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I noticed an article in the NY Times tonight about the discrepency of the number and quality of Apps for google zoom.
There are what? Over 10,000 Apps specifically designed for the Ipad. Now certainly you dont need that many...i would settle for 1,000 QUALITY apps over 10,000 "so so" apps ANY DAY...but....
I couldn't really find an app count for Honeycomb. There were 16 at launch and the article could at most come up with 170 (of which the vast majority were games). Interestingly enough..the aurthor was using Phandroid as its source.
170..and mostly games. I cant really describe the furstration that causes me. Knowing how much more open and how many more options the Gtab has over the ipad (screen quality and build not withstanding) that the ipad may well do to Droid tablets what the ipod did to other mp3 players over poor app support.
I have so many interests and things i could use apps for...most exsist for ipad. Very few exsist for Honeycomb. (and games aren't one of my major interests by the way).
Your thoughts?
Opinions?
Part of the problem is googles way of managing apps. Not all apps show up for devices. You have to mod the hell out of the build.prop file to get more apps showing. The ipad on the other hand have access to all iphone apps.
Again, corporate incompetence.
Realistically, there is also a delay in the release of the iPad vs. Android's Honeycomb. Ipad was release in April 2010, while the first Honeycomb tablet wasn't released nearly until 11 months later. That's almost a 1 year headstart on development of applications specific to an OS version.
Considering that we're only5 months into Honeycomb, and it's been proving to be less user friendly than anticipated, I'd say that it's lack of HC specific apps is acceptable.
I, personally, would anticipate that when Ice Cream Sandwich arrives, being more polished and complete than HC, that the app selection will be vastly improved, when developers start making apps for it that will be portable between phones and tablets, or specific to tablets alone.
The fact that some apps are being rewritten for the Android os is optimistic enough. Games that were only available on iPad are showing up for Android. Apps that only they had, we now have too.
Meh. Honeycomb isn't ubiquitous enough yet.
One of the reasons I went with Android as a tablet was to use the same apps I have on my 2.2 phone. I don't really need nor want "designed for tablet" apps.
To me this is the same old argument folks had in the 1990s and the last decade where apps for Macs "just worked" and apps for Windows worked depending on what type of hardware and operating system version ran on that pc.
So now it's phones and tablets with the same story. Apple products have a very small set of hardware specs to target for developers but with the openess of android it's hard for companies or developers to create something that "just works" on all android devices. So most companies or developers will only target certain devices or o.s. versions for android.
iPhones and iPads have one hardware manufacturer (Apple) and one O.S. (if you're not jailbroken) and developers don't have to spend a lot of time trying to develop and test against that. Android has dozens of hardware manufacturers and dozens of official and un-official ROMs to deal with so I am willing to cut them some slack for not having 10,000 apps I will never use but do thank them for the few dozen I do use on a day to day basis.
This topic has been discussed to death. I find it really boring now.
if you build it, they will come
My understanding is that android smartphone sales (not just tablets) is currently outselling iPhone/IOS. This means that app developers are/will develop new apps for android. Sure, there is the usual blah-blah-blah about issues related to HW differences between android platforms and issues related to different android releases themselves but in the big picture, things are trending towards improvement.
for me its a toss up between the ipad 2 and the prime. I wanted to know why the people here are after the prime instead of going for the ipad 2.
keep in mind, i don't know what androids like at all, so please answer in more detail then: I like android more then apple.
people talk about freedom of the device, whats that about? i can download stuff using something like utorrent? could i install games not made for android? i wish i knew more about this thing, but im bad at research.
Please don't tell me why you like the ipad2 better, i just want to know stuff about the prime that the ipad2 is missing for you.
Well for one, its hasn't been released yet, so for most people its a competition between old technology and new technology. Plus you are on an Android/Palm/Windows dominated forum.
As for why people prefer Android to Apple, there are many reasons. For a majority of the people on XDA it has to do with the ability to completely customize the entire operating system, something that apple cant do (either by restrictions or a less dedicated mod community), anything from modifications to stock or a completely independent new rom, thats what XDA does.
For many people they don't trust Apple for the way they trick customers and do buisness. There are hundreds of reason, too many for me (one person to list) as for why people prefer Android to IOS.
In addition to Android being a more open system than iOS, it also seems to be getting updated at a quicker pace. If (or when) your device gets outdated, you will always have a dedicated community keeping your device up to date for a long time.
Also, the connectivity on a device like Prime seems to be above and beyond what you get on the iPad.
You have Micro HDMI out (need dongle for iPad), Micro SD card slot for expanding memory (not available on iPad), option to get a keyboard dock w/extra battery (only wireless option that drains battery for iPad)
With the dock you get even more connectivity with a regular USB port (needs another dongle on iPad) that supports regular mouse/keyboard. Also supports a USB hub should you want to use your regular PC Mouse/Keyboard.
I might be biased since I have only played with iPads and never owned one. Did sell my Galaxy Tab 10.1 and pre ordered the Prime though.
Just my $0.02
IMHO, it's because the Transformer Prime is a true convergence device. Apple could have easily made something like it, but to protect their profits, they kept the iPad and MBA separate (i.e. crippled) instead.
If the iPad could do everything a Mac can do, Apple would stand to lose a lot of profits. So that's why the smart money is on the Transformer Prime.
Blueman101 said:
Well for one, its hasn't been released yet, so for most people its a competition between old technology and new technology. Plus you are on an Android/Palm/Windows dominated forum.
As for why people prefer Android to Apple, there are many reasons. For a majority of the people on XDA it has to do with the ability to completely customize the entire operating system, something that apple cant do (either by restrictions or a less dedicated mod community), anything from modifications to stock or a completely independent new rom, thats what XDA does.
