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Ask Slashdot: Best Android Tablet For Travel?
PerlJedi writes "I am planing a long trip (to Ireland), and want to buy an Android tablet to take along for the trip. I am a software engineer (I actually work for Slashdot), a Linux geek, and an Android fan. I would like to get a tablet primarily to use for entertainment (when I'm not working or building robots in my workshop, I'm usually playing with my phone), but something I could get some work done from in a pinch would be a major plus (all I need to be able to work is a Web browser, and an ssh terminal, preferably with a keyboard). My current cell phone is the Samsung Charge, rooted and running GummyCharge 2.1, and it is a good bet I'll want to root whatever tablet I get, if not right away, soon after getting it. From an entertainment standpoint I want something that is large enough to watch high definition videos on, with a battery life that will make it practical for use on a long flight. Having a decent camera would be a nice plus, but is not an absolute necessity. Having a forward facing camera for video chat would also be good, but is also not a necessity." PerlJedi's got a few options in mind; read on for the details of his reasoning and help him fulfill his quest.
"My brief initial search has yielded the following initial contenders:
- Asus Transformer Prime: This is currently my favorite, for a few reasons: Tegra 3 quad core processor (that's just plain cool); it's designed with a docking station in mind, making it perfect for using for work; sleek, thin design; light weight; available with up to 64 GB. It is on the pricey side, though.
- Toshiba Thrive: I must admit, I know very little about this one. Unlike the others, I have not heard much hype around it. From what I've read thus far, pros include: full-size SD slot; full USB support; full HDMI support. Cons: Bulkier and heavier than its opponents.
- Motorola XOOM: This one has been available for some time, which can be both good and bad. Its problems should be known and understood by now, but it's lost some of the sex appeal of the new product.
- Samsung Galaxy Tab: The Galaxy tab line has also been on the market for a while. It does have some added appeal to me because my phone is also from Samsung, so the rooting processes, and available ROMs, will be more familiar to me.
- Sony Tablet S: Like the Toshiba, I have heard little hype about this tablet. Its feature set also seems similar to the Toshiba. I must admit here, I may be a bit biased against Sony over some of their recent treatment of the hacker/maker community."
I have a Transformer, a Novo 7 (China) and an iPad. I paid for the Transformer, the others are company owned test units. I like them all. I haven't tried the Transformer with a keyboard, should have bought it. But that might be the one you want.
Check out lenovo
If you can get your hands on one, I'd highly recommend it. Got one for Christmas from my awesome GF and it took me longer to download all the SDKs and files than it actually took to root and ROM it.
i just got the galaxy tab 10.1, and ive been loving it. what swayed my opinion the most was the good specs, large screen, and future cyanogen mod support (they mentioned it in there v9 blog post)
Your best bets are the Prime, Xoom lineup, or Galaxy Tab 10.1. The Sony & Toshiba are crap.
The Prime is 5 cores, btw. They utilize a 5th core at 500Mhz or so for low power consumption apps & background processes.
Nook color, cyanogen. Refurb can be found for 120$. You can do all you state from it, and can buy 4 of them for the price of other shiny devices.
I'd use the prime (given the options available to it) or the Xoom mainly because it's built like a brick sh1thouse and unlikely to break accidentally. I have a xoom myself, and was quite suprised by the standby time of the tablet (ie: a week with keeping over 90% charge). The samsung is sexy and light in comparison, I can't compare the others as I havent tried them.
At the end of the day it's down to what you actually *need* not what's *nice*, sure 64GB is nice, but do you actually need it to write emails? If you like music, then that's a maybe (but most of my collection fits in under 16GB of my frequently listened to stuff, and are you really going to need that rarely listened to piece?)
Ian Hawkins
ian@prowl.org ('cause I can't login!)
Even without the keyboard, I've barely put mine down in the months since I bought it. You might be better off trying to pick up the original on the cheap now that its successor is on the way - it's a good, solid piece of hardware and it can be rooted easily too.
"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
I bought one on sale locally. I'm a geocacher and wanted the full USB port for loading caches on my GPS (Delorme 60) when I'm traveling. It is a bit bulkier than some of the others but it's fast and responsive. I've not been disappointed at all.
The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum. - O'Toole's Corollary
I was going to say B&N Nook Color. Install Cyanogen 7.1 (very easy to do), connectBot, hacker's keyboard, and Opera. The battery life is great, nice screen, dirt cheap. Tether it to your phone for non-wifi connectivity.
..but then I clicked your link for the Transformer Prime. Very nice. Yeah, get that one.
sig: sauer
That's what I read the title as. I thought of Marvin and Data. Of the two, only Data is an android, and while Marvin might be many ages-of-the-universe old, Data's head is three hundred years older than his body.
Based upon my Christmas mistake (he's 8, he doesn't care)- here's what I would look for:
1. Capacative screen. Resistive touch screens suck, and I forgot how much until I realized this el-cheap sub $90 tablet came with a resistive screen but no stylus.
2. On-board USB ports, not on a dongle. His contains a proprietary connector with USB / wired ethernet ports on it, and I'm afraid he'll lose it. He might have already and I don't know.
3. SDHC or microSDHC slot and plenty of on-board memory
4. Good built-in Wifi- his seems to disconnect at the drop of a hat.
Go with the same brand as your phone otherwise, that way you can be sure your favorite aps will work.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
I have a friend who sounds almost identical in his needs ... he was traveling (3 months in Japan) and wanted something he could throw in his backpack and work from (web, ssh) if needed, without having to lug around a laptop. He got the ASUS Transformer with keyboard, and loves it -- he still uses it every day, and this is almost a year after buying it. Plus the doubled battery life the keyboard provides is really nice.
If you want 3g/LTE, I'd recommend the HTC Jetstream on AT&T's LTE network. It was rooted today, thanks to HTC fulfilling its promises to unlock the bootloaders on all new phones.
Dual core snapdragon processor @1.5Ghz makes it pretty quick, and the battery life is excellent (particularly with LTE turned off when the screen is turned off).
the touchpad is cheap, runs android, linux (poorly atm) and webos at the same time... soon to get CM9. good battery, screen and processor.
I own a Xoom and a Transformer. I love both.
The Xoom feels less plastic and more sturdy than the Transformer, and since the 3.2 update, the Xoom is just as great as the Transformer as used as a tablet-only. I actually prefer it to the Transformer. Now, the Transformer with the keyboard is just another piece of awesome for daily stuff.
So for your usage pattern I will definitely recommend the Transformer with the keyboard.
I like, "Hackers Keyboard," for a decent SW keyboard. Works decent even on my Galaxy S II 4.5" screen...
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I love my Galaxy Tab. With a newer gen proc, though, the Prime is a good choice as well. If you really want the integrated keyboard the Prime looks even better, though the Tab will pair nicely with a bluetooth keyboard if you prefer. Unless you rally have the need, I would not look past those two.
I offer the following reasons:
1. It has a high resale value in case you want to upgrade to an iPad 3 later or actually want an Android tablet later.
2. iOS offers multiple remote connection options like Citrix Receiver, Join.me, Logmein Ignition, Webex, VNC app, RDP apps an X-windows client and various SSH clients on the app store.
3. iOS offers some of the best browser out there including the built-in Safari and third party ones like iCab which offer some extensions and file downloads.
4. The iPad 2 is one of the most usable tablets out there and it is used by mac and windows users. If you have linux then I assume that you also have a windows partition since linux also has few "commercial" apps available for it.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
With all the, uh, street-cred up there, you mean to tell us you don't ALREADY have a Kindle Fire rooted and running the pre-alpha Ice Cream Sandwich????
I'd suggest that purely for size, a 7" tablet might be better for travelling. The Transformer is apparently a hell of a tablet though.
Now I'll share my personal experience from a 2-week trip to Ireland a few years ago. Sure tablets didn't exist way back in 2006 but here's my advice anyway.
SCREW THE TABLET. Get a REALLY NICE camera.
I did take my laptop (at the time a 12" Powerbook G4). It was used at night to download the hundreds of photos off the camera so I have space for photos the next day, and to do minor trip blogging. I did not find the time, opportunity, need or DESIRE to touch a computer during the day.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
I have a Sony S, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Toshiba Thrive, and an older Asus Transformer (not the Prime, which I have on order).
For my own international travel, I have settled on the Galaxy Tab. Good battery life (though not as good as my wife's iPad), and reliable WiFi (on trains, in airports, and in public spaces in Scandinavia). For the times when I need a keyboard, I pack the Zagg bluetooth keyboard and a bluetooth mouse... surprisingly nice combination. Have not rooted the Tab as of yet. Solid build quality (the best of the lot).
The Sony seems to regularly drop the WiFi connection... not travelling with it because of that.
I find the Thrive display sub par when compared to either the Samsung or Sony. The extra bulk argues against it for travel in IMO.
No comment on the Transformer. Not using it.
I can get a case for the Ipad that will accomodate my standard apple bluetooth keyboard. iSSH does my console needs remotely. RDP does my remote into windows boxes VNC does my remote into everything else... Entertainment? Ipad is king. Web surfing? Didnt Safari recently top the list?
There Can Be Only One...
What tablets are to recommend for running some more ordinary operating system, like Debian or Ubuntu?
Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
I have a Xoom that I travel with constantly and I can put multiple movies on the removable SD card quite easily. I've also purchased Asus Transformers for the kids and we've taken all of them on long trips internationally without any problems.
