We have 2 cameras, honeycomb, blinking leds, and more storage. Kindle has better processor, has anyone tried the kindle? I'd like to know is it that much faster than the view? I paid 40$ more for the view because its more feature packed than the kindle.
Sent from my PG41200 using XDA App
juanzr1 said:
We have 2 cameras, honeycomb, blinking leds, and more storage. Kindle has better processor, has anyone tried the kindle? I'd like to know is it that much faster than the view? I paid 40$ more for the view because its more feature packed than the kindle.
Sent from my PG41200 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am betting the view is snappier. I am running CM7 on the Kindle it is seems laggy, especially next to my Epic 4G Touch.
I am just waiting to find a good price on the View and I will probably return the Kindle. Haven't seen any deals as of late though...
Everything is laggy compared to the E4GT. I have my E4GT running Cauklin's rom and its underclocked to 800Mhz and undervolted and the thing is still faster then any other phone I have tried.
I find the the View on GB a little slow with Sense running, even clocked to 1800mhz it seems a little slow. HC with sense seems a little less slow, I'm waiting for an overclock kernel. Maybe I'm spoiled by the dual core E4GT. If the View pops again in the $230 range or less, it is well worth buying just for the built in GPS.
I would love to see a 3G/4G Fire hit the streets. I guess there won't be very many phone companies standing in line for that unless they can charge for data overages.
juanzr1 said:
Kindle has better processor, has anyone tried the kindle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't done a side-by-side between the Flyer/View and Kindle Fire. But others on here have commented that the 1.5 GHz single core CPU on the Flyer is snappier on most tasks than lower clocked dual core CPUs. Dual core is only useful for multi-tasking, switching between apps, and apps that are optimized for dual core (few, if any are).
Also, the Fire has no Bluetooth, GPS, Micro-SD card slot, or pen support; and the build quality (sturdy and sleek looking aluminum body) of the Flyer simply can't be beat by any other tablets. The View/Flyer is a $500 tablet being sold at bargain prices. The Kindle is a $200 tablet being sold for $200.
Only advantage of the Fire is the Amazon-centric features (especially if you are a Prime member), and its being widely purchased. So good support by software developers and accessory makers is pretty much sure to follow.
I had a chance at a Kindle Fire yesterday for £125
I then researched it
my conclusion is its gingerbread with half its guts ripped out
I decided no.
It's a great colour eReader if you already have a full power tablet, it is not a proper tablet.
redpoint73 said:
Haven't done a side-by-side between the Flyer/View and Kindle Fire. But others on here have commented that the 1.5 GHz single core CPU on the Flyer is snappier on most tasks than lower clocked dual core CPUs. Dual core is only useful for multi-tasking, switching between apps, and apps that are optimized for dual core (few, if any are).
Also, the Fire has no Bluetooth, GPS, Micro-SD card slot, or pen support; and the build quality (sturdy and sleek looking aluminum body) of the Flyer simply can't be beat by any other tablets. The View/Flyer is a $500 tablet being sold at bargain prices. The Kindle is a $200 tablet being sold for $200.
Only advantage of the Fire is the Amazon-centric features (especially if you are a Prime member), and its being widely purchased. So good support by software developers and accessory makers is pretty much sure to follow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree the build quality on the flyer/view is amazing.
Sent from my PG41200 using XDA App
I have a Flyer on GB, View on HC and a Fire. All are stock. The flyer and view win handsdown with the exception of two things:
The Amazon Instant Video app is wonderful on the Fire. I can play the videos in a browser on the HTC tablets, but sometimes they are choppy.
The Kindle reader on the Fire has more customization options than the Kindle app for Honeycomb. However, I mainly use Moon Reader Pro now after converting my books, so it isn't that big of a deal.
I read some rumors that Amazon is going to release a better (maybe larger) Kindle tablet first part of this year. The Fire was just a rush job, to get one on the market for the holiday season.
I'd say if someone was interested in a Kindle tablet for the Amazon specific features, to wait a bit and see if the new tablet (if it indeed exists) is any good.
Pretty sure in a head battle, the 1.5 single core Snapdragon will beat the dual core 1.0 Kindle any day. There are no known daily use that are going to put the kindle in the lead, the single core snapdragon will put it to shame, hands down. I don't think I'm aware of any games/apps out there that utilize the multiple cores yet. First you have to understand how dual/quad cores work:
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If we are talking benching hardware acceleration:
Adreno 205 - HTC Flyer/View, HTC G2/Vision, HTC Desire HD/Inspire 4G, HTC Incredible 2/S, HTC myTouch 4G, etc.
PowerVR SGX540 - Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Epic 4G, Apple iPhone 4/iPod Touch 4, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Samsung Nexus S, etc.
Source is here for the rest of the charts:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4079/basemark-gui-from-rightware-launches-socs-benchmarked/2
I have the Fire, Flyer, Tab 10.1, and both iPads (I review hardware).
The Flyer is a snappy 7" device, but I use the Kindle Fire more often, at least recently, for reading. My iPad for music creation and large format reading, and the Flyer for times when I need 3g service in a small form factor. But even then, I can easily tether the Kindle to my Epic Touch.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I was closer to buying a Nook Color Tablet than a Kindle Fire. The Nook had more storage (sort of), a microphone, and physical volume buttons. The Fire had none of those. But the Flyer/View is a big leap over the Nook tablet. More storage, 2 cameras, Bluetooth, GPS, microSD slot, full Android, the list goes on.
Fire is very limited and not a true tablet. For its core purposes using amazon apps it is better performance wise. If you use your tablet for other things than books and amazon videos there is a good reason it is so cheap
Physically, the Fire is actually much nicer. The design is clean and simple, and the rubberized back makes it comfortable and easy to hold in one hand. The View, OTOH, is both noticeably wider and super-slippery, which makes it basically a two-hand or rest-in-lap gadget. Additionally, the Gorilla Glass on the Fire is much, much nicer than whatever's on the View. The View's screen picks up more fingerprints, and faster, than any other touchscreen I've used, and the oil seriously clings to the screen. My microfiber screen-cleaning cloth just kind of pushes the oil around; I have to use a rougher cotton cloth to actually polish the glass clean. The Fire's screen, on the other hand, picks up about a third the fingerprints from a similar amount of use, and the oil barely sticks at all; that same microfiber cloth easily wipes it clean in just a few passes.
Also, after only two weeks of use, one of the two plastic panels on the back of the View (the lower, non-removable one) has already come just slightly loose enough that it clicks audibly every time I grab the lower end of the tablet, an annoying bit of shoddiness on an otherwise seemingly very well-made gadget. Whatever the Fire's actual build quality, its simple, one-piece back design avoids that kind of appearance of cheapness.
True but with a screen protector and case (which most people get anyway) those things aren't a problem. I didn't really notice it was hard to hold without a case, I was more worried about sitting it down. And with a case that holds the tablet upright its easy to type while sitting or in bed.