For many people they don't trust Apple for the way they trick customers and do buisness. There are hundreds of reason, too many for me (one person to list) as for why people prefer Android to IOS.
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true, its not out yet, but a lot of people have watched a crap ton of videos or have had some hands on. I also would like to know how android works for the tablet.. lol im a complete nub at this stuff.
joe_dude said:
IMHO, it's because the Transformer Prime is a true convergence device. Apple could have easily made something like it, but to protect their profits, they kept the iPad and MBA separate (i.e. crippled) instead.
If the iPad could do everything a Mac can do, Apple would stand to lose a lot of profits. So that's why the smart money is on the Transformer Prime.
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Click to collapse
great answer, this makes me lean towards the prime.
Truth be told, im MOST likely getting the prime, i just would like to hear good things about it.
Obvisously it being the tube first quad core tablet and being 32gb at the same price point as the 16gb iPad 2 are huge reasons. Of course with the dock the price is 650 but I believe it's a worthy addition. It's also thinner, has way more connectivity, I.e. hdmi out, SD slot, etc. The promise of having ICS (Google's new OS) before the end of the year.
You can't really tinker with ios and I don't actually consider it an OS anyways. Just homescreen after homescreen of start menus. Ios is boring and just overall not an enjoyable experience. Everytime I use my EVO 3d I still get excited about all the stuff i can do with it. Google is just more enticing in my opinion.
If you really are bad at research you might consider sticking with the iPad2. I think of Android as the tinkerer's OS. I have IT degrees and certs and still have to research pretty hard to keep up with all the work that the great devs here do. It's not the simplest platform out there. However if you want to get better at researching this stuff and like learning about your tech from the inside out I say get the Prime and watch these forums closely.
The biggest upside to this tablet over any other tablet for me though is the keyboard dock. It's an ingenious innovation in tablets that is sure to be copied at some point. A peripheral that actually adds battery life while providing not one, not two, but three or more excellent options (usb, sd, keys) to the device is pretty amazing.
skeptikal said:
If you really are bad at research you might consider sticking with the iPad2. I think of Android as the tinkerer's OS. I have IT degrees and certs and still have to research pretty hard to keep up with all the work that the great devs here do. It's not the simplest platform out there. However if you want to get better at researching this stuff and like learning about your tech from the inside out I say get the Prime and watch these forums closely.
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im sure ill be able to get the most of it.
Pretty simple. its not Apple. that is the biggest selling point
I considered the iPad2 for about 10seconds after the whole Amazon cancelling orders fiasco, but then I realize how boring and expensive the thing really is. 64GB model is 120$ more expensive, no option for a decent keyboard dock, gated community iOS crap.... BUT they do have some apps I do want that aren't out YET for Android. I don't know, I want a tablet with functionality, customizability, and with next year's tech in it. Honestly, after ICS I probably won't bother rooting and flashing the device... But I still prefer an Android. It's a fun OS, ICS looks amazing, and if I ever decide to root and flash, I can! The iPad doesn't really offer that much. It hardly lets you do decent word processing last I checked.
I mean, since Dropbox and all that stuff, syncing docs between devices is a joke, I remember the iPad1 being kinda lame in that respect (plus it was using that Apple word processing suite... ick). I don't know... and the whole Gamestop getting behind Tegra 3 is really awesome. Gives me hope that Android might get more exposure, get more popular, and therefore more devs actually working to release games on the platform rather than iOS only.
I just think it's kinda lame that Asus didn't have enough stock to go around to release these things before Christmas... Regardless, I'm staying away from iPads THIS year and getting the Prime.
I own an iPad2 for about half a year.
And I am an Android user, my phone is HTC Desire, Nexus S, and pre-ordered Galaxy Nexus.
First of all, please excuse my english language
Previously, I was waiting a good decent Android tablet, good hardware profile, good battery life, screen is nice, etc.
My eyes was on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but Honeycomb 3.0 at that time really put me off with issues like "slow text input on web page". And the fact that it came very late in Europe (even barred in Germany!).
ASUS Transformer 1 just does not cut it, I don't like the hardware profile, thick and heavier than GTab 10.1. Sure, I use iPad2 as reference because as Android user, I always want a device that is better (or on par) than fruit device!
I could wait and wait, but nevertheless my wife asked me a tablet and I thought iPad2 will suit her (as non power user).
After half a year using this iPad2, here are some things that I don't like:
1. The virtual keyboard.
Why on earth, Apple created virtual keyboard like that? No lower case indication, no easy way to output numeric chars (on Android, I can long press), and way too much click to output []+ for example (I hate this when I create a post in XDA starting with "[Q]" ... or typing "Google+"). Really, I wish I can change the keyboard. Alas, I cant.
With Android, you can change it the way you want. There are many good virtual keyboard apps!
2. Non-unified file system
All right, in iOS, there is no unified file system. Each app has its own storage space. That's make a bit difficult to manage files. Granted, I always want to use my device as storage for my files. There is nothing wrong with it, right?
If I got a file attachment in iOS, how do I download it? How can I access that file from other apps?
3. Sharing thing
On Android, if I have something, like a file, an app, or anything, I can easily share it with other users via intuitive user interface, using WhatsApp, Facebook, Google+, email, what not.
I simply cannot do this with iOS. You can say, this is not a big deal, but that's disadvantage.
Right now, I always go back to my Nexus S to share things!
4. Boring home screen
Yeah, this is obvious. There is nothing you can do with iOS home screen. Icons icons and loads of icons. I want "direct information" right in the home screen, like weather, news, system status, etc. You cannot have that, you must access each app manually to get that information. With Android, you can have widget, simple.