The only negative I have on all of the tablets is the lack of a standard charge interface, like a micro USB for example. The ASUS has one standard, the Motorola has a 12V plug that's different etc. It's just like cell phones. SO if you're expecting to travel light just plan on bringing another charger along as well.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
I've had the good fortune to review a number of tablets in the last few weeks. Personally, I like the 7" form factor and prefer Samsung's Galaxy line over others I've tried, but given the requirements I think I'd probably take a long, hard look at a Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet. They're the only tablets I've seen with a USB root hub and their screens, while not quite as good as Samsung's, is better than the the Motorola, Acer, Toshiba and Asus 10" tablets I've tried. The Tegra CPU isn't top of the line but in my experience that's rarely a limiting factor for top-tier Android tablets. I also found myself really appreciating the pen input.
For the most part, the experience of one tablet vs. another is very similar, but there is quite a lot of variability in screen quality and there's actually a some differences in weight and thickness that might or might not be relevant. As with all Thinkpad-branded products, I also found the build quality to be impressively high
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
This past summer, we bought a Galaxy Tab 10.1 specifically for the purpose of communicating across the Atlantic from Ireland/England. The wife took it, it was nice, light, and reliable, and she was able to GTalk with the kids and me (Skype video wasn't available at the time) . The only issue (not tablet specific) was finding wifi spots in certain semi-rural areas of Ireland.
I have the first gen Transformer and I like it ALOT. The screen is fantastic and the ability to slap a real keyboard (and multi-hour extra battery) on it is just icing on the cake. I upgraded from a 7" Galaxy Tab and while I miss the built-in cellular access at times, that's nothing that can't be overcome by the hotspot in my Galaxy S II ;)
Why asking here? All info you need is on the web, why get confused by advice of users that probably at most have really used 2 tablets.
Bought a Sony myself, based on the info on the web and after holding it in my hands. I am happy with the form factor. Dont care about the otner specs as I bought the device for what it can, not for what it might do in the future (Hope for an ICS upgrade, but wont complain ifit doesnt happen. Didnt pay for it)
Enjoy your trip, try to enjoy it without any digital toys. They are overrated.
I have an iPad 1. While it is a solidly built device, I haven't found much real use for it.
Google maps works very well. The iPad is integrated with iTunes well. Battery life is nice.
However....
Typing is awkward on the touch screen. Many websites still do not display properly as a result of Apple's "No Flash" policy (yet work fine on my Droid). You have to pay for any decent apps. A lot of the free apps are garbage. While the iPad has multitasking, it doesn't work very well. When you scroll through webpages it has to refresh the entire page, which makes for very slow browsing. Sending files back and forth to the device requires that you plug it in. Any files you copy to the iPad have to go through iTunes.
While many of these issues were addressed in the iPad 2, I would not recommend.
Related question: I would like to use a tablet for grading and correcting assignments and reading and annotating papers (all pdf). I would need it to sync to a storage for pdf files, preferably with a means of adding metadata (tags, bibliography, etc) with a good frontend on the PC as well.
Are there any good apps/applications for that now? Because then I might consider getting a tablet. Is it worth trying to get an e-ink device? Are there any e-ink devices running a sensible OS?
Short answer: Eee PC. it is fully functional computer, it is a laptop, and it has very "long" battery life, say 5h with normal use.
If you want a keyboard and you want to root it then is a tablet really the best device to serve your needs? Why not just get a netbook? I suppose you can still install Android x86 if you really want to.
We got sick of the kids fighting over the iPad so we looked for a cheap alternative we could let the kids abuse.
We picked up the TC970 for $199 from New Egg.. So far it's been a good little tablet..
It runs Andoid 2.2, 32 gig micro SD card slot, Wifi works well but does not support 5ghz N. (the ipad doesn't either ) 8 hour battery life, decent 9.7" touch screen but the iPad is better.. Downside, it's not upgradable to 2.3 or 2.4. Had some initial lockup issues but it was corrected with a firmware upgrade.
For what the kids do (netflix, angry birds, kids apps, kindle reader) it's great..
If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. --Red Adair
I have an 32G Transformer+Keyboard and love it. The battery life is great and I love the fact that I can convert it when i don't need a keyboard. But if the battery gets low just snap it into the keyboard base. I hardly use my big laptop anymore. It really is the best of both worlds. When I am on the road I just fire up my wifi hotspot on my Droid3 and I am ready to go in seconds.
Brandon Gardner brandon.gardner@gmail.com
I develop software for tablets (iPad, Playbook, Android) so I have quite a few. I tested them myself and I can compare them first hand.
The best Android tablets right now are Asus Transformer and Samsung Galaxy Tab. I would say that the Tabs have better build quality than Transformers, personally I like TouchWiz and I the Tab 8.9 tablet is just right - small and light enough to be easy to carry yet more comfortable than a 7".
This will get modded Troll, but seriously? If you're planning extended travel, why on Earth would you think about buying a gadget to play with before you go? Get a grip!
I'm being serious, and I speak from experience. Now me, I like books. I always figure that when I have a lot of travel time ahead of me, I should sock a bunch of reading matter into my bag for those long stretches, so I don't run out. And you know what? Almost always, that stuff ends up sitting in my bag unread.
Do you know why you travel? To travel. To experience new things, new people, new places. Not to fuck around with a gadget, or spend your time sitting in a chair by yourself, reading a book.
Count your trip as a blessing, expect it to be one of the experiences of your life that you will always look back on fondly, and please, for the love of God, put the fucking phone DOWN.
Breakfast served all day!
Really?!?! Why would I buy a car that would ONLY drive to Walmart. I would prefer a tool that I own to be used as I choose, and not give the choice to somebody else. I personally have looked at many, and have fallen in love with the idea of the Archos G9 101 250gb. It is a 10 inch tablet with hdmi output, has an app you can install on your android phone and use as a remote control when it is being used with hdmi on your big screen. It also has a full size USB host on the back that in Europe currently can hold an optional $49 3G dongle that is unlocked. Also their media player will handle damn near anything you throw at it. Plus it has a 250 gig spinning hard drive. I don't think the 250 gig has been released yet, but other size ones are out there, I have an iPad currently, and it feels like I am slamming my head into a wall at times. I am going to get the g9 and either sell or give away this thing. Good luck, and that is my .02
I would not suggest iPad 2. It suffers from horrible lags when web browsing that are frustrating to the point of unusability. Obviously, it doesn't handle flash sites. It has much less available in the way of quality free apps. The user interface is dumbed down or broken in many little ways that make the experience one long chain of annoyances.
Android tablets are much closer to being true laptop replacements on the road. On my last road trip I brought a netbook and a Xoom. I never used the netbook. I did all the browsing I needed with the Xoom and I edited text files using a bluetooth keyboard. I have QuickOffice on it, but I didn't use it this time. I look forward to the Android version of LibreOffice,I found I didn't really need a mouse, but I will get the Apple trackpad to use with the Xoom, apparently it works fine. Otherwise, I regard Apple's product as mainly for games and spending money. Not the best choice for a serious computer user.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
Are you kidding? The iPad 2 barley runs Android.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
I have a Transformer, a Novo 7 (China) and an iPad. I paid for the Transformer, the others are company owned test units.
I like them all. I haven't tried the Transformer with a keyboard, should have bought it. But that might be the one you want.
I haven't read the article, nor the summary, but I'm going to post anyway in fine slashdot tradition.
I would say vallium, as it has a better reputation than prozac. Once you're stoned out of your tree all the computing devices will look the same anyway.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Or get the Transformer Prime like stated. He wants Android and for good reason, its designed for those who actually like technology not fashion. The Docking Station will easily give you a lot of neat options like, placing it on a table for added viewing pleasure (No holding required), improving battery life (docking station doubles battery), and ease of typing (full keyboard anyone?). iPads look neat and function very well, but are not half as capable of being customized as an Android Tab. Plus Android Tabs all have a super awesome Community at XDA-Developers.com and on many many other sites. I'm not posting as an Apple basher as I've owned and been around iProducts for a while (first iPod mini, iPhone, and iPod Touch). The interface is not as slick as Android with Widges.
I got one of the cheap tablets for a parent, and an aunt, a Kyros MID7012. It was $88. I'm quite sure you will not be able to get a good deal on data, and cellular data pricing will therefore be absurd. This tablet has wifi, 7" screen, and Android 2.3. I had to add the Market but once I did it works fine. It's *CHEAP*, so if you lose it or it gets stolen you won't be kicking yourself in the nuts over it. However, it has a resistive touch screen (fingernail or stylus to use it, and no multitouch...) and is a bit sluggish.
There are nicer models for like $150, with faster CPU and capacitive multitouch screen. Still way less than the $500-800 for the models you are suggestions.
Out of the ones you list... 1) NOT SONY. They are infamous for having little bugs in various products, which they will refuse to fix even if it just took a software patch. They seem to revel in making things gratuitously propreitary too. 2) I'd go for either the Asus or the Galaxy Tab. Something particularly interesting about the Samsungs if you do stick with stock firmawre, is I've recently read about how a few models that they've decided don't have enough flash to run ICS (Ice Cream Sandwhich, Android 4.0), they intend to backport some ICS improvements (the faster browser and interface improvements mainly) so owners of these older models can get some benefits of ICS. I think that is pretty cool compared to just saying "screw it, no upgrades for you."
Your question will garner far more posts like the one above but I will add my 0.02.
I like the original Transformer (TF101-A1) very much and would suggest you take a look at it if the Prime is too pricey for what you want. The Prime is currently the only shipping Tegra 3 system I know of so to lump it in with the rest of your list isn't quit fair. While it's still yet to be field proven all indicators point to the Tegra 3 being quite a capable chip which will run for a very long time on a single charge.
