[Q] Tablet... Android or Windows? What do you suggest? - General Questions and Answers

Hello!
I want to buy a tablet for use in school instead of my notebook.
I really love Android Honeycomb but I have some problems here and there...
I will tell you something about what i need and want. I hope some of you can make some good suggestions.
I looked around a bit and three devices were generally suitable... The problem is I don'T know what to take... Win or Android...
The three devices:
-Acer Iconia A500 (or A501)
-Acer Iconia W500 (or W501)
-Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101
Perfect fo me would be to have a dual-booting tablet with Win7 and Honeycomb.
I want to have an easy to handle Tablet. Means I do never want to have a real HArd Disk. Thats why most Windows Tablets are not possible for me.
SSD or Flash / NAND storage is an important criteria.
Next I want my pad to be lightweight meaning I preferr ARM-Platforms as they have much less Hardware. Especially the Fan in x86-HW is annoying in my eyes.
But I need the Tablet for basicly five things:
-Presentations: Animated Presentations like in PowerPoint (That's a Contra Android I think)
-Text (Word or similar - Okay Eee Pad has an office solution)
-Table Calculation (low weight not so important)
-Software engineering (Which is a big Pro for Windows as I don't know apps for Android doing that.
-Gaming: Playing Minigames whan I'm off... Well thats a point where I like Android
And some point for me is the battery time... Unformtunately x86-Hardware is much power consuming in opptsite to ARM.
I'd love to have a device which is able to boot both systems but unfortunately honeycomb is not ported to x86 yet
Well I have a windows server so I could probably use terminal sessions for programming as a workaround
What do you think?
Or would you suggest me another Tablet else than the ones listed above?
Do you believe it will be possible to install Windows 8 onto Eee Pad Transformer?
Probably even DualBoot?

For school purposes, I think a Windows tablet would be your best bet. You just can't get all of the widely used/ popular business features in Android. Plus you don't wanna get distracted during class

I would have to Say Windows if it for school, but then again look into Android with Word power, or use of School related Apps, for which Android I think is perfect because of the use of many many different Apps to help with whatever situation you're in.

I would think Android would be a much better tablet experience than Windows.
Excluding the possibility of Windows 8.

I would like to point out Bluestacks
http://www.bluestacks.com/
Wait a few months, and a dual-booting tablet will be possible
In the meantime, have you used windows 7 with a touchscreen? IMHO, it kinda sucks.

hahah ,very thanks

Well Windows 7 on touchscreen is possible and it is quite usable. I tried one out (Ambiance AT-something)
But I really love Android as I already stated. And it is better in tiouchscreen-use of course.
The school I mean is not a regular school but it is a school wehre you go if you learn a job (don't know the english word for it). I'm learning an IT-Specialist Job so thats not any problem
The question is while looking on each parameter what would be the best choice for me?
None is suitable 100% I guess this will end up in a 45-55 percent decision...
As I you said generally Windows has much more "known" capabilities e.g. MS Office but on the other hand android is much better while talkting from tablets... It is more efficient light-weight (focussing on hardware specs) and when I focus on travelluign I would like to have android as it has more battery lifetime and at the same time the games are better (You have to remember that most windows games are too hardware-hungry to run on a tablet and if they do you have battery times around two hours? )
For my purposes the polaris office Word equivalent is enough.
The presentation thing is okay for small presentations. for bigger ones I'd have to use windows or wait until some software comes out (which will happen I think)
I did not try table caluclation on polaris office yet...
A big plus-point for windows is programming... IS there any software out for android which supports that? I don't think so.
But therefore I could use my server as I already said.
A big plus for android is portabliity and the in my oppinion better games for entertaiment.
Besides the Transformers Screen is awsome in comparison to the Acer...

The transformer does have a nice screen. It's a quite capable tablet, I liked the hardware much more than the Acer. Honeycomb just isnt quite there yet. If It has to work and be easy, go Windows. If it has to be fun go Android

I wouldn't buy any android tablet at the present date, especially if i don't wanna use it mainly as a toy...android is not mature yet, it still has a lot of glitches to be ironed out, on a tablet they can become even more annoying.

