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Star War Sex Parrot posted:I don't think it's safe to assume that the XOOM or the even the XOOM 2 will act as Google's "Nexus tablet". The merger hasn't even happened yet and both devices were designed and released without Google's supervision. He's actually right, the Wifi Xoom is Google's current reference tablet for Android releases, Google state as much on their AOSP page, and they provide drivers for it on their Nexus drivers page. Even though the 4G Xoom isn't supported as a "reference device" anymore like all the other CDMA devices, it still gets updates from Google (though IIRC from blogs/this thread historically there's always been a time lag for updates compared to the Wifi only version.) Also just to add to the confusion, all of this only applies to the U.S. Outside the U.S all updates are maintained by Motorola, and the updates follow a much slower schedule, unless your reflash the Xoom to become a supported *Google Xoom*. chocolateTHUNDER posted:I read the OP but saw no mention of the XOOM in it...realistically how much longer will Google support the XOOM with updates and poo poo like that? I'm looking for an android tablet but rather not spend 5/600, and I figure since the XOOM is kinda googles "nexus" tablet it would probably be the safe bet at a 3/400 dollar price point... Seems starting with the Nexus S, Google actually equip their reference devices with sensible specs which don't turn out to be incapable of running the next release months down the line. Nothing about the Xoom is underpowered enough to force them to drop it.
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Feb 12, 2012 19:52
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Vagrancy posted:Seems starting with the Nexus S, Google actually equip their reference devices with sensible specs which don't turn out to be incapable of running the next release months down the line. Nothing about the Xoom is underpowered enough to force them to drop it. Based off the difference between 3.2 and 4.0, my assumption is there's at least one more good performance boost update to come along. The most of the argument behind Apple's "underpowered, low-RAM tablets" is that the OS is better optimized (I know there are architectural differences between the Tegras and the Apple chips, too) and I can't imagine ICS is fully taking advantage of the hardware, just based on how bad 3 was.
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Feb 12, 2012 20:11
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Vagrancy posted:He's actually right, the Wifi Xoom is Google's current reference tablet for Android releases, Google state as much on their AOSP page, and they provide drivers for it on their Nexus drivers page. Even though the 4G Xoom isn't supported as a "reference device" anymore like all the other CDMA devices, it still gets updates from Google (though IIRC from blogs/this thread historically there's always been a time lag for updates compared to the Wifi only version.) Rumors expect Google to release a tablet some time in Q2, but the same rumors say it's going to be a $200 7-inch budget tablet rather than a 10-inch iPad competitor. Vagrancy posted:Seems starting with the Nexus S, Google actually equip their reference devices with sensible specs which don't turn out to be incapable of running the next release months down the line. Nothing about the Xoom is underpowered enough to force them to drop it.
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Feb 12, 2012 21:18
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I can't seem to take a quality video of my PDF experience on the Transformer Prime, but I'll do my best to describe it and hope you take my word for it. The TP comes with two apps capable of reading PDFs. One is "MyLibrary", and the other is the stock Adobe PDF Reader. The MyLibrary one is, I guess, supposed to appease book pirates or something, I don't know. I'm going to disable it because it seems pretty loving worthless. PDFs took forever to load and when scrolling to a page that wasn't loaded yet, it would take 5-6 seconds to display blurry text, then another 5-6 seconds to load the text legibly. This is on a PDF saved on the device. The Adobe app is much better. It would load things legibly within 3-4 seconds, even on a page far away from the ones loaded. Without attacking others who have felt like their experiences were less than stellar, I can say that I can't imagine myself being unhappy with the PDF experience, even if all I used the tablet for was PDFs.
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Feb 12, 2012 22:50
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It must really vary from device to device. The standard Adobe reader runs like poo poo, but ezPDF is very usable. Kinda sucks that I had to pay before being able to read PDF files, but being able to annotate them justifies the expense many-fold.