Toshiba's Thrive is an interesting tablet. I have only tested it in store but I like it for the most part. The full size ports are a definite plus and the rubbery backing make for a slip free experience.
I don't have any experience with the Xoom or the Galaxy but you mentioned rooting and I was curious if you had posed this question over at XDA? I choose my android devices on price and rootability so the Nook Color has been my recommendation to all my non-technical friends looking for a cheap tablet.
Sony likes to cut off its nose to spite its face. Given their treatment of Geohot I would steer clear if you are looking for rooting. I'm sure you can root them just not sure what Sony's response will be to it.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
While I love my android telephone, I just don't get the pad hype. If you want to actually do something, bring a decent small laptop or netbook and an extra battery. Those should last more than 10 hours.
I just got a Transformer Prime a couple of weeks ago. While its a very good tablet, the android marketplace is rather lacking on tablet apps (Most phone apps do work, but the stretching doesn't always treat apps nicely). However, between the pre-installed apps and the marketplace, I was able to find apps for everything I needed.
What ever became of this tablet? It was so hyped this time last year and would still seem to be the most feature-rich of all the tablets with its transflective display, 185 degree swivel camera, full HDMI, etc.
The most obvious issue is the lack of availability, but even if you have time to wait there is a serious problem that is likely to sour your interest in the Transformer Prime: Locked boot-loader. Until someone breaks it or the key gets leaked, it's uncertain whether you would be able to install your own OS on it. It looks like a great tablet/netbook, and I was real hot to buy one, with the idea of possibly being able to install a full Linux on it and use it as more of a lightweight netbook with 18 hours of battery.
Why a MacBook? It's bigger, more expensive and feeds Apple. There are plenty of netbooks available with touch screens. I've even seen ones where the touch screen flips around over the keyboard to make it tablet like. Or... you can roll your own, there are touchscreens available as addons for plain netbooks.
I have a XOOM and no experience whatsoever with other tablets.
The XOOM was one of the first of its generation of Android devices. In the meantime they got slimmer and the next generation is just around the bend. I don't know about a 4.0 update and I haven't read up on 4.0 so I can't even say if it could handle it. But what it does it does quite well. Build quality is superb, it's responsive and it handles web browsing and most video viewing quite well.
My only criticism is the type and placement of connections. You can't recharge it and have it in an upright and landscape position due to the placement of the recharging/mini-usb socket.
Battery lasts for quite some time when doing heavy duty web browsing. Depending on what you do you can expect it to be up and running for at least 6-8 hours under seriously heavy use. Recharge time is fairly short. And it recharges when plugged in even if you use it heavily. You'd be surprised how this is not a given for cheaper and not so cheap tablets.
Mini SD slot is just beneath the SIM Card slot, so this makes changing it fairly awkward. I never change it, so it's not a big deal to me.
It's got the whole set of features. AGPS, 3G(if you opt to buy that version), WLAN, SD Card slot(wasn't activated from the beginning but is by now), two functional cameras, functional stereo sound(I use Sennheiser Bluetooth headphones and it sounds great with those) and really, really good build quality. This is the template for the whole Android 3.2 generation. So by now it's not spectacular but very solid.
At first I used it for YouTube(which it does very well), web browsing, games and listening to music for half a year because I was without a desktop computer. It NEARLY substitutes one. Now I use it professionally as a messenger device and for taking notes during meetings with a nice mind-mapping app.
You will need to get a man-bag for it and you will need to buy a protective casing. The one Motorola sells for it is rather idiotic since it covers the USB connection. I had to drill a hole into that one so I could recharge it with the protective lid closed. I did this after I found my cat playing Angry Birds while recharging during the night. If you have glasses then you already own microfiber cloth for cleaning it. Which you will do very often. Don't assume you can apply protective foil yourself because that's a clean-rom job. I don't have one on my device. But you might want to consider having one applied to it. I know a company in Germany who offers this as a service for 50€. And they are an affiliate of 3M and get rave reviews. It's not strictly necessary. So factor in buying accessories for it.
I don't regret buying it for 400€.
Motorola has announced the XOOM2 so if you find it on the cheap(200€) it is not a bad buy.
Don't buy it at full price(last time I looked it was at 500€) because that should get you a device of the next generation.
20 minutes into the future
Safari sucks. You can't even upload a photo through a webform using Safari. Stick with Android, the browser is mostly the same as both are webkit but you get full form functionality and Flash. Yes, Mobile Flash sucks. Set it to only run when asked for. Then wherever Flash is on a site you get a Flash icon. Click it when and only when the Flash was important and then it runs. It's the best of both worlds.
Give me one, my 12ga looks hungry. I'd gladly trade it for something I can personalize.
How much are you willing to lose? Traveling frequently, things get lost, stolen, or broken. Sometimes all 3.
Example: I had a Kindle 3 (with keyboard and ad supported). It kept me entertained, could browse the web, send and receive emails. I loved not having to recharge except every week or so (with heavy use). I traveled all over of China with it, leaving my work laptop at the home office.
Was it as good as anything you listed? Hell no! But when I lost it (got left on a plane, my own stupid fault), I was only out $114. Soon after, I bought a Kindle Touch for $79. Fills the same niche. And when I lose it (I'm assuming I'll do something stupid again), I'll move on.
As an aside, the Touch is better when browsing the web than the keyboard version, but sucks as a reader. With narrow borders, you end up accidentally turning pages or chapters all the time. Side mounted buttons end up being far superior to touching the display.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
The fact that people -- even technology geeks -- have to work so hard to research an Android device (whether smartphone or tablet) that is decent is why I keep recommending Apple to friends and relatives.
Google really needs to put their foot down and demand a reasonable set of minimum requirements to ensure people don't end up having a crappy Android experience (which is currently all too likely).
I bought a Thrive (or AT100 as it is referred to here in Australia). I moved away from ASUS for the first time in a decade to go with the Toshiba product (lured by the HDMI and SD slot). Initially the decision was an epic fail due to the "sleep of death" and random reboot issues. Toshiba's poorly coordinated customer service relating to this problem was probably the worst part of all. I got everything from complete denial of the problem to acknowledgment of the issue and a fix is in progress depending on which customer support person you spoke to at the time. I had the unit replaced but the replacement had the same problems. Eventually they released a patch and upgrade to android 3.1 and then very quickly to 3.2. Since then I haven't had any issues. The unit is bulkier and feels cheap and plasticky but it is quite durable. It has been dropped many times, flung across the room and thrown down the hallway by my two year old and barely has a mark on it. If the rear casing cracks I can buy cheap replacements in different colours and the replacment battery is really handy for long trips. Having said all that, I wish I had bought the ASUS transformer. The keyboard/extended battery is worth sacrificing the full size ports IMHO. On a side note: I just wish I could get the equivalent of an ASUS Transformer that runs Linux, or can be made to run linux. The only option that I can see at the moment is to buy an ultrabook and load Linux on it, but then I wouldn't be able to detach the screen. Plus it would be at least twice the price.
I own a Samsung Galaxy Note (purchased unlocked from handtec), and I am very happy with it. It is your phone, too, and unlike most tablets, you can have it with you at all times without needing a backpack or briefcase. My brief review:
Size: The 5.3" screen is big enough for me to comfortably read non-mobile websites in landscape without any trouble, and it's great for reading ebooks and gaming. I have also used it in a pinch for Remote Desktop or Telnet. It fits in my (not skinny) jeans easily, and is actually much less noticeable when there than the dumbphone that it was replacing, which was much smaller but thicker. Depending on how I am standing, I sometimes have to check to make sure that it is there. I have average-sized hands and I can operate it with one hand, but if my hands were much smaller, I couldn't. (Personally, I never use smartphones with one hand, anyway, but some people seem to care.)
Display quality: 1280 x 800 resolution. Good colors, very dark blacks, excellent clarity (the PPI is high enough that the fact that it is SAMOLED doesn't hurt if it isn't a few inches from your face), excellent outdoor visibility. On the downside, it has some issues with banding in 16-bit images with slow gradients. That issue should be fixable in a future update (or custom ROM), but that doesn't mean that it will happen.
Speed: Dual-core 1.4GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9, one of the fastest out there right now. Everything is very responsive.
Cellular: Uses the GSM1800MHz band, which is pretty standard Internationally so would be good considering that you plan on traveling abroad. In the US, I am using it with AT&T (GoPhone plan, $25.00/month for 500MB of data, $0.10 per talk minute), and it works with their HSPA+ network.
Battery life: With light use, many days. For continuous gaming, about 6 hours. On a day in which I make a few calls and spend a few hours browsing the web, reading, and/or play games for a few hours, it usually has 30-60% battery remaining at the end of the day.
Stylus: I find it easy to use and accurate, good for taking quick notes or sketches. The one problem that I have had is it doesn't really work well if you are lying down and holding the phone upside-down; in that position, it doesn't track the position of the stylus properly.
Camera: 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera. Good quality and color accuracy on both most of the time, but doesn't always handle very high contrast pictures well.
Sound quality: Middling. Max speakerphone volume is not terribly loud.
GPS: Excellent, one of the best out there.
OS: Samsung reports that it will be getting ICS in the next couple months.
(no sig)
This will get modded Troll, but seriously? If you're planning extended travel, why on Earth would you think about buying a gadget to play with before you go? Get a grip!
Do you know why you travel? To travel. To experience new things, new people, new places. Not to fuck around with a gadget, or spend your time sitting in a chair by yourself, reading a book.
Count your trip as a blessing, expect it to be one of the experiences of your life that you will always look back on fondly, and please, for the love of God, put the fucking phone DOWN.
