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[Epic Drop]

i was in a best buy a few days ago looking for an android tablet. I tried them all out and was severely dissapointed in the sony tablet. It felt like a cheap hollow piece of plastic, and the foldover design just doesnt work in landscape mode. I ended up getting a galaxy tab 10.1 and absolutely love it. It is thin, light, and perfect for browsing and watching videos.

It sucks that you had a bad experience with an android tablet, but dont write off android because of it. I tried using a friends ipad, and after using my android tablet, the ios just felt stale and dead. Sure its easy to use, but thats because you cant DO anythimg with it. I love my customizations and widgets and navigating android is easy after you play around with it for a bit.

Also, the xperia play is a great phone... Absolutely love mine!

 

[Raistlin]

What's so bad about this build of Honeycomb?

While a few things have been cleaned up, it's still hardly stable.

One of the big reasons I bought a tablet was for portable surfing - and Android ain't up to it. The browser is pure hot garbage. It is one of the most crash-happy pieces of SW I've had the displeasure of regularly using. Which is sad, since it's not all that slow, and has a good featureset.

Honeycomb started and continues to be half-baked. Hopefully ICS makes strides in this direction ... but even if it does, it doesn't change how shit the tablet app library is.

He's just talking shit!

not at all

 

[ty_hot]

They just dropped the 16GB to 399 and 32GB 499.

 

[NomarTyme]

here's the nokia concept

Want.

 

[Al-ibn Kermit]

While a few things have been cleaned up, it's still hardly stable.

One of the big reasons I bought a tablet was for portable surfing - and Android ain't up to it. The browser is pure hot garbage. It is one of the most crash-happy pieces of SW I've had the displeasure of regularly using. Which is sad, since it's not all that slow, and has a good featureset.

What device/version of Android were you using when it crashed? I have a Galaxy S2 with stock touchwiz that I use for 90% of my web browsing and I've never had the phone crash on me. Even when using the third party Dolphin browser, I've had least a dozen tabs open at once and didn't have it ever crash.

From what I recall, iOS doesn't even have text wrapping so that makes reading text a huge issue on most websites (read: deal breaker). This might not be as big a problem for iPad though due to the large screen.

 

[Windu]

the ipad is the only tablet on the market imo. I haven't seen one that really warrants a purchase yet. I think 2012 will change that but so far, meh.

 

[Marty Chinn]

What device/version of Android were you using when it crashed? I have a Galaxy S2 with stock touchwiz that I use for 90% of my web browsing and I've never had the phone crash on me. Even when using the third party Dolphin browser, I've had least a dozen tabs open at once and didn't have it ever crash.

From what I recall, iOS doesn't even have text wrapping so that makes reading text a huge issue on most websites (read: deal breaker). This might not be as big a problem for iPad though due to the large screen.

I'm using an Asus Transformer and while I won't say it's unusable, I do think it crashes more than I would like. To be fair Safari on iOS crashes fairly frequently too. The difference on iOS is it recovers infinitely better than Android does. When Safari crashes, you just launch it again and it will be where you left off. With Android, you start from scratch and that's the annoying part.

 

[MontTrain]

Every Android tablet I've tried has been a slow and cluttered mess compared to the iPad.

I had my IPad 2 and a galaxy tab 8.9 in here at work with a colleague and running the same games the Tab is half the frame rate with less particle effects and color saturation.

Even just doing basic things like browsing, sending emails, flicking between apps it's lag central in comparison. Even he was shocked as the specs are supposed to be close.

Worst thing is he paid the same price as iPad. Why bother for a sub par experience just to stick it to the "Apple man" I don't get

 

[Phat Michael]

TLDR: Sony Tablet is shit, Android is shit, sales people lie like fuck. Don't buy the Sony Tablet.

Well im not going to argue about the sony tablet as ive never used one, but Android being shit? are you kidding me?

Look its not perfect, nothing is - but i have a Galaxy Tablet 10.1 running Honeycomb and a Galaxy SII running Gingerbread and they are both awesome. I much prefer android to Apple's O/S.

