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Ok... I am a die hard NON apple kind of guy. My wife bought her Iphone a year ago leaving me and verizon to fend for ourselves. Then I suggested she buy a Mac book as she has been slamming windows for as long as we have been married. So, after loving angry birds on my Gtab for the past month, I thought, what a perfect gift for her (and me to compare) an IPAD would be. So I bought her one for Christmas.
I have to say, the screen really is fine. The lighter weight and the form factor is sweet too. But, to have to have an app (which they do have an app for everything many free for sure) to view most web sites in a "standard" mode such as to see video on them etc., I still can not see that. And, no add on memory and no real interface... the battle is on!
I will update you periodically as I try and see it from an Apple user perspective.
That IPS screen is very nice. Did some after Xmas shopping today and took another look at the iPad. It's the one thing that really stands out on the iPad, versus the GTab.
I know that, in time, Android tablets will catch up (Notion Ink? please don't be vaporware).
roebeet said:
That IPS screen is very nice. Did some after Xmas shopping today and took another look at the iPad. It's the one thing that really stands out on the iPad, versus the GTab.
I know that, in time, Android tablets will catch up (Notion Ink? please don't be vaporware).
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Hold off, since rumors of some form of USB, microsd, and additional camera functionality will not die in regard to iPad 2011 models.
I can not look at the iPad display, since I then have to reacclimate to G's dispaly. ..... ....
Man, just think of the Gtablet with at least a Galaxy Tab level display.....
Here's my guess on the iPad v2 - it will almost certainly have a camera. Makes sense for Facetime.
A USB port and / or a microSD slot would be a major shocker, so I highly doubt that would happen. It goes against the walled-garden approach that Apple loves so much.
I have been an iphone user for two years. You may heard this before but lack of flash of support equals COMPLETE FAIL as I an an avid news junkie and enjoy news clips.
Now if only Netflix and google can work out their differences and bring official support for streaming netflix to droid devices then I will be switching to droid in the spring when my phone contract is due for renewal.
PS, I have owned an apple PC and it would not run 1/5th the software that was available while the apple had software support for virtually NOTHING that I needed on the PC and couldn't get.
My brother and I had this same argument about a year ago where he was praising the superiority of the Mac, about a month later he embarrassingly admitted to me I was absolutely right about the Apple causing him to not have acess to most of the software out there.
At the time I bought my last Dell laptop I spec it out with the 2G Duo Core, a wireless N1 card, a Geforce mobile GT8600, a 7200spd hard drive and 2G of Ram. I went to the apple web site and spec' out the SAME configuration, it was over $1,000 MORE!
Same hardware, LESS software, nearly double the price.
Come on...how is that EVEN a contest? I have since upgraded that same laptop to Win 7 32b and it STILL runs like a champ (do you think that would have been the case with a macbook?)
By the way, my viewsonic (although a tad buggy at this time) was 25% cheaper than an ipad and the only real advantage I can see of the ipad was superior screen while it has weaker hardware, and I am 100% confident that the Droid 2.2 and coming honeycomb will equal or surpass the ipad in the coming year.
Gauntlet thrown, Apple failed.
I do love my iphone but I have physically thrown it after getting literally thousands of video errors with flash videos news sites not to mention the fact that the vast majority of "apps" are just dumb downed versions of web pages that I do not really care for (there are quite a few with functionaity for actual mobile use but many apps are just "internet for idiots". What I am saying here is that I am not impressed with "who has the most apps" I just need certain specific ones (which you can get from EITHER company pretty much).
I personally have a love/hate relationship with Apple.
My first laptop was a greyscale PowerBook, I've used all the older pre-10 iterations and I think OSX is an outstanding achievement. But iOS just burns me up and I can see that they are expanding this walled-garden mentality into their Mac products, as well. No standard external ports like USB, no external storage, nothing allowed on the device except through iTunes, no Flash just because Jobs is pissed off that Adobe dumped them for MS. I just hate that with a passion. And the iPad v1 is the culmination of everything I loathe about them.
But, it does have a really nice screen.
I am a veteran of the Windows/Mac Wars of the 90s and the one thing I learned is: If it does what you want and I can run what I want, then I don't care what you run. If you like Apple, if you like Win7, if you like Linux, if you like iOS, if you like Android, if you like webOS... then bully for you! I happen to like some of those myself, so whoop de do!
But tell me my platform sucks or try to spend 30min telling me WHY my platform sucks, well, I have better things to do, thanks.
-=Sent from my VS GTablet (VEGAn b4) using Tapatalk=-
I Gave My iPad to my Wife
I gave my iPad to my wife to read her Kindle books on. I bought my gTablet on November 17th, and I have not missed my iPad. I am loving my gTablet, and it is just getting better and better with time. I am running TNT Lite 3.1.2 on mine. With flash, adhoc wi-fi support, and the full market, I am plenty happy. I am looking forward to the bright future of the gTablet.
Doing some research on video out on the IPAD. It has a selection of cables for composite, component and vga, but guess what? Only very few apps output to video such as movies, photos and not much else.
When I hooked up my HDMI to my dock today, EVERYTHING I saw on the screen was showing on the big screen.
roebeet said:
I personally have a love/hate relationship with Apple.