------------
So, now, with the Prime, I think I found the right tablet for me I still hate Honeycomb, but it will get ICS.
The hardware profile is much better than the iPad2, with SD card slot, HDMI, and decent keyboard dock. While still maintaining thinner and lighter profile.
Why shouldn't I get one?
People complaint about "smoothness" and "fluidity" of the scrolling / home screen. Yes, most probably iOS is better on this, but ICS is not that bad! I don't think you will experience choppy and laggy user interface or such. I will opt for all those advantages on Android rather than just smoothness.
Apps, apps and apps. Yeah, this is personal. So far, I am satisfied with all apps that I can get from Android. ... Of course, except Facebook app! But, I think I can use the web browser
Hope this helps
Here's what can be done on android that can't on iOS. (expect maybe by jailbreaking but it become way less convenient than your usual iOS expérience)
_ widget : widget are great on tablet where you have big screen. Lot of usefull and funny stuff can be had to the homescreens.
_lives wallpapers : many cool looking or even usefull interactive wallpapers.
_ acces to files. You can dl torrents and every thing else easily.
_ google stuff intégration. Google is the best on the internet. Android is where google shine the most.
_ change every thing in the os. Homescreens, keyboard, everything can be change by a single tap in the market.
_ custom rom. Developpers can build thing that completly change the way android works.
_ geeky funny stuff like easter egg
_flash
Overall, with Android you'll never find yourself unable to do something that a low power device should be able to do (don't expect to do a CG short movie on your tablet...) And the experience of the OS itself (outside of each individual apps) is way less boring than iOS.
gogol said:
People complaint about "smoothness" and "fluidity" of the scrolling / home screen. Yes, most probably iOS is better on this, but ICS is not that bad! I don't think you will experience choppy and laggy user interface or such. I will opt for all those advantages on Android rather than just smoothness.
Apps, apps and apps. Yeah, this is personal. So far, I am satisfied with all apps that I can get from Android. ... Of course, except Facebook app! But, I think I can use the web browser
Hope this helps
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smoothness is a big deal for me, but i had the ipad, this thing MUST... MUUUSST!! be faster then my ipad1?! don't tell me its less fluid then that. I don't know if i could handle it.
You know, iOS will always better on that smoothness/fluidity of the user interface, even with ICS.
You know why?
Because iOS does a lot less than Android.
Really, a lot less ...
For example, see the above post from user kokusho. Those are just examples what you cannot do on iOS.
But, have you seen ICS on Galaxy Nexus and some bit demos on the Prime?
I don't think that is not acceptable for smoothness.
ICS is super fast, but at certain times, you might "perceive" some kind of lag. For example, going back/to home screen from apps drawer, or long SMS list. But yeah, that does not mean it is not fast nor smooth. It is smooth, but it is not the same like iOS.
As I said, I won't bother that much. There are a lot more advantages on Android that make life easier for using tablet. And it will get better.
Really, to answer your question on this thread is "very simple":
Why Do You Like The Prime More Then The Ipad2?
Because The Prime with Android can do much more than iPad2 ...
Here, if you want to know more about Android smoothness/fluidity:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/105051985738280261832/posts/2FXDCz8x93s
If you know a bit about "technical", it's worth to read ...
blaziner18 said:
smoothness is a big deal for me, but i had the ipad, this thing MUST... MUUUSST!! be faster then my ipad1?! don't tell me its less fluid then that. I don't know if i could handle it.
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blaziner18 said:
for me its a toss up between the ipad 2 and the prime. I wanted to know why the people here are after the prime instead of going for the ipad 2.
keep in mind, i don't know what androids like at all, so please answer in more detail then: I like android more then apple.
people talk about freedom of the device, whats that about? i can download stuff using something like utorrent? could i install games not made for android? i wish i knew more about this thing, but im bad at research.
Please don't tell me why you like the ipad2 better, i just want to know stuff about the prime that the ipad2 is missing for you.
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Click to collapse
Well I had Asus Transformer one and currently I have Ipad 2. Here is why Ipad 2 is a piece of crap:
CONS OF IPADS:
1. Ipads have much worse resolution. On paper it you might think it is not that bad. But when I sold TF (just to wait and buy Prime of course) and bought Ipad2 (a temporary solution) I could not believe my eyes. Asus have a great display. Everything is sharp and clear. Ipads resolution is not good enough. While playing games the difference is almost invisible. But when browsing internet, reading books and so on the difference is huge. On Ipad the text is not clear, not sharp. My eyes have hard work to make. Believe me or not. Ipads displays sucks.
2. Ipads do not have external slots lile SD slot, USB slot. If you want to copy to Ipad mp3 or mkv you have to use stupid Itunes. Also if you copy some files into Ipad they are only seen by a certain application you are going to use to play those files. While in Android tablets like great TF you copy files and you can access to the by any of application on tablet. Full freedom.
3. You cannot customize desktop on Ipad. After using TF I felt a huge discomfort using Ipad. I could do nothing with the screen. No widgets, no nothing...
4. No flash on ipad. I have few favorite WWW which demands flash. They worked on TF properly but on Ipad.... they do not. lol....
PROS OF IPAD
1. More GAMES. Yes games only. So what you have plenty of apps. But not having the ability of widgets (like weather) those apps are not so attractive like those for Android. But comparing Android games with Ipad games I must say that there are only few more (for me) games on iOS than on Android. I thought there will be much more great games on iOS. Another disappointment.
As for me Ipads are just toys. More like consoles. A stuff for kids mostly. For people not demanding having a PC compared possibilities.
