Need your help... Lets pretend.
Mar 27th 2012, 3:08 am
#31
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,847
Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
Are you referring to their labor practices (cheap manual labor in China), or their desire to maintain a 'closed' technology system? I would agree that the former is an ethical problem, but the latter is simply a business decision. I cannot deny that the Apple presents a more refined, smoother experience and I believe this is a direct result of their 'closed' approach. But they did that with their laptops (Macs) and have sat solidly in last place in terms of market share, so they are not benefiting much from that strategy there. Now, with the 'tablets', they are enjoying the benefits but - I suspect it won't last and they'll end up back at the bottom due to having a closed system.
Apparently when 'many people' by an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad they later add a MacBook or Mini/iMac to their 'collection', and vice versa...
There may be little for the OP to gain from the 'apple fan vs apple hater' argument that could develop here, so...
* Get very clear about what you want to do with what ever you buy...
* Get clear about what your budget is - not just on the device, but any apps you may need to buy on top...
* Go and have a play.
* THEN buy what YOU want. Apple or 'Not Apple' makes no odds to anybody on this thread except you, in the end.
Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for.
To the other contributors, I've found this thread useful in lifting my head out from the Apple fog to consider other alternatives... 'She who must be obeyed' is likely to go down the non-Apple route, and for good reasons. My next toy (v low cost) is a linux 'box'. Thank you all.
Mar 28th 2012, 6:06 pm
#32
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Manhattan
Posts: 2,913
Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
We have a Motorola Zoom tablet. It's really great!
Mar 28th 2012, 6:23 pm
#33
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Joined: Feb 2008
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Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
I had a Xoom, took it back and changed it for the Transformer. The case for the Xoom covers up the MicroSD card slot and the slot itself is covered by a plastic piece that you have to take out every time. This means that you have to take the Xoom out of it's case then open the cover to put the card in - a ludicrous design oversight.
I guess if you don't need to use SD cards then it doesn't matter. But that was a dealbreaker for me. The Transformer's slot is easily accessible, even in the case I bought for it.
I guess if you don't need to use SD cards then it doesn't matter. But that was a dealbreaker for me. The Transformer's slot is easily accessible, even in the case I bought for it.
Mar 28th 2012, 6:24 pm
#34
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Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
I would never buy a tablet without an SD card slot. Memory is a big deal for something that plays videos, being able to upgrade so easily is very nice. My phone came with 2GB of memory which I used I quickly so I went to 4GB, which ran out, now I have 32GB and I am comfortable. Plenty of space for my music, videos, and even mapping apps. iPads do not come with card slots, although you can buy an outrageously priced adapter for SD cards, but that is pretty awkward to use all the time.
Unusually for Apple, iPads are priced pretty aggressively compared to other tablets, while everything else isn't.
Unusually for Apple, iPads are priced pretty aggressively compared to other tablets, while everything else isn't.
Mar 28th 2012, 6:25 pm
#35
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Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
Haven't seen Skype on an iPad. I have used it on the Transformer a few times, the quality is as good as it gets with Skype on a wireless device, I have no complaints.
Mar 28th 2012, 6:31 pm
#36
Septicity
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 23,762
Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
I would never buy a tablet without an SD card slot. Memory is a big deal for something that plays videos, being able to upgrade so easily is very nice. My phone came with 2GB of memory which I used I quickly so I went to 4GB, which ran out, now I have 32GB and I am comfortable. .
Mar 28th 2012, 6:42 pm
#37
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Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Manhattan
Posts: 2,913
Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
True. My husband has loads of stuff stored on his Amazon Cloud which he can access from the tablet
Mar 28th 2012, 7:22 pm
#38
So I am where?
Joined: Oct 2009
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 485
Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
I have a Thrive, wife has an Ipad.
Currently going to college as well as working full time, several college related activities do not work on the ipad.
I bought the Thrive for several reasons, I have an additional 32 GB of storage thanks to the SD slot. I can use a flash drive with no problems.
I can even connect it to a network, when travelling some hotels still do not offer wi-fi.
Also all the websites I go to work, none of this flash issue.
Currently going to college as well as working full time, several college related activities do not work on the ipad.
I bought the Thrive for several reasons, I have an additional 32 GB of storage thanks to the SD slot. I can use a flash drive with no problems.
I can even connect it to a network, when travelling some hotels still do not offer wi-fi.
Also all the websites I go to work, none of this flash issue.
Mar 28th 2012, 8:31 pm
#39
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Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
I use Skype several times a week on my iPad when talking with home in UK - works very well - surprisingly so, no matter what orientation I put the iPad in.
Mar 28th 2012, 8:44 pm
#40
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Location: WA state
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Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
Gets pretty tough to do that for aeroplane journeys and camping in the woods though! I obviously don't store all of my media on 32GB, the music alone on my media centre is 60GB, but it gets me by so I don't have to swap stuff out very often. Plus I could always carry a few more cards tailored to specific uses such as geocaching (hi-res topography maps take up quite a bit of space, although obviously you should carry a paper copy too).
