I only like it - a bit. I must be partially Luddite. It's just all too much. Too many apps. Too many games - and I really don't play games anyway. Just a bit too big to be convenient for me. I've had some fun with Garage Band but never fully gotten in to the whole plug-my-guitar-in to it thing... I've been disappointed a few times with web browsing when the whole no-flash things rears it's head. Yes, there are some cool apps for being creative but once again, the digital thing gets lost on me. Pen and paper feel so much more natural. I can watch movies but generally when I have time to do so I'm near a TV or monitor anyway. I will admit that the 3g access has been handy on a few occasions and it is nice not to have to pack my laptop when I go for a quick over-nighter somewhere.

But, I think what I really wanted all along is a PlayBook. My Blackberry is always with me so connectivity is not a problem. I've got the old 6GB data plan for $30.00 as well. The size seems about right for me. And honestly I really don't do much with a tablet other than use it for the odd GPS/map/directions, checking and composing emails. Some surfing. Yes the PlayBook is very expensive for what it is.

I have no idea why I'm telling this to you folks. Maybe I'm just subconsciously trying to find a buyer for a 64GB 3G iPad 2....

Rub

I'm kinda in the same boat myself, I'm looking at getting an iPad 2 for my business mostly because I have some investment in the app infrastructure (expense apps, contact management apps, some games, and the whole Mobile Me/iCloud thing).

Unfortunately what I really think I want is something like the ASUS ePad Transformer, since it comes with a rocking keyboard, and Android is in some ways way more flexible than IOS.

I'm glad to hear that not everyone is completely enamoured with the iPad ecosystem.

anyway, just my 2 cents.

Daniel

I seriously doubt you'll find that flash works well on any touch driven device but if you think the PlayBook will work better for you then post an Ad on Kijiji for your iPad and make the switch.

It's just all too much. Too many apps. Too many games...

Downloading these is optional, of course. It's rare to hear complaints about having too much choice.

Downloading these is optional, of course. It's rare to hear complaints about having too much choice.

It's wading through it all at the App Store that gets to me... trying to find something that does what I need/want it to... There are 61 mortgage calculators for the iPad... 62 photo editors, and I don't want to tell you how much time I've wasted looking through guitar chord apps, etc. There is a lot of junk out there - in all categories.

I got rid of my iPhone basically for the same reasons... you'd think I would have learned. :confused:

As I said in my original post - not sure why I was telling everyone about these thoughts of mine, especially here. I do love my iMac though.

Rub

It's wading through it all at the App Store that gets to me... trying to find something that does what I need/want it to... There are 61 mortgage calculators for the iPad... 62 photo editors, and I don't want to tell you how much time I've wasted looking through guitar chord apps, etc. There is a lot of junk out there - in all categories.

I got rid of my iPhone basically for the same reasons... you'd think I would have learned. :confused:

As I said in my original post - not sure why I was telling everyone about these thoughts of mine, especially here. I do love my iMac though.

Rub

As johnnyspade said, it is not the iPhone or iPad's fault that there is so much choice. I think this has more to do with self-control. Having the ability to cope with a situation that can feel overwhelming is what you need to accomplish. Saying that there is too much choice is a simple excuse to say that you cannot deal with all the Apps available for the device. Remember, you are the one that is looking through the App Store, not the iPhone or iPad, in which the only person who has used the App Store is you.

As johnnyspade said, it is not the iPhone or iPad's fault that there is so much choice. I think this has more to do with self-control. Having the ability to cope with a situation that can feel overwhelming is what you need to accomplish. Saying that there is too much choice is a simple excuse to say that you cannot deal with all the Apps available for the device. Remember, you are the one that is looking through the App Store, not the iPhone or iPad, in which the only person who has used the App Store is you.


:confused:

We're obviously coming from very different places as far as our technology needs and desires stand. I doubt that my point will ever be recognized as i meant it to be. I'm going to pretend I never started this thread. Sorry I wasted your time.


Rub

How long have you had the iPad? Less than 14 days? Return it and get your money back. (Restore first!)

If you have a BB, then a Playbook is a fair choice. After all, it is more of a BB companion than a tablet in its own right.

I'm just curious as to what the PB is going to offer you vs. an iPad. And when the PB gets their Android compatibility layer, will you be just as unhappy with the extra choices, like the iPad App store now?

You haven't really articulated what you want to do with a tablet, so it's hard to provide meaningful advice. And if you are overwhelmed with all the choice, why not just ask here which app is good for x instead of trying to wade through by yourself?

I only like it - a bit. I must be partially Luddite. It's just all too much. Too many apps. Too many games - and I really don't play games anyway. Just a bit too big to be convenient

Rub

:confused:

We're obviously coming from very different places as far as our technology needs and desires stand. I doubt that my point will ever be recognized as i meant it to be. I'm going to pretend I never started this thread. Sorry I wasted your time.


Rub

What is so confusing about what I said? You mentioned that there is too much games, apps, etc. I mentioned that if you going to blame the fact that you only like your iPad a bit because there is too much apps and games, then that would be wrong. Seeing as you have Blakcberry, a Playbook may be suitable as you are used to the Blackberry platform and such, so I cannot judge you for choosing other products. If it works for you, then it works.

