I'm in the mood to buy either an iPad2 or Android Tablet. I'm looking for pros/cons, etc. from those of you who are also researching prior to purchasing, as well as from those of you who already own & use an iPad or Android Tablet. 1. I absolutely MUST be able to access M/A. 2. I absolutely MUST be able to play Farmville. 3. I'm considering playing Angry Birds. 4. I want to be able to download & save how-to videos so that when I get an urge to work on Schultze, the info is right at my fingertips. 5. Music, music, music. 6. Convenience & ease-of-use. Top Three Contenders (in no particular order, except alphabetical because I'm OCD like that!) Apple iPad2 Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Toshiba Thrive 10.1
What size: 16, 32, or 64? Why THAT size? I keep hearing about the lack of Adobe Flash...do you find it keeps you from enjoying everything a website has to offer?
personal preference Really, it comes down to your needs and comfort. Im a tech guy and I work with all platforms, but I really like Apple. Yes, I spend more up front perhaps, but it works. It is warranted well, and I have never had a service problem that Apple hasn't made right. Now for the technical stuff. Android is not bad, It is well done and there are many to choose from and prices vary. That said, the other issue is do you want a strictly controlled environment or one that is very open? The problem with a very open platform is that there are less controls from the operating system or hardware so people can create applications really fast, but they may not work very well. Now this may not be the case for the android tablets, but one of the biggest issues with android phones is battery life. I see it all day long. Co-workers have to plug in there phone all day, in the car, and at home. What is the point if you have to keep charging all day. I have an iphone and I can make it almost 3 days before charging. I am not saying tablets have this problem. It is an example of the differences in Apple and Android. I would suggest taking some time and playing with them to see what you like in the features. As far as storage size, the biggy is how much music or movies or pictures you will store. These take a lot of space. Just my thoughts.
fwiw, I have a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and love it. Every know and then I'll run into an issue with people posting videos to YouTube and it indicates the person who put it up has not made it available for mobile devices. Not sure if I used the actual YouTube app instead of the web browser if I'd be able to access it (I don't bother - if they didn't want it to be seen on mobile, I'm no longer interested in watching it). One nice thing for me is that I also have an HTC EVO 4G smartphone. So the experience between the phone and the tablet is very similar. And it made things a little easier for me in sharing data between the devices. On the battery life, if I use the tablet heavily, I can still go a whole day without recharging. Mine doesn't have phone service or GPS, so that surely helps compared to the Android phones. But my heavy use may be your light use, so hard to say how it may pan out for you.
I think it almost comes down to what smartphone O/S one uses to make the most out of the tablets. They tend to pair well with each other. I'm an iPhone user and would use an iPad in a heartbeat. It's because I am used to the way the phone works making the transition to the iPad very easy.
"So I've been thinking about buying a tablet, whether it be iPad2 or a tablet that is Android or Windows based. I've been doing a LOT of research and I've been on the fence for quite awhile. I've been a Windows gal since it launched and I've loved my Android phones, so you can only imagine how long I've been sitting on the fence. After visiting Apple.com and viewing the videos for the iPad2, I can finally say THANK YOU to Apple's marketing team for the "invisible hand" that helped me down off the fence. " Now it's time to find the BEST deals with the MOST freebies!!!
Keep this in mind. There isn't a tablet market, there's an iPad market. Android has issues with updates (not all Android devices are updateable, ever) and Windows tablets are just normal Windows with a tablet interface slapped on top and don't get the benefits of an OS built with battery life and other tablet specific issues in mind. I actually work supporting iPads that have been deployed in a Fortune 500 company. It's been the most boring job I've ever had, because in the three months I've had this duty, not one person has requested any help at all. Seriously.
Not necessarily true... Walmart.com has (or had) a special on 11/02 for the 16GB WiFi version; you had the opportunity to choose a free starter accessory (4-port wall charger or Smart Cover) for free. HSN.com has a special today for the 64GB+WiFi+3G version with a lot of extra goodies. For those of you with iPads (1st or 2nd gen) what protection do you use/prefer? I've been looking at Otterbox and Zagg....
iPad 2 Cases, iPad 2 Reflex Series Case // OtterBox.com Apple iPad 2 (Wi-Fi + 3G) Screen Protector | invisibleSHIELD by ZAGG
Ok...now I'm rethinking the necessity of the 3G option. 1. I have an awesomely fast & strong WiFi signal throughout my house. 2. I have an awesomely fast & strong WiFi signal at work. 3. When I travel, the hotels I use have free WiFi. 4. McDonalds AND Burger King have free WiFi. 5. If I'm somewhere that doesn't have free WiFi...and I have a good signal with my T-Mobile cellphone (MyTouch 3G Slide), I can use my cellphone as a "HotSpot" and/or tether it to my iPad via the USB adapter in the Camera Kit. 6. If I'm somewhere that doesn't have free WiFi and I can't get a T-Mobile signal, it means I'm getting away from it all! Unless there's something I've overlooked, I really don't need the 3G capability, correct? What size is YOUR iPad and do you find that it's more than enough space?
Mine is a 32 GB WiFi only model, no 3G. I don't put music on it, that's the phone's job. I do put movies on it though, and have several large games as well. At the moment I have 126 apps on it, seven hour long TV shows, one 90 minute movie, and have about 3 GB free. I'm not in any danger of running out of space, but I do shuffle the movies from time to time. Luckily, if I've watched everything that's on it, I can also stream Netflix and Hulu Plus. I also use it to read books, but they hardly take up any space at all. If I wanted to take and edit my own movies, I'd consider a bigger capacity one though. Or if I were using Garage Band. Otherwise, 32 seems to be a sweet spot for me.
That's my thinking on the phone service with my tablet. I have yet to run into a situation where I think, "wish I had cell service on my tablet."