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Hands-on With the iPad Alternatives On Display At IFA

Posted by timothy on from the touchy-feely-wanty-wanty dept.

Barence writes "This week's IFA show has seen a flurry of Android-based alternatives to the iPad emerge from leading manufacturers. The Samsung Galaxy Tab made a strong first impression on PC Pro's reviewer. The 7-inch tablet's TFT screen 'beams forth with rich, saturated colors and wide, wide viewing angles,' the device is capable of Full HD playback and the TouchWiz UI is 'clearly intended to draw customers away from the iFamily.' Elsewhere, ViewSonic has launched a pair of 7-inch and 10-inch tablets, the larger of which dual boots into either Android or Windows 7. 'Our first moments with Windows 7 were surprisingly painless, too: we expected the Atom processor and 1GB of memory to be horrendously sluggish, but it wasn't the case,' PC Pro reports. Finally, Toshiba's 10.1-in. Folio 100 marries Android 2.2 with Nvidia's Tegra 2 platform to deliver 'mighty graphics crunching power.' The build quality left a little to desire, though. 'The 14mm thick chassis feels lightweight, and even relatively gentle twisting motions left the Folio's plastic body creaking under the stress.'"

20 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Software. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Software, software, software, software, software, software, software.

    HOW IS THE SOFTWARE?

  2. I don't care what they run now, by MeNeXT · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I care about being able to install, without having to ask permission, in the future any or other possible OSs. Windows 7 starter is a non starter.

    --
    DRM? No thanks, I'll just get it somewhere else...
    1. Re:I don't care what they run now, by WiglyWorm · · Score: 4, Informative

      So click decline on the EULA screen. Part of the EULA says that if you decline the manufacturer is responsible for giving you a refund.

    2. Re:I don't care what they run now, by wvmarle · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm afraid that you belong to such a minute minority that your needs will never be catered for, or only by super special vendors. I'm willing to bet that >99% of the buyers of say, an tablet PC, want the device to work and be usable out of the box. Even if they were keen to install something else on it later. And that means having an OS and some applications pre-installed is a must. Having to download drivers, to download all the software, whatever is not just a chore, you can't even do it with your device if it doesn't come with anything installed.

    3. Re:I don't care what they run now, by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You can sell a car kit, or indeed any portion thereof. Licensing is up to the purchaser if they want to drive it on the street, but even in litigation- and regulation-happy California you are permitted one (curses!) fully custom automobile that is not subject to many restrictions normally placed on road-going vehicles. IIRC they invent a VIN and it's attached to the body so it's in your best interest to have something infinitely repairable and more to the point, that will make you happy forever. If I were shorter I would have considered a GT40, but 6'2" is about the maximum driver height for an unmodified vehicle (i.e. factory spec body.) Now I fantasize about a tube-frame version of the lancer evo with a 4motion TDI setup :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  3. Is it just because I'm a nerd by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is it just because I'm a nerd that I think a thin netbook with a proper keyboard would be more useful and just as portable?

    1. Re:Is it just because I'm a nerd by delinear · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If it's because you're a nerd you're probably asking the wrong audience! Personally I can't see the advantages over a netbook or ultra-portable laptop, but the disadvantages (lack of keyboard, plus I don't see how I'm meant to hold it for prolonged periods, e.g. for watching a movie, the keyboard on a netbook functions as a stand to hold it upright on my lap) are off-putting. The gadget fan in me can see the attraction of a killer interface for controlling technology in the home, but since most of my technology can't talk to one device right now, and the devices in question are a little pricey to use as fancy remote controls, I do have issues seeing how I can possibly justify one of these right now.

    2. Re:Is it just because I'm a nerd by jmak · · Score: 3, Informative

      There was also Tegra-based Toshiba AC100 on display, with a lot more nerd-appeal IMHO.

    3. Re:Is it just because I'm a nerd by Scrameustache · · Score: 3, Funny

      I don't see how I'm meant to hold it for prolonged periods, e.g. for watching a movie

      look here http://www.truthbook.com/images/site_images/Pierre_Auguste_Renoir_Young_Woman_Reading_a_Book_350%20.jpg

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

  4. Looks nice by webheaded · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'd be more interested in that 10" Viewsonic...the only really annoying thing I got while reading about it was the fact that you can't run Android 2.2 on it yet. That's kind of disappointing. This is definitely something I could pick up and play with though.

