iPad alternative

I wondered about the battery thing just tonight. It seems to suck quite a lot of juice on stand by.
OK. That's a bummer. DOn't know if that's an issue with other tablets, but I've only heard this complaint wrt the Sony Tablet.

Reading pdfs is great. I bought it mainly for that. The man I bought it from also has an iPad 1. He says the Sony is a bit faster and a bit crisper when reading comics as pdf.
That's great news. Reading pdfs would be my main use (really main use, like 95% of use) for the tablet. Did you have to install Acrobat Reader or was it preinstalled? In other words, was it capable of opening pdfs right out of the box or not? Also, how easy/hassle free was it to transfer files (pdfs) from a PC to the tablet (I've got the mini-USB cable, so that's not a problem)?

I like the shape of the tablet, which is one of the main points I got interested in it, it gives a better grip from the thicker side (like a folded newspaper or something). This is great for reading when on the move, like on a bus.

I don't need the remote control, but I've been told that it rocks. So if you have other Sony devices, that's a very nice gimmick
Yeah, nice gimmick,but I'm not convinced it's very practical to have the tablet as a remote controller. Anyhow, got a Sony TV, DVD player and PS3/BluRay player so this tempts me some anyway.
An update for the newer, faster Android OS has not yet been made available. But that's okay because it's still WIP.
Ah, I've read about this. I though it would've been released already, but if it is still WIP, then no worries.

Thanks for your opinions, greatly appreciated!
 
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
564
Location
I come from the land of ice and snow
That's great news. Reading pdfs would be my main use (really main use, like 95% of use) for the tablet. Did you have to install Acrobat Reader or was it preinstalled? In other words, was it capable of opening pdfs right out of the box or not? Also, how easy/hassle free was it to transfer files (pdfs) from a PC to the tablet (I've got the mini-USB cable, so that's not a problem)?
I don't know if the reader was pre-installed. Seems like an officiall Adobe thing. I guess I'll replace it soon for something more powerful which can also read djvu and that comic standard (basically jpgs inside a rar with a different ending).

File transfer is both simple and unnecessary. Everybody has a card reader. Sort all the crap directly on your PC on the SDHC card. Then consume the files from the card. No transfer at all. ;)
The file transfer app is okay. Two windowses, one source, one target. Not much to explain. Can't tell how it works for 1000 files though.
It should be possible to plug USB sticks in too, with a small adaptor cable for 1.5 EUR.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
7,830
D'Artagnan - I fully support and understand your choice about Apple, we've been through that before. Having done beta testing on both platforms, getting stuff for Android running is no different for beta or release whereas on iOS it is a bit of a hassle. Though easier than doing ANYTHING on the older PDA platforms, to put it into perspective.

But the 'iPad price' thing has been thoroughly debunked before ... not even worth discussing, but suffice to say that any *real* competition (Xoom, Galaxy Tab, etc) has launched at a HIGHER price than iPad. The fact that you can buy a Tab or Xoom for cheap within a few months is due to the fact that no one is buying them.

And as for the 'what other apps do you need' challenge ... that is SO not the point. There is no debate that Apple is controlling and at times Draconian ... and that it is all about Apple. One good thing is that unlike Google, they are consistent and fully committed to their platform, so no random nonsense.

If you are really concerned about malware and also love to randomly download stuff (either to test emulators or circumvent paying $1 for a Doodle Jump clone), be very careful with Android. That said, I've had 9 Android phones (including review units and 4 I've bought) over the last 3+ years of use and never had an issue.

In terms of tablets, aside from iPad 2 (my kids use the iPad 1 as a music studio that is better than most bands had access to in the 80's!), I have had 4 - 7" Android tablets, 1 - 10" and currently still have the HTC Flyer (subsidized carrier data plan so I can't bring myself to dump it) and Kindle Fire. Both 7".

For MOST of what people are using these things for, either platform will work. More Android devices are getting ICS, which will allow you Chrome browser, which simply rocks. Both have solid MS Office solutions, note takers, web browsers, email, time-waster games, music players, video players, video & camera capability with basic editing.

It is when you move beyond 'usual' that you get differences.

As noted, if your goal is to tinker - Android is the choice 10 times out of 10. Jailbreak doesn't come close.

If you want to move beyond 'time wasters' for games, iPad is second only to PC in my book.

For a musician looking to put together a mobile solution, the iPad is so far ahead of Android it is staggering. It isn't even a discussion, since the problems with Android and music production are system level and Google shows no interest in dealing with them. I wrote an editorial about this.

I would estimate that I use my iPad at least as much as my Mac and PC, and at least 4 hours a day. This reply? From my iPad with bluetooth keyboard.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,932
Thanks txa - that was very useful.

The reason I mentioned price, is simply that iPads are too expensive for me - for the benefit they'll give me. If it turns out alternatives are even more expensive, then I'll just have to pass altogether.

