Slashdot Mirror
A Wish List For Tablets In 2013
timothy writes "For the last few years, I've been using Android tablets for various of the reasons that most casual tablet owners do: as a handy playback device for movies and music, a surprisingly decent interface for reading books, a good-enough camera for many purposes, and a communications terminal for instant messaging and video chat. I started out with a Motorola Xoom, which I still use around the house or as a music player in the car, but only started actually carrying a tablet very often when I got a Nexus 7. And while I have some high praise for the Nexus 7, its limitations are frustrating, too. I'll be more excited about a tablet when I can find one with (simultaneously) more of the features I want in one. So here's my wish list (not exhaustive) for the ideal tablet of the future, consisting only of features that are either currently available in some relevant form (such as in existing tablets), or should be in the foreseeable near future; I'll be on the lookout at CES for whatever choices come closest to this dream." Read below to see what's on Timothy's wish list.
Here's my current mild-fantasy feature list; if you know of better ways to meet these desires, or even more compelling features you'd like to see, I'd like to hear them.
Integrated GPS navigation with built-in maps, not relying on an (always brittle, often expensive) ongoing data connection, or relying on a 3rd-party app. Even cheap standalone GPS units come loaded with maps, which means putting those maps on is possible, and (except from the standpoint of the companies who sell you data by the byte) it would be a good idea. Google's maps app provides a passable workaround, in the form of cached data, so you can load up the maps you need for a given route while you're sitting at a cheap and fast broadband connection, but in practice I'd found it iffy; sometimes the navigation refuses to recognize the maps I've loaded.
So long as you've got a data plan you don't mind dipping into, and are within cellular coverage range, that's fine, but large stretches of the Western U.S. in particular could leave you reliant on paper maps or a really good memory. If Garmin and company can put 6 million points of interest on pocket-sized GPS devices, and has been doing so for the last decade, shouldn't tablet makers do the same? (Not that freshly updated maps with handy chunks of crowd-sourced data are a bad thing; they just shouldn't be the only option. Graceful failure is reason enough to include a basic map set by default.)
(Two related pipe-dreams: 1) Future integration, too, with Gallileo and Beidou — the EU and Chinese equivalents to the U.S. made GPS constellation, and 2) integration with Open Street Maps. Every tablet should be a mapping tool, not just a map reader.)
A full sized USB port. Two of them, even better, but I'd settle for one. USB keys are the easiest way to transmit a certain size of file, close range, in particular when that's already the medium the file occupies. Things like Dropbox help, but don't pass the Mom test (at least in my family), and require extra steps if the document / podcast / video clip is right there in your pocket, just in an unusable form. The other reason I want a full-size USB port is that as impressive it is to have a tiny computer and display in a pocketable device, there is not yet a more efficient way for a sitting person to enter text than a keyboard, and tiny tablet-focused portable keyboards are a weak tool of convenience rather than actually *good,* generally. For light travel, sure. But I'd like to pop to the coffee shop to work for a while with a 1-pound tablet and a real keyboard. Workaround: There are Bluetooth keyboards, but the only true way to get a full-size USB ports for most tablets is by picking up a dongle from Amazon or Deal Extreme, but that's both an extra part to break or lose, and a hassle that it would be nice to skip.
A better "swiping" keyboard. Since I can't always carry a Model M keyboard, I want a keyboard as good as the Swype version that came with my aging but once high-end Samsung phone (Galaxy S). I've tried some Swype versions intended for tablets, but they made the mistake of making the control surface bigger (I suspect to "take advantage of all that space") rather than kept it sensibly small and fast. Being able to zip my finger around quickly is exactly why the one on the phone has totally changed my view of touch keyboards. The swiping keyboard that came with the newest versions of Android is a mixed bag: it's welcome, but at least in my experience so far suffers worse accuracy than does Swype. (On the other hand, the actual included vocabulary seems broader; I've had to customize the dictionary much less often.)
Daylight readable screen of some kind. Pixel Qi is the obvious one right now, but there's also one from Mirasol that I've seen demoed, but which seems unlikely (sorry) to see the light of day. Except for the impressive use of the same technology in the OLPC project's XO kid-centric laptops, Pixel Qi's screens have been mostly going into military and industrial displays, though, rather than into consumer tablets. There's a market waiting for daylight readable color screens!
Hardware toggles for cameras and all wireless capabilities. That is, anything which could betray privacy should be labeled and defeatable. Among other good reasons for this, it might make some devices more acceptable in workplaces with restrictive policies on personal technology. At the last CES, I saw a few Chinese Android tablets that had what looked from their icons like external Wi-Fi toggle switches, but wasn't able to quite confirm that with the vendors. Not every camera-equipped, Wi-Fi-equipped laptop has a physical toggle for either or both of these, but some do, and I'd pay a few more dollars for the capability.
HDMI out: This is common enough on recent tablets, but mostly in the form of a tiny mini-HDMI port. There are a few exceptions, but I'd like to see more. Just as with USB, I'd rather a slightly chunkier case if it means not needing a fistful of finicky cables and adapters. Being able to plug a tablet conveniently into any HDMI-equipped display would be handy; it's more computer than most of us had at all just a few years ago.
Decent in-built stereo recorder: Many tablets (and practically all smartphones as well as many feature phones) include a voice memo feature; that's handy, but it's a shame to waste the capabilities of the rest of the device on just that. Surprisingly good stereo recorders — included ones marketed as "business recorders," but severely overqualified — start at less than $100, and typical tablets have far more horsepower, not to mention a more flexible control surface for apps to control audio recording. In the iWorld, there are dozens of stereo input devices, as well as DI boxes for electric instruments, but not even Apple's devices come with a Just-Hit-Record stereo recording mic, which is too bad. Can you recommend any Android tablets with good built-in stereo mics, or third-party add-ons?
Bright LED light built in: This one, at least, is now the rule to which there are exceptions, rather than the other way 'round. It shows that sometimes the features-list game goes the right direction.
Alternative OS support. This isn't something I expect tablet makers to trumpet; they generally want you to run their choice of OS (whether the underlying tablet is from Apple, Microsoft, or the vast Google/Android conspiracy). But they don't have to; they just have to not make it impossible for others to do the work for them. In the last few months alone we've seen Linux (both Ubuntu for ARM and KDE Plasma Active) ported to the Nexus 7, and the Cyanogenmod developers have for years been making many handset and tablet makers' upgrade abilities look just plain silly. It's not just for novelty, either: right now, I'd like to be able to offload footage from my video camera to a tablet for uploading, which would mean I could stop carrying a laptop around quite so often. If I risk bricking my tablet by installing one of those Linux varieties, that might just be a practical option.
For now, don't think I'm ungrateful: I'm pleased and constantly amazed by how much has already been squeezed into a computer that takes less space than a trade paperback, and it's true that space trade-offs make it hard to squeeze in all the full-size ports I'd prefer. But most of these are features that exist in some form, and don't require anything to spring from the forehead of the Media Lab. I hope that by this time next year it'll be a smaller list of features I'm still looking for.
Integrated GPS navigation with built-in maps, not relying on an (always brittle, often expensive) ongoing data connection, or relying on a 3rd-party app. Even cheap standalone GPS units come loaded with maps, which means putting those maps on is possible, and (except from the standpoint of the companies who sell you data by the byte) it would be a good idea. Google's maps app provides a passable workaround, in the form of cached data, so you can load up the maps you need for a given route while you're sitting at a cheap and fast broadband connection, but in practice I'd found it iffy; sometimes the navigation refuses to recognize the maps I've loaded.
So long as you've got a data plan you don't mind dipping into, and are within cellular coverage range, that's fine, but large stretches of the Western U.S. in particular could leave you reliant on paper maps or a really good memory. If Garmin and company can put 6 million points of interest on pocket-sized GPS devices, and has been doing so for the last decade, shouldn't tablet makers do the same? (Not that freshly updated maps with handy chunks of crowd-sourced data are a bad thing; they just shouldn't be the only option. Graceful failure is reason enough to include a basic map set by default.)
(Two related pipe-dreams: 1) Future integration, too, with Gallileo and Beidou — the EU and Chinese equivalents to the U.S. made GPS constellation, and 2) integration with Open Street Maps. Every tablet should be a mapping tool, not just a map reader.)
A full sized USB port. Two of them, even better, but I'd settle for one. USB keys are the easiest way to transmit a certain size of file, close range, in particular when that's already the medium the file occupies. Things like Dropbox help, but don't pass the Mom test (at least in my family), and require extra steps if the document / podcast / video clip is right there in your pocket, just in an unusable form. The other reason I want a full-size USB port is that as impressive it is to have a tiny computer and display in a pocketable device, there is not yet a more efficient way for a sitting person to enter text than a keyboard, and tiny tablet-focused portable keyboards are a weak tool of convenience rather than actually *good,* generally. For light travel, sure. But I'd like to pop to the coffee shop to work for a while with a 1-pound tablet and a real keyboard. Workaround: There are Bluetooth keyboards, but the only true way to get a full-size USB ports for most tablets is by picking up a dongle from Amazon or Deal Extreme, but that's both an extra part to break or lose, and a hassle that it would be nice to skip.
A better "swiping" keyboard. Since I can't always carry a Model M keyboard, I want a keyboard as good as the Swype version that came with my aging but once high-end Samsung phone (Galaxy S). I've tried some Swype versions intended for tablets, but they made the mistake of making the control surface bigger (I suspect to "take advantage of all that space") rather than kept it sensibly small and fast. Being able to zip my finger around quickly is exactly why the one on the phone has totally changed my view of touch keyboards. The swiping keyboard that came with the newest versions of Android is a mixed bag: it's welcome, but at least in my experience so far suffers worse accuracy than does Swype. (On the other hand, the actual included vocabulary seems broader; I've had to customize the dictionary much less often.)
Daylight readable screen of some kind. Pixel Qi is the obvious one right now, but there's also one from Mirasol that I've seen demoed, but which seems unlikely (sorry) to see the light of day. Except for the impressive use of the same technology in the OLPC project's XO kid-centric laptops, Pixel Qi's screens have been mostly going into military and industrial displays, though, rather than into consumer tablets. There's a market waiting for daylight readable color screens!
Hardware toggles for cameras and all wireless capabilities. That is, anything which could betray privacy should be labeled and defeatable. Among other good reasons for this, it might make some devices more acceptable in workplaces with restrictive policies on personal technology. At the last CES, I saw a few Chinese Android tablets that had what looked from their icons like external Wi-Fi toggle switches, but wasn't able to quite confirm that with the vendors. Not every camera-equipped, Wi-Fi-equipped laptop has a physical toggle for either or both of these, but some do, and I'd pay a few more dollars for the capability.