I would mod you as insightful if I had not already posted in this story. If you don't already have a tablet and you are planning on travelling then don't worry about it but make sure that you have a decent camera to capture memories and be sure to enjoy yourself with the people you meet.
A tablet can be a good thing to have along with you to use in your hotel room for watching videos, checking out Facebook and other social media and checking your email but that is something that you should only do when you are bored resting after a long day spent outside interacting with "people" in the "real world". If you are travelling for "fun" then you really don't need a full fledged laptop and a tablet with Wifi should be "good enough" to check in with family and friends back home during some down time.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
We use the Galaxy Tablets where I am CTO. They are simply great tablets.
What if he doesn't want an iPad (which seems rather obvious from the question)?
I just bought a 16GB Transformer from B&H (cheap!), and I didn't even consider Apple since their philosophy doesn't really do it for me. The iPad might be the most awesome tablet in existence for some people, but this doesn't make it a universal. I WANTED an Android Tablet, and I find them superior to iOS devices. This isn't an attack on Apple or their customers, it is merely a matter of taste.
When someone states they want an Android tablet, why even bother stating "Get an iPad"? There are people in this world who don't like Apple for various reasons (just like there are people who can't stand Google or Microsoft), and this is fine. Their opinion is just as valid as yours. Some people don't want an iPad. Live with it. Telling people to buy something they already expressed no interest in considering isn't helpful, it is just obnoxious.
"I'm looking for a decent compact car, any suggestions?"
"Buy an SUV!"
I don't want an iPad because I can't stand Apple's direction and marketing strategy. The fact they like to force $500 upgrades yearly in order to have support. They fact that they decided that they can patent basic shapes. The fact that their founder had a God complex, and is on the record stating he wants to Balmerize the competition. I don't like the closed App store idea, nor the fact that I'm not supposed to own my own hardware. I don't like having a designers tastes shoved down my throat since they "know better". I don't particularly like iOS, or its interface (Yes, it does some things better than Android, but it does some things worse). I don't really like the hardware lock in. I've also had some fairly nasty experiences with their PCs before switching back to Windows and Linux. I like open source software (Android frustrates me too, but it is the closest of all the mobile OSs that are common, or don't suck). I don't want to be locked into iTunes. i don't want to be associated with the "bad type" of Apple fans, who feel the need to constantly show people their devices and try to get them to buy Apple products instead (being loyal to an impersonal mega corporation is annoying in itself) and rant about how Apple is the greatest thing in the world without ever once trying or experiencing non-Apple alternatives. (for my choice: I want to be able to make my tablet a Netbook at whim. I like the the size better, as well.) All of these are valid reasons for not liking the iPad. Or at least these are the ones I'll drag out when my Apple fanboi friends start ranting about their iPads and how much better than must be (a priori) than anything else in existence (even when one of them returned his because he couldn't actually find any use for it to justify its insane price tag, with data).
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
If your only problem with the Thrive is weight and thickness then you're a wimp and need more muscle weight and thickness in your arms. I've got a manly 10 inch and I find it inconceivable that it would be an issue with anyone except the marketing dweebs of the competition. Isn't it a geek given that full sized support for USB, HDMI, and SD slot are more important? Also, you can actually replace the battery yourself! Get the bluetooth keyboard and the multi-dock and you're set for the long haul. If you absolutely need something ultra lightweight then you should get something pink.
I recently started a job that has me traveling regularly, and I went through similar selections. Ended up getting the asus transformer with keyboard for a few reasons: Internal memory slot: I travel a lot, and its easier to load up some micro sd cards with movies, tv shows, music, books/pdfs, instead of being limited to internal storage. They keyboard/dock also has a full sized sd slot hdmi output: i wanted to be able to plug in to hotel tvs where available to watch on a full sized screen battery life: the keyboard dock doubles the battery life, i've done some six and nine hour flights without having to rely on the airline power plugs that always seem to overheat my usb adapters. granted i took a nap on the nine hour flight, so not sure how much more than six hours of games and movies i got out of it.
An I.T. motto in the hands of an idiot is a dangerous thing...
I would go for something older & cheaper with the notion that it will be quickly replaced, because the technology is currently on one of those cusps where things are going to change for the massively better quickly.
The Prime is a good looking tablet, but it seems like the competition in this space is going to ramp up like crazy over the next year and there will be some really decent hardware to be had in the 500 dollar range.
Of course, if you're willing to dump 500 a year into these things, by all means, lean as far forward as you can.
To address your specific needs - I don't think you'll have a problem doing what you want with any particular Android tablet available.
Why a MacBook? It's bigger, more expensive and feeds Apple. There are plenty of netbooks available with touch screens. I've even seen ones where the touch screen flips around over the keyboard to make it tablet like. Or... you can roll your own, there are touchscreens available as addons for plain netbooks.
Macbook "Air" models are in the ultra book niche and are thinner and less expensive than the competitors even with Intel's offer of subsidization. Netbooks are not even in the same league. They are too anemic to run desktop software properly and are only really useful for face booking and web email.
The netbook niche is dead because they have not changed much over the last few years. That segment has been stagnant.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
I agree with bazorg, that's like saying you want a car but start adding all kinds of things to it so that you can use it as a truck. Just buy a truck instead.
Don't you mean to say...
The iPad 2 wheat runs Android.
Or is that an accent that makes barely sound like barley???
Transformer Prime's hardware outperforms iPad 2 significantly, with better battery life, and as I recall is smaller and lighter.
AJ Henderson
Samsung Galaxy Note phone tablet or Asus Transformer Prime.
The macbook air is not much bigger than 10" tablets, it's more expensive because it is a more complete product and it feeds Apple because they built it first. I'm sure there are other small laptops out there with long life batteries and SSDs, which I'd pick over any tablet out there if I were shopping with Perljedi.
If I had the money, I'd go with the Asus... right now at least. To be honest, the price of it is a bit out of my league for anything I'd use a tablet for, but if I had some play money to throw around at it, that is what I'd go for.
On the other hand... Have you considered Barnes & Nobles latest nook Tablet? My NookColor is pretty close to a perfect tablet for me and I just wish it was just a little faster. From what I understand, that is the exact addition that the nook Tablet adds. It's got good dimensions, decent connectivity, and is lightweight. It runs Android and, with a little jiggering, can get to the android market. The display is good enough for long term reading (I know that for a fact) which is not something that every tablet can claim. And the price is well within everyone's sweet spot. The same could be said about the Amazon Fire, but I am not quite as impressed by it as the nook Tablet - but that is just a personal thing and I can't quantify it...
Why is nobody mentioning the Acer Iconia A500 ?
This 10" tablet has been giving me a real world 12-15 hour battery life, out of the box un-modded, under heavy use.
With its 299$ price wag the 16GB models are fairly powerful, and have all the best features including a full size USB port for your flash drives.
Recently, I've even managed to get external soundcards and a barcode scanner to work on it with very little effort.
I have heard that With CM mods, people have extended the battery life to nearly 20 operational hours before needing a charge.
With the Tegra 2 power, decent build quality, long battery life, full USB 2.0 support, and the MicroSD slot, this was an easy choice.
Just a thought.
I have an iPad 2 and I have a Touchpad with Cyanogen's alpha android build. I haven't touched the iPad since I installed android on the touchpad. The iPad is about to go on ebay.
I just a job where I'll be traveling around 150 days per year, and have been thinking about this for a while. As of now the Transformer Prime looks hard to beat. Tegra 3, keyboard for real work, 18 hours of usage time! My only complain is lack of development tools made to run on Android, although not entirely nonexistent. Apparently you can get a simple C/C++ IDE, GCC, and BusyBox already.
If only I could get a straight port of QtCreator and CodeSourcery G++ Lite for it as well (no touch input changes necessary, as I'd never use it without a keyboard).
and I've yet to find an app on the Android market that doesn't work without issue on my Transformer.
I don't think this fragment means what you think it means.
Of course your rant about Cocoa Touch and XCode documentation demonstrates that literacy is not high on your list of TODOs.
Is what I travel with. The nook has the battery life and portability I want for lite work and entertainment, and the laptop for work. Together they weigh 4 lbs.
He placed the condition of an Android tablet. Apple iZealots refuse to acknowledge that people might have already looked at and rejected iProducts for a number of reasons, but your inability to acknowledge that some people might see the crippled nature of the devices as a flaw is pathetic.
Apparently he wants Android, and has already made decisions along that path.
Sorry, pure bullshit. You're left waiting for a jailbreak to come along, and always at risk of Apple stuffing you back into the walled garden. Never mind that the platform is wholly closed.
Archos is the way to go.. lots of options there with size and what not.. But what i think no one mentioned is: Apitek - for the price point and what you can do with them might as well forget the word iPad. (they also have a sweet kids book, was just about to get that for my 3year old)
I bought it because it had a replaceable battery, the full size slots/plugs.
I haven't changed the battery. I've used the USB slot quite a bit - haven't used the other slots.
If you are organised enough to know how to get your data to your tablet (in the case of PDFs) then this is not a selling point as far as I'm concerned now that I've gone down that path :)
I'm still happy with it, however I would wait another 6 months to see what ICS stuff comes up...
It is also only a wifi tablet. So it's not totally useful on the go. I think if I had my time again I would have gone for a 3g iPad2 because that is the best device as far as app support goes.
At the end of the day it is a PDF/photo view to me, although I did buy it to write a tablet specific app (which i still haven't started).
Cheers
I got the Toshiba Thrive when it first came out, and I really enjoy it. It can handle any media I can throw at it. One advantage i cam see for you is that you can get a secondary battery and easily swap them out. It may not match the Transformer's power but it does its job well.