It'S exactly what my problem is^^ I want fun but also be able to do my work.
But I don't mind having it a bit more complicated then.
I would instantly say I take a windows thing and use android-x86 ginger as dualboot... But I dislike the x86-Arch-Hardware in a Tablet.

Tablet android 100%

There is already a tablet with dual booting os i.e. android n windows....
here is the link..

rajivshahi said:
There is already a tablet with dual booting os i.e. android n windows....
here is the link..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Friend I am really sceptic when I see a Dual-Booting Tablet, looking like an ipad coming from Hong Kong and haveing Win7 ULTIMATE on it.
Next there is another doing this from Viewsonic. But installing Android 2.2 or 2.3 on an x86 platform is not the problem...
Honeycomb is not possible unfortunately - YET I know TegaTech is workign on it and it is running. Just google not permitting the release yet.
dari0 said:
Tablet android 100%
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Click to collapse
Can you describe why?

Going off what you've said you need it for, and that you don't mind how W7 works on a tablet, I'd say go that route, and install bluestacks when it comes out to get your android games.
Coding inside android is not something I've ever heard about, I know you mentioned it, but I don't know how important it is to you.
If battery life is really important, however, I'd recommended the Asus transformer - massive battery life with the dock, and works great as a netbook or a tablet. Dunno how Google docs or similar works on it as an office suite, but its definitely an option.

Thanks mtmerrick
Your post is exactly what I think.
Win7 is good in software and Transformer in Hardware...
If Transformer 2 was out now I would have bought it... Do you think if I buy TF now I will be able to install WIndows 8 on it when it comes out?
I don't know if it's even possible to install anything there?
//Edit: The Programming part is not important for me. But for School. As said I'd use Terminal Sessions for this purpose when thats the only death criteria for android.

Thank my posts if they helped.
There's been talk of putting windows 8 on android devices already, but its too soon to say if it'll actually be possible. I also want to add, Windows 8 ARM apps are most likely not going to be compatible with windows 8 x86 and x64 programs, if that makes a difference to you.
Android has several office suites avalible, and they're pretty good. I'm not exactly sure how strong they are but I do know they're more then enough for most of my entire office. Add the Transformer's hardware keyboard and you should be good to go.
So, I've effectively talked myself into the Asus Eee Pad Transformer for you. What do you think?

I am sure Windows 8 ARM will support MSOffice and Visual C# Express As wella s there will be a notepad++ compile for ARM so that's really all I need lol

Well Microsoft has already said there'll he a version of Office avalible for ARM, so no need to worry about that. But, as I said, android office apps should be all you need,expically with that hardware keyboard. And the transformer has an HDMI out, if I remember correctly, so that (probably) means dual monitor support, and definitely mirroring. Thing is, most people just don't NEED the full capabilities of windows. Only reasons for my laptop are AutoCAD and iTunes. And if windows 8 ARM is going to require its own programs, honestly, why bother with it?

I agree with you.
Define "need"
I saw ubuntu is able to run on the transformer... That opens a new way =)
Which includes even most programming problems
Does anyone know if I can dualboot Android and Ubuntu on the Transformer?
If yes I know what I will buy

android of cos....

Related

[Q] Transformer for students.

