Ipad2

[DougBob]

I'll be curious how it is too Juneau. Windows has come a long ways since Win286. Hopefully the Win7 tablet edition won't let us down. I'm hoping it's successful so it'll drive the competition and market prices

[juneau]

I'll be curious how it is too Juneau. Windows has come a long ways since Win286. Hopefully the Win7 tablet edition won't let us down. I'm hoping it's successful so it'll drive the competition and market prices

I thought Microsoft tablets would be running Win8. Guess i heard some bad information.

[DougBob]

I thought Microsoft tablets would be running Win8. Guess i heard some bad information.

I don't know they could be. I haven't been keeping up on it so don't take my word for it.

[goldenfooler]

i thought they were running mango? Or is that just the phones?

[Legion181]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the replies, provides some good info

[plaztic.dagger]

Here is my take on the whole pad/tablet deal.

We have the HP Windows Slate (tablet with Win7) its SLOW, its CRAP! Much like every other Win tablet devices I've handled they are under powered with a bloated OS. Keep in mind this device IS vulnerable to any malicious code out there for the Win7 OS. Will Win8 device be any better? I seriously have my doubts since I have yet to see a decent device to date with a Microsoft OS.

Android OS is an excellent platform. But your mileage will very on device... Some preform better then others depending on make/model/manufacture. I tried an Acer tablet at BestBuy yesterday and found it to be total crap. Screen was awful (Angry Birds looked awful and pixelated)and I had to press hard on the screen for it to respond.
My only concern is with Android app store and possibility of malicious code in a app. With the possibility of reviewing submitted apps less strict then Apple's. Their store has been hacked once already.

And for those who will throw out the Android plays Flash argument. You are correct. BUT Adobe is discontinuing support of Moblie Flash with the coming of HTML5

I have a WebOS tablet from HP with a hacked Android OS on it. Works pretty well when it works. LOL! Granted the hacked Android OS still has alot of bugs to be ironed out. Well is does work better then WebOS (IMO).
BTW HP announced yesterday that with will continue to develop the WebOS platform and make it open source.

With that being said, I have the 1st gen iPad and the iPhone 4s. I've enjoyed them both. The first gen iPad is slightly underpowered. But I have found the platform to be excellent IMO. With the coming of MacWorld this Jan is very likely they will announce an new iPad, which will most likely be released in March.

Well, theres my .02 cents on the whole tablet thingy... I find them to be quite handy!

[Nauticas]

Adobe is discontinuing support of Moblie Flash with the coming of HTML5

I didn't know this. I've just done some reading on it and it is unclear how this will actually effect the iDevices. I guess it comes down to whether the iDevices will support the new Adobe AIR.

I will say that I have found that most websites have gotten around the Flash Player issue by simply making an app for the iDevices so users can still browse their site/information.

[NateTheBrewer]

I didn't know this. I've just done some reading on it and it is unclear how this will actually effect the iDevices. I guess it comes down to whether the iDevices will support the new Adobe AIR.

I will say that I have found that most websites have gotten around the Flash Player issue by simply making an app for the iDevices so users can still browse their site/information.

This has been seen as a firm positive for iDevices... Apple decided to go the HTML5 route and held out for years, refusing to build flash support into the OS due to them seeing flash as an old, decrepit standard that should be left to die (their words, not mine - and quite literally).

With both Google and Apple behind HTML5, more and more sites have been leaving the flash platform, either going with HTML5 or going the route you mentioned - either a separate site or a custom app. I used to have to use Skyfire web browser, which basically routes flash video through a proxy and then streams it to your device in a different format. I just got an iPad 2 and have not had the need to install it yet.

I have never been an Apple fan for desktops or laptops, but I have owned the 1st generation iPod touch, the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 4, and just purchased an iPad 2 last weekend (its actually a mutual Christmas gift for my fiancee and I). I am a huge fan of open source, and use it as frequently as possible at work to avoid licensing costs, and also use it for my home fileservers (FreeNAS) and my set top boxes (XBMC). At first, I really loved the idea of the Android OS... I even weighed my options for tablets between the iPad and Asus E-whatever transformer.

