GolfGTIforum.co.uk
General => General discussion => Topic started by: golf-sib on 01 November 2011, 12:02
-
I need more tablet advice lads.
After the archos 7 I am looking for something better. Really it needs:
Bluetooth
USB ports
Wifi
10" screen
OS wise Android/Windows
Basically something with potential as a mini computer.
I quite like the Asus Eee Tab, I like that I can dock it to an extended battery and keyboard otherwise turn Bluetooth on and use a Bluetooth keyboard. One thing I am heavily unsure about is OS.
Android is great but lack off support by manufacturers is a bit poor in terms of updates. With android versions constantly changing and improving, this is a bit of a shame as now we will be seeing cyanogen 8/9 with "icecream milkshake bannana toffee chocolate cake with hundred and thousands" version.
Then there's the problem with apps, overpriced and lack off in apps for a specific use such as office or webdesign apps, whereas on windows you could get great web apps or c# development apps for free.
So with OS I'm looking between android and windows, with android I would like a device that will continue support. If not something that can dual boot would be awesome.
Price wise I'm looking at around £400.
-
So you want Android without the awful app support and buggy old OS which doesnt get updated
Get an iPad :wink:
-
Ultrabook. Comes with a free keyboard and Free apps!!!
-
£130 advent vega &, vegacomb install?
-
Don't like ipads, I've used them and found the market worse and more expensive. The problem with android is specific job apps that require time and development are not there yet such as Photoshop type apps or SDK apps. I don't mind paying the price of apps if they pull there weight.
Plus android is new to the Tab scene and is a bit handicapped compared to Apple. Android 3.0 was the first attempt for pushing the tablet scene, even windows 7 is not touchscreen friendly and handicapped.
Its like laptops and mobiles when they where new, they where all over the place, some manufacturers more handicapped than others, poor support, wild prices etc... Now look at them.
Will have a look at ultrabooks
-
Ultrabook. Comes with a free keyboard and Free apps!!!
+1 starting roughly double what you want to spend but they're awesome and not much thicker than tablets at their thickest points + being a full laptop :cool:
I wouldn't want to do web developing on a tablet :sick: and serious office work on a tablet :sick:
-
I'm not looking for a laptop, looking for a middle ground between laptop and mobile.
Basically an upgrade for my Archos 7 as its a very poor tablet due to being underpowered, even my 600mhz gt540 outruns it like a mile.
Not looking to do major work on it, flash support is a must. Keyboard function via, Bluetooth/USB/other is needed, not a fan on slow on-screen keyboard as its slow and removes 50% off screen space.
The Vegas looks very nice!
-
Ultrabook. Comes with a free keyboard and Free apps!!!
+1 starting roughly double what you want to spend but they're awesome and not much thicker than tablets at their thickest points + being a full laptop :cool:
I wouldn't want to do web developing on a tablet :sick: and serious office work on a tablet :sick:
Web dev on a laptop, I can't do it on anything short of a big fat desktop with a minimum of two monitors.
Those ultrabooks look cool. I've always wanted a tablet, but don't actually know why - I've no real need for one. I use my phone to browse the internet and my laptop for anything that involves typing. I spent a while with my cousins iPad - but it literally served no purpose other than doing the odd IMDB look-up when watching tv, its useless for watching movies, useless for connectivity - its just a *slightly* higher res (hampered) version of my Android phone.
-
Ultrabook. Comes with a free keyboard and Free apps!!!
+1 starting roughly double what you want to spend but they're awesome and not much thicker than tablets at their thickest points + being a full laptop :cool:
I wouldn't want to do web developing on a tablet :sick: and serious office work on a tablet :sick:
Web dev on a laptop, I can't do it on anything short of a big fat desktop with a minimum of two monitors.
It's still possible though, unlike on a fondleslab of any variety.
-
It's still possible though, unlike on a fondleslab of any variety.
Possible, but not with any proficiency :)
-
It's still possible though, unlike on a fondleslab of any variety.
Possible, but not with any proficiency :)
Depends on how other people work, some work quite well with 1 monitor and there's nothing stopping anyone using a Ultrabook with another monitor as they come with vga(yes sirius some do) and HDMI output :smiley:
-
Any more advise for suitable tablets
-
Looks like Asus are revealing the Transformer prime with quad core this month. So I think I will wait for the new year see how some off the older tablets are effected by the new relases and price as well as see how promising the new products are.
What other tablets can people suggest and recommend, including ones due to come out?
-
aren't
macbook air ultrabooks £1000 in price?
-
Any more advise for suitable tablets
have you looked at the G9 archos range?
