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Too early to jump in to an Android tablet?
variant
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm not really an early adopter of tech, despite loving all new tech...I like the bugs to be worked out, the battery life improved, and I'm cheap!
So is it still too early to jump in to an Android tablet? Can these things webchat over Skype? Can you run ms office? Can you print with a wireless or wired printer? Can you remote in to a win7 pc?
And speed matters ofcourse...
I'd rather not settle for an ipad as it's expensive and doesn't have any of these features...
Thanks for your help!
So is it still too early to jump in to an Android tablet? Can these things webchat over Skype? Can you run ms office? Can you print with a wireless or wired printer? Can you remote in to a win7 pc?
And speed matters ofcourse...
I'd rather not settle for an ipad as it's expensive and doesn't have any of these features...
Thanks for your help!
variant on
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Ummm, you may need to explain yourself on that one.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
Also, just to break this down:
1: Skype kicks ass on the iPad, and can do video/audio chat no problem.
2: No tablet except for ones that can run full Microsoft windows can run MS office natively. Both android and iOS have office alternatives, with iOS having the most robust in their iWork suite.
3: you can print from an iPad to any printer connected to your Mac or pc via AirPrint hacktivator... And if you own an HP ePrint model printer, you don't even need a computer at all.
4: there are 50 billion kickass remote desktop apps for the iPad. Honestly, the RDP apps on the iPad are far FAR more mature than the android offerings at the moment... Having a portable 1024x768 RDP thin client was a major selling point of the platform for me.
Like, it sounds like you just assumed the iPad couldn't do these things, and you couldn't be more wrong.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
If you want to get an Android tablet (don't blame you, I much prefer Honeycomb to IOS) holding off till the Samsung Tablet 10.1 is probably the best idea.
cheaperst ipad2 model (if you can find it) $499, cheapeast ipad1 you're likely to find $350, both of those are kick ass prices for what you get. If you have the money then you can get the wifi only Xoom for $599 I believe, and while it can probably do those things you listed, you'll be limited for a bit at first to your options on the apps that can make it do those things, as the ones out right now might not be as full featured as the ipad equivalent app being either that they are 1.0 version apps, and need time to mature, or that they are only out already because they were rushed to market whereas others in development may be taking the time to add in more quality. This last is partly speculation, but typically how these things go.
If you're set on honeycomb then the xoom is nice, but don't discount the ipad2 simply because you think it might not have the features you want without looking into it more.
I don' think they've talked much about the features of the device though.
Steam: CavilatRest
In terms of other Apps, all the older apps should work just fine on honeycomb right?
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
Open Office should handle your productivity needs. I also use google docs all the time at work.
Printing is easy.
There are dozens of viable RDP options on the Android marketplace.
The price point of a Xoom is pretty high but there are supposedly going to be wifi only versions available sometime next week.
The ipad2 is so bad it's not even being stocked anymore. They cant even find people willing to touch them for transport
I wasn't aware that the iPad could do a lot of these things, I'm actually leaning towards shelling out the extra 1/200$ now but they're not even in stock anywhere!
The Galaxy 10.1 is out of the question, the current 7" galaxy is $500, if the price isn't lower than an iPad, I'm not even gonna consider it. In the end these are fairly low powered laptops, they're practically netbooks with touch screens, yes they're immensely convenient compared to a laptop but not so much so that I'm willing to part with $6-700 for one.
Well, there is only one Honeycomb tablet available at the moment, the Motorola Xoom, which retails for $599 for the 32GB WiFi only version. I don't think anyone would recommend that you buy an Android tablet that isn't running Honeycomb. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 32GB is coming out at the same pricepoint, but with a cheaper/lower capacity model alongside it, at $499 for 16GB.
I'd have to agree with the others in this thread though, for what you've said you want to do with it, you probably want an iPad 2. Everything you've mentioned is available already, and the platform has had enough time to mature that there are some really great solutions on the app store.
If you don't want an iPad 2, you probably want to wait. Whether you pick up a Xoom or a Tab, or even RIM's PlayBook, you're very much buying into an early adopter's platform. Honeycomb apps are maturing a little more slowly than expected. I'd hope that the Xoom and Galaxy Tab 10.1 entering the realm of affordability will help spur a rush of development for Honeycomb apps, but whether that actually happens is anyone's guess at this point. RIM and HP/Palm are about to throw their hats into the ring with their own platforms, which could either kick Honeycomb development up a notch to stay competitive, or steal developer support. I think it's a waiting game right now to see how customers react to these things out of the gate.
I do not know the cost of one but you will notice that all if these have similar prices. Considering that apple is the only maker of these products who could theoretically sell these items at a loss (and make it up through app sales) I do not think it is correct in saying that it is an expensive device.
Satans..... hints.....
The price point for a "good" tablet is in the $500 range, and probably higher. If you are looking for a tablet that is cheaper than that they certainly exist but you will get what you are paying for in terms of speed and app support.
Yes, I am shallow. But I pretty much demanded having Netflix on my phone, much less something like a tablet with a nice, large screen. So I'd say it's a bit too early to jump to a Android Tablet.
Of course, that's purely my own situation.
Apple actually keeps prices down through heavy investments in (or part ownership of) nearly the entire supply chain, from R&D to production to retail outlets. No other manufacturers can really control pricing that way, except maybe Samsung. They still make a very healthy profit off of each iPad sold.
The lack of Netflix is the biggest issue I have with my Xoom.
Also the fact that it isn't an Eee Slate. An Eee Slate with the battery life of my Xoom would be an incredibly awesome portable sketchpad