My first laptop was a greyscale PowerBook, I've used all the older pre-10 iterations and I think OSX is an outstanding achievement. But iOS just burns me up and I can see that they are expanding this walled-garden mentality into their Mac products, as well. No standard external ports like USB, no external storage, nothing allowed on the device except through iTunes, no Flash just because Jobs is pissed off that Adobe dumped them for MS. I just hate that with a passion. And the iPad v1 is the culmination of everything I loathe about them.
But, it does have a really nice screen.
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You are far more qualified than me to make this assessment but if you are only designing your OS to have functionality with very specific in house written end user software, I would think it would be EASY to achieve a tighter higher performaing OS.
Do the circumstances of how osx exsists in the first place not SIGNIFICANTLY diminish its level of "oustanding" as an achievement?
popezaphod said:
I am a veteran of the Windows/Mac Wars of the 90s and the one thing I learned is: If it does what you want and I can run what I want, then I don't care what you run. If you like Apple, if you like Win7, if you like Linux, if you like iOS, if you like Android, if you like webOS... then bully for you! I happen to like some of those myself, so whoop de do!
But tell me my platform sucks or try to spend 30min telling me WHY my platform sucks, well, I have better things to do, thanks.
-=Sent from my VS GTablet (VEGAn b4) using Tapatalk=-
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Fair points. Although unfortunately for all of us here, if a thing sucks it is going to suck regardless of what any individual really thinks. Suckage is an absolute and will be unaffected by all the good will of the world. Rotten meat will not become premium meat because 1000 people love it. Unfortunately this seems to be the casse with apple. In the 80s A Team and Knight Rider were top shows, just because people were watching did not make them actually good. Just because lots of people are buying Ipads does not over come the facts of an absolute and unavoidable conclusion based on the facts (listed above about ports, camera, storage devices, flash, cost, etc etc.). Its not really about convincing or anyones opinion. Its just a fact that it sucks, kind of like how the world is round (regardless of if anyone likes said fact or not).
insight3fl said:
Ok... I am a die hard NON apple kind of guy. My wife bought her Iphone a year ago leaving me and verizon to fend for ourselves. Then I suggested she buy a Mac book as she has been slamming windows for as long as we have been married. So, after loving angry birds on my Gtab for the past month, I thought, what a perfect gift for her (and me to compare) an IPAD would be. So I bought her one for Christmas.
I have to say, the screen really is fine. The lighter weight and the form factor is sweet too. But, to have to have an app (which they do have an app for everything many free for sure) to view most web sites in a "standard" mode such as to see video on them etc., I still can not see that. And, no add on memory and no real interface... the battle is on!
I will update you periodically as I try and see it from an Apple user perspective.
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LOL, well your credibility for providing a non-bias Apple user perspective is tainted by stating you're a "die hard NON apple kind of guy". jk. My sister in law has an Ipad and I think its just a great big Ipod touch which is actually a compliment. It's so smooth and pretty to look at. Did you download skyfire on the Ipad? I heard it was out as an app. I'm curious to see how it runs on the Ipad.
Let us know.
Thanks
roebeet said:
Here's my guess on the iPad v2 - it will almost certainly have a camera. Makes sense for Facetime.
A USB port and / or a microSD slot would be a major shocker, so I highly doubt that would happen. It goes against the walled-garden approach that Apple loves so much.
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I agree, a ff camera will be on the Ipad 2. You know Apple was gonna do that anyways but decided to leave it out so people will be more likely to upgrade. That's why I'm so leary when buying apple products or any product for that matter. I want it to have my minimum requirements at least for me to consider buying it.
I also agree that it will not have expandable memory which is a shame.
xmr405o said:
I agree, a ff camera will be on the Ipad 2. You know Apple was gonna do that anyways but decided to leave it out so people will be more likely to upgrade. That's why I'm so leary when buying apple products or any product for that matter. I want it to have my minimum requirements at least for me to consider buying it.
I also agree that it will not have expandable memory which is a shame.
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I think folks will be surprised and there will either be USB function, or micro sd options (both?). The only thing holding Apple back from complete market domination are those issues and people that hate Apple. Though Apple can do nothing for the latter, they can compromise with the former.
There should be some decent "leaks" in about a month. We shall see.........
My first computer back in the late 70's was an Apple ][. That was back in the days of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Even back then it was clear that the Woz only really cared about the technology and Jobs only really cared about the money. I was an avid Apple defender back then but a few years later we had Apple taken over, Woz and Jobs were out and Peter Skelly was in. Skelly had been the CEO of Pepsi Cola and his knowledge of technology consisted of being able to flip the on/off switch on lights, computers and various electrical items. Eventually he had the sense to bring Jobs back in.
Here's the problem, Jobs is glorious at design and ergonomic functionality, he is also a true technophile. He designs magnificent looking machines with super friendly GUI's that people love. But, once you get past the look of his machines you find that they offer simple AND limited functionality, and that is the very reason that the great masses love Apple machines.
Because people love the look and feel of the machines they are willing to pay bloated prices for what they see as "superior" technology when really the only thing superior is the physical design and ease of use for the technically unannointed. That is GREAT business, but lousy geekiness.
You can't knock Apple's ability to design machines that sell and make piles of money and you can't knock their success. For me, the problem is that I don't want to give them my money anymore because their machines aren't "fun".