-
Not looked at g9's, will have a look. I'm 50/50 with archos, they seem to give them a descent spec but they all hugely under perform. I've got a Archos 7 and the product support and promises from archos were short lived in terms of software through most off there product range. Luckily with android there's a huge community with custom builds and cyanogen which gave the tablets a meaning such as enabling the market etc.
I played with an archos g8 101, that felt underpowered from its spec compared to other similar tablets.
But I will still have a look.
Been thinking of a HP touchpad, the OS I haven't played with but I noticed from reviews it performs very well. There seems to be a dual boot with a cyanogen mod made by the community with continuous development. Plus HP have said they will add windows support, but whether they follow through or not is another question as the touchpad is no longer manufactured.
Seems like a lot of tablet manufacturers really don't want to make tablets that dual boot, instead they make the same tablet twice with a minor variation to support the individual is, which is understandable for marketing and money making as it forces you to buy two tablets. Yet most tablets that seem to support dual boot do it poorly at the moment, so I'm in a pickle. Plus the dual booting tablets with 16gb seem to loose all there space once windows is installed.
-
Not looked at g9's, will have a look. I'm 50/50 with archos, they seem to give them a descent spec but they all hugely under perform. I've got a Archos 7 and the product support and promises from archos were short lived in terms of software through most off there product range. Luckily with android there's a huge community with custom builds and cyanogen which gave the tablets a meaning such as enabling the market etc.
I played with an archos g8 101, that felt underpowered from its spec compared to other similar tablets.
But I will still have a look.
Been thinking of a HP touchpad, the OS I haven't played with but I noticed from reviews it performs very well. There seems to be a dual boot with a cyanogen mod made by the community with continuous development. Plus HP have said they will add windows support, but whether they follow through or not is another question as the touchpad is no longer manufactured.
Seems like a lot of tablet manufacturers really don't want to make tablets that dual boot, instead they make the same tablet twice with a minor variation to support the individual is, which is understandable for marketing and money making as it forces you to buy two tablets. Yet most tablets that seem to support dual boot do it poorly at the moment, so I'm in a pickle. Plus the dual booting tablets with 16gb seem to loose all there space once windows is installed.
the G9 range are using the new Texas instruments OMAP chips which is faster than the tegra you'll find running in the xoom and other droid tablets, pretty sure it's quicker than the apple offers too. As you say most of the previous devices have been limited, on the 9th gen devices the chip flies and the only limitation is the 512MB ram, even so it still run everything smoothly and hardware 1080 mkv decoding :cool:
As i said in Tim's post, my boss has the 8" version which is pretty slick, build quality/feel is poor compaired to samsung / apple but as you'll know from owning an archos, it's the stuff inside that counts.
I'm in a similar situation to you, I want something I can use to watch films on the train / ereader but at the same time a laptop replacement is wanted for pulling photos off my camera, programming. At the moment there really isn't something that ticks all those boxes, on a £400 budget I'd get a dual core atom eeeepc ~ £200, 2GB ram stick £10 and a 120GB SSD £130, swap the ram and SSD out install win7 or ubuntu (or even dual boot) and you're laughing. I'd then buy an 8" tab at a later date for portability.
-
There's nothing that ticks all the boxes yet tablet wise which is a shame, the Asus transformer seems good in the fact of its huge battery life. I already have a 17" laptop for on the go and at home my main PC is finally running 64bit win7 and is equipped with a 32" monitor running 1920x xxxx resolution which is perfect for multitasking rather than a dual setup with a a5 sized tablet for input.
I could live with a android 10" tab without windowd as long as it will get 4.0 update and use my 120gb iPod as portable storage with a Bluetooth keyboard. Just can't decide what I want tablet wise. As you do have that office app on android for £10 and silveredit for a similar price which is a web development app with preview and FTP support. Not looked at any other SDK apps for other programming languages such as c etc.
Any other tablet recommendations I could look at?
-
Possible, but not with any proficiency :)
Oh right, web design proficiency depends on having a desktop and two monitors.
Further pigs of wisdom from Mr Lessani. :grin:
-
Possible, but not with any proficiency :)
Oh right, web design proficiency depends on having a desktop and two monitors.
Further pigs of wisdom from Mr Lessani. :grin:
3 years of running a web design company says so, yes ;) But, each to their own.
-
overclockers.co.uk have Motorola Xoom on offer for around £320 (ex demo units)
Or refurbished Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1" on ebay for around £270
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAMSUNG-GALAXY-TAB-16GB-10-1-TABLET-10-1-/290615055276?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DDLSL%252BSIC.NPJS%26its%3DI%252BP%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D300591540184%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4003312582442837627#ht_4551wt_1046
cheap enough for some upgrades?