Things will only get better once ICS is rolled out as well so its something to look forward to.

 

[mclaren777]

My tablet is the best tablet for the money.


(sent from TouchPad)

 

[Cipherr]

Yeah, but Windows 8 is a real operating system that could offer the power of a real PC with a very smooth touch interface. Android sucks on tabs thus far and iOS is a bit limited.

We'll see, though, but it could actually work for MS this time.

I'm not personally convinced. Not having a great OS hasn't been MS problem in the mobile space when going up again iOS and Android. Thats NEVER been the problem. The problem has been mind/marketshare and being so damn late to the party, that noones around to care.

If all it took was a fantastic OS, things would look differently right now, I think everyone would agree.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

From what I have experienced, Android is really poor. I don't know why anyone wouldn't just get an ipad 2.

 

[Oozer3993]

From what I have experienced, Android is really poor. I don't know why anyone wouldn't just get an ipad 2.

Upon unlocking my Xoom, I am immediately shown a slick graphical representation of the weather at my current location, not just temperature, but also conditions. If I swipe left, I can see my Twitter timeline, and if I swipe right, my Gmail inbox. At no point during any of this have I gone into an app. That's just one of the reasons I went with Android.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I'm not personally convinced. Not having a great OS hasn't been MS problem in the mobile space when going up again iOS and Android. Thats NEVER been the problem. The problem has been mind/marketshare and being so damn late to the party, that noones around to care.

If all it took was a fantastic OS, things would look differently right now, I think everyone would agree.

It's not just having a good OS, but doing something the others aren't as well that is compelling. This walled off isolated experience is a dead end IMO. Having all your data and apps available regardless of what you're doing is the future. MS is potentially merging the desktop and tablet in a way that each has their own experience, but at all times you have access to everything. That right there is a huge leap over the competition if MS plays their cards right. Give me Windows 8 wrapped up in an Asus Transformer form factor and that right there will be my next computer.

 

[Raistlin]

What device/version of Android were you using when it crashed? I have a Galaxy S2 with stock touchwiz that I use for 90% of my web browsing and I've never had the phone crash on me. Even when using the third party Dolphin browser, I've had least a dozen tabs open at once and didn't have it ever crash.

From what I recall, iOS doesn't even have text wrapping so that makes reading text a huge issue on most websites (read: deal breaker). This might not be as big a problem for iPad though due to the large screen.

Asus Transformer ... all Honeycomb revisions


Granted stability isn't my only issue with Android (for tablets)

 

[kinggroin]

Asus Transformer ... all Honeycomb revisions


Granted stability isn't my only issue with Android (for tablets)

You're better noting in the future that when you say "Android is shit", you're referring to your unpleasant experience with the admittedly half baked HC iteration. On the phones, especially with ICS, android is pretty far away from "shit". Inconsistent, sure, but you don't buy into that ecosystem looking for that to be the priority (if it is for you, go apple).

 

[Marty Chinn]

You're better noting in the future that when you say "Android is shit", you're referring to your unpleasant experience with the admittedly half baked HC iteration. On the phones, especially with ICS, android is pretty far away from "shit". Inconsistent, sure, but you don't buy into that ecosystem looking for that to be the priority (if it is for you, go apple).

Can you elaborate how it's so drastically different? To me, as much as I like some of the advantages Android has in the tablet space, it's overall rough around the edges has pushed me to likely not own an Android phone anytime soon.

 

[Error]

I don't get the hate honeycomb gets. Being able to check weather, twitter timeline, emails etc.. Without the need of a browser or starting up an app is a great comodity. Sure the OS is a bit laggy, but on 3.2 it's hardly an issue. I agree the stocj browser is shit but there are other alternatives on the marketplace, I use mainly Opera and it works great it has never crash on me.

Both iOS and Android 3.2 have their pros/cons, it depends on the user and the Android tab being compared.

I'm quite pleased with Acer tab, but I think the Asus tab is the best Android tablet on the market

 

[kerrak]

I have a Sony Tablet S and i haven't had 1 problem/complaint about it's responsiveness, customization, usability, design, hardware, wifi signal or anything.

