I don't understand why Android tablet manufacturers are failing

[BoberFett]

A gear head would be the type to, oh I dunno um JAILBREAK a device right? If you JB iOS you can modify it till your hearts content.

Sweet mercy...

So iPad is a superior platform because it just works out of the box, even though you need to jailbreak it to get it to do what you want.

You Apple fans are insane.

 

[QueBert]

Sweet mercy...

So iPad is a superior platform because it just works out of the box, even though you need to jailbreak it to get it to do what you want.

You Apple fans are insane.

Ok here's the break down, out of the box iOS is easier to use, and for the typical person like my step mom who's not into changing shit around, it's a better option. If you want to modify it you're still able to. I had to root my Android device to get it to do what I wanted, but I guess in your mind rooting and jailbreaking are nothing alike right? And if I'm an Apple Fanboy why is my next phone going to be a Nokia Lumia? That's WP7 fyi. I'm a fan of good products, iOS falls under that category.

 

[ss284]

I agree that android advertising is horrible. I shouldn't have to read about new features on an XDA developers post.

 

[senseamp]

My main problem with iPad is it's $500. If you are using it for browsing the web and reading emails like I am, it's not really delivering $500 of value to me. If there were no other tablets, I'd still not be getting an iPad for $500. A tablet is not a must have device for me, it's a supplemental. I can do all I do on a tablet on my laptop, it's just nice to have one by the bed side and leave the laptop in the living room. But it's not $500 worth of difference in my life. Android tablets priced in the $200 price range are the only reason I am getting one at all. Is it better than iPad? When I want to spend $500 on a tablet, I'll think about that question.

 

[Brian Stirling]

Marketing, consumer perception, and price. For a competing tablet to succeed vs the iPad it must do one of the following:

1. If it is anywhere near the price of an iPad, it has to be extremely obvious within 10 seconds or so of playing with it/looking at it why it's better than an iPad to a completely uninformed consumer. So far none of the manufacturers seem to understand this.

2. It must be significantly cheaper than the iPad.

That pretty much sums it up...

OTH, since Apple goes the minimalist route with few products they don't cover the spectrum as well as Android. If the rumors of an 8.5 inch iPad are true AND if they have a minimum bezel AND they have a different form factor besides the 4:3 then they can just about nail the lid on Androids coffin in the tablet space outside of the Nook and Kindle.

There will not be a successful mid priced Android tablet because the really cheap Android tablets, sold at a loss (Nook/Kindle), will eat them up. There is room for high end Android tablets but they have to offer something the iPad does not. The most obvious thing is different sizes and form factors and this may be the reason Samsung is shot-gunning with so many different sized tablets -- they're looking to see where they can compete.

I am interested in the Sammy 7.7 and hope the rumors of a 3/1 launch from Verizon are true. This is in my view the best alternative to the iPad owing chiefly to the size and the 8:5 form factor. The ideal pad, for me, would be about 8.5" x 5.5" x 0.4" with an 8.5" screen and 1920 x 1200 resolution with a BIG battery.


Brian

 

[jhansman]

pad wins because:

1. It came out first.
2. Name recognition (hate apple or not, everyone know them)
3. Advertising. Billboards everywhere, tv spots, annoying flash ads on web, email scams from nigerian prince who will give you a free ipad if you bail him out.

You left out hip and trendy. And sexy. My brother's gorgeous new iMac already has man gravy all over the cover....

 

[vi edit]

My main problem with iPad is it's $500. If you are using it for browsing the web and reading emails like I am, it's not really delivering $500 of value to me. If there were no other tablets, I'd still not be getting an iPad for $500. A tablet is not a must have device for me, it's a supplemental. I can do all I do on a tablet on my laptop, it's just nice to have one by the bed side and leave the laptop in the living room. But it's not $500 worth of difference in my life. Android tablets priced in the $200 price range are the only reason I am getting one at all. Is it better than iPad? When I want to spend $500 on a tablet, I'll think about that question.

I mostly agree. Which is I why I paid $399 for my 1st gen w/ 32 gig and 3g and a free case at Sam's club a few months after the 2nd gen was released. I actually bought it as a portable movie player for kids. I could drop a dozen or more movies on there, some games, drawing apps, and other stuff and toss it in the back seat for kids to dink around with while traveling. The movies I rip also drop right into iTunes and play back on the Apple TV. It's just an easy to use system that works well for what I want. I also find myself doing a lot more gaming on my iPad than I do on my consoles any more. Add in iBook support from my local library, web browsing, and a 10 hour long battery life and it's been a heavily used device in my house.

 

[Oyeve]

Apple was a minor company a decade ago too.

And what "serious gear-head" wants to live under Apple's thumb, installing only those applications personally blessed by Jobs himself? Gear heads want a phone/tablet they can modify.

Try to keep your arguments straight, you're all over the place. You Apple fanboys truly live in your own world, don't you?

