Knowing they don't charge on the metered tablet plans makes this decision a bit more tricky. Was liking the concept of disassociating my data from the tablet, esp for use with another tablet or laptop, but that's not as big an issue with this news.

No problem...just remember, as with anything when dealing with any of these carriers, things could change in the future.

Very true. Here is my current dilemma. Have convinced myself that I want a Galaxy Tab 10.1 - I *need* cellular data (3g/4g/lte, just something).

I can wait for the 10.1 LTE or I can buy the 10.1 WiFi and a MiFi.

Negatives with WiFi Model:
While traveling will have to bring MiFi with me wherever I bring the tablet
i.e. the Pool, the playground, the hotel room, etc.

Positives with using a MiFi:
Data disassociated from Tablet. Should I want to upgrade in a year, I can pass this to my son and get new one and still have data and no new contract or need to break one
If I have multiple devices, the MiFi works for everyone (without having to have *my* tablet around)

I realize now that the tablet data plans are freely sharable, but that means 'this' tablet has to be there and on and such. With the MiFi, I could get a new tablet and still use it with the MiFi. If I bought a new tablet in the family, we'd either be paying 2x or have to have the primary one with the secondary one at all times it wanted network access. the MiFi is better in that situation. Same if I grabbed an off-contract Android phone for my son to use as a game/messaging device - MiFi will allow it to work.

I'm always with or out of my car - so keeping in the car if easy and taking out, MiFi looks to fit in a shirt pocket easily, so it's not that big a downside comparred to the flexibility the MiFi grants me - esp with respect to being locked into a contract on that specific device.

Any thoughts out there?

The Xoom is a wonderful product, but...
I wanted to replace my old Dell laptop, and get away from windows and IOS. I run a website through my school that is google heavy, with maps and presentations. I couldn't edit or create either with xoom so was a deal breaker. Can a tablet really replace a pc? Makes me wonder about all the schools buying kids tablets for use in the classroom. What pushed me over the edge was seeing xoom priced $100-200 less one week after purchasing. Anyone else feeling the same frustrations? Mostly venting, but looking for alternatives, should I give chromebook a try? Thanks,

You don't know what frustration really is until you try ChromeOS. I have had the Cr-48 for many months and I can honestly say it is not ready for prime-time. Now it could just be the Google Cr-48 that causes most of the problems, but the OS is still lacking in many areas. Such as, no Bluetooth.
My advise would be to purchase one of the new Asus or Samsung ChromeOS units and give it a try.

I'm leaning towards this table for many reasons. Price is a big one. I travel a lot for work and have to watch training videos, and I read books. So that is going to be a good portion of the use the rest is just so I don't have to break out a laptop to check internet at home or in a hotel. Wife will probably use it for facebook when I'm home. I'm sick of lugging a laptop for personal and laptop for business.(They keep tabs on what we do with business laptops)

I like that it has a card slot so I can add more room for my training videos. That is one thing that killed me wanting a Galaxy 10.1.

How is the battery life compared to other 10.1 tablets? Ultimately I'll be using it to watch videos up to I would say 6-7 hours in one flight.

I've seen them for as low as $329 refurbed $359 new.

Anything close for that price range you think is better for my usage?

Maybe I didn't ask it properly...most likely lol. I apologize for that. I'm looking for user experience not specs that never seem to translate into real world. I want a 10.1 screen size since this is replacing my laptop.

Will the battery life of the moto xoom last for 6 hours watching videos without rooting?
This is probably my number one concern due to having to fly for work. I'm curious about other tablet user's experience with battery life when watching videos.

Thanks for the idea oh going root with the kindle fire...I might have to consider it since it its so cheap.

As far as battery mine will usually last all day with fairly heavy internet and usually an hour or two (sometimes four or five) of Netflix. I can't remember the last time the battery dropped below 20% but then again I also charge it every night. But in airplane mode I'm fairly confident you could get 6 hours of video out of it. Maybe as many as 10.

I am looking to buy a android tablet.

I have narrowed my choices to an xoom or sony tablet s.
Which andriod tablet is better and why?

It is absolutely not a replacement for a laptop (there aren't any cheap tablets that are.) You might get 6hrs of movie viewing with the net off and brightness turned down.

I bought Xoom because of the solid specs (should not be outdated for at least 2 years). Motorola confirmed ICS update in coming months.

I feel that Xoom is better than any other Tablet in the Market and it provides pure Google Android experience.

I just picked up the A200 a couple days ago. I'm somewhat happy, but it just feels like it's lacking sometimes. I was curious how much of a performance boost the Xoom would be compared to the A200. The specs seem very similar, but I may be missing something. Basically, is it worth the extra $50 and why? Any input at all would be very much application. Thank you in advance.