Comparing a 32gb 3g tablet with a 16gb non 3g is kinda pointless. People do actually notice the extra 16GB and 3g .
Android tablets go from 250 to 800+ the lower range being simular to the ipad, the higher range having better specs.
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Tablets: Battle of the OS - FIGHT! (Now with poll!)
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Comparing a 32gb 3g tablet with a 16gb non 3g is kinda pointless. People do actually notice the extra 16GB and 3g .
Android tablets go from 250 to 800+ the lower range being simular to the ipad, the higher range having better specs.
I don't think it's pointless. I agree it's not the best head-to-head comparison, but I think it's the comparison that really matters in the consumer mindset. I think it is important to have more expensive options for people that want more, but the low entry level price is what really matters most IMO.
A thing like a tablet is still a tough sell, and $500 sounds much more appealing than $800. In fact, I think People are more likely to see the $500 and say "ooo lemme go look at the iPad" then get upsold to wanting 32gb and 3g. they could even rationalize it and say "well this is still cheaper than the other 32gb w/ 3g tablets on the market!" Even though it is only a $70 difference. If they had compared $730 to $800 maybe they would jump on the xoom with better specs and a different OS, but they got lured in to the $500 price point.
Regardless, I think all of this will be mute in a month, because the iPad 2 will have similar specs to the xoom and I bet it will start at 32gb for $500.
How about the option, "I will decide when there is usable hardware available for more than one of the options and I can try them out in person."
WebOS looks pretty cool and Honeycomb has some cool ideas. QNX appears to be cool as well but it seems many of it's UI concepts were ripped from WebOS. Also unless BB licenses their software I don't think the Playbook will reach the level of sales necessary to support developers on it's platform.
But all we have seen of QNX, WebOS, and Honeycomb was on showroom floors and highly practiced and controlled demos. When the Xoom actually comes out this week and someone posts a real world review I will be better able to judge its software. The WebOS tablets isn't even supposed to come out until Summer, which means it will probably be competing with iOS 5 on iPad 2 hardware.
But ultimately for me the 3rd party software is the only thing that matters. You can have the greatest OS in the world but if you can't run any software on it what is the point? Other OS's may eventually (Android - yes, WebOS and QNX are up in the air) catch up in terms of software, but it will take at least 6-12 months to have useful software that actually takes advantage of the new hardware and OS. Honeycomb's SDK was just released less than a month ago.
WebOS looks pretty cool and Honeycomb has some cool ideas. QNX appears to be cool as well but it seems many of it's UI concepts were ripped from WebOS. Also unless BB licenses their software I don't think the Playbook will reach the level of sales necessary to support developers on it's platform.
But all we have seen of QNX, WebOS, and Honeycomb was on showroom floors and highly practiced and controlled demos. When the Xoom actually comes out this week and someone posts a real world review I will be better able to judge its software. The WebOS tablets isn't even supposed to come out until Summer, which means it will probably be competing with iOS 5 on iPad 2 hardware.
But ultimately for me the 3rd party software is the only thing that matters. You can have the greatest OS in the world but if you can't run any software on it what is the point? Other OS's may eventually (Android - yes, WebOS and QNX are up in the air) catch up in terms of software, but it will take at least 6-12 months to have useful software that actually takes advantage of the new hardware and OS. Honeycomb's SDK was just released less than a month ago.
And as I said, you have android tablets from 250 as well 350 for 10" . Thats still 150 cheaper then any ipad.
Motorola will also release non 3g tablets, no doubt havibng a simular rpice then the 16GB ipad, but with a slew of extra's.
Your logic doesnt really make sense, either they want 3g or not, 3g 32GB is 699, and again plnty of android tablets out who are cheaper, motorola already announced cheaper ones as well.
moot you mean, and I dont think so. Android tablets are just going to keep being realeased with better specs usualy at lower/same prices then apple (like with smartphones) . Knowing apple I dont think ipad 2 is going to be anything spectacular.
Both the Xoom and TouchPad, were unveiled with no word as to battery life and price.
Xoom's pricing was revealed later on, but nothing about the battery life, which leads me to believe it's less than stellar.
Up to 10 hour video playback have been printed and quoted a number of times.
But perhaps like with the iPad it really depends what you doing.
Notifications on/off
Playing a 3D game or listening to some mp3's with the screen off.