Funny that you comment on my literacy, but can't see the fact that the person I was responding to said nothing about fragmentation what so ever. If you must know, I was responding to "There is absolutely no use in shelling out good money for an inferior Android product and then trying to get it to work correctly and efficiently." in the actual post that I responded to.
And I'm not sure how my rant about Cocoa Touch documentation or XCode documentation says anything about my literacy. If I wanted a work of literature, it is great, but if I wanted easily accessible documentation that is easy to find the information I want, then it is very sorely lacking. Take a look at the number of hyperlinks and the organization of information in something like MSDN documentation or PHP documentation and it is easy to see what I am referring to.
I should also point out I don't hate the iOS platform (though I will admit I have a strong dislike, bordering on hatred for Apple the company), it isn't personally for me, but I still DO develop for it. I hate however, the fact that people feel the need to over glorify it and spread FUD about Android at the same time because it threatens their precious walled garden.
AJ Henderson
If you are a person who values GPS, or simply having all of the features you paid for function in your new $500 purchase then you should head over to the XDA forums. Forum users are reporting that GPS locking is impossible to unreliable at best and it could have something to do with Asus' choice of using an aluminum back-plate.
I've been holding off on buying a tablet. Two issues for me are screen related. The last couple of netbooks I bought were HP/Compaq for one reason only - non-glare matte screens. I really cannot stand the shiny screens that you almost have to be in the dark to use (or maybe dress all in black). Are any of the tablets providing that?
The other issue was resolution and size - I don't want a 10" tablet - it's too big, if I wanted something that big I'd take a netbook - although in part the Transformer addresses that nicely. 7" is grab-able without needing cases or worrying too much about bashing it - but I also want 700+ by 1024+ resolution (and on netbooks too fer gawd's sake!!!). On the latter issue alone I'm thinking of skipping a tablet altogether and just going for a Galaxy Nexus once the bugs have been shaken out.
So along with all the other normally desirable features of a tablet (camera, sensors, interfaces, storage etc.) a 7", non-glare matte screen with 700+ x 1024+ resolution... anything like that out there yet?
The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny - Aesop
I would argue against the iPad 2 because he's already bought in to the Android ecosystem. When people ask me about tablets, I recommend sticking to one technology. If you have an iPhone, get an iPad -- you've already invested in iTunes (apps, movies, music, books) and everything will transfer back and forth easily. If you have an Android phone, get an Android tablet......again, you've spent money/time/effort in getting your phone to work the way you want.....do you really want to do that again with your tablet?
They are all good, but keep it simple by staying in one playground.
and I've yet to find an app on the Android market that doesn't work without issue on my Transformer.
I don't think this fragment means what you think it means.
Of course your rant about Cocoa Touch and XCode documentation demonstrates that literacy is not high on your list of TODOs.
Perhaps reading comprehension should be added to your TODO list, since you appear to have difficulty with multiple negatives (and clearly have a lower literacy than GP). The sentence fragment you quoted means that every app GP has found so far on the Android market worked without issues on his Transformer. Your disparagement of his statement suggests you misinterpreted it, and badly.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Yes, user interface matters, that is why I would never waste my time or money with a tablet that didn't support desktop widgets.
Nevermore.
The Toshiba Thrive is the only one with an easily removeable battery. This can be very handy for long trips and also for not having to toss the device in the dumpster after 2 years.
*sigh*. Maybe Android 5 will have time travel...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Here is the Acer Iconia A500 tab (just tab, power supply, and microUSB cable) for 199.
http://www.pcpartsohio.com/BookDetail.aspx?item_id=1333
It has a USB OTG host so you can plug in your USB stick to add storage / transfer data.
HoneyComb 3.1 already rooted, I suggest you root using this post
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1205204
Then install the ROM from tegraowners.com
Thor there has a great HC 3.2 ROM and also a very good and promising ICS ROM.
Also Ubuntu is being ported to it as well
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1158260
-Joseph
With or without the keyboard, it is currently ahead of the curve.
Other tablets are almost one year old, so unless you can get them for very cheap they are not worth it.
Jailbreak it and you have just as much freedom. More really, since it's easier to hack than Android.
Fanboy talk here. You are suggesting that the iPad is more flexible than and Android based tablet because you can easily Jailbreak it. What happens when Apple sends you a "patch" that resets your iPad? What effect would Jailbreaking that have on it's warranty? Why on earth would anyone want to pay a premium price for something with no expansion slots?
I have a Transformer and I can run my business off it, play flash videos, read and write Office docs, play games, watch movies and use everything I have ever tried to plug into it. I have filled the SSD with games and apps and utilities and I did it without needing a credit card.
Please take your FanBoy Crap somewhere else...
Yup. The UI matters even to geeks.
What you should take away from this is not that "even geeks like shiny and pretty" but that geeks prefer FUNCTIONAL. That's what you would have taken away from any of the Slashdot UI rants if you had actually been paying attention.
No. Putting you into a straightjacket and pretending that is "usability" is not going to impress a geek.
The Thrive is high on my list because of it's built in connectivity options and the fact that I actually got to play with one after a n00b relative bought one.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
> I've even seen ones where the touch screen flips around over the keyboard to make it tablet like.
Asus T101MT. My daughter has one. She uses it for drawing. The only real issue she's had with it is that it comes loaded with Windows 7 home (which doesn't have touch support) and even after upgrading it to Pro (which is supposed to have touch support), the touch interface isn't very good. It's ok for drawing if you use the stylus and have a drawing program that supports touch, but you won't be using it much as a tablet. A limitation of the OS, we think, not the hardware. Most of the time she uses it in netbook mode, turned around so she can use the keyboard, and only when she's actually drawing will she turn it around and use it like a slate.
Had we to do it over again, we'd have gotten the Asus Transformer Prime. Not because the hardware is any better, but because the OS is more conducive to touch.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
... for Tegra 3.
Then, make sure your traveling tablet has Wifi AND an LTE modem, USB ports for storage AND accessories, bluetooth just for kicks, and an SD card slot for easy copying of photos from your camera card.
A bonus is if it can charge itself via the USB device port (the Acer Iconia, for example, can't do this).
And yet, netbooks continue to sell.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I have a "great job".
I still don't treat money like something I can burn.
That's not an uncommon attitude among those that are self made and/or actually work for a living.
If you're trying to look like you can burn money, then you're just pretending in some sad attempt to impress the rest of us.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
I'd have to recommend the ArchOS also. They have a dongle for 3G, costs extra, which can host your own SIM card. Very handy for traveling to various countries that require different SIMs.
A nice fat Archos is a cool thing to have if you want lots of built in storage. Not sure I would recommend one as a general purpose tablet though.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Man up and get a Toshiba THRiVE. I have one and don't regret it one bit. After seeing mine, a co-worker got one and paired it with a 128GB SD-card. He has literally dozens of movies and hundreds of MP3's on the SD-card.
I guess that depends on what you mean by "netbook". I bought a ThinkPad x120e and its form factor is pretty much the same as a netbook, but it is powerful enough to replace a standard business-class laptop from a computing perspective.
I've pretty much stopped using my ThinkPad T500 as the x120e has handled everything that I've thrown at it... of course, upgrading the memory to 8 GB and the hard drive to 750 GB helped quite a bit *grin*.
As for real tablets: I bought a Kindle Fire, but I don't use if for anything other than reading books and streaming video, so I can't really attest to its usability as a general-purpose computing device.
If I were traveling, I'd carry both. The weight penalty of the Kindle Fire is minimal, and between it and the x120e all of my needs would be satisfied.
Regards,
dj
Me, I'm not prejudiced on the topic, I hate all religions equally. They are all dangerous, especially those fanatics waiting for the "Rapture". They WANT the world to end. You have to know that they are willing to help it along, and there are a lot of them.
They want the world to end but not before the faithfuls' checks clear and they have a chance to spend it.
You say that like none of us have never seen, used, or owned an iPad. Of course that's not true and your bullshit doesn't impress anyone.
If he's considering Android, he's probably doing so because he does value his time or wants to do something that Apple Corp doesn't approve of (like Flash).
Sometimes, there's no substitute for a device that's in the control of the user.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
I would not suggest iPad 2. It suffers from horrible lags when web browsing that are frustrating to the point of unusability. Obviously, it doesn't handle flash sites. It has much less available in the way of quality free apps. The user interface is dumbed down or broken in many little ways that make the experience one long chain of annoyances.
Why do people make this stuff up? It's OK to hate something and not use it without the FUD. You can find legitimate weak spots on any platform but at least have the guts to specifically call them out so we can discuss or debunk.
Sharley not?
You ALSO said you wanted good terminal software. As mentioned, the iPad has a TON of SSH and VNC choices. It also has good keyboard support, with a number of third party keyboard cases...
That is only an arguement for iPad, if the same is not true of android. Android also has tons of ssh and VNC clients (though I don't care about VNC, and never implied that I did).
Jailbreak it and you have just as much freedom. More really, since it's easier to hack than Android.
Really? Have you ever hacked an android device? Did you find it hard to do? I have hacked every android device I've ever owned, its not really hard if you know what you are doing, and I do.
Transformer Prime's hardware outperforms iPad 2 significantly, with better battery life, and as I recall is smaller and lighter.
The Transformer Prime is a quad core so I hope so and I don't trust mfgr battery estimates (the batteries are both 25Wh). It is longer in one dimension than the iPad2 (I assume due to the larger screen) and is 15 g lighter.