However, back to the iPad. To simpplify my other post, all I am saying is that you may feel overwhelmed with all the apps available. Consider what you said about having too much apps... Now consider the fact that you not being forced to get apps, its all optional. Bring those two facts together, and it would be easy to see that the real problem is self-control. That was the whole point of my previous post.

I understand what they are saying. A friend of mine is a self proclaimed Luddite.
Too many choices can be overwhelming to some. I often buy products which do one thing only.
I don't want a printer which scans, copies, faxes, makes coffee...
The OP knows RIM products and is comfortable with it.
What is similar is the Lion OS. A lot of people are not getting it because there is too many bells and whistles
that many don't need and don't want to spend 1/2 day trying to turn off.
Technology is a tool, use what works best for you.

10 bucks this dude works for RIM!! lol
if not, I'll save you from the iPad2 and give you 550 :)

You won't find a tablet that can play flash well and that won't burn your hands off while instantly draining g your battery. Apple didn't cripple flash just because they are dicks.

it seems millions of others have. Keep up with times yo.

Hi there,

I think maybe you should buy a playbook and play with it within a time frame you can return it if you don't want it. That way, you get to play before selling your ipad2.

Personally, i think go with whatever works for you. As much as I love Apple products and their integration etc.., it's not for everyone.

I will say this (which is slightly off topic), but what kills me about the playbook is that it needs a blackberry for email (unless that's changed?) I think that's the dumbest mistake ever b/c if it had it's own email client right out of the box, it would have gained more traction with people. But having to use another device to get email just blows my mind - especially for a company like RIM which is know, first and foresmost, for it's email and BBM communications!

I hope they right their ship b/c they employ CDNs, but I truly believe that lack of email is a dumb decision which hurt them significantly.

As for the playbook itself, I've heard good things about it. People seem to like it although they were all gifts so I don't know how someone who purchased it feels like.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to do. As I said, it's not for everyone.

Cheers,
Keebler

ipad is pretty much the best tablet out there at this present moment. Though the competition pads are fast catching up. It's hard to say if RIM will pull up it's socks, but the newer android tablets are smokin cool and do run flash like a dream.

i understand what they are saying. A friend of mine is a self proclaimed luddite.
Too many choices can be overwhelming to some. I often buy products which do one thing only.
I don't want a printer which scans, copies, faxes, makes coffee...
The op knows rim products and is comfortable with it.
What is similar is the lion os. A lot of people are not getting it because there is too many bells and whistles
that many don't need and don't want to spend 1/2 day trying to turn off.
Technology is a tool, use what works best for you.

+1.

ipad is pretty much the best tablet out there at this present moment. Though the competition pads are fast catching up. It's hard to say if RIM will pull up it's socks, but the newer android tablets are smokin cool and do run flash like a dream.

The dream that flash can run fine on a tablet is in itself an awesome dream.

My wife insisted I return the iPad 2 I bought for her for reasons I won't disclose. Trust me she still wants an iPad 2 down the line. We love our Apple, we have iPods, a Mac Mini and an iMac. But my IT guy here was raving about the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime. So I Googled a comparison between that and the iPad and I'm not considering the iPad anymore for many reasons. Price point, flash player, camera, full HD, memory expansion etc. Down the line I hope to get an Android phone and the Transformer Prime will have so called ice-cream sandwich capability between the two. The iPad is dazzling and impressive but with too many dead ends.

I find it funny how technology goes in waves. Sounds like echos of the iPod... "other mp3 players have fm radio and cameras and this and that". Turned into "this android phone has more ram and a bigger screen and this and that". And now "this tablet has a better camera and a keyboard and this and that". Yet somehow Apple is still quite successful. It's funny that people still have not learned that the experience outweighs the features. Microsoft has learned the hard way that it's not about cramming every imaginable feature into a product, it's about making said product fun, useable, and "magical". That's why PCs are a bad experience, but Windows Phones have customer satisfaction ratings through the roof.

* The fine print: I'm not saying Apple's products are better in any way. I'm strictly commenting on how people's perception of "good" inevitably relates to the features regardless of the experience.

A7

I find it funny how technology goes in waves. Sounds like echos of the iPod... "other mp3 players have fm radio and cameras and this and that". Turned into "this android phone has more ram and a bigger screen and this and that". And now "this tablet has a better camera and a keyboard and this and that". Yet somehow Apple is still quite successful. It's funny that people still have not learned that the experience outweighs the features. Microsoft has learned the hard way that it's not about cramming every imaginable feature into a product, it's about making said product fun, useable, and "magical". That's why PCs are a bad experience, but Windows Phones have customer satisfaction ratings through the roof.

* The fine print: I'm not saying Apple's products are better in any way. I'm strictly commenting on how people's perception of "good" inevitably relates to the features regardless of the experience.

A7

I like your point. I still would rather buy her a MacBook Pro than the ASUS and stay in the Apple family especially since I bought a three user copy of Office for Mac and so far have only put it on two Macs at home.

