$329 for ipad mini

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

You're not helping yourself. He very distinctly said that he doesn't care about updates to the Galaxy Player. And he very distinctly said why. If you can't see that he views a media player like his Galaxy Player to be a very different type of device from a prospective tablet (as do I, for exactly the same reasons), then this is really a pointless discussion.

It's a very generous interpretation, but unfortunately a false one, though he is happy to have have fooled you into arguing it for him. Meanwhile, I'm just happily teasing out the contradictions in his arguments. Case in point: earlier in the thread, he writes, "[The iPad mini and the iPod touch] have weaker specs and features compared to their older siblings, the iPad and iPhone respectively. It's Apple's way to force you to upgrade if specs and features matter to you." Apple is money-grubbing and extortionate, of course. But once the conversation turns to his own media player, which by his admission is "gimped compared to its contemporary smartphone cousins," there is mysteriously no mention of Samsung's motivations for doing so. Nor when Samsung refuses to update the OS after two years are they chastised; instead, everything is explained and justified away. Oh, he didn't really need those things anyway, so it doesn't matter. Too bad for anyone else who did, though. If sure if I bothered to look outside this thread I could find dozens of instances of hypocrisy like the above. Would be amusing—if not very worthwhile—to put together a dossier, as he put it.

These apply whether we're discussing OS updates or absent features. Always a double standard. Not very hard to spot when you look for it.

The only thing I use my iPod Touch for is music. And, very rarely, as a web surfing device of last resort. If it never gets another update during its lifespan, I don't care. The same is not true of my iPad; I read books, I surf the web extensively, I email, I watch movies, etc. I believe I speak for the simian (correct me if I'm wrong), when I say that, as I do, he views them as different classes of device. And the media player does not need and probably would not benefit from (considering his use) an update.

Considering one of the principal criticisms of Android prior to Jelly Bean was that it stuttered and lagged while changing screens, any individual and device could benefit from an update, regardless of use.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by holymadness

It is unfortunately necessary to combat trolling.

Pot...Kettle...Black.

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by afv011

Pot...Kettle...Black.

Changed your title from Android Crusader? Guess wearing it like a badge wasn't the best sign of objectivity.

I haven't seen you in the Nexus thread. Probably because I haven't posted there.

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by holymadness

Changed your title from Android Crusader? Guess wearing it like a badge wasn't the best sign of objectivity.

I haven't seen you in the Nexus thread. Probably because I haven't posted there.

LOL! I just noticed your title.

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

If only the Nexus 4 had a microSD slot or double the storage for the same price THEN I would join you. Given the size of some apps and games, plus media, 8GB (actual available space is lower) greatly reduces the usefulness of the handset.

As things stand now, I'll buy a 16GB Samsung Galaxy SII new for $299 (no contract T-Mobile) and pay $10 to unlock it.

I was able to buy a brand new no-contract AT&T 16GB Galaxy SII for $220. Since I use StraightTalk on an AT&T iPhone 4, no need to unlock (yet).

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

If only the Nexus 4 had a microSD slot or double the storage for the same price THEN I would join you. Given the size of some apps and games, plus media, 8GB (actual available space is lower) greatly reduces the usefulness of the handset.

As things stand now, I'll buy a 16GB Samsung Galaxy SII new for $299 (no contract T-Mobile) and pay $10 to unlock it.

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

I was able to buy a brand new no-contract AT&T 16GB Galaxy SII for $220. Since I use StraightTalk on an AT&T iPhone 4, no need to unlock (yet).

Glad it worked out for you; but for me, I'm still leaning heavily for a Nexus phone if ever I'm in the market for a new media player.

I was hoping Google would lower the price of the Galaxy Nexus after they replaced it with the Nexus 4; but instead, they removed it and stopped all sales.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by afv011

Pot...Kettle...Black.

bzzz, bzzz, bzzz, ...

I'll bring up the swatter, Captain!

[pl001]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Isn't "very large number" relative as well? Here's what I think will happen: This version of the Mini will sell fairly well, but not enough to threaten the Kindle Fire or the N7 in this size category. And it won't approach the success of the original larger iPad. Some say Apple's aim is not to compete with the 7" tablets -- that they see the Mini as a breed apart -- but I think they very much want to dominate in the 7-8" category.