A bit of background: I will be attending UCLA as a computer science student in the fall. I will be bringing my desktop with me, and am trying to decide between a laptop/netbook or the Transformer.
Would the transformer work in conjunction with the desktop, or will I need a full laptop.
Thanks.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
You should consider what you want to use this device for before you decide. As a CS major, you will certainly be doing quite a bit of programming, and you might want to prefer to use a full linux environment for this, depends largely on the program you have at UCLA. What you can consider is to get this device and using the splashtop program access your desktop to do your programming. However, you will want to consider whether or not you want to utilize the local processing power of your device. It would be far simpler to use a laptop/netbook for those purposes, rather than trying to find solutions with the tablet+dock. In the end, if you find that you will be using the device docked most of the time for school, then you should probably consider just getting a laptop/netbook. If the convenience of the tablet and media consumption is something you'd prefer, then get the transformer.
tl;dr, I consider the transformer+dock a fun/entertainment device. For CS based schoolwork, you would most likely want a laptop/netbook.
unless you wanted to focus on tablet development in your coursework...but that's not for another 2 years...
Hope that helps.
It helped a lot. Thank you.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Keep in mind that you can use the Transformer's bundled remote desktop app and/or a terminal app to control your PC, and run stuff that way - assuming you can connect to your desktop from wherever you are.
I do agree with omguss, if you don't plan on using the device mostly for entertainment, get a netbook/laptop.
Sorry if this is hijacking your thread (ill start a new thread if you want) but just wondering if there is a good note taking apps for android?
There are two uses I can see being needed for me.
First I would need something to annotate on pdf's and powerpoints. I remember seeing an app that looked pretty solid for this so it should be good.
Secondly I would need an app that I can be typing with the keyboard, and then when needed draw in equations, graphs, pictures, whatever. Not really sure if there is something good for this.
As a programmer, I would suggest getting a full laptop for somebody majoring in CS. As much as I love the transformer, you cannot compile code on it. At least in my searching I have not found a single IDE meant to be run on Android (Lot's target Android, but none run on Android). More than likely, there will be several times that you want to do work away from your room. On the transformer, the only real way to do this will be remote desktop software. It's up to you whether you think the remote desktop software will be sufficient for this, but one other thing I would caution against is the small keyboard. It is far more comfortable (and efficient) to program on a full-size (or as near to full-size as possible) keyboard.
I don't know what type of program you are going into, but if you take any courses on 3d graphics you are almost certainly going to lose the ability to test your programs through a remote desktop connection.
I personally think that tablets are great in conjunction with a desktop. I plan to get rid of my netbook once I get the transformer. My only concern for you is that a tablet simply isn't a good tool for programming. If the hacker community manages to get ubuntu onto the transformer then the device will be an acceptable programming tool in my opinion; although, you will still lack a full size keyboard.
My advice to you is wait until mid-to-late summer. There is a slew of new tech toys coming out this summer, and almost anything you get now will be outdated by the time you start in the fall. By summer you will know if we managed to get Ubuntu on the transformer, AMD's Llano processor will be out on laptops, and Tegra 3 tablets may be just around the corner.
BongoBong said:
Sorry if this is hijacking your thread (ill start a new thread if you want) but just wondering if there is a good note taking apps for android?
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Click to collapse
Don't need to hijack anything. Just look here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=980783
I'm a secondary school student, I have a HP DM1 (Not the Z ), runs 7 pro X64 + VS 2010 Pro + VS2008 Pro. Got a load of VM's for debugging ETC...
Windows is good for note taking to, Onenote is great.
Hope this helps
Badwolve1
good old days of using SSH + eMacs + X client, they all switched to windows in school?
Magnesus said:
Don't need to hijack anything. Just look here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=980783
