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An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

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Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#121

Post by drzaiusapelord »

r00fus wrote: post #15
georgemcbay wrote: post #3

I actually think that post-ICS and especially with Jelly Bean that Android is a superior tablet OS to iOS, at least for me. There's basically no feature on iOS that I miss when I'm on Android, but a few (eg. custom keyboards, the overall intent system, etc) that I miss when I'm on iOS. iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes to "tablet optimized" apps) and between that and iOS ec…

This is a google device, not a run-of-the-mill Android device (most of which are not on ICS much less JB). This point is very important - it makes the device more like an iOS one - more likely for updates, more fine touches as Google's cred rests on it. If we see other tablets of similar calibre to the nexus7, then yes - you can say "Android" compares/best iOS. But for right now, it's nexus7 vs. iPad or Kindle Fire.

>But for right now, it's nexus7 vs. iPad or Kindle Fire.

Not really. The ASUS line of transformers have been getting updates very quickly and they're slated to get JB soon. The tablet situation has little to do with the phone situation. Most of the delays and horrid policies come straight from the carriers, not the OEMs. I expect the tablet market to remain competitive and upgrade quickly and fully expect the horrible phone market to be as shitty as ever, if not worse. Google needs to push the Nexus phone harder and make its motorola offerings non-Blur.

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#122

Post by [deleted] »

bengillies wrote: post #102
adrianm wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually don't think he's trolling, or at least not in the way you're interpreting. I could be wrong, but I think he just clumsily phrased his response. In other words, he was stating that the point of Android is to be a decentralized operating system. Individual deployments are not controlled by any one corporation, so there can be a lot of hit and misses. Therefore, I don't think he is making a general claim that…

You're probably correct but then, why judge the Android OS as a whole based on the fact that there are a few rubbish devices out that run it?

[deleted]

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#123

Post by drzaiusapelord »

lloeki wrote: post #88
cageface wrote: post #2

I have to give Siegler credit for actually posting an objective review of an Android device. No matter which side you favor in the tablet wars I think you have to agree that we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition. Rather than picking sides we should be happy that Apple and Google are pushing each other to improve their hardware and software at a rate we rarely see in consumer elec…

> we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition On the tablet market, the competition was decimated by the iPad, which was, objectively, overall better than any contender, and by a comfortable margin. Yes Android could potentially do stuff better than iOS, yes hardware could be non-crap, but what was going out of the door was not even in the same league at all. The only one that had real…

>Until now.

Now was 6+ months ago. You could get a nice fast Tegra3 tablet for a while now at a competitive price. The Nexus is really just an Asus TF201/TF300 shrunk down to 7 inches and with a hefty reduction in price.

>The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic.

Or unaware of the last 2 Asus Transformer models (three now as the new one just launched) or even the budget Acer tegra3 tablet. Galaxy tablet isn't bad either, just slow to updates.

I've owned both the TF101 and the TF300 and really feel no need or want for an ipad. The Fire/Nook aren't tablets, they're appliances. If someone wants an android tablet, there are at least 2 or 3 very nice models for sale and 4 or 5 mainstream lower tier cheaper ones.

The Nexus is just a big price cut. Its the same hardware we've been using for some time. That's partly why its so cheap. The Tegra3 chipset is ancient by SoC standards (November 9, 2011.).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra#Tegra_3

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#124

Post by bitwize »

lloeki wrote: post #88
cageface wrote: post #2

I have to give Siegler credit for actually posting an objective review of an Android device. No matter which side you favor in the tablet wars I think you have to agree that we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition. Rather than picking sides we should be happy that Apple and Google are pushing each other to improve their hardware and software at a rate we rarely see in consumer elec…

> we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition On the tablet market, the competition was decimated by the iPad, which was, objectively, overall better than any contender, and by a comfortable margin. Yes Android could potentially do stuff better than iOS, yes hardware could be non-crap, but what was going out of the door was not even in the same league at all. The only one that had real…

Until now.

For values of "now" equal to "around this time a year ago".

The EeePad Transformer was the real game-changer in the Android tablet market. Solid hardware, recent versions of Android, great price.

It's worth noting that the Nexus 7 is made by Asus and is effectively a smaller Transformer Prime without the keyboard.

Guess Google didn't want to mess around when choosing hardware partners and went straight for the top quality.

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#125

Post by eco »

ximeng wrote: post #67
vibrunazo wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes to "tablet optimized" apps) I keep hearing that. But never seen it backed up. Based on exactly what does people say this? There's no efficient way to "count" Android tablet optimized apps. So how do you compare? Is it because there are some major apps that still works bad on Android tablets? If so, which ones? I remember when Honeycomb ju…

I use skritter.com for practising Chinese. They recently released an iOS app after several months work. There is currently no plan to produce an Android app, partly because there is a partial web / flash solution available on Android, but I assume also that the numbers didn't add up for putting the work in to porting the iPhone app. This is a must-have application for learning to write Chinese in my opinion, to the e…

Interesting but you aren't really answering his tablet specific question. Looking at the screenshots of this app it appears to just been blown up on the iPad. That's the very thing that people criticize Android apps for doing.