My favorite comment by far is the one accusing the article originator of being a "platform snob" for trying to decide between multiple Android tablets rather than just, you know, buying an iPad. Because, of course, if all your devices are from Apple, you are not a platform snob.
This is second only to the poster in a previous topic, who seriously believed that buying an Android tablet contributes to e-waste, but could not for the life of him understand that buying a new iPhone *once a year* (in his own words), was contributing to e-waste to a degree a purchase of a single device couldn't possibly approach.
You just can't make this stuff up.
But back to the original topic. Daughter's first laptop was the original Eee PC, which she used for years and finally gave away to a friend when she upgraded. She now carries the previous Asus touch netbook, the Asus T101MT, and really likes the hardware. (She uses it for artwork.) The only issue is that it runs Windows 7, which doesn't do touch at all well, so it works very well as a netbook, but not so well as a tablet. However, based on the hardware alone, and on our general experience with Asus products, the Transformer Prime is on my list, (waiting for an app to be released before purchasing) seeming to be the best of all worlds.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
They were conservative on the transformer. Ive gotten more than 18 hours of use out of mine with dock or 11 with just the tablet and the prime should be longer still.
AJ Henderson
You *really* cannot beat the iPad, all other "tablets" are a bloody disgrace, thicker, plastic, *more* expensive than The Apple Product, with zero support two months after they come out, and a glitchy ass operating system with no apps.
*PLEASE* do yourself a favour, and get an iPad. You wont regret it.
---
I'm a happy owner of ASUS EEE Pad Transformer 32 GB with keyboard dock. Let me make several points:
- no dock keyboard means painful typing experience whether you use iPad or any other on-screen keyboard tablet
- a colleague of mine tested Samsung Tab keyboard and found out Transformer's to be superior by a large margin, mostly due to responsiveness and stability
- the Prime version screen is of great quality, allowing you to work in brighter environments (you're still out of luck in bright daylight, of course)
- running time (with Keyboard) is at least 12 hours (more if you avoid flash and films or certain games)
- if you like to haul large PDF library, you need at least 32 GB version
- tablets, contrary to expectations are not easy on your wrists - keyboard dock stabilizes them and let's you comfortably work for a few hours straight
- supports most VPN standards decently
The key difference lies in applications installed - apart from decent Office suite (Polaris Office, compatible to certain degree with MS Office), you are strongly recommended to visit XDA Developers and peruse list of compatible applications. Personally I'd suggest:
- Astro File Manager with SMB share
- Hacker Keyboard for a free on-screen keyboard mimicking normal PC one
- ezPDF reader for handling more complex PDFs
- Jota text editor
- Beautiful Widgets to get nice forecasts
Regards,
Ruemere
Get an Asus Transformer Prime or an Asus Transformer. The latter can now be found at reduced prices because everyone is expecting the Prime.
I have an Asus Transformer. Its great. 16 hour battery life when docked with the keyboard. 8 or more when not docked. Can't remember exactly how many - I don't count them. Its a nice machine. There is a Linux port for it if you wish to try (I haven't but there are plenty of articles about putting it on the Transformer on the web).
Evernote, Windows Remote Desktop, terminal windows - apps for all that, plus a usable web browser and flash support built right in. And of course, Angry Birds.
More USB and SD card slots etc than the other tablets you mention.
The only thing I don't like is the tweetdeck client which behaves as if its on a mobile phone when it should work like the version on a netbook. But that is an Android issue not an Asus Transformer issue.
Recommended. I'm getting a Prime when its released in the UK and my father gets the standard Transformer (or I install Linux on it).
I have an iPad and a Xoom with ice cream sandwich. The Xoom is the superior experience. As a matter of fact, the iPad is less than two feet away from me right now yet I'm typing this on the android tablet.
The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
I have an ASUS Transformer and generally like it. The dock's keyboard is nothing to write home about, though - if you're a little bit off-centre when striking keys then they're likely to catch on their sides and not register.
Also I highly recommend the Dual Battery widget from Artiom Chilaru - ASUS deserves a slap upside the head for not including an indication of the dock battery's charge.
You were doing just fine until you got to your last paragraph. That was just obnoxious.
My mother got an iPad 2. I use it from time to time when I visit her. I am not making anything up. The iPad gets used for almost exclusively one thing: playing Bookworm, the free game that came installed. Browsing on the iPad is way too frustrating, she does that on her Windows desktop. She plays Solitaire, reads her email and browses on the Desktop, even though she has to get up and go to another room to do it. In practice, the iPad is a sad waste of several hundred dollars.
Meanwhile the Xoom tablet gets constant use because it actually works well for browsing, unlike the iPad, which is intensely frustrating with its frequent lags of up to tens of seconds. Whereas the Xoom running right beside it has no appreciable lag at all, so it's definitely the iPad.
Sorry, didn't make anything up. As far as you Apple cultists are concerned, you would be better served by sticking to the facts yourself as opposed to the usual ad hominem attacks on people who are actually willing to sign their name to their posts.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
Top of technology? Where is the 3d screen, the full sd support, hdmi out if that is missing it dose not seem to be top to me if that all is missing.
---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
I'm assuming you're just trolling. Still, to keep people from making an expensive mistake...
Based on personal experience, I assure you that iPads are inferior for travel: Apple puts all sorts of obstacles in your way when it comes down to basic functions like downloading files, connecting via VPNs, setting up tunnels, etc. You can't read or write arbitrary external file systems, HDMI and VGA output is limited, and Bluetooth keyboards are seriously limited too. I've also had problems with WiFi connectivity with my iPad. All these problems in the end convinced me to buy an Android tablet, and I haven't looked back. I leave the iPad at home now because I think it's not very good for travel.
Android tablets are not only available cheaper and thinner than iPads, the Android market also has tons more of the applications you actually need when traveling. Android has a good high-level data sharing and exchange system (similar to iOS, but better), but in addition also lets you access both the internal and external file systems. Android devices have better cameras and better screens, too. And devices like the EEE Transformer have an excellent keyboard dock.
If you want to root your system, you're much better off than with a jail-broken iOS device, since the Android market contains lots of apps for things like tethering, tunneling, backup/restore, etc. If you want to, you can even install a full Debian system inside a chrooted environment and still use the official Android apps on the same device at the same time.
Then get a fujistu Stylistic and run Ubuntu.
Honestly, Why half ass it? if you want to do work get something running a full blown Linux on it.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Yet I own several ipads and android tablets and have NEVER experienced what you have. In fact the whole office of Ipads and Android tablets have NEVER experienced that.
I'm guessing your mom's wifi sucks.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
My recommendation would be to take an ultralight laptop and an Android GSM smartphone; that will be a much more flexible and powerful combo. You can get a SIM card for the Android phone and also use it for tethering the laptop. If you pick a 4" phone, it's also good for reading. Make sure you get a smartphone that's unlocked and has international 3G frequencies; Samsung devices tend to be better in that area than HTC.
If you really want a tablet as well, a cheap 7" Android tablet (like a Galaxy Tab or an Acer A100) is another nice option for reading books and navigation, but it is a much more limited device than the laptop. A 10" tablet with a keyboard is good for answering E-mails, giving ready-made presentations, reading, and light photo editing, but it too is too limited to get serious work done on in my experience. If that's good enough for you, the EEE Transformer is probably your best bet (and you can run full Linux on it either natively or as an Android app).
(Apple's devices tend to be worse for international travel due to their unusual SIM cards and the locked up nature of the OS.)
Whatever you do, you should probably buy the devices in Ireland. The Euro is low right now, and it's easier and cheaper to get unlocked devices without carrier modifications in Europe than it is in the US. And getting a tablet with 3G is definitely worth it in Europe because there are lots of cheap, pre-paid, no-contract Internet plans.
I would not suggest iPad 2. It suffers from horrible lags when web browsing that are frustrating to the point of unusability. Obviously, it doesn't handle flash sites. It has much less available in the way of quality free apps. The user interface is dumbed down or broken in many little ways that make the experience one long chain of annoyances.
Why do people make this stuff up? It's OK to hate something and not use it without the FUD. You can find legitimate weak spots on any platform but at least have the guts to specifically call them out so we can discuss or debunk.
"Obviously, it doesn't handle flash sites." is a fact, the rest could be considered opinion - it is possible neither are made up.
I agree completely. I got a Thinkpad Tablet a few days ago and I'm loving it. Having a proper digitizer, even if it's not a Wacom one, makes a huge difference to me, and is the reason I got it; I find myself switching between pen and touch input depending on how much precision I want or what app I'm using. The handwriting recognition in the note app isn't perfect, but does well enough, especially considering how horrible my handwriting tends to be.
The base unit doesn't come with a keyboard, but it has an optional case+keyboard thing that turns the tablet into a netbook when attached. I may get it later, not sure. It has a full-sized USB port, so right now I just plug in a USB keyboard if I want to do a lot of typing (mouse works too, but isn't so good for typing). Bluetooth probably works, but I don't have a BT keyboard to test.
It's probably the best tablet currently available for trying to be productive, at least of the non-x86 variety. A proper TabletPC running Win7 or Linux, or an Axiotron modbook, would be ideal, but they're all expensive and have rubbish battery life, so for now, at least, I'd rather have the Thinkpad Tablet.
The original Barnes & Noble Nook Color is awesome. The Cyanogenmod turns it into the most versatile and inexpensive Android tablet you can get with a 170 DPI screen. The screen is so nice you'll stop using your iPad's awfully low-res 130 DPI screen. It's light and easy to carry unlike the iPad.
