7-inch Google Tablet Coming From ASUS

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7-inch Google Tablet Coming From ASUS

Posted by timothy on Friday March 9, 2012 @11:20PM from the sources-suggest dept.

First time accepted submitter Sez Zero writes "Google and ASUS have been collaborating on a co-branded 7-inch Android tablet, with a launch as early as May, according to sources, challenging low-cost rivals and the iPad with a $199-249 price tag. The fruits of the partnership, whispered to the runes readers at DigiTimes by industry sources, will take on the NOOK Tablet and the Kindle Fire, with ASUS selected for its willingness to flex to Google's requirements."

151 comments

yes! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 23:24 · Score: -1, Flamebait

I have too much control!
Please give me more mindless propaganda and entertainment-consuming devices!
And more opportunity to communicate so I never need to be unavailable to my boss!
Glorious capitalism, drown me in the fruits of your production!
1. Re:yes! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:43 · Score: 0
  
  Sigh. So I suppose that waiting for a low-price tablet is a BAD thing? I suppose wanting to be able to browse the web without having to turn on an energy-sucking desktop is a BAD thing?
  Holy crap, take off the tinfoil.
2. Re:yes! by arkane1234 · 2012-03-10 05:45 · Score: 1
  
  Well... If that's your problem, you have bigger ones...
  
  --
  -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
3. Re:yes! by couchslug · 2012-03-10 08:06 · Score: 1
  
  If those are the actual effects _on_you_, I strongly recommend suicide as you are wasting useful oxygen.
  
  --
  "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
4. Re:yes! by aynoknman · 2012-03-10 12:29 · Score: 2
  
  If those are the actual effects _on_you_, I strongly recommend suicide as you are wasting useful oxygen.
  He's not wasting useful oxygen, he's converting it into much more useful CO2.
  
  --
  We need a "+1 -- nice sig" moderation.
Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 23:27 · Score: 2, Insightful

Which hurts the quality of the product and hardware. This has been a huge problem with Android - customers don't really know if they get a good product or not. When they get iPad or iPhone they know exactly that they will love the experience. Android ecosystem is a complete mess.
1. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 23:39 · Score: 0
  
  The bottom line is that Pads are going to replace TV. Going for low price is capitalistic way isn't it?
  Besides, I prefer a bit of mess over tightly controlled, expenisve you-can-do-only-what-we-tell-you Apple style.
  One of the good things of my TV is that I can choose the program to watch. I can even watch the program in language I do not understand.
  This message was written on MacBookPro.
2. Re:Google is going for low price by Kagetsuki · 2012-03-09 23:44 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Actually I'll call bullshit on this and for a good reason: I recently purchased an Asus Zenbook UX21. Up untill this point I have never purchased Asus gear and have always gone for Toshiba and Fujitsu notebooks which have never let me down. But this Zenbook was preposteriously inexepensive, exactly the form factor I needed, and immediately available so I went for it. I'm so glad I did - I love the thing. It's well constructed and has killer hardware, the screen is nice, the keyboard is nice, it even looks nice. There are some small complaints about it sure but they are negligable unless I want to spend twice the price for a Toshiba Ultrabook (which looks fantastic, but basically the same specs + some minor polish and a few bells and whistles at 2x the price).
  If anyone can pull off a great Android tablet on a budget it's Asus.
3. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 23:49 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Your stance is exactly why Apple can charge so outrageous prices for their products and get away with it.
  Seriously, most Android phones are excellent, are fast enough for their purpose and are well built. How many have you tried?
  When people compare Android phones to iPhones they often compare the CHEAPEST model to to the most expensive phone on the market! FAIL - try comparing a midrange price Android to an iPhone... most like 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the iPhone. Believe me, that phone just works.
  Go away, Apple fan boy.
4. Re:Google is going for low price by symbolset · 2012-03-09 23:56 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Oh yeah, Android is horribly fragmented into camps that like physical keyboards or not, HD cams or no, front facing cams or not, items in pink, blue or prints.
  Android vendors have better margins even than Apple, and that's saying something. I enjoy choosing, so I like the mess that Android is.
  
  --
  Help stamp out iliturcy.
5. Re:Google is going for low price by Gonoff · 2012-03-10 00:24 · Score: 1
  
  Price is a pretty major selling factor. That is called good capitalist practice.
  There are a number of things I want out of a tablet
  1. Not Apple
  2. Sensible price (as in #1)
  3. Configurable (as in #1)
  4. Not from a company that sees legal action as the prime means of dealing with competition (as in #1)
  5. Powerful
  6. Well made
  Why is number 1 there? I don't want something that is seen by some as an essential fashion accessory. I would rather do without. By a long way, not everyone who buys from Apple buys for that reason. I just to not want to be associated with that group that does.
  
  --
  I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
6. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:34 · Score: 0
  
  1. Apple
  2. Price not too bad, since i got it via my bank offering it to boost their app uptake
  3. Jailbreak it. Plus what kind of config do I need?
  4. Halfway there with you on this one. But doesn't any company have the right to protect their IP? Apple is not patent trolling in my book
  5. The iPad is plenty powerfull. The MHz wars are long gone
  6. I have yet to see anyone beat Apple's build quality. Anything else feels plasticy to me
  T
7. Re:Google is going for low price by blind+biker · 2012-03-10 00:45 · Score: 2
  
  I think I agree. I bought two Asus netbooks (different generations) and both have been nothing but flawless in every aspect.
  
  --
  "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
8. Re:Google is going for low price by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 00:55 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I don't want something that is seen by some as an essential fashion accessory. I would rather do without.
  So, you're allowing your choice to be influenced by what others think of the brand. You might think that's anti-fashion, but actually, that's fashion.
  
  I just to not want to be associated with that group that does.
  You are following the fashion, every bit as much as punks who said their choice was about not wanting to be associated with glam rockers.
  Your list is just a way of justifying the fashion choice you've made. Just as a punk might have listed everything they found wrong with glam rock.
9. Re:Google is going for low price by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 01:04 · Score: -1, Troll
  
  Oh yeah, Android is horribly fragmented into camps that like physical keyboards or not, HD cams or no, front facing cams or not, items in pink, blue or prints.
  ...camps that like to get OS updates late, and those who like to not get OS updates at all. Camps that want to buy from a single store, and camps that want malware. Camps that want clunky software, and camps that want carrier shovelware.
  
  Android vendors have better margins even than Apple, and that's saying something.
  What exactly is it that you are saying? That Androids are more cheaply made than iPhones, or Androids are overpriced compared with iPhones?
10. Re:Google is going for low price by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 01:06 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  As usual Dilbert has is right.
  http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2012-02-23/
11. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 01:33 · Score: 0
  
  Why is number 1 there? I don't want something that is seen by some as an essential fashion accessory. I would rather do without. By a long way, not everyone who buys from Apple buys for that reason. I just to not want to be associated with that group that does.
  So you're a hipster. Well fucking done!
  As Basil said, you're allowing the perceived purchasing reasons of other people to guide your decisions. Grab yourself a can of Pabst and have a think about the kind of person you are. Feel good, or or kind of hollow and irrational? Yeah, why not slip in to a hot bath - take the beer with you. Let a handful of phenobarbital and the soothing water take you away to a nicer place.
12. Re:Google is going for low price by Gonoff · 2012-03-10 01:39 · Score: 0
  
  Nobody in a developed society can avoid being affected by fashion. A lot of people out of it are as well. I am wearing what I like - jeans, trainers and a rugby shirt (haven't played in decades). This is all affected by fashion. I avoid wearing certain types of fashion because they fit my self image and even beliefs and preferences. (It is a Scotland rugby shirt for example.)
  None of them are "fashionable" though. There is a difference.
  My fashion choice, as you style it, is to be different from people who want the latest shiny thing because it is shiny - not because of what it can do. It will limit what I choose but I am familiar with this sort of limitation. That is why I am not wearing an Italy rugby shirt. My choices identify me for what I like or am
  
  --
  I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
13. Re:Google is going for low price by Barbara,+not+Barbie · 2012-03-10 01:45 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  The bottom line is that Pads are going to replace TV.
  
  Are you insane? First, a 50" tablet is way too big to carry around. Second, the battery life would be absolutely terrible. Third, I like surround-sound.
  