Related
Okay, I was going to hold off to pick up a Motorola Xoom within a few weeks but on a whim, I saw the Viewsonic G-Tablet for $299.99 at the local Office Depot. Okay I thought then I could live with its "defective" display and unwieldy weight/shape. For me, it actually resembled the Xoom! At least a less expensive version of it.
Indeed, for me the XDA support for ROM (and hopefully Honeycomb 3.0 port) as well as its Tegra chip were the deciding factors to pick up the GTab this morning.
I will be charging it up later after dinner with my stepdad and then installing Clockwork Mod then a ROM of my choice. I also will be relating my adventures here a poor man's (hacker's) Xoom. And I post that I can regret not getting a Sprint Galaxy Tab. So convince me
More adventures to come... any advice here now?
Yes.
Don't hold your breathe on HoneyComb. And don't post asking where it is
No Honeycreams until full AOSP released from google. 'Nuff said.
I just picked up the G-Tab at lunch today and I have Vegan running now. My first impressions of it are good. It is a little heavier than I thought it would be but I didn't buy it for the weight as much as I did to not have to burn my legs with my old Acer laptop. I see the problems with the screens that everyone complains about but I am finding that if you 1. have it laying flat it is worse and 2. have a black background it looks bad. I plan on using this at an angle and I am glad to be able to use more colors than my Vibrant (black on the phone for battery savings purposes). It is snappy and the wifi antenna is pretty strong. I was able to play my movies that I ripped for the Vibrant and they look great on the screen. I ripped them down at a high level and large screen aspect.
I was like you and debating between the different tablets out there but I think I am going to be happy with this device. The more I read the more I kept coming back to it thinking it was a better device except for the stock software which was easy to replace. I wanted the Samsung 7" tablet when they came out but after seeing this next to it there wasn't any hesitation for me. And for me personally Honeycomb isn't a big selling point. I have been running HC on an SDK emulator and I am not impressed with it enough to spend an extra $200-300.
I hope you like yours, I am happy so far.
I still don't understand this complaint about the weight that I've been seeing all over the internets. It is .22 lb more than the ipad. The ipad weighs 1.33 lb and the gtab weighs 1.55 lb.
If 1.55 lb is too heavy, return it and buy yourself an ipad. Enough said.
As for the galaxy tab it is nice and I prefer the 7" form factor but you have to buy into a contract-no thanks and the galaxy has a single core chip. It costs about $50-85 or in my case $100 more if you are paying Ca tax. The gtab has better specs and better battery life.
The Xoom is over $300 more and as much as I would like to have 3.0 I am not sure it does anything our tabs can't already do. Lets face it we all want hc and in time it will makes its way to this device. Prices are dipping down because a slew of new tabs will be coming out around June or so and I don't think any of them will cost $300!
The screen is pretty nice coming from an elocity a7, now ipad, galaxy have nicer screens and so does the xoom but I really do not see a big problem with this one. I think it looks great. Weight is not a big issue either. It is a poind and a half, we arr not talling heavy. I just wish it was easier to type with my thumbs like my elocity. The devs here have createdvseveral awesome roms that make this device fly. Other than limits of froyo being a phone os this is a great tab. I think I see why apple is so succesful because they only support two devices which means a lot more continuity in the user experience. However, I value freedom and choice so the price you pay is some apps not working. In a year or so when hc has been out and second and third gen hc devices are out the user experience will be very different than now. Thay said the gtab is pretty sweet.
Going to make this review rather short. Just got this tablet this morning at a sweet song price. I went to XDA Developers and followed the directions to get rid of the Tap N Tap interface here at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245 and added Clockwork Mod to allow for custom ROM's on this device. After a tad bit of work eliminating the default interface, then I proceeded to install the Notion Ink Adam ROM found here at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=928152 which allows for the Eden interface that runs very smoothly for the most part.
Everything is much better now. The device is a tad bit heavier but it's basically so similar to the Wi-Fi version of the Xoom that in many ways this is a developer's device.
I must recommend this device and I think that I may consider getting a second one because there is no locked bootloader to prevent us from making more ROM. Now it's a matter of waiting for Honeycomb to arrive or maybe even a Xoom port someday!
Mine arrived last Thursday but I was in Vegas for the extended weekend. Ordered it from TigerDirect for $307 shipped. Came home Monday night, kissed the wife and grabbed the gTab and started playing around with it (truth be told she opened it while I was gone and was teasing me about the fact that she was messing with it before I did).
Anyway, I really liked the stock home screen with the icons across the bottom and the weather display, etc. I have an automated home with touch screens around the house, so I was immediately thinking about how I could incorporate several of these around the house for lighting, etc... However, as much as I liked the screen, I found the performance to be not-so-hot.
I followed the instructions for CWM and TnT on Wednesday night and the gTab went from a purchase that I was moderately pleased with to contemplating how long it will be until I purchase a second one . For me, there was a noticeable change in speed.
I have a HTC Evo and was a bit nervous about rooting the phone, but I think I will need to now in order to take advantage of the mobile hotspot.
I think the battery life it ok. I'm currently playing a video on it to see how it eats the battery. I want to be able to use the tablet on flights, and need to know how many movies I can play on it on a single charge. Once I beat it up a little more I will have a better understanding of how much time I will get out of a charge.
I don't own an iPad (I'm just not into the whole Apple thing), but I have to say that I would have no problem showing this off to any of my friends that have iPads. For me, not having to spend $600 plus a data plan was a plus for me. The unit will primarily be used in my house, and when I am out I will be tethering it to my phone so I don't see the need for a unit with a data plan.
I was looking at the Samsung Galaxy, but I felt that the 7" screen was just not enough real estate for me.
Now I need to buy a case and a screen protector for this think before it gets scratched up.
In the end, I am very pleased with my purchase.
GB
Wow, tonight was an experience as I was hanging around the Apple Store (Gateway) and found out that people thought that I was dragging around the Motorola Xoom. That must be a really good mix up. The confusion suggests that people do confuse the Xoom with the GTab.
I will have some comparison pictures later on in this thread.
My G Tablet Experience
I'm new to the tablet thing. I don't own a smartphone so this is the first time I bought a non Windows PC device. $280 on woot seemed a lot better than dropping $600+ bucks on an iPad to see if a tablet would work out well for me.
The first thing that immediately struck me was fingerprints. I know it was going to be inevitable, but I just can't believe how dirty the screen gets after a normal browsing section. Because it's new, I'm always wiping the screen with a microfiber towel to keep it looking clean. I know that there's that Rain-X solution but I'm ordering a screen protector to reduce smudges.