If you want to have useless toy - take Ipad. Want to have small PC - take Android - Asus PRIME! YEACH! AMEN!
iPad 2 pros:
Software availability - but this will change, development is increasingly Android + iOS rather than iOS first, Android port maybe some day.
Raw GPU power - potential for more graphically-impressive games, though Tegra 3's GPU is still good and may win out on more complex scenes?
Ease of use - there's not much to the OS, so not much to go wrong.
3G version available - would have to use another device (or maybe dongle) with the Prime.
Transformer Prime pros:
Customisability - you can change anything on Android, Apple want to control the experience.
No walled garden - free to install any application without Google's permission, no need to jailbreak.
Screen - higher resolution and brighter.
Raw CPU power - the other side of the coin, this gives the Prime more potential than the iPad 2 in other areas.
Dock option - makes the Prime into an Android netbook and extends battery life. iPad alternative is not integrated, drains the battery, and does not have a trackpad.
Expansion - microSDHC card slot and micro-HDMI port on tablet, and SD card slot and USB 2.0 port on dock. iPad requires additional dongles.
Camera - superior camera. Though I'm not sure what you're doing with a camera on a tablet.
For some (most?) people, the ease of use and application availability points mean the iPad 2 wins out. But for most of us here, being able to change stuff and use more of the potential of the device means that the Prime is the winner.
infinitemethod said:
Obvisously it being the tube first quad core tablet and being 32gb at the same price point as the 16gb iPad 2 are huge reasons. Of course with the dock the price is 650 but I believe it's a worthy addition. It's also thinner, has way more connectivity, I.e. hdmi out, SD slot, etc. The promise of having ICS (Google's new OS) before the end of the year.
You can't really tinker with ios and I don't actually consider it an OS anyways. Just homescreen after homescreen of start menus. Ios is boring and just overall not an enjoyable experience. Everytime I use my EVO 3d I still get excited about all the stuff i can do with it. Google is just more enticing in my opinion.
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Click to collapse
Truth, iOS gets very boring. I was using an iPhone 4 for maybe 2 months and there was something about it that I didn't like. Now I figured it out once I went back to my X2. iOS is just so plain and linear, it holds your hand on everything. Even when you're installing a jailbreak mod, you just press "Install" and sit back unlike on Android where you have boot into recovery yourself and point it to whatever it is you want to flash.
I found my Transformer better than the iPad, so I'm sure I'll find the Prime better as well
I look at the iPad as dummy-proof. Too simplistic for my needs, and kind of boring, just having grids of icons. I also like to tweak things, and even without rooting, Android has a a lot of personalizations that I cannot do with iOS.
Apple innovates, and repackages well, and they know how to make things look cool that have been around for a long time (brilliant marketing). However, I just do not like the 'better than you' smugness that is too often associated with folks who pony up the Apple premium prices.
I had an iPad and currently have an iPad2 for work, but I want what I want, and I just feel that Apple doesn't allow me to do that.
I had a Xoom, which was okay, but seemed first gen. My hacked Nook Color is more useful to me, and I may keep it to read books on (I read lots of books). The Xoom is quite a bit heavier than the Prime, and I found that reading for long periods was a chore on the Xoom in comparison to the compact and lighter Nook Color
I'm hoping that the Prime is the "baby bear" (just right) to the "papa bear" Xoom (too big and cumbersome) and "mama bear" Nook color (a bit too small). ..and don't ask me how I thought of that analogy.. I was just thinking of comparing three things
Bimboy said:
I'm hoping that the Prime is the "baby bear" (just right) to the "papa bear" Xoom (too big and cumbersome) and "mama bear" Nook color (a bit too small). ..and don't ask me how I thought of that analogy.. I was just thinking of comparing three things
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Wouldn't The Prime be more like Goldilocks? The one all the bears are after?
Seriously though, the widgets are the thing that really sets Android apart IMHO. On my phone (Dell Streak 5), every person I've shown it to is just amazed.
I have the weather, lists (groceries and to-do), music player, RSS feed and calendar widgets. That at-a-glance information means I can get out the door quicker in the morning and not be late! And it's my book/manga reader too.
While the world is still debating over the true roll of the 'Phablet' and Samsung are insisting the product is a phone, I think it would be fair to say many users (myself included) consider this device a mini-tablet that can make phone calls rather than a big-ass phone.
With that in mind, it is starting to become apparent that there are tablet apps on the Android store that would be better suited for use on the Note's 1280x800 screen than their 'phone' versions and it seems that they are not available due to the Note being flagged as a Phone.
Is there a way we can spoof the Note's ID to make market places see it as a tablet, or will this be a non issue when ICS comes along??
It would also be great to see landscape/portrait rotation support on home screens just like tablets, especially when using the phone in a mounted setting such as a car dashboard where a landscape layout may prove more practical to users. Is this something that can be acheived at a kernel/ROM level?
I'd love to hear people's feedback and counterpoints/support for this request. (But not their rants about 'it's phone, no it's a tablet' )
Many thanks
Joel
You can't install tablet apps because it's Gingerbread. I suspect with ICS you'll be able to install tablet and phone apps. Build.prod tweaks may be needed to force it to use the tablet view of some apps though.
From dealing with the Touchpad w/CM7 the tablet apps requires Honeycomb or ICS. Gingerbread doesn't have the needed APIs for the tablet appA.D. So even if you could make the market think you had Gingerbread or ICS the app still wouldn't run without the APIs.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Ahhh I see, this is good to know (and makes total sense when spelled out in this way, as Honeycomb was indeed the first 'true' tablet version of Android).