HDMI out: This is common enough on recent tablets, but mostly in the form of a tiny mini-HDMI port. There are a few exceptions, but I'd like to see more. Just as with USB, I'd rather a slightly chunkier case if it means not needing a fistful of finicky cables and adapters. Being able to plug a tablet conveniently into any HDMI-equipped display would be handy; it's more computer than most of us had at all just a few years ago.
Decent in-built stereo recorder: Many tablets (and practically all smartphones as well as many feature phones) include a voice memo feature; that's handy, but it's a shame to waste the capabilities of the rest of the device on just that. Surprisingly good stereo recorders — included ones marketed as "business recorders," but severely overqualified — start at less than $100, and typical tablets have far more horsepower, not to mention a more flexible control surface for apps to control audio recording. In the iWorld, there are dozens of stereo input devices, as well as DI boxes for electric instruments, but not even Apple's devices come with a Just-Hit-Record stereo recording mic, which is too bad. Can you recommend any Android tablets with good built-in stereo mics, or third-party add-ons?
Bright LED light built in: This one, at least, is now the rule to which there are exceptions, rather than the other way 'round. It shows that sometimes the features-list game goes the right direction.
Alternative OS support. This isn't something I expect tablet makers to trumpet; they generally want you to run their choice of OS (whether the underlying tablet is from Apple, Microsoft, or the vast Google/Android conspiracy). But they don't have to; they just have to not make it impossible for others to do the work for them. In the last few months alone we've seen Linux (both Ubuntu for ARM and KDE Plasma Active) ported to the Nexus 7, and the Cyanogenmod developers have for years been making many handset and tablet makers' upgrade abilities look just plain silly. It's not just for novelty, either: right now, I'd like to be able to offload footage from my video camera to a tablet for uploading, which would mean I could stop carrying a laptop around quite so often. If I risk bricking my tablet by installing one of those Linux varieties, that might just be a practical option.
For now, don't think I'm ungrateful: I'm pleased and constantly amazed by how much has already been squeezed into a computer that takes less space than a trade paperback, and it's true that space trade-offs make it hard to squeeze in all the full-size ports I'd prefer. But most of these are features that exist in some form, and don't require anything to spring from the forehead of the Media Lab. I hope that by this time next year it'll be a smaller list of features I'm still looking for.
Seriously. It sounds like you're after the swiss army knife of tablets and no one tablet is *ever* going to meet all those features, because the combination you've chosen won't appeal to the mainstream. Tablet manufacturers are going to design their hardware to sell the most units - not to fulfill your fantasy feature wishlist.
Maybe you should drop Bunnie Huang a note - get him to tweak one of his hacker laptop builds. Or get a beagleboard, a plastic case, a touchscreen of your choice and go to town with all the accessories you want.
My list is shorter. Nexus 7 with micro HDMI out and Miracast.
A tablet that will cure the raging hangover I'll be having in 12 hours time!!
Happy Hogmanay
Have a great start to 2013!! ^_^
Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
Really, we should all be thanking Steve Jobs for creating the entire modern tablet industry, something that wasn't even thought about 4 years ago. His vision of tablet computing was far more useful than any other predecessors... far more usable than the Newton or Windows tablets.
He forgot one: no Windows 8
I'm not asking for a full keyboard...but a few buttons that I always want handy (like screen lock, volume keys, camera shutter), and a few that NEED to be physical like the EXIT, RETURN and SETTINGS buttons so I don't keep accidentally hitting the damn things!
Sure buttons cost money, but stop being so damn cheap manufacturers and give us some physical stuff back!
...for building a tablet that nobody will buy.
Its a pretty decent list of features. I'll just add to make sure you have at least 10 hours of battery use, while actually USING the device.
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem." -- Jefferson
Drop those full size USB ports, and add a (micro) SD card slot.
It is totally ridiculous that all NEXUS devices are missing that one, even the new Nexus 10.I want to watch movies in a plane, or review my pictures away from my PC (where a 2560x1600 screen really would help). So fuck the cloud and fuck the tiered pricing system that askes for $100 more for adding $20 worth of flash - while STILL limiting the total capacity to amounts that are ridiculously low for a device of that cost.
Full sized USB I can understand for missing : Those plugs are huge. They would literally be the thickest thing in the tablet.
HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
For the last few years, I've been using Android tablets ... I started out with a Motorola Xoom
How can you have been using something "for the last few years" when it's been out less than 2?
I'd settle for a Nexus 7 with HDMI out and SD Card support.
Using an iPad I don't need any of the features above, HDMI USB et al.
--
and they are wondering if this is a joke of some kind
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Learn to use "make available offline"
Why are you guys complicating things so much? All I wish is for my tablet not to blunt out my chisel too often.
You can already have stand-alone good GPS navigation without data connections. I have been using that for a while on my Android Galaxy S2 phone.
TomTom. Just pick the map and use it. No online connection needed, it stays in your card and works even if fully firewalled or data-less.
I also have an updated TomTom standalone unit and it uses exactly the same map version, always updated. So there you go, get an Android tablet and install TomTom 1.1.1+, then navigate.
Disclaimer: I live in TomTom's country but don't work there or even gife a fuck about them. Just figure'd I'd mention the obvious.
This is the most annoying feature missing on virtually all tablets...
Tablets are marketed as the "use everywhere, especially in the living room" computer, but still there's no infrared sender in most of them. And if there is, they are lousy and don't reach over two meters (Yes, Sony, i'm talking to you!)
integrate a good IR diode and make an app capable of Pronto definitions - instand perfect Remote, and even standalone a reason to buy a tablet...
Seriously. This post is like a snapshot of an alternate universe where the iPad never happened.
Until the Galaxy Note 10.1 I did not want a tablet because 80% oi the things I wanted it for I couldn't do due to the lack of a decent stylus.
Other then that. USB port, bluetooth,.SD or microSD slot, one camera preferably two, GPS plus.
One thing that would really be nice--an exchangable battery.
Good keyboard/support (there are more than a few convertibles that could do the work), ready to install another OS (webos, plasma active, ubuntu, mer or a few others are not explored enough alternatives), open in general (no secret sauce to do your own drivers or write your own code to work with the hardware), "good" hardware in general (long battery life, big capacity, expandable, good screen and camera), and cheap. If is for asking, why not everything?
Drop those full size USB ports, and add a (micro) SD card slot.
I have used full sized usb on a tablet it was the buisness [Toshiba Thrive has one]. Everything I own that plugs into my computer uses Full Sized USB...I'd love the same functionality on my tablet...As well as Several SD card slots..The dimensions that matter are already fixed, 7" [The iPad mini is too big] how thin it is does not matter so much [within reason]. SD and Full sized USB are not mutually exclusive.
hydrate & anti-inflamitories. i.e. Gatorade (errr Lucozade?!) and asprin before going bed in the morning. Or do you just pass out and fall on the floor?!
A working pen so that I can annotate and highlight PDFs with something close to resembling handwriting. Instead of fingerpainting.
Looking through the reviews on various USB adapters on amazon, a surprisingly large number of reviews talk about their phones and tablets being totally fried after plugging them in. I can't imagine why that would happen, as I don't know much about the USB internal voltages and power ratings, but it scares me enough that I'm not going to try plugging a keyboard into my phone through one.
"Integrated GPS navigation with built-in maps, not relying on an (always brittle, often expensive) ongoing data connection, or relying on a 3rd-party app."
I would also add, full-time integrated access to the complete English language Wikipedia, without the hassle of relying on a data connection.
I often like to think about these things in terms of activities or outcomes rather than features. The problem with thinking in terms of features is that you lock yourself into a specific implementation (which is often sub optimal).
So instead of saying "I need HDMI" I would instead say "I need a dead simple way to have my screen show up on any external screen."
Now HDMI may in fact be the answer but maybe there is a better way. For instance AppleTV works very nicely for me with all my devices to the TV. I'm not saying we should all install AppleTV's just observing that a wireless solution could be very convenient too. We should explore alternatives rather than just diving into the immediately obvious solution.
Ryans Tutorials - A collection of technology tutorials.
I'd like to see a decent tablet with around a 14" screen. Something that would make reviewing documentation (or sheet music) intended for Letter/A4 sized printouts possible without shrinking it to fit a diminutive screen.
This space for rent.
My wish-list tablet would have an x86 CPU capable of running off-the-shelf visual-arts software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Manga Studio, and Painter. Win7, Win8, OS X... whatever. Give me wifi and Dropbox, and I'm all set for getting data on/off it. Don't bother with a keyboard; if I wanted to type I'd use a laptop. But give me a pressure-sensitive stylus (Wacom or UC-Logic digitizer), and a few buttons on the frame which can be programmed to simulate keypresses like Ctrl-Z or Alt. Give it a 14" 4:3 screen with a resolution of at least 1280x1024. This is totally feasible. I just need someone to make it.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
...and charge $1232.98 for it. Add seven cupholders for good measure!
For everyone to shut up about tablets. Just buy the tablet you like and don't brag, slam and belittle the tablet market.
Not so right about the form factor though. The 7" tablet seems to have become the dominant one, without people filing down their fingers :), although attributing Everything to Steve Jobs without acknowledging the natural progression of technology, or what happened before it is ridiculous, or the other people who worked on the iPad. The most remarkable thing about the iPad at launch was its price :) something Apple seem to have forgotten.
The reason you want a full sized USB jack demonstrats where the jump drive market is behind the times. I'd like to see guys like Kingston start putting micro-USB connectors on jump drives.
Google's maps app provides a passable workaround, in the form of cached data, so you can load up the maps you need for a given route while you're sitting at a cheap and fast broadband connection, but in practice I'd found it iffy; sometimes the navigation refuses to recognize the maps I've loaded
I've found that if I pre-cache maps, I always end up caching only the layers I don't need, and I zoom in and out to layers that aren't cached.
My complaint is that I like marking things up. I want to draw thing on documents. And not an overlaid JPG, but OCR that is actual object recognition, in addition to character, not just word recognition. Shape recognition, connector recognition, and native integration into existing document formats. Personally, I'd like to be able to sketch something and export it into AutoCAD or Visio or a GIS format. Yes, I know how hard that would be, that doesn't mean I don't want it any less.
Learn to love Alaska
I'm not too thrilled with most of these ideas. Full-sized USB? That would require it to be awfully thick. I could see some kind of micro-usb port, and if you want you can use and adapter, but I don't mind going over wifi if I need to tranfer data. HDMI? I don't really care. If I want something on my TV, I'm fine with having a set-top box. Stereo recording? I mean... I have a microphone on my tablet. I'm not sure the value in recording in stereo when the two mics are right next to each other, but maybe I'm just ignorant there.
Mostly, I'd like to see more open platforms for phones and tablets. The fact that I can't just install whatever software I want grates on me a little. I'd like to be able to buy a piece of hardware based on its value, and then install the OS and apps based on their value, instead of buying into a unified platform and being stuck. Though, I can also see the value in having a unified platform. Apple provides great products across the board largely because they're able to control the whole stack. But it'd be nice if I could easily install the latest stock Android on my iPad to check it out, and continue using it if I prefer it.