The other thing I found is how awkward it is to hold. Because of the decreased view angles I need to hold it up at a very precise angle. It's too large to hold in one hand and my one hand starts to cramp after a while from holding it up. Using it in portrait mode is a little better since I can grasp it with two hands and just use my thumbs to scroll and navigate. But there are some things I just can't do very well in portrait mode. I just ordered a new case with the integrated kick stand and keyboard which should help propping it up. I'm looking forward to using it as a very capable little netbook.
Other than that, this is a cool little device. I installed Vegan and it seems to do everything I want. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a normal mpg movie to play on it. I must not be using the correct encoding since I select the file in the explorer and the screen just goes black. I do not see any errors, just a black screen. So I need to play around with it some more because I really would like to watch movies on my commute.
This thing definitely holds its own against other tablets twice the price. I'm glad I took the gamble to try it out.
I have a very similar experience.
I am able to play movies encoded in mp4 format. I believe the video comes with the tablet is in mp4 as well.
Tried a couple of avi file that had sound comes through but has gobbled video.
Have not try any quick time mov files yet.
I think fingerprint is unavoidable with touch tablets. My impression of Ipad is the same, gets smodged quick and the screen is also too reflective. Probably just to a lesser degree than the GTablet. Please post back on your screen protector experience.
Video Playback Working
villaXdaDev said:
I'm still trying to figure out how to get a normal mpg movie to play on it. I must not be using the correct encoding since I select the file in the explorer and the screen just goes black. I do not see any errors, just a black screen. So I need to play around with it some more because I really would like to watch movies on my commute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bingo. I encoded the movie using the "iPad" setting in Handbrake and that created a playable file. I just opened up the file explorer and played the .m4v file right off the thumb drive. I'm loving this mighty tablet a little more every day.
I just bought a second Viewsonic G-Tablet from Office Depot this morning and I am happy as a clam in fact. I took a photo of mine as compared to the svelte iPad 2 at the Gateway Apple Store for benchmark comparison.
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I didn't plan to buy this tablet. I have always said that the iPad is the tablet to have and if your paying $500 then its a no brainer. I played with the flyer for about 20 minutes and realized that it is the most complete tablet to date. If you are into specs then there are better spec'd devices that are not ready for the market.
Pros:
1. Build quality
2. UI is outstanding and sense apps are perfectly optimized for this tablet.
3. Stylus should be an option with useable features for all tablets.
4. Email app is the best.
5. Battery life is just as good as any tablet minus am hour to the iPad.
6. Good size for typing
7. Movies from HTC's service look outstanding
Cons:
1. 7 inch not for everyone
2. No dual core processor
3. No honeycomb yet
4. 5mp camera takes fuzzy pics but seems like its software related
6. When typing in landscape mode I hit the capacitive buttons
It is an outstanding peice of tech and the 1.5 ghz processor seems just as good as a 1 ghz dual core.
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You can take action screenshots by tapping the screen with the stylus.
I did this entire review on my flyer to include uploading the pics onto Photobucket in the same manner you do on a pc/mac.
Thanks for the write up. it was very informative.
I'm having the same issue as you did. It just seems hard to spend $580+tax for a 7" tablet, when you can get a ipad 2 for $500.
I do like Android better, but bang for buck...tough choice.
stepchild said:
Thanks for the write up. it was very informative.
I'm having the same issue as you did. It just seems hard to spend $580+tax for a 7" tablet, when you can get a ipad 2 for $500.
I do like Android better, but bang for buck...tough choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a tough choice, but I would choose the flyer. Ipad is perfect with great apps, but memory is not upgradeable and I use it for watching movies in bed or chilling on the couch and I don't need the big screen. I think this is an alternative to the ipad that actually makes sense. Honeycomb will be a better choice when its ready.
I've been reading all these reviews and was on edge on purchasing it. Went into Best Buy today and tried to demo to settle my qualms about the device, and I was abit disappointed... The only thing I was really looking for was the lag on the homescreen UI and I was hoping it would be snappy but even switching between homescreens would present consistent little hiccups =/. The pen usage was actually pretty decent though! It's not like writing on paper of course, nothing close to that in fact but respectable. All in all I think I passed on the flyer because little hiccups in the interface is a dealbreaker for me ;(.
OmniNut said:
The only thing I was really looking for was the lag on the homescreen UI and I was hoping it would be snappy but even switching between homescreens would present consistent little hiccups =/.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's toobad about your evaluation. I ended up loading ADW because I liked being able to increase columns / rows on the homescreen. At 8x8 you can fit a lot of shortcuts and widgets on a single page. Looking forward to rooting the device and custom roms... But we'll have to see if those appear. A CM build would be awesome.
Go back and try again... It is a nice device with the pen integration. I don't think I could ever recreate the pen experience with a capacitive stylus on the my iPad...
Try it after a fresh reboot.
I have minimal to no lag switching panels, and all are full with Sense widgets or app shortcuts.
stepchild said:
It just seems hard to spend $580+tax for a 7" tablet, when you can get a ipad 2 for $500.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The prices in Europe are even worse... The 32GB Wi-Fi + 3G is 650 euros (~$900), the 16GB Wi-Fi only is only available for pre-order and it's 500 euro (~$650)
lazarus99 said:
The prices in Europe are even worse... The 32GB Wi-Fi + 3G is 650 euros (~$900), the 16GB Wi-Fi only is only available for pre-order and it's 500 euro (~$650)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. So the folks in the US may be getting the better deal even with the pen sold separately. We can only get the 16 gb wifi version...
I like that the pen is excluded. it gives people the option to spend the money or not.
I would rather have the pen bundled. Otherwise its just another tablet... An overpriced one at that.
kcchen said:
I would rather have the pen bundled. Otherwise its just another tablet... An overpriced one at that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you figure? What Tablet is less than $499. The Galaxy tab was more expensive, The playbook same price non upgradeable memory, Ipad same not up upgradeable, xoom wifi $99 more expensive and crap, LG slate expensive.
Its made of aluminum, best display, functions with a stylus, etc. If you want a cheap tablet get one this is as high end and functional as it gets.
falconeight said:
How do you figure? What Tablet is less than $499. The Galaxy tab was more expensive, The playbook same price non upgradeable memory, Ipad same not up upgradeable, xoom wifi $99 more expensive and crap, LG slate expensive.
Its made of aluminum, best display, functions with a stylus, etc. If you want a cheap tablet get one this is as high end and functional as it gets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a lot of options if you just want a Android tablet. The Galaxy Tab, Asus Transformer, Dell Streak and even Huawei Ideos are equal or less than the Flyer without the pen. A lot coming soon also like the Acers.
If I hadn't seen the pen integration accuracy, I would have never considered this device. The tablet in my opinion is perfect tool to go digital in the workplace. Using a stylus with my iPad is inaccurate, clumsy and the keyboard slow. The pen integration takes this device to another level and possibly into the boardroom, which is why I own one today... And love the form-factor, build quality and most of all the pen experience.