What am i doing wrong?

 

[kinggroin]

Can you elaborate how it's so drastically different? To me, as much as I like some of the advantages Android has in the tablet space, it's overall rough around the edges has pushed me to likely not own an Android phone anytime soon.

Maturity of the market (app support), speed and stability of the os and its core apps, and in the case if ICS, further improved cohesiveness in the GUI as well as navigation (what they did with the "back" button(s) in Android has made it that much faster to zip between app sessions and menu levels to the point where wp7 and ios system and app nav seem clunky in comparison.

Honeycomb (stock) only has an increase in visual cohesiveness, faster multitasking, and web browsing acceleration going for it over gingerbread on the phone. ICS makes it look like amateur hour though.

Still, for as nice as Android CAN be (and we're talking stock here), there needs to be greater inroads made in the area of performance consistency (which can be tough considering how much more data the os is crunching through just sitting there at any given time; widgets are a double-edged sword).

Also, if you're someone who's big on app consumption, quality of 3rd party stuff definitely lacks in polish compared to ios iterations. They get the job done most of the time, but aren't very pretty in the process.

hope that clarifies things a bit Marty. Its very early and my mind is mush.

 

[HollovVpo1nt]

There's a reason Apple is #1. Their devices and software are leagues above the rest.

The reason Apple is #1 is becouse they're riding on their previous success. The only way Apple could be #1 is their hardware design, but that is subjective.

 

[ReBurn]

The reason Apple is #1 is becouse they're riding on their previous success. The only way Apple could be #1 is their hardware design, but that is subjective.

What previous success? I don't understand your context. Was Apple previously successful, but is not any more?

 

[mrklaw]

IMO a tablet should be much more suited to the kind of glanceable information that windows 8 promises, and android offers. But one doesn't exist in the market yet, and the other is so rough around the edges its really not something I'd recommend to anyone unless they were really tech-savvy and could work around it.

ipad really is the only tablet that counts right now, and thats a little sad. While the apps are fantastic, and the apple services are well integrated, the 'apps in a grid' model is pretty stale and doesn't suit a tablet very well IMO.

 

[AdventureRacing]

What previous success? I don't understand your context. Was Apple previously successful, but is not any more?

He is saying that apple no longer make the best product on the market and only stay so popular of their previous devices. For the most part i think this is complete nonsene and i think apple still make some fantastic devices.

 

[Seraphinianus]

The reason Apple is #1 is becouse they're riding on their previous success. The only way Apple could be #1 is their hardware design, but that is subjective.

lolllllll

have you been paying attention? Every time some other company props up a hot new tablet, it fails and people say "not as good as iPad." It's even in the OP.

but keep fighting that fight. Keep waiting for [next hyped up non-Apple tablet] and for [next big android update]

 

[cajunator]

From what I have experienced, Android is really poor. I don't know why anyone wouldn't just get an ipad 2.

because. it. cant. play. flash.

 

[ReBurn]

He is saying that apple no longer make the best product on the market and only stay so popular of their previous devices. For the most part i think this is complete nonsene and i think apple still make some fantastic devices.

Ah, thanks. It's my impression that Apple's current devices are what keep them on top. They have what people want.

because. it. cant. play. flash.

I don't see how this is even an argument any more. It is so rare that a popular website would use flash these days. Most have gotten the message that they need to use HTML 5/h.264 if they want to remain relevant. Adobe gets it, so hopefully everyone else will too.

 

[Ash_69]

I had my IPad 2 and a galaxy tab 8.9 in here at work with a colleague and running the same games the Tab is half the frame rate with less particle effects and color saturation.

Even just doing basic things like browsing, sending emails, flicking between apps it's lag central in comparison. Even he was shocked as the specs are supposed to be close.

Worst thing is he paid the same price as iPad. Why bother for a sub par experience just to stick it to the "Apple man" I don't get

The UI lag is the only thing stopping me from jumping in from getting an Android tab. I was hoping the Prime with its Tegra 3 would get it to the fluidity of the Ipad 2 but the wait goes on.

