Look out! Ipad2 v. Motorola Xoom

[GhostFist]

True I'm not buying apple anything though.

 

[fdengel]

HP Touchpad is out.

http://h41112.www4.hp.com/promo/webos/us/en/tablet/touchpad.html

 

[tiralie]

True I'm not buying apple anything though.

This was my stance, but because of all the apps now available for the iPad, it is becoming more and more difficult to not succumb to the apple borg.

 

[GhostFist]

99.9% are also available on android or shortly on their way

 

[upscale]

99.9% are also available on android or shortly on their way

I do hope this is true, because like you, I refuse to have anything to do with apple products. I suspect many people like myself are waiting for a few of those apps to appear and then, we'll buy. ~ Hoping for year end.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Current and upcoming tablets as of March 2, 2011

iPhone 5 and iPad 3 set for October release?

 

[GhostFist]

I really can't see them releasing 2 iPads in a single year but apple does have to keep up to everyone else

 

[woodguy7]

I have been following this thread but i am a computer novice.  I am thinking about a tablet for work use & don't know which way to go.  The things that would appeal to me are the following,

handwriting recognition to use as a notepad
Some way of doing drawings, sketches & saving them with notes
Being able to play a slideshow of recent projects
Some sort of plug in device to take a card payment on the job
Be able to make up an invoice & e mail it to the client straight away.

These are all probably very basic requirements but i don't know if i should wait for the i pad 3 or one of the Android machines.  I would like Flash & a usb to be able to plug in an external hard drive or USB stick.  S.D slot would also be very usefull.  Want to stay with around a 10 inch screen, don't want the 7 or 8 inch ones.

Am i asking too much ?

 

[Brice Burrell]

I really can't see them releasing 2 iPads in a single year but apple does have to keep up to everyone else

Sounds familiar doesn't it?  Fierce competition in the PC world led to lower prices and lower quality. Look out Apple, the writing might just be on the wall....

I'm still holding out, besides my paper and pencil are still working fine. [tongue]

I have been following this thread but i am a computer novice.  I am thinking about a tablet for work use & don't know which way to go.  The things that would appeal to me are the following,

handwriting recognition to use as a notepad
Some way of doing drawings, sketches & saving them with notes
Being able to play a slideshow of recent projects
Some sort of plug in device to take a card payment on the job
Be able to make up an invoice & e mail it to the client straight away.

These are all probably very basic requirements but i don't know if i should wait for the i pad 3 or one of the Android machines.  I would like Flash & a usb to be able to plug in an external hard drive or USB stick.  S.D slot would also be very usefull.  Want to stay with around a 10 inch screen, don't want the 7 or 8 inch ones.

Am i asking too much ?

You're in the same boat as me, undecided on when to act.  As I procrastinate the world is passing me by. [scared]  

 

[GhostFist]

The problem with tech is that it changes and upgrades so quickly. The moment you lay the pile of dough down for the latest and greatest, some miracle machine 4x as fast and at a similar price is about to be put on the market. no matter what you get, Apple , Android, Web Os, windows 8 it will be yesterday's news in a handfull of months. If you're waiting for tech to come out that has the features you need, you're almost better off waiting until the second batch so it does what you wanted to in the first place (updates and what have you).
As far as all of wood guy's requests, I believe you can do all of those things now with most tablets available on the market. as far as actual working drawings along the lines of what's being used on your pc/mac we're still not there.

Apple is a good choice for non techy people. For those a little more advanced I recommend android. Other than that just go play with them and see if you can get the things you want it to do without the salesman giving you his spiel.

 

[woodguy7]

Anyone know anything about the plug in chip & pin machines.  Price, availability for a 1 man firm, cost per transaction, security ect.

Thanks.

 

[mikeneron]

I have been following this thread but i am a computer novice.  I am thinking about a tablet for work use & don't know which way to go.  The things that would appeal to me are the following,

handwriting recognition to use as a notepad
Some way of doing drawings, sketches & saving them with notes
Being able to play a slideshow of recent projects
Some sort of plug in device to take a card payment on the job
Be able to make up an invoice & e mail it to the client straight away.

These are all probably very basic requirements but i don't know if i should wait for the i pad 3 or one of the Android machines.  I would like Flash & a usb to be able to plug in an external hard drive or USB stick.  S.D slot would also be very usefull.  Want to stay with around a 10 inch screen, don't want the 7 or 8 inch ones.

Am i asking too much ?

