Any iPad competitors on the way?

cormie

Hi,
I've been keeping an eye on a tablet to compete with the iPad for a while. It's not going to be for me, but for somebody who is a complete technophobe and will need the most intuitive device possible to be able to actually use it. My brother is saying due to its simplicity, ipad would be the way to go, that android is a bit too advanced. I'm thinking, with something like sense, once it's set up, an android tablet could be simpler as it will just be a case of swiping from side to side to get to music/internet/email etc.

Also of course the price is probably going to be a lot less.

So main things are:
Big screen (iPad is 9.7inch so would be looking for similar or bigger)
Ease of use (Very important)
Big enough capacity (would like to put some music on it).
Clear screen with high resolution

Other things:
Dictaphone
Radio

Seems there's nothing really out there at the moment to compete with the iPad which is a shame but if anyone knows any different, especially with Christmas approaching, please share

chrislad

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/samsung-galaxy-tab-revealed/

cormie

Thanks Not a lot of info on it but I see it's only 7" display

I want something for a near 60 year old technophobe so I'm not sure if 7" would be adequate.

subway

in fairness, they would probably be better with the ipad

Chrizfitz

The Samsung Galaxy Tab has everything going for it and will be released in a 10" screen version. Vodafone will probably have it on a contract as some leaked pics this week prove. The only thing is the price, Samsung haven't released details on the price but expect to see this at a frankly massive €800. If it worth it will have to be seen.

An alternative might be the recently announced Archos 101. This will be released in Oct for the $300 price range but I wouldn't bother until it has been rooted and all the Archos crap has been taken off it. For example it will notcome with the android marketplace from launch.

IMO these are the 2 tabs with the most potential, the samsung is the top end of the price range and I think could be a real ipad beater if people could just afford it. And the archos cheap and cheerful with a big screen and lots of potential.

Nekro Man

for what it's worth

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/04/the_apad_is_another_ipad_clone.html

its's the Apad, an Android ipad

jeromeof

Samsung Galaxy Tab would be the nearest thing, but even that may not get to a 10 inch version until near christmas (probably new year in Ireland). It also seems like they won't have a Wifi only version at least initially, so while you might get it cheap with a contract you are paying a contract.

I wouldn't go for those cheap chinese aPad's etc. you might get them cheap but it will be a world of pain, especially if it is for someone else, not technical minded.

Things to look for are a:
1. good processor i.e. 1Ghz (don't believe some of the chinese specifications)
2. good ram (iPad only has 256MB but I think 512MB is really required for a great Android experience) - i think the iPad will suffer once 4.2 comes out with multitasking support.
3. great battery life (again don't believe some of the manufacturer specifications) - more than any laptop, a tablet needs to last for hours before being plugged in.
4. Google licensed (at lot of the cheap tablets, even Archos, haven't licensed the the Google Apps, so no maps, marketplace, gmail etc)
5. Capacitive Touch screen (the cheap chinese guys are still resistive)
6. Resolution (at least 1024x600), I have seen lots of android tablets with 800x480 which is a great resolution for a phone but not for a tablet.
7. Customised Android Apps (at least for now). Samsung have done a good job copying some of the standard iPad application (and I mean copy, as I am sure Mr Jobs was not happy when he watched the Samsung launch on Thursday). The have to be customised to properly take advanced of the larger screen, scaling (which I believe most Android applications will do quite nicely) will only work with some application, most will need special controls to really work well as a tablet, rather than a phone). This is the lead that the iPad has at the moment, google didn't provide Android developers with anything to target Tablets with yet (but probably will with Android 3.0).
8. Extras that the iPad doesn't have would be nice e.g. a front camera, a 3G version that can double as a phone.

A cheap Chinese Android tablet probably doesn't have any of these features, hence why they are Eur100, add an extra Eur100 you might get a decent processor and RAM, add another Eur100 and you might be Capacitive touch screen and better battery, add another Eur100 you should hopefully get a 10 inch screen at a decent resolution.

Problem is, for now, you have almost got to the price of the iPad and you still haven't got any applications. This might change before Christmas, but my bet would be it won't be till easter next year before we see real Android tablet competitors that are reasonable priced with the best Android Apps ported over to properly support a tablet. Though possible a Wifi only 10inch Samsung Galaxy Tab might appear before christmas and at least Samsung has seen to done a good job in getting a reasonable usable set of application out.

Doyler92

Sorry didn't read this thread yet but there is a good article about all the things you are looking for in today's Sun.

Cianos

subway wrote: »

in fairness, they would probably be better with the ipad

I'm 'the brother' mentioned in the OP And I agree with the above quote. The person in question has tried a bunch of times to use a computer (Windows), but couldn't get the hang of it. But she's able to use her mobile phone no bother, so she's not entirely a lost cause :cool:

See, the main issue is not specs and performance, it's the usability. There's no point in spending money on anything if it's not going to be used and just ends up gathering dust.

Anyone who has used an iphone for a few months should agree that it is pretty much as intuitive a device of its kind can be.

While other devices might have better processors, higher capacity and so on, what's the point if she doesn't understand how to use it?

I now use a HTC Desire, and I think Android is slightly too complicated for a technophobe to be fully comfortable with it, especially when compared to the iphone/ipad. Of course there's more possibilities with Android and that's great for those who have the know how to take advantage of that. But for a tech-illiterate person, an ipad would feel a lot more accessible and enjoyable to use.

BopNiblets

lol any? There's dozens on the way!
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/12/seven-alternatives-to-the-apple-ipad/
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/02/seven-more-ipad-alternatives/
And that's just the top 2 google results, Archos announced 5 different tablets in various sizes a while ago, think it was on engadget.
They'll take the usual delayed time to reach Ireland though.

lasno

Toshiba also have a tablet due on the market soon...

www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/zdnet-uk-first-take-10013312/toshiba-folio-100-10018545/