Yes indeed... a Macbook Pro would be nice. It's the cost that often pushes people to tablets.

For what it's worth, I think the Transformer Prime is a fantastic tablet. If Google can get their act together and push out a better OS, fix the fragmentation of the OS/apps, and come up with a nicer/cleaner skin with less gimmicks, I think it would compete quite well against the iPad.

A7

I have the Acer Icona A500 for my tablet needs. I mulled over the iPad for a long time, but ultimately it was the iconia that won me over as it was only $450, and is a 10" model.

And now, of course they are on sale for ~ $300 depending on where you go. Love the Iconia. Tegra 2 processor, decent battery. Flash. HDMI out. 16gb with a microsd card. Not bad.

I didn't like the idea of the playbook. Didn't feel like throwing money into a company thats already on fire.

CplHoward, I have heard that Flash sucks battery like there's no tomorrow; so, just out of academic interest, have you any actual usage information on how long the battery has lasted you on your Iconia when you view Flash videos etc.? Have you also compared this to the rated battery life?

Thanks and cheers

As a matter of fact I have. For the model I have (A500-10S1c) Ive noticed:

Normal usage of the Iconia, with a 20% cpu load at 20/40 duty cycle gave an average battery lifespan of 14 hours.

Heavy usage, using google chrome, watching youtube and animefreak.tv videos at 70% cpu load and the same 20/40 duty cycle gave a lifespan of only 6 hours.

Extreme usage using google chrome and playing the sims (flash based game) at 90% cpu load and 100% duty cycle with other applications suspended in background, and some active (EG: Facebook, Weather, Widgets, Active Wallpaper, trillian) gave the Iconia a mere 3hour and 45 minute lifespan). Considering this thing has a 3260mAh battery pack in it, thats pretty bad.

Comparatively, I know from experience that If I use acer's program for watching .mkv or .avi files, its a lot longer, roughly 8 hours or so with the same programs running as listed above.

Now I didn't use any particular program to graph this usage, the android os comes with a monitor built in (settings>battery>battery usage).

So in a nutshell, yes. Flash eats the battery alive, even more faster then if I'm playing a 3d game on it.

This is all based on the Iconia A500, wifi model, standard charger and personal findings. I have no life. XD

Oddly enough, on acer's website. I couldn't find their battery lifespan anywhere, but I have read some reviews on tech republic that are reasonably close:

(SRC: Acer Iconia Tab A500 review: Usability | from TechRadar's expert reviews of Tablets (http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/acer-iconia-tab-a500-959016/review?artc_pg=5))

Battery life on the Acer Iconia Tab A500 is just average for an Android device – about seven hours in our typical everyday-usage test. Some reports indicate a battery life that's longer – up to nine hours – and much shorter – only six hours. The issue is that the battery life depends greatly on how you consume media.

If you play movies and listen to music, you can expect a six hour usage time. If you turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, connecting only as needed, use mostly light apps for note-taking and business work, then you can expect a nine hour battery life or even more. What we found is that the Iconia Tab A500 doesn't last as long as the Motorola Xoom or the Apple iPad 2 in everyday usage, and we ended up being annoyed at having to re-charge at midday.

-----------

Now with that the biggest, single most complaint I have about the iconia is the power cord. I think its 36" long. Its pathetic.

I could yip and yap all day about it, but ultimately whats best for you to do is just head to a walmart or best-buy and play with them and see for yourself which one fits best.

(Personally, I wouldn't mind having an iPad myself. Trade ya.)

Thanks for the detailed info. And no, thanks, I am not interested in trading my iPad :) I was just curious and wanted to verify what I read on the interwebs.

Hope you and everyone you know and care about had a great Christmas and wish you all a very happy new year.

Cheers

Lol.. Smart man indeed.

I was under the impression the whole "this tablet is better because it plays flash" died when adobe decided to kill the moire flash?

To not buy an iPad for flash reason is an Old argument to me at this point. Even Adobe has moved past it. Now, there are tons of apps, and that has simply proven that the iOS dev is in full swing and support. Tons of choice only enables the consumer in the end. SO much so that I oft wonder how hard the app buck must be to earn. But anyhow....
I likened this to buying a car. Is the support/data out there for all after market needs?? Can you do a search and find answers you'll need from the user community??
I can understand not wanting the iPad for your own reasons, but if you're an Apple OS user, the integration is tough one to argue against.
If you're not an apple user, the plethora of apps is also hard to argue against. Tons of choices.

My bro recently told me that the largest roll out for medical application of a tablet was done at Ottawa General Hospital (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/04/20/ottawa-ipads-hospital374.html)

I still recall when I heard that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers replaced their actual playbooks w/ iPads (http://mashable.com/2011/08/29/tampa-bay-buccaneers-ipads/).

I simply think the support system out there is a hard one to defeat. Just like when many of us here met in early 2000s and bounced info off each other when the support was lacking overall. Now it's a totally diff story.

Anyhow, for disclosure purposes, I went looking for a TouchPad when they went for $100. Hard to beat that. And I'll do the same when the PlayBook goes for that price. ;)