Ipads and competitors. Any experience?

We got the grandparents an IPad recently, it was my first time using one. I want one. I'm now considering getting one, but just saw a commercial for a Blackberry version of it. Does anybody have any experience with any of the competitors? Acer? Motorola? Etc.? Are any of them close to what the Ipad is?

from what I understand... the Droid powered stuff should worry Apple.. not that I have played with ANY pad.

My wife has an iPad and despite my initial doubts, it's been a very useful and entertaining device. It seems many of the newcomers are trying to undercut the price, but I'm not sure they're going to succeed in making nearly as polished a product as the iPad. Most of the reviews of competing products that I've read have been lukewarm at best.

While I don't have any first hand experience with the 'pads', I do have a droid phone. And from some cursery reading, getting the newest version of the Android OS typically means faster/better hardware specs. (ie 2.1<2.2<3.0).

I've been reading up on the Asus Transformer lately. Seems to suffer from some software issues (that you probably wouldn't notice if you never used an iPad, and which will most likely be ironed out as the software updates), but has some major ticks in its Pros column, not the least of which is USB and SD card slots and, most notably, a keyboard dock that basically turns it into a netbook while increasing its battery life. I'm intrigued.

No firsthand experience with the Crackberry tablet but reviews from sources I trust suggest that you might want to avoid that particular tablet.

The Xoom seems to be getting rather good reviews but the issue still seems to be that there are few real table apps for Android - most still seem to be phone apps that are marked to be tablet-compatible but don't make use of the additional screen real estate. This is obviously going to improve but right now, the iPad has the advantage when it comes to tablet apps.

I've been toying with the idea of getting a tablet especially because I think tablet programming is something that I will have to look at sooner or later, but decided that at the moment I figured I'd rather throw more money at my desktop instead. As a user, I don't do that much that would benefit from a tablet, the main feature would be "instant-on" like the iPhone and Android phones I have but I can get that part by flipping open my MacBook (which tends to be sent to sleep rather than shut down and wakes up a lot faster than out Windows laptops).

Both the iPad 2 and the Xoom are contenders at the moment IMHO and I don't think either would be a bad choice. I'd skip most of the cheaper tablets, especially the ones that aren't running Android 3.x.

ipad2 does support video chat. bluetooth keyboards are supported. and there's that keyboard dock thing. horses for courses.

The thing that is pretty funny, is that it is entirely within Apples means to make the iPad an almost no-brainer, they just won't do it. Add flash and some external expansion capability, there would be almost no reason (except for the very cost conscious) to go another way.

The Flash thing really is stupid. I understand it can be fat and HTML 5 is a much better option in a lot of ways, but come on, Flash is everywhere and the HTML 5 standard is not even fully set and certainly is not fully supported (yes Microsoft we are talking to you).

From what I have read, most manufacturers are backing off from pads and simply letting Apple have the market since they dominate it so thoroughly already. 2012 and the introduction of Windows 8 is supposed to be the first real competition. LOL! Waiting for a Windows release to finally be "the good one" is like waiting for the mid-engine Corvette. Good luck.

I am an iPad 2 user, and I can connect my camera and HDTV and flash drives and all that. It just requires expensive adapters. Not having Flash means limited access to online Porn, but that's about it. I love the iPad, but I am a Mac/iTunes/iPhone/Apple TV user so I want everything to work, sync, talk, connect, etc.

I have no Android experience, but you can see by the enthusiasm in previous posts that it has its fans, so it must work well. Personal preference, so check them all out.

Wait a bit for the first tablets designed around Honeycomb. That's where my money is going (sorry Xoom).

aircooled wrote: The Flash thing really is stupid. I understand it can be fat and HTML 5 is a much better option in a lot of ways, but come on, Flash is everywhere and the HTML 5 standard is not even fully set and certainly is not fully supported (yes Microsoft we are talking to you).

flash's biggest problem is adobe. my understanding is flash is heavily optimized for windows on intel. for mobile devices, there is a big hit on performance and battery life. when windows 8 is released on arm only (according to MS), flash will be a problem as well. adobe better have a rewrite in the works.

Lets see it does everything the I Pad does and will run FLASH! I don't have to use the I Store ever. Oh yeah it plays Flash. I can plug usb stuff into mine. Like printers and hard drives and my camera cable. my USB dongle for my OBDII Scanner app. I can open more then One App at a time. can you video chat on the new I Pad? I know I can my Xoom. and all my sound is in Stereo. I don't have to use I Tunes to sync everything. and I don't have to buy adapters to use simple stuff like usb etc.

Can your Xoom do this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcxNAySG69o&feature=player_embedded

I don't understand the point.

racinginc215 wrote: Yes it can and it does as does my android powered phone. But the Android app is free.

Ooh, I didn't realize Trackmaster could record video and handle all the overlay stuff yet. I thought it just logged data off the accelerometers/gps. Sweet.

racinginc215 wrote: Yes it can and it does as does my android powered phone. But the Android app is free. and with the Ipad's max 512 Ram and the Xoom's 1024Ram it runs faster too. Apple has engineered to the lowest common denominator. and the marketed the hell out if it as it's the only one of it's kind. and the sheep mentality has followed along. It's like Budweiser is the king of beers unless you talk to a beer guy and Budwieser is brilliant marketing and not really a decent beer at all. Android gets knocked because you have to know how to read to get really decent using it where Apple is just plug and play pay your money and get the apps WE want you to have. and don't bother with anything else. When Apple unlocks it's bootloader like HTC and Motorola have. I'm not a fan of proprietary connectors if I forget a cable somewhere I want to know it can be had NOW if I need it NOW.

Such anger towards the apples!

Joey

racinginc215 wrote: It overlays and records now. there is a back door into the market that makes all apps free. there some free code out there you can load into trackmaster and then walk your autox course and build your overlay for the cones.

Well if we're talking about back doors resulting in "free" apps, then anything on iOS is free, too, on a jailbroken phone/ipad1. :)

I love that these little boxes of sensors and radio transmitters are replacing dedicated hardware that used to cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.

racinginc215 wrote: there is a back door into the market that makes all apps free.

So unless I am misreading this, you're saying the apps are "free" because they are easy to steal?

Nice.

If that's not what you were saying, ignore the comment.

I am interested in the iPad for demonstrating video systems. My son uses it for sales and has an outrageous close ratio. My one requirement is to not be tied to a provider. I can get wi-fi just about every where I need it. Are any of the others available as wi-fi only?

Don't understand.

I'm still enjoying my iPad: easy to use for couch surfing, fast enough for my needs, long battery life.

Just to make sure you know, the Blackberry Playbook requires your Blackberry to be nearby. It is not independant.

My biggest beef with apple is the proprietary method to how they do things. Here are Harrah's Atlantic City, Management is gaga over iPods and iPads. We are using them all over for inhouse music in the stores and restaurants. The problem is.. they are too cheap to buy all the proper connectors.

This led us to shaving the apple charging jacks and the universal 1/8" Minijacks down so they could live side by side. Stuff like that is just stupid

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm going to wait until around Christmas and see what Android stuff is out there. If it is as good as an iPad, then maybe I'll go that route.

Or maybe I'll buy new tires instead

Oh, and I suppose that I should mention that it would mostly be used for internet on the couch. I doubt that I would miss much Flash programs (although it would definitely be nice).

I didn't know that the Blackberry is useless on its own. Good to know.

It's quite difficult for me to explain why Apple products are just... a joy to use. Every little bit; the materials they are made out of, the tactile feedback; everything just feels fine-tuned. Modern Apple products aren't about having a million connectors or having amazing specifications, but they still seem to work much more reliably than products from other manufacturers.