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Ok, so supposedly this is a "real competitor" for the iPad, but the author lists the following downsides: 1) It’s a resistive screen. 2) It’s not a very bright
by bradleyland 16y ago
Ok, so supposedly this is a "real competitor" for the iPad, but the author lists the following downsides:
1) It’s a resistive screen.
2) It’s not a very bright screen, like the iPad.
3) It’s not a blazing fast CPU.
4) It’s limited for video.
5) It will be heavier than most eInk devices.
6) There’s no 3G, it’s WiFi-only.
Here's why these matter.
1) There is a very good reason no one uses resistive touch for devices intended to be used with your finger. The experience is horrible. You're better off trying to use your fingernail than you are your finger, and that's just awkward.
2) From the photos (and they might just be bad photos) the screen looks find for black & white, but muddy and washed out in color.
3) So responsiveness will suffer when running the full version of Android
4) TILT
5) This hasn't really been a problem for the iPad, but the iPad doesn't suffer from the cumulative negative effects listed here.
6) Not a big problem, IMO. A lot of people bought the WiFi iPad, and for good reason. If you're going to have a 3G data connection, it should probably be in the form of a MiFi or something similar.
Here's the biggest problem of all, items one, two, three, four add up to a lousy experience, and experience is everything. Sure, people might buy it once, but they won't use it if the experience sucks, and they won't buy another. The shame of the matter is that they may condemn tablets in general, rather than understand the attribution as I've listed it above.
- someone_here 16y agoWith regard to point 1, my N900 has a resistive screen, and it feels almost exactly like an iphone (except I can use a stylus to click on tiny links on web pages instead of having to zoom).
- bnoordhuis 16y agoI second this emotion. To me, there is no discernible difference between my N900 and the HTC Hero I had before it.
- illumin8 16y agoYou're crazy. I've used an N900 and it is nothing like an iPhone. Responsiveness is terrible- clicks sometimes take 2 or 3 attempts to register, and even when they do register the software takes half a second to respond, so you end up with this awkward use that goes something like "did I click it? I think I clicked it, let me click it again." The iPhone is instantly responsive to any touch, and when you get used to using a multi-touch device, you really can't go back to using a resistive screen. I felt like it was 1995 and I was using an original Palm Pilot.
- stcredzero 16y agoYour points may not matter so much for the hobbyist/tinkerer. The $200 price point is workable for that crowd.
- slantyyz 16y agoYour post sort of proves the point. Hobbyists/tinkerers probably wouldn't consider an iPad because of who they are. That puts this device in a different market segment. Despite the fact that this device has similar features and form factor to the iPad, this device and the iPad aren't really competing for the same customers.
- stcredzero 16y agoActually, that is the point I'm trying to make!