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Thanks, but I have already seen that thread and done some other looking up and the majority of discussion is whats the best handwriting app. They really don't mention how good it would be for mostly typing (understandable since most would be using the on screen keyboard).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1039287&highlight=onenote
someone seriously needs to start porting some compilers to android..
many scripting languages are available through SL4A but most CS courses are taught with C/C++ or Java. I'd love to help out with this project but I just wouldn't know where to start
Just adding on to this, since I'm a student and also looking for a tablet solution.
I'd love:
1. Printing to my university printers. My university currently requires you install some software to use their printers. Mac and Windows versions available, no Linux, no Android.
2. Onenote would be awesome. I read that there was an iPhone version available? Android should be coing soon hopefully.
I would suggest a full laptop, and something with high resolution. Once your CS load picks up you'll need something you can work on in between or during classes. Android lacking compilers on the OS itself is the killer here, otherwise you are free to code all you want via text editors.
j7899 said:
I would suggest a full laptop, and something with high resolution. Once your CS load picks up you'll need something you can work on in between or during classes. Android lacking compilers on the OS itself is the killer here, otherwise you are free to code all you want via text editors.
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Click to collapse
As a CS student myself I would agree with the above and add that in programming classes you will want all the screen real-estate you can get your hands on(17"+), a good amount of hard disk space, 4gb+ ram, and a good Virtual Machine program. Less important is video and cpu power unless you intend to make it a desktop replacement/gaming machine.
That being said... Such a laptop is going to be rather heavy. I am getting the Transformer to replace an early gen AspireOne for less technical classes.
Just my $0.02
Flowah said:
Just adding on to this, since I'm a student and also looking for a tablet solution.
I'd love:
1. Printing to my university printers. My university currently requires you install some software to use their printers. Mac and Windows versions available, no Linux, no Android.
2. Onenote would be awesome. I read that there was an iPhone version available? Android should be coing soon hopefully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was about to say that you're insane and that MS would never make OneNote for iOS but.. turns out you're right. That's really strange. Hopefully they start work on an Android version soon.
Edit: The iOS version of OneNote doesn't seem all that great. You can't write with a stylus.. it's just keyboard input. lame. Writing with a capacitive stylus on the transformer would kind of suck anyway, but I might still consider the HTC Flyer which has an active digitizer.
smaskell said:
I was about to say that you're insane and that MS would never make OneNote for iOS but.. turns out you're right. That's really strange. Hopefully they start work on an Android version soon.
Edit: The iOS version of OneNote doesn't seem all that great. You can't write with a stylus.. it's just keyboard input. lame. Writing with a capacitive stylus on the transformer would kind of suck anyway, but I might still consider the HTC Flyer which has an active digitizer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, but I'm interested in the Transformer almost purely because of the keyboard dock, so keyboard input only is fine with me tbh. As long as it's decently full featured.
I'm waiting to see if the AMD Llano will make the best thin gaming laptop. Hopefully, new AMD laptops will come out in June, right before back-to-school season.
Oh yeah, OneNote. Yeah, that's important too.
joe_dude said:
Oh yeah, OneNote. Yeah, that's important too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Onenote is the single most useful piece of software MS has ever produced (Excluding win7;p))
Virtual Machines? Eh, I never needed to use one except when I was using a Mac. Wandering what you guys are doing with it.
Any laptop that is 13"+ in screen size is good. The power of the computer depends on what you plan to do. So you have to decide on the specs yourself. Dual Core is fine unless you plan to do any CPU intensive tasks. If you ever need a bigger screen, then you can just buy a monitor and hook it up so even a netbook could be fine if you are okay with the power it gives. 13"-15" is good. 17" is just monstrous and you don't want to be lugging that around.