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Feb 12, 2012 22:55
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Janin posted:There's a difference between a "reference" device and a Google device. The Xoom was designed and built by Motorola, and is no more a Google device than the G1. The most useful distinction is whether the updates are being maintained by Google or not, and for the U.S Xoom they are. If just being a developer phone were enough to appear on those pages, the Motorola Droid would be there also. quote:That's because with phones, Google uses its own devices as the references. It has control over the hardware. This part of the 2010 Andy Rubin interview implies they used the exact same process with the Xoom as they did their Nexus phones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAqBPW3avYs&t=426s So Google engineers definitely used it to build HC/ICS, and in the U.S they have full control of the software. If that wasn't the case the hilarious situation last year where the non-U.S Xoom had a working SD card read/write implementation by Motorola, but the U.S Xoom had to wait till 3.2 for Google to implement it themselves since Motorola weren't allowed to touch it. quote:The Xoom is by Motorola, and I honestly wouldn't expect Google to support it at all once they have their own tablet out. That won't happen, since even if 7' tablet rumors are correct, they still need a 10' around for testing layout, and aside from branding the Xoom is "their own tablet".
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Feb 12, 2012 23:05
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Gorilla Salsa posted:I can say that I can't imagine myself being unhappy with the PDF experience, even if all I used the tablet for was PDFs. I think most of the complaints are from people comparing to how well it works on iOS. Taken in isolation or compared to a Windows netbook it actually works pretty well IMO.
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Feb 12, 2012 23:08
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If the Xoom is used for Android dogfooding, then it's close enough not to bother drawing a distinction.
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Feb 12, 2012 23:15
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Vagrancy posted:The most useful distinction is whether the updates are being maintained by Google or not, and for the U.S Xoom they are. If just being a developer phone were enough to appear on those pages, the Motorola Droid would be there also. Google didn't design or sell the Motorola Xoom, any more than it designed/sold the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the Asus Transformer or the Toshiba Thrive or any other of the dozens of Android-based tablets that have been released. It's not the Google Xoom, it's the Motorola Xoom, and it's ridiculous to claim that it should be considered a Google product just because its OS is based on Android. Vagrancy posted:This part of the 2010 Andy Rubin interview implies they used the exact same process with the Xoom as they did their Nexus phones: Vagrancy posted:So Google engineers definitely used it to build HC/ICS, and in the U.S they have full control of the software. If that wasn't the case the hilarious situation last year where the non-U.S Xoom had a working SD card read/write implementation by Motorola, but the U.S Xoom had to wait till 3.2 for Google to implement it themselves since Motorola weren't allowed to touch it. Vagrancy posted:That won't happen, since even if 7' tablet rumors are correct, they still need a 10' around for testing layout Vagrancy posted:and aside from branding the Xoom is "their own tablet".
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Feb 12, 2012 23:28
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Janin posted:it's the Motorola Xoom, and it's ridiculous to claim that it should be considered a Google product just because its OS is based on Android. Even though Google maintain device specific branches for the Xoom on their own servers in the exact same way as Nexus phones? OK. quote:Did you start the video at the wrong place? I didn't hear any mention of your claims in the linked section. Q: "Is this the one you designed with them, or is there going to be 175 versions of this?" A: "This particular one you take a new processor, you do bring up on that processor, and you take a new screen, and you get everything working for the first time..." "What we do is we pick one of our partners, a semi-conductor partner, an operator and OEM and combine them together, and this is the device that all the engineers have on their desk when they come in the morning. It makes for a much tighter integration of hardware and software". Sure sounds a lot like the Nexus Program: quote:We have this strategy where we have this Nexus program, and we have this lead device strategy. That strategy has worked quite well to help focus the team. Pretty much the only thing it's missing is the Google branding, and even that could be because they knew in advance HC was woefully inadequate/rushed, so decided to let Motorola fully take the hit.
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Feb 13, 2012 00:17
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Basically I'm asking what tablet I should get for 3-400 bucks. The bigger then better.
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Feb 13, 2012 03:27
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Acer Iconia Tab A200 Android 4.0 update rolling out now Welcome to the ICS family!
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Feb 13, 2012 03:29
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McLarenF1 posted:Acer Iconia Tab A200 Android 4.0 update rolling out now And suddenly that tablet is worth buying for someone who doesn't want to throw down $500. I wonder how much they've changed from stock, their Honeycomb port had a few extra little launcher tricks here and there and a custom unlock.