  --
  Let's call it what it is, Anti-Social Media.
14. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 01:58 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah, I like the fragmentation camps like "Angry Birds doesn't function on device X but is ok on Device Y except with a different bug at a different point. Device Z doesn't have either one of these problems but device Z doesn't support some other app like NetFlix."
  
  I love that kind of fragmentation. That's why I left Android and I'm never going back.
15. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 02:13 · Score: 0
  
  The iPhone is the most expensive phone on the market, what? I'd say its middle of the road, and the 4S is definitely well positioned against the Samsung Galaxy 2. Samsung will release the Galaxy 3 sooner or later upping the anti, the cycle repeats.
  Go away. Android fan boy.
  -- an Android user, but fanboy of no corporation.
16. Re:Google is going for low price by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 02:22 · Score: 0, Offtopic
  
  None of them are "fashionable" though.
  Of course they're fashionable - for guys of your type. Frock coats, breeches, codpieces, they're no longer fashionable, but once were.
  
  My fashion choice, as you style it, is to be different from people who want the latest shiny thing because it is shiny
  And what you reveal with that statement is that YOU are the one that cares what devices look like ad YOU are the one who's choice is overwhelmingly about what other people think of you. You can only think that other people are like you and are buying those devices by their looks (shiny) and because of what other people will think of them.
  In reality most people are far less influenced by fashion than you are. And i* devices are being bought because people see that they can do a lot with them, and yet they are easy and pleasant to use.
17. Re:Google is going for low price by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 02:58 · Score: 1
  
  So you're a hipster. Well fucking done!
  Just because you can attach some trendy label (see what I did ) to someone doesn't make there opinion invalid. If you have a rational rebuttal then give it but insulting him just makes you look like a bully. And if you can't rebut him then either he is just giving his opinion which he's entitled to or he's giving facts in which case why are you arguing anyway? Maybe you need to crack open that Blue Ribbon.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
18. Re:Google is going for low price by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 03:18 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  It may not fit your preference for the carefully curated device and I do see advantages to the Apple way but consumers like choice even if it does effect app compatibility which is what this is really all about. People like low prices and some Androids deliver that. People like hardware keyboards and some Androids deliver that. People like huge honking screens (me!) and Android delivers on that as well. Hell, there are even nut balls that like Android on their wristwatch (what? Like you don't think its cool) and yes, judging by the rooted Motorola ACTV sitting on my nightstand, Android has delivered. You can scream fragmentation all day long but its a hollow cry as the consumers have spoke and continue to speak to the tune of 850,000 activations a day. Now that fact may offend your delicate sensibilities but guess what? You are just one person and you don't get to tell anybody else what to think.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
19. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 03:24 · Score: 0
  
  camps that like to get OS updates late, and those who like to not get OS updates at all. Camps that want to buy from a single store, and camps that want malware. Camps that want clunky software, and camps that want carrier shovelware.
  Exactly. Isn't it nice to be able to choose a phone not in those camps?
20. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 03:39 · Score: 0
  
  doesn't make there opinion invalid.
  No, but using "there" instead of "their" does.
  
  If you have a rational rebuttal then give it but insulting him just makes you look like a bully.
  Except the reply was pointing out that the person in question was every bit as fashion concious as the very people he was putting down, only the OP felt that they wanted something "different".
  Just like every other hipster.
  
  And if you can't rebut him then either he is just giving his opinion which he's entitled to
  The person replying is also entitled to their opinion. Not all opinions are valid and some are downright hypocritical.
  Like the OP.
  
  Maybe you need to crack open that Blue Ribbon.
  Calm down dear, it's only a forum.
21. Re:Google is going for low price by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 03:48 · Score: 0
  
  consumers like choice
  Consumers like small choices and dislike big choices. Give them a choice of five they'll be happy, give them a choice of 50 they'll be unhappy.
  
  consumers have spoke and continue to speak to the tune of 850,000 activations a day.
  The current success of Android is largely down two groups:
  1) Want's a cheap phone. There are cheap Androids available. They are not getting a phone that is as good as an iPhone or a top of the range Android. But they are getting a cheap one.
  2) Doesn't know what they want. Walks into a mobile phone store and asks for advice, or may have some idea but allows the salesman to steer them to a final choice. Carriers like Androids because they need a lower subsidy on average, and allow them to customise with branding and shovelware. Android manufacturers also pay commissions to the sales team. Between them salesmen are incentivised to push Android phones.
  It's rarely about preferring Android phones. And even where it is, it's mostly an uneducated preference. When Android owners are asked whether they will buy another Android in future, most say no. Amongst iPhone owners, most say they will buy another iPhone.
  There's obviously a preference for Android amongst the OSS faithful on Slashdot. But they are not at all representative.
22. Re:Google is going for low price by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 03:50 · Score: 1
  
  No, but using "there" instead of "their" does.
  I'm typing this on a tablet with auto correct but apparently not a grammar checker. Being a spelling/grammar nazi is about a half step above "your mom" in a debate, btw.
  
  Except the reply was pointing out that the person in question was every bit as fashion concious as the very people he was putting down, only the OP felt that they wanted something "different".
  Just like every other hipster.
  So? Did a Hipster fart in your Cheereos this morning? And since you so gleefully point out my errors, learn to spell conscious.
  
  The person replying is also entitled to their opinion. Not all opinions are valid and some are downright hypocritical.
  Like the OP.
  The opinion that boils down to basically "my opinion is basically that your opinion is wrong" is one of the exceptions to the all opinions being equally valid rule.
  
  Calm down dear, it's only a forum.
  You should definitely take your own advice.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
23. Re:Google is going for low price by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 03:57 · Score: 1
  
  Consumers like small choices and dislike big choices. Give them a choice of five they'll be happy, give them a choice of 50 they'll be unhappy.
  By that logic the iDevices are just more choice. What would you suggest we do? Take them off the market?
  
  The current success of Android is largely down two groups:
  Believe whatever you need to feel better about your own choice. Its your delusion. Normal people will continue getting what they want and ignoring the platform zealots like yourself.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
24. Re:Google is going for low price by ceoyoyo · 2012-03-10 04:48 · Score: 1
  
  Your choice to not buy something (regardless of what it can do) simply because other people buy it is just as irrational as people who do buy it because other people do.
25. Re:Google is going for low price by MrDoh! · 2012-03-10 05:04 · Score: 2
  
  Not replace for watching that same content, but by using more time up. Instead of sitting there passively watching... whatever, I've noticed my wife can't sit there and just have the TV on. She'll have the ipad on her lap, browsing Facebook, playing some daft word game. The shows change but it's more background noise than actual watching. THAT'S how tablets are.. not replacing for now, supplementing is probably fairer to say.
  If you used to spend (x) amount of time watching TV, how much time do you use a tablet? Do you subtract that time from TV watching?
  
  --
  Waiting for an amusing sig.
26. Re:Google is going for low price by MrDoh! · 2012-03-10 05:06 · Score: 1
  
  True. I'd never bothered with Asus before either, but seeing how well made the EEE Transformer is, and how they're pushing the designs for newer tablets/laptops AND how they're supporting their equipment with updates, I'll be looking at them for future purchases. I know they've been around for ages, but looks like they're really stepping up and taking a spot in the usual line up of machines.
  
  --
  Waiting for an amusing sig.
27. Re:Google is going for low price by Ihmhi · 2012-03-10 05:17 · Score: 2
  
  What they need is a good viral advertising campaign.
  7 inches... it's coming.
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
28. Re:Google is going for low price by MagusSlurpy · 2012-03-10 05:38 · Score: 2
  
  She's watching the wrong kind of stuff on TV, then. I'll have my laptop out if I'm watching the news or my roommate has a game on, but when Breaking Bad or SoA is on, I'm glued to that screen.
  