If you're reading this in December of 2011, search the internet for the Cyanogenmod 7.2.0-RC0 release candidate for the best experience. Link: Cyanogenmod 7.2.0-RC0
These devices can be obtained for between $100-$150 USD refurbished and $150 new.
I can't emphasize how great the screen is. It really is that good. The newer Nook Tablet has the same great screen and is much faster dual-core and more memory but it is not easily modified into an Android tablet.
I really recommend the Nook Color with Cyanogenmod for the very cheapest and most successful foray into Android tablets.
Kriston
You ALSO said you wanted good terminal software. As mentioned, the iPad has a TON of SSH and VNC choices. It also has good keyboard support, with a number of third party keyboard cases.
As does Android. I find connectbot pretty good, and can't say I lack any features that I would expect to get from an iPad version. VNC is also easy to achieve, and works well. Keyboard support is, frankly, much better than the iPad, which AIUI doesn't support USB keyboards without an external adapter that costs about as much as a keyboard does by itself. Many android tablets come with a keyboard option from the manufacturer, particularly the asus tablet mentioned by the OP.
Jailbreak it and you have just as much freedom. More really, since it's easier to hack than Android.
That's a matter of opinion, and a somewhat controversial one. First of all, as I don't own a Mac, it appears to be impossible for me to hack anything on an iPad. Whereas for Android I can just download the SDK and away I go. It also seems from what I've read to be impossible to make some of the tweaks I've made to Android systems (replacement on-screen keyboards, changing behaviour of built-in apps by recompiling from source, replacing built-in functions with alternative versions developed by third-party developers).
I used a number of devices with different sizes. The 2.3" mini Android phone up to a 10.1" tablet. My current favorite form factor is 7". It fits into a cargo pocket or a (inner) pocket of a jacket (even a suit, but I guess that's not your concern). I currently use a Huawei MediaPad. Solid unibody, great screen resolution. Runs Android 3.2 (unfortunately they haven't announced when they will upgrade to 4.0). Huawei leaves the UI in its original state, so you get pure Android bliss. Biggest let-down: you have a separate charger, it won't charge through USB, so you need to carry an adapter. It is slimmer than the Samsung 7"
It has the tegra 2 chipset with 3D capability. If a high-resolution webcam isn't your priority, then give the Advent Vega a try with the latest VEGACOMB ROM. Doing this certainly emphasizes the tegra's 3D capability. Here is a clear walkthru as to update the rom for it to Honeycomb 3.2 on the Advent Vega(AKA P10AN01) == VEGACOMB:
http://www.tabletroms.com/forums/vega-rom-development/3544-walkthru-latest-vegacomb.html
You need a USB Type A Male to Type A Male cable in order to install the ModdedStockRom V2. To save time, you need Windows XP with the Advent Vega usb drivers. Following this recipe if done correctly will bring you to VEGACOMB 3.2 update 3 in around 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
I also recommend you get the Advent Vega Docking station while you're at. I regret not getting it at first because it saves time connecting the tablet to the dock instead of to all sorts of cables for tv and usb.
You are suggesting that the iPad is more flexible than and Android based tablet because you can easily Jailbreak it.
I'm suggesting it's more flexible because once you jailbreak it you can easily hack any aspect of an application in a way that is much harder with Java applications.
What happens when Apple sends you a "patch" that resets your iPad?
Why would I apply that patch? No IOS patch is mandatory. I have some devices I keep at older versions because I need them for testing. Never once has Apple "forced " a patch on me.
Furthermore, WHY would apple have ANY patch "reset" your system? That would suck, jailbreaking or not!!
I have a Transformer and I can run my business off it, play flash videos, read and write Office docs, play games, watch movies and use everything I have ever tried to plug into it. I have filled the SSD with games and apps and utilities and I did it without needing a credit card.
"Android - the platform for thieves". Great sales pitch.
It's absurd to claim that the world of applications on Android tablets is anywhere near what is available for the iPad at this point. But then, I guess I should have known with you started out noting you were a fanboy talking...
That's the difference you see, I would advocate any platform if it met a need better than another. I have steered people away from iOS devices that had specific technical needs. But you of course would totally ignore the wider array of software for the iPad and steer people into a choice that is worse for them.
One of us is a great big old flaming fanboy for sure. It's just the one that is locked into a platform regardless of use... and I am flexible.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It also seems from what I've read to be impossible to make some of the tweaks I've made to Android systems (replacement on-screen keyboards, changing behaviour of built-in apps by recompiling from source, replacing built-in
Not if you jailbreak.
The reason I say hacking iOS is easier, you can change any app without re-compilation (system or third party applications). Code injection is far easier on iOS. That's what (I think) makes it better for hacking.
I'll grant if you don't have a mac it may not be as feasible to play with creating simple applications on your own though, even though you can compile applications on an iOS device itself (once it's jailbroken and you have shell access). But that's all command line stuff and the GUI does make it far easier.
Thank you for a really well-reasoned reply simply sating the reasons why you disagree. Very refreshing.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Yet I own several ipads and android tablets and have NEVER experienced what you have.
Lucky you. However the net is full of complaints about slow iPad browsing and I did not imagine it when I experienced it myself, or saw multiple other people experience it. So you are special.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
I would not suggest iPad 2. It suffers from horrible lags when web browsing that are frustrating to the point of unusability. Obviously, it doesn't handle flash sites. It has much less available in the way of quality free apps. The user interface is dumbed down or broken in many little ways that make the experience one long chain of annoyances.
Android tablets are much closer to being true laptop replacements on the road. On my last road trip I brought a netbook and a Xoom. I never used the netbook. I did all the browsing I needed with the Xoom and I edited text files using a bluetooth keyboard. I have QuickOffice on it, but I didn't use it this time. I look forward to the Android version of LibreOffice,I found I didn't really need a mouse, but I will get the Apple trackpad to use with the Xoom, apparently it works fine. Otherwise, I regard Apple's product as mainly for games and spending money. Not the best choice for a serious computer user.
Hmm, Apple cultists seem to have mod points tonight. Scary.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
I'm guessing your mom's wifi sucks.
You guess wrong. No such lag occurs with the Xoom or my G2, or several laptops and notebooks, only the iPad.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
He was referring to the kernel.
I can confirm this. Very happy with the Transformer. Could sell it today for near what I paid too - so they're not depreciating as fast as some tablets.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
It might be, but it was just an illustration of why I, personally, didn't choose an iPad. It does nothing to say that no one should choose an iPad, or only choose what I bought, since that would be stupid.
Its all about balancing your own individual needs and desires against the available products. If Apple fit my needs, then that is fine, if some other product does that is equally fine.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
Make sure that everything important / sensitive is on that card, not on the internal SSD. Put the (micro/mini/whatever)SD card in your wallet or on a keychain carrier when going through airport security.
Just in case the TSA decides to confiscate your tablet and examine it for a while. Which they can do.
This is a huge advantage for Android tablets over iPads and laptops: they make it much easier to keep your (company's) sensitive data secure.
Yes, but you can't actually do iOS development on an iOS device. Read the description--he actually wants to do work with it.
My boss recently ran into this issue while traveling to Africa. He wanted to do some Javascript programming on the 20-some-odd hour flight. No WiFi, so he wanted to be able to do this locally. He tried to find iPad apps to do this, since we had an iPad in the office but he couldn't find anything.
So he bought a Xoom and loves it. He was able to edit Javascript files locally and access them from the browser. Do that with your iPad...
I have the Sony Tablet S - very happy with it and love the form factor. I find the 9-10" tablets too bulky. One thing about the Sony - has not been rooted yet and rooting process does not seem to make much progress. If you want a rootable tablet then for now the Sony's not for you.
You say you want to be able to play HD movies - the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Xoom is not what you want. 720p high-profile doesn't work well. I need to reencode my movies in order to play them on my Tab.
Prime with Tegra 3 is the only one capable of that at the moment.
I own an acer Iconia a500 its very powerful and is also quite rugged and much cheaper than its competitors (galaxy,transformer prime,xoom) they are also nice and share many of the same features but the a500 has a much lower price point and if your going to root it anyway why void the warranty on a much more expensive tab? battery life is less than optimal but a wide variety of portable chargers are available for most tabs to include some that charge your device from a external battery not sure how that works but you guys are the engineers not me
I travel a lot, both business and pleasure - and it's during travel I realized I wanted a smartphone (decent tablets weren't around back then, I guess I'll get one soon too). When on holiday, I prefer to decide the next day's destination on the spur of the moment. Here is how having that live web access massively contributes to my travel enjoyment:
- While sipping my latte in a nice cafe in the morning, look up the schedules of public transport from where I'm at so I don't have to rush to the railway station way ahead of time in case there's only 2 trains a day
- While already en route, find a hotel to stay at that night
- After getting out of a train in a random town, quickly check online what known fun stuff is in the neighborhood. Yes, I also talk to locals of course, and in a village that works best, but in a medium-sized to large town random strangers often won't know much of what I want to know (experience shows), because they will usually care about different aspects of the neighborhood than me
- Stay in touch with friends in the wider neighborhood, to see whether we want to cross paths in the following days
- finally, when I'm sitting in a train for 4 hours (the best way to travel in Europe), often I just plain can't be bothered to converse with the other people in the carriage (I only converse with random strangers if I like the look of them), and I don't know about you, but staring into a window for 4 hours is just plain boring to me - I much prefer a good book, or any of the above activitites
OTOH, when I'm NOT traveling, my smartphone is for me little more than an MP3 player with chat function, that is used for a voice call maybe once a week.
If you like travel best without all that, fine, but spare me your condescending tone.