Built-in maps: No. This should be an app, not something that comes built-in to the OS. These apps exist. You're trying to move backward.
Full-sized USB: not worth it. You'd have to make the device too damn big just to fit the port, and you'll waste power on the devices you plug into it.
Swiping keyboard: Good idea, but again, this is an app, not an OS feature (on Android, at least).
Pixel Qi: Maybe, but is the expense/power tradeoff worth it? Not for most people.
Hardware toggles: No. I don't need a constantly-available hardware switch for something I toggle once a month. That's madness.
HDMI out: No. We need Miracast, or whatever the open standard competitor to Apple's Airplay ends up being.
Stereo recorder: Not worth the cost for the 99.99% of users who don't care.
Bright LED: Meh, I use my phone when I need a flashlight, not my tablet.
Sorry, I'm not trying to piss on your parade, but it's not going to happen.
[specific computing need] without relying on a 3rd-party app.
Do you want a computer or an appliance? If you want a computer, install some of that pesky "3rd-party" software and move on.
This article reminds me of the days I would build machines for people that constantly "wanted more". They wanted to be able to stuff every drive they ever owned into it. Then they wanted to have their scanner, printer, phone, 5.25 and 3.5 floppy, and cd player/recoreder attached. Then they wanted the best graphics card for playing games, looking at pictures, watching movies, editing pictures, creating 3d graphis for games, and encoding movies. They wanted the best sound card for games, listening to music, editing music, creating music (which of course meant they needed a way to hook up another slew of midi devices). Then they wanted a web server on it. Then they wanted a database server on it. Then they needed a network card, then two, then bonded interfaces. Ah, fun times.
Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
If you are wiling to go over to the dark side, most if not all of those features are quite easily found. Wanting things like SD and real usb guest/host are some of the reasons i gave up on the stuff that is being sold in the US. ( and cost ). About the only thing i haven't got in my tablet is GPS as i have a 6" phone ( china again ) that does that for me.
Cases with built-in solar cells. I want to be able to lay it on my desk (upside down is fine) or on the dash of my car on a sunny day and have the battery recover.
The ability for an app to change the device's USB profile:
The ability to set proxy server settings on a connection-by-connection basis. If I'm on my home wifi network, I have a caching proxy in place to reduce bandwidth usage and accelerate access. If I'm elsewhere, I don't want to try hitting that proxy server. Just add that to the wifi profile and get on with it. Neither Android nor any version of Linux I've used manages to get this right.
Array microphones on the device. I want to be able to lay my smartphone/tablet face-down on an table during a meeting and, not only record the voices clearly, but be able to map out, after the fact, who was sitting where and have the recording annotated with who said what. Can't even get an add-on device which can do this.
... by the Dew of Mountains the thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning
For instance AppleTV works very nicely for me with all my devices to the TV
The trouble with Apple products is the "just fail" when mixed with any technology other than their own "massively overpriced". None of it uses industry standards, which they think they can just ignore. The reality is there other solutions like uPnP/DNLA, but I wired solution gets rid of the middle man. The reality is a $1 cable works better than *ANY* Apple solution.
I don’t know if you can get enough power to recharge the tablet but maybe can help lessen the drain on the battery
lalalalalaLALALALALAI can't hear youLALALALALA
"And, does anyone actually use Android tablets? All the web usage stats show iOS devices leading by a massive margin.
What exactly are Android tablets used for? Doorstops?
They really are useless junk...."
You may be interested to know that there are far more Android phones in circulation now than iPhones. Also, you have to keep in mind that the Android OS was not adapted for tablets until relatively recently... much later than the release of iOS tablets.
Given those facts, I think it is just a matter of time until Android dominates the tablet market, too.
Now, don't misunderstand me: Android does have its faults. Like its default reliance on Google for proper operation (much like iOS reliance on Apple). However, there is a difference: it is possible to disable the Google apps on Android and use 3rd-party applications instead. That is not possible for a lot of functionality in iOS.
The larger tablets have been too big for me. I waited until the 7/8 inch ones came out. I played with a Google Nexus 7 for a while but decided for my use cases the iPad Mini would be more suitable. Using your wish-list...
1) Tomtom app for iPad - Doesn't need a network connection.
2) Open Streetmap clients are out there. An update tool is just software.
3) Why the hell do you want a full size USB. They're *HUGE*. The iPad Mini is only about 5 mm thick in total. It has lightning which is a USB host. I would like Apple to support more devices on it. SD card and USB storage devices have limited support.
4) I love the thumb keyboard you get by 'splitting' the keyboard. On the Mini it works really well with everything easily accessible. I would imaging its a bit big on a full sized iPad. I have a bluetooth apple keyboard for various uses and with the iPad it works really well. Its a bit bigger than you want to carry around normally but quite light. (http://www.cyberspice.org.uk/blog/2012/12/29/apple-bluetooth-keyboard-and-ipad/)
5) Since I live in Northern Europe. I've not really had a chance to use it outside in daylight :-D
6) "Hardware" toggles aren't really physical switches in the connection. They're still just switches that toggle GPIOs. Easily over-ridden in software if you want to. Having the slide switch on the iPad more configurable would be nice.
7) HDMI connector? Wires, how retro! Again the lightning connector supports this functionality via an adapter. Like the USB connector an HDMI connector is quite large and not everyone will want one. The current use of adapters on both IOS and Android tablets is a better solution. However I use Airplay via an AppleTV to watch movies and play games on my TV. Works nicely with Netflix, iTunes, and BBC iPlayer.
8) Stereo record is another function that not everyone needs so why build it in if you don't need it. Android tablets with a USB host should be able to support it via a dongle.
9) The bright LED is something missing from the iPad Mini. The iPhone has it but not the iPad Mini.
10) To be honest I'm not worried about supporting multiple OSes. If I wanted that I would have a laptop (which I do). The iPad is something I can carry in my handbag and pull out when I need a web browser, e-mail, to SSH in to something or what ever...
A lot of the wish list is possible now with at least one of the available tablet types. The requirement for things like full sized sockets and the like kind of defeats the whole purpose of the small, light, thin, tablet and is missing the point.
Let us all know when you have any actual numbers on 7" tablets. From any vendor.
This is just one story http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-mini-sales-2012-12 even Apples own Mini is outselling the iPad 4, and its not like the Googles and Amazon 7" tablets are particularly secret.
"Mine broke right after I started using it!" --Moses
the simple fact that the iPad is trapped in the walled garden instantly rules it out for me.
You can leave at any time by jailbreaking.
The idea that the "walled garden" is stopping you when anyone can step over the hedges was, is and always shall be laughable.
What it really means is that you have some kind of tragic flaw where you cannot ignore what company makes things, and just buy the device that would in fact work best for your needs.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Because there's only one item on any true iFan's wish list: I wish I wasn't overdrawn at the bank so I could put another iShiny on my credit card!
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
Sorry, but all you "hey, buy a laptop" crowd are on the wrong side of this one, IMO.
The OP isn't really asking for the world. He's not asking for anything that a tablet isn't perfectly capable of doing. He's pointing out some reasonable and valuable things that tablets would be a.) perfectly capable of doing and b.) would add significant value over features current functionality. I'd agree that no product is going to have everyone's perfect feature set, but really what's on this list that's unreasonable?
OK, the USB slot - others pointed out the hardware issue on this well. But his point on this still stands - a way to get files on and off a tablet that passes the "easy enough my mom can use it" test is a.) feasible b.) useful and c.) missing. I like the mini/microSD suggestion, but there are other options as well.
Re: Stereo recording. If you're recording a business meeting, it really is valuable - it's a LOT easier to follow who's who if you get a directional audio clue along with voice. That's why there are $100+ single-purpose devices on the market for this. I think this is less something I'd like to see "native" and more something I'd like to see someone build a simple adapter for (e.g. an apple dock/lighting connector dongle with 2 small directional mic's), which may well be easy/possible with current gen hardware.
...addicted to painkillers, you insensitive clod!
You can have it today. Navfree or Osmand if you want the free route; Sygic has a paid app; I'm sure there are others.
Of course you'll lose out on all the things that make Google maps nifty: good search, traffic, rich POI data, etc, but the basic functionality works fine offline.
As an alternative to full-size USB, at least build cable adapters that allow you to convert full-size to mini USB and actually have the standard work like a simple conversion instead of the ridiculous one size one use type of ports that keeps being set up as a 'standard'. The devices themselves should dictate whether or not they can be used for the purpose being requested, not the specific size or shape of the port that they're using.
BTW notice how you never see "wish lists" from iPad users..
Nope. I work at a very MAC centric company. I'd guess that 80% of us use MAC hardware. Everyone has numerous complaints about all their hardware, including iPads.
"Wish lists" are only for those with flawed devices.
Or people who are smart enough to know what they want/need. Or higher expectations than just having an Apple logo on their device.
And, does anyone actually use Android tablets? All the web usage stats show iOS devices leading by a massive margin.
What exactly are Android tablets used for? Doorstops?
They really are useless junk. Just get rid of them, replace them with iPads, so you don't have to waste everyone's bandwidth trying to fix them through more useless "wish lists"..
Apple, Linux & Microsoft based products all have advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on what you are trying to do that decides which is the best tool. I'm sure I'm wasting my time as it's obvious you are either trolling and I fell for it, or you worship everything Apple because you are too fucking stupid to think for yourself.
But thank you for continuing to prove Maddox correct.
Apple didn't forget it, it's just they have painted themselves into a corner. With no new magic products of any significance to pick up....
...seriously are you kidding me, Steve Jobs was simply wrong. Apple launched the iPad mini Late though incompetence or profit chasing [I think both]with a overpriced/underspecced product its a saturated and proven small tablet market of great innovative products [I own the Nexus 7] it was the first time I have seem news sites compare an Apple product. Apple is now just another electronics company and this product refresh was its turning point.
My tablet wishes are:
1) A browser that could keep up. If that can't be done, then one that responds to me WHILE IT'S RENDERING THE PAGE AND NOT WHEN IT'S DONE. Seriously. The browser does NOT matter. I do. If I change my mind, it can goram well stop what it's doing and say, "So sorry sir, let me drop this silly process and go do what you want done now." It's just a machine, after all.
2) A tablet that actually selects the item where my finger hit. My Samsung phone with much smaller type and links can do this wonderfully. My Acer tablet often gets it within 1/4 inch or so.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
Wish list:
A real keyboard.
And what reason do they have to do this?
Every laptop and PC on the planet (that was made in the last 10 years, anyways) has a USB port (or a USB connector, Macbook Air fans). A large number, but significantly less than all, have either an SD, or a mini-SD, or a micro-SD.