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Feb 13, 2012 03:39
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chocolateTHUNDER posted:Basically I'm asking what tablet I should get for 3-400 bucks. The bigger then better. 10" is as big as they get. A used TF101, maybe a Xoom. You won't get anything worth having for new at that price.
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Feb 13, 2012 03:50
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Another homerun by Asus PR, asking "What do you love the most about Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich?" on their facebook. (They've been bumping back vague release estimates for the original Transformer since like mid-December, and the Prime update has had a number of notable bugs.) I still like my TF101, i just wish they'd quit making big promises. http://www.facebook.com/ASUS/posts/325697007473704
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Feb 13, 2012 03:59
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dissss posted:I think most of the complaints are from people comparing to how well it works on iOS. The best metric is no metric?
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Feb 13, 2012 04:43
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Toady posted:The best metric is no metric? Not sure what you're trying to get at here, my Win7 netbook (an HP Mini 10 from last year) shits the bed on my textbooks while my Nook Tablet is a peppy champ. So, that's a comparison. Since I don't want an iPad, it's pretty personally relevant; I wish I had a tablet with Bluetooth (for a keyboard) so I could stop taking the netbook to class. On the other hand, it's nice to have my textbook on another screen so I don't need to flip back and forth (and without having to keep a fat pdf open, the netbook is fine for notes).
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Feb 13, 2012 04:59
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randyest posted:Thanks! That'd be interesting especially if you can cap it and youtube it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBSoGxTpSos
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Feb 13, 2012 07:12
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Splizwarf posted:Not sure what you're trying to get at here, my Win7 netbook (an HP Mini 10 from last year) shits the bed on my textbooks while my Nook Tablet is a peppy champ. So, that's a comparison. Since I don't want an iPad, it's pretty personally relevant; I wish I had a tablet with Bluetooth (for a keyboard) so I could stop taking the netbook to class. On the other hand, it's nice to have my textbook on another screen so I don't need to flip back and forth (and without having to keep a fat pdf open, the netbook is fine for notes). Why don't you want an iPad? Seems like you want a tablet. Plus you can take notes on it and read textbooks. Also, I think it supports Bluetooth.
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Feb 13, 2012 07:18
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Splizwarf posted:Not sure what you're trying to get at here, my Win7 netbook (an HP Mini 10 from last year) shits the bed on my textbooks while my Nook Tablet is a peppy champ. So, that's a comparison. Since I don't want an iPad, it's pretty personally relevant; I wish I had a tablet with Bluetooth (for a keyboard) so I could stop taking the netbook to class. On the other hand, it's nice to have my textbook on another screen so I don't need to flip back and forth (and without having to keep a fat pdf open, the netbook is fine for notes). What I'm getting at is that intentionally taking something in isolation, or intentionally comparing it to something that's worse, simply to avoid having to compare it to something that's better doesn't make the criticism invalid.
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Feb 13, 2012 07:34
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Toady posted:What I'm getting at is that intentionally taking something in isolation, or intentionally comparing it to something that's worse, simply to avoid having to compare it to something that's better doesn't make the criticism invalid. Just because X is a worse experience than Y doesn't mean X is necessarily a bad experience
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Feb 13, 2012 07:43
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dissss posted:Just because X is a worse experience than Y doesn't mean X is necessarily a bad experience But it does mean Y is a better experience than X.
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Feb 13, 2012 07:58
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I have the original first ever Galaxy Tab (don't laugh  ) and it can barely do anything, even trying to play video leads it to crash half the time and now there's a weird glitch where it doesn't manage battery correctly and drains as if I'm constantly doing stuff even when I'm not using it. I saw this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?s=fe36d31f35e3f4a6d4c207782a32acd3&t=1385153&page=101 But it looks like it increases general usability at the cost of not supporting a bunch of features. Anyway I got this as a gift so I suppose there's always the option of selling it to people who don't know the difference 
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Feb 13, 2012 08:59
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chocolateTHUNDER posted:Basically I'm asking what tablet I should get for 3-400 bucks. The bigger then better. It's hard to say until MWC in 2 weeks time, which is where OEMs will make their move after mostly being burnt by tablets last year. Any company which brings out a new flagship will most likely put their support for any older tablets on a slower schedule/if at all. And there's nothing to say there won't be new 10' releases at that price tag. While you're probably covered with most HC tablets ICS-wise, the only tablet with guaranteed fast track support for the next post-ICS update from Google (I/O is only 4 months away) is the Xoom, so maybe the Wifi Xoom will fit you best. Though make sure you're okay with the weight in a store first, because IIRC that's one of the main reasons people in this topic switched to the Galaxy tab. Still if you can, wait a bit.