After doing a bit of research as to why their's such a world of difference, it looks like there's a fundemental difference in how the software prioritises tasks and it's likely that Android will never be be smooth as I'd like it to be-

https://plus.google.com/10083827609...aJRGS#100838276097451809262/posts/VDkV9XaJRGS

That being said, I'm stuck as the Ipad does not have text wrapping and that's a deal breaker as I will be doing a lot of web surfing. Now I'm hoping Microsoft can pull something out of the bag later on in the year (did not expect to be saying that 6 months ago).

On another note, I have a HTC desire wghich is old as fuck relatively speaking which is running Froyo and it's leagues better than any Android tablet I've used in terms of smoothness. I suspect it's something to do with the screen size and perception than anything else.

 

[kinggroin]

The UI lag is the only thing stopping me from jumping in from getting an Android tab. I was hoping the Prime with its Tegra 3 would get it to the fluidity of the Ipad 2 but the wait goes on.

After doing a bit of research as to why their's such a world of difference, it looks like there's a fundemental difference in how the software prioritises tasks and it's likely that Android will never be be smooth as I'd like it to be-

https://plus.google.com/10083827609...aJRGS#100838276097451809262/posts/VDkV9XaJRGS

That being said, I'm stuck as the Ipad does not have text wrapping and that's a deal breaker as I will be doing a lot of web surfing. Now I'm hoping Microsoft can pull something out of the bag later on in the year (did not expect to be saying that 6 months ago).

On another note, I have a HTC desire wghich is old as fuck relatively speaking which is running Froyo and it's leagues better than any Android tablet I've used in terms of smoothness. I suspect it's something to do with the screen size and perception than anything else.

Nope. Like I said above, its everything to do with the fact that android's mobile phones OS is much better than their tablet one. One has been baking for 3 years at least, and the other for 9 months.

 

[dark10x]

I'm not personally convinced. Not having a great OS hasn't been MS problem in the mobile space when going up again iOS and Android. Thats NEVER been the problem. The problem has been mind/marketshare and being so damn late to the party, that noones around to care.

If all it took was a fantastic OS, things would look differently right now, I think everyone would agree.

It's Windows 8, though. It's based on an OS that will be used on many PCs. Unlike Windows Phone 7, Windows 8 will have all the support it needs. We don't yet know how the tablets will function and how easy it is to port code over to the SoCs used by these tablets, I suppose, but the situation seems rather different due to the fact that the OS is shared by desktop PCs.

 

[freenudemacusers]

lolllllll

have you been paying attention? Every time some other company props up a hot new tablet, it fails and people say "not as good as iPad." It's even in the OP.

but keep fighting that fight. Keep waiting for [next hyped up non-Apple tablet] and for [next big android update]

hey nokia has some sweet looking fan concept renders. just get one of those.

 

[JonnyBrad]

The UI lag is the only thing stopping me from jumping in from getting an Android tab. I was hoping the Prime with its Tegra 3 would get it to the fluidity of the Ipad 2 but the wait goes on.

After doing a bit of research as to why their's such a world of difference, it looks like there's a fundemental difference in how the software prioritises tasks and it's likely that Android will never be be smooth as I'd like it to be-

https://plus.google.com/10083827609...aJRGS#100838276097451809262/posts/VDkV9XaJRGS

There are issues with lag. But as he has even admitted in that post after he edited it. He basically got his reasoning wrong.

 

[mrklaw]

It's Windows 8, though. It's based on an OS that will be used on many PCs. Unlike Windows Phone 7, Windows 8 will have all the support it needs. We don't yet know how the tablets will function and how easy it is to port code over to the SoCs used by these tablets, I suppose, but the situation seems rather different due to the fact that the OS is shared by desktop PCs.

there is a huge difference between a high end PC and a tablet. Windows 8 looks like it could be fantastic, but they need to ensure its frugal and efficient on tablets - look at android to see how easily you can waste processor power.

It'll be interesting to see how they handle the transition of the experience between tablet, touch-screen PC and standard mouse controlled PC.