  --
  My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
29. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 06:44 · Score: 0
  
  You realize that the Google assholes don't let you rent movies on rooted devices, right? How's that for open?
  --
  Marcan, asshole and proud.
30. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 08:14 · Score: 0
  
  Obviously the iPhone is not the most expensive phone on the market, but if you look at (for instance) subsidized phones from AT&T, the most expensive phone they have is an iPhone 4S 64GB for $399 (with contract, of course). The second most expensive phone they have is a tie between the Samsung Galaxy Note and the iPhone 4S 32GB ($299). The cheapest, 16GB iPhone 4S is $199, which is the highest price of any other phone they offer (a few Androids and a Windows Phone). They do offer the two and a half year old iPhone 3GS for $0.99 (which honestly is good enough for a lot of people), but other than that, it is entirely fair to say that iPhones are very expensive, considering recent models are the first, second (tied), and third (tied) most expensive phones from the most expensive carrier in the US.
31. Re:Google is going for low price by Gonoff · 2012-03-10 08:16 · Score: 1
  
  I never claimed my choice was completely rational. Wanting to not be associated with a particular group can be, at least partly, an emotional preference.
  Some of my other reasons are considered and rational though.
  
  --
  I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
32. Re:Google is going for low price by symbolic · 2012-03-10 08:21 · Score: 1
  
  Now if ONLY Asus could meet its current commitments - I'm still waiting for a Transformer Prime.
33. Re:Google is going for low price by shugah · 2012-03-10 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  Good thing they chose ASUS over Acer. I had an Acer Liquid-E - it was a total POS. Within 6 months I had it replaced 3 times. After about a month, the battery life would go down to about 20 minutes. After the 3rd replacement in 6 months, I prevailed upon my carrier to forward date my new hardware eligibility and got a Samsung Galaxy S (which as been great).
  
  --
  If you aren't part of the solution, then there is good money to be made prolonging the problem
34. Re:Google is going for low price by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 08:46 · Score: 1
  
  By that logic the iDevices are just more choice. What would you suggest we do? Take them off the market?
  I'm not suggesting anything. I just like to correct the blanket statement that consumers like choice, or choice is good.
  
  Believe whatever you need to feel better about your own choice. Its your delusion. Normal people will continue getting what they want and ignoring the platform zealots like yourself.
  i.e. you have no counter argument. If there's any delusion, it's yours. The point about most Android owners not wanting to buy another in future is fact. Thus "continue to get what they want" will be bad news for Android.
  http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-08-01/tech/29974966_1_android-iphone-owners-gene-munster
35. Re:Google is going for low price by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 09:04 · Score: 1
  
  i.e. you have no counter argument. If there's any delusion, it's yours
  Actually your talking points have been so thoroughly debunked ad nauseum that I let my sibling have it this time. Don't think so highly of yourself. your arguments aren't new. You didn't think of any of it and better men than you that actually did come up with that stuff have already been slapped down. Now go lick your wounds and hunt around on hacker news and engadget for a new playbook.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
36. Re:Google is going for low price by visualight · 2012-03-10 09:17 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Anyone who buys a tablet that needs to be jailbroken or rooted is a sucker. What's special about a tablet that makes people think its okay to own only 90% of what you paid for?
  That people have to scour forums for how-to instructions and downloads to get really basic shit running on devices they *PAID* for is ridiculous, and watching people drool over the opportunity to do so is depressing. Idiocracy becoming reality right in front of us.
  If you can't install *ANY* OS you want natively, don't buy it.
  Fanboys and apologists please don't reply to my post, you're fucking up my world and I don't want to talk to you. People like you are why laptops are going to be next and then in a few years high quality, open computers of any form will be a thing of the past.
  
  --
  Samsung took back my unlocked bootloader because Google wants me to rent movies. They're both evil.
37. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 09:29 · Score: 0
  
  The battery life would be great; a device that big has room for a nice big battery.
38. Re:Google is going for low price by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 09:33 · Score: 1
  
  LOL! How childish are you? What next? "You're rubber, I'm glue"? Stick your tongue out at me?
39. Re:Google is going for low price by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 14:02 · Score: 0
  
  Except the reply was pointing out that the person in question was every bit as fashion concious as the very people he was putting down, only the OP felt that they wanted something "different".
  Just like every other hipster.
  So? Did a Hipster fart in your Cheereos this morning? And since you so gleefully point out my errors, learn to spell conscious.
  Not at all (note, not the same AC as the initial response), but that doesn't take away from the fact that the OPs position as it stands is hypocritical. As for the spelling error, meh, heed your own advice on that one me old fruit.
  
  The person replying is also entitled to their opinion. Not all opinions are valid and some are downright hypocritical.
  Like the OP.
  
  The opinion that boils down to basically "my opinion is basically that your opinion is wrong" is one of the exceptions to the all opinions being equally valid rule.
  There is no such rule. As much as many would like there to be one it is not so. They are entitled to their opinions, they have the right to express those opinions (in most countries on most subjects), that does not however make the opinion a valid one. An opinion based on a false assumption does not carry the same validity as one based on evidence, for instance.
40. Re:Google is going for low price by swillden · 2012-03-10 14:30 · Score: 1
  
  i.e. you have no counter argument. If there's any delusion, it's yours. The point about most Android owners not wanting to buy another in future is fact. Thus "continue to get what they want" will be bad news for Android. http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-08-01/tech/29974966_1_android-iphone-owners-gene-munster
  Your article is based on a semi-formal survey of 217 smartphone users in Minneapolis.
  This article:
  http://allthingsd.com/20111212/youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-and-so-are-consumer-electronics/
  is based on a proper, randomized survey of 2000 households nationwide. The numbers of "loyal" users for Apple (83%) and Android (81%) are statically the same, because they're within the margin of error of the study, and both are very high.
  To put it another way, your cite is crap. Both Apple and Android users are very happy with their devices. Personally, I've had both, and really enjoyed both. When I switched from an iPhone 4 to a Nexus S (because for Google employees there are a number of useful internal apps which are Android-only, and because I was going to be doing some work on Android-related stuff) I did it with some trepidation. I really liked my iPhone and I was afraid the Android phone was going to be a step down, since I'd always heard it was much less polished. Within a week I was very glad I'd made the switch.
  I didn't find Android 2.2.3 to be significantly less polished than iOS, in fact in many areas I found it to be more usable. For example, I liked the Android home screens better than the Apple approach, and I was very pleased to note that when listening to an audio book or music and using the navigation app, the book/music were automatically paused whenever the navigation app gave directions, and then automatically resumed. A trivial issue, but one that had annoyed me for quite some time with my iPhone.
  And all of that was before I started digging into how I could tweak the behavior of the system to fit my preferences. When I started doing that, there was just no comparison, Android was so much more flexible -- and that's even without rooting (I have the phone connected to my corporate e-mail, so security policy disallows rooting or modified ROMs). So for me, Android is clearly better, and the upgrades to Android 4 and iOS 5 have widened the gap.
  That said, when I pick up my old iPhone (my wife has it now), I still find it quite nice to use. Both systems are, IMO, very usable and very powerful. I give the edge to Android, but I know others (including Google employees) who prefer iOS. It's a matter of taste, and the divide isn't even as large as Windows vs OS X, or either of those versus any flavor of Linux.
  
  --
  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
41. Re:Google is going for low price by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 16:26 · Score: 1
  
  You must have dug deep for that one. iPhones consistently top the customer satisfaction ratings by a huge margin.
  http://lmgtfy.com/?q=iphone+android+customer+satisfaction
  As your link is an outlier, with no primary source available, most probably it's a mis-quote of the survey. Or the survey wasn't a real one in the first place.
42. Re:Google is going for low price by swillden · 2012-03-11 04:03 · Score: 1
  
  I didn't dig at all. I copied the link directly from one of the other posts that responded to you. It's certainly consistent with my personal experience.
  
  --
  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
ASUS by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 23:39 · Score: 0

Looking at ASUS' previous tablets it shouldn't be too bad. What I wonder about, is the specs. It can't take on the iPad with Fire-like specifications.
1. Re:ASUS by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 03:05 · Score: 1
  
  It can't take on the iPad with Fire-like specifications.
  Actually it can and for two reasons. First of all, it isn't competing in the same price range as the iPad and judging from the success of the Fire and Nook, there are millions of budget conscious tablet buyers and there are likely many millions more. Secondly the specs of the Fire are fine. It's just loaded down with Amazon's UI gunk and an older build of Android that doesn't have the modern features of Ice Cream Sandwich and soon to be released Jelly Bean. The biggest issue being lack of video acceleration in the Fire. My Nexus s has this and with inferior specs to my GF's Fire it runs rings around it. Some people have installed ics on their Fires and reported marked improvements in performance. With the right mix of marketing, hardware and price here Google and Asus could have a very compelling proposition for the consumer and I'm excited to see what they will do.
  
