Android Tablets

[ddrueding]

Looks like there are a few out there now, and at some fairly amazing price points. Is anyone here considering one?

Maylong 7" - $100

Augen Gentouch 7" - $180

Zenithink 10" - $260

I would love a larger (14-17") for the coffee table, but that would bump the price considerably.

 

[timwhit]

Everything I've read says to wait for Android 3.0 to come out with full tablet support.

If you must buy one, check out the Archos 101, which just came out.

 

[LunarMist]

None of them are really ready yet. Buy the iPad now, if you have some strange need for such a funky device as a tablet.

 

[ddrueding]

I've had my share of disappointments with tablets, specifically the iPad, but I do see a place for them near the couch, breakfast table, or toilet.

 

[timwhit]

I bet if you wait 6 months there will be something better on the market. There are just too many downsides to current Android tablets.

 

[ddrueding]

I bet if you wait 6 months there will be something better on the market. There are just too many downsides to current Android tablets.

No doubt, though this could be said for most of the tech world. At $100, I'll get another before 6 months are up

 

[Mercutio]

I don't think Android tablets are ready yet. The low cost models have pretty serious drawbacks; slow CPUs, running older versions of Android, no access to the standard App download service, shitty battery life etc.

What I want to see is a full 1080-wide touch screen. I don't care how big the thing is, though I realize that would probably be a larger one. 14" would be just fine.

I keep a Thinkpad out by my couch right now, primarily to use VNC to manage my HTPC. I have limited need for text entry. A Tablet would be a great replacement.

 

[CougTek]

I've had my share of disappointments with tablets, specifically the iPad, but I do see a place for them near the couch, breakfast table, or toilet.

In case of the iPad, I would place it in the bowl. Damn that would help my regularity!

 

[CougTek]

Further thinking about it, Jobs should introduce a toilet with an embedded iPad in the bottom and then call it the iShit.

 

[LunarMist]

The iToilet is an old one.

 

[CougTek]

I prefer the iShit. "iShit : We help Americans to lose weight."

 

[LunarMist]

Not much respect for Apple, eh? :rambo:

 

[CougTek]

More related to the original post, I once designed a touchscreen for an airplane entertainment company and I used a VIA Pico-ITX motherboard with a VIA C7 1GHz CPU. It was barely enough to play videos (movies) on an 800x600 10" touchscreen. How does the CPUs in those Android tablets compare to the VIA C7? What about the iPad?

 

[Mercutio]

They're ARM or MIPS CPUs, Coug. The nicest ones you can get are dual core and operate at speeds in excess of 1GHz, but the ones in less expensive tablets are more likely 300 - 500MHz, just like most smartphones.

 

[timwhit]

So, are you going to buy one?

 

[timwhit]

No doubt, though this could be said for most of the tech world. At $100, I'll get another before 6 months are up

I don't agree with this. There are many tech products that are quite mature where waiting 6 months will get you almost nothing. I don't think Android Tablets fit that description.

 

[ddrueding]

So, are you going to buy one?

Doesn't look like it yet. I really want a larger screen, and something with some more power that would be upgradeable to 3.0 would be nice.

 

[ddrueding]

If I were to buy one at the moment, it would be the Archos 10.1".

But I think I'll still wait for 3.0. Any ETAs out there?

 

[LunarMist]

Archos is generally crap. I would not give them one more dime.

 

[Stereodude]

They're ARM or MIPS CPUs, Coug. The nicest ones you can get are dual core and operate at speeds in excess of 1GHz, but the ones in less expensive tablets are more likely 300 - 500MHz, just like most smartphones.

Which product out there has a MIPS CPU?

More related to the original post, I once designed a touchscreen for an airplane entertainment company and I used a VIA Pico-ITX motherboard with a VIA C7 1GHz CPU. It was barely enough to play videos (movies) on an 800x600 10" touchscreen. How does the CPUs in those Android tablets compare to the VIA C7? What about the iPad?

The processors in these things typically hardware accelerate video decoding either in the CPU core with special extensions or in the video core. I sat next to someone on a plane who watched movies on his iPad. The video playback was flawless, sharp, and artifact free. Not sure of the resolution though. It looked like he was playing back iTunes video rentals.

 

[Mercutio]

Which product out there has a MIPS CPU?

Windows Mobile and Palm devices can use them. I'm sure Android will run on them, too. They tend to be clocked a lot lower than ARM but it's a respectable architecture.

 

[Stereodude]

Can, but I can't think of any portable Android device there that doesn't have an ARM based CPU.

 

[Mercutio]

My mom needs something to read email and use Pandora, so I went looking at Android tablets. Almost all the models I can find under $250 are Android 1.5 or 2.1. At this point I might just be better off getting her a cell phone that can handle 802.11.

 

[Sol]

I'd really like one of these for reviewing photos on holidays. If I could get one with a full size SD slot, 10" IPS screen and Tegra 2 SOC (Just cause I like the look of it) I'd probably get it right away. The closest I've found now are;

Toshiba Folio 100 - SD slot and Tegra 2 check, shitty screen though and withdrawn from sale for now due to high return rate. (Froyo based)
Advent Vega - Tegra, dunno about the screen and the sd slot is micro... But cheap, or they would be if there was stock anywhere... (Froyo, probably Gingerbread, possibly Honeycomb)
Barnes and Noble Nook Color (sic) - 800Mhz A8 not quite a Tegra 2, but a 7" IPS LCD, only micro sd. Not sure what version of Android they currently run but Froyo is on the way and can be installed now by rooting. At $250 with a really nice screen this looks like a good option.