My first priority is that my techno gadgets be functional and a close second is that they must be fun. Apple doesn't fit into that nook. Even so I did buy three Mac's a couple of years ago and found that their build quality was poor and that surprised me a lot. But in business, public perception is a bigger selling point that anything else and Apple got that right, too bad they didn't get the technical end right.
R
I came across this old thread while researching the GTablet. The only thing that is really holding me back from buying one is the screen. The videos I see on Youtube make the screen look really bad, especially one that has a side by side comparison of the Gtablet vs Ipad. Since the GTablet has been out for awhile now, are those who own it still happy? I need to find a B&M store that has one so I can check it out, I really wish it had an IPS screen like the iPad though. I dont get why somebody doesnt come out with a killer Android tablet that can really compete with the iPad.
androidmonkey said:
I came across this old thread while researching the GTablet. The only thing that is really holding me back from buying one is the screen. The videos I see on Youtube make the screen look really bad, especially one that has a side by side comparison of the Gtablet vs Ipad. Since the GTablet has been out for awhile now, are those who own it still happy? I need to find a B&M store that has one so I can check it out, I really wish it had an IPS screen like the iPad though. I dont get why somebody doesnt come out with a killer Android tablet that can really compete with the iPad.
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I picked the gtab because I like to customize the gtab and try different Roms. I am very happy with mine using vegan tab. Flash has been a big bonus. The screen works surprisingly well. Sure, its not perfect, but this gtab has some power and is 400 bucks less than xoom. If you like out of the box OS and don't like to tinker, then get the 16GB iPad from best buy for $399. Battery life on the gtab is awesome. I wake up at 4am and use it throughout the day and heavy use by evening. I will have several hours left on the battery when I go to bed around 9pm. Try Office depot, as many have them in stock to play with. Good luck.
androidmonkey said:
I came across this old thread while researching the GTablet. The only thing that is really holding me back from buying one is the screen. The videos I see on Youtube make the screen look really bad, especially one that has a side by side comparison of the Gtablet vs Ipad. Since the GTablet has been out for awhile now, are those who own it still happy? I need to find a B&M store that has one so I can check it out, I really wish it had an IPS screen like the iPad though. I dont get why somebody doesnt come out with a killer Android tablet that can really compete with the iPad.
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So I was having the same issues before I picked up the gtablet, and having used it for a few days, the screen isn't really that bad. I also love the more widescreen aspect of it vs the ipad allows for better media watching. But it does mean you have to dive more into the device and its setup (custom roms, etc) and if that is daunting to you then I would skip the gtablet.
No issues with geek stuff like flashing ROMs. Ive been an Android user since the G1, member here on xda since then. I currently have a SGS Vibrant, rooted with Bionix.
So, what would you compare the screen to? I have a nearby Office Depot, will try to check it out tomorrow. Is the GTablet the best thing going right now? From the specs, it seems so. One last thing, what are you using to protect it? Screen protector? Case?
androidmonkey said:
No issues with geek stuff like flashing ROMs. Ive been an Android user since the G1, member here on xda since then. I currently have a SGS Vibrant, rooted with Bionix.
So, what would you compare the screen to? I have a nearby Office Depot, will try to check it out tomorrow. Is the GTablet the best thing going right now? From the specs, it seems so. One last thing, what are you using to protect it? Screen protector? Case?
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With the newest official and unofficial VS update, you may not need to use an alternative ROM.
I would compare the screen directly to a netbook screen. It is by no means imho as horrid as some would have you think, but it's not for everyone. Some people feel you should be able to see what's on the phone/tablet screens while they sit flat on a desk and you're in a chair - while I think it's nice to be able to, I certainly don't think it's necessary to enjoy it and this is just something again, imo vendors have used to inflate the cost of these devices beyond their 'real' practical value. "why is our tablet $800 when so and so is selling one with the same internals for $300? well, have you SEEEEEN our screen? BIG difference!" yeah, you get my drift.
Spec-wise, I think it's a toss-up between the GTablet and it's siblings (interpad, hanspree tablet, malata zpad, avent vega, etc.) or the Notion Ink Adam. As you probably know, the iPad is pretty nice but it's def. lacking in terms of (imo, again) certain little details where the GTablet and other Android devices with similar specs excel and you would have to either learn to live in Apple's walled garden or do some 'techie' stuff in order to jailbreak anyway. Is it the BEST right now? I don't know - probably not. It was released in Nov. 2010, there's bound to be something with similar specs and a 'better' screen by now, if not then yeah it's probably the best VALUE for what you get as of right now.
I would have got her an ipad too.
Don't get me wrong I love my gtab, but I exhaust so much time modifying and fixing my own one. I don't mind that for myself but stuffed if I'm gonna spend my entire free time fixing someone elses tablet. Ipad can't do as much but in return I don't have to ever look at it or maintain it hence freeing up my spare time.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0b5.1.1 using Tapatalk
It seems everywhere I look while doing my g-tab research, this debate rages. And, just like abortion and the relative value of left wing versus right wing, most of the time the debate degenerates into name calling and general idiocy. I actually think it IS an interesting discussion to have.....and one with valuable points to be made on both sides. It is important for people to go into the decision of which product to buy with a full quiver of knowledge rather than buying something which doesn't meet their needs or wants. Whether we are talking about three hundred bucks or six hundred, it is not pocket change.