-
Having extensively used a XOOM I would say only go for it if you want cheap HDMI/SD expansion and USB connectivity. 99p cables from ebay work and it looks lovely on the telly, pity the free keyboard and mouse (http://www.motorolaxoompromotion.co.uk/) with the XOOMs ended. The Samsung is nice, it's also light and very thin which I love about it.
-
Still having a hard time deciding as nothing out there to tick all the boxes, the Asus Transformer seems to be the only unit I like and still I can't justify it even though it won a lot of awards, but the "Transformer prime" should be revealed in a week, so lets see what that brings.
I know the touchpad which is an ipad look a like has got dual boot and great specs with the community developing cyanogen for it, which seems ideal. But HP said they will allow extended support soon to enable it to be able to boot "windows 7", anyone know how true this is?
My boss was asking about tablets as he was thinking of going ipad2 tablets for the business trying to go paperless as a whole in the company and using the tablet for site visits etc but it needs internet access via a mobile tariff as not all sights you visit have wifi, then theres the issue of app development on the iphone to extend the business's function of tasks. He can't find anything suitable tablet wise either :sad:
-
I very much doubt there is a tablet that'll fit your requirements and won't be for some time yet.
I know the touchpad which is an ipad look a like has got dual boot and great specs with the community developing cyanogen for it, which seems ideal. But HP said they will allow extended support soon to enable it to be able to boot "windows 7", anyone know how true this is?
Windows 7 won't run on the touchpad as it's a different CPU architecture, however, Windows 8 ARM will run on it - how well depends on the specs the ARM version needs as it's rumoured to not include the normal Windows UI I suspect it will have a lower footprint.
As for business apps, I'd say write them for the web. HTML4 or 5 will run on iOS, Android, and Windows. Write smart, write once.
-
I took the bullet, got a Asus TF101 :nerd:
Unfortunately when it arrived the touch screen did not work, after all the hassle it was a software bug that requires recovery mode to correct. Asus tech support helped me out and sorted it, chuffed now! Brilliant piece of kit, got it for £375 with dock :lipsrsealed:
-
Looks nice, where did you get it from?
-
very catalog, played around with online vouchers and cashback idea's but the lowest I could find it for was £400 and as a new user you get £25 off making it £375 with the voucher, that was the best deal I could get, yet today the price has jumped to £430 so I was lucky, its possible to get it down to £380~385 at the moment via various means.
Brilliant battery life on the device its insane, when people said a charge will last 2-3 days off good use I thought it was nonsense, but they weren't lieing, battery is amazing.
Could wait around as a week ago they announced the new asus transformer 2 (prime), wasn't heavily over keen on the specs and its going to hit the US markets in december, no EU dates yet though, but once it hits the EU shortly after the Transformer should drop by £50-£100 at a guess.
-
I'm tempted to get one (as it just looks cool), but I really can't think of any reason to use it.
The keyboard/dock is a good idea and makes it more usable, but the OS limits what you can actually use it for. Its a shame Windows doesn't run on ARM, dual boot Android/Windows would be handy!
-
Why'd you think I'm waiting for Win8 :wink: Best of both worlds then :smiley:
-
Aye, the community with android is brilliant, win8 as said will hopefully support ARM and no doubtfully it should support the tegra 2 as this will become a favourite chip with manufacturers especially with the tegra3 expected Q4 of 2012... reducing the tegra2 price.
But knowing the android community etc I'm sure they will work out a way to dual boot it eventually.
Gaming wise the Asus transformer is amazing, you can get a bluetooth controller, link it to the telly via hdmi and use it as a mini console which is pretty neat, they had an article regarding this in the tegra market which looks quite cool, the email in honeycomp and the bigger display makes it a lot better. It does almost everything I want it too, hopefully it will eventually get win8 and let me use its full potential in terms off apps that the android market doesn't.
-
Microsoft are going to do the same with Win8 as they have with WP7, each company releasing a Win8 ARM device will need to work with one chipset manufacturer and make it run well before Microsoft bless it and allow it to be released. The only way we'll see Win8 on non-Microsoft sanctioned devices is through hacking the OS, devices and drivers. The most likely case is that people will find a way to resize their Win8 partitions to then allow their official Win8 devices to dual boot Android. The major problem I foresee is that the Win8 devices may all be NAND locked, which then adds more complexity, but I have faith in XDA Devs.