Consolidated Tablet Thread
 

started to keep track (at a basic level) of all the different devices & threads about them

Perfect!

My wife wants a tablet for her birthday.

I have no issues with the Ipad and think I understand the puts and takes.

But I also am looking at the BB Playbook, Android, etc.

She would like to be able to download books (and "books on tape" for the car), surf, get sheet music downloads, etc.

Subscribed.

Very happy Color Nook user/owner here. Flashed to HC 3.0, decided it sucked and installed the final release of CM7 on it instead. Only gripe is that while I have Firefox 4 and I have Adobe Flash, FF4 isn't set up to use Flash. Never ran it with factory firmware ...

I bought my wife a Motorola Xoom for her birthday last week, the cheaper wifi-only version. She LOVES it. She uses the Kindle app for reading books, sync's up her music with her iTunes playlists automatically over our home wifi network with AirSync, uses Handcent for texting and does all her Facebook stuff and web browsing on it. She hasn't turned on her Macbook since the day she got it.

I got the Xoom because the Honeycomb tablets can do a bunch of stuff the iPad's can't (I have an iPad too). She doesn't really like the iPad, her attitude was "that's it?" Android is all newer, less stable, more configurable and slightly more confusing than the iPad world, but much more fun IMO. Rumor is that the Xoom is being used as a development platform for the next version of Android, so it should be very well supported going forward. On the negative side, they STILL haven't enabled the damn SD card slot.

Another cool one coming up is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It's much more like a "super iPad2", in that it's a really clean and simple design, even thinner and more minimalistic design-wise than an iPad2, no external USB or HDMI ports, etc.

There are too basic types - those based on Windows, and those based on a Phone OS (Android or Apple)

The windows tablets need precision input, whereas the Phone OS's are simple finger-point /prod.

also the Apple ones

I'm hoping that some expert will break them down by size, wt., resolution, etc..

and then by functionality...

e.g. the iPad can display MS Word and Excle docs (according to a coffee shop Mgr. with one)... but I bet you cannot edit or create them (?)

then there is connectivity - WiFi, 3G cell networks and cost of those (and docking with a phone)

Now, what I want is a real GPS built in - antennas and all. Civilian stuff of today is good enuff for me (unlike those exciting days of yore) -- say a Garmin gizmo on it...

I have (before I sell some):

An HP Slate (Windows 7 Pro)
Nook (Rooted with Honeycomb)
ViewSonic G-Tab (Rooted with VEGAN Tab, Gingerbread) - For Sale
SamSung Galaxy Tab - Sprint Version but running it Wifi Only, Froyo, unmodified

My wife has the Nook now. I am Keeping the Slate and the Galaxy Tab.

Pretty sure I'm gonna cave on a tablet in the next day or two and the xoom is in the lead right now.

tell us more about the Xoom

I like my iPad, Using it now on a trip to Portland, OR

downsides

Can't hook in an Ethernet cable in a hotel with no or weak wifi

Can't plug a camera in directly

No flash software so some images like the debt clock don't show any numbers

Can't figure out how to upload a pic to PP

Expensive compared to others at half the price.

Pros picture and sound are great

Same plug for charger, but bigger transformer as my iPhone

Like a big iPhone and same apps for the most part.

I use it mostly for web surfacing watching iTunes movies and Netflix when I travel and email. On any tablet I wouldn't want to do any serious work like writing a report or doing spreadsheets, no mouse. Randy I'm pretty sure you are correct you can't work Excel on an iPad. If I needed to, I'd bring my wife's mini notebook or my laptop

specs here
MOTOROLA XOOM - Android Smart Tablet - Tech Specs - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA

Sam's club has 'em for 579. I was playing with one today and it seems like a very capable Tab. I'll definitely post a review if I go that way.

Xoom looks good!
I might be tempted too.

Any tablets run Win 7?

HP Slate runs Win 7 Pro (Typing on it right now)

Viewsonic makes a 10" tablet that is dual boot Win 7 / Android.

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/vpad10.htm

The problem is I don't know if it uses the same screen as the G-Tab. The G-tab has a problem of viewing angle.

do these things have enuff storage to run Word & Excel in Win 7?

and do any of them have the ability to hook up or WiFi-icize of Buetooth a keyboard?

Hugh - does the ipad have any ports on it? if so, someone must make an E-net adapter (or will)

It has the port on The bottom where you connect to your computer. Don't know if it will communicate with the net. Confirmed with JYl that you need to upload to photo bucket, for example, and then link image to post here. I'd look at mini notebooks for word/ Excel work. Cheaper too.

The HP Slate: I have Office 2003 Pro (Word, Outlook, Excel, Powerpoint, database) on my HP Slate. It comes with 64GB of Solid State drive. I also have a 64GB SD card installed for extra storage, so it totals to 128GB.

The processor is better than a Netbook, but anemic for heavy duty applications. Adobe Acrobat take quite a bit of time to turn web pages into PDF files. I also run Quickbooks on the machine, sometimes.

But again, you're compromising on a Tiny windows based machine that doubles as a tablet PC.

I normally run it downstairs with a bluetooth mouse and bluetooth keyboard. When I walk out of the house, I pull it from the dock and slip it into a 2 sided semi-hard case. This, plus a tethering phone allows me to work anywhere. If I plan to use it for serious work outside, I take the keyboard and mouse.

I cannot speak for the Apple Products, but the Android products you can connect a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. They also run an Office Suite which mimics MS-Office. I expect with bluetooth Keyboard you will do pretty well.

Hard Lan connection. I haven't looked into this on the Android Tablet. The HP Slate has a standard USB port on the top. The Dock has 2 more USB ports and an HDMI port. When I have the Slate at my desk, I connect the dock to a USB 1Gbps/s LAN connector. This allows faster file transfers than Wireless. It works nice for big windows updates as well.

more grist for the mill...

Report: Amazon Readying Dual and Quad-Core Tablets | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Speculation

Paul,

You need iTunes installed for these links.

Books: iBooks, Nook, Kindle, various apps with interactive books, and apps with collections.

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/78193haXZSs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Audiobooks are available on iTunes.

Surfing can be done on Safari without support for Flash.

Sheet music: ForScore, Musicnotes, and iGigBook. There are a bunch more. I just picked a few with decent reviews. ForScore is probably the best of them.

The office apps work very well. Each one comes with a tutorial.

Some things to consider:
The battery is not replaceable, but the battery life is seriously 10 hours (not the "10 hours max while word processing"). You get around 1,000 charge cycles before the battery is reduced to ~80% of its new capacity, which will easily last the life of the device. If she is charging it every day (meaning all she does is play with the iPad 10 hours a day) then it will still last several years.

For sensitive eyes you may consider getting an e-reader just for reading. Looking at any refreshing screen is going to be hard on them.

You also need a stand alone computer to sync the iPad. It is not a complete computing device yet. One of my biggest annoyances is that you have to organize your photos on the computer for the stock photo app on the iPad. If you want to do it on the device you need another app like PhotoSort. Music on the computer can be streamed to the iPad, and it manages its own Apps. The only reasons I sync are for updates to the iOS (Apps update on the device) and to back it up.

Just my .02.

--John