Very few phones or tablets have such connectors (I'm aware a number of phones use mini or micro SD as a hard drive substitute, but I'm not aware of many where those slots are accessible while the machine is running).
So, to build one of these, we build something that, instead of being basically guaranteed to go from any laptop/computer to any other laptop computer like a USB-key would, we instead have something that can go from a small fraction of computers to a small fraction of other computers, and possibly a small number of other devices. Where's the market for these, until and unless the tablet/mobile makers build usable ports to make this useful?
Ahem? http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/search?q=wishlist&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all
Strange comment since even the newest version of iOS was largely an attempt to play catch-up with Android, since Android has more features to begin with.
Apple devices are largely for those that don't want to or need to do as much as more "nerdier" solutions, similar in a way that a Fischer-Price toy is more appropriate for a toddler than a real cell phone.
I don't understand the obsession with needing to build in maps when there are SO many great third party applications that provide a variety of offline maps.
Sure GPS makers have for years been putting out devices with maps and built in waypoints. Guess what? Those devices generally kind of suck, I've had a number of them. In fact the funny thing is that by far, I would rather use the software each of those GPS device makers sell on a smartphone, because then I get the thing they do best (mapping and navigation) without the drawbacks of the thing they are horrible at (hardware).
Offline maps are important at times, I agree. But any included map is simply going to be mediocre, you may as well research and get something that works well for your specific needs.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
While some "neat to have" features, you cobbled together your feature list without considering the tradeoffs they bring. All of these features have been considered by product managers and cut for good reason.
Since you haven't owned an iPad, I'm guessing you're more price sensitive. Most of your features will add cost, size, reduce battery life, and will give you little daily benefit.
- Full-sized USB ports - tablet is too thick, heavy and added cost. Also, to support devices like USB sticks, you have to add USB Host support to the device, which requires adding a 5V power supply output to the device, most expensive/power hungry USB host silicon/IP, and a large USB host driver stack that requires lots of software maintenance.
- Full-sized HDMI connector - added cost and thickness.
- Stereo Mics - nobody cares, added cost, and they don't work well in a thin form factor - generally for field recording you want cardioid-type mics which are larger, but more directional.
- Hardware radio toggles - nobody cares, added cost, confusion (which switch does what by feel?!) and the functionality is already deployable through corporate policies on some ecosystems.
- Offline maps - There are plenty of offline GPS apps available for existing ecosystems - TomTom, NavFree, and Garmin come to mind without even searching. This feature is best left to companies who know what they are doing in this space. If it's standard, you have to have more storage standard on your device which raises cost. Whatever you deploy won't be nearly as good as Google Maps anyway and will be useless in a few years once the data goes stale and you are too lazy to do the update process.
- Pixel Qi or whatever screen tech du jour - These will come naturally once they are better, cheaper, more manufacturable, and lower power than the existing crop of LCD displays. The current crop of screens, at least on the high end devices like iPad are readable enough in full sunlight so it's not a big pain point.
- Alternative OS support - Who cares? Tablets are not computers. Apple was the first company to understand this and this is why the iPad was so devastatingly successful. They are devices that perform functions. Use a computer if you need something that's flexible and programmable. Adding alternative OS support adds MILLIONS in software support costs, and you're not going to sell that many more tablets as a result.
Then you would need a dongle to plug it into most everything that isn't a portable device and it would be easier to damage to the port. Micro usb is okay for charging but I really don't want to plug anything into it a portable device's micro usb port because it's likely to get snagged accidentally thus putting pressure on the port. Full sized ports are more rugged.
A type-A host port? You already have that on the tablets with OTG and a micro-USB connector. You just need a micro-USB to type-A host adapter cable (pretty cheap and small), setting the ID pin accordingly and putting the tablet into host mode. You can then plug in a flash drive, keyboard, etc. as long as the OS supports it. Any reasonably modern Android device should have this in working order, they all use OTG.
OP has some excellent suggestions. Probably the best one is offline maps for gps. Tablets/smartphones will never be true navigation tools until this becomes available.
And no, suggesting he buy a laptop instead is not helpful. Tablets are supposed to be the new laptop, we keep hearing. Personally, I have no intention of owning Yet Another Device [TM]. When I buy a tablet, it will be because I can stop using one of my other devices. Not before.
My own list:
What He Said. Plus:
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, and Adobe Lightroom for tablets. We keep seeing these commercials about how tablets are going to be the next big thing for content creation. It's time to PROVE it. And I *don't* mean drawing a moustache on a photo taken with the tablet's camera. And before you mention it, "Photoshop for Android" is a TOY, Carousel is a TOY, and your favorite free app is not the same thing.
Functional, reliable, cross-platform, built-in, as-easy-to-use-as-a-phone, commonly available two way video communication, integrated with the address book and built-in phone app. This is second only to "where the hell is my flying car" a thing we were all supposed to have by now and still don't. ("still don't" being defined as "if Grandma can't figure it out without tech support, it's not viable yet".)
I don't care how you do it, but tablets must work with all the web sites, including legacy sites that Windows and OSX work with. This is not negotiable. You can say all you want about how everyone should be using HTML5 or whatever the new cool standard is, but the fact is that there is still a lot of stuff out there that never worked on iOS, and used to work on Android but doesn't anymore. Fix that somehow, or no deal. I mean geeze, we're told that tablets are SOO GREAT for content consumption, but every place my wife points her Kindle Fire HD, the damned video WON'T PLAY. Yes, I know the reason why. It's stupid.
I'm challenging the industry to prove to me that tablets are not a toy.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
It's all about the cost, my friend.
I have 4 tablets at home and not one uses a standard mini or micro USB to charge the damn thing.
Xoom has a Mini usb port but won't charge from it. all the others have proprietary cables.
If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. --Red Adair
This post made my day. Granted, I've been having a pretty crappy day so far, so it didn't take much, but still...you're repeating some of the stuff I repeatedly tell people who start preaching to me about the benifits of Apple, Microsoft, or some flavor of linux.
I'd never tell a gamer to buy a Mac. But I'd also never recommend that an artist get a PC. And I'd definitely never suggest that my grandmother run linux. Each has its place.
Bits of code, random ramblings: jakimfett.com
If we're on the topic of wishlist requests for tablets, I think it would be rather cool to have a tablet (or phone for that matter) with an RF and IR transmitter.
My Harmony One remote control is quite awesome, but there are times when I'd be thrilled if I could control my entertainment system with my phone or tablet instead.
And I'm not talking about Smart Glass or Apple TV. I'm talking about actually changing inputs, master volume, radio stations, pressing pause on the DVD player, etc. There are some of us still using devices from the Stone Age of 2009.
-David
You are big into mapping. Surely you realize most people aren't, right? I don't think any time soon, anyone is going to ship a generic tablet that comes preloaded with map files; if most users won't use the maps, then most users won't want to pay extra for the data. The resulting device simply can't make sense unless it's marketed as a mapping tool (the stand-alone GPS tools that you mention) rather than a general purpose tablet computer which also happens to be able to map. IMHO you are never getting your wish, unless the data is from OSM or something else which is free.
Furthermore, with this:
You are shooting yourself in the foot, trying to lose. You just said that if someone solves the problem and makes the perfect mapping app, if that entity doesn't sell you the hardware at the same moment, then they should go fuck themselves.
Stop and think about how dumb the not-3rd-party app thing is. Have you ever known the best hardware companies to also make the best software? Your only hope of a decent product that does what you want, is if it is labeled as, and marketed as, a GPS tool. Maybe with a Garmin logo on it. Relax the horrible no-3rd-party constraint and your device will become better in nearly every way. You don't even gain anything from that absurd requirement.
As for USB and HDMI ports, it looks like you chose to buy a thin device which doesn't have 'em, from a pool of products many of which, do. You say you're ok with a "slightly chunkier" tablet, so put your money where your mouth is. The good news is that it'll probably cost you less money! Nearly all sub-$100 tablets have this stuff now, I think. It's the expensive ones ("thin is in" Apple copiers) which lack the larger ports.
How about simply using something like the Apple Magsafe Power jack as a USB port connector? Maybe that would be feasible.
Consists of one item, and it's not a feature: that tablets will just go away.
I agree.
Maybe it's possible to hack our own solution... but can we do it slickly and in a small form factor?
A micro usb to USB host adapter does a few of those.
Would it be possible to pair a netbook that will take the PixelQi screen hack, add a touch screen and rework the whole thing into a tablet that isn't bulky?
A blog I run for the wealth
... has most of the hardware wish_fors: microSD and HDMI out on the tablet, full size SD and USB on the dock. SuperIPS makes it readable in full sun. The keyboard dock makes it a great tool for productivity. ASUS has already released a bootloader unlocker, so booting linux is just a matter of time. Plus, with the extra battery capacity in the dock, battery life is killer. It also has many of the software features, not to mention I've already got an upgrade to Jellybean. What it lacks from the list are the subjective features (a "better" swipe keyboard). I think those are all solvable problems if the market share is big enough. I don't understand why it's not more popular, except maybe bad marketing.
The only problem is that ASUS and Acer just announced the end of netbooks.
I'm jumping on the first decent tablet that fully renders free, OTA broadcasts - like HD radio and local HD TV - to watch on those increasingly gorgeous screens. If they added shortwave and public service bands to their chip I'd buy two.
i do despise the nexus range for its "no-sd-card" policy
But do you think Samsung and ASUS are at fault? I'm guessing Microsoft is at fault for owning Windows 95-era patents on the file system used on the vast majority of SD cards in mass market devices and enforcing them against manufacturers of Android devices. And no, reformatting the SD to Ext3 isn't viable because people expect to be able to eject the SD and put it into a Windows machine without the Windows machine "helpfully" offering to erase all the data on the card.
And these Windows 8 tablets start at $749, which I find a sticker shock. (RT tablets won't replace my netbook because they don't allow sideloading.)
No seriously this is the x86 surface or absent offline maps, an Acer A500 (what I have). And as someone who has both iPad and the Acer in the home I can say if you notice a difference in the size because of the USB port your ability to caliper objects could be going to better use....
The tablet makers have shown that they want to have a lot of control over how you get stuff on and off it. Amazon, Apple, Google...they are all the same. The iPad is probably the worst in that respect as the only way, AFAIK, to get anyone on there is via iTunes. At least the Google tablets allow you to mount it as a HD to copy stuff on or off. Probably a concession to the greedy film makers to reduce piracy (or so they think).
I think what you're finding is that tablets are good for a short list of tasks - watching a movie on a plane, checking facebook or twitter, scanning your email. I just don't see them as a replacement for a laptop or desktop computer. For some things you just need a good physical keyboard and a mouse.
Nobody wants having to juggle physical media in an ideal world. But given the choice between that and having to pay $600 per year for the ability to reach the cloud while away from a Wi-Fi hotspot, I guess frugal people who commute or travel will choose the 32 GB cards.