So it seems that ICS is the initial building block that makes the most sense to build off. This being the case though, my question/request still stands assuming we get an ICS ROM for the i717 this side of the apocalypse.
I've been trying to figure out how many apps there are for Android tablets and it has been really hard to find out, which in itself hints that it ain't good. But the best estimates I could find online pin it at around 1000-2000 apps. Didn't iPad 1 release with more than that? What is wrong with Android? I sincerely believe that this OS is better with its Widgets and customizations and all. But does it not bother you that after a whole year we have so few apps? I may as well go for an iPad at this rate. I mean i have all the apps i need now, but still some apps are meant for the phone, like Facebook.... still I feel it is worth investing in a device that actually has proper support... you are paying $500, shouldn't you expect more then just thousands of apps? And don't argue that the new iPad with its hi res display will have few apps. That is only temporary... it too will soon surpass the android tablet app tally...
Took me 5 seconds to google that-
http://phandroid.com/2011/03/14/android-app-count-rapidly-gaining-on-ios-chart/
and its year old, so the number is bigger by now.
Android still has plenty of great apps. ICS is the merging of phone and tablet apps. So there won't be a need for either. Instead it'll be a universal app that would work on wither and if its tablet, then it'll take advantage of it.
I have over 200 apps on my Ipad. I have just as many on my prime and have found majority of my Ipad apps n AAndroid and have them on my prime now. So there's still slot of apps out there. Tablet only apps, yes Android has less but its steadily growing. Phone apps already caught up to apples.
Plus you won't catch many here wanting to switch to IOS over apps. Especially not me. I've already did the Ipad experience for 2 years n glad I came to android. I'm satisfied with what's available. It isn't like you can install all of them at once. Android has great apps n always could use more. But Android users generally know the deal when it comes to the apps. Apple needs apps to do things android does out the box by itself. My Ipad has alot of really good apps on it but I have them all ln my prime also. Majority being better on Android. So expect your poll to show love for Android and its ecosystem. Most try to stay away from limited features n capabilities of Ipad. Depends on what floats your boat the best.
That is Android Market on the whole. I've been talking about tablet optimized apps.
demandarin said:
Android still has plenty of great apps. ICS is the merging of phone and tablet apps. So there won't be a need for either. Instead it'll be a universal app that would work on wither and if its tablet, then it'll take advantage of it.
I have over 200 apps on my Ipad. I have just as many on my prime and have found majority of my Ipad apps n AAndroid and have them on my prime now. So there's still slot of apps out there. Tablet only apps, yes Android has less but its steadily growing. Phone apps already caught up to apples.
Plus you won't catch many here wanting to switch to IOS over apps. Especially not me. I've already did the Ipad experience for 2 years n glad I came to android. I'm satisfied with what's available. It isn't like you can install all of them at once. Android has great apps n always could use more. But Android users generally know the deal when it comes to the apps. Apple needs apps to do things android does out the box by itself. My Ipad has alot of really good apps on it but I have them all ln my prime also. Majority being better on Android. So expect your poll to show love for Android and its ecosystem. Most try to stay away from limited features n capabilities of Ipad. Depends on what floats your boat the best.
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All in all, it would be comforting to see a good recent estimate regarding android "tablet" Apps. As of now, I have apps to watch movies, socialize, a great browser, to read PDFs and eBooks and to take notes. I still feel that quality is lacking and I hope what you said about ICS unifying things will help devs dev more. But it bugs me that say Facebook has no tablet app, etc. Thankfully I don't game a lot though!
READ up on Ice Cream Sandwich Android version and see what its supposed to mean. Soon there will be no more need for tablet optimized apps as all will be optimized for whatever device its being used on.
If you want to get an Ipad that's cool, but I hope you didn't think most here would vote in favor of getting one. You will see soon most are happy with Android. Yes it could always get better but still love it regardless. I'd never switch back to Ipad. Seen so much more with Android now. Going back to IOS would be moving backwards in features and capabilities of a tablet.
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litetaker said:
All in all, it would be comforting to see a good recent estimate regarding android "tablet" Apps. As of now, I have apps to watch movies, socialize, a great browser, to read PDFs and eBooks and to take notes. I still feel that quality is lacking and I hope what you said about ICS unifying things will help devs dev more. But it bugs me that say Facebook has no tablet app, etc. Thankfully I don't game a lot though!
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I always see people complain about Facebook on android. Why? I have it and works great for me. I have like 3-4 different Facebook apps on my Ipad. Plus here is a reality check. The official Facebook app on Ipad isn't even the best one. It took them so long to bring it out that the 3rd party ones are the best now. The official app sux on Ipad and is buggy still. I have it and other ones on Ipad. You just have to search more. I have tons of great tablet apps on prime.
Here's a tip. If you want to look for android tablet app only marketplace, look for an app called Tablified. Its an marketplace that showcases all tablet only or optimized apps for Android. Its really good and apps must pass strict guidelines to be considered to be viewed in that app. Its a free app. A MEMBER here actually created it. It has a great look to it also.
demandarin said:
Android still has plenty of great apps. ICS is the merging of phone and tablet apps. So there won't be a need for either. Instead it'll be a universal app that would work on wither and if its tablet, then it'll take advantage of it.
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Unfortunately, until we see many more ICS devices, developers won't focus on it and thus we'll not see apps that make good use of tablets because of it. It's true that right now the number of really good tablet apps is low, and it's frustrating. I'd think that 5-10 million Honeycomb or ICS tablets in the wild would be enough to generate more developer interest.