 

[Seraphinianus]

hey nokia has some sweet looking fan concept renders. just get one of those.

lol

"oh so sexy! Day 1!!"

tech fetishism makes for good schadenfreude

 

[Vyer]

because. it. cant. play. flash.

You may be overvaluing mobile Flash, even more than Adobe at this point. Everybody has their own browsing habits, but I think your '90% of my Internet!!' may be a little more subjective than you believe.

 

[andycapps]

there is a huge difference between a high end PC and a tablet. Windows 8 looks like it could be fantastic, but they need to ensure its frugal and efficient on tablets - look at android to see how easily you can waste processor power.

It'll be interesting to see how they handle the transition of the experience between tablet, touch-screen PC and standard mouse controlled PC.

Windows has lost so much in the "mind space" of the market at this point that they may be too late. When was the last time that Windows was relevant in the mobile space? Mobile 5.0? Prior to that? And at that time they were being destroyed by RIM and Palm.

 

[BotoxAgent]

that's why Jobs was so good at what he did, he was obsessed with even the tiny details.

 

[Raistlin]

You're better noting in the future that when you say "Android is shit", you're referring to your unpleasant experience with the admittedly half baked HC iteration. On the phones, especially with ICS, android is pretty far away from "shit". Inconsistent, sure, but you don't buy into that ecosystem looking for that to be the priority (if it is for you, go apple).

Yes if it wasn't obvious by the context of this thread (about tablets) ... that I was referring to tablets.

Sorry for the confusion. I have no long-term experience with the phone flavor to state either way.

 

[MercuryLS]

here's the nokia concept

I would buy this. I hope windows 8 does well, cause I love what they're bringing to tablets. Shit looks fresh.

 

[glaurung]

I have been fiddling with the tablet some more now. Nothing that would redeem it, but here are some more comments.

Constant crashes. Apparently half of the software on the tablet is faulty. Most of the stuff works fine as long as you don't really do anything with it, but I can average approximately four crashes per extended use session now. The worst offenders are the builtin web browser and the Firefox browser, which seem to crash and close down all the time. God forbid you would consider using Flash - then you are headed for an instant forced close of the application. I have managed to crash the integrated Gallery application, Android's own YouTube application (though for some reason I think this might be related to YT updating their technology over the last few weeks). I even managed to somehow crash the integrated IR remote application.

Unexplained reboots. Every now and then I have been getting reboots with no explanation whatsoever. What's even weirder - most of the time they happen so fast, I cannot even deduce what the reason might be. And the reboots are fucking long.

Extremely unresponsive applications. This bugs the living bejesus out of me. Firefox, which is one of my most used applications on PC, is so god damn slow on the Android, it makes me pull my hair out. First of all, half the time I cannot understand whether the application registers a touch or not. Zooming by pinching is so dodgy, I wish I could disable it altogether. There are some technical issues with the tablet browsers beside that. For example, tiered menus simply do not work. There are severe issues with resizing some web pages, even relatively simple ones. Sometimes I get artifacts on the screen instead of images (garbled colors). When I refresh, they disappear.

All other applications suffer from slow performance - whenever I touch something, there is either a very small pause or a somewhat longer pause. There really is no application that feels like my commands are instantly registered like they are on iPad. Whenever text input is required, the first few button presses seem to be a hit and a miss. Plus the ultra-sensitive screen means that sometimes it registers multiple presses of the same virtual button.

There are other issues, that are apparently Android at its worst. First, you cannot set a normal wallpaper. No, you need a separate application that actually does not work with tablets yet.

I finally found a very nice little file transfer application called File Expert, of course it is designed for phones, but it works just as fine. Plus it allows me to connect to a regular Samba shared file server.

So yeah, there have been many instances where I have felt like smashing the damn thing against the side of a sink or toss it out the window.

TLDR: One day this fance little €500 alarm clock managed to somehow crash its integrated Clock application and my alarm did not sound. I barely managed to get to the office in time for a meeting. Do not buy the Sony Tablet S.

 

[Loxley]

The whole OP reminds me of The Onion piece on Sony's "Stupid Piece of Shit that Doesn't Fucking Work".