Has anyone released a non-fake jailbreak for devices that shipped with iOS 6? Has the Register of Copyrights legalized jailbreaking a tablet (not a phone) in the United States? The last time I checked, the answers were no and no.
And I may consider ditching my kindle.
He really should of said that because the surface pro is ticking a lot of the boxes.
BTW notice how you never see "wish lists" from iPad users.
Of course not, since:
I'd never tell a gamer to buy a Mac. But I'd also never recommend that an artist get a PC. And I'd definitely never suggest that my grandmother run linux. Each has its place.
But a gamer should buy an iPhone, the games on iOS are pretty amazing, console quality. Check out walking dead. The console and PC version is the same one as one iOS. Android not supported.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Probably my one gripe with most phones/tablets - the lack of real clickety click type buttons.
Not for everything, but at least four or five that can do specific things. Like work as a camera shutter button instead of using the touchscreen.
Or to trigger essential functions like "Answer phone" when your hands are cold and wet, and the touchscreen doesn't work.
Three Squirrels
One problem with touch screen accuracy is that people think they pressed at roughly the center point of the edge of their fingernail, when the actual point of contact is about 5 mm south. Applying a constant correction offset doesn't work because the finger can approach at any of several angles.
Buyers not buying Apple, in droves
I'm going to use my words more carefully. as you have yours. Apple is in an *interesting* position right now with its best product launches behind it, and Steve Jobs failed to spend any of the money on building Apple a competitor to Amazon (retail sales); Google (Search); Microsoft (License its OS); Facebook (Social Network)...[its mumbling something a TV's and watches!?..don't we have those] and had enough cash on hand to have a dog in all those races...but other than geting ino Advertising [without Seach or Social] its made no [serious]acquisitions [okey its bought patents but who hasn't].
Now Its PC [I should say Mac] sales are down, Its iPod sales are gone [last quarter], Its Smartphones and tablets are suffering [its hurting them in their profit margins] from losing market share, as he market matures they have all the earlier adopter money. Now tablets have another problem...and its not that the iPad mini is selling badly, its *replacing* sales of iPad 4, which is going to hurt its profit margin yet again. Ignoring the usual boom and bust of Apple. Its best years are behind it.
Use a computer if you need something that's flexible and programmable.
With ASUS and Acer recently having discontinued their netbook lines, which 10" computer do you recommend?
The Surface Pro is #1 on my list. Having an full laptop/desktop OS in the form factor of a tablet with a beautiful touch-centric UI is a game changer.
Apple has sold 100 million iPads in less than 2 years.. While I would prefer a 7" tablet, it seems like a large market thinks 10" is fine.
Its not often I criticise another poster for extreme ignorance but do not waste my time or your own with a unrelated link dated the start of 2012...that pre-dates the rise of the smaller tablets the Nexus 7; Fire and Ipad Mini who outsell the iPad. The fact that Apple had ealy success with a larger tablet does not refute its sales are being cannibalised by also the outdated iPad mini.
Duh.
Ahem? http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/search?q=wishlist&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all
Strange comment since even the newest version of iOS was largely an attempt to play catch-up with Android, since Android has more features to begin with.
Apple devices are largely for those that don't want to or need to do as much as more "nerdier" solutions, similar in a way that a Fischer-Price toy is more appropriate for a toddler than a real cell phone.
I think you meant that "apple is like a Fischer Price toy" to be an insult, but that's exactly what people want. A device that does exactly what it's mean to do and does it very well and is virtually indestructible? Um, yes please! I work with enough tech everyday, who wants yet another device that requires hacking and rooting and trouble-shooting? Not me. iOS works perfectly from the box, and they have about a billion apps and billions of case options and compatible with tons of 3rd party devices from stereos to cars to treadmills. And for a "nerdier" solution? There's an app for that, there's an app for everything! Probably several apps. If Nintendo Gameboy taught us anything it's not the features or CPU or screen, it's the apps the device runs that matters. Android is playing catchup in the app department and I have no doubt they'll beat apple someday, but today is not that day ;)
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
BTW notice how you never see "wish lists" from iPad users..
You are not the only iPad user.
"Wish lists" are only for those with flawed devices.
Or people that aren't mindless camp followers.
And, does anyone actually use Android tablets?
Sure. Early adopters that got fed up with your kind of mindless attitude.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
A device that does exactly what it's mean to do and does it very well
+...for limited values of "very well". I jailbroke and later dumped my iPhone because it was a failure as a phone. It was less useful and less usable than a 90s feature phone.
It's like they go out of their way to intentionally lock out the power user and it doesn't take much to be a power user.
Apple products are great if you don't really use them very much. Otherwise they tends to fall down badly as they're designed by idiots like you that thing being pretty is good enough.
Droning on about "apps" like some 80s era IBM commercial is just a red herring to distract from the fact that the core platform is crap (just like MS-DOS).
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
"Integrated GPS navigation with built-in maps" - several third party apps already available
"A full sized USB port. Two of them, even better, but I'd settle for one." - there are some tablets that have one; but the small connectors are quite standard and adapters are very cheap; just leave the adapter on the USB stick
"A better "swiping" keyboard" - Swiftkey 3 beta and Jellybean keyboard are already available
"Daylight readable screen of some kind" - you'll need two devices for that; some companies may offer e-ink cases linked via bluetooth
"Hardware toggles for cameras and all wireless capabilities" - not gonna happen; switches are expensive; for camera, use tape or a case that closes, for wireless, just use a widget
"HDMI out: This is common enough on recent tablets" - the smaller HDMI connectors are pretty standard; you can get a tiny adapter for less than a dollar
Another problem is that SD cards are an external, possibly horribly broken component, that the manufacturer has no control over. Stick a class 2 SD card into your android phone and try it out, you'll see what I mean. The device becomes so slow that it seems broken.
And this is assuming you don't have a faked SD card.
Crappy USB sticks and any mass storage device suffers from the same problem. You can bet this will be blamed on the device manufacturer though. Why doesn't my (extremely cheap) SD card run on this phone ?
Not the lame Samsung Note 10.1, but a serious 1080p+ Android competitor to the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro. A low power long battery life one just like the Note. Windows 8 tablet is fine too, as long as the price is not a ridiculous $1200.
Except the full size USB port is designed for 1500 cycles of insertion and removal and micro USB port is designed for 10000 cycles.
I'd like to see a waterproof tablet. Eliminate the headphone jack and the USB port. Then, shrink-wrap the entire thing. Everything goes over Bluetooth, WiFi and NFC, including charging, syncing and streaming.
In other words, survive a trip through the washing machine, a dunk in the pool or having sugary remnants rinsed off.
I'd really like to start seeing video inputs on tablets. While there are some are apps that allow tablets to be used as a secondary monitor for a laptop/desktop, apparently the performance isn't so great. I'd love to have my 11" Air and and an iPad be a mobile true dual-head setup, where I can bring one, the other, or both depending on the needs of the day.
Cinema makers would also love to have HDMI inputs on tablets for use as a monitor while filming. Dedicated monitors are more expensive and not multi-purpose like an iPad or Android tablet. It's not too hard to find long threads about this on popular photo and video sites.
A video input would also make tablets useful as supplementary monitors beyond their lifespan as a tablet. It seems such a waste of a good screen.
Insertion and removal has nothing to do with applying excessive sideways pressure to the port when the attached peripheral is snagged.
Tablets have some things going for them, such as long battery life and efficient processors, but they are not as useful as they could be. The problem is the culture and the marketing; they are marketed as consumption devices and not content creation devices.
There are great content-creation problems with the culture. Some years ago, a computer was expected to run spreadsheets, word-processors, graphic and design, programs which could create content as well, as sell-able content, and all of this was done with a 25-33 Mhz computer with perhaps 4 MB of RAM. Today's tablets are powerful hardware wise, but software wise they are quite poor. There are thousands of applications for tablets, but many of them are not useful. Apple stuff does not even have a user accessible file system. People seem to be happy if they can even send an email or log onto Facebook to anyone. Because there are so many companies making money from the cloud, dash your hopes of a tablet that works well without being hooked to some company's expensive teat.
I use my tablet for its GPS ability, and use its small size for quick look-ups and voice proofreading of books, and also to take damage away from my hinged notebook computer. I am productive with my tablet in spite of everything that was done to them. If left on a deserted island, I would choose even a netbook over a almost any tablet. I may soon sell my tablet, and buy a laptop with a flippy screen.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
Also, you have to keep in mind that the Android OS was not adapted for tablets until relatively recently... much later than the release of iOS tablets.
Well of course. The Android Tablet engineers needed something to copy.
The Nexus 7 (same hardware and support), with a MicroSDXC slot.
Nope. I work at a very MAC centric company. I'd guess that 80% of us use MAC hardware.
I doubt it. Otherwise you'd know they are Macs, not MACs.
(Or indeed Apples, given that you're including iPads.)
Apple devices are largely for those that don't want to or need to do as much as more "nerdier" solutions, similar in a way that a Fischer-Price toy is more appropriate for a toddler than a real cell phone.
Similar to the way a Fischer-Price toy is more appropriate for a toddler than cheap crap from China. A brand that people trust. Funnily enough Fischer-Price is part of Mattell, based in California, and the market leader in toys. Quite a lot in common indeed.
Droning on about "apps" like some 80s era IBM commercial is just a red herring to distract from the fact that the core platform is crap (just like MS-DOS).
Don't you know, apple products are designed to update social networking and play games. I placed my Galaxy S2 next to a friends iPhone 4s and notices the app disparity immediately. Beside widgets for the various rss feeds I read, My main page has maps, email, VNC Viewer and notes apps. His was facebook and a bunch of games. Now while I know that a single user does not a user base make but among my friends, the ones geeks tend to have android phones full of utility type apps and the iPhone users have games and facebook (and messaging).
Disagreeing with you does not make me a troll.
Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong.
I don't think you understand the page have linked to.
...its a cutting reference to the iPad 2 hardware on a smaller scale....Its low resolution screen; last years chip.
Just like the nano, the mini and the shuffle cannibalised the iPod sales? And yet Apple dominated the MO3 player market right through. And grew to be a huge company from it. Not a single real-live "iPod Killer" emerged, despite 100s of contenders to the crown.
I agree I'd go further the iPhone was the "iPod Killer", yet the smartphone market never make it above 25% its not down to 14.9%. The tablet market has already dropped to 50% and that trend is likely to continue with the launches of the Nexus and Fire. The question is what went *right* with the iPod that made it so resilient against competitors...and what is so *wrong* with the iPhone and iPad.
Its problem wasn't cannibalising its market. It was cannibalising its share [yes I know] of the market post Nexus 7 [I mean good value 7" tablets] launch with a tablet hat looked poor in comparison. The reality is the "iPod killer"....was the Android Smartphone.
then refuted by examining the company results.
Then do so. ;) I've checked my information.