[Q] Dual booting Ubuntu 11.04 and Android 3.0?

The dual-form nature of this item would fit a dual-boot scenario perfectly. Boot into Android when used as a tablet, boot into Ubuntu when docked. Just curious as to the possibility of this.
As far as I know, Ubuntu supports ARM architecture, so the Tegra 2 chip should work well with it. Ubuntu 11.04 was just released with the integrated Unity interface, which looks wonderful with the touchscreen: http://unity.ubuntu.com/projects/utouch/
The Unity 2D interface should fly on the Tegra 2, even if the Unity 3D mode lags.
Now I know that on the Xoom, we were able to run Ubuntu on a VNC server and connect to it locally, but that is obviously not an ideal solution, due to VNC's weakness, and the general inefficiency of it.
Are there any devs working on something like this so far? I am sure there would be a very sizable audience for something like this. I'd be happy to do any necessary testing, and I'm sure more will as well. I also wouldn't mind taking this as an opportunity to get involved with the dev community (I have a thorough background in CS, just no experience with this specifically), I'd be happy if anyone were to take me under their wing. =)
You're not the only one hoping for this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1053641
I was just thinking about this yesterday. Dual booting Ubuntu and Android would make this the perfect device for me.
i would also love the ability to run linux on mine
I'm tempted to wait until this is guaranteed to happen before buying this thing. I need a new portable device for developing on the go, and I also want and need a Honeycomb device for testing apps and casual content consumption.
At the same time though, if anyone knows of a site or thread dedicated to making this dual-boot happen (similar to the dedicated Toshiba AC100 page here http://tosh-ac100.wetpaint.com/page/Ubuntu ), I wouldn't mind learning all about it and potentially help if I can, so please share.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA App
There are some devs who definitely pulled this off on the Atrix and I had Ubuntu on my phone so I'm sure we can get it on the transformer. I'll try to find them and see if similar methods can be used.
It'll take years but I don't see why it wouldn't work. If I can do this on my old ass wm6.5 phone then it's possible on the TF!
Maybe it wont take years, but more of these tablets have to hit the market. Still so many people waiting on their preorders, me included.
I think that there might be quite the interest in making this happen. I remember reading somewhere that Ubuntu allready runs on the Tegra2, so why should it be far into the future before we see it running on the Transformer?
Sorry for any typos. I have fat fingers, a 4" screen, a small child and a dictionary gone wild...
here's to hoping
So far i'm quite impressed with this little tablet. It crunches bytes as fast as i can throw them, and customizing it was easy enough. Although with the dock station and Tegra 2 it does feel more like a netbook than a tablet.
Android 3.0 IMO is the best compromise between a desktop and mobile phone OS. Although it's expandability is not quite what i would wish it to be. Possibly once more developers gear their programs for the higher resolutions and more powerful CPUs this will change. For now dual booting Ubuntu and Android would be perfect.
I'm on board with any project coming about to make this happen, and would offer up my hardware and feedback for beta testing. Hope to see a dedication in this direction soon!
Has anyone tried the method in the xoom development forums?
Sent from HTC Inspire 4G via XDA Premium.
gordec said:
Has anyone tried the method in the xoom development forums?
Sent from HTC Inspire 4G via XDA Premium.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't seen the post, but I'm assuming you mean VNC?
Zach Alt said:
I haven't seen the post, but I'm assuming you mean VNC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's VNC. That's not that hard, we're talking about straight booting INTO Ubuntu.
i have this image from my desire, which boots linux xlde (or something) i cant get it to connect to that image. Pockecloud just get Server disconnected.... maybe another image.. actually that was loading it from removable MicroSD, im now going to try copying to the internal memory "SDCARD" as that would be what the script would have orignally been setup for. I will post results as soon as this has finished pasting the files...
EDIT: still cant get this to work, seems like terminal is ending too quickly which i think means the loopback memory doesnt work, i think thats how it works anyway.
No lock with WYSE pocket cloud or android vnc, i think we need another build for honeycomb, well not so much the OS but the Tegra chip instead.
ubuntuforums.org
There is a thread over at ubuntuforums.org regarding this matter, though they have a different take on it.
One of the posts state:
Re: Asus Eee Pad Transformer
I plan to get one (not available in my region yet, plus I hear there'll be a 3G version next quarter) and install Ubuntu on it, albeit with KDE/Gnome instead of Unity.
There's not technical reason it can't run Ubuntu, it's just a matter of getting the boot loader working. The instructions seem simple enough, although dual booting with Android might be a little more challenging.
If anyone does get one and install Ubuntu on it, please let us know how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it's not all that farfetched getting Ubuntu to run on this device, or any other Tegra2 base tablet.
The original thread can be found at:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1741103&highlight=eee+pad+transformer&page=1
looks like dual booting may be fairly difficult; I wouldn't mind soloing ubuntu touch os on mine...
I think dual booting may be difficult, but I think chain booting (right terminology?) from Android first and then into Ubuntu would probably be possible.
I don't think many people understand how hard it will be to create a bootable version of Ubuntu. VNCing is easy for the most part.
Would it be possible to use the motorola xoom guide to get ubuntu running with vnc on the eee transformer?
Sorry for any typos. I have fat fingers, a 4" screen, a small child and a dictionary gone wild...
Is the VNC version that bad? Is it very slow or the picture is not full color? I'd like to use it maybe for Open Office (or something lighter) and some programming in text editor.
Looks like there has been significant progress on this. backtrack has been released for arm.. its a security-centric distro, but its built on an ubuntu base.
I'm downloading the img now.. dont know about dual boot though. guess someone needs to port grub over first =)
I cant post links....but a search for 'backtrack5 xoom' should get you there.