I honestly think developers are gun shy about spending the time on tablet apps because the press on the Android tablet market has been so universally horrible (and the hype on the iPad so universally and nauseatingly high). Those developers who've made tablet-optimized apps have done a great job with it, but really the iPad has a HUGE, HUGE advantage here. Even I find myself sometimes wanting to switch because of all the excellent iPad apps, and I can't stand Apple.
You can find a good tablet app for a most typical uses, and in many cases the phone apps work fine (because they scale better in many cases than iPhone apps scale to the iPad), but it remains a limitation. It's also another area where Google has done a bad job, either of making it easy to make tablet-optimized apps (I don't know either way) or of providing incentives for developers to make them.
I really don't get the fascination and need for all these "apps". I hate that word too, sounds so gay.
Give me a good browser, some good media players and you're pretty much good to go.
There is no need for a Facebook program at all. No need for XDA program, a Twitter program. You don't use them on your Windows desktop do you? The browser is all you need for all that.
I just don't get it. I don't even have one homescreen filled on my tablet.
litetaker said:
That is Android Market on the whole. I've been talking about tablet optimized apps.
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Android doesn't longer have seperate Apps. Since ICS and fragments well written Apps will deliver an optimized layout for phones, tablets as well as Google TV. One App for all, that was the approach of Android and that's why the Google Play / Market doesn't have an extra Tablet section (beside the editors choice for tablets).
In the last years there was really a lack of good apps for tablets, but most of the new Apps make use of this new fragments and offer a great tablet ui.
New 8track app, tweetcaster, new official TED app, Astrid since their last update - just to mention a few.
In my opinion this will be the first serious year for Android Tablets and Apps which was also the reason for me to finally buy the Prime.
MysteriousDiary said:
Android doesn't longer have seperate Apps. Since ICS and fragments well written Apps will deliver an optimized layout for phones, tablets as well as Google TV. One App for all, that was the approach of Android and that's why the Google Play / Market doesn't have an extra Tablet section (beside the editors choice for tablets).
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Click to collapse
One think I've always wondered is: do fragments work on Android versions previous to ICS? Because if they do, then I wonder why more developers aren't using them. If they only work with ICS, then it makes sense--ICS is still only about 1% of the total Android population, and only on the Prime and Xoom in tablets.
And seriously, it should be MUCH easier to find tablet-optimized apps. While there are a handful of decent tablet-optimized apps, they're relatively hard to find and that fact alone contributes to the perception (real or imagined) that this is a real weakness of Android tablets.
Download Tablified Market
/thread
Here's a good reference for tablet apps...
http://www.tablified.com/
And yes, many popular apps do suck on a tablet and will continue to until ICS reaches critical mass.
litetaker said:
I mean i have all the apps i need now
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What's the problem?
I guess the question is what do you want to do with your Prime that would be fulfilled by an app? Or somewhat sarcastically; what could you do app-wise with an iPad that you want to do with your Prime? I suggest asking if your searching has yielded nothing suitable.
While it's fun to have lots of apps available, what if they are all crap?
Bye.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Well, I got a solution. Buy an ipad 3 and a tf700 later in the year. All problems have been solved. Except for money.
jdeoxys said:
Well, I got a solution. Buy an ipad 3 and a tf700 later in the year. All problems have been solved. Except for money.
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Click to collapse
You got banned? Just recently?
Developer here...
Even with older OS versions the only difference between a phone and tablet app is the layout. Android already has some pretty killer tools for handling that. ICS makes it easier with some new tools (fragments), but by no means is it necessary. Few devs will target ICS for awhile. There are just too many older devices.
So... the biggest inhibitor is time. It takes a great deal of work to develop an app that makes both screen sizes happy. It also takes some practice. Since Android is behind compared to iOS, and the Android tablet market is smaller, we just have to wait. People have to learn how to take advantage of all this extra space.
By the way, its not really any easier to develop an iOS tablet app. In fact, even using the older versions of Android, its easier to deal with different layouts than on iOS.
I think as long as theres fragmentation most app devs are not gonna put as much effort with android. Why when there are so many ipad users and they only have to develop for 1 single platform and can concentrate on making it better rather than concentrating on making it more compatible across every different android devices. ICS was supposed to be the answer but not all ICS compatible app will work on all ICS devices. Then google is supposedly now gonna come out with jelly bean? Whats gonna happen then? So if i was a dev right now I wouldnt want to develop even for ICS not knowing what road block jelly bean will bring when apple is more guaranteed. The return profit is just not as good on android tablets right now. Until we match apples ecosystem I dont think we will ever have the benifits that ipad users have.
demandarin said:
You got banned? Just recently?
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Click to collapse
Yes, why?
10char
facepalm...
Do you remember when blueray players first came out, you could only get a handfull of movies for it? and now you can get damn near everything in blueray.
Remember a year or so ago when there was like, maybe 5 tablets total on the market? and now you cant turn the corner without finding yet another manufacturer of them?
Tablets are the fastest growing consumer trend in north america giving Apple a good run for their money. Considering this boom in the last year or so, developers are scrambling to try to support everything and find standards for how graphics will be displayed, etc. (which is why theres so many different versions of the same gameloft games)
Give it a few more months if you cant find what your looking for, it will be here then.
Also considering that ICS is still relatively new and developers need to make sure their apps work well on it before they release it, test, etc. its not surprising that there is limited support for ICS. If you want something thats tried, tested, and true then get the TF101. If you want to live on the edge like with the 201 then you have to expect some bugs along the way.
Give it time, it will come. Guaranteed.