The future of this device is yet to be seen. Will other apps support the pen? Or are we dependent upon HTC development? In the next few weeks, I'll be evaluating my satisfaction with the current pen implementation because this may be as good as it gets for this device.
Not hating... Just being realistic.
kcchen said:
There are a lot of options if you just want a Android tablet. The Galaxy Tab, Asus Transformer, Dell Streak and even Huawei Ideos are equal or less than the Flyer without the pen. A lot coming soon also like the Acers.
If I hadn't seen the pen integration accuracy, I would have never considered this device. The tablet in my opinion is perfect tool to go digital in the workplace. Using a stylus with my iPad is inaccurate, clumsy and the keyboard slow. The pen integration takes this device to another level and possibly into the boardroom, which is why I own one today... And love the form-factor, build quality and most of all the pen experience.
The future of this device is yet to be seen. Will other apps support the pen? Or are we dependent upon HTC development? In the next few weeks, I'll be evaluating my satisfaction with the current pen implementation because this may be as good as it gets for this device.
Not hating... Just being realistic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I owned a streak 7 and would never put it in the same category. Just because the battery only lasts 3 hours.
stepchild said:
Thanks for the write up. it was very informative.
I'm having the same issue as you did. It just seems hard to spend $580+tax for a 7" tablet, when you can get a ipad 2 for $500.
I do like Android better, but bang for buck...tough choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Singapore the HTC Flyer price is very reasonable. You can get one for S$ 899 including the pen and a leather case for the 32GB + 3G version. Compare to the same version of Ipad 2 which will cost S$989.
To me the difference is that the flyer is extremely portable, the os is for a phone but then again so is ios. It is stable has a great ui and is worth $499.00
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
My Prime has only one flaw: the GPS. Other than that, I have no light bleeding, no dead pixels, the wi-fi works well, etc.
You may want to read the following article to get some perspective:
edit: Apparently I am too new on this forum to provide you a link. Do a Google search for "cnet putting the transformer prime in perspective" and you'll get the link to the article.
In the end, I would suggest that if you really want the Prime, go ahead and buy one from a vendor with a good return policy. If you end up not liking it, simply return it.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately it is plagued with issues. What proves this is the many people that have had multiple tablets all with the same problems. I've had three alone myself, all displaying BT/Wifi issues.
I dont use GPS at all- Ha- one reply telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, one exactly what Im dreading. I really dont know what to think.
I love mine. (Yes I have an iPad 2 to compare it to). Only issue is GPS. It works but not consistently. Other than that its perfect. Wifi is the same if not better than my Droid x. And can't ask for a nicer screen, especially for outside
Sent from my Droid X using xda premium
I suppose my biggest worry is screen issues- whats the chance I can get a perfect screen? I mean- does anyone have a flawless screen?
OmniLemur said:
I suppose my biggest worry is screen issues- whats the chance I can get a perfect screen? I mean- does anyone have a flawless screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm an N of 1 but my Amazon.com Prime was riddled with issues. Most notably several groupings of bright white pixels on the panel that were unforgivable defects. I returned it for a full refund and grabbed a cheap used TF101 w/dock (locally) that I love. There's nothing it can't do compared to the Prime. I am 100% happy using it for a while as I sit on the sidelines to see what shakes our over the next 6-12 months. Its pretty awesome.
I reccommend doing the same. If you are intoxicated by the Prime you'd better make sure you can return it for a full refund just in case.
Best.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
Accidental post that I deleted
OmniLemur said:
I dont use GPS at all- Ha- one reply telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, one exactly what Im dreading. I really dont know what to think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I returned mine today, both TFP and the dock.
I am into technical adventures, especially when it goes against mainstream.
I own a Zune HD - it is a great device, and there is probably nothing better if one is after an MP3 and Video player.
But this is not why I got it - it was supposed to be an all-in-one device, similar to iPod Touch,
but it never became that - after 2 years of disappointing support and mediocre updates Microsoft just killed it.
Let's call it an unfulfilled promise
I also own a G Tablet - and it is a great device too, viewing angles aside,
but what makes it great is (1) being a very solid in terms of hardware and (2) unbelievable support from XDA and other forums,
from the online community.
The manufacturer - well, it is not really manufactured by Viewsonic, it is pretty much Malata ZPad with a Viewsonic logo on it
- so the "manufacturer" turned its back on it within a year or so after the "release".
Let's call it another unfulfilled promise
I am happy with what I learned about Android while NVFlashing this thing back and forth,
but I would be just as happy having a fully functional and supported device and a whole set of accessories and updates
- even a dock for it I had to order from China.
I purchased TFP because I told myself - no more experiments; I want something from a well-respected company
- for as long as it is not Apple, because that would be too mainstream
- something well designed and well executed, and functional, working fine right out of the box, and TFP seemed to be it.
I have heard about the GPS issue, but I thought that either it was a minor software bug that would be taken care of soon, or those unfortunates got faulty chips, and I would be luckier.
Well, I was wrong - while beautiful and with a lot of great functionality, the device has a number of hardware and/or software issues,
namely GPS, WiFi versus BT, playing 1080P - I named those my tablet had, but others complained about battery life, sleep of death, reboots and lockups.
What is upsetting is not even a number of issues but perceived weakness of ASUS to identify, admit, and PROPERLY FIX them.
For example, I never had WiFi versus BT thing on OTA .13, but I started having it as soon as I upgraded to OTA .14.
The same upgrade killed GPS completely and worsen 1080P video playback.
This tells me something is wrong not just with hardware and software, but also with ASUS development/QA/release management processes.
And the fact that the development community cannot really develop ROMS for the device because of the locked bootloader is not making things easier.
Yes, ASUS promised an unlock tool, but when will we see it?
And even then - so we will rely on the online community not just for getting brilliant ROMs to play around in leisure, but even for basic necessities the manufacturer is supposed to take care of?
I do believe that at the end ASUS will fix all the bugs and the signal strength aside will make it into a bulletproof device.
I just do not want to be a beta tester once again, I do not want to add another unfulfilled promise to my collection.
So as soon as I see that TFP is stable - I will buy it again... or that newer 1080P version with fixed GPS ASUS recently announced.
Hope this will help,
Okay- so- its looking like the TP isn't going to be my tablet of choice- I suppose I'll continue fruity choices!
Thanks for your help, I guess *dissapoint*
I have a prime right now...and it's not usable......I would say "wait"
OmniLemur said:
Okay- so- its looking like the TP isn't going to be my tablet of choice- I suppose I'll continue fruity choices!
Thanks for your help, I guess *dissapoint*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember, selection bias. People who have problems with their prime are 1) more likely to be on XDA searching for solutions and 2) more vocal in their opinion.
From that CNET article, about .5% of primes have been returned for some reason.
I haven't gotten mine yet, but I have heard from lots of people who have a Prime and love it.
+1 on love my prime, no issues getting great wifi and my gps locks fine.