I'm suspecting it won't be quite as good as the iPad, but it will be pretty good. But that's only my total guess.
Xoom reviews are up:
Anandtech probably has the most in depth review:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4191/motorola-xoom-review-first-honeycomb-tablet-arrives
Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/motorola-xoom-review/
BGR:
http://www.bgr.com/2011/02/23/motorola-xoom-review/
USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2011-02-24-baig_XOOM24_ST_N.htm
Cnet:
http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/motorola-xoom-tablet/4505-3126_7-34468548.html?tag=TOCcarouselMain.0
WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703775704576162434292664662.html
Anandtech probably has the most in depth review:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4191/motorola-xoom-review-first-honeycomb-tablet-arrives
Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/motorola-xoom-review/
BGR:
http://www.bgr.com/2011/02/23/motorola-xoom-review/
USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2011-02-24-baig_XOOM24_ST_N.htm
Cnet:
http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/motorola-xoom-tablet/4505-3126_7-34468548.html?tag=TOCcarouselMain.0
WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703775704576162434292664662.html
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Anandtech has battery life with numbers, he said he'll be adding more tests.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4191/motorola-xoom-review-first-honeycomb-tablet-arrives/14
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4191/motorola-xoom-review-first-honeycomb-tablet-arrives/14
Anandtech has battery life with numbers, he said he'll be adding more tests.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4191/motorola-xoom-review-first-honeycomb-tablet-arrives/14
i call fake on those numbers. iphone 4 has a better wifi battery life than the ipad? i own an iphone 4 and i dont see that happening
plus they are drastically different than the ipad/xoom battery life in the engadget review
Calling fake on Anandtech's numbers..
Engadget only did a video playback battery test, these are web browsing + audio playback test. Wait a couple days, Anand says he'll add more tests.
Calling Anandtech's numbers fake? Anything thats not pro Apple is not fake. If you still say yes, prove it. Perform an unbiased test and post your results.
Well the reason why I'm calling fake is because both 3g and wifi reports having significantly superior battery life than engadget found while looping a movie. In all my experiences 3G data drains batterys faster than watching a video.
Plus I have an iphone 4 and boy do I wish I got over 6 hours of 3G surfing and over 10 hours on wifi. but I don't get anywhere near that.
Things just seem very inconsistant. I'm not saying that Anandtech actually made up the numbers, I'm just saying that I'm doubting the accuracy of their testing. I dunno, we'll have to see more reviewers battery claims to get a more consistant result.
I believe that Anand is using a new way to test so that variables have been eliminated and the tests are repeated consistently for each product so the results more consistent. Did that make any sense?
I think so. For example, the iPhone 4 might be in airplane mode during testing to eliminate excessive battery drain?
I certainly understand how that can be a pretty good baseline of comparing one battery directly to another, but I think those external factors can be important in determining your device for real use.
For example, I'm sure their xoom testing used no widgets, no backgrounding tasks of any sort etc. Well the major benefit of iOS's multitasking implementation is leading to superior battery life. So while the xoom battery in a implementation that Anandtech used, proved to have a longer life, in real use of the devices the xoom would typically have a shorter battery life.
I absolutely concur that the relative rankings appear to be skewed based on my experience. The Xoom may well be the front runner but there's no way the iPhone 4 comes out that good.
I have to read it again, it was a long review and I know I didn't get everything out of it. It seems like they tried to keep the comparisons extremely fair. Anand has a great reputation and is highly respected for his unbiased reviews. His battery tests are usually reflective of how the product will actually be used, multiple tabs open, viewing flash or video, music etc, ie, real world use. I don't know how familiar you are with Anandtech, but I tend to trust that site along with Tom's Hardware.
Mostly BS, try it out yourself, jailbreak iphone (did it with my ipad) and install any of the backgrounders/real multitasking apps.
It barely changes battery life.
I went by BestBuy and used the Xoom for a good period of time. To tell the truth I wasn't very impressed with it at all. The widescreen from factor seemed a little odd in portrait mode. It felt too tall. One of the major things I want to do on a tablet is read PDFs of scanned papers. The iPad isn't the perfect resolution for this but it is sooo much close than the Xoom. Imagine reading a pdf with black bars across the top and bottom... no thanks. Widescreen would be good if all you did was watch video, but I want to use the tablet for so much more.