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  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
Linux Trojan: Linux/Bckdr-RKC: Is it SPOOK ware? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-09 23:41 · Score: -1

Linux Trojan: Linux/Bckdr-RKC 02-2012
Links and details, almost a story in and of itself:
--- http://pastebin.com/DwtX9dMd
"This search for the origin of this malware has possibly raised more questions than provided answers. But one thing is for certain - the network framework for this malware has definitely been in place for some time."
"This is not the work of a "fly-by-night" script kiddy. Careful planning has been taken to not only develop this malware, but also to establish the hosting this malware would be using - and hide its true origins."
======
""Linux Trojan: Linux/Bckdr-RKC 02-2012
It's definitely interesting and although not unexpected, you get the feeling of why was this not detected in a different form a some time ago.
That is the code shows that the person who wrote the code is very far from being inexperianced. Such experiance comes in only two ways,
1, Trial and error
2, Highly specific education
And if the second the "ability" of the teachers works it's way back to the trial and error aproach, which all mankinds "hard" knowledge in science and engineering is ultimatly derived from (even theoretical physics is based on the work of experimental physicists as Newton knew well).
Now this raises the question of where and when the learning experiments were carried out...
This could have only been in one of two places,
1, In Public.
2, In Private.
If in public you would expect such experiments to have kicked one or two tripewires and set off other alarms. Such events generaly produce "noise" in one form or another which would have attracted a crowd who would "spread the news" in one form or another. Thus if there is no noise recognisably linked to it, it raises questions as to why not.
But what if the experiments were "in private" what are the implications of this?
Well there are many but one is large well funded resources which has implications as to the size and nature of the backing organisation.
Which is where we have to tread very carefully on the analysis. Ken appears to have made a jump off of the deep end and that has coloured his thinking.
The finding of the Chinese language tag does not mean anything more that somebody set it at some point for some reason.
Ken has chosen to believe that it means the person speaks Chinese. Whilst this may be true it might also be there for other reasons including those of "false flag" operations.
The following on to the "China Town owend cleaning business" again does not of necesity mean anything (it's nebulous at best) but then again it could well be a smoking gun to a foreign intel operation or a false flag operation...
Which brings us around to the response of the AV companies. Is it simply that they have set it at a low priority for economic reasons or have they been "warned off" in some way...
And if it is "warned off" (unlikely but not impossible) is it by an intel organisation to stop their false flag op being blown or by an LEA trying to stop it's investigation into foreign espionage or organised crime activity being blown... and how do you tell the difference?
When you enter into a world of shadows, smoke and mirrors you have to tread with care lest your mind deceives you and sets your feet upon the wrong path.
One of the reasons investigating human activity is difficult is they often chose to veil their activities either to stop discovery or such that others will be blaimed.
Another is arguing back from effect to cause is at best problemetical, the clasic example being a positive swab for nitrates from your hand, does it mean you've been handeling explosives or does it mean you cooked bacon for breakfast or played cards with an old pack of cards the night before (an innocent man died in jail in the UK because of this very issue)?
It's why forensic activities although involving science are not science just the art of making threads that investigators and
Already a failure by Lumpy · 2012-03-09 23:45 · Score: 1, Interesting

Android needs Horsepower and memory. 1 gig ram, dual core 1.2ghz processor, and at LEAST a 1024x768 screen res to be any real competition.
If this does not have all of those, it is a failure as I can buy one of the other android tablets from a better company name, you can get the Samsung or Motorola tablets at Staples for $299-$399 right now and I know that hardware is better than ASUS.
Come on ASUS, you guys used to know what you were doing. Now it's a year late and a processor core short.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
1. Re:Already a failure by thegarbz · 2012-03-09 23:57 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  you can get the Samsung or Motorola tablets at Staples for $299-$399 right now and I know that hardware is better than ASUS.
  Sure the hardware is better, but it won't run anywhere near as well. If Samsung and Motorola have shown just one thing it's that they lack any competent programmers. I really did enjoy watching the dramas with RobustFS that Samsung released on their phones. You know you could quadruple and then some the I/O performance on the Galaxy S simply by converting the partition to ext4?
  Yes at the time the Galaxy S was quite mean hardware. Yet the version of Eclair they shipped was about the only version of Android that I have seen which would force close apps because they were taking too long to load due to the OS overhead. The only good thing Samsung ever did was not lock down the bootloader on their devices. Although I'm not sure they did this out of kindness but rather their engineers were too dumb to figure out how.
2. Re:Already a failure by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:03 · Score: 0
  
  Funny, I didn't see anything in TFA about specs. In fact, here (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57393947-64/google-asus-to-hook-up-on-7-inch-android-tablet-says-report/) they are saying it will have a quad-core processor.
3. Re:Already a failure by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:39 · Score: 0
  
  LOL did RFS really stand for Robust File System? This should be +5 Hilarious
4. Re:Already a failure by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:41 · Score: 0
  
  Motorola better than ASUS? In what planet?
5. Re:Already a failure by sl4shd0rk · 2012-03-10 00:46 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Come on ASUS, you guys used to know what you were doing. Now it's a year late and a processor core short.
  Not sure where you're getting your hardware specs from as tfa says the hardware is unconfirmed at this point.
  
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6. Re:Already a failure by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 02:48 · Score: 1
  
  Unless you're from the future there is no possible way you can pronounce something a failure that you have never even laid your hands on or seen. Who farted in your cereal this morning?
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
7. Re:Already a failure by Surt · 2012-03-10 04:40 · Score: 1
  
  Well, TFA says 1280x800. And 1.2 ghz processor is pretty much a given, there's almost nothing they could equip it with these days slower than that. 1.5 or 1.8 is more likely. 1 gig ram seems pretty likely too. So it seems this device has pretty good odds of delivering what you want.
  
  --
  "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
8. Re:Already a failure by davester666 · 2012-03-10 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  Then the opposite of that is true as well, that you cannot pronounce it as a success either.
  
  --
  Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
9. Re:Already a failure by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 09:12 · Score: 1
  
  Then the opposite of the opposite of the opposite of that is the inverse proportionate of...your point?
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
10. Re:Already a failure by AmiMoJo · 2012-03-10 10:24 · Score: 1
  
  I guess you have not been keeping up with developments on the GS. Since Gingerbread the performance boost from converting to ext4 has been pretty marginal because the phone is damn fast anyway. Not quite as fast as a vanilla Nexus S, I'll grant you, but very smooth and responsive. Samsung got their shit together.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
11. Re:Already a failure by thegarbz · 2012-03-11 20:02 · Score: 1
  
  Ha. Sorry yes they did fix *SOME* things, but overall the experience still pales in comparison to CM7 of the time.
  Mind you what you're saying is not much of a defence. If it takes 2 MAJOR operating system releases spanned across 2 years to fix something that the hobby community solved within a few weeks it doesn't paint a shining example of "having their shit together".
  That and I've had a play with their honeycomb tablets too which given the hardware also seem to be very poor in performance where it matters.
12. Re:Already a failure by thegarbz · 2012-03-11 20:04 · Score: 1
  
  Yes. RFS is "Robust" in that it is FAT16 with journaling and permissions shoehorned into it.
Yep. by symbolset · 2012-03-09 23:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

Count me in for four at least for my own house, and as many for gifts for Christmas.
I'm ot sure where you're going with that 1984 rhetoric though. This stuff works for us, it delivers modern innovation - and yet it lets us do with it what we will. That's not the same thing at all as the dystopian vision you portend.
Have you some credible source, some study or even some analyst to call dire outcomes? Surely you must. Your fear, show me it.