Hey Guys, just came across this article and thought it was a good read. Do you think Android will partner with Asus to make their own brand of tablets...will it be better for us as Android buyers in the future if Android had more control by being the hardware as well as software maker. or do you feel like this is turning them into Apple-lite
http://www.androidauthority.com/will-google-abandon-android-71483/
Seems like Android Authority is a bit desperate for clicks. That is all I got from it.
detta123 said:
Seems like Android Authority is a bit desperate for clicks. That is all I got from it.
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yeah basically..lol.
they taking the whole Asus Manufacturing Google Nexus tablet and spinning it into some crazy apocalyptic Android dying story. Android will be fine. Android growth has really actually just begun. we haven't seen nothing yet. Google needs a nexus tablet to instill confidence and optimism in Androids future. It can almost be guareenteed to attract more developers to android ecosystem. If android was dying, I'd seriously doubt they'd be making a tablet with Asus, restructured Google Play Store, and Making Google store purchases possible to be made online by anyone. All these recent moves Google has made is pointing to something big coming up.
Android for LIFE!
All of my current and future devices will continue to be android.
It is just way too much fun, IOS sucks.
If android goes away, I will go back to laptops.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
I dont even want to read that article Android brings profit and is a huge thing worldwide. Why would you abandon something like this? Of course its not Google's biggest income generator but it has so much potential and it serves as competition to Apple.
Google deciding to do some hardware manufacturing? I really like that. They probably learn from it and be able to improve the software/hardware.
There is one thing though they could do to android imho. I like some of the 3rd party GUI's that come with android devices. For example HTC Sense. They add alot of nice widgets and great looking uniform base apps.
BUT. At the price of getting important updates like ICS half a year later? No... No.
For me there are 2 ways those companies could handle the situation. Make custom UI's optional. Let people use vanilla Android if they want fast upgrades and let them switch to custom UI's once their done. Or just open all the bootloaders and release all kernel source and stuff to XDA so people can make their own roms and updates (which usually are better anyway...).
Apart from that Android is just totally great.
clouds5 said:
For me there are 2 ways those companies could handle the situation. Make custom UI's optional. Let people use vanilla Android if they want fast upgrades and let them switch to custom UI's once their done. Or just open all the bootloaders and release all kernel source and stuff to XDA so people can make their own roms and updates (which usually are better anyway...).
Apart from that Android is just totally great.
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Actually Google is already consdidering this. read several articles on it. it's a great idea bit one catch, Phone carriers would hate it. those companies add those GUI to devices to differentiate themselves from other similar devices. I'd rather have vanilla android experience and not have bloat ui on top of it. A GUI on top of vanilla android will never be faster out the box than a plain vanilla experience. one suggestion was to make the various companies GUI removable if the user chooses. they could use that companies GUI or go vanilla route or use one of the many launchers available on android. Usually a company GUI will be more integrated and stable than one from marketplace.
Yeah i've read about that too. i dont think custom UIs need to go away. Sometimes they're great. And with tegra3 phones coming out i guess the performance wont be such an issue anymore.
But i'd love to see some change in that situation. I think updates shouldnt be delayed more than 1 month. Not like half a year.
The article is the usual blog filler; title is admittedly clickbait. Then again, most news & blog sites have SEO'ed titles to varying degree. Yellow journalism used to be on the fringe. Now, it's the way to get clicks. That's the cost of "free" content.
Idle gossip aside, Google's strategy for tablet adoption has not worked. It will need to do something, and soon. We should know by Google I/O in June, if not earlier.
IMO, the rumors presently circulating--direct-sale of cheapo tablet & online store--aren't enough. The problems are more fundamental, and are myriad. To me, what's discouraging aren't the obstacles, but that I haven't seen any signal from Google leadership that they recognize the scope of the obstacles.
At any rate, Android won't suffer the fate of WebOS. It's entrenched on phones, and its open-source distribution will allow it to live on as a "hobbyist" OS, if nothing else.
Things move pretty fast in this mobile market, so we won't have long to wait, one way or the other.
Trolling done wrong.
A terrible excuse for either op-ed or journalism. sigh.
Seems this kid who wrote the article didn't get the point of android....
It amplifies all the Google services. It gives Google a extremely huge platform to present their products... it generates Google accounts which can be used for the almost infinite range of Google products. It helps to spread G+ and not to mention Google ad-words..
There is no essential need for a strong Google Phone brand... When you use it the normal way you pretty soon notice that Android is a Google product... you are asked to create a Google account, you have a ton of Google services pre-installed etc. .
Android could be a losing deal and it would still be worth the effort. Just because it spreads Google stuff. The power you have when 50% of the smart-phones world wide run with your is is enormous... Google does not have to worry too much about branding as long as the providers don't remove the Google-Products from it...
I see it like a commenter in the article, Google Tablet to fight the Kindle Fire... because it breaks the Google-branding... not so funny for Google...
>[Android] amplifies all the Google services. It gives Google a extremely huge platform to present their products...There is no essential need for a strong Google Phone brand...Android could be a losing deal and it would still be worth the effort.
These are all true. But IMO it misses the forest for the trees, the forest in this case being the next computing form factor, ie the tablet being a successor rather than adjunct of laptops. That should be the goal, not just an extension to sell more wares.
To be the next "computer," the OS has to do more, akin to the range of functions on desktop OS'es. Android, like iOS, lacks basic underpinnings--things like built-in networking, printing, support for peripheral devices, apps interoperability, etc etc.
The shortcoming doesn't affect Apple, because iOS has achieved critical mass on phones and tablets. Its success engenders 3rd-party support to address any deficit faced.
The other aspect not oft mentioned is that a bona fide OS needs support. One takeaway from a quick scan through these and other (official) Android forums is that OS support is grossly inadequate. As much complaints as there are in this forum, Asus is actually one of the better vendors for support. Users of Acer, Toshiba, and others, have given up on support. And these are enthusiasts. Think of how worse it would be for normal users.