    On the other hand, I think I'm interested more in color e-ink over this flurry of tablet PCs. Every time I see one, all I really think of is reading stuff. Like say...a comic book or even a normal book. I'm sure they're fine little PCs but I already have a netbook with an actual keyboard. The allure of a tablet is so-so.

    --
    "Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
  5. I'll be more impressed when I can actually buy one by walterbyrd · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Especially if I can buy one for a reasonable price. As I understand it, the Samsung will cost about $1000. In any case, I'm tired of the constant announcements, and no actual products.

  6. Re:Display by delinear · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I guess it depends what you're using them for. For web browsing I like the saturated colour, it tends to make things a little easier to distinguish on a small screen (my experience is with the HTC Desire), and menus and apps look visually very appealing. For movies/Youtube the screen is small enough that the colours aren't really off-putting, but on a slightly bigger screen, for watching TV or feature length movies I'd probably find it too much.

  7. iPad is the gold standard? by frdmfghtr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I find it interesting that these after-the-fact products use Apple's offerings (iPhone and now the iPad) as the benchmark product. This tells me that other manufacturers see that Apple got it right, whether it's due to marketing or technology,
    By comparing themselves to Apple's products, other manufacturers have made them the gold standard.

    --
    Government's idea of a balanced budget: take money from the right pocket to balance...oh who am I kidding?
    1. Re:iPad is the gold standard? by wvmarle · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree.

      Not so long ago in a /. discussion I got the complaint "how could you have missed the article about smartphone xyz?!". The replier even gave a link to said article. The headline was " releases iPhone competitor". No "new Android-based smartphone", no, an "iPhone competitor".

      It's been like that since the iPhone resp. iPad were released. Not just on /., but all over the media. Also in my local daily.

      Since the iPad was released I have been receiving spam from Chinese manufacturers offering '7" iPad' tablets - usually running Andriod, offered at prices of US$50-80 each. Called iPad in the subject of the e-mail, for the rest they are no-brand as usual.

      I've seen the iPhone, and it looks great. I've played a bit with it, it's really easy. I've talked to people who own an iPad, all positive. I have seen a link claiming some 90% satisfaction ratio with the iPhone - very high. So yes Apple is doing something right, because with just marketing they can't do this. Microsoft can't outmarket them in this respect, and MS's marketing team is very good at their job, yet MS's products are not a golden standard.

      Still it's getting irritating. iPad competitor. iPhone alternative. iPod killer. The actual brand or manufacturer the story is about is not mentioned; Apple's product however IS mentioned, giving it free marketing, effectively promoting it. After all who wants to buy an "alternative" that has not yet been released, when you can get the "real thing" now?

    2. Re:iPad is the gold standard? by Posting=!Working · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Since Apple sold more iPad's in 80 days than all other manufacturers combined probably sold in a year, yeah, they're the gold standard.

      I say probably because I couldn't find many tablet sales number past 2005. There were a total of 1 million tablets sold that year, Apple sold 3 million iPad in the first 80 days. I don't think the market got better for tablets after 2005.

      I could be wrong, but I've wasted more time researching this than I wanted to.

      --
      This sentence no verb.
    3. Re:iPad is the gold standard? by fermion · · Score: 3, Interesting
      There is an article in the nyt on the AppleTV. It is interesting that they do a bit of revisionist history, claiming that the iPod was a superior device. In fact it had many of the limitation people complain of the iPad. I did not allow wireless connection for data. It did not have a memory slot. It was firewire only.

      It was not superior, but it was effective for a Mac owner. There was enough memory to hold many songs. The firewire interface was necessary because mostly computers still ran USB 1.1. The problem with my nomad, for instance, was that transferring songs was dead slow. It was also rugged, unlike the nomad.

      What we will likely see on other devices is feature bloat. They will be able to do some whiz bang thing, but the overall machine will have never been thought out from the user point of view. It is like the android commercials. In the commercials, the human become a slave to the machine, the body turning into the machine to serve it. This to me is unacceptable industrial design.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    4. Re:iPad is the gold standard? by oblivionboy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Dude! Have you TRIED an iPad? Its really the thing.