Love my Prime. Rooted and laid out with the Hubs Nav. Works great. Wifi is sometimes spotty but other than that it's quite excellent. Got the dock too, never looked back.
I leave my laptop at home now.
Dunno, maybe I just got lucky but I don't really see the issues that others do. Screen is flawless. There is a -slight- light bleed on the right side upper corner but not so noticeable that it's offensive or anything.
Overall I love my Prime, it's a great piece of engineering.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-----------------------------------
Buy Ipad 2 if you want a good working tablet, buy ATP if you want the best working tablet.
had my prime for 3 weeks now.
never had any wifi or gps or screen issues.
rooted fine, battery life with the .13 firmware was a little iffy but .14 is
much much better.
a very happy ATP owner.
(I had won an ipad and still gave it away to pay for prime tablet. best thing I ever did tablet wise.)
I agree with thenuge.
I've had a Prime for over a month now and I'm absolutely in love with it. I don't think I can go back. I should probably give a little background -- I've owned an iPhone since first gen through to the 4S. Owned a 4S for about a month but, after being sickeningly disappointed in how slow iOS is evolving, I took the plunge over to Android and bought the Galaxy Nexus (custom ROM / kernel, etc)... I had been waiting for ICS before making the switch (for both tablet & phone).
The prime replaced my iPad 2 within a few hours (the LiveWallpapers, I'm a sucker for them... especially the Phase Beam one!) and the Galaxy Nexus had my iPhone up on eBay within about a week.
When I first got the Prime, I upgraded to ICS right away. I then waited a week thinking I could do without rooting, but, like an addict, that commitment didn't last. Rooted, threw on Sixaxis, bought a mini-HDMI cable, and now I play a lot of games on the TV... and, sadly, at work.
There have been many days where I've been sent to different sites for 8-11 hours and, with the dock, I'll come home after literally the entire day with the screen on doing something, with 0% dock and ~30% prime battery levels. This thing is an absolute beast.
My prime just has a lack of GPS, which doesn't bother me... That's what my Nexus is for. I never purchased a tablet wanting GPS, so... I guess it's just a waste of a chip in there.
At any rate, that's my positive story for the device.
When I'm at home, my MBP often sits unused as the Prime does a lot just as well... especially browsing or laying around watching TV episodes.
Obviously, it doesn't have Skyrim, Saints Row, etc. on it, but as that sofa computer where you can sit with your gf and read the news (News360 is epic, btw... so is Pulse), it can't be beat.
Also, I agree -- I'm a little bit weirded out about a tablet with a higher resolution than my computer's monitors (1080p) -- yet with far less hardware to move those pixels. I think I'll believe it when I see it running smoothly in a game like Infinity Blade, until then, I have this sneaky feeling something's going to need to drop (like hq shadows or hq reflections and the like) in order to maintain 24-30fps in high quality games. I wonder if an iPad2 will still look better than the iPad3, in some cases (obviously not stills)? Nothing worse than lag.
EDIT:
I just wanted to add one thing: The aspect ratio. Coming from an iPad2 to the TP, I was really kind of... eh, about using it in widescreen or with such a slim portrait. However, in the last month (my gf still has an iPad2), I've found myself actually very much enjoying the 16:10 ratio. Even in portrait, I find it easier to use.
OmniLemur said:
Okay- I've been pretty into android for awhile- have a nexus one and LOVE it- but have an iPad 2 and like it quite a bit. I prefer android to iOS5, and have a sudden windfall of about 800 bucks, and am looking at updating to a new tablet.
I was pretty dead set on the Transformer Prime- from its reviews it looked breathtaking- but then I decided to check XDA- and- wow. Problems everywhere, wifi dead, dead pixels... wow.
So- now I'm unsure. I know the HD will fix a lot of the problems- but there is always the possibility it'll be laggy with the higher resolution- plus I cant STAND dead pixels. And, as I use my tablet full-time- that would not be ok.
Is this all overblown? Should I get the HD when it comes out? Honestly, really not trying to troll, but the fruity tablet has no problems, and this one appears to have a whole bucket of them.
Can a user who wants a tablet to use full time, with no dead pixels, use the prime or the prime HD?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works fine, even GPS isn't an issue. No random reboots. no manufacturer flaws. C10K serial # if that helps.
Take a look at this n you'll easily see most don't suffer from issues or more than satisfied with device:
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Also look at this thread. All various testimonials of happy Positive prime owners. People with issues can't muster up these kinds of numbers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1409910
Answer easily clear what's the best out right now.
I love my prime. I'd recommend it to anyone. But you should ask yourself what you want to use it for. The prime really shines in gaming (full gamepad support) also with fully working Emulators. It's also totally awesome for watching videos, with the perfect screen size and format (16:10). You can also watch high quality flash streams...
And then there's the dock, which takes it to a whole other lvl. I use it as a full laptop replacement, even able to use it for presentations with the HDMI-VGA adapter.
But if you just want to use some dedicated tablet apps and some browsing i guess the ipad will suffice.
About the issues? I have none. GPS is not the strongest but i always got a fix when i tested it. WIFI/BT are fully working and i got max speeds on my network. Screen is perfect as well. No bleeding or anything.
+ Asus is very fast with updates! + Bootloader is gonna be unlocked. I dont see any tablet being better than the Prime.
http://www.slashgear.com/microsoft-patent-takes-the-transformer-prime-one-step-further-08217529/
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Lets hope so. I really like the prime "formfactor" and would like tablets/laptop/ultrabooks to keep using a separate dock so competition gives more chance for that to happen.
Yes!!!! Please!!!
Umm if all it takes to be a copycat is to have a tablet with removeable keyboard then the prime and original transformer are the copycats not microsoft tablets. There were microsoft tablets that had that functionality years ago; albeit they kind of sucked, but they were out there.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-laptop-by-day-unhinged-tablet-by-nigh/
erikk said:
Umm if all it takes to be a copycat is to have a tablet with removeable keyboard then the prime and original transformer are the copycats not microsoft tablets. There were microsoft tablets that had that functionality years ago; albeit they kind of sucked, but they were out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, indeed, and actually I disagree that Windows Tablet PCs sucked (or suck). They were (and remain) EXCELLENT for anyone who needs to gather information in the field, take copious notes (e.g., students, salespeople, etc.), and who can benefit from having full Windows apps (e.g., Office 2010) in a highly mobile form factor with alternative means to enter information.
In fact, I think Apple's biggest (and worst) feat was to convince people that active digitizers and pens are a bad thing--they're not, and no capacitive touchscreen can provide anything near the accuracy and precision. Microsoft should be sent to the lowest rung of business hell for how poorly they marketed the Tablet PC platform. I used Tablet PCs for six years as a sales engineer for Ricoh, and you'd have had to pry the things out of my cold, dead hands before I would have given them up.