With the market leading tablet. A device that created an new product category, and turned PCs to decline.
You're an idiot.
See what I did there :)
The question is what went *right* with the iPod that made it so resilient against competitors...and what is so *wrong* with the iPhone and iPad.
That's the iPad that is not only the market share leader, it outsells all the rest of the tablets added together.
And the iPhone, which whilst never being the market leader, made Apple the biggest company in the world.
Again, you're an idiot.
I'd go further the iPhone was the "iPod Killer"... The reality is the "iPod killer"....was the Android Smartphone.
An idiot that can't even keep his stupid theories consistent within a single post.
Apple haters will always whine / hate on the iPad or iOS and ask for tick box lists that the iPad does not have. Then when an Android tablet conveniently follows Apple's lead (re: Nexus) they will claim they never wanted those features all along (re: SD card slot).
Android fanboi sheep will never stop hating on the iPad while they fear buyer's remorse. Full stop.
No Android users want an SD card on their are even posts in this thread. Perhaps its because Apple haters(sic), are prepared to look at their own hardware criticality. In fact maybe they are *choosing* Android over Apple because they are capable of such criticisms..or maybe its because they have a choice of vendors. Depending on who you believe Android not including a card slot, is either to work around Microsofts Misuse of patents or to push your data into Googles cloud unlike Apple who use it to create a product portfolio from one product by charging $100 for 16gb of RAM or half a Nexus 7
1.) A full sized USB port with built-in support for printers, video-game console controllers, external hard drives, and cell phones,
2.) HDMI video output with familiar interfaces for multiple monitors (as cool as a TV with a touch screen would be, I ain't got one),
3.) a Micro-SD card slot,
4.) The ability for each member of my family to have their own separate user account, as well as a guest account that can be managed by the admin,
5.) HD video cameras, both front and back,
6.) A proper built-in file system that respected aforementioned user-privileges and could access network shares,
7.) True multi-tasking where I can have multiple windows displayed at the same time,
8.) A built-in kickstand,
9.) A protective case which adds almost no thickness or weight, and doubles as both a keyboard and a track-pad for those websites where touch just doesn't do it,
10.) Extra-credit for a fully functional built-in office suite,
11.) a way to easily unlock the device for side-loading corporate line-of-business apps or app development,
12.) a price-tag not more than an iPad
If only SOMEONE would come out with such a magical tablet, I'm sure they would sell like hotcakes. *sigh*
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/12/26/microsoft-surface-trampled-at-bottom-tablet-pile/
I like Microsoft, but I'm beginning to realize that the company could come out with a mobile solution that granted you three fucking wishes and it would still flop with consumers.
And a TV tuner.
I want a really good camera (at least 12 Mpx, and a decent lens). Something that will obsolete my normal $250 digital camera at least in good lighting.
[I know of the Samsung Galaxy Camera; sadly it doesn't actually get good photos - the sensor is very very noisy]
Also, a sunlight-readable display, and a microphone which can be used to record musical performances credibly.
Lastly, *please* can we have a 4:3 Android tablet, with all 4 buttons (back, home, menu and search) as hardware ones. Enough with the silly short-screens.
No same empirical fact ,the Smartphone replaced the mp3 player.
The trouble is I can't take you seriously if your not going to accept the [new] reality. iOS has lost to Android [has done for sometime]....and soon windows will fall to Android. That is the new world order. That is just how things are, and the future looks very Glum, I'm sorry.
8 USB ports, 6 TB of RAID, 8 cores, DVD, 4 gigs of video RAM, dual 28" flatscreens, a mouse, and a keyboard. Now that would be a useful tablet.
That I'm right, and you don't like it, doesn't mean I'm a troll.
Seriously. Absence of touch-typing sucks.
LG samsung broadcom sony etc...
all components of the iphone/ipad are 3rd parties.
any other 3rd party can build to order a product with the same components.
Apple is like nasa, everything is outsourced, except software.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
I give Apple full credit for being first with a usable tablet... after Palm, that is, which effectively had a usable tablet with only a 5.5" screen, 12 years ago. It was not color, but so what? It had a touch screen and was very usable.
Of course Palm through away all their well-established advantages when they started making phones. Truly sad, that.
I'd prefer a tablet with Windows 8 and a Core i7 so that I can run the software that I like without having to buy and relearn a whole new set of me-too software that only kind of replicates the functionality of what I already use.
s/through/threw
I can spell. Really I can.
Oops... I should correct that. Later I had a Palm Tungsten with a very nice color screen. I played a lot of Bejeweled on it.
Your wishlist looks like the tablet in front of me. The one I used poolside all summer to edit a book, take pictures with and type on with a real keyboard and mouse via the USB logitech I use for my computer (I pull the radio link dongle, move it between machines). I snickered when I first read about the Microsoft Surface. I was already using it.
Standard USB, microUSB, microHDMI (took a while to find the cable, but it works just great to drive my 37" flat panel). The Google maps, cached worked OK. Lots of memory. ...
My only issue with the A500, any Android tablet, is the lack of a good industrial strength editor. I stopped using it for that reason. Having to move files from ODF to Google Docs to a DOCX format, then back was just too much waste of time.
I gave up, bought a 15" laptop, also from Acer based on price and function, and that I could load Linux on it.
Now the A500 sits, turned off, on my desk. Perhaps next summer
You should then be looking at Lenovo x230, yes it weighs more (4lbs) then a 1 lb tablet only oh ya and it costs 4x the price or more, or the Yoga (consumer version and not as customizable) it has all most of your list (and easy enough to add GPS).
Dude - the whole response was about BUILT IN MAPS.
Then I spent much of the time talking about how awesome many third party offline maps were (I have several).
Then I closed with "Offline maps are important at times, I agree".
So in fact I travel a hell of a lot and value offline maps greatly, which is why I don't understand why anyone would want the inevitably mediocre maps that would come bundled by default with anything.
Do you? Again, why have included offline maps? Especially when most people will not be using them off a data connection, on a tablet...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The Acer A500 has a full sized USB host port, and mini usb client port. $200 used.
That the owners stop trying to replace productivity stations like desktops and workstations with tablets.
While based on similar-to-identical hardware, their usage and productivity profiles are COMPLETELY different.
Windows 8 is one of the bastardized expressions of this desire to "unify" a productivity device (laptop/workstation) with a dedicated media consumption device (a tablet).
Is it REALLY all that surprising that the results suck so badly?
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Because there's only one item on any true iFan's wish list: I wish I wasn't overdrawn at the bank so I could put another iShiny on my credit card!
Amen! Unfortunately, it's also true of Android users at each software release since you generally get stuck on the outdated release your device came with. (The Nexus line being the shining light among exceptions)
The argument that Android is copying from iOS sounds increasingly ridiculous as time goes by, seeing as if anyone is copying it is without a doubt *APPLE* that is copying from Android for at least the last year. Or rather, Apple has been playing catch up since at least iOS 4, with Android being the one innovating and pushing forward.
Not that the iPad actually provided anything to even copy as it was just a blown up version of iOS - not really any different from the initial batch of Gingerbread-based Android tablets.
Watch all the smart phones get steadily larger until they're the same size as a 7 inch tablet. Well why not put the phone stuff into the tablet? Use a bluetooth headset and keep the tablet in your pack.
Fischer-Price
Fisher-Price
...and he's willing to pay $49.99 for it.
How about a tablet OS that doesn't sell your location and throughput to anyone who will pay Google for the info?
A number of simple apps available for tablets that let you transfer files over Wifi. Faster than bluetooth, about as simpler or simpler. Not quite as fast as a USB connection (especially USB 3.0), but not bad for such devices. A number of simple apps do the GPS thing without a network connection. Even Google maps does it for limited areas. Navfree USA does it, a number of variants use Open Street Maps and do it. This really is no gripe. Many tablets will work with a USB to HDMI adapter. I suppose the lack of real keyboard is a real gripe though some are available actually. In short, I see nothing in this list of 'wants' that isn't either available, or available in a different form that make his wants in specific forms, like full size USB meaningless. You should look at tablets not only as cloud devices, but wireless devices. The use of ports is just not the right idea. Bluetooth and WIFI wireless accessories is the way things are going.
I've had an acer a500 the last 16 months with most of the things you want.
* full sized USB
* microUSB
* microSDHC slot
* microHDMI
As to GPS hardware ... it has something that works well enough.
Offline GPS software is FreeNAV USA/World which uses Open Street Map data. 100% off line.
For a keyboard, I use a USB connected portfolio case. It works well enough.
I've loaded Ubuntu inside a chroot jail and connected to it from the android side using VNC. The mouse and keyboard functions were off, not ready to be used by anyone. I'd love to load up a native Linux with NX as the client - dual boot style.
Quit bitching to do your own research. The Toshiba Thrive has lots of full-sized ports too.
Here's your navigation software. FreeNAV (or is it NAVFree?). It has been in the google store for free over a year.
Exactly. Which is why you can't find RSS, VNC, email, maps or notes apps for iOS.
Actually, micro-USB is more rugged than full size USB. I've yet to break a micro-USB connector, but I've broken several full-size ones.
Micro-USB is also designed to break on the peripheral side (which is often just a cable), and not on the host side. Full-sized USB tends to break on the host side. Since I tend not to replace my computer cases at the rate I'm going just about all my front USB ports on my desktop are going to end up being extension cables run from the back.
Not that the iPad actually provided anything to even copy as it was just a blown up version of iOS
Which shows that you haven't actually used both an iPad and an iPhone. Unlike with Android, their interfaces are very different, as befits their different sizes.
Sure, Palm was a trend setter in mobile a generation before Apple. But the difference isn't just the size. Apple's innovation was to make it a finger operated rather than a stylus operated. And to follow that through into a direct manipulation e.g. scrolling by swiping rather than scroll bars.
Would like a tablet that has a great stylus pressure with rotate detection to serve art community.
I used Chrome to view the link you posted, and it was very difficult for me to navigate the spreadsheet. It wouldn't show more than four columns, with links to "previous four columns" and "next four columns". I looked for which row numbers corresponded to Windows RT, and most of the $499 products were on the row numbers that corresponded to Windows RT. What was I missing in the navigation of that product list?
Instructions for how to sideload using a developer account are published on Microsoft.com, and the account is free.
From this page: "But you categorically cannot run production apps in this mode -- you can only allow testing." I was under the impression that Microsoft had mechanisms in place to detect what it considered "abuse" of a Windows Store developer license. Let me know when any of the Visual Studio components are ported to run under Windows RT.
Then buy something else??? Honestly, i own an iPad, and i have used the dock connector (pre lightning model) to sync with iTunes twice... And besides that only to charge. I do anything more in depth on my laptop.
If your needs are different, buy another product.
The problem is that they don't make "another product" anymore.