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#126

Post by georgemcbay »

vibrunazo wrote: post #60
georgemcbay wrote: post #3

I actually think that post-ICS and especially with Jelly Bean that Android is a superior tablet OS to iOS, at least for me. There's basically no feature on iOS that I miss when I'm on Android, but a few (eg. custom keyboards, the overall intent system, etc) that I miss when I'm on iOS. iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes to "tablet optimized" apps) and between that and iOS ec…

> iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes to "tablet optimized" apps) I keep hearing that. But never seen it backed up. Based on exactly what does people say this? There's no efficient way to "count" Android tablet optimized apps. So how do you compare? Is it because there are some major apps that still works bad on Android tablets? If so, which ones? I remember when Honeycomb ju…

Most significant Android apps look "okay" on tablets these days in the sense that they are using Android layouts and the icon bitmap dpi system so that when they are scaled up to tablet resolutions they look pretty good, but outside of Google's own apps, very few of them are really "tablet optimized" in the sense that they make extensive use of dual-pane fragment-style UI concepts. Generally they are just bigger, decent looking versions of the single-screen-per-view UIs as seen on Android phones and they feel like that, which isn't horrible, but isn't really taking advantage of the larger (usually) higher resolution displays Android tablets have over phones.

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#127

Post by ximeng »

eco wrote: post #125
ximeng wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use skritter.com for practising Chinese. They recently released an iOS app after several months work. There is currently no plan to produce an Android app, partly because there is a partial web / flash solution available on Android, but I assume also that the numbers didn't add up for putting the work in to porting the iPhone app. This is a must-have application for learning to write Chinese in my opinion, to the e…

Interesting but you aren't really answering his tablet specific question. Looking at the screenshots of this app it appears to just been blown up on the iPad. That's the very thing that people criticize Android apps for doing.

I don't use on iPad but guess it will come there before Android. You're right I'm not answering tablet specific questions, just looking at app availability versus iOS.

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#128

Post by ajross »

georgemcbay wrote: post #126
vibrunazo wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes to "tablet optimized" apps) I keep hearing that. But never seen it backed up. Based on exactly what does people say this? There's no efficient way to "count" Android tablet optimized apps. So how do you compare? Is it because there are some major apps that still works bad on Android tablets? If so, which ones? I remember when Honeycomb ju…

Most significant Android apps look "okay" on tablets these days in the sense that they are using Android layouts and the icon bitmap dpi system so that when they are scaled up to tablet resolutions they look pretty good, but outside of Google's own apps, very few of them are really "tablet optimized" in the sense that they make extensive use of dual-pane fragment-style UI concepts. Generally they are just bigger, dec…

Any examples, though? Honestly that's my experience with the iPad too -- outside of the core apps most stuff looks pretty mediocre, and mostly the same as on an iPhone.

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#129

Post by ajross »

_ea1k wrote: post #110
gurkendoktor wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> could anyone please give me an objective argument I think it is really subjective and about the "long tail" of apps. If I say that OmniFocus locks me into the Appleverse, someone else will mention an Android-exclusive app and we'll (objectively ;)) discuss for hours. Carcassonne and Anthill may not have worthy Android ports, but I'm probably missing out on Google's best-in-class maps. The shopping experience may al…

> What do I do in the Play store if I know all the front page apps already (not hard)? Click on the categories link on the left side, and then browse.

Or select on any app you like and use and scroll down to "Users also Installed" and "Users also Viewed". This is a great way to find cool stuff.

It's also unclear if the grandparent is talking about the literal front page of "featured" apps, or the infinite scrolling list of "top" apps by all the categories (currently: Paid, Free, Grossing, New Paid, New Free, and Trending).

I mean, I'm sure one can ding the Play Store for UI wierdness in places, but discoverability has never been one of its flaws in my view.

Re: An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

#130

Post by dr_ »

Let's hold on a sec and put things in perspective. Although MG is regarded by some as an Apple fan boy, this is not the first time he has been enthusiastic about a non-Apple tablet. http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/ and we aren't still aren't sure what the prospects are for the Fire. This is important to note because although Amazon has a strong commerce offering and can provide music and videos, it's own tablet lacks in apps. The Nexus offers plenty of apps, in my opinion, but the music and video offerings are pretty weak right now. The iOS ecosystem still offers it all, with a strong retail presence to boot, and if Apple introduces a 7ish" tablet at a good price point, I'm not sure how this will stack up then.
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