#198 - Tablet in the house

PCSS now has an ASUS Transformer tablet PC! Shown on the left is the tablet and its docking station/keyboard. The Transformer is an Android Honeycomb tablet PC with the following specifications:
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• NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 1.0GHz dual-core CPU for excellent multitasking & HD video playback
• Android 3.1 Honeycomb O.S. with Adobe® Flash® 10.2 support*2
• Full QWERTY keyboard, touchpad input with Polaris® Office® for mobile productivity
• 16*1 hours long battery life for all day computing with docking station
• Brilliant IPS panel with ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle made from scratch resistant and super tough glass
• One year of Unlimited ASUS WebStorage, two USB ports, SD and Micro SD card readers for easy sharing & storage expandability
• 3D stereo with max bass response with SRS premium sound
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That's a lot to chew over. First question I get is how does it compare to the iPad2? Its bigger (10.1" vs 9.7" screen), faster (Tegra 2 vs A5 CPU), has better screen resolution and can have a great docking station with keyboard that Apple does not make for the iPad2. To beat the iPad you have to be better all round then the iPad. We have put both side by side and the are very similar in quality and design. The Transformer had a textured back panel that makes it a bit easier to hold. Now there is no denying there are way more tablet based apps for the iPad2 then for all of the Android tablets. However the tablets will run nearly all the 200,000 Android apps from the Android Market. So no shortage of games, utilities (yes the bar code reader works!) and Internet browsing. Oh, did I mention that the Transformer runs Adobe Flash so 99% of all the websites can be shown on the Transformer?
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The last difference is that the Transformer costs $399 (Available from PCSS!) for the tablet versus $499 for the iPad2. The keyboard/dock is extra, but the iPad2 doesn't even have an Apple part equivalent.
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We'll be putting the Transformer through some rigorous testing over the next month. If you would like to see it let Nick know and he'll bring it by (Alleghany Highlands & Hawaii customers only!)

#197 - The Good the bad and the Ugly of Tablet PCs

We've had access to two iPods (1 & 2 versions) and my android HP tablet that I got with my latest ink jet printer. Enough time to get comfortable with each and some of the apps that you can use on them. So here goes our first hands on review and if you have more or different experience please leave a comment or email us at pcss4u@aol.com.

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Tablets are the wave of the future. They are selling at record numbers ( estimated 60 million iPads in 2012 alone). Everyone is trying to get into the act. Phone maker Motorola has the expensive Xoom, Monitor maker Viewsonic has the View, Samsung has the Galaxy and yesterday HP introduced its Touchpad. Important in each of these offerings is what Applications (apps) each has to offer. Apple has over 20,000 apps for the iPad. HP has 300 for the introduction of the Touchpad. The others use the Android system and have thousands of apps.

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So what's special about a tablet? Why would you want one? Tablets are the ideal size for a handheld unit. With a 9" to 10" screen most tablets fit very comfortably in your hands. They all have gyroscope/accelerometers that let you view portrait or landscape modes automatically. #1 of importance is being able to get on the Internet. You can see your email, calendar, google the world, read online newspapers and news services. The screens are very readable, but not the best in direct sunlight. Interesting, because of Steve Jobs (Apples CEO) war with Adobe corporation, iPads (using the Safari browser) you can't see any website that uses Adobe Flash Player for animation. The number of sites that use Flash is still over 25%. The Android and HP tablets can all use flash player. The convenience of the small size, nice size screen and portability (they don't weigh much) makes the tablet a very attractive device and thus the huge sale.

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Price wise, they all are in the $500-$600 range with wi fi access. You can also get many tablets with 3G Internet coverage via your cell phone company. Unfortunately that means you have to buy an Internet contract from that cell phone company at $30 per month. Free wi fi access seems to be decreasing in this country, not increasing so the phone companies may be on to a lucrative money maker.

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Its all about the apps with tablets (good luck HP). We just put several new apps on the iPads that are fun and useful. Leafsnap let you take a picture of a leaf on your iPad and then it will suggest what species it is. You have information on the leaf (front & back), bark, flowers, fruit. You can then put the identified tree in your collection based on location. Very fun and informative. The tablets are made for games such as Angry Birds, that take little skill but are addictive to get a better score. Tablet apps to help in shopping or finding prices are everywhere!

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Typing on a tablet isn't too bad. The virtual keyboard is spaced far apart so that my fat fingers can almost touch type. I don't like that you have to switch from alphabet to numeric virtual keyboards. If you use a very secure password such as j1u2n3k4 you'll spend a bunch of time switching between screens and probably will make a mistake. The finger scrolling and gestures are great input devices. Unfortunately, not having a pointing device (no arrows either) makes editing very hard (my fat fingers again).

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So I use our tablets for quick Internet access, some email and playing some games. Could I do away with my laptops for a tablet? Not yet. I'm writing this blog on my Thinkpad and I couldn't imagine doing it on a tablet. The input would take longer and editing would be cumbersome. There is a definite niche for the tablet and at its more affordable pricing many people will own a tablet AND a laptop. Comments?