After reading your wishlist for future tablets, I suggest you investigate the US Armed Forces Milspec edition of the the Nexus 10. It has everything you asked for and more in a truly ruggedized case.
I bet Google play has a for-fee downloadable GPS mapping DB.
I sort of question the need for full sized physical USB and HDMI ports though. Why is the smaller form factor so terrible?
"Jobs failed to spend any of the money on building Apple a competitor to "
"Amazon (retail sales); "
http://www.apple.com/retail/
"Google (Search); "
With decreasing ad revenue per click....
"Microsoft (License its OS); "
MS makes 5 to 10x *less* profit for each Windoows license than Apple makes per Mac sold. MS makes $15 on each Windows Phone license compared to $200 - $300 for each iPhone sold.
"Facebook (Social Network)..."
You consider Facebook to be financially successful?
You got a bit carried away with your carriage returns. Look Apple [brick and mortar] stores are not a replacement for what Amazon do....An expansion of its On-line itunes store is.
Google is decreasing Revenue per click...but is getting more clicks :) while protecting that revenue stream, and are expansing into social (Amazon); electronics(Apple); office+OS(Microsoft).
Microsoft simply raised the price of its OS product to make to a drop in PC licenses it currently expansing into Hardware(Apple) and search(Google) its failing, but its trying.
Amazon is getting into Electronics(Apple) and is currently has 40% of where shoppers go first.
Your right Facebook is just potential, but then they are immature compared to the the other companies. Although rumours of it producing hardware(Apple), and replacing Goole as search are well known.
Apple has amassed an incredible amount of cash, but apparently is a one trick pony....and well it looks to be following RIMM out the door, perhaps if they has a visionary running their company.
50$ pricetag
complaining about not having a full sized USB port? Check the Archos G9 80 and 101 Turbo series tablets that have full sized USB ports/3G modem functionality. Stuck a 32GB flash drive into the back of it and it worked just fine. The hardware might not be the best but it does the job. in addition, add a 32gb microSD card also. along with the 8gb internal storage capacity it has on board.
People use the iPads/iPhones more because they are easier to work and work better with other devices and computers.
Just because people aren't cheap and like quality doesn't mean that we won't continue to use our devices more in the future.
PLEASE ! give us 4 or more i's like to plug in a usb kepboard / mouse and storage when required.
Of course it did numb nuts. And you were right only when you said that iPhone had done it.
Remember, iPhone is still the biggest selling smartphone. Nothing outsells it. There is no "iPod Killer" other than iPhone.
iPod is a device, not an OS. Android is an OS, not a device.
No same empirical fact ,the Smartphone replaced the mp3 player. Its end began with the iPhone...its why I bought he origninal iPhone.
Here is the thing [ignoring the fact that the Samsung Galaxy III took that crown], that is why Apple is suddenly looking very very vulnerable. As much as I talk about Apple hardware/software being weak. Its real weakness is its only successful in America where its high margins(and costs) are hidden be locking the customer into a hire purchase agreement. Its not just been a successful strategy its been insanely sucessful while they have an incredibly successful brand [with perceived first mover advantage]...
but going forward that is also looking vulnerable as high-end Android takes the innovation crown with ease...with numbers. Worldwide where wages are a lot lower and customers are expected to buy a phone outright its been an unmitigated disaster. Its not just places like Brazil and China...its Europe all lager smartphone markets than America....its not a good thing they have one phone its their Achilles' heel.
Interesting I am actually replying to you using a wifi keyboard with android, actually it is using a box in my browser on my netbook and connecting over the lan I would imagine it would work for my android phone too. it is kind of pointless thou . why not just use the netbook. I guess it would be handy for text messaging .
I kind of like the idea of a smart hub something like a raspberry pi connecting all the io to my tablet. That might even be able to be battery powered . but yes i get your point physical ports are over rated. I think I will play with this a little more.
I don't really want to have to use a full blown computer just to provide io to a tablet it just feels wrong.
I wish they would just grow keyboards already and stop with the vendor lockin walled gardens from hell shit.
We are covering too many businesses, your responses are flawed in that they focus on one element "profits", and problem with their current market "iPods, Macs, media, phones, and tablets"(sic) [Software is something I argue they should do] is that maintaining its profitability without expanding its market(exactly what you criticise Amazon for) is short sighted.
Googles revenue is up this year 9 month period http://investor.google.com/earnings.html from $19,087,000 to $27,632,000 Their profits are up $8,235,000 and $9,328,000 (they were down last quarter with half a billion restructuring of Motorola, but they sold off their set-top box this quarter for $2.5 billion), I'm not sure about Google making 95% of their money from Advertising...but as I said with Google Docs they already make $1 Billion from Google Docs, and are making a massive push against Microsoft, there on-line store is reportedly selling 400% more in a year, its strategy of going for market-share over profits is working to its advantage going forward....but the short version is your view of google is not based in reality...heard about the xPhone :)
What I predict is Apples business model is unsustainable, and the market agrees with me with it having 30% of its value wipes of its market cap, even the most ardent Apple faithful are looking for the next product (TV/Watch who cares...will it have retina display). The reality is nobody is seeing Apples massive mark-ups being sustainable, will Apple see some profit and revenue growth, only for as long as its market grows faster than is market share shrinks while its market share stays remains relevant. That could be as little as one quarter. Its just another electronics company now.
[I don't really want to talk about Microsoft...Their strategy of using its Monopoly on the Desktop to leverage itself into Mobile...is simply too large, in response to your comments Apple should have gone for Microsoft's throat.]
How about something simple: a sure-fire, non-circumventable, non-spoofable way to turn the device OFF? Removable batteries are going the way of the dodo for some valid reasons, but some of us would still like a way to ensure that no mobile rootkit is turning off the screen while leaving the microphones and cameras on.
Things I want to see: 1. An Android tablet with a 1TB hard drive. Even if it were bulkier, or with a 4" screen and shaped like a 3.5" disk enclosure. I want an Android device with tons of capacity, that can be used as both a media player as well as portable photo/video offloading device - so I can quickly dump photos from my Vixia or Sony camera flash cards while I'm traveling. 2. Normal PC Laptop that contains a low-power ARM-based Android "accessory" PC that I can jump to (either full-screen via keypress or via client window under Windows/Linux), because let's face it - Android apps like gmail/yelp/fandango/gmaps/facebook/etc/etc/etc/etc/etc beats the holy living sh!tf*ck out of navigating their respective websites or apps (if they even exist), even without a touchscreen interface. In fact, I'm quite happy with bringng along my Motorola Lapdock and MK802 dongle in lieu of a laptop on many occasions - but having both in a single device would be beautiful. And better, a mode for booting up in Android only, only powering up the ARM board, screen and a few accessories. Off a typical laptop battery, that should run for days.
The main reason for the small presence of Android tablets in the web is that web browsing on Android sucks. They all take ages to render. They are unresponsive until they have rendered. And those that I use(the Android browser named "Browser" and Chrome, gave up on Firefox on Android a year ago) can't remember to request the desktop version of the web page. You still have to open a new tab, tell it to request the desktop page and then go wherever you want. Why would I want to see the mobile version of a web page on a 10.1" screen?
Because the browser takes ages to render them.
Are all browsers on Android single-thread monstrosities? Is a tablet that is able to render 3D games with last-gen console quality too slow? Is this some kind of joke I don't understand because I'm too old? I have no clue if iFondleslabs have the same problem because I don't care.
Another reason why Android tablets not seem to be very present in the web is that you can actually change the browser identification on the browsers. I doubt you can do that on iApple fruity stuff.
20 minutes into the future
I plug in USB flash drives to my Nexus 7 all the time. I've rooted it and use Stickmount and an OTG cable. Try it out!
Was I the only one who thought about this?
http://onscreencars.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/TheHomer.jpg
Has the Register of Copyrights legalized jailbreaking a tablet (not a phone) in the United States?
Has anyone EVER been sued or arrested or ANYTHING over this? On a technical board this argument labels you as retarded in the worst possible sense of the word. Sorry, but you deserve that level of disrespect for bringing up such an incredibly stupid and irrelevant point.
Has anyone released a non-fake jailbreak for devices that shipped with iOS 6?
His needs are met by a subset of devices that support full public jailbreaking, that would obviously factor into selection.
That said, jailbreaks have been performed on an iPhone 5 and iPad mini, but they require development accounts (which anyone can get). The point is his is stubbornly refusing to consider ANY Apple device even if they might meet his needs better and a large variety of them can be jailbroken easily.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
So is profit not the main goal of a publicly traded company?
You seem confused. The answer is NO! a publicly traded companys goal is not to make profit. Look at my Amazon example, almost every company has some investing activity can be tangibles (New premises, R&D, Advertising...right now Google is making a land grab with Android (its trying with Google+), as is Amazon. Normally companies make various strategic plans (expand market share; extend product Line etc etc)
The whole point is that Apple is now growing *slower* than the market, so its market share is lower. Its why apple used to have 23% of the market and now occupies 14.9%, In fact the profit margin of the iphone5 is less than that of its predecessors too just makes it more worrying.
I don't think you understand your Google link. The link I provide is to the financial statements discussed in your [albeit short] article, I actually quote the figures, re-read my comment on Google it even covers how Google is expanding beyond advertising...it even owns a phone company :) (like a suggest Apple should)
I would comment on the acquisition of Motorola, but the reason why your maths is completely wrong is tax (and patents). Motorola may look 12.5Billion on the books, but in reality read it http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/31/us-motorolamobility-google-tax-idUSTRE77U1QX20110831. The short version is owning Motorola will cuts Googles Tax Bill by 80% It was incredibly good value.
As for you criticism of Motorola...LG recently is having a massive success with the Nexus Phone, Asus is having massive success with the Nexus Tablet, its likely to be a success...the concern is upsetting its partners.
I lave looked through you link. I will have to read it better later, but the whole point of it is to choose market share over profits, by cutting price...and do it before your competitors. (although Apple already has many of the Advantages of Scale and brand now...although you can already see it losing these)
HP is trying to move to get money work harder, by getting into different markets as the PC market is mature 5% margin (Microsoft get all the real profit) Although that CEO got sacked. Like I say I'm not comfortable talking about Microsoft.
I am astonished that Apple cannot make money from the itunes store. Apparently Google/Amazon can. I suspect your just making that up...it currently is small compared to what they make from their hardware...but as I repeatly argue..this one is all about marketshare. Apple have already lost this book/movie/App market to Google/Amazon.
I don't argue the market is rational, but money is normally pretty unbiased, and right now it does not see Apple making the big gains it once had, and everyone agrees.
Microsoft is not growing, but its a utility product and pretty stable (makes lots of profits), Apple could have gone for the PC market...its not like a great deal of profits come from their current PC presence...and it could compete on price, or licensed its OS, but again it has no interest in market share.
The truth is Apple has to change because the market changed...and Steve Jobs made no prevision for surviving in a maturing market, although a master at overtaking immature ones. The game as changes, and I see nothing in your comments which will change the current *trend*.