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Feb 13, 2012 12:36
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Is the Acer Iconia Tab A500 all that bad? and is the USB port only good for fat32?
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Feb 13, 2012 13:23
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THE AWESOME GHOST posted:I have the original first ever Galaxy Tab (don't laugh Your call, there's always a tradeoff. If you don't want to go that route, do a factory reset and make sure your firmware is up to date.
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Feb 13, 2012 13:47
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My Linux Rig posted:Why don't you want an iPad? Seems like you want a tablet. Plus you can take notes on it and read textbooks. Also, I think it supports Bluetooth. It does, and would probably meet my needs, but I'm not interested in learning to wrangle OSX/iOS. I like my iPod, but only when it's not plugged into a computer. As an example, my wife got a new iPod recently and gave me her old one (a square Nano, nice for exercise). I use MediaMonkey because I don't like the PC version of iTunes and MM works fine with my existing iPod (it's one of the tall ones). Only it turns out that hers is Mac-formatted and can only be read by a PC after being formatted and initialized by a PC copy of iTunes. It's unreadable when plugged into my computer otherwise (even though my computer thinks it's done a good job formatting it). Annoying, and that project's on hold til whenever. If I was single and had bought it off Craigslist or eBay, I'd be crazy pissed because I'd have no idea what the gently caress; it behaves like it's broken. Mac stuff is complicated and counter-intuitive at times; it's probably great in some ways but I'm busy and have a decent understanding of Windows and Android. I flat-out don't have time for another OS (been too busy to even change my oil and plug the hole in my tire lately which is embarrassing). If they had made an iPhone with a decent-sized screen a couple years ago, I wouldn't know jack about Android. v  v
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Feb 13, 2012 14:11
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Splizwarf posted:It does, and would probably meet my needs, but I'm not interested in learning to wrangle OSX/iOS. I like my iPod, but only when it's not plugged into a computer.
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Feb 13, 2012 14:19
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LastInLine posted:iOS5 no longer requires a PC for initial setup or anything really. There are a lot of things I dislike about iOS but complexity and counterintuitiveness aren't two of them. Well, you and I are different.  Look at it this way: I already spend a lot on flowers and the ballet, I don't want a third girlfriend. I mean, I'd like to think I have about the most rational reason for not wanting an iPad that I've seen in this thread so far: probably great but gently caress it, This is also why I don't like whiskey. Acquired taste, you say? But I have liquor in the house that I already like. 
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Feb 13, 2012 14:32
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Splizwarf posted:Well, you and I are different. Best case scenario, it does exactly what you want with no fuss. Worst case you sell your iPad 3 for no loss when you decide it doesn't. Why play Android tablet roulette when there's a no-downside option right there?
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Feb 13, 2012 15:13
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LastInLine posted:Best case scenario, it does exactly what you want with no fuss. Worst case you sell your iPad 3 for no loss when you decide it doesn't. Why play Android tablet roulette when there's a no-downside option right there? I went to the Apple store online, there was only an iPad 2 for sale.
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Feb 13, 2012 15:37
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I don't understand why someone can't just want an Android tablet? Did I miss something?
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Feb 13, 2012 15:42
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fondue posted:Great idea! Where can I buy the iPad 3? While this is true, and buying an iPad 2 right now would also be dumb given the likelihood of a price cut, it's also true that a lot of people currently with tablets will probably be looking to offload theirs and get an iPad 3. Even if you want to stick with Android, it is probably worthwhile to wait a month if you can and get a good deal when a glut of used tablets (both iPads and Android) go for sale.