First and most out of character for me, I want to talk about the strengths of the ipad. It is, in typical Apple fashion, a beautiful, iconic, well designed gadget that makes gadget whores the world over salivate to get their paws on it. Despite the many negatives about a closed technosystem (which I will get into later) Apple's technosystem also provides a simplicity and elegance that is almost unmatched in the operating system universe (with the possible exception of Webos). When I am advising friends on what computer or gadget to buy, if money is not an object, I always say this: if you want to do ten things simply and elegantly, ios is a great choice. But if you want to do an eleventh thing, or any of the first ten thing in a different way, Apple won't let you.
Surprisingly, one of the arenas that Apple is really dominating is portable gaming. After years of being a PC gamer and scoffing at my Mac gamer friend with their pathetic game library, I thought that Android would at least be on par. Much to my shock, even Webos is a vastly superior platform for gaming when compared to Android. It is my opinion that Google and Nvidia need to address the sad dearth of good games ASAP if they have any hope of breaking into a race in which they are already a lap behind.
Finally, I will say that Apple has done a masterful job of building an absolutely rabid fan base. As an overarching company, it's frankly shocking the kind of product dedication they are able to inspire. A few years back when Apple laptop hard drives were failing at an alarming rate, my hard core Apple friends looked for ANY excuse to let the company off the hook. But they have worked VERY hard through marketing and mostly (minus Steve Jobs) fantastic public relationsto build that kind of relationship with the consumer. Android and it's various licensees need to develop an interface that is much more user friendly and accessable to the non technically minded public.
Now to my beloved Gtab. Clearly from a hardware perspective it is on par with, or arguably superior to, the ipad. What seems to be overlooked in these discussions over and over is that to compare the Gtab and the Ipad is essentially the same thing as comparing a Honda and a Lexus. A Honda will most likely last as long or longer than a Lexus, and run as well or better. But people who buy Lexus are willing to pay a tax on luxury and brand name. But the Lexus costs over twice as much, so ultimately comparing the two based on their merits is less valuable than asking what the owner wants from their purchase. Clearly the Gtab, clocking in at around half the price of the Ipad, is a far better bang for the buck. But if what the consumer wants is the brand name, cool factor, and the 'it just works' mentality, and they are willing to pay a premium for the 'privilege' of owning Apple, then an Ipad may very well be the right choice for them. However, I think that with VERY little
technical know how, the Gtab quickly becomes an obvious alternative. It obviously holds the advantage when it comes to the web (complete flash compatibility is a fairly huge advantage right now and could become a bigger one as people develop useful flash apps for business), and the open market is both an advantage and disadvantage. There is no quality control in the Android market, but there is also far more scope for creativity and innovation now, and depending on how Google etc play their cards, and most definitely in the future.
Obviously, cheap memory expandability is a massive advantage to the Gtab. Non- expandable devices, in this era of cheap flash memory, cannot be looked at as anything but simple greed. The same goes for proprietary ports and cables. Gtab has a clear advantage here with usb, micro usb, microsd, and the possibility of easy hdmi out in the future.
Android itself has major advantages and disadvantages. It is not nearly as intuitive or as easily picked up as Ios, but it has far greater room for quantum leaps forward. Ios, to avoid alienating it's core users, is forced to take a far more conservative, evolutionary approach. Android needs to use this to it's advantage by making bold, market changing leaps forward and continuing to undercut Apple on price point, rather than playing catch up and releasing expensive tablets and trying to compete with Apple at what they do best (I believe the Xoom was a fairly major miscalculation, but won't go into that now). Apple is at risk of falling into operating system complacency like Palm did in the early 2000s. Android should leap on innovation, and reward it well....swype is a fantastic example of this. I'm writing this on my Gtab with swype right now, and there is nothing in the virtual keyboard world that even comes close.
In closing, let me say that I choose Honda over Lexus. I choose an open technosphere where I can use technology as I wish. I love my Gtab and plan to use it for the foreseeable future...but I pray that Nvidia and Google get together and realize that an open system doesn't have to mean a system without a game plan. Nvidia needs to get on the stick and release a raft of games that show off the technology Tegra 2 can bring to the table. Android tablets, and specifically sub 300 tablets could be a real draw to young gamers as an alternative to the new DS and the forthcoming PSP IF they had a good library of possibilities. They need to continue to support those of us that have already jumped aboard. Make us be the missionaries of their coolness. Just in the Woot/Tigerdirect liquidation over 10,000 Gtabbers have been added to the ranks. That is NOT an insignificant number. They need to build as many IT/business friendly apps as humanly possible. Apple's insistance on doing things their way has left them extremely vulnerable to any companies that can offer a more business friendly solution. This and this alone is why RIM is still in business. If Viewsonic and all other licensees could get even a portion of the 18-25 portable game market AND get a portion of the 30-50 business market, they would be in an excellent position to take a bite out of the big Apple. Having said all this....I admire Apple. I admire their consistant refinement of already existing technology. They may only make evolutionary leaps, but damn they do it well. But as long as I can buy more product and more freedom for half the price, that's the way I'm walking.
I'll just say that I bought the gtablet for the family so that we could surf the web on a comfy couch. Web content includes flash. The ipad doesn't support flash.