Its not the cheapest of options, but it just works so well, with a front facing camera and 1280x800 pixels of screen all in something that does actually fit in your pocket. You can fit a 32gig microsd card so no problems with carrying your entertainment with you, it has 16 gig internal emmc 11gig usable for storage, so you won't loose all your settings if you do change sd cards all the time. The fact that it is a fully functioning phone (all be it a little large) that said its no bigger than some of the early windows mobile PDA's of yesteryear. Its totally rootable, I have root on mine :) As far as I know its the only android device to have a wacom pen (I'm assuming its wacom, because the pen from my bamboo tablet works with it) Its very happy to play virtually anything I throw at it even 1080p h264, which its capable of recording from its own camera.
With an MHL adaptor which can now be found cheaply on ebay you can play back your 1080p video on your high def TV or just use the samsung all share app to push content to your dnla device / tv
Downsides: 2 bad things I've found
1) Samsung feel that you MUST know when the battery is fully charged, even if its 2 o clock in the morning the device still proudly announces beep beep - "My battery is now fully charged you can unplug the charger" Having got root the first thing I did was rename the sample.
2) It comes shipped with vlingo for voice control. For me this is the worst voice control app I've ever used, it just doesn't work with my middle (some might say posh) english accent. Whats worse is that it doesn't do any processing on the phone, like siri your voice sample is uploaded to the cloud, processed (badly) then sent back to the phone, a process that takes up to 30 seconds depending on 3g coverage. Whereas the app that comes default with cyanogen and miui rom builds, just works, doesn't use the cloud and gets it right 95% of the time, even through a bluetooth handsfree kit. Worse still samsung have made this app non removable, the only way I was able to remove this was with titanium backup after rooting.
(Note at the time of writing cyanogen and miui roms are not available for the note, but are for the galaxy s 2)
These problems are exactly the same with the samsung galaxy s 2 phone.
I would consider the Asus Slider. http://www.engadget.com/tag/asus,slider has lots about it. It depends how much time you will spend carrying it, vs how much time sitting using a tablet and wishing you had a a laptop/netbook or a keyboard.
Apple are evil!
steve jobs claimed to invent gui after xerox showed him what they are.
Lots of people complained.
He then had to say " oh i meant we invented the apple gui"
He said that his computer was essential to the creation of the internet
the inventor of the world wide web said
"i used the next because no-one else was using it."
all these stories are in the slashdot archives or should be as i read all of them 1st here.
I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest the Viewsonic GTablet. I've got one, running CM7.1, and have been very happy.
It's a bit old now, but runs the Tegra 2, so CPU is comparable to all but the latest Tegra 3 tablets out now. On the plus side, it's going to be cheaper.
Here's why I recommend it for traveling: it will take a beating and has pretty good battery life.
My daughter (now 18 months) loves playing with mine, and she's not the most gentle of beings. She drops it frequently, and the unit is still in great shape. To be honest, though, a few weeks ago she dropped my Boo's Blocks cutting board on it. The only issue I've had since then is that one small portion of the screen seems to be a little less sensitive to touch. Still works fine, screen nor case broke or even cracked.
I tether it through my N1 while out & about. Plays videos just fine (I recommend MX Video Player). Streams Netflix just fine.
All that said, I did start lusting after the Galaxy Tab 10.1 after holding in Sam's a few weeks ago, if only for the thinner, lighter form factor. However, I won't be trading my GTab in until I can get at least a Tegra 3 tablet. (saving my coin right now for the Transformer Prime, at least until something sexier comes out)
I would say the netbook niche never took off (and might never) but the Asus Transformer series has it right. Optional attaching keyboard with great battery life with good performance. It will be a matter of the pricing to see if this form factor takes hold. MS announced they intend to put Win8 on a Transformer Prime type device. That will be interesting one way or another. Netbooks were/are suffering partly because they were trying to run operating systems not intended for the hardware.
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
Based on some of the blatantly false information being touted as facts on here by people claiming to know better, I'd say that it's a fair bet most of the people trashing the iPad have never actually been in the same room as one, let alone used one.
Still, in this case it's clearly not a suitable product for the OP since it does not match the criteria.
He just said he's a tinkerer/maker, and Android is better for that (which, um, it clearly is ... whether you can write Perl on a Mac or not). How does that make him a snob?
...
YOU, on the other hand
"Ahh! I see you're in that indeterminate Schrodinger state where - oh, uh
I bought my wife a woot refurb 16gb Thrive for Christmas ($300), and its AWESOME. Full-sized ports are the key for her usage (reading journal articles [USB Thumbdrive plugs right in], watching Netflix [HDMI out], revising her thesis [keyboard plugs right in too], working on photos [full-size SD Card slot+Photoshop Touch] and using SplashtopHD to use her research computer at work). The added bulk/thickness isn't an issue for either of us. I rooted it in, oh, about 10 minutes. It seriously took me longer to download DaleP's files from the thriveforums than it took to root. Just install ADB, boot into fastboot, install CWM, flash image, voila. I like the transformer, but the price doesn't justify it for me, even with the dock. Why bother having to have a proprietary dock when you could just use a case and a regular USB keyboard. I think there are still refurb 32GB ones on eBay for $349, yup: http://www.ebay.com/itm/370564672605. That's a screaming deal.
... but for me an Advil tablet will do just fine for travel
Have a look at the Le Pan TC970 i picked it up myself a few months ago it has been successfully rooted but no custom roms yet, though there are some in the works. It ran me about $170. It has a 9.7" screen which i find great for manuals and video compared to the 7" tablets out there, Has great battery life compared to other tablets i've used though if charging from a computer it does seem to take forever to fill it's monster battery. It's entire construction feels really soild, though slightly heavy then other tablets i find i don't notice it that much, has 1Ghz processor, Gps, Bluetooth, but no 3g, the charging/data cable is similar to apples, which will work if a little bit of the edge of the cable is filed down
Woooosh
"when I'm not working or building robots in my workshop" You build robots in your workshop but can't figure out which tablet to buy?
a viewsonic g-tab would be ok iff cyanogen manages to release a stable ics for it (good physical platform, needs updated android, cheap)
Whoosh not, lest ye be whooshed.
I served with him when he was only a Kaptin.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Is that x series a convertible? Could you give me a quote for something like it?
I know tobacco is bad for you, so I smoke weed with crack.
I've had a tablet, Samsung bought in Germany partly due to the Streisand effect, for about 5 months, and it is nice. Took it along on a brief trip to the states and it was OK. For as long as I've had a notebook (remember a local number almost everywhere in the world for Compuserve?) I've always taken one with me on trips. Notebooks are for productivity. Tablets are for consumption. An on-screen keyboard is a poor substitute for even a notebook keyboard. My tablet has nothing whatsoever personal on it so no concerns connecting to random hotspots. Bottom line: for the occasional quick response to an e-mail a tablet is fine. Likely all of them have adequate battery capacity to read an e-book on a long-distance flight. In that situation much more convenient than notebook. But adequate on its own? Pick the right tool for your job.
What if he doesn't want an iPad (which seems rather obvious from the question)?
I just bought a 16GB Transformer from B&H (cheap!), and I didn't even consider Apple since their philosophy doesn't really do it for me. The iPad might be the most awesome tablet in existence for some people, but this doesn't make it a universal. I WANTED an Android Tablet, and I find them superior to iOS devices. This isn't an attack on Apple or their customers, it is merely a matter of taste.
When someone states they want an Android tablet, why even bother stating "Get an iPad"? There are people in this world who don't like Apple for various reasons (just like there are people who can't stand Google or Microsoft), and this is fine. Their opinion is just as valid as yours. Some people don't want an iPad. Live with it. Telling people to buy something they already expressed no interest in considering isn't helpful, it is just obnoxious.
"I'm looking for a decent compact car, any suggestions?"
"Buy an SUV!"
I don't want an iPad because I can't stand Apple's direction and marketing strategy. The fact they like to force $500 upgrades yearly in order to have support. They fact that they decided that they can patent basic shapes. The fact that their founder had a God complex, and is on the record stating he wants to Balmerize the competition. I don't like the closed App store idea, nor the fact that I'm not supposed to own my own hardware. I don't like having a designers tastes shoved down my throat since they "know better". I don't particularly like iOS, or its interface (Yes, it does some things better than Android, but it does some things worse). I don't really like the hardware lock in. I've also had some fairly nasty experiences with their PCs before switching back to Windows and Linux. I like open source software (Android frustrates me too, but it is the closest of all the mobile OSs that are common, or don't suck). I don't want to be locked into iTunes. i don't want to be associated with the "bad type" of Apple fans, who feel the need to constantly show people their devices and try to get them to buy Apple products instead (being loyal to an impersonal mega corporation is annoying in itself) and rant about how Apple is the greatest thing in the world without ever once trying or experiencing non-Apple alternatives. (for my choice: I want to be able to make my tablet a Netbook at whim. I like the the size better, as well.) All of these are valid reasons for not liking the iPad. Or at least these are the ones I'll drag out when my Apple fanboi friends start ranting about their iPads and how much better than must be (a priori) than anything else in existence (even when one of them returned his because he couldn't actually find any use for it to justify its insane price tag, with data).
No.
Yes.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
Nope, it's a laptop, roughly the same formfactor as a netbook:
http://news.lenovo.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1398
The model I bought came with 2GB RAM (Which I upgraded to 8GB), 160GB HD (Which I promptly cloned to a WD 750GB 7200 RPM HD, and cloned the original drive before booting).
Sorry, I don't sell hardware anymore - no money in it for a small (Read: One person) business.Check Lenovo's site, and watch for discount coupons and sales.
Regards,
dj