Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

I am still scratching my head about reports of this customer service culture here in the US, they are as ignorant in Best Buy as they were in Dixons. I have to restrain myself from giving an honest answer in most stores when asked "Can I help you". Telling me clear nonsense about products with a smile, does not constitute good customer support. The smile just pisses me off more.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

Fanboi blinkers would be my guess.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

I actually do not shop at Best Buy, my husband absolutely refuses to spend money there because of an issue he had in the past. That said it is the only place locally that have all the major player tablets side by side so that you can look/play with them.
while we were looking the sales guy was talking to use I mentioned the 4 I was interested in (Ipad, Sony, Galaxy and the Transformer) it was nteresting to me that the only one he advised against was the Transformer.
In response to your post I would not buy anything based on any sales persons opinion, I seek many reviews and opinions, that is the whole purpose of this thread :) If I spend more than a few $ on anything you can bet that I have reseached and compared it online etc.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

Several reviews and comments on a couple of forums.

The build quality is acceptable as in they aren't falling apart etc, but neither do they impart a sense of being solid enough...

The GPS issue has apparently been slow in getting fixed.

I only discovered these issues by accident - i didn't go looking for issues, just reviews as based on some comments about it on this thread and a look at Asus's web site, I was seriously thinking about getting one.

I wouldn't buy one now until I'd seen it for real, played with it a little etc.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

Possibly...

Seriously - it's very possible, and I'm aware of my current 'bias' towards Apple etc... So threads like this, with diverse views including yours help me revisit my current position. It doesn't require me to change my view... This time around I got greater clarity on what I care and care less about... And I really want to find a good enough reason to buy a Transformer... logic alone isn't going to do it I think...

http://b4tea.com/wp-content/uploads/...s_hologram.jpg

Help my Obi Wan - you're my only hope!!!

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

a) If they are low on build quality, then so are the iDevices .... transformer is just as good to the objective user.

b) No .... really .... WHAT issue with the GPS?

Mine gets my location to within 10 feet of where I am .... and that's with the tablet inside the house without clear line of sight to the sky.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

a) I usually don't either, but if the price is the same as online and I want it now, plus their returns policy is excellent, plus I get 3% back on Amex, plus I get 2% back on a third party rewards scheme, plus 2% back on BestBuy my rewards thingamajig ......

b) So go ... look ... play. Then buy online and pay no sales tax.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

How about the fact that you can boot anything on it......with the blessing of the manufacturer. Yep, go to the manufacturer's web site and you can root it with their blessing using a downloadable app.

Update to Jelly Bean beta if you want. Or dual boot Ubuntu if you want or completely replace Android with Ubuntu. And yummy KDE plasma is equally at home on a tablet as it is on a desktop. You want a connection to a Samba network, no problem. Or connect to a ZFS server array, also no problem.

It's your hardware, you get to chose what you do with it. Compare with Apple.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

Yup - you're absolutely right on that one.

For all the things you list there, I have no doubt that you are right, and I don't disagree.

For me, I am not interested in those things. Neither, so it would seem, are the 15+ million people who buy an iPad each quarter. That's about 15 times more than the sales of all other tablets... We might all be idiots, but by and large it seems we're satisfied idiots!

For those that are, they'll soon decide what they want and go make it happen.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

I'm glad your GPS works so well - that is truly excellent performance, seriously.

Both of my MacBooks have performed flawlessly when quite a few others had issues with theirs - mine have always been excellent.

Ref the GPS issue, here's what I refer to - I did a simple google search and only looked at the first page of results.

In responding to you I realise now that I wasn't specific enough in my reference to the Transformer - it seems that the original one is fine, but the new one, the 'Transformer Prime', the one I was drooling over for a while, is the one with the issues...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5285/a...ssue-explained
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/23/asu...mer-prime-gps/
http://www.slashgear.com/asus-transf...date-19209856/
http://androidcommunity.com/asus-tra...ssue-20120104/
http://androidandme.com/2012/01/devi...ive-in-the-uk/

It seems if GPS is not a big deal for you, then the new Transformer Prime will be a nice machine.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

I am waiting for Sams Club to get it in, it is a few $ cheaper plus I get 5% back on my visa credit card.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

The GPS issues are quite well known for at least one particular flavor of the Transformer. They used an all-aluminum back cover and it interferes with the GPS signal. They've fessed up to it and modified the design on more recent models. This article gives a pretty decent explanation of the issue, and gives some insight into the challenges of the design.

Please note, as an aside - the Galaxy 'WiFi only' version comes with GPS, while the iPad 'WiFi only' version does not come with GPS.

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

I have serious issues with Walmart. I cannot find serious issues with Apple that are not common to all electronic gadget manufacturers. Every Apple employee I've ever met is extremely happy to work for the company - and I know a lot, both teenagers in stores and people working at Cupertino HQ. The stuff about 'closed' systems is a pure business strategy and has no place in a serious discussion about ethics; as I mentioned before, they took the same approach with their laptops and it was NOT a good move for them. You don't like the fact they are sitting on a pile of cash? What would you seriously suggest? Your dislike of Apple and your love of linux is seriously affecting your objectivity in this discussion ...

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

I'm a techie geek with 30 years in the industry and the LAST thing I want to spend my time doing is ANY of the things you list above! These tablets - both iPad and Android tablets - are APPLICATION appliances, not OS platforms. You can download thousands of apps for both of them, and that's what they are intended for. There just happens to be more Apps available for the iPad at the moment, and they tend to be a bit more stable. I'd like to bet the number of people with an Android who are 'dual booting Ubuntu' is less than 1% ...

P.S. I'm loving my Galaxy more and more ...

Re: Need your help... Lets pretend.
 

Apple is unacceptable to me for the reasons I've already listed. But I take on and agree with your point they don't appear to mistreat their US store employees. That's 99 reasons against and 1 for in my book.

I love the FOSS model. Linux happens--for the most part--to follow the FOSS model. iOS is the antithesis of FOSS.