--
Help stamp out iliturcy.
1. Re:Yep. by miknix · 2012-03-09 23:54 · Score: 1
  
  Count me in for four at least for my own house
  Same here, I've been waiting for some kind of incentive to buy one to my parents - this might be it.
2. Re:Yep. by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 00:46 · Score: -1, Troll
  
  Count me in for four at least for my own house, and as many for gifts for Christmas.
  Look at the Google Fanboi. It's not yet been officially announced, specs aren't yet known, and already he wants 8 of the new shiny. Google's reality distortion field has a strong effect on this one. A triumph of marketing over innovation.
3. Re:Yep. by hairyfeet · 2012-03-10 01:21 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Actually it doesn't sound like 1984 to me, more "Brave New World" where we basically drown in info overload. Considering that now one can live their life with all the info tailor made for whatever myopic view they have and you can have damned near anything fed ex to your doorstep so you never even have to leave your cave?
  "You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire; you build egos the size of cathedrals; fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse; grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated fantasies, until every human becomes an aspiring emperor, becomes his own God... and where can you go from there? "
  
  --
  ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
4. Re:Yep. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 02:20 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  . Considering that now one can live their life with all the info tailor made for whatever myopic view they have
  The irony of this coming from a closed-minded piece of shit like you is astounding.
5. Re:Yep. by cjjjer · 2012-03-10 02:44 · Score: -1, Redundant
  
  The irony of this coming from a closed-minded piece of shit like you is astounding.
  The irony of this coming from an Anonymous Coward piece of shit like you is astounding.
6. Re:Yep. by arisvega · 2012-03-10 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  That's not the same thing at all as the dystopian vision you portend.
  Yes, I agree: it is a completely different dystopian version, as is anything less than The Happy Hunting Grounds- but if you carry any tablet there, you 'll be laughed at at the door. By mountain Lions.
  
  --
  The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
7. Re:Yep. by noh8rz2 · 2012-03-10 03:35 · Score: -1
  
  dude, you better buy iPads, or else you'll end up like this guy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXx3f3bx4gs. I assure you, nobody but hardcore motogoog heads want a tablet made by ASUS. Protip - last generation iPads are $400.
8. Re:Yep. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 03:42 · Score: 0
  
  Wait, you are signing up your family for google's voyeurism?
9. Re:Yep. by Anthony+Mouse · 2012-03-10 03:49 · Score: 2
  
  What are you on about? He knows it's got a 7-inch display, he knows about how much it costs, he knows what software it runs. Does it really matter if the processor is 1.4GHz vs. 1GHz, or it has two cameras instead of one? You'll be able to use it to read books and watch videos either way.
  And if he needs four of them, the difference between $800 vs. $2000 for 4 x iPad3 is $1200. That is no small amount of cash. You could use it as half the 20% down payment on a house for crying out loud. (Or you could get a little less than half a Mac Pro, whichever.)
  You don't have to take it personally every time someone makes a decision that reduces the ever-shrinking likelihood that Apple will maintain its dominant position in the tablet market.
10. Re:Yep. by arkane1234 · 2012-03-10 05:38 · Score: 0
  
  Well played my friend, well played.
  For those that are slow, it's what is said by all google lovers when someone says they're buying an apple product. It's quite quaint.
  
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  -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
11. Re:Yep. by arkane1234 · 2012-03-10 05:39 · Score: -1, Flamebait
  
  Don't hide it, you just can't afford it. Don't turn it into a fiscal morality issue, to save face.
  
  --
  -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
12. Re:Yep. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 05:56 · Score: 1
  
  You suck because you drive a Ford. My dad drives a Chevy and it's the best!
  WTF. Are you guys all 14 years old or what?
13. Re:Yep. by Anthony+Mouse · 2012-03-10 06:07 · Score: 2
  
  Obvious troll is obvious. You might want to look up the difference between "can't afford it" and "worse value for money."
14. Re:Yep. by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 07:42 · Score: 1
  
  Couldn't have been too well played considering he's sitting on a big fat -1 Troll for his trouble. Not only that but the specs are pretty much a given. 1+ GHz proc 1280x800 screen, 1 GB RAM, Android 4.0+ 250 dollar or less price point. Damn facts always getting in the way. :)
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
15. Re:Yep. by BasilBrush · 2012-03-10 07:47 · Score: 0
  
  What are you on about?
  Satire, my friend. Satire.
16. Re:Yep. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 14:30 · Score: 0
  
  From the other posts here, if anyone's a troll (and stalker)? It's you.
17. Re:Yep. by dj245 · 2012-03-11 02:25 · Score: 1
  
  Count me in for four at least for my own house, and as many for gifts for Christmas.
  
  What are you waiting for? You can get the Novo 7 advanced II for $130, or the Ramos W6HD for $144 right now. Both have capacative 7" touch screens with multitouch. Both run Android 4 Ice cream sandwich. The only difference with the Asus one is the brand name and the slightly-higher resolution screen compared with the Ramos. $200-$250 is "I gotta think about it" money. Under $150 falls into "compulsive buy" for some people.
  
  --
  Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
It's about the software by thegarbz · 2012-03-09 23:51 · Score: 4, Insightful

Actually it's quite the opposite. Every device Google has had a personal hand in designing has been one perfect experience after the other. It is typically the handset manufacturers who are unable to code decent software, then the carriers who load the devices up with junk that ruin the experience.
I have an ancient phone, yet I run CM9 on it. It is far smoother than phones twice as expensive, rather new, and spouting features like dual core processors depending on who had a hand in making the software.
I for one am excited about what google can come up with in this partnership.
1. Re:It's about the software by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 01:46 · Score: 0
  
  Your definition of perfect doesn't match mine. There is a nasty bug in the Nexus S which causes BT to sometimes not discover the MAC address and assign a random one, which results in your paried devices not working. Google knows about it, they dropped the ball and blamed it on Samsung. Samsung knows about it, they don't give a shit. I tried to fix it myself but, guess what, the BT part is a proprietary piece of shit binary blob!
  If a truly open tablet comes out I will buy it. Android is not an OS I'm willing to use again. Switched my phone to a Nokia N9 and could not be happier. On the plus side I don't have to worry about Google spying on everything I do.
  --
  mchurch
2. Re:It's about the software by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 02:53 · Score: 2
  
  I use lots of Bluetooth devices. You could almost call me a Bluetooth fan boy if there was such a thing and never not once has my Nexus S exhibited the behavior you are describing. And that is on a stock ROM. Not everything is perfect but you could cite examples of bugs in every device ever invented. I've been very happy with my S during the course of its life and only replaced it when the much superior Galaxy Nexus was released.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
fifa: by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:00 · Score: -1

First time accepted submitter Sez Zero writes
should be:
Google shill plant Sez Zero spews
Re:Linux Trojan: Linux/Bckdr-RKC: Is it SPOOK ware by miknix · 2012-03-10 00:05 · Score: 0

Nice scare attempt but from your own link:

The malware is installed from a compromised system after cracking a SSH server's root password, in the path /etc/.xsyslog
If somebody cracks into a ssh root shell, this trojan is the least of your concerns. Anyway, I believe nobody is letting ssh root logins nowadays. Also, what does this have to do with TFA?
Android vs Linux performance? by G3ckoG33k · 2012-03-10 00:13 · Score: 1

Has anyone seen an Android vs Linux performance comparison?
Android on tablets may actually be a nice sneak gate to native Linux usage on tablets.
1. Re:Android vs Linux performance? by thegarbz · 2012-03-10 00:30 · Score: 2
  
  By what metric? Given that Android uses a Linux kernel and similar drivers there are many parts of the system which should be equal in speed (thinking file system performance). But then there's also parts of Android that would be majorly let down in performance terms (such as UI rendering on pre ICS models which didn't support hardware acceleration nor give the UI a high thread priority).
2. Re:Android vs Linux performance? by AmiMoJo · 2012-03-10 11:14 · Score: 1
  
  Not true:
  https://plus.google.com/105051985738280261832/posts/2FXDCz8x93s
  https://plus.google.com/105051985738280261832/posts/XAZ4CeVP6DC
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
3. Re:Android vs Linux performance? by thegarbz · 2012-03-11 20:14 · Score: 1
  
  How is posting links which talk about how much has been changed and added to UI rendering in ICS / Honeycomb, and that the UI runs in a default priority in any way evidence that what I said is "Not True?"
4. Re:Android vs Linux performance? by AmiMoJo · 2012-03-12 01:14 · Score: 1
  
  A) The UI is hardware accelerated where appropriate
  B) There isn't a UI thread in the same way as iOS has one because it doesn't make sense in a multi-tasking environment, so his statement doesn't make sense. The display is a composite of windows anyway.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
asus and tablets by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:35 · Score: 0

I will believe it when I see it. Asus has a history of announcing multiple designs with different price points, then only delivering a small number of what was announced months later than specified.
HUGE Security Resource - version 5000 - 03/06/12 by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 00:36 · Score: -1

HUGE Security Resource
- version 5000 - 03/06/12
http://pastebin.com/Cm2ZHuz3
As previously featured on Cryptome.org's front page for security resources.
Goosus by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 01:14 · Score: 0

I can't wait to use my new Goosus pad!
GPS? by Dr.Dubious+DDQ · 2012-03-10 01:29 · Score: 1

Maybe I'm weird, but aside from not caring until they hit <$200, the main thing missing from tablets that I might otherwise be interested in is GPS. If I buy a tablet, I want to be able to use it as a portable map (with better resolution than "you're somewhere within a mile or so of here") and maybe the occasional "augmented reality" application (e.g. Mixare). That's not ALL I'd want it for, of course, but its lack drops a tablet below my level of interest. Am I the only one? (And am I mistaken, or would adding GPS add no more than perhaps $2 to the marginal cost of each tablet these days?)