The writing is on the wall: HW vendors don't have the expertise to support the OS. Google needs to do it. But with its current distribution philosophy, ie making AOSP code public and let HW vendors do what they will, Google can't do that. For it to support its OS, Google will need to follow the Microsoft path.
Getting its hands dirty with its own hardware may be a start, assuming Google better supports its product. But customer support has never been in Google's DNA, so I have my doubt that things would improve soon.
Google bought Motorolla, why would they need to partner with ASUS?
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
>Google bought Motorolla, why would they need to partner with ASUS?
Because Asus can make cheap tablets, eg the rumored $199 tab, and Moto can't. Secondly, because Google still needs to maintain some degree of impartiality. With declining vendor support (on tablets), it can ill afford to piss off the few remaining.
e.mote said:
>Google bought Motorolla, why would they need to partner with ASUS?
Because Asus can make cheap tablets, eg the rumored $199 tab, and Moto can't. Secondly, because Google still needs to maintain some degree of impartiality. With declining vendor support (on tablets), it can ill afford to piss off the few remaining.
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Agreed, the Motorola Xoom, great as it was(I owned one), was simply overpriced.
I do believe that in order to be widely accepted as being better than Apple, Google needs to seriously focus on getting better developer support. You can release the best tablet in the world, but if you do not have developer support, people will continue to flock to IOS. Lower the price of tablets while maintaining good quality standards, and gain developer support=win for Android
e.mote said:
>[Android] amplifies all the Google services. It gives Google a extremely huge platform to present their products...There is no essential need for a strong Google Phone brand...Android could be a losing deal and it would still be worth the effort.
These are all true. But IMO it misses the forest for the trees, the forest in this case being the next computing form factor, ie the tablet being a successor rather than adjunct of laptops. That should be the goal, not just an extension to sell more wares.
To be the next "computer," the OS has to do more, akin to the range of functions on desktop OS'es. Android, like iOS, lacks basic underpinnings--things like built-in networking, printing, support for peripheral devices, apps interoperability, etc etc.
The shortcoming doesn't affect Apple, because iOS has achieved critical mass on phones and tablets. Its success engenders 3rd-party support to address any deficit faced.
The other aspect not oft mentioned is that a bona fide OS needs support. One takeaway from a quick scan through these and other (official) Android forums is that OS support is grossly inadequate. As much complaints as there are in this forum, Asus is actually one of the better vendors for support. Users of Acer, Toshiba, and others, have given up on support. And these are enthusiasts. Think of how worse it would be for normal users.
The writing is on the wall: HW vendors don't have the expertise to support the OS. Google needs to do it. But with its current distribution philosophy, ie making AOSP code public and let HW vendors do what they will, Google can't do that. For it to support its OS, Google will need to follow the Microsoft path.
Getting its hands dirty with its own hardware may be a start, assuming Google better supports its product. But customer support has never been in Google's DNA, so I have my doubt that things would improve soon.
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Click to collapse
You make some interesting points, but I disagree that iOS is anywhere near being accepted as a PC replacement. In many important ways, Android is much farther along in this respect--access to the file system alone is one area. And, I think the idea that tablets will replace PCs is way overblown--having tried to use mine (even with the keyboard dock) as a replacement for my Windows notebook, I can testify that although some things are more convenient with tablets (like ebook reading, casual surfing, etc.), NOTHING is as efficient as with a "real" PC.
I could never do my job on any existing tablet, whether it's iOS or Android. I work with complex documents, use Photoshop for more than changing color tones, do some light video editing, etc. None of those are efficient (or even possible) on a tablet. Even the simple things like browsing, Twitter, etc., etc., are more efficient on a notebook or desktop. Again, a tablet is convenient--lightweight, long battery life, etc.--so it has its place alongside a real PC. But thinking it can replace a PC for most people is, I think, entirely unrealistic at this point.
Maybe that'll change in a few years, although I doubt even that. Seriously, who can imagine working EXCLUSIVELY on a 10" screen? And if a tablet becomes something that you plug into external monitors and keyboards and such, well then, ASUS is already mostly there with the Transformer series. And at that point what we'll have is just a more portable PC with external accessories. Once a tablet becomes complex enough in terms of network support, printing, peripheral devices like scanners, etc., then is it really a "tablet" any longer?
..........
demandarin said:
Actually Google is already consdidering this. read several articles on it. it's a great idea bit one catch, Phone carriers would hate it. those companies add those GUI to devices to differentiate themselves from other similar devices. I'd rather have vanilla android experience and not have bloat ui on top of it. A GUI on top of vanilla android will never be faster out the box than a plain vanilla experience. one suggestion was to make the various companies GUI removable if the user chooses. they could use that companies GUI or go vanilla route or use one of the many launchers available on android. Usually a company GUI will be more integrated and stable than one from marketplace.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was hearing at one point that Google was looking to simplify the custom GUI creation (just a custom GUI xml that the manufacturer can push that the vanilla OS will honor) so that even if there are large changes underneath by Google, there is no change needed by the manufacturer prior to release (assuming the manufacturer is only making GUI changes and not anything deeper).
sparkym3 said:
I was hearing at one point that Google was looking to simplify the custom GUI creation (just a custom GUI xml that the manufacturer can push that the vanilla OS will honor) so that even if there are large changes underneath by Google, there is no change needed by the manufacturer prior to release (assuming the manufacturer is only making GUI changes and not anything deeper).
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that was what it was involving. thanks for pointing out those details.
Link doesn't work anymore!