Windows tablets

Would you guys recommend that one buys the Asus transformer 300 as opposed to waiting for windows 8 tablets and buying one of them? If so, why?
Thanks
Sent from my R800i using XDA
KindaUndisputed said:
Would you guys recommend that one buys the Asus transformer 300 as opposed to waiting for windows 8 tablets and buying one of them? If so, why?
Thanks
Sent from my R800i using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a tough call. I was thinking the same thing. Finally I bought the TF300 reasoning that:
1) Win RT tablets are still months away
2) Even when the first ones are released, it may well be a few more months before a manufacturer releases one I really like
3) Even then, it will be a few more months before there's a critical mass of decent applications for the platform.
So all in all I'm guessing 18 months to two years before Windows 8 tablets are truly attractive propositions, and by that time I'll probably be itching to update anyway, so I'll be able to re-consider the direction I want to go in at the time.
dsf3g said:
That's a tough call. I was thinking the same thing. Finally I bought the TF300 reasoning that:
1) Win RT tablets are still months away
2) Even when the first ones are released, it may well be a few more months before a manufacturer releases one I really like
3) Even then, it will be a few more months before there's a critical mass of decent applications for the platform.
So all in all I'm guessing 18 months to two years before Windows 8 tablets are truly attractive propositions, and by that time I'll probably be itching to update anyway, so I'll be able to re-consider the direction I want to go in at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is it about windows that is so attractive though? As in, what can you do on a windows tablet that you can't on Android?
2. What do you think, the Dell inspiron duo or this?
Sent from my R800i using XDA
I had the same question a week ago.
My girlfriend needed a "portable office" and the question was: Notebook or Notebook.
But then I told her there is a tablet with keyboard dock and listed some advantages, because she already have a Samsung Galaxy Ace.
And that it is possible to connect external volumes like USB sticks or drives.
Now she uses the TF300T about a week and is still satisfied.
All she has to do is to write some things in Word and a little bit Powerpoint. All this is done very well with OfficeSuite Pro.
Additionally she has to transfer some pictures, e-mails and surfing the net.
No need for Windows.
Now she can sync her calendar very very easy, has her contacts everywhere and can manage them easily, and can use the same payed apps as she bought for her Galaxy Ace.
My job is done.
You should just think about what you do most.
If you want to play some games which are windows only, okay. But you don't have already a PC at home?
Do you have special applications which are windows only?
Android is much smoother than windows. It's faster because it's not overloaded with things normal humans wouldn't need.
Additionally no idea about the battery lifetime. Notebooks have much less and I assume, Windows 8 tablets won't work as long as an Android tablet.
Thanks for the reply!
Sent from my R800i using XDA
KindaUndisputed said:
What is it about windows that is so attractive though? As in, what can you do on a windows tablet that you can't on Android?
2. What do you think, the Dell inspiron duo or this?
Sent from my R800i using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At this point, nothing, because there aren't any Windows RT tablets to compare to. So it's all speculative, on my part.
However, I would expect to find a very robst and well implemented web brower and a robust and well implemented Office suite as well as good Windows networking and printing.
The emergence of Chrome on Android makes the first point much less of an issue. I've been using Chrome on the TF300 and really, really like it. Heck, I've also found that Opera on my TF300 behaves much better than it does on my HTC Flyer.
But I'm still waiting for a decent Office suite. There are some OK ones out there, getting better by the day. I do like Office Suite Professional. But some pretty important features are missing (for insatnce, the ability to create multi-columned documents).
The big appeal of Windows 8 being on tablets is compatibility. There will be Metro Apps and regular Windows 8 apps. Metro Apps are gonna be for mobile devices like your tablet and your home PC.
With Windows 8 your old x86 PC applications won't run on your tablet, but your new Metro apps should be compatible with your PC and tablet. So if I'm playing a game on my tablet, I go home, I can sync up and continue playing on my PC. That's a very cool options to have. I'm using an app to work on a project on my tablet, I can jump right into the same application, with the same interface, and continue at my desk.
It's one step closer to blurring the line between a home PC and mobile devices.

WINDOWS 8 Prelease!!!!