The OS is irrelevant when you're surfing the web, so the choice is obvious.
What was the point of your thesis? Who and why would you go with any general consensus on any man made products these days especially when they are mostly made in China with the exception of the lexus Isn't that one of toyota's non-braking brands? Mostly people are swayed by emotional responses to what they feel they may be getting. It is sad to know so many are building their self esteem, self worth, value from having or owning innate objects including g tab. Enjoying is one thing but feeling superior as a result of is another.
I can't stand apple products for me they have no value. The company is not environmentally or human rightfully responsible. Coupled with the arrogance of jobs thinking the entire Internet should change their usage of flash because he doesn't have the capacity to put it into his products. And I particularly don't like the ipad because it is nothing more than a pictorial cash register with the lion's share going to apple. Nothing about Apple appeals to me not even the design. The fisherprice gui or the odd shapes and the rotten apple logo. Anytime you bite into an apple and leave it uneaten it rots. To each his own reasons to buy or not to buy.
edirector said:
Enjoying is one thing but feeling superior as a result of is another.
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Funny story. So, I was sitting on the train other day going home. Had my gtab out playing some games. Out of all the seats that were available around, one guy had to sit down right next to me. I usually don't mind so I usually have my stuff between my legs instead of taking up a seat like some people. So, without pausing, this guy got out his ipad 2 and started playing games with it.
What I found funny was that I was dressed practically in rags because I had spent the whole day in the concrete lab working on one of our test machines. This guy was in some casual business attire (very white collar-like).
The gtab really is the poor man's tablet while the ipad and the xoom are the rich man's tablets.
I can't stand apple products for me they have no value. The company is not environmentally or human rightfully responsible. Coupled with the arrogance of jobs thinking the entire Internet should change their usage of flash because he doesn't have the capacity to put it into his products. And I particularly don't like the ipad because it is nothing more than a pictorial cash register with the lion's share going to apple. Nothing about Apple appeals to me not even the design. The fisherprice gui or the odd shapes and the rotten apple logo. Anytime you bite into an apple and leave it uneaten it rots. To each his own reasons to buy or not to buy.
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I wouldn't go that far with apple. I do recommend apple to most people who ask for my advice. Let's admit it. Apple really is made for those who only sees the outside. And it works right out of the box.
goodintentions said:
Funny story. So, I was sitting on the other day going home. Had my gtab out playing some games. Out of all the seats that were available around, one guy had to sit down right next to me. I usually don't mind so I usually have my stuff between my legs instead of taking up a seat like some people. So, without pausing, this guy got out his ipad 2 and started playing games with it.
What I found funny was that I was dressed practically in rags because I had spent the whole day in the concrete lab working on one of our test machines. This guy was in some casual business attire (very white collar-like).
The gtab really is the poor man's tablet while the ipad and the xoom are the rich man's tablets.
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I can't stand apple products for me they have no value. The company is not environmentally or human rightfully responsible. Coupled with the arrogance of jobs thinking the entire Internet should change their usage of flash because he doesn't have the capacity to put it into his products. And I particularly don't like the ipad because it is nothing more than a pictorial cash register with the lion's share going to apple. Nothing about Apple appeals to me not even the design. The fisherprice gui or the odd shapes and the rotten apple logo. Anytime you bite into an apple and leave it uneaten it rots. To each his own reasons to buy or not to buy.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't go that far with apple. I do recommend apple to most people who ask for my advice. Let's admit it. Apple really is made for those who only sees the outside. And it works right out of the box.[/QUOTE]
But it doesn't ipad 2 has serious operable issues and economic standing in life has no correlation to tech toys. Who can't afford an iphone they are selling for $49 and you can get ipad at walmart. People utter such nonsense in reference to apple products. I paid $500 for my cell phone cash.
It boils down to a matter of choice. For myself I will own 2 or 3rd of these products none apple. I will pick up playbook next as soon as I see what the development community can do with it. My spouse offered to buy me an ipad not costing me a dime I said don't waste your money.
I agree and have said much the same thing since I bought my first Droid 1. I have since upgraded to a Droid X and the Gtab.
Apple is great, if you like living inside a tight little box. Android is for those who like to express themselves and push the limits.
Then I started some new classes and they give me a Macbook Pro. I must admit, the packaging was very nice, especially compared to my last HP (that is now trash because HP won't support it...) but the first thing I did was pull out my copy of Windows 7 and partition the hard drive. I might have to do some of my design work on the Mac partition, but the rest of my time is spent on a "normal" computer.
I would agree with a lot of the thoughts already expressed on this thread, however I don't think that the gtab is a "poor man's tablet". To say so implies that our tabs are somehow less than the xooms and ipads. In almost every category the gtab holds its own or far exceeds the competition. In fact, with the exception of the display (which I actually don't have issue with since I'm in landscape all the time anyway), I think the hardware is superior in every way to the ipad. The fact that Viewsonic managed to make a product compete on a level playing field with the top tablets in the market today for less than half the price is incredible and goes to show how much the manufacturers (especially Apple) are making off of consumers.