Modern tablets are good for consumption and very light productivity. But if I were still in a sales position where I took lots of notes, I'd be using a Tablet PC today. And even though I'm not, I'd still kill for a Transformer running Windows 8 with full Office and an active digitizer/pen. That would be heaven.
/rant
I'm just wondering whether or not in the future, ASUS will give us the option of Android or Windows 8.
I'd consider a Windows 8 device like this easily, as long as it's good enough, but without something like getting cygwin (groan) up and running and sticking an Xeon in the back pocket to run that fast enough, I can't really fathom it being as good for my needs as Android -- where I can use the best of Linux and Android to fulfill my needs.
For many power users, a Windows 8+ transformer would probably be the best thing.
I'm still wondering when a future iteration of laptops will make a touch screen manatory and the touchpad like PS/2 ports used to be...hehe.
You can bet that Windows 8, as much as the metro interface blows, will be a seed of change for the future of tablet computing. The main reason is the application support it will gain. Combine that with tablets that have true digitizers and you're looking at the future.
erikk said:
Umm if all it takes to be a copycat is to have a tablet with removeable keyboard then the prime and original transformer are the copycats not microsoft tablets. There were microsoft tablets that had that functionality years ago; albeit they kind of sucked, but they were out there.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-laptop-by-day-unhinged-tablet-by-nigh/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Picture is an HP tablet .. not microsoft, it was just running a version of XP with touchscreen functions
AFAIK microsoft never made a tablet themselfs.
I know what you mean though, asus aint the first to come up with a tablet design with keyboard dock...
MS never had a decent operating system for touch screen devices untill perhaps windows 8 ??
Who knows.
Those HP tablets didn't have true touch screen capabilities only the use of a Pen (Stylus) what had a battery inside it what would die after a month or two.
They were quite good I used to use one in school as I was slow at writing and keeping up. Every teacher had one and they were quite reliable. They were pretty much just a laptop with a navigation pen (no where near as good as any modern day touchphone or tablet
There's a fallacy here the Apple created and everyone now seems to follow: that a capacitive touch screen is necessarily better for all mobile devices. Sure, it doesn't require a stylus, but it's also very inaccurate and imprecise. Modern mobile OSs are simply designed around their limitations (e.g., large buttons).
Recent Windows Tablet PCs that use active digitizers and pens (most of which do NOT require batteries) offer excellent precision and accuracy, pressure sensitivity, etc. My four-year-old Dell Latitude XT also has a capacitive layer for touch (support 2-finger multitouch), for what it's worth. And, Windows 7 is excellent with such a stylus, offering a responsive screen, tablet-specific shortcuts (e.g., multi-selecting files in Windows Explorer), etc.
I'd say that a Windows 7 Tablet PC with a modern digitizer could easily make for a great experience with just a few improvements, and is a very good experience today. No, it's not optimized for touch, but then again there's far more precision and control with the current stylus-based metaphor. The problem is, Steve Jobs convinced everyone that needing a stylus is a bad thing, and so now we have over-simplified touch-based interfaces that, while seeming more elegant (I mean, we just TOUCH our screens with our FINGERS and they respond!) are actually quite limited functionally.
Now, I see the advantage of touch screens on smartphones. They're too small to make even a good active digitizer and pen functional. And I think those make good use of touch-optimized user interfaces. But tablets are a different story. As I said earlier, Microsoft should be shot for neglecting this form factor for so long--they had a freaking goldmine on their hands, and blew it.
>The problem is, Steve Jobs convinced everyone that needing a stylus is a bad thing
Quit the inane blame game. MS' Tablet PC & convertibles were around long before the iPad. They failed because of MS' mistakes, not because Jobs "dupes" users. I note you didn't mention how much that Latitude XT cost, or its battery life, or how heavy it was. Or, more to point, how useful it was to the normal user who just want to browse the web, do light wordprocessing, and watch movies (no social back in those days).
Here's a refresher (for the system reviewed below): $3640, 3.12 lbs, 3-4 hrs use.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4323
Resistive touch tech has its strong points. Its weak point is that you need a pointed stick, and fingers (which aren't pointed) are more convenient to use. As you yourself pointed out, having capacitive touch doesn't exclude more precise input methods, eg HTC Flyer and Thinkpad Tablet. That those differentiations didn't take was because there is no mainstream demand for precise input on mobile devices. All mobile OS UIs, including Win8's Metro, are designed for fingers.
BTW, for those who can't be bothered to read the article, the patent is applied not for the detachable screen, but for the dedicated SoC in the dock. So, you'd get high performance in dock mode, and battery-conserving mode when undocked.
It's not a very practical idea, since you'd incur the cost of the additional SoC and supporting components--effectively doubling the component cost. It'd be good for a premium device w/o worry for price competition. But that's not today's market. Win8 will have its work cut out to compete against the iPad price-wise.
e.mote said:
>The problem is, Steve Jobs convinced everyone that needing a stylus is a bad thing
Quit the inane blame game. MS' Tablet PC & convertibles were around long before the iPad. They failed because of MS' mistakes, not because Jobs "dupes" users. I note you didn't mention how much that Latitude XT cost, or its battery life, or how heavy it was. Or, more to point, how useful it was to the normal user who just want to browse the web, do light wordprocessing, and watch movies (no social back in those days).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe I did blame Microsoft, quite strongly. And yes, back then component costs were higher, including ultra-low voltage Intel X86 processors and small form-factor notebooks in general. Also, you picked a very expensive example (I paid quite a bit less for my Latitude XT). Today, Tablet PCs can be had for under $1000.
Also, note that the HTC and Lenovo tablets with pens don't use standard capacitive screens for the pen input. They use active digitizers from N-trig, which are far more precise than the typical capacitive stylus.
My point about Jobs's role in the whole thing is how he argued against the stylus in a very disingenuous attack on Tablet PCs of the time, and just as important how nobody called him on it. But that's a different debate.
I'd be happy to have a device with the productivity of Windows 7 tablets and active digitizer/pens (full Office apps, an excellent notetaking app like OneNote, etc.), with the same battery life advantages and, yes, simpler user interface of iOS and ICS tablets for casual use. Perhaps Win 8 will offer that combination. I wonder, though, because I don't believe there's a low-power processor out yet that can handle the kind of background handwriting recognition that Window 7 Tablet PCs can handle.
And note that Tablet PCs were just fine for the things you things you mention--Web browsing, light word processing, watching movies--as today's tablets. They weren't as light, and they didn't offer the battery life. But that's because the technology wasn't there yet. And in fact, in terms of running X86 apps (i.e., more than today's exceedingly simple mobile apps), we're only this year getting the Intel chipsets to make it possible. I'm still unclear on whether the ARM version of Win 8 will run X86 apps, but I'm pretty sure it won't.
