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When Should I Buy an Android Tablet?
jpyeck writes "I've deliberately avoided the smartphone craze, due to the fact I've never utilized any phone (landline or otherwise) enough to justify the monthly fees. But the geek in me craves the 'smart' part of the equation, especially since I got a bonus this year-end that is burning a hole in my pocket. The iPad is out of the question because I need a bit more hack-ability in my gadgets. I am drooling over the Android Honeycomb demo from the CES. I've had my eye on the Galaxy Tab, though it sounds like it won't support Honeycomb. The Xoom looks great, but who knows when it will come out? The consensus seems to be 'wait a few months for Honeycomb.' If you were me, with limited patience, would you buy an Android tablet now? If so, which?"
Because its too much $. At least for me. While i would rather have one, I can get a decent Android tablet for under 200. If the ipad was down to 300 id have chosen that instead.
Its not a 'reqiurement' to have one so the budget comes into play for some of us.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
If I were you, I'd put the year-end bonus in a 6-mo CD, and get the tablet when the CD's term is up
Waiting 6 months might well be sensible. But the average CD yield is 0.63% (APR). So... $1000 in a 6 month CD will net him under $3.50.
Check out Notion Ink adam tablet. Reviewed by engadget : http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/notion-ink-adam-hands-on-preview-video/. specs : http://www.notionink.com/techspecs.php
Then you can make keeping the tablet customized and updated and flashed and jailbroken your new personal hobby for a few years.
Or you could buy from a decent company that dosen't think it owns your soul because you purchased one of their products.
http://www.archos.com/products/ta/archos_5it/dualos.html
Just like a PC, the ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet can be freely programmed in alternative ways in addition to the applications that can be created for the Android platform. To have total control of your Internet Tablet, ARCHOS has opened up this device, thus allowing creative minds to program their own tablet, or create what could be the tablet of the future.
I currently have 3 OSes on my Archos - The original Archos software (based on Android 1.6), Angstrom Linux, and Android 2.2. And I can update any of them without having any impact on the other two.
I could go on for pages about how hackable Archos devices are. Every time I try to do something, I'm once again amazed at how simple it is.
TeX is available on the iPad. :)
Stylus input "tablets" have been around for over a decade - and they've mostly died off. The same can mostly be said for tablets with a so-called "full blown" OS (e.g. Windows tablets). The market has spoken, and it's pretty much disproven everything you said. Whether you choose to recognize that fact is an entirely different matter.
Just because a particular product failed doesn't mean that the idea in general is bad. Otherwise, I'd have turned gay after breaking up with my first girlfriend.
Here's a prediction for you - there will be an Apple stylus tablet within 3 years. Until about 6 months before launch, it will continue to be the dumbest idea ever. Then, Steve will proclaim it to be brilliant.
...Is probably the best resource online for all the Android tablets around, even the cheap sub $100 ones from China (clones that run Froyo are at least $140).
I'll just say that you'll *definitely* lose money on Kiva. It's a donation system that has some payback potential. My lossage over about 5 years of donating on the site is about 30%. It doesn't bother me as I'm able to help some folks and many do pay the loans off-- it beats the heck out of the ridiculous overhead that most big non-profits charge..
A few months ago I bought a WeTab from these people http://wetab.mobi/en/, and it rocks. I don't know if it's already shipped to the U.S.A., as I'm in Europe, but the specs look really good: 2 USB ports, 1 mini HDMI, the usual audio out jack, and a proprietary port (for a dock) on the bottom, but unused at the moment (the company hadn't produced a dock yet). It runs a WeTabOS, which is basically MeeGo + a graphical interface known as 4tiito, and that OS can easily be replaced by whichever flavour of GNU/Linux you'd like (MeeGo, Ubuntu, ...), and I think someone could also try cramming windows on the SSD. The processor is an Intel N450 at 1.66Ghz, with 1Go of DDR2 RAM. There's also a webcam, a SIM port... Basically everything you would need. At less than the price of an iPad (I paid mine about 460 euros, while the iPad here is 499 euros).