The quality of the screen was poor. It had terrible color reproduction, contrast, and depth of blacks. The stark difference was especially evident when the iPad and Xoom are placed next to each other.
And, while this is the most responsive Android device I've ever used, it still was not on par with last year's iPad. I have always found that Android devices have more lag between touch gesture and execution on the screen, not sure why that is. The typing, however, was pretty good on the Xoom. This leads me to believe that all of the UI "enhancements" are taxing the little processor.
The home screen UI had some nice features but after a while I found it to be a little too busy, distracting, and excessive. Don't get me wrong, I really wish the iPad had more on the home screens than just icons, but Android's implementation felt wrong.
I have a feeling this thing is going to have more trouble selling than people think... especially at $800, and with a new iPad coming next week.
The quality of the screen was poor. It had terrible color reproduction, contrast, and depth of blacks. The stark difference was especially evident when the iPad and Xoom are placed next to each other.
And, while this is the most responsive Android device I've ever used, it still was not on par with last year's iPad. I have always found that Android devices have more lag between touch gesture and execution on the screen, not sure why that is. The typing, however, was pretty good on the Xoom. This leads me to believe that all of the UI "enhancements" are taxing the little processor.
The home screen UI had some nice features but after a while I found it to be a little too busy, distracting, and excessive. Don't get me wrong, I really wish the iPad had more on the home screens than just icons, but Android's implementation felt wrong.
I have a feeling this thing is going to have more trouble selling than people think... especially at $800, and with a new iPad coming next week.
pretty silly poll considering the name of the site and the rabid brand loyalty, regardless of what Apple does. The poll results are hardly surprising.
from a non-biased prospective, iOS is more polished but could use some added features.
Android is positioned to get there. They've gotten further than Apple did with iOS within the same amount. This next year for Android will be crucial in polishing what they've created so far. If they do it correctly, they'll be up there with iOS by year's end. Hardware needs to come down in price. If they want to compete with Apple, they need to suck it up and not worry so much about their % on return. Moto could stand to drop the price by $200. Sure, they'd make less per unit, but they'd flood the market more. More customers = more ideas for innovations through requests for features. Microsoft made that gamble with Xbox and it's turned out in their favor. SO you don't make your margins per unit, but you have a larger faithful community in the long run.
WebOS has a cult following but it's the development and hardware community which needs to rally behind it if it's going to make end roads. WebOS needs to build a strong app community, or else it's just another neutered media consumption device. It does look pretty slick and HP seems to be backing this thing 100%.
Win8 is a new entry which should be interesting to watch towards the end of year. Microsoft is pouring billions into their mobile sector. Win8 for tablets will see a newly designed tablet OS. It'll be interesting to see how they balance a touch screen OS with native Windows apps, if in fact they allow that. They may just make iCrapWork apps that can save to Office formats and allow Win7mobile apps to run.
from a non-biased prospective, iOS is more polished but could use some added features.
Android is positioned to get there. They've gotten further than Apple did with iOS within the same amount. This next year for Android will be crucial in polishing what they've created so far. If they do it correctly, they'll be up there with iOS by year's end. Hardware needs to come down in price. If they want to compete with Apple, they need to suck it up and not worry so much about their % on return. Moto could stand to drop the price by $200. Sure, they'd make less per unit, but they'd flood the market more. More customers = more ideas for innovations through requests for features. Microsoft made that gamble with Xbox and it's turned out in their favor. SO you don't make your margins per unit, but you have a larger faithful community in the long run.
WebOS has a cult following but it's the development and hardware community which needs to rally behind it if it's going to make end roads. WebOS needs to build a strong app community, or else it's just another neutered media consumption device. It does look pretty slick and HP seems to be backing this thing 100%.
Win8 is a new entry which should be interesting to watch towards the end of year. Microsoft is pouring billions into their mobile sector. Win8 for tablets will see a newly designed tablet OS. It'll be interesting to see how they balance a touch screen OS with native Windows apps, if in fact they allow that. They may just make iCrapWork apps that can save to Office formats and allow Win7mobile apps to run.
It will be good to play with the iPad 2 next week and see how much of an improvement it is over the original. I have read anything about the Touchpad for a while, have you? I think HP has a slight chance to do it right.
It'll be a sad day when any other OS besides iOS wins on an Apple based website...
I don't think anyone was trying to do that. This discussion has been in the spirit of good competition and Apple has brought their latest product to the table.