My point was that Tablet PCs were incredibly productive devices, far more so than any modern tablet made today. And I stick by that assertion 100%.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Calling asus copycats is ridiculous. There were keyboards for tablets before - yes. But none anywhere near as intuitive & featured as the tf101. Look at the motion le1700 for a perfect example of keyboard tablet fails. Ipad has tried. HP has tried. No one has come close to making a tablet with a keyboard as well as asus.
it really is lame when people lose credit for properly implementing good ideas.
windows 8 looks more and more disappointing.
ickkii said:
Calling asus copycats is ridiculous. There were keyboards for tablets before - yes. But none anywhere near as intuitive & featured as the tf101. Look at the motion le1700 for a perfect example of keyboard tablet fails. Ipad has tried. HP has tried. No one has come close to making a tablet with a keyboard as well as asus.
it really is lame when people lose credit for properly implementing good ideas.
windows 8 looks more and more disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you about the Transformer, it's a great implementation. Saying Windows 8 looks disappointing seems like a non sequitor here, though.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
wynand32 said:
I agree with you about the Transformer, it's a great implementation. Saying Windows 8 looks disappointing seems like a non sequitor here, though.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Microsoft is missing the entire point of the tablet. No one wants half a device, especially when the preformance cut is coming from the half of device you use. The power needs to be in the tablet itself, not the dock. All the tablet optimized gaming will be terrible if you need the keyboard attached to unlock the true potential.
The article makes it seem like the transformer is at a loss because it doesn't give you more preformance when you dock. The point of the dock isn't preformance, it's battery life and word processing with more expansion slots! You don't need more power forword processing or pulling files off a usb drive lol.
ickkii said:
Microsoft is missing the entire point of the tablet. No one wants half a device, especially when the preformance cut is coming from the half of device you use. The power needs to be in the tablet itself, not the dock. All the tablet optimized gaming will be terrible if you need the keyboard attached to unlock the true potential.
The article makes it seem like the transformer is at a loss because it doesn't give you more preformance when you dock. The point of the dock isn't preformance, it's battery life and word processing with more expansion slots! You don't need more power forword processing or pulling files off a usb drive lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. Well, this is just one patent that Microsoft may or may not be planning to make (far more patents are written than are actually made into real products). It really has nothing to do with Windows 8, which I guarantee will be on all kinds of different form factors before it's all done.
ickkii said:
Calling asus copycats is ridiculous. There were keyboards for tablets before - yes. But none anywhere near as intuitive & featured as the tf101. Look at the motion le1700 for a perfect example of keyboard tablet fails. Ipad has tried. HP has tried. No one has come close to making a tablet with a keyboard as well as asus.
it really is lame when people lose credit for properly implementing good ideas.
windows 8 looks more and more disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And calling a microsoft tablet that has a keyboard dock a transformer prime copycat might even be more ridiculous. If you'd actually read the remark "calling asus [a] copycat" correctly you'd see I hadn't actually called Asus copycats:
erikk said:
Umm if all it takes to be a copycat is to have a tablet with removeable keyboard then the prime and original transformer are the copycats not microsoft tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe Asus was a copycat, but if you're ONLY taking into account the tablet with detachable keyboard form factor, then yes they copied an idea someone else had come up with before them.
I think Asus definitely has done a great job implementing this good idea, and they deserve a ton of credit for that. But don't give them credit for coming up with the original idea and taking that credit away from the people that did.
And as pointed out, the new idea for this Microsoft tablet patent is to have 2 separate SoCs (we'll see if it's a good one or not once it's out, my guess is not). Which the prime doesn't do.
Windows 8 could be the greatest thing to come to tablets, mobile computing and the "post-PC world", the ultimate merging of a unified OS across all your computers, the death knell to Apple or the opposite, the last desperate failure of Microsoft in the mobile world and dawn of Apple domination across all devices; or more likely just another decent option in the computing world where we get to choose which one suits our own personal style the most.
erikk said:
I think Asus definitely has done a great job implementing this good idea, and they deserve a ton of credit for that. But don't give them credit for coming up with the original idea and taking that credit away from the people that did.
And as pointed out, the new idea for this Microsoft tablet patent is to have 2 separate SoCs (we'll see if it's a good one or not once it's out, my guess is not). Which the prime doesn't do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Far more is made about this whole being first thing. Apple wasn't the first with the smartphone (although they did some things to make it better, while in my opinion obliterating some of what was good about previous versions), ASUS isn't the first to make a keyboard dock/tablet combo (and I don't think HP was first with theirs, either), etc. Innovation doesn't mean just coming up with something uniquely original--sometimes it means taking a good idea and making it better (or just different).
Even THIS idea isn't new. Lenovo had a notebook/tablet hybrid they intro'd at CES in 2012, the IdeaPad U1. It was a full-fledged Windows notebook in the base, and the "screen" was a detachable tablet with an ARM SoC. They never made it as an actual commercial product, I don't think.
I actually doubt that this Microsoft patent will ever see a shipping product. As I mentioned, far more ideas are patented than are actually made into real products. It's possible, but somehow I doubt it.
As you can see from my signature, buying tablet is almost my hobby now... Though I generally liked transformer Infinity, it still was not quite perfect system for me. After seeing Nexus 10, Windows 8 tablets, I have decided to place myself one more time back into the market. I generally follow these extensively. So for those who are thinking about Nexus 10, I just like to give some information I have found so far about couple potential alternatives (at least I came across).
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Windows Surface Pro
Briefly about this. If the specification is as currently listed on the web, I am not so sure about if its worth the wait. Sure I like full HD screen but price will still likely be high. But there are rumors that Microsoft may be holding its release until early next year to secretly incorporate next iteration of Intel chip (Haswell), which will give extended battery life, even better GPU performance than 4000.
Series 7 Slate (2011 model)
So why I included Samsung Slate 7 here rather than Ativ Smart Pro. One major reason is that slate 7 was released almost a year ago, but if you look at its specification aside from not having high resolution screen, and an older generation Intel SandyBridge chip, it is fairly similar to other Windows 8 tablet currently/soon to be released on the market. In fact, despite older i5 I believe it is still faster than the newest Atom processor that most lower end Windows 8 tablet uses. So if you can give up the high resolution, (which is probably hard thing to do) this suddenly becomes attractive option on spec wise.
Then you ask, but the price is 2x that of Nexus 10 32GB. It is correct (sort of) and I don't think its worth that much now; however, since Samsung is releasing newer model of series 7 i.e. Ativ Smart Pro, I am guessing Slate 7 will see a significant drop in price, and perhaps we may see on black Friday sale. In fact, refurbished one already sells at $850 at tigerdirect: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...kwCjCV1-CjCE&gclid=COn6mo-Iy7MCFe5FMgodNwEAvQ
The other may ask but its originally came with Windows 7, so does it really work well with Windows 8? The answer is that actually very similar model was used for Windows 8 development i.e. supposedly this was used as Windows 8 build unit. So my guess is it should and several reviews confirmed such. http://www.samsung.com/global/windo...Series_7_Slate_Windows_8_Consumer_Preview.pdf
Now if you can find a deal, I think Slate 7 with Windows 8 installed have several benefits.