--
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1. Re:GPS? by kwardroid · 2012-03-10 02:11 · Score: 2
  
  "And am I mistaken, or would adding GPS add no more than perhaps $2 to the marginal cost of each tablet these days?"
  Don't know about the costs, but all gps enabled devices I have seem to have the GPS and 3G "glued together" on 1 chip. I guess it's to get AGPS to work. Adding a standalone GPS might be cheap, but it will take ages to get a fix.
2. Re:GPS? by tgeek · 2012-03-10 02:12 · Score: 1
  
  As you say, adding a GPS radio to a tablet would probably only marginally increase the cost. But the deal breaker for the manufacturers is the big drain on battery life. And that seems to be a huge bullet item on the marketing spec sheets. Personally, GPS is a feature I want and if the tablet doesn't have an important feature I want, then really battery life becomes irrelevant to me. I guess I'm not an average consumer . . .
3. Re:GPS? by RobbieThe1st · 2012-03-10 04:46 · Score: 1
  
  To be honest, you're right. Not to mention most tablets have horrible battery life anyway.
  I'd love to see someone add an extra 1/4 or even 1/2 inches to the thickness of a given device and cover the thing with another 20aH of capacity. Enough to run apps for several days if not a week or more!
4. Re:GPS? by ceoyoyo · 2012-03-10 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  GPS costs a bit more than $2. But the big problem is that it's slow. You can get around that by putting in a cellular radio too, but that costs even more.
  You CAN get your map if you want. Either buy a tablet with a 3G radio and a GPS, or buy one without and a GPS tracker with a bluetooth connection.
5. Re:GPS? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 05:23 · Score: 0
  
  The nice thing about GPS on Android is that it's only a battery hit when you use it, and you rarely actually use it. The GPS toggle in Android doesn't actually turn GPS on, it only gives apps the permission to turn GPS on. Almost any application that uses GPS for location just grabs the location then turns GPS back off. Unless you're doing navigation, even if you use maps and location-aware apps all day the total time the GPS is on adds up to maybe minutes if not less. Even most apps that track you just ping the location occasionally and don't read it constantly. GPS is only a big drain if you're constantly doing navigation.
6. Re:GPS? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 08:51 · Score: 0
  
  But the deal breaker for the manufacturers is the big drain on battery life.
  Maybe some people are running software that checks location every second and maybe some OSes can't block this behavior, but users don't have any requirement to run something that does that.
7. Re:GPS? by arkane1234 · 2012-03-10 11:24 · Score: 1
  
  I don't consider 10 hours horrible battery life. Then again, I've never used an android tablet for longer than 15 minutes at a time, and can only speak for the ipad series.
  
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  -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
Google scares me by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 01:57 · Score: -1

I don't want Google following my every move more than they already do.
1. Re:Google scares me by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 03:09 · Score: 2
  
  There many things to worry about in this world all the way up with the existential things like war and famine. Getting ads that might actually show me something that appeals to me in exchange for the great things Google provides I'd pretty far down on my list of fears. Matter of fact I'll have to check but I'm pretty sure it didn't even make the cut.
  
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  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
Is Kindle Fire poor quality? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 02:37 · Score: 0

The Fire is may not be as high-end as an iPad 3, but is it fair to call it poor quality?
Finally; Hopefully Google and Asus Delivers by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 02:42 · Score: 3, Interesting

I have a Xoom and an iPad. When the Xoom had HC on it the iPad got a lot of use as Honeycomb was a little too raw. But the day ICS as installed on this device the iPad was sat down and hasn't been picked up since. The experience has been wonderful. Even this tegra2 flies with Android 4.0 on it. All of the apps I have ever looked for have been available even apps to mmake apps right on the device itself. How cool is that? Nothing as complex as a modern smartphone or tablet will ever be perfect but the TMobile Nexus S and now Verizon Galaxy Nexus have been nothing short of superb. Fast fluid stable fun. Every Thing I've wanted in one of these devices and I've used them all. In my collection I have an iPad an HD7 windows phone, a Nokia N770 mid, and several Android devices.
Android OEMs have struggled by themselves but with Google's help and Asus' engineering they could come up with something really great at a price point that is easily palatable by people not well off enough to afford 4 and 5 hundred dollar plus devices.The naysayers should wait until something is delivered before throwing irrational hate at a piece of circuitry and glass they've never even touched.

--
The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
1. Re:Finally; Hopefully Google and Asus Delivers by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-03-10 11:01 · Score: 1
  
  I have a Xoom and an iPad. When the Xoom had HC on it the iPad got a lot of use as Honeycomb was a little too raw. But the day ICS as installed on this device the iPad was sat down and hasn't been picked up since. The experience has been wonderful. Even this tegra2 flies with Android 4.0 on it.
  
  While this is all anecdotal, I've had exactly the same experience with Asus Transformer - nice form factor but software was consistently underwhelming when it was Honeycomb. With ICS, it's like it's a completely different device.
YAT by nurb432 · 2012-03-10 02:55 · Score: -1, Redundant

Just what we need, yet another 7" tablet in a market that is already flooded.

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---- Booth was a patriot ----
1. Re:YAT by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 03:27 · Score: 1
  
  You could always just not buy it. You could probably completely ignore it and be just fine.
  
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  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
2. Re:YAT by pseudofrog · 2012-03-10 03:57 · Score: 1
  
  Oh no I'm being overwhelmed with choices!
3. Re:YAT by nurb432 · 2012-03-10 04:38 · Score: 1
  
  Choices can be good in concept, but a market flood of them just dilutes things and you end up with a lot of crap with nothing being of any real value.
  
  --
  ---- Booth was a patriot ----
4. Re:YAT by nurb432 · 2012-03-10 04:42 · Score: 0
  
  Or they can stop irritating me. Its all about me.
  
  --
  ---- Booth was a patriot ----
5. Re:YAT by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 05:33 · Score: 0
  
  Any geek worth his weight in human computer design gold can tell you that too many choices is bad. There has been tons of research showing that too many choices does overwhelm, frustrate, and reduce a persons ability to make decisions. Maybe 2-8 choices are cool, but a flooded market is a nightmare to navigate.
  This is even more difficult for the average consumer who has no idea about this stuff. They look at two factors - pricing and marketing.
  For the typical consumer, this is indeed a problem. Especially, when they are looking for "help" with their device. Most consumers have no idea about all the different flavors or brands. With all due respect to the iFanBoys, but there is a reason iProducts are number one and the technology isn't it. Granted the technology shouldn't be that devastatingly buggy, but for most consumers its the marketing over the product any day. Most people just brush off flaws and adapt to them anyway. With a new product especially, people just tend to judge products based on their initial experiences. This is why going from Windows to any other OS, just feels strange and people judge other Oses based off of what they know about Windows. If it doesn't "feel" like Windows, it becomes hard and difficult to work with.
  Ok I'm done ranting for the day. :) Too many choices, isn't always good.
6. Re:YAT by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 07:49 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe 2-8 choices are cool, but a flooded market is a nightmare to navigate.
  You must go apoplectic in the cereal aisle.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
Part of me wonders... by LiroXIV · 2012-03-10 03:09 · Score: 1

Are they going to make it part of the Nexus series? Lemme see... Nexus Slate? Nexus Tab?
Yes? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 03:54 · Score: -1

Another Android Tablet? Another device that will eat batteries like a monster? no, thanks. I'll keep with Apple and the new wonderful iPad.
1. Re:Yes? by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 04:43 · Score: 1
  
  The tablet with the best battery life is running Android. Try to keep up so you don't look silly next time.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
U.S.-Only by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 04:00 · Score: 0

non-US residents please move along...
Slashdot just published a survey conducted under 25,000 Canadian tablet users re their preference for the Kindle Fire vs. the Google Pad. 24,999 didn't care because it's not friggin' available in their country.
no one wants low res tablets by Surt · 2012-03-10 04:21 · Score: 1

Apple got one thing right on ipad3 ... high res. High enough for movie playback to have acceptable quality at last. Manufacturers figure it out: there is a large segment of the population waiting for tablets that do at least 1080p natively so they can be used to watch movies.