I do recommend ipads for my friends who aren't tech-savvy. As was said before, Apple products just work and you do have to respect that. The completely closed system in which they operate allows for total control and an unparalleled experience for the AVERAGE user. My Evo and my gTab are inoperable for some length of time about once a week because I won't stop messing with them. And Apple products do look sexy, in a man-purse gucci sunglasses kind of way.
Comparing iPads and gTabs as Honda and Lexus isn't a fair comparison. A better comparison would be a modded out Nissan Skyline GT-R with twin oversize turbos, nitrous, and a shake-your-neighbor-out-of-bed-to-watch-your-burnout tunable exhaust (That's the gTab) versus an out of the box Ferrari. Both are fast. Wicked fast. And both look sexy in different ways. The most important thing is that they both run a 1/4 mile in pretty much the same time. The Ferrari has a v12 and a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis from the factory, but the Skyline has more cupholders. The guy driving the Ferrari gets out of his ride at the local Starbucks and has every money-grubbing trophy wife drooling on it. The guy with the skyline has to reprogram his standalone ECU to back it out of the garage, but gets his hood shined by models for Turbonetics. The Skyline has a back seat.
The gTab is not a poor mans tablet. The gTab is a tablet for people who want to smoke that d-bag in the ferrari but are smart enough not to drop $120k on it. And comparing the gTab to the iPad isn't even worth doing. The hardware is too close to call, the benchmarks are inconclusive at best. What we should be doing is comparing end users of these products.
I would say both have their places. I love my gtab and believe it suits my needs and temperament to a tee. However, I am by training and inclination a tinkerer and I don't mind the occasional lockup or reboot as the price I pay for the ability to tinker. My wife and mother, on the other hand, would be seriously torqued if it happened to them on anything approaching a regular basis. Consequently, they both have iPads and not gTabs.
I am the antithesis of an apple fanboy (my wife gets pissed because I constantly refer to her iPhone as an iSuck) but not really for any reason other than what I perceive as the inherent arrogance of The Steve and his minions. And I dislike being dictated to. But other than my philosophical issues with apple I really can't say too much negative about the iPad, other than I think it's ridiculous that they have neither SD card support or, and I consider this borderline criminal neglect, USB ports. For people like my technophobic mother though, they are just what the doctor ordered. The iPad is the only device we've ever found that will consistently allow her to access the web and email without turning her off or intimidating her.
On the other hand, I think the android tablet market has a lot of promise but is trying hard to strangle itself at birth with the pricing structures the manufacturers keep adopting. That's all I will say about that for now (though I did rant about it here: http://www.swamphole.org/content/tablet-computing-101). If the vendors can get that under control and Google doesn't piss too many people off with their to-date refusal to release Honeycomb, I think these tablets have a very bright future. Right now I don't think any of them are stable enough for anybody but the people who are tech savvy and/or don't want an iPad for whatever reason. For those folks that are willing to put in the effort I think devices like the gTab can be made into far superior tablets than any iPad.
Thanks, Macros764, for your post. This us (non-Apple users) versus them (Apple users) feeling has existed for ages now and it's good of you to remind us that there are 2 almost entirely different markets (and possibly mentalities) at work here. Another person noticed what you hinted at in your post (the Honda vs Lexus distinction) and commented on it long ago.
I'm talking about Neal Stephenson's interesting essay, "In the Beginning... Was the Command line", which you can search for on Google (as a new poster, I can't add a direct link here).
His essay written in 1999 was about Linux, Windows and Apple users, but you can replace Linux with Android everywhere in that essay and it will still all ring true.
I like Mr. Stephenson's terms for the different kinds of users. Android users are like H. G. Wells's Morlocks--they're the ones who like to tinker with stuff and tend to know how those things work. Apple users have always been the Eloi. They don't care how things work as long as it does (and it looks good).
I tend to be a Morlock (and I suspect a lot of the users on this forum are too, to varying degrees), but some days, I wish I could be an Eloi.
Enjoy reading the essay. Be warned that in true Stephenson style, it is a very long piece.
An enjoyable and thoughtful piece - better than the usual flames and rants that the word Apple usually provokes. Never one to miss an opportunity to add my two cents, here I go. To begin with I have many years experience - I was in IT before the PC was born so I've had a chance to watch the whole thing from start to finish. There was a time when there was just DOS and every computer ran it - branded or clone. There was another alternative CP/M and I used it but it died by natural selection. I think there was even Unix around at that point but it was specialized. Later there were a lot of different things to choose from Windows, Apple, Commodore and lots of other things that have disappeared. Windows evolved into the os for business (after IBM shot itself in the head with OS2) and Mac became the os for graphic arts. It kind of stayed that way for a long time and Apple really was a niche market. Linux appeared but it was brutal in those days. Everything was manual setup, X sometimes worked and sometimes didn't and you had no idea how things would work on your particular box. I have been playing with linux since those early days but ultimately in my business environment windows was the os of choice. Apple remained something that "the print guys" used. In my mind the displacement of the walkman by the ipod marked the shift of Apple's fortunes. Whether it was the cash or the public perception of Apple or both they suddenly became a much bigger player. They clearly "got" the marketing thing and their closed garden approach did make them very palatable for the masses who were willing to pay extra to be safe from the blue screen of death, endless virus attacks and debacles like Vista. Linux has continued trudging but the continued fragmentation still prevents it from really getting into the game. Ubuntu is the best hope for Linux in my opinion. They seem to have figured out that mainstream users don't need 10 different word processors in each distribution - just one good one that works something like Word that people are used to. I think that if Ubuntu continues the way it is going it will see more and more adoption over time especially as Windows becomes more and more clunky in the effort to squeeze cash out of increasingly savy users. The problem for Ubuntu is that it may be too late.
