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Apps that make it worth it.

CoolSpot

CoolSpot

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2004
167
226
I'm in the market for a new 7" tablet, and like many have settled on either the Nexus 7 or the iPad mini.

A quick review of hardware specs would give the edge to the Nexus 7 with its lower cost, higher resolution screen, etc. and most online reviews confirm my feelings from a hardware standpoint.

That said, nearly every head-to-head review gives the iPad the edge for its App ecosystem. Most of the reviews that I have read, however, are pretty light on specifics.

Here's my challenge to the forum; gimme the best iOS-only apps that separate the Apple tablets and iOS from the competition. Any category is fine. :cool:
 
D

darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
17,980
9,548
Atlanta, GA
Most reviews give Apple more than just an edge.

Its not about iOS specific apps, its about iOS apps which are optimized to the iPad's larger display as opposed to Android phone apps which are scaled up.

I personally don't have an Android tablet so i can't give you specifics, but do you really think all those reviews are lying to you?
 
Ayemerica

Ayemerica

macrumors 65816
Oct 18, 2011
1,058
157
Atlantis but in space
darngooddesign said:
Most reviews give Apple more than just an edge.

Its not about iOS specific apps, its about iOS apps which are optimized to the iPad's larger display as opposed to Android phone apps which are scaled up.

I personally don't have an Android tablet so i can't give you specifics, but do you really think all those reviews are lying to you?
Click to expand...

I can't agree more, it's the whole experience not just the tablet itself it's hardware and software.
 
Moneymiike420

Moneymiike420

macrumors regular
Jul 18, 2012
189
63
Android tablet apps are upscaled phone apps like the other guy mentioned . If. U want real apps get an ipad mini it's a joy to
Use
 
J

JeepMB

macrumors newbie
Nov 26, 2012
2
0
Go to Bestbuy or wherever you can use both the Nexus 7 and the iPad mini.. After owning an Android tablet.. there is just no comparrison to the quality or the experience.

If you are a casual user that will only use it to browse the internet then go with the Nexus 7.. If your looking for the whole package of apps and user experience go with the iPad. The iPad is more functional then the Android and you'd have to use both to understand what i mean.

The only thing that I liked better about the android is if you are into modifying the tablet OS. You can run a different rom every day if you wanted too...
 
Jessica Lares

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,056
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
Paper

http://www.fiftythree.com/paper

Noteshelf

http://www.fluidtouch.biz/noteshelf/

Readmill

http://readmill.com

The problem with Android apps in general is that they are not intuitive. I'll give you an example of my favorite writing app - JotterPad HD. It's about $4, and probably the nicest text editor you can get on Android. The problem is that it's like working with Notepad in Windows, except you have a few more options. And that's as GOOD AS IT GETS. Pretty much every editor, whether it be a drawing app, text editor, a app to jot notes on, etc, is going to be not only minimal, but very lacking unless it's one of Autodesk's or Adobe's. If you have used Linux, it feels very similar to that, except that the interfaces are more boxy and the images for everything are nicer.

For the $4 I paid for JotterPad, there are about 100 more worthy productivity applications I could have bought on iOS, and some even cost a dollar less. And that's my biggest problem right there, and is something you should think about.

What you save on just buying the Nexus 7, is only going to be the money you will end up spending on Google Play, and it will end up being on UI customizations like clocks, weather, icons, live wallpapers, etc. It's a nice feature of Android, but if all you're doing is dressing up your device, making it pretty, and not actually using it, then what's the point in buying the device?

And from a hardware point-of-view, ask yourself why having a Tegra device is worth it when there are only a handful of games that even use it?
 
T

Thade

macrumors newbie
Mar 16, 2004
29
0
I had a 7" galaxy tab for a while and sold it when the mini was released but I wasn't thrilled with the Mini's screen so I bought a nexus 7 BUT I also have an iPhone and an ipad 4 so for me it is more like a toy to tinker around with cause I'm a geek :) if I could only have one device and had to choose either the nexus 7 or ipad mini, I'd probably go with the mini

On the android side, I have been using a lot of the same apps that I use on the ipad and iPhone: Evernote, pulse news, flipboard, YouTube, Netflix, spotify, rdio, xfinity, pandora, I heart radio, and a few games like dead trigger. Just about all of all of these apps are more polished on the ipad... Well maybe all of them but the Nexus is quite useable. Video, audio and game quality are all great. I'm also more likely to carry it around or take it to bed and not care all the much about damaging it.
 