The reason I don't want to support Apple has nothing to do with my opinion of their products. I think their latest products (since the iPhone came around) have been very, very impressive in several ways. That Jobs guy certainly did something with his stuff - no doubt. That said, they're still the same KIND of product they always made - which is more about being accessible and userfriendly - than it's about granting control to the consumer.

But I absolutely despise the concept of not being in control of what I pay for - and whether I "stick it to the man" or I "miss out" is of zero importance - because I'm far, FAR more concerned with doing what I consider to be the right thing to do. I guess I'm an odd consumer in that way, but that's me.

I just can't support that kind of corporate control - given my overall stance on capitalism and the sickness of modern society. But that's another story - and yes, we've already been through it.

I really do think some kind of Tablet could be a (moderately) useful addition to my everyday life - but it needs to be the right choice at the right time. I was just curious, really.

Seems there are some interesting alternatives, but I'd rather wait for a bit. I'm still very hung up about battery life - for instance.
 
As noted, if your goal is to tinker - Android is the choice 10 times out of 10. Jailbreak doesn't come close.

The 'what other apps do you need' thing is not really so much a challenge when you are trying to figure out what device is best for you, it's a genuine literal question meant to ensure correct guidance. If you have an idea of what you want to do, finding the right device for you would be easier - if you don't know what you want (understandable with new technologies) you can probably find it among the thousands of available choices. I understand about Apple's control but that only becomes an issue, and you need to start looking at unofficial sources, when the official ones can't satisfy you. As such jailbreak is not about tinkering - or at least that's not why I mentioned it - it's about getting unofficial apps if you want to.



Frankly DArtagnan, I might have misunderstood but I don't think you're all that much keen on getting a tablet: It seems odd to me to request unofficial solutions before you even consider the official ones (unless you just want to be a rebel, in which case voiding your warranty is a risk you should take to show your devotion to your cause ;)). Plus asking about emulators before anything else. I understand that an emulator on a tablet is an appealing idea but considering buying a brand new piece of technology with the intention of having it offer you the experience of an older technology without first considering what new there is on offer is not really a sign that you are really interested in it. In the end of the day a pc will always be a better pc than any tablet, and a tablet will be a better tablet than any pc.
 
Joined
Sep 18, 2009
Messages
693
As I said, I was just curious.

It's perfectly alright if you don't personally understand my position - but you're trying to make it sound like my position isn't my position - or that I'm making it up for kicks.

To me, it's incredibly simple - really. A tablet has several SUPREMELY obvious practical advantages - regardless of whether you're travelling or not. I'd love to have one to read on, for instance. Something that I haven't been able to do on smartphones or my laptop. It's not comfortable. I love to explore other games on other platforms - but it's not because I actually want to play them - but because I'm interested in all manner of game design and I'd like to consider the platform for the game I'm making myself.

But it's not a big deal and it's not particularly "desirable". I'm just checking my options - and sometimes the easiest way is to just ask the opinion of people who might have just the thing.

I find it a very odd reaction that you feel the need to "guage" why I'm doing it and question my motives.

I don't mean to be harsh, but it's not really what I'm looking for - and I have no interest in being "greenlit" by you for my question. Just ignore the thread if it bothers you?
 
I find it a very odd reaction that you feel the need to "guage" why I'm doing it and question my motives.

I don't mean to be harsh, but it's not really what I'm looking for - and I have no interest in being "greenlit" by you for my question. Just ignore the thread if it bothers you?

You see I actually want to help - in order to offer the best possible suggestions I thought it would be useful to know what you want and how you think, so that we could possibly work out a solution that would suit you best instead of advertising what suits me, or simply offering general views without taking what you want into account which would be less useful than what you could have found in a technology website. You being a dick to me like that doesn't really bother me so much and it makes me feel like a lot more like trolling you than ignoring you. ;)
 
Joined
Sep 18, 2009
Messages
693
I'm sorry, but that's not very convincing :)

But thanks for your insightful "helping".
 
Oh - and before I forget, thanks to everyone else who offered their input!
 
For those reading on an Android, I have found pdf's to just be a pain. What I do is use a program on my pc called Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) to convert the pdf to an epub file. Then I use Aldiko (free on Android Market) to read. The epub resizes itself to any screen size nicely. No resizing needed anymore.

Now I haven't looked at new options in probably 2 years so they may have fixed having to zoom and move a pdf file by now on smallish screens.
 
For those reading on an Android, I have found pdf's to just be a pain. What I do is use a program on my pc called Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) to convert the pdf to an epub file. Then I use Aldiko (free on Android Market) to read. The epub resizes itself to any screen size nicely. No resizing needed anymore.

Now I haven't looked at new options in probably 2 years so they may have fixed having to zoom and move a pdf file by now on smallish screens.

Calibre is great in general. As someone using a PDA since the HP200LX, I have bought ebooks on loads of platforms that no longer exist. So I use Calibre to convert everything so I can read it on my iPad, Nook or Kindle Fire ...
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,932
Back
Top Bottom