Increasingly, I find that the tablet idea that I once scorned is probably the direction that things will go in for many users. Executives where I work want to know if they can have a tablet - not a laptop to take with them. People at home are happy to curl up on the couch with a tablet to surf the web, read email and interact with friends. Apple knows this because they have had the experience with the ipod, the iphone and now the ipad. Their closed world gives them a huge advantage because they don't have to worry if google is going to release the source code for them or if Invidia will bother to write drivers for them. They control it all.
So, what's a g-tabber to do. Well we can't make Google release Honeycomb, we can't force Invidia to write drivers and it doesn't seem like we can even get Viewsonic to do much of anything. I worry that Android will fragment the way Linux did and all the competing versions will just sap the strength of the whole.
That said - I've got Vegan Ginger on my tablet, I've added Clemsyns kernel with CIFS support so I can access my files on my server. I've picked and chosen apps, 99% of them free so I can do almost everything on my g-tab that I can on my PC. It is fast, cool, and completely under my control. I keep pushing the envelope to see what else I can do with it. If it never evolves beyond where it is right now it will still be the best $300 I've spent on gadgets. The developer support in this forum is enviable and I know that I haven't done or learned everything about the g-tab yet. So my g-tab may not be the expensive fancy sports car ripping down the highway that the ipad is but man, when I go off roading and mud bogging with my g-tab, I have a blast! So choose your vehicle for you activities and don't try and second guess yourself or anyone else. Life is short - be happy!
austontatious said:
I would agree with a lot of the thoughts already expressed on this thread, however I don't think that the gtab is a "poor man's tablet". To say so implies that our tabs are somehow less than the xooms and ipads.
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I don't think it implies any such thing. It does, however, define your social status. It's like what school you went to for college. For some, the only reason they went to school A, which costs $60,000 a year, is because they're following the family tradition and the father is some lawyer or doctor. For others, a school like Iowa State or U. of I. looks just as good but costs only a fraction of what school A charges.
The ipad and the xoom really were designed for people to show off. Everything about them looks, exterior wise, looks good and classy. The gtab, for lack of a better word, is ugly looking. Here is what Robert has to say about the difference between an android device like the gtab and something more high class like the xoom or the ipad.
Android is like having an old beat-up Chevy - not much to look at at first, but after some tweaking under the hood, a good paint job and redesigning the interior, you have a great car that not only runs and looks good, but is designed for you because you made it that way. iOS is like a really nice looking car that came off the assembly line - looks nice, runs great and all the car shops have accessories for it, but there's nothing unique about it. Looks like everyone else's car. So it depends on what you want.
In almost every category the gtab holds its own or far exceeds the competition.
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And yet a lot of people on this forum have specifically expressed that if they had the money they'd buy the ipad or xoom.
In fact, I am convinced that if the ipad, xoom, and gtab all cost the same, nobody would even consider buying the gtab... except for me. I like to hunt down non-mainstream items to own. I don't like my stuff to look like everyone else's.
I have a G-tablet. I like it. I wish it had Netflix and HuluPlus like the Ipad. I wish it was easy to find accessories for it, like the Ipad. Having not ever actually used an Ipad, at this moment I sort of wish I had one, If I had one I would probably miss all the tinkering I can do with my Gtab.
If my Gtab could stream netflix and huluplus it would be no contest.
Pexcer said:
I have a G-tablet. I like it. I wish it had Netflix and HuluPlus like the Ipad. I wish it was easy to find accessories for it, like the Ipad. Having not ever actually used an Ipad, at this moment I sort of wish I had one, If I had one I would probably miss all the tinkering I can do with my Gtab.
If my Gtab could stream netflix and huluplus it would be no contest.
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I have both an iPad2 and a Gtablet. The iPad2 is very nice, and does what it does very well. And, it prints to the local laser printer. Streams netflix, etc.
You have to jailbreak it to get access to the stripped down MacOS that is iOS, with shell, etc, which I'm not doing - did that with an iPod Touch a few years ago, and although its fun it really doesn't add much now that the app store has soaked up most developers.
iPad2 = just works. If it does what you want, you're golden. If you're willing to risk a $600 device, you can jailbreak it and gain a level of tinkering that is about 20% of the tinkering you can do in Android on the GTablet.
So, yeah - GTablet is way more fun to tinker with, swapping in new kernels, playing with various roms... Android is still a lot rougher as well, and more open (you can drop in stuff *not* from a walled garden) but for the average person who just wants a pad to couch surf, read the news at breakfast, do their email, read books, or play games... iPad2 is going to do it. It's going to do it as well as a laptop, and a lot more conveniently, without the hassle of virus checking or other crap that most people would just as soon not deal with.
I feel like the "status symbol" argument is a strawman. If you're just a regular person, not into coding, tinkering, etc... not into more than surfing and email and maybe some games, the iPad is going to be as good as a laptop, and about as much if not less in cost. This is why the iPad is eating into laptop sales, and killed the netbook market.