--
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
1. Re:no one wants low res tablets by rtb61 · 2012-03-10 18:58 · Score: 1
  
  The bulk of the population will spend money on phones and big screen TVs, then a notebook and then on everything else other than a tablet. Unless that tablet is throw away cheap.
  
  --
  Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
2. Re:no one wants low res tablets by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-11 05:02 · Score: 0
  
  And there is an even larger segment of the population who also want "acceptable playback quality" but don't want to break the bank getting there. The Archos G9 series does this adequately and at a budget that far more people can afford. It even comes with a built in table stand, which is nice.
  Also... 1080p at 9 inches? Yeah ok... I defy most people to be able to tell the difference between 1080p or 720p or even a high bitrate xvid encoded 480p video at that screensize.
3. Re:no one wants low res tablets by Surt · 2012-03-11 05:56 · Score: 1
  
  It's easy to tell the difference because the scaling artifacts suck. It's not about the pixel density, it's about matching the native resolution so you don't scale.
  
  --
  "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
Vitriol by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 04:31 · Score: 0

What's up with the rabid anti-Android vitriol? I get it, you love Apple and hate Android. Now please move along so we can get back to guessing what sort of specs it'll have, what ICS on a tablet will be like, if it's worth rooting, etc.
1. Re:Vitriol by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 07:38 · Score: 0
  
  Don't worry, he's getting his ass handed to him. BasilBrush too. Facts'll do that.
2. Re:Vitriol by arkane1234 · 2012-03-10 11:21 · Score: 1
  
  It's not about android, that's been around for a while and lots here use it. It's the android fanbois on top of the idea that... It's an Asus hardware. I mean, seriously... We all see their quality and flare for superior hardware design, right? (/tongue-in-cheek humor)
  
  --
  -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
Re:Linux Trojan: Linux/Bckdr-RKC: Is it SPOOK ware by RobbieThe1st · 2012-03-10 04:41 · Score: 1

Mod parent up. If you've lost root, well, erm, whoever has the password has full control, why bother installing a trojan?
Seems silly to me - just install whatever payload you need, customize it to the compromized box.
The answer is in the question (Re:Yep) by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 06:16 · Score: -1

"... until every human becomes an aspiring emperor, becomes his own God... and where can you go from there? "
God made flesh is christ, savior and world-redeemer
HTH HAND
This is untrue by manekineko2 · 2012-03-10 07:03 · Score: 1

It's rarely about preferring Android phones. And even where it is, it's mostly an uneducated preference. When Android owners are asked whether they will buy another Android in future, most say no. Amongst iPhone owners, most say they will buy another iPhone.
This is just not true.
"83 percent of current iPhone users intend to buy an iPhone again this holiday season; 81 percent of Android OS users said the same."
Source:
http://allthingsd.com/20111212/youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-and-so-are-consumer-electronics/
The Perfect Shitty Size by gelfling · 2012-03-10 07:06 · Score: 1

Too small for useful use and too large to be portable. Awesome.
1. Re:The Perfect Shitty Size by c++0xFF · 2012-03-10 15:47 · Score: 1
  
  I 100% disagree. From experience. In my view, smart phones are too small to be useful, and many are too large to be a good phone. 10" is definitely too large to be portable (might as well haul around a smallish laptop at that point), too heavy and awkward to hold comfortably. 7" can fit into a purse, pocket (jeans or suit, even with a case on it), backpack, or whatever you want while still having plenty of space to do everything I could want. It's also a convenient size for holding with one hand.
  But, really, could it be that 7" is too small for the way you want to use it? Yeah, never mind that other people have different needs.
Why ASUS? by substance2003 · 2012-03-10 09:53 · Score: 1

...with ASUS selected for its willingness to flex to Google's requirements.
Maybe I'm missing something here but didn't google purchase Motorola not so long ago?
Does Motorola not make tablets themselves?

How can ASUS be more willing to flex to Google's requirements over Motorola?
Unless perhaps Google has others plans for Motorola?
I wish the article had said something in regards to this.
1. Re:Why ASUS? by John+Hasler · 2012-03-10 14:49 · Score: 1
  
  > ...didn't google purchase Motorola...
  No.
  
  --
  Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
2. Re:Why ASUS? by c++0xFF · 2012-03-10 15:54 · Score: 1
  
  They haven't yet sealed the deal, and who knows what antitrust issues might be involved as well.
3. Re:Why ASUS? by EvilJoker · 2012-03-10 16:21 · Score: 1
  
  Google is buying Motorola. It has not yet completed.
  Presumably, the reason has more to do with brand cohesion, specifically things like BLUR. Everyone already has expectations of what to expect with a Motorola Android device. These expectations will be broken (for better or for worse) on a "Nexus" device. Since ASUS is largely unknown to U.S. consumers, there is little in the way of expectations.
  Alternatively, it should be noted that Pegatron, which is a spinoff from ASUS (and is still their primary ODM/mfg back-end) also makes gear for Apple (including the iPad 3), which could have its own advantages.
See OakGOOF run by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:13 · Score: 0

Oakgoof's caught stalking by ac posts, again yesterday (he was caught doing it before, see below) and, after he was exposed doing that, he also ran from a technical question also (several of them in fact).
Answer it 'smart guy', lol http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2717169&cid=39310043 ("see penguin noob/ac stalker run" everyone, lol, BIG amusement).
Hairyfeet, another well-known member here, would be GLAD to verify that you stalk him by anonymous coward posts as well like you were caught doing here before also -> http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2559120&cid=38298896
Yet MORE evidences of this fool OakGOOF trolling/stalking/harassing by ac replies:
A.) Oakgrove trolling ac 1st n later caught using his reg'd acct http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38448496
B.) Then signing off as his normal account here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38451650 .
C.) Posting ac and signing off as Oakgrove (same style apk uses but apk doesn't register here @ all, OakGoof does).
Talk about stupid - same mistakes, same being caught, but this time? We're exposing you SICKO!
Yes - We "have the cure" & it's called embarassing you for your reprehensible antics in stalking/harassing others here with your ac posts, as well as exposing your technically weak b.s. in computing by running away from a tech question that's way over your limited head, and questions about Linux that you ran from 25 times or more, lol!
1. Re:See OakGOOF run by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:44 · Score: 0
  
  Everyone knows Oakgrove's a troll w/ mental issues who stalks users here by ac posts. He has some delusion that hairyfeet and apk are the same guy and others even told him otherwise, including apk and hairyfeet (who were cat & dog against one another for a long time but get along now). User hawkinspeter even noted oakgrove's off on that too here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38454174
OakGOOF caught stalking others by ac posts by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:17 · Score: -1