A

anvikapur

macrumors member
Nov 11, 2012
54
0
CoolSpot said:
I'm in the market for a new 7" tablet, and like many have settled on either the Nexus 7 or the iPad mini.

A quick review of hardware specs would give the edge to the Nexus 7 with its lower cost, higher resolution screen, etc. and most online reviews confirm my feelings from a hardware standpoint.

That said, nearly every head-to-head review gives the iPad the edge for its App ecosystem. Most of the reviews that I have read, however, are pretty light on specifics.

Here's my challenge to the forum; gimme the best iOS-only apps that separate the Apple tablets and iOS from the competition. Any category is fine. :cool:
Click to expand...

1. P90X: track daily workouts from favorite exercise program and it helps me progress in strength conditioning.

2. Jeffrey Gitomer's Pocket Reference: a must-have for all sales professionals! Gitomer gives a free copy of his best-seller "The Little Red Book of Selling." This helps with daily sales motivation and creativity.

3. Burton: able to track all days on the mountain and to write journals about each trip. It will also help track goal for the number of days I plan to go snowboarding this winter season.

With exclusive apps such as these, one can see why many people don't leave iOS.
 
rhett7660

rhett7660

macrumors G5
Jan 9, 2008
14,224
4,304
Sunny, Southern California
Jessica Lares said:
Paper

http://www.fiftythree.com/paper

Noteshelf

http://www.fluidtouch.biz/noteshelf/

Readmill

http://readmill.com

The problem with Android apps in general is that they are not intuitive. I'll give you an example of my favorite writing app - JotterPad HD. It's about $4, and probably the nicest text editor you can get on Android. The problem is that it's like working with Notepad in Windows, except you have a few more options. And that's as GOOD AS IT GETS. Pretty much every editor, whether it be a drawing app, text editor, a app to jot notes on, etc, is going to be not only minimal, but very lacking unless it's one of Autodesk's or Adobe's. If you have used Linux, it feels very similar to that, except that the interfaces are more boxy and the images for everything are nicer.

For the $4 I paid for JotterPad, there are about 100 more worthy productivity applications I could have bought on iOS, and some even cost a dollar less. And that's my biggest problem right there, and is something you should think about.

What you save on just buying the Nexus 7, is only going to be the money you will end up spending on Google Play, and it will end up being on UI customizations like clocks, weather, icons, live wallpapers, etc. It's a nice feature of Android, but if all you're doing is dressing up your device, making it pretty, and not actually using it, then what's the point in buying the device?

And from a hardware point-of-view, ask yourself why having a Tegra device is worth it when there are only a handful of games that even use it?
Click to expand...

richimages said:
Seconded! Love Noteshelf!
Click to expand...

Sold me on Noteshelf. Never knew about this app. Going to get this when I get home! Very nice!
 
Abazigal

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,559
22,020
Singapore
Educreations is current a free but ipad-only app which lets you record/upload/view screencasts. Granted, it's mainly for educational usage, but one useful enough that I felt compelled to point out. :)

If you already have an ipad or iphone, all your paid apps carry over, so that's another reason to stick.

There's tapatalk HD, but I personally do not find it value for the money you need to shell out, as it does not support quite a few of the forums I frequent.
 
L

Lara F

macrumors 6502a
May 5, 2005
853
10
Montreal, Quebec
Tweetbot is still very superior to any Android Twitter app. It's the individual app I miss most.

CNN has *no* N7 compatible app which I find outrageous (more on the part of CNN...but it's still a deficiency).

But one thing I rarely see pointed out that I really noticed is that aside from YouTube (which is terrific on the N7) video quality just rarely seems as good as on iOS. It's slowly getting better optimized but there was a stark difference with WatchESPN (requires Adobe Air on Android), MLB At Bat, CTV's Olympic app (when it finally worked on Jellybean) and currently BBC iPlayer via the new BBC Media Player (litany of complaints on Play Store ratings). To their credit, Netflix and Hulu Plus at least are pretty good. But it's more the exception in my experience.
 
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