Not sure how you can say the original iPad was a "failure" in any sense. Sure, the ppi was slightly less than the best iOS devices at that time, but the overall technological package represented something new and unique back then, and right out of the box, it worked just as advertised. Its performance was superb. I agree with those who consider the original iPad to be innovative. From the start, I thought it would sell well due to the fact it was the only real option for tablets at the time.

--Pat

Let me rephrase that. I didn't mean the original iPad was a failure. I only thought it would be. I looked at it and said "That's just an overgrown iPod. If I'm going to spend that much money on a computing device I want to be able to use it as, you know, a computing device, not a toy. Like a netbook."

Obviously I have never had the same vision Steve Jobs did. Although I still haven't found much need for an Android or iOS tablet. Our Nook Color gets very little use. The Surface is probably the closest to what I want in a tablet right now, but the lack of apps and Microsoft's closed ecosystem really stinks, and is not what I expected from them.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by leebase

The apps. The OS is fine. A little laggy, crashes a bit more...but that's not where the serious difference lays.

As for "which apps" -- ALL apps. I've yet to find ONE that is on par with the iPad. Not saying one doesn't exist...just that of the apps I use, if they exist on Android at all (and most do), they are phone apps, not tablet apps.

Well, Google Reader for example. On the iPad you have to pay for such an app and it is not better.

Google Calender, pdf-readers, and so on.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by leebase

The apps. The OS is fine. A little laggy, crashes a bit more...but that's not where the serious difference lays.

Oh, really? Next time you go bashing around, check your facts first.

...found iOS crashes to number more than twice those of Android applications.

Apple's iOS 5.0.1 was the most crash-inclined version of all, accounting for 28.64 percent of crashes between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15. iOS 4.2.10 accounted for 12.64 percent, iOS 4.3.3 for 10.66 percent and iOS 4.3.5 for 8.9 percent.

Source

In the top quartile of apps, Android apps crashed 0.15% of the time they launched, while top quartile iOS apps crashed 0.51% of the time. In the second quartile of apps, Android apps crashed 0.73% of the time and iOS apps crashed 1.47% of their launches. In the third quartile of apps, Android apps crashed 2.97% of the time, while iOS apps crashed 3.66% of the time.

On a basic level, you can see that iOS apps crashed more than Android apps during this time period.

Source

[Teknikal]

I'd definitely agree with IOS crashing a lot more but they do a good job of covering it up to the end user so most of the time so it's not something that's noticed as much as it should be.

Last time I checked my iTunes crash logs there were literally dozens of crashes a day most seemingly down to lack of memory on the devices.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by afv011

Oh, really? Next time you go bashing around, check your facts first.

He wasn't bashing, in fact he said the OS was "fine".

[afv011]

Originally Posted by pl001

He wasn't bashing, in fact he said the OS was "fine".

Fair enough, I'll accept that the poster was simply misinformed when posting incorrect information about Android.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by pl001

The Surface is probably the closest to what I want in a tablet right now, but the lack of apps and Microsoft's closed ecosystem really stinks, and is not what I expected from them.

Well, that's true of the (ARM-based) Surface RT. It's not true of the forthcoming (x86-based) Surface Pro, or any of the other non-RT Windows 8 tablets (whether forthcoming or already released).

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by leebase

As for "which apps" -- ALL apps. I've yet to find ONE that is on par with the iPad. Not saying one doesn't exist...just that of the apps I use, if they exist on Android at all (and most do), they are phone apps, not tablet apps.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Windows 8 tablets. While Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 share a lot of things in common, they're definitely not exactly the same so tablet apps ought to not feel like phone apps. Windows might be the only eco-system with a shot at actually supplanting iOS in both quality and quantity over time, at least on the tablet side.

And I know the original discussion was limited only to Android tablets and iPad apps, but if we're looking for a competing tablet app that beats the iPad, I think Microsoft Office for Windows 8 tablets has a shot. Got my Surface today, and was blown away by how full-featured Office is on the tablet. And this is just the preview edition of Office, the final full version is coming as a free downloadable update when it's ready.

Android has been tremendously successful on the phone side of things, but despite efforts by Google and Android licencees it seems to have struggled somewhat on the tablet side, this despite (with apologies to WebOS and the Playbook) it being the only serious competition to the iPad up until now. The entry of Windows 8 into the tablet space is more of a problem for Android than iOS, especially with Samsung, Acer, and most other prominent Android tablet makers also releasing Windows 8 tablets.