I have an iPad 2. It's really not that different from an iPhone. The 3rd party apps make great use of the larger screen - iOS itself, however, doesn't do shit with the extra space. Hell, the contacts app isn't even full screen! And I'm not sure what your bullshit about "unlike with Android" is supposed to mean, unless you've never used an Android tablet.
I have iPad 2. Based on it's performance I figure that useful tablet has to be 4x as fast with 2x dpi. Anything less is a compromise I'm not willing to make.
Err...no. Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was talking about gamers. You know, the people who have a computer that cost more than your car, with a graphics card that can render the texture of each individual grain of sand on a beach. Real hardcore gamers, the ones who lose themselves in the strategy and mechanics of whatever "their" game is.
And while I appreciate that Angry Birds (Gamer Edition) may seem a compelling reason to drop anywhere from $649-$849, when the choice is between a new set of solid state drives for their RAID array and a phone, which do you think the gamer will pick?
Bits of code, random ramblings: jakimfett.com
Umm... are you just really phenomenally bad at reading comprehension, or actually trolling? To quote the entire paragraph you extracted that quote from:
Emphasis mine. What does the awful state of sideloading on Apple devices have to do with Microsoft or Windows RT? Microsoft may *prefer* people to use the "official" sideloading channel (which requires a paid license and top-down control) instead of developer license sideloading, but they don't enforce that in any way, and they even take the time to point out that dev licensing can be used to install untrusted apps:
So far as I can tell, the only "abuse" that MS actually cares about is piracy of paid apps. This was a problem on Windows Phone, even with the much more-restrictive developer registration (paid account required for most users, limit 10 sideloaded apps unless you hacked it), and is expressly called out as something that a dev license can be revoked for (although, so what if they do; you can get another, for free, at any time). After all, an app which goes behind the WinRT API's back to find the NtCreateProcess system call (CreateProcess isn't supposed to be available) using techniques most commonly observed in malware, and then uses that to launch unsigned desktop-mode applications... well, that's pretty far from a "legit" use of a developer license, but it's exactly the kind of thing that people *should* be allowed to do via sideloading if they want to, and it works fine*.
* For loose values of "fine" - the unsigned native EXE still runs in the AppContainer sandbox, which severely constrains what it can do. Still, if you statically link everything and are careful about the ACLs, it works.
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
"So you realize how utterly insane it sounds for anyone to say that the purpose of a public comps y is not to make a profit?"
I didn't say that, I said the goal is not to make profit. In fact how about "preserve future profits".
You keep pointing to losing market share is acceptable as long as your profits grow in the short term. Its your fundamental point, and I am never going to be convinced ever that is rational response. Its a worrying trend nothing more. The fact that it is affecting third party development support is a simply another sign.
Your right growing revenues "unprofitably" is not a recipe for success [its not true], but Google have successes in protecting a potentially profitable revenue streams it gets from Android(...and doesn't have to pay to Apple :)
I am more interested in the future than right now. Because right now I see Google investing in their future. This whole discussion started because I said Steve Jobs failed to invest in Apples. The whole point of this discussion is the widening gap between, between Androids Market Share; Price and Apples Market Share; Price. we are now where Android smartphone market share/average price 75%/$250 to Apples 15%/$600 what about when Android is 85%/$175 to Apples 10%/$600; what about when Android is 95% to Apples 5%/$600.
The Motorola deal cuts their tax bill because Google is vastly profitable :)
Since when did selling one million devices a month become a bad thing :) [Its not the only device either; Apples market share continues to drop]Ironically you are are defending Apples lack of market share. The reality is companies make massive profits from Android phones...don't pretend otherwise(Apple type profits not so much).
You need to make up your mind what you are arguing with Apples store. I have one point, Apples pursuit of Profits over market share is stupid, It also means less money from its store. It does so because it makes more money from its phone sales *in the short term*...the growth market. The one Android and Google are fighting over Apple is giving away...Oh and control of the next big thing *Money*.
Apple does not make an awful lot of money from the computer market. It does sell a few very profitable devices, but *Microsoft* make all the money in the computer market vast amounts more than Apple, and Apple have made it clear that they won't compete(losers). I notice that the Chromebook is the best selling device on Amazon.
I seem to have become focused on Apple vs Google and that was never my intention...Its just really hard not to get drawn into comparing these companies. The more I discuss the more I find it impossible to believe that Apple is capable of conquering any more emerging markets [will it conquer TV meh] or that its current business model is sustainable in a maturing market, or that its lack of vision in investing in its own future is going to hurt it. It all feels eerily familiar like its 1997 again. I get a feeling that sooner rather than later we are going to stop discussing Apple vs Google but Android vs Windows.
I think your getting confused with English (mine not yours). The bottom line is most companies have a strategic plan, and that can be a variety of different things. If you don't understand that I can't help you. (example) http://www.planware.org/strategicsample.htm...but then we have been through this. It even has a section marked Goals.
I posted the figures, Googles revenues are up and profits are up...then its growing revenues *profitably* the fact is there is everything from tax breaks; patents; selling off STB business; as well as using its bring its Nexus Line to Motorola its difficult to calculate...and you are not capable.
You have *never* mentioned *any* future business plans from Apple; show me them. I don't see it challenging Amazon; Google; Microsoft; Facebook anytime in the near future. In reality I see a cash rich business, with no idea what to do with it.
HTC is still profitable (just not as profitable you know the difference); LG are profitable since they ditched Microsoft(and has a success with the Nexus 4); Sony is massively profitable...after buying out Ericsson (its compensating for its poor PC sales)...and they are in the market that has growing market share.
How stupid it is to quote a "% of mobile profits"....I'm confused where is Google; Sony make a profit why is it not there :)...the figures are not even close to being right. Its a guestimate from financial statements. Although for you posting a graph that shows a peak followed by a trend downwards in % profits is not really creating a compelling point. Hell it doesn;t even include companies like Lenovo and ZTE.
I'm confused why again are you pointing to a link where Google is growing faster than Apple...that's my point; why are you trying to make it?
So which PC company makes more money selling computers than Apple makes selling Macs?
Microsoft. :)
The sad fact is you are not checking you articles as you are posting, Apple is vastly profitable now..which I would never dispute. I'm saying its pursuits of profits are damaging it long term...and that includes profitability, I also say their is no prevision for he maturing market. Even from your own dubious evidence, Apple is shrinking against the opposition. What is more worrying all the evidence from you focuses on *hardware* when it has to compete providing any alternative revenue streams advertising/content/software ...it suddenly looks weak because its hardware is looking weak in a maturing market because its a one trick pony. What is worse is that any mention of future plans your happy to mention all this spending, and I'm seeing nothing for it. Apples best days are clearly behind it, and even your own cherry picked evidence suggests it.
From what I can tell, the Surface pro doesn't provide anything on that list that isn't provided on my Toshiba Thrive (and I expect, on the newer Excite).
However, the Surface Pro does cost a lot more, and have a shorter battery life. If you find the advantage of using normal desktop applications on the table worth that tradeoff - go for it, otherwise, I wouldn't bother.
Actually, I suspect most androids have better alternate OS support than the Surface, given that you should be able to goldcard any of them, and then you just need to install your alt. OS. I'm not sure why Timmothy was complaining about that.
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
There are several excellent audio-recorder apps available on Google Play - I recommend you to try AndRecorder, which is very easy to use and provides high quality recordings. One drawback is that it records to WAV format and doesn't provide a "convert to MP3" option, though on modern devices storage space is usually not an issue.
I am convinced Apple has no strategic plan(I'd say no vision), when Apple shares started dropping like a stone...Cook tried to reassure the market with hints of a smartTV. He said little of what he has going to do with the current markets.
I posted Google over a nine month period. I'd post a time series analysis if I had the time. The reality is Google produced two sets of financial statements, because most of the loss is a one of cost to restructure Motorola, making the financial statements a nonsense. Again Google is investing in Googles future...something Apple isn't.
I still don't want to talk about Mototrola, because it it simply too hard, even with your dubious maths its down to $7Billion...and you have left off $1.7 billion in net operating loss tax benefits...Googles mobile advertising is expected to grow to 4Billion Next year from 2Biliion (and 6 the year after)...is that not worth protecting, and as I said this does not include ongoing tax benefits.
Motorola will make a success with the Nexus brand. Unlike Apple it has a repeatable formula
Your trying to make out only Apple and Samsung make (serious) money from Android...In the same comment where it was worth Google spending $12.5Billion. If you think people are selling Millions of phones every quarter and making a loss year after year. I can't help you, If you cannot see how Google has captured and preserved a source of income from this deal. Read how companies Like Lenovo; Sony; ZTE are actually investing now...for profits later...Something Apple isn't
From Sony's Financial statements "Sony Mobile been fully consolidated in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, segment sales would have been essentially flat. This was due to an increase in sales of mobile phones primarily resulting from higher average selling prices, reflecting a product portfolio shift to smartphones from feature phones, and higher unit sales of smartphones, being offset mainly by significantly lower sales of PCs"
Not just Lenovo has a diverse portfolio; LG; Huawei; Samsung; etc etc I think HTC is the exception. In reference to its profitability "Mr. Yang said, the company has been investing a lot in marketing and sales channels", again we are seeing a company investing in its future....and its not Apple.
It is not positive for all Apple to do languish, while the rest of the market are moving and shaking, you seem to consider investing, or diversifying dirty...because they distract from the profits short term. In fact you proudly post, that other that Apple will not enter existing profitable markets; does not invest in its future.
Its a worrying trend your back defending Apple on past profits alone...when its future profits are in question (all its got it are an unsustainable market cap...and a lot of money stagnating in the bank), and absolutely Apple is shrinking against opposition...it sells less phones, and its it only means of making money...in market where its profit mark-ups are looking stupid.
Seriously stop confusing Revenue and Profit. Apple has incredible growth on the back of being perceived first in new markets three times, and became the largest company on earth by market cap, by pricing its profits for optimum profitability....but its over.
What does this paragraph mean? And are people going to feel like buying Surface RT units with the intent of fraudulently using a developer license to sideload if they know they're going to renew their licenses monthly?
After all, an app which goes behind the WinRT API's back to find the NtCreateProcess system call (CreateProcess isn't supposed to be available) using techniques most commonly observed in malware, and then uses that to launch unsigned desktop-mode applications... well, that's pretty far from a "legit" use of a developer license
Because these are "techniques most commonly observed in malware", as you point out, they're techniques that Microsoft is likely to patch out in a security update to Windows RT.
Modded up Microsoft shill post.
Fanboy? Perhaps. Shill? I thought a shill meant someone who covertly represents a given organization, and I don't especially think someone who encourages people to buy Windows RT devices and then engage in "fraudulent use of a developer license" represents Microsoft.