Oakgoof's caught stalking by ac posts, again yesterday (he was caught doing it before, see below) and, after he was exposed doing that, he also ran from a technical question also (several of them in fact).
Answer it 'smart guy', lol http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2717169&cid=39310043 ("see penguin noob/ac stalker run" everyone, lol, BIG amusement).
Hairyfeet, another well-known member here, would be GLAD to verify that you stalk him by anonymous coward posts as well like you were caught doing here before also -> http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2559120&cid=38298896
Yet MORE evidences of this fool OakGOOF trolling/stalking/harassing by ac replies:
A.) Oakgrove trolling ac 1st n later caught using his reg'd acct http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38448496
B.) Then signing off as his normal account here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38451650 .
C.) Posting ac and signing off as Oakgrove (same style apk uses but apk doesn't register here @ all, OakGoof does).
Talk about stupid - same mistakes, same being caught, but this time? We're exposing you SICKO!
Yes - We "have the cure" & it's called embarassing you for your reprehensible antics in stalking/harassing others here with your ac posts, as well as exposing your technically weak b.s. in computing by running away from a tech question that's way over your limited head, and questions about Linux that you ran from 25 times or more, lol!
1. Re:OakGOOF caught stalking others by ac posts by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:46 · Score: -1
  
  Everyone knows Oakgrove's a troll with mental issues. He has some delusion that hairyfeet and apk are the same guy and others even told him otherwise, including apk and hairyfeet (who were cat & dog against one another for a long time but get along now). User hawkinspeter even noted oakgrove's off on that too here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38454174
2. Re:OakGOOF caught stalking others by ac posts by oakgrove · 2012-03-10 17:24 · Score: 1
  
  Ha ha ha. Hey, stupid. I just got around to bothering to check your links. Have you even read them? In all of them I'm owning you and getting modded up while you are sitting at 0 and -1. What a jackass. That's your problem Alexander. You don't check your work. That's why you are the host file and secunia "troll". When people fact check you you're always wrong. That must do terrible things to your psyche.
  
  --
  The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
3. Re:OakGOOF caught stalking others by ac posts by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 17:34 · Score: 0
  
  You spent 8 hrs. trolling n stalking apk yesterday here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2717169&cid=39307779
  You started with "shut up hairyfeet" here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2717169&cid=39308499
  And everyone has seen how you think apk = hairyfeet in those links too.
  The other link by hairyfeet himself also actually proved he's not apk here where you also accused hairyfeet of being apk http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2559120&cid=38298896%5D
  Who's the mental case here? You, clearly.
  I also saw you say you can't see ac replies there too http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2717169&cid=39309981
  Are you just stupid, or just a lying stalking sicko? You seem to see them now, eh??
  Especially when they're exposing you as a little stalking trolling worm, not a man. You sure dish out the ac stalking but you can't take it in return. What a punk.
Weight by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:26 · Score: 0

One thing is that will affect the viability of this class of device is the weight. I own an Acer A100 (7" Android tablet), which weighs about 1 lb. This is roughly the same weight as a Kindle Fire or B&N Nook Color. I think that this is too heavy for the type of use that people would want to make of it, as it is too heavy to hold up for almost any period of time. I think that sales of this size tablet is not going to take off until the weight is substantially reduced without reducing battery life any lower than it is now.
OakGOOF caught ac stalking others and runs by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:26 · Score: -1

Oakgoof's caught stalking by ac posts, again yesterday (he was caught doing it before, see below) and, after he was exposed doing that, he also ran from a technical question also (several of them in fact).
Answer it 'smart guy', lol http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2717169&cid=39310043 ("see penguin noob/ac stalker run" everyone, lol, BIG amusement).
Hairyfeet, another well-known member here, would be GLAD to verify that you stalk him by anonymous coward posts as well like you were caught doing here before also -> http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2559120&cid=38298896
Yet MORE evidences of this fool OakGOOF trolling/stalking/harassing by ac replies:
A.) Oakgrove trolling ac 1st n later caught using his reg'd acct http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38448496
B.) Then signing off as his normal account here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38451650 .
Talk about stupid - same mistakes, same being caught, but this time? We're exposing you SICKO!
Yes - We "have the cure" & it's called embarassing you for your reprehensible antics in stalking/harassing others here with your ac posts, as well as exposing your technically weak b.s. in computing by running away from a tech question that's way over your limited head, and questions about Linux that you ran from 25 times or more, lol!
1. Re:OakGOOF caught ac stalking others and runs by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:54 · Score: 0
  
  Everyone knows Oakgrove's a troll with mental issues. He has some delusion that hairyfeet and apk are the same guy and others even told him otherwise, including apk and hairyfeet (who were cat & dog against one another for a long time but get along now). User hawkinspeter even noted oakgrove's off on that too here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38454174
Digitimes by 3263827 · 2012-03-10 11:28 · Score: 1

Digitimes Digitimes Digitimes
Such an accurate source.
OakGOOF caught ac stalking yet again (& he ran by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:29 · Score: 0

Oakgoof's caught stalking by ac posts, again yesterday (he was caught doing it before, see below) and, after he was exposed doing that, he also ran from a technical question also (several of them in fact).
Answer it 'smart guy', lol http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2717169&cid=39310043 ("see penguin noob/ac stalker run" everyone, lol, BIG amusement).
Hairyfeet, another well-known member here, would be GLAD to verify that you stalk him by anonymous coward posts as well like you were caught doing here before also -> http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2559120&cid=38298896
Yet MORE evidences of this fool OakGOOF trolling/stalking/harassing by ac replies:
A.) Oakgrove trolling ac 1st n later caught using his reg'd acct http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38448496
B.) Then signing off as his normal account here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38451650 .
Talk about stupid - same mistakes, same being caught, but this time? We're exposing you for it! Watch him "cry" now that he's getting a dose of his own bogus medicine (except I am merely showing how LOW this scumbag Oakgrove is with his own being caught doing it many times).
Yes - We "have the cure" & it's called embarassing you for your reprehensible antics in stalking/harassing others here with your ac posts, as well as exposing your technically weak b.s. in computing by running away from a tech question that's way over your limited head, and questions about Linux that you ran from 25 times or more, lol!
OakGOOF caught stalking as ac on / again & ran by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:35 · Score: 0

Oakgoof's caught stalking by ac posts, again yesterday (he was caught doing it before, see below) and, after he was exposed doing that, he also ran from a technical question also (several of them in fact).
Answer it 'smart guy', lol http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2717169&cid=39310043 ("see penguin noob/ac stalker run" everyone, lol, BIG amusement).
Hairyfeet, another well-known member here, would be GLAD to verify that you stalk him by anonymous coward posts as well like you were caught doing here before also -> http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2559120&cid=38298896
Yet MORE evidences of this fool OakGOOF trolling/stalking/harassing by ac replies:
A.) Oakgrove trolling ac 1st n later caught using his reg'd acct http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38448496
B.) Then signing off as his normal account here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38451650 .
Talk about stupid - same mistakes, same being caught, but this time? We're exposing you for it! Watch him "cry" now that he's getting a dose of his own bogus medicine (except I am merely showing how LOW this scumbag Oakgrove is with his own being caught doing it many times).
Yes - We "have the cure" & it's called embarassing you for your reprehensible antics in stalking/harassing others here with your ac posts, as well as exposing your technically weak b.s. in computing by running away from a tech question that's way over your limited head, and questions about Linux that you ran from 25 times or more, lol!
Re:OakGOOF caught ac stalking yet again (& he by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:51 · Score: 0

Everyone knows Oakgrove's a troll with mental issues. He has some delusion that hairyfeet and apk are the same guy and others even told him otherwise, including apk and hairyfeet (who were cat & dog against one another for a long time but get along now). User hawkinspeter even noted oakgrove's off on that too here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38454174
Re:OakGOOF caught stalking as ac on / again & by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 12:01 · Score: 0

Everyone knows Oakgrove's a troll w\ mental issues. He has a delusion hairyfeet & apk are the same guy & others even told him otherwise, including apk and hairyfeet (who were cat & dog against one another for a long time but get along now). User hawkinspeter even noted oakgrove's off on that too here http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2584140&cid=38454174
Re:Linux Trojan: Linux/Bckdr-RKC: Is it SPOOK ware by bmo · 2012-03-10 13:15 · Score: 1

Don't bother replying to him. There's a reason why he gets modded into oblivion every time on Slashdot.
He's off his meds again.
--
BMO
if by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-11 03:50 · Score: 0

...it has good specs I'll buy one as it will most likely get quick OS updates for being Google branded...
And yes Asus has good product quality although their prices have gone up a bit over the years. MSi also is similar odm capabilities and selling products as well as parts but their prices are usually a bit better than Asus.