But nothing really fits so I figure I'll hold off until CES 2011 when everyone starts making announcements. It's only a few weeks and we should get a pretty good idea of when Motorola and LG are bringing out their Honeycomb based devices as well as

 

[LunarMist]

How powerful is the ARM processor compared to C2D ULV for example? Would it take forever to open and convert a 24 megapickle RAW file for viewing?

 

[Mercutio]

It's probably reasonably simple to port linux software for handling the format but I'll bet there isn't anything in the Android Marketplace that will do .raw.

 

[Stereodude]

How powerful is the ARM processor compared to C2D ULV for example? Would it take forever to open and convert a 24 megapickle RAW file for viewing?

24 Megapickle? Is it a Vlasic pickle?

ARM CPU's don't run x86 instructions, so it doesn't really matter unless someone writes a RAW converter that runs on ARM. I think they're more power efficient, but less powerful.

 

[LunarMist]

24 Megapickle? Is it a Vlasic pickle?

ARM CPU's don't run x86 instructions, so it doesn't really matter unless someone writes a RAW converter that runs on ARM. I think they're more power efficient, but less powerful.

Megapickles is derogatory slang directed at those with limited technical expertise in digital imaging, e.g., people excited over 14 megapickle, pinkie-nail-sized sensors in their P/S "digicams."

Did I really have to explain it? :sad:

 

[timwhit]

I checked the Android Market, I didn't see anything that could handle a RAW image.

 

[Chewy509]

I checked the Android Market, I didn't see anything that could handle a RAW image.

No one offering a dcraw driven front-end? Interesting?

PS. 'dcraw' is the main RAW converter for Linux/UNIX based systems...

 

[timwhit]

No one offering a dcraw driven front-end? Interesting?

PS. 'dcraw' is the main RAW converter for Linux/UNIX based systems...

Just searched for 'dcraw'. No results.

 

[LunarMist]

Thanks. That stinks and I would have no use for one - not that I would probably have a use for a device that cannot accept a hard drive like this.

 

[ddrueding]

Now it has been a while, and there are a few Android 3.x tablets out there. The two big names seem to be the Motorola Xoom and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer.

I'm looking to mount one on the dash of my car for navigation and music. If it works well enough I'll replace the head unit permanently. It seems there are even apps to grab ODBII information in real-time from a bluetooth dongle.

All I need to do is decide which one and how to mount it.

Thoughts?

 

[time]

I don't like the fact that Asus claims 1080 HD playback when the display only has 800 lines ...

The proprietary all-in-one connector is a big turnoff; you'll need to carry extra adapters with you everywhere.

And it may not have a flash for the camera (but I'm not sure I'd care).

Apart from those quibbles, as soon as I read "IPS" screen, I lost interest in the Motorola. And the extra battery in the keyboard sounds pretty handy.

It's even possible that Motorola has actually used an IPS panel, but they don't feel the need to tell anyone. Similarly, I have no idea what sort of CPU it uses, etc. Although it has a MicroUSB port, it doesn't have the range of connectivity options that the Asus claims. It does have a barometer, if that floats your boat.

Apparently, the Asus will be cheaper than the Motorola, and the keyboard will be under $100. So on the face of it, it's hard to make a case for the Xoom.

 

[timwhit]

I don't like the fact that Asus claims 1080 HD playback when the display only has 800 lines ...

Ability to play 1080p video is different than having the resolution to display it.

 

[timwhit]

The Asus TF101-A1 (16GB storage) for ~$450 seems like a good deal. I don't think I would pay $150 for double the storage. Especially when it has a 4-in-1 card reader.

I still think tablets are ridiculously expensive compared with a $300 netbook.

 

[Tannin]

I want a slab that does megapickles!

 

[Sol]

For my money the Toshiba Thrive is the one to go for. IPS screen, full size HDMI, USB and SD (The Asus only has full size SD on the docking station, +$150, and almost every other tablet needs an adapter for HDMI) and priced pretty much on a par with the Asus. Toshiba finally got around to announcing today that it will ship in July.

The only down side seems to be that it's twice as thick as an iPad (Samsung would die of shame before releasing such a thing).

Pretty much all the Android 3.x tablets which are available or announced use Nvidia's Tegra 2 SOC including the EE transformer, Xoom and this (And oddly at least some of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets, maybe they can't produce enough of their own dual core A9s for Apple and themselves).

Personally I always thought extreme thinness was a terrible trade off for not being able to stick the SD card from my camera straight in or plug in a USB drive or needing an adapter or dock to plug the thing in to the TV. Apparently Toshiba are the only company to agree with me. (The only other tablet I know of with a full SD card was Toshiba's previous effort)

 

[Santilli]

BEEN looking at this:
http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=Q550

?

 

[ddrueding]

I don't think Windows is the right OS for a low-powered, touch-operated device. Too CPU intensive, and fundamentally designed to require a mouse and keyboard. Your battery life will suck, and functionality will be reduced.