Hey devs, lets start cranking this baby out. Lets do some research, and find out what he need to get W8 on the G Tablet
Please details, or possible obstacles you find, or feel
Sorry Charlie
DJTJ said:
Hey devs, lets start cranking this baby out. Lets do some research, and find out what he need to get W8 on the G Tablet
Please details, or possible obstacles you find, or feel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this has been answered before, but just to make you happy...the closest you will ever get to seeing Win 8 on a gTab is if you play a YouTube video of it.
Won't be possible for numerous reasons:
1. Doesn't meet the hardware specs (too little ram, too little storage, missing various pieces of hardware, screen res way too low, etc)
2. Unlike Android (which is open source), Windows is not...MS would be all over anyone butt if they tried to modify it for another device
3. MS has already stated Win8 (RT) will only come pre-installed on OEM devices meaning the OEM's build will be specific to their hardware
4. We can't even get drivers for our current hardware on Android...how do expect to get Windows ones for it??????
5. I could go one, but I hope you get the point
Al
aabbondanza said:
the closest you will ever get to seeing Win 8 on a gTab is if you play a YouTube video of it.
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Precisely.
How many devices (of any type) can you name which run any form of Windows (or MS-DOS, for that matter) without MS's blessing? (Let's skip pirated copies here.)
rajeevvp said:
Precisely.
How many devices (of any type) can you name which run any form of Windows (or MS-DOS, for that matter) without MS's blessing? (Let's skip pirated copies here.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My thoughts exactly....... Why OH Why would you want Microsoft software on a Android Tablet. UI for Win8 are not that great and perfomance wouldn't be either. Really Metro on Android it's bad enough they have a launcher for it let alone someone wanting a OS. I would rather try putting IOs on this thing then somthing from Microsoft. Just saying.
Even if the UI is fantastic and the performance is great, the idea is a non-starter. Here's why:
Let's say Hannspree makes a deal with MS tomorrow and releases Win 8 (completely unlocked of course!) on their Hannspad next month. Now, since the Hannspad and the gTab are very close tablets, you could conceivably just pull the official files from that tablet and use it on the gTab with minor modifications. And let's also assume that you've got Win 8 working perfectly on the gTab by going in with a hex editor and patching whatever binaries. And finally, when you boot it, Win 8 blows the socks off everything else.
Unfortunately, what you've done now is create a pirated distro of Win 8 -- a warez distribution -- and no reputable BBS (certainly not XDA!) will touch it. You'll have to post your wonderful creation on some 0-day warez upload site for people to use.
The technical problems are actually a tertiary concern here.
I have it on my U30GT Cube, well, not really on it, but with the "Splashtop" app I can use my main PC (Win8) on my tablet touch screen and its great.
So, while you may not be able to fully install Win8 on the Gtab, if your main PC has Win8 (I assume any other Windows OS too), I do not see any reason why Splashtop would not suffice or indeed enhance any tablet.

Possible to run W8 on Transformer TF700?