Mar 29th 2012, 6:41 pm
#41
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Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
Thanks for info, I really appreaciate it.
Mar 30th 2012, 3:34 am
#42
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
I only ask because the front facing camera is shit...when we were chatting to the folks, the camera was junk. It's not the wifi, because when they turned it around to use the rear facing camera, it was beautiful and their old mac laptop was great too, but the iPad3 front facing camera was utter junk, looked terrible, really blurry, pixels all over the place and jarry stuff.
If you know of a way to fix it, that would be fab!
Mar 30th 2012, 6:22 am
#43
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,111
Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
Over and above all the wonderful technical advice you've been given. Here's my experience with my ipad.
I bought it a few months ago intending for the ipad NOT to replace my macbookpro, but to use the ipad only for travelling to keep in touch with family etc.
I dont know if you have used a tablet before, but I found the keyboard on the screen and having to change from the alphabet keyboard to the numeric one a bloody pain. The keyboard takes up at least 1/4 of the screen at the bottom. I finally found a keyboard that also works as a cover for somewhat protection of the ipad but it was difficult to use. I finally bought an wireless keyboard which had issues with the ipad. As well, I had to buy a stand for it to keep it secure. I must have gone through three or four different stand and couldnt find one that I was satisified with. I took the ipad in the car, ferry and train to see if it would be stable without a firm support and found it annoying and unsuccessful.
Bottom line - Im giving my ipad to my sister and bought a macbookair. Granted it is a little heavier than the ipad, but is much easier to use and I love having a proper keyboard.
This is just my experience with the ipad. I hope you will be very happy with whatever your choose.
Cheers.
I bought it a few months ago intending for the ipad NOT to replace my macbookpro, but to use the ipad only for travelling to keep in touch with family etc.
I dont know if you have used a tablet before, but I found the keyboard on the screen and having to change from the alphabet keyboard to the numeric one a bloody pain. The keyboard takes up at least 1/4 of the screen at the bottom. I finally found a keyboard that also works as a cover for somewhat protection of the ipad but it was difficult to use. I finally bought an wireless keyboard which had issues with the ipad. As well, I had to buy a stand for it to keep it secure. I must have gone through three or four different stand and couldnt find one that I was satisified with. I took the ipad in the car, ferry and train to see if it would be stable without a firm support and found it annoying and unsuccessful.
Bottom line - Im giving my ipad to my sister and bought a macbookair. Granted it is a little heavier than the ipad, but is much easier to use and I love having a proper keyboard.
This is just my experience with the ipad. I hope you will be very happy with whatever your choose.
Cheers.
Tablets do have one BIG plus (iPad and Android) - the ability to 'scale' any screen (the 'pinch' feature) - I really love this ability.
And today, for the first time, I used the 'Navigation' feature on the Galaxy (Android) while on a business trip in a strange location. The quality of the GPS / guidance feature was truly awesome, and infinitely superior to what you get on the iPad (google maps) - in a different league. Ironic, really, since the navigation feature of android tablets is from google, as is 'google maps' on the mac.
Mar 30th 2012, 6:25 am
#44
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,111
Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
Edit to say ... 'Do you travel much?' ... I'm on the road and I'm in a hotel with shitty wireless connectivity. I have both an iPhone with 'tethering' enabled, and a 4G Verizon LTE hotspot, but - both have a monthly limit on bandwidth and I'm not really interested in explaining to my company why we got an overage charge on my usage due to me streaming media over the network. Local storage is a practical solution for mainstream users.
Last edited by Steerpike; Mar 30th 2012 at 6:36 am.
Mar 30th 2012, 6:48 am
#45
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Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
I believe this is a very important point; the tablet is only good as a VIEWING device. Any page requiring 'input' becomes a big frustration. I still have an old 'netbook' that I use over the tablet for anything that needs text input. The tablet and its 'soft' keyboard is great for google searches, url entries, etc, but anything more substantial in terms of input requires a real keyboard. Further - the need to 'stand' the tablet at an angle for viewing / etc is not a trivial issue, something a netbook takes care of naturally.
Tablets do have one BIG plus (iPad and Android) - the ability to 'scale' any screen (the 'pinch' feature) - I really love this ability.
And today, for the first time, I used the 'Navigation' feature on the Galaxy (Android) while on a business trip in a strange location. The quality of the GPS / guidance feature was truly awesome, and infinitely superior to what you get on the iPad (google maps) - in a different league. Ironic, really, since the navigation feature of android tablets is from google, as is 'google maps' on the mac.
Tablets do have one BIG plus (iPad and Android) - the ability to 'scale' any screen (the 'pinch' feature) - I really love this ability.
And today, for the first time, I used the 'Navigation' feature on the Galaxy (Android) while on a business trip in a strange location. The quality of the GPS / guidance feature was truly awesome, and infinitely superior to what you get on the iPad (google maps) - in a different league. Ironic, really, since the navigation feature of android tablets is from google, as is 'google maps' on the mac.