What tipped the scales for me was my familiarity with the iOS, its maturity, stability, and widespread availability of apps. This also combined with the experiences I have seen others have with the Android OS. Being in the IT/telecommunications industry, these things get discussed nearly once a week on various listservs I belong to. This is how the most recent discussion ended, and I liked the point:

Android isn't really open source. So many of the core functions are closed and the phones are harder to root than IOS. I argue the iPhone is more "open". My developer account let's me load any app I want.

It's not about the quantity (8,000 solitaire apps is kinda pointless) but the business apps. IOS has the best support for things like Cisco VPN, or VMware clients. netflix support on android was spotty for the longest time.

In order to do my job, IOS is a requirement based on a small list of critical apps being supported, as well as the better activesync management support.

That is what surprised me when someone above mentioned that the Android is a better device for the IT crowd... Most of the other industry techs I deal with on a regular basis are using iOS devices for business, and many were prior users of various Android phones. With iOS 5 (or perhaps an earlier release) bringing multiple exchange active-sync support and a slew of other features (many of which took their cues from features on Android devices), they truly are an excellent business resource. I am still in awe when an employee chooses a BlackBerry device when given their choice of company phone.

I have LogMeIn on my iPhone and iPad, and about a month ago I was able to re-write a malfunctioning script from a bar... Took longer than it would have with a traditional keyboard and mouse, but when you add in the time it would have taken me to walk home and then back, it was a lifesaver.

For the lay-person, I have had many friends buy Android phones... None of them still use them, they have all joined the cult. 2 of them even returned the Android phones within a week of purchasing them. One went immediately to the iPhone, and the other went back to his Motorola Razr (yeah, I don't get it either) and a year later got the iPhone.

Jen (the future wife) has an Android phone, and said she would never get an iPhone when we first started dating... Now after using my iPhone and the iPad she loves it, and he next phone will be an iPhone. I am not sure if it is the particular build of Android that Samsung uses on their phones, but quite frankly, it is a piece of ****. She has had issues with services required for the phone to function randomly stop or lock up, she has to reset the thing multiple times a day, and even had to install a service that runs in the background to keep the phone from putting itself to sleep!

The things I do not like about the iOS is how updates are handled via iTunes, how the phone is tied to an iTunes account, and other account issues. Recently, though, they have started doing over-the-air updates, so that solves most of my problems there.

The other downside with iOS devices is that you have to get yourself into a 'purchase cycle' with them. If you got the iPhone 3G, you would not (unless you are rich) get the iPhone 3GS, but by the time the iPhone 4 comes out, the newest version of the OS is not optimized for the older phones (it kind of is, but it won't be nearly as snappy as it once was - it is like installing Win7 on a PC that came with Win 98... probably better to use the old computer as a space heater), and you also will not have many of the new features that the OS has on newer hardware. So take me for example:

1. I purchased an iPhone 3G shortly after it came out.

2. When the 3GS came out, I held off as it was not 'time' for a new phone yet.

3. By the time the 4 came out, iOS 4 running on my 3G was barely usable. Some updates fixed many of the issues, but it would still take twice as long to type out a text message using the lagging keyboard. I eventually purchased the iPhone 4 a few months after it came out.

4. Now the iPhone 4S is out, and I will of course not be getting it... Most likely for me, it will be the iPhone 5, then I will skip the iPhone 5S(whatever), and get the iPhone 6, etc.

With the iPad, you run into the downside right now of the fact that there will be a new one coming out in the earlier half of next year - but this is something you will get with any technology... Even if you hold out and get a product on day 1, something new will be out sooner or later that will be bigger and better. You just can't hold out forever - you eventually have to pull the trigger.

I read this comic called The Oatmeal... Here is a funny thing they posted about owning apple products: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

[plaztic.dagger]

4. Now the iPhone 4S is out, and I will of course not be getting it... Most likely for me, it will be the iPhone 5, then I will skip the iPhone 5S(whatever), and get the iPhone 6, etc.

I went from the 3GS and skipped the 4 and picked up the 4s since my contract is up. I pulled the SIM card from 3GS and now my 6 year old uses it for games.