1. Wacom Digitizer support - Those coming from Galaxy Note 10.1, we know captive screen with touch mimicking stylus won't just do the job.
2. Windows Legacy application support - No need to wait until office released next summer for Android. You can download preview version of office 2013 for free. And of course more real windows application. Someone even reported it worked with Skyrim, though I wouldn't bet on that.
3. Keyboard Dock - Unfortunately unlike Ativ Smart series, there is no clamshell dock (as in transformer series) but it has docking station, and just as in Nexus 10, there will be bluetooth keyboard support. So you can easily set up home/office desktop setting.
4. MicroSD - Yes
Downside still exists
1. Weight - Relatively heavy.
2. Battery life - Reported max is 7 hours by samsung, which means probably 5-6 hours.
3. Again no high resolution.
Exynos 5 vs. Sandy Bridge
Though Sunspider is by no means standard or great way to assess the actual power, but according to couple sites Nexus 10 has Sunspider score of 900's; whereas, Series 7 Slate had 500's. http://sortable.com/tablets/Samsung-Series-7-11.6-Slate-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-10.1
*Though Chrome book using the same Exynos chip also had down to 500 or 600's, so may simply be the current implementation of Android OS, or Samsung's optimization.
Now writing all this, I myself is still debating whether to grab Nexus 10. If it had microSD, docking keyboard, and Inductive stylus support would have been golden... but for now particularly lack of expandable memory holds me back (just as many of you are concerned).
So just throwing another potential here for those of you still on the fence as I am sure many of you haven't thought about Slate 7 (an year old system) as potential.
If I had a choice I'd rather leave the Windows bloat and high maintenance behind that's why I bought Note 10.1 and reach for it before my Windows ultraportable laptop desktop. Also, glad to leave the bloated Office and, instead, use Google Docs which is perfectly adequate along with having group collaboration feature. Looking forward to buying the Nexus 10.
Much like OP, I am considering what will be my next tablet.
To start off, no iAnything for me, thank you.
I've used, for years, a Toshiba M200 - mostly Windows Journal and some Note. Simply the best note taking experience, due to the Wacom pen. Bar none. All of the Windows apps - office etc.
On Android front - bought the N1 minutes into the press conference. Loved it. Upgraded to Samsung SII- love this one too. Plenty of phone and media device for me.
Also have TF101s with a dock.
In as much as one'd hope for ultimate tablet to be available in 2012, it simply doesnt exist !
An ideal tablet, IMO, would be something like TF700 - dock, microSD, performance, nice 1080p res, combined with Wacom and x-platform note taking (MS releasing fully functioning Note for Android). We already have decent Office suite for Android.
So in last 2 years: 1 N1, 2 SIIs (me & wifes), 2 TF101 (ditto) + dock. Just under 2K in U$. Countless custom ROMs across.
Here's where stuff falls short, IMO:
- TF700 - horrendous internal flash performance == DOA for me. No Wacom. Asus should fire the sorry @ss responsible for that repeated flash fiasco.
- Surface RT - no apps to speak of, numerous reports of crashing apps. This one, however, holds great promise when Android port becomes available. Months and months away.
- Surface Pro - and/or Slate 500/700: too late to the game. I feel that an Android tablet fits 96% of my needs. No apps I am so used to on Android: Mantano Reader for epub/pdf, gmail, gmaps, Touchdown exchange client, youtube etc etc. Disaster of Windows 8 UI experince
(notification bar, where art thou ?) When I need full power of Windows 7, I have a acres of real estate with 3 monitor setup on 4.8GHz desktop with LGA2011 and 32GB of RAM.
- N10: full of compromises. Commitment unknown. It seems that all N devices are results of google putting a blow torch to a vendor, resulting in said vendor abandoning the said device the day after it launches. No dock, no microSD (Rubin should stop insulting us with his reasoning for why google dislikes the micrSD), no Wacom, botched charging.
Here's a sad part: 99% of the people in the market for a holiday must-have tablet gizmo, dont care about any of this. They will buy Surface Pro and N10 and iPads etc, by millions and live with the shortcomings, most likely never even noticing them. Ignorance is a bliss.
Those of us that are waiting for the tablet-dun-right, the wait goes on
rashid11 said:
Much like OP, I am considering what will be my next tablet.
To start off, no iAnything for me, thank you.
I've used, for years, a Toshiba M200 - mostly Windows Journal and some Note. Simply the best note taking experience, due to the Wacom pen. Bar none. All of the Windows apps - office etc.
- TF700 - horrendous internal flash performance == DOA for me. No Wacom. Asus should fire the sorry @ss responsible for that repeated flash fiasco.
- Surface RT - no apps to speak of, numerous reports of crashing apps. This one, however, holds great promise when Android port becomes available. Months and months away.
- Surface Pro - and/or Slate 500/700: too late to the game. I feel that an Android tablet fits 96% of my needs. No apps I am so used to on Android: Mantano Reader for epub/pdf, gmail, gmaps, Touchdown exchange client, youtube etc etc. Disaster of Windows 8 UI experince
(notification bar, where art thou ?) When I need full power of Windows 7, I have a acres of real estate with 3 monitor setup on 4.8GHz desktop with LGA2011 and 32GB of RAM.
- N10: full of compromises. Commitment unknown. It seems that all N devices are results of google putting a blow torch to a vendor, resulting in said vendor abandoning the said device the day after it launches. No dock, no microSD (Rubin should stop insulting us with his reasoning for why google dislikes the micrSD), no Wacom, botched charging.
Here's a sad part: 99% of the people in the market for a holiday must-have tablet gizmo, dont care about any of this. They will buy Surface Pro and N10 and iPads etc, by millions and live with the shortcomings, most likely never even noticing them. Ignorance is a bliss.
Those of us that are waiting for the tablet-dun-right, the wait goes on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. We seem to agree what our ideal tablet is but conclusion/hope are different. By the way I though hard when I got my HP tablet, which was around the time when Toshiba had just released the M200. Here are my hopes.
Surface Pro, Ativ Smart Pro - Have Wacom, full HD screen, speed, expandable memory, and keyboard dock. Lacking feature here is battery life, and weight and expansive.
Nexus 10 - Has stunning display, speed, good battery life, and weight. Lacking feature are Wacom, expandable memory, and keyboard dock.
Transformer Infinity - Has full HD screen, expandable memory, keyboard dock, good battery life and weight. Lacking feature were speed (was very fast, but can be faster).
Personally Surface RT is no go. Because it is just too restrictive but if RT market explode and matches that of Android maybe. Believe or not, somewhere I remember reading WIndows store has dedicated tablet app of 5000 or so whereas, Android market may not even have that number.. Who knows if its true or not.