I am considering buying the Transformer TF700, but I am wondering if it is possible to root the tablet and install Windows 8 on it when W8 is available for purchase?
Regards, Sari
Unlikely, Win 8 requires an encrypted bootloader.
Installing Win8 as a 2nd OS, NO. But running linux as a second OS and Virtual machine windows on it, Yes. Just not sure how stable that would be, or how fluid. You can always wait and see as asus have announced a partnership with Microsoft for a duclboot android windows Pad...maybe, HOPEFULLY, the hardware will be close enough to our infinity for devs to port it over
Its possible. That locked down requirement is for OEMs, I doubt it'd be hardcoded into the OS since that'd be hard to detect or easy to spoof. Asus's WinRT tablets are Tegra 3 based, so depending on which variant they use it might be relatively simple to port.
Very unlikely. I couldn't spout the technicals for you, but it is a very closed down system, and MC certainly doesn't want any modding or porting in any way.
Assuming you mean Windows RT, then...well, I'm sure Microsoft is probably going to do everything they can to ensure that Windows RT doesn't run on anything other than approved devices.
Ah, that's disappointing :l Thanks for your replies!
I used to be very interested in Win 8 but now I am not sure I want it on a Tablet. I know eveybody is saying it is going to be great on tablets, but nobody really knows yet, and I have been an early adopter of other mobile OS products like Win Smartphones, that were big failures. The beauty of Android is it is more open source so its easy to create apps for it, so I am not sure Windows will ever get the kind of app libraries (Free or cheap) Android and IOS have. Looking at Microsoft's history, I am not sure they will excel in this market at this point.
Just my thoughts . .
guitar1969 said:
... Looking at Microsoft's history, I am not sure they will excel in this market at this point.
Just my thoughts . .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This ^^ -- given the fact that I've owned several Windows Mobile devices that have hung somewhere in space as far as support and development went and that MS have crashed several of their purportedly groundbreaking devices in the past (the Zune and the Kin spring to mind in particular) doesn't really inspire me with any hope that the Surface and its successors will be anything to drool about, except maybe for 'paper specs'.
For the graphically inclined and those in search for a read, a search for "Microsoft failures" comes up with, amongst others:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise...osofts-Biggest-Failures-and-Successes-500262/
http://www.money.co.uk/misc/microsofts-biggest-flops-and-failures.htm
http://www.complex.com/tech/2009/05/a-history-of-microsofts-biggest-failures
Just for fun, those.
No way.... The largest software development company in the world has had failures? Who would ever have thought that?
almostinsane said:
No way.... The largest software development company in the world has had failures? Who would ever have thought that?
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Click to collapse
It's not that they had failures, smart boy -- it's their touting so much 'groundbreaking' stuff that wouldn't even float by itself if you threw it in a lake of polystyrene packaging chips.
Ugh, Win8 with its crappy touchy-feely interface. I am fully convinced that desktop and laptop systems are here to stay, whether for gaming or productivity, so I do not need an interface optimized for mobile touchscreen devices on my rather immobile main piece of trusted hardware.
Jotokun said:
Its possible. That locked down requirement is for OEMs, I doubt it'd be hardcoded into the OS since that'd be hard to detect or easy to spoof. Asus's WinRT tablets are Tegra 3 based, so depending on which variant they use it might be relatively simple to port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we should wait for any publicly available Windows RT firmware for download. It Asus releases Tablet 600 - that would be even better for us.
I recall the first Hackintoshs (based on first Mac OS X 10.4/Tiger for x86) being run on Pentium 4 and AMD platforms. It required VM and very strong BIOS modifications (as Macs had EFI, at that time unavailable for PCs). Then there were some modified kos (kernel objects, i.e. modules) that enabled it running on PCs with stock BIOS. Later a vanilla kernel was compiled that enabled the system work without problems.
Considering Windows RT port, the last step would be most likely impossible as we don't have kernel source (AFAIK the latest Widows source available is that one of Win2000), but nothing prevents us from attempting to run the Windows RT-enabled device firmware on TF700 and trying to debug failures. However, this can take a long time.
I'm more concerned about running any Linux distro in dualboot with Android %)
What about the new ASUS tablet, tegra 3, windows RT. The same hardware, but different system and screen resolution.
LEGOracer69 said:
What about the new ASUS tablet, tegra 3, windows RT. The same hardware, but different system and screen resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is anywhere its firmware?
The main issue would be the bootloader; the resolution in Windows is much easier to fix.
P.S. "I want NATIVE ubuntu on TF700!" - +1. I bought TF700 as a super long-lasting netbook =)
I have the Asus TF600. It has a lower screen Res and twice the ram of the TF700. WIndows RT requires activation just like the desktop version.
LEGOracer69 said:
What about the new ASUS tablet, tegra 3, windows RT. The same hardware, but different system and screen resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's wonderful!
When did you buy it?
Have you found the firmware?
I only found this: http://support.asus.com/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&m=asus vivotab rt - there is only a manual.
Windows activation has never been a probem since its appearance in XP =) The bootloader should be more tricky.
tf700t 1gb ram win8 problem
Even if someone manages to port Win8 over to the tf700, do you think they will curb the use of it by shutting it down from the windows market side?? Especially with RT you wind up at the complete mercy of Microsoft when it comes to applying any apps to the device. I'd be interested in seeing if it could be done as long as there is no hang up on the application side of the equation. Won't do me much good to have a working os with no apps to run on it.
Cheers

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