Can Android get there and compete? Unless Honeycomb is way WAY better than Gingerbread, I think they're at least a year if not two away from parity with the current iPad2 just on software. Again, I'm not considering myself (or likely anyone who would even visit xda-developers) as the iPad target market. But there are way more people in the target market than are here
I have both. I bought the G tab back in January knowing full well the issues with it. It was my intention to mod it like most here but for one thing or another haven't done it yet. I do like customizing main screen anyway I like to, with widgets and such, something the IPad can't do. The fact that I can convert movies on my pc and copy by USB drive is great. Photo viewing, music, surfing the net, audio books are great on it.
I decided I really wanted the IPad for my business which has many more and better apps suited for it. I can take pictures of job sites , keep track of estimates and invoicing with some very good apps.*
The whole Mac cult is creepy but I knew about that. The display is very good, no denying. Form factor, great.
I am keeping both of them.
So, the first half of the video tells us how impressive this machine is based on the specs alone. And then the 2nd half totally rip this machine apart based on user's performance.
No, I'm not posting this in the wrong forum. I am reinforcing my idea that VS has got some really big idiots running the show. They're sitting on top of a gold mine (the gtab) and they're just ignoring the gtab for some reason. On the other hand, they are spending all their resources trying to forward the viewpad series. The viewpad 10 isn't better at anything. It's sluggish as a windows 7 platform and it's incredibly out-of-date as an android device. It's also 2 pounds and twice as thick as the gtab.
Seriously, VS, isn't it time you take your collective heads out of your ass and start paying more attention to the gtab? Isn't it time you nourish your REAL customers (the gtab community)? You have a freakin' huge community here who love your gtab. Heck, my elderly dad loves his gtab, and he's totally computer illiterate. Don't abandon us for the viewpad, which we all know is failing miserably. Don't try to pretend like you're making good business with the viewpad. It's a piece of junk because it's not better at anything. You have a real product here, the gtab.
Give us updates and perhaps even honey. Don't ignore your gold mine.
Here is a serious review of the viewpad.
Hey Guys,
I want your opinions on whether or not I should get wifi Xoom (3g is out of the question). For now we'll ignore price, but that's ultimately in the back of my mind.
Let me give you my scenario. I'm a college student studying engineering and design. The design portion does require a couple graphics heavy programs, but the majority of the work I do just require access to the internet and maybe Microsoft Word. I have a pretty powerful laptop that runs quietly (so public use isn't an issue) and it can handle any 3D programs. I live about a mile from campus and while the laptop weighs 5 1/2 pounds, combined with any textbooks I may have the trip to school is a little burden (I can manage though). In addition, I have a Nexus S, and all that goes along with that.
So I'm hoping that I can get some of the thoughts from experienced users about why I should or should not get a xoom (or any tablet for that matter). I've done a bit of research online, but half of the time the people who talk about it hardly use it for anything I would.
Here are some of my thoughts: right now I have the extremes. I have a powerful laptop for the heavy stuff and a smartphone for the light stuff. Do I need an in-between. The xoom is more portable, and from what I've seen the browser is exceptional, so online notes and basic homework I can do on campus with it. In addition, it's lighter and thinner, so carrying it to and around campus is easier. And battery life is great. However, it would just replace my laptop and I primarily just use that for work in the library. At home I would most likely still use my laptop.
I just want to add in two things. 1. I don't use e-readers. Enough said. 2. I wouldn't be caught dead taking notes in class on a tablet. Just no. That is reserved for notebooks, no question.
Obviously I wouldn't be getting a tablet for just work, I would play with that thing all the time. Feel free to add in any uses you have that you find perfect for a tablet. I know I haven't thought of everything. I really appreciate your input. Thanks.
My Dad is a editor and is thinking about picking up a tablet. I have a few questions, hopefully someone may be able to help me.
1. Could you draw/make changes to a word document? The same as using a pen to edit a paper - you get the idea.
2. Would you be able to save that document and all the changes made?
Any information would be extremely helpful.
As an editor, I can say "yes" you can do all those things.
Also as an editor I can say definitively that you don't want to. It's slow, buggy, and the software is expensive and doesn't do half the things you're used to in the full versions. I tried doing work on my xoom (with a mouse, keyboard, and dock) for about an hour before I realized that it's just not there yet; the tech is too new. Get a laptop for work. Touch interface is great for navigating an OS, fun for games, OK for web browsing, but it sucks for any type of word processing or real productivity.
I say this even though I really like my xoom, but I'd never use it for productivity. The tech is still too young to be optimized the way that windows7 or a mac are. At some point there will be a 15.6" touchscreen windows7 laptop with a removable screen (like the transformer). If your dad really needs a machine for productivity but wants a tablet, this is what he'll want (it's what I want!)
Thanks for all the information. I'll be sure to let him know everything you've said.
Laptops aren't an issue, we have plenty of those lying around here. My parent's have been traveling a decent bit lately, going out of town for a week or so at a time every few weeks and he had been complaining about having to carry around large manuscripts all the time.
I figured the technology may be too new, but it really could have been great for mobility and potential money savings with not paying for paper, toner, and shipping.
That laptop sounds pretty sweet. Is it just in a conceptual phase and several years from production? I'll definitely pass on this information too.