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Feb 13, 2012 15:47
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Codiusprime posted:I don't understand why someone can't just want an Android tablet? Did I miss something? The thing is, based on what Splizwarf is saying, the ipad would be better for him. He's talking about textbooks/pdfs, and we just had a several page discussion about how Android tablets seem to be a crapshoot in handling pdfs, and the new apple textbook thing is lightyears ahead of anything in the Android ecosystem right now. The reasons he said he wanted to avoid apple aren't really valid. Yes, there are things Android can do better; but none of those are things he seems to care about.
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Feb 13, 2012 15:54
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Crackbone posted:The thing is, based on what Splizwarf is saying, the ipad would be better for him. He's talking about textbooks/pdfs, and we just had a several page discussion about how Android tablets seem to be a crapshoot in handling pdfs, and the new apple textbook thing is lightyears ahead of anything in the Android ecosystem right now. The reasons he said he wanted to avoid apple aren't really valid. Ah, gotcha, that's why I asked if I had missed something. There were posters suggesting the iPad other than the usual YOSPOS idiots. I have to say the ICS Prime seemed the handle them decently. Codiusprime fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Feb 13, 2012 |
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Feb 13, 2012 15:57
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Splizwarf posted:It does, and would probably meet my needs, but I'm not interested in learning to wrangle OSX/iOS. I like my iPod, but only when it's not plugged into a computer. I can tell you right now that things have improved since the iPod days and using an iphone/iPad on a PC is pretty dead simple But not only that, we're talking about Android tablets here. Have you seen how people waste their time on them here? Adding wires to the gps to make it usable, rooting them, flashing them with hacked up roms, disassembling them and adding cardboard to them, etc. If time is seriously a premium for you, or you don't like complicated and counter intuitive gadgets, then I really wouldn't suggest an Android tablet.
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Feb 13, 2012 16:02
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My Linux Rig posted:I can tell you right now that things have improved since the iPod days and using an iphone/iPad on a PC is pretty dead simple I don't think anyone in this thread is actually doing any of the hardware modifications, but "Don't buy a prime" is pretty solid advice.
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Feb 13, 2012 16:07
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Crackbone posted:The thing is, based on what Splizwarf is saying, the ipad would be better for him. He's talking about textbooks/pdfs, and we just had a several page discussion about how Android tablets seem to be a crapshoot in handling pdfs, and the new apple textbook thing is lightyears ahead of anything in the Android ecosystem right now. The reasons he said he wanted to avoid apple aren't really valid. You missed the part where I said my Nook handles my pdfs quite well and makes my computer look lovely. Also, where I chimed in during the several page discussion about how well the Nook handled pdfs. I have no idea how you got "an iPad would be better for him" from what I said, I think you might've been pretty selective in your reading. My Linux Rig posted:Why don't you want an iPad? Seems like you want a tablet. Plus you can take notes on it and read textbooks. Also, I think it supports Bluetooth. I tried to treat this reasonably but it's basically a (maybe unintentional) troll, since it's in response to me saying I have a tablet that I can take notes on and read textbooks, which lacks only Bluetooth to be perfect. Also, this: Crackbone posted:The reasons he said he wanted to avoid apple aren't really valid. is a dick thing to say. My reasons are valid because they're my reasons. Are you seriously trying to tell me my opinion is "false"?  My Linux Rig posted:I can tell you right now that things have improved since the iPod days and using an iphone/iPad on a PC is pretty dead simple Dude, seriously; I already own an Android tablet that I like, and you clearly don't and don't intend to, so what's your stake in this thread? Why are you here?
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Feb 13, 2012 16:14
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Splizwarf posted:Also, this:is a dick thing to say. My reasons are valid because they're my reasons. Are you seriously trying to tell me my opinion is "false"?
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Feb 13, 2012 16:19
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Splizwarf posted:is a dick thing to say. My reasons are valid because they're my reasons. Are you seriously trying to tell me my opinion is "false"? I don't think I'd want an iPad for several reasons but if any of those reasons were technically based and wrong I would hope people would be helpful enough to correct me on them.
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Feb 13, 2012 16:21
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