I saw this a couple weeks ago.  Might be something to consider.  Looks like it's supported on both Android and Apple devices.
https://squareup.com

 

[woodguy7]

That's pretty cool.  It could be quite expensive on large jobs though with the fixed percentage per transaction.  Is there anything cheaper for switch cards (non credit cards that take the money direct from your current account) ?

 

[upscale]

That's pretty cool.  It could be quite expensive on large jobs though with the fixed percentage per transaction.  Is there anything cheaper for switch cards (non credit cards that take the money direct from your current account) ?

The fixed percentage is a common practice with most credit cards. As to direct debit transactions, that shouldn't be too difficult to implement since they would work essentially the same as the credit card transactions anyway. Give it a little time and you'll likely see it available, if not already.

 

[BMH]

A little more information for this interesting debate. Apple has just settle a lawsuit with Noikia concerning some key patent with smart phones and tablet devices. Every other manufacturer is going to have to settle with Noikia and they are going to pay top bucks for the same patents. Apple has also just bought 2.5  billions dollars worth of patents from nortel involving smart phones and tablets. This is going to set back the competition 3 to 5 years and make software developers think twice before building app for apple competitors. Steve Job is one amazing hard nose CEO that doesn't think about his next quarter earnings, he thinks long term and has revolutionize the computer business more then anybody in the world.

That being said the iPad is the best SYSTEM out there for the simple reason they bring incredible disciple to the operation system which makes for a very stable platform. I have a iPad 1 and it has replace my desktop for 90% of my work. Many of my coworkers have made fun of me when I got it and now 90% percent of them have one. It is not perfect but it is getting better everyday.

Bruce

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Apple has also just bought 2.5  billions dollars worth of patents from nortel involving smart phones and tablets. This is going to set back the competition 3 to 5 years and make software developers think twice before building app for apple competitors.

I know I read that Google had offered "pi" billion dollars, $3,141,592,600. Looks like they were awarded to everyone except Google. Apple, Microsoft, RIM, Sony, and others.

Not sure it's going to have big effects on the tablet market.

 

[nclemmons]

Shane

I think you will see big intellectual property battles ahead in the mobile space - phones and tablets.  Too big a market and too little differentiation between most of the devices.  IP + Apps + Supply Chain (components and costs) + Cloud Services will be the game for awhile.  Right now, Apple is winning in three with tablets and are about to launch the fourth this fall.  In one year, there are more game subscribers on iOS than all of Microsoft xBox.  Network effects in action.  Plus they are winning in PROFITS in tablets and phones.  That suggests more than the ecosystem the true value exchange they are providing.  I don't know Festool profits, but I'd bet that Festool is capturing a larger profit share than market share in the tool market.  Similar philosophies - different markets.

I just saw an article by David Pogue (NYT) where he was talking about the launch of HP's new tablet with fewer than 200 or so apps.  He started asking around about apps for Android, and could not get a firm commitment from anyone on tablet-optimized apps.  He kept digging - in Amazon marketplace, Google PR, and other sources.  His conclusion was it was around 232 apps for Android Honeycomb.  If software drives hardware, that suggests a steep curve is still ahead for Android tablets.

Choice in hardware can be a good thing, or it can paralyze the market when there are no established standards for software.  Google is trying to rein in the differentiation by device / carrier to better standardize their experience for phones and tablets.  Many want to see higher resolution displays, more device connectivity, etc.  That fractures the app platform even more.

Pogue's column is here - http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/honeycomb/

I have an iPad - works great for most things - plenty of apps, plenty of third part support via the 'system' - I bought into the Festool 'system' and I think Apple is well down the path on similar benefits.  Android may get there in tablets, but not without some bumps in the road.  And I think IP will be a key battleground.  The Nortel auction proves that deep pockets drive strategy.

Anybody here waiting for Porter Cable to develop a Festool compatible saw, table or router?

neil

 

[GhostFist]

wow a lot of misinformation there. unlike ios standard market place apps optimize nicely  on android based tablets to full screen entirely useable applications. ios needs to specifically write tablet based. or phone based apps as apps written for the phone don't play very nice on their tablet. android has the majority.of the market in the phone arena and we're just seeing the first wave of android tablets coming through this year. you got apples in your eyes, mate. wake up and smell the android.

lets not forget windows.8 is coming highly optimized for tablet use as.well.

 

[Mr. Jeff Smith]

Anyone who argues one platform over the other universally is not being objective.  [tongue]

 

[tiralie]

lets not forget windows.8 is coming highly optimized for tablet use as.well.

I won't hold my breath for that. I have been disappointed with MS's efforts to migrate the OS onto other devices through integration and product extension. It introduces increased complexity for users where the bar (set by Apple) indicates that ease of use is paramount to adoption.