See, now you are being a real so and so. I never put in any sentence gear-heads and Apple. Never ever. So, either get better reading comprehension skills or STFU. Everyone knows acer is crap tech, always has been and always will be. They started off as budget crap and they still are. Never put words in my mouth again. I am so far away from being an apple fan-boy but I tell it like it is. Buying tech at bestbuy is like going to walmart for designer sneakers or jeans.
My argument is that acer is crap and you just gotta lump me in as an apple fan-boy even tho I hate em. Wow, you phandroids are worse than the apple derps sometimes!

Let's leave personal attacks out of this.
Moderator TheStu

 

[MrX8503]

That depends what you want a smartphone to do. If the smartphone doesn't have a file manager, copy/paste, or even allowing to customize ringtones and notifications, it's a crappy smartphone in my book.

A smartphone can make me a sandwich, but if I have to do back flips while trying to solve a rubiks cube, then what good is it? MS had the same thinking as you and now look what happen to their mobile space, in ruins.

 

[bearxor]

OTH, since Apple goes the minimalist route with few products they don't cover the spectrum as well as Android. If the rumors of an 8.5 inch iPad are true AND if they have a minimum bezel AND they have a different form factor besides the 4:3 then they can just about nail the lid on Androids coffin in the tablet space outside of the Nook and Kindle.

Just as long as your not holding your breath, k?

 

[BoberFett]

See, now you are being an ass. I never put in any sentence gear-heads and Apple. Never ever. So, either get better reading comprehension skills or STFU. Everyone knows acer is crap tech, always has been and always will be. They started off as budget crap and they still are. Never put words in my mouth again. I am so far away from being an apple fan-boy but I tell it like it is. Buying tech at bestbuy is like going to walmart for designer sneakers or jeans.
My argument is that acer is crap and you just gotta lump me in as an apple fan-boy even tho I hate em. Wow, you phandroids are worse than the apple derps sometimes!

I know. What's your point? It was a minor company over a decade ago and it still is. Its right up there with Dynex. Again, what's your point? Most people never heard of it and most serious gear-heads would never buy it.

So if serious gear-heads wouldn't buy an Acer, what would they buy? The general opinion of this thread is that there's no reason to buy any tablet other than an Apple. So what should a gear-head buy? You claim they wouldn't buy Apple, but apparently Acer is out. How is the Acer any different than any other brand?

And if the ability to move tablets is related in any way to a company's ability to move desktop computers, Apple should be a bit player. Acer sold far more PCs than Apple ever did, but you claim they're a nobody.

 

[cheezy321]

Dont feed the troll!

 

[finbarqs]

iPad wins because hot girls like using iPads as opposed to computers. It's also a "status" symbol and a "sexy accessory" I've been laid before because of I let some girl use my iPad. She let me record the whole thing on it

 

[Dari]

That would be nice, except they don't subsidize the price. The BOM of an iPad has been pretty public for a long time. They aren't selling them at a loss.

I know, but they also have economies of scale and a reputation for squeezing their suppliers and manufacturers. While Apple was making record profits, Foxconn's profit was either in the red or declined steeply (yeah, I know, they make stuff for other people). But iTunes helps their bottom line because, with every iPad sold, there are countless services that will be added on later. Android manufacturers don't have that luxury.

 

[BoberFett]

Dont feed the troll!

You mean the Give-Me-Apple-Or-Give-Me-Death fanatics? Good advice.

 

[iahk]

I'm coming into it from a different angle. So android phones are popular, but why haven't the tablets picked up?

Apart from what everyone has said here, I think the carriers actually helped the phones out quite a bit. This isn't the case for the tablets. The oems are stuck out there on their own for marketing to expose their product. Ever went to a store like Target to look at stuff? Apple has like 12 feet dedicated to their ipad and ipods. Where are the android tablets? Randomly down a computer accessory aisle merchandised with their laptops and netbooks.

When you shop for a phone at a carrier's corporate store (or authorized dealer for that matter) the reps are properly trained on each of their products. When you go to a regular store for a tablet, it's a different story.

 

[Oyeve]

So if serious gear-heads wouldn't buy an Acer, what would they buy? The general opinion of this thread is that there's no reason to buy any tablet other than an Apple. So what should a gear-head buy? You claim they wouldn't buy Apple, but apparently Acer is out. How is the Acer any different than any other brand?

And if the ability to move tablets is related in any way to a company's ability to move desktop computers, Apple should be a bit player. Acer sold far more PCs than Apple ever did, but you claim they're a nobody.

Transformer, Transformer Prime, hell, even the nook color and kindle fire sold more that any acer. Yes, apple is not known for the PCs (thank God, I hate supporting apple computers) but there is absolutely no serious profit in PCs. That is not where the $$$ is. The PC profit margin is like 5% or so. Money, unfortunately, is in gadgets. Apple is not making squat on their computer market, no one is. Money is made on gadgets.