      Listen, I'm not an Apple fanboy by anymeans, however I'll tell you what I was a fanboy of for years: tablets. I bought lots from ebay, from the venerable IBM Thinkpad730T, various Fujitsu tablets, and even pretty much every MessagePad that came out. The MessagePads were the coolest, and there's alot from there that is missing from the iPad. That said though, all the "PC" style tablets were horrible, and they have become oddities in my closet. Why? The user experience.

      The user experience was terrible, because they were tied to Windows. And Windows has never been a tablet OS, no matter what "Edition" you get it in. Its a desktop OS, at least in its consumer form, and so was "adapted" rather than designed from the beginning to work well with a tablet. Don't mention Linux, its got the same problem. Unless of course you redesigned Linux's interface from scratch for a tablet interface, you won't get anywhere with it. Oh wait, gee Google did that with Android. And I hear its pretty successful.

      But Apple kick started the whole thing off with the iPhone, at least in the popular mind set, and its a pretty neat device as things go. But, looking at the iPad, you start to think that maybe this is where they wanted to go all along. In fact I can't actually imagine anyone designing the iOS interface for the small size of the iPhone. Im sure what happened was that they had this tablet program, and they realized that for reason x, y and z (processing power, memory, battery life, whatever), what they wanted to offer wasn't feasable, but was a few years off. So they scaled it down screen wise and put it on the iPhone. But make no mistake, as soon as you play with the iPad more than casually (ie: daily use, integrated into your life), the iPhone seems kind of like a toy by comparison. And the iPad has done what no other tablet has done that I'm aware of (except maybe the original MessagePads, and the new Android based ones coming up), which is start from the ground up with an OS designed for tablets, and create a great tablet experience.

      So right now iPad competitor is a pretty good term. It might not be three years out, but today, everyone that has tried in the past has more or less failed. The recent announcement was that they sold 3.5 million iPads? I think Fujitsu would cream there pants to have that much success in their portable computing division.

      Anyways try it before you judge. You might be surprised. I would give the same advice to the Android tablets, or any new kind of tablet OS that is designed properly for the format.

  8. Re:7" screen? Why? by PriyanPhoenix · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Although this ignores the fact the Tab comes preloaded with Swype as its keyboard. Most who have tried it view Swype's mechanic as the future of touchscreen text input (and it will no doubt migrate in some for to the iPhone at some point). However it would actually be worse suited to a larger screen because the swiping motions would need to be significantly longer/larger to reach across a larger keyboard.

    Given the chosen input method, the 7" form factor appears to be a better decision, not a worse one.

    --
    "Yes, Virginia, there is a Great Cthulhu..."
  9. Samsung, set sails for fail. by hsmith · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have an iPad and will get an android tablet whenever one comes out.

    But Samsung has decided to fail before they even get out of the gate. $900 for their tablet? Are you flipping serious? 7'' instead of 10'', 4GB of memory instead of 64.

    I can see it now, in the board of directors meeting

    "Apple is printing money with these at $500, I bet if we double the price, we can make twice as much money!!!"

    If they want to go after the iPad, which they do, they need to create a comparable product at the same price point.

  10. Re:7" screen? Why? by kumanopuusan · · Score: 3, Funny

    brain@kumanopuusan ~ % parse-english < "Most who have tried it view Swype's mechanic as the future of touchscreen text input (and it will no doubt migrate in some for to the iPhone at some point)."
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    >R
    SYNTAX ERROR: PREPOSITION OBJECT NOT FOUND AT LINE 1, COLUMN 116:
    (A)bort, (R)etry, (I)gnore?
    >I
    SYNTAX ERROR: PREPOSITION OBJECT NOT FOUND AT LINE 1, COLUMN 124:
    (A)bort, (R)etry, (I)gnore?
    >I
    SYNTAX ERROR: PREPOSITION OBJECT NOT FOUND AT LINE 1, COLUMN 128:
    (A)bort, (R)etry, (I)gnore?
    >I
    FATAL ERROR: CEREBRAL ANEURYSM DETECTED

    --
    Use of the words "good", "bad" or "evil" is almost invariably the result of oversimplification.