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Why This Apple Fan is Getting an Android Tablet and Not Another iPad

7 points by ruswick 14y ago

phaus 14y ago
If someone had never owned a tablet before, I'm sure they would be delighted with Google's Nexus 7. Unfortunately, the author already has an original iPad, so there's a good chance he will be disappointed with it solely because 7" tablets are in many cases, too small to be useful. I've owned a Kindle Fire, an iPad 3, and an Asus EEE Slate. What I've learned from these devices is that reading a PDF, browsing the web, or using any sort of productivity program is a rather unpleasant experience on a 7" device. The browsing and reading experience on the 12" EEE Slate was wonderful, but the device's weight (over 2 lbs) makes it less than ideal. While the iPad can't compete with the EEE slate in terms of productivity, the retina screen and the lower weight of the device end up making it by far the best way to read PDFs. While IOS was nice, I'd wager that any 9"+ android tablet that's running Android 4 or higher would provide a similar experience. I just don't think that anything with a smaller screen is ever going to be sufficient.
briandear 14y ago
I love it when people compare stuff that's been shipping for almost a year to products that haven't shipped yet. By the time the ill-named Jelly Bean is actually shipping and in consumers' hands, Apple will be on to iOS 6. Vapor ware comparisons are so easy. The author's personal preference away from textured, simu-analog graphics is fair enough, but let's get down to what really counts: performance, security, quality. I would much rather debate those issues than silly things like simulated paper in iBooks. I haven't used ice-jelly-honey-creame-pie-sandwich or whatever it's called, but I'm also not writing about how awesome it is (or isn't.)
- ruswick 14y ago
  It's not vapor-ware. It's already in the hands of thousands of people. It's shipping in 2-3 weeks, which is less of a wait than a Retina MBP. Based on the fact that it's already out there and being written about profusely, there's definitely enough information to make a comparison and decide on what to buy.
- malandrew 14y ago
  I've owned more Apple products and been responsible for more purchases of Apple products by other people than anyone I know, but this weekend when my friend came over with his jelly bean nexus, my immediate reaction was "Whoa! This is a legit competitor to iOS and the iPad" I've always been super disappointed with Android and it's inconsistencies, but Matias Duarte is doing a hell of a job since taking over. Seriously, go get a new Nexus and play with it. It's not quite at iOS quality in all areas, but where it isn't quite there it is at least close and in some respects it is surpassing iOS in ways that didn't matter much before but will matter more and more in the future. I think the biggest thing that is going to hold back iOS and what will give Android and Web Apps the upper hand is Intents. FYI: Apple's URL Schemes are the closest it has to Intents and but it isn't as embraced as Intents on Android. (ref: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#featuredarticles/iPhoneURLScheme_Reference/Introduction/Introduction.html http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#featuredarticles/iPh... ) That all being said, I think the author's complete dismissal of affordances because of egregious skeuomorphisms committed by Apple to be a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Affordances are important for usability, especially for people who are older or getting their first serious computing device and using it for more than just email. Affordances help you learn new interfaces faster.

7 points by ruswick 14y ago

phaus 14y ago

If someone had never owned a tablet before, I'm sure they would be delighted with Google's Nexus 7. Unfortunately, the author already has an original iPad, so there's a good chance he will be disappointed with it solely because 7" tablets are in many cases, too small to be useful. I've owned a Kindle Fire, an iPad 3, and an Asus EEE Slate. What I've learned from these devices is that reading a PDF, browsing the web, or using any sort of productivity program is a rather unpleasant experience on a 7" device. The browsing and reading experience on the 12" EEE Slate was wonderful, but the device's weight (over 2 lbs) makes it less than ideal. While the iPad can't compete with the EEE slate in terms of productivity, the retina screen and the lower weight of the device end up making it by far the best way to read PDFs. While IOS was nice, I'd wager that any 9"+ android tablet that's running Android 4 or higher would provide a similar experience. I just don't think that anything with a smaller screen is ever going to be sufficient.

briandear 14y ago

I love it when people compare stuff that's been shipping for almost a year to products that haven't shipped yet. By the time the ill-named Jelly Bean is actually shipping and in consumers' hands, Apple will be on to iOS 6. Vapor ware comparisons are so easy. The author's personal preference away from textured, simu-analog graphics is fair enough, but let's get down to what really counts: performance, security, quality. I would much rather debate those issues than silly things like simulated paper in iBooks. I haven't used ice-jelly-honey-creame-pie-sandwich or whatever it's called, but I'm also not writing about how awesome it is (or isn't.)

ruswick 14y ago
It's not vapor-ware. It's already in the hands of thousands of people. It's shipping in 2-3 weeks, which is less of a wait than a Retina MBP. Based on the fact that it's already out there and being written about profusely, there's definitely enough information to make a comparison and decide on what to buy.
malandrew 14y ago
I've owned more Apple products and been responsible for more purchases of Apple products by other people than anyone I know, but this weekend when my friend came over with his jelly bean nexus, my immediate reaction was "Whoa! This is a legit competitor to iOS and the iPad" I've always been super disappointed with Android and it's inconsistencies, but Matias Duarte is doing a hell of a job since taking over. Seriously, go get a new Nexus and play with it. It's not quite at iOS quality in all areas, but where it isn't quite there it is at least close and in some respects it is surpassing iOS in ways that didn't matter much before but will matter more and more in the future. I think the biggest thing that is going to hold back iOS and what will give Android and Web Apps the upper hand is Intents. FYI: Apple's URL Schemes are the closest it has to Intents and but it isn't as embraced as Intents on Android. (ref: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#featuredarticles/iPhoneURLScheme_Reference/Introduction/Introduction.html http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#featuredarticles/iPh... ) That all being said, I think the author's complete dismissal of affordances because of egregious skeuomorphisms committed by Apple to be a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Affordances are important for usability, especially for people who are older or getting their first serious computing device and using it for more than just email. Affordances help you learn new interfaces faster.