 

[cheezy321]

You mean the Give-Me-Apple-Or-Give-Me-Death fanatics? Good advice.

Wasn't talking about you, but if the shoe fits...

U mad bro?

 

[Munky]

A smartphone can make me a sandwich, but if I have to do back flips while trying to solve a rubiks cube, then what good is it? MS had the same thinking as you and now look what happen to their mobile space, in ruins.

I suppose by "doing back flips while solving rubicks cube" you mean using physical buttons, menus, and having to master the art of reading. People seem to prefer "point and click at shiny icon" but then again some people prefer not to be told how they can or can't use their phone, or jump through various hoops for jailbreaking it.

 

[Oyeve]

Wasn't talking about you, but if the shoe fits...

U mad bro?

:sneaky:

 

[Puddle Jumper]

iPad wins here because you can do so much more with it. Android tablets are oversized toys. With iPads you're nowhere near as limited. My neighbor uses an iPad in his studio, has an XLR studio mic dock hooked up and even runs a Bass guitar to it. He replaced a $1200 piece of dedicated studio equipment with it. And the iPad actually does more. Even though it's technically doing something it wasn't even designed or meant to do. Go to any B&M electronics store and see the shit you can buy for an iPad and look at the section for Android. I'm not talking cases and screen protectors, I'm talking shit like what my neighbor bought. It cost him about $350 iirc, which is more than a lot of Android tablets run. But it turns his 2 year old iPad 1 into something completely beyond what a tablet is.

Now him using an iPad to product music in a studio is obviously only going to account for a fraction of a percent of owners, but the fact you can do shit like that, and so much else makes it more appealing to the masses.

So the average consumer doesn't care that Android has more functionality like file system access and a UI thats actually desiged for tablets but they do care that the iPad can be used for something incredibly obscure like that music production example?

Personally the more I have used an iPad the less I understand why people like them. Sure it is great if you spend 100% of your time running a specific app but the actual os and interface is simply to lacking for any real productivity.

 

[vi edit]

So the average consumer doesn't care that Android has more functionality like file system access and a UI thats actually desiged for tablets but they do care that the iPad can be used for something incredibly obscure like that music production example?

Personally the more I have used an iPad the less I understand why people like them. Sure it is great if you spend 100% of your time running a specific app but the actual os and interface is simply to lacking for any real productivity.

No, the average consumer does not care to access the file system of a tablet. And are you saying that iOS wasn't designed for a tablet or touch screen interface?

And as far as productivity goes, tablets are not productivity devices. They are consumption devices. They are not a replacement for a desktop or a notebook, simply a complement. And that doesn't matter what brand name is on the front.

 

[Bateluer]

I am interested in the Sammy 7.7 and hope the rumors of a 3/1 launch from Verizon are true. This is in my view the best alternative to the iPad owing chiefly to the size and the 8:5 form factor.
Brian

So far as I know, the 1 March date was confirmed by Verizon. But they've ensured the Tab 7.7 is DOA by overpricing it. 500 on 2yr contract, 700 without.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Well to be fair the ipad sucked ass until the ipad 2 came out. Only apple fans bought them (granted there is 1billion fans) but in reality when ipad first came out it sucked. like when the iphone first came out it sucked. Iphone wasnt decent until the iphone 3. But it sold billions on fanbase alone. I am actually interested in the ipad3. If I could connect as a usb device I would consider one.

The first iPad is still 10x more usable than ANY Android tablet out there.

The point is people wanted a consumption device. For what a tablet's used for like social networking, reading the news, the iPad does a terrific job. With the lack of software out there Android can't even do that much.

So I know, you'll say things like people want to download their 720p TV shows in MKV format and watch them. But let's be honest. Those started on the rise in 2008-2009. But then Hulu and Netflix and all that crap came out. I have tons of tech geek friends and I can tell you at least 75% just switched over to Netflix or Hulu+. What's the point of downloading anymore? Granted I still do it, but all the time and effort it takes to copy a file every few days as a new TV show debuts onto your tablet? Great. That's great my Android tablet can do that, and it's great my file server had terabytes and terabytes of video, but even with a LAPTOP, I'm too lazy to copy it over. A lot of times since I'm on the go and at school/work/or the gf's, I end up streaming it from the network website. If the iPad can watch streaming video, that's more than enough for most people.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

No, the average consumer does not care to access the file system of a tablet. And are you saying that iOS wasn't designed for a tablet or touch screen interface?

And as far as productivity goes, tablets are not productivity devices. They are consumption devices. They are not a replacement for a desktop or a notebook, simply a complement. And that doesn't matter what brand name is on the front.

iOS is very well designed when it comes to touch input but it doesn't leverage the extra screen real estate of the iPad to improve functionality like Honeycomb and ICS do. Although to be honest I think QNX may have the perfect tablet UI unfortunately the software support and hardware is to lacking for it to seriously compete with iOS or Android.