8+ Readers in comparison

[mgmueller]

I've seen the 10.1 today.
10.1 is the "new" one, basically a streamlined version of 10.1v.
10.1v is the "old" one. Samsung decided for a tuning after the introduction of iPad2.
From what I understand:
a.) 10.1 has a lower res. camera than 10.1v.
This may be the main explanation, for being 2mm thinner than 10.1v, as the camera stands out of the housing a bit.
b.) 10.1 is about as thin as iPad2, 10.1v is about 2mm thicker.
c.) 10.1 weighs slightly less than iPad2, 10.1v is some 20g heavier.

My personal opinion:
10.1 has a different back, somewhat similar to Xoom. I don't like it. It looks and feels "plasticky" and a bit cheap.
10.1v has a different back, I find it kind of smart with it's "circular bending".
I don't care about the camera at all, don't even need it.
I don't care about the weight or thickness.
There's no accessory (covers and such) for 10.1v from Samsung, about this I care...

10.1 and 10.1v both have the same weak speakers. A bit disappointing.
BlackBerry PlayBook although being significantly smaller, has way more powerful speakers. So does Xoom.
On the other hand, Samsung obviously mainly is focusing on iPad. And iPad (1 and 2 equally) with its single speaker still has one of the weakest sound systems amongst all tablets...

[emai7s2]

Hi mgmueller,

Have you had a chance to try out the WebOS version 3.0.2 software update on your TouchPad? I'm curious if/how it affects your ranking of the TouchPad vs. the Playbook.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by emai7s2

Hi mgmueller,

Have you had a chance to try out the WebOS version 3.0.2 software update on your TouchPad? I'm curious if/how it affects your ranking of the TouchPad vs. the Playbook.

Thanks for the tip, I'm just downloading the update.
But quite frankly, it won't change a thing.
Focusing on the pure tablet experience, BlackBerry PlayBook and HP TouchPad (at least for now) already are way ahead of Android or iOS.
But what good is this without apps?
At least on PlayBook there's the Kobo app, so I intensively use it as a reader (great display, great form factor, good enough battery lifetime). But that's pretty much it for PlayBook. and for HP TouchPad, I even haven't got something similar - the Kindle app still isn't available.
So, basically all I can do on HP TouchPad, is browsing the web. iPad certainly is good enough for that...
I'm tempted to install the leaked Android player on PlayBook. But I try to resist and wait for the regular version...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by emai7s2

Hi mgmueller,

Have you had a chance to try out the WebOS version 3.0.2 software update on your TouchPad? I'm curious if/how it affects your ranking of the TouchPad vs. the Playbook.

Just installed the update.
It doesn't have any impact on my ranking of PlayBook vs. TouchPad.
My personal summary of both:

Form factor:
I love the form factor of PlayBook.
For whatever reason I very much prefer 16:9 over 4:3.
I'm mainly (>80%) using all tablets in portrait format. iPad2 and other 4:3 tablets such as TouchPad because of the bigger lever get quite heavy after some time. I can't do intensive reading sessions (>2 or 3 hours) on iPad for example without getting uncomfortable.

OS:
I don't see any significant differences, I don't really prefer one over the other.
Both are far ahead of Android and lightyears ahead of iOS.
But I don't expect this gap to last for long. I wouldn't be surprised, if iPad3/iOS5 already would include lots of these features.

Apps:
A disaster on both.
I'm okay with the availability of apps on Android.
Yes, it's less than iOS has to offer. But usually, I find what I'm looking for on Android. And I don't mind that much, if it's only 3 navigation apps on Android instead of 5 on iOS.
But for PlayBook and TouchPad, the gap is dramatically bigger.
I've used TouchPad maybe 5 hours in total so far. I've tested the OS and installed about 25 apps - that's all I can do so far.
On PlayBook, only the Kobo app kind of "saves the day".
It's still way too little available titles and I'd be extremely frustrated, would PlayBook be my only tablet. But as an addition to Xoom/Galaxy Tab and iPad2, PlayBook is okay.
Hopefully, BlackBerry will release the Android player asap. Else I probably will install the leaked one.
I have't heard of anything similar for TouchPad, so this tablet may have a problem very soon.

Touch and feel:
Both certainly are quality products.
But I prefer PlayBook. Actually, PlayBook is my absolute favorite amongst my 10 tablets re. "touch and feel".
It very much reminds me of iPhone4. I don't like the round edges of iPad2 and iPod touch in comparison.
Same for PlayBook. I guess, it might be different for a 10" tablet. But for the 7" of PlayBook, it's simply "cool and elegant".
TouchPad is very nice as well, it certainly can compete with Xoom or Galaxy Tab or iPad1.

Performance:
I don't know of any benchmarking app across all platforms.
So I only can rely on my gut feeling...
Both are highly responsive and I don't see any disadvantage in comparison to Android or iOS.

Display quality:
I've read 2 negative reviews about PlayBook's display quality.
I don't get this.
I find PlayBook's display clearly one of the best.
Especially for movies it performs extremely well. And it accepts lots of formats out of the box - even plays movies very smoothly on which other tablets had been struggling a bit.
I don't have any real complaints about TouchPad's display, but I'd place it slightly behind, maybe on the level of Xoom.

[aceflor]

Sooooo.... they are both nice, but you can't do anything with them.
And they make the first two spots on your list.

And we have a problem with purses and shoes ..... ?????? ..... !!!!!

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Sooooo.... they are both nice, but you can't do anything with them.
And they make the first two spots on your list.

And we have a problem with purses and shoes ..... ?????? ..... !!!!!

Well....ehm....ha?
There are plenty of good reasons...But I have to go now....I'll explain next week ;-)

[mgmueller]

Probably only few will use it as a reader.
But I briefly wanted to mention it:
I've bought it from Amazon, € 200 below list!
For € 350, it's a really nice gadget.
What always bothered me with iPhone: Many call it "Nintendo killer", but there's still no good solution for controls.
I hate onscreen control. Onscreen keyboard is bad enough. But controls?
It's fine for Sudoku of course.
But for more complicated games, be it action games or brainteasers which need 3 or 4 buttons, I don't like it at all.
There are external solutions, such as bluetooth controllers. Or some joysticks you stick to the screen. But "external" kind of kills any mobility. And the joysticks are a compromise at best.

And here comes Xperia PLAY. It's kind of a "streamlined" PSP Go. The buttons are a bit more flimsy, the display maybe a bit less brilliant. But all good enough.
And the button control, identical with PSP, most of the times seems to work "out of the box".

Nothing to do with reading.
But a nice add-on for my collection of Android gadgets.
And now back to playing some PC Engine classics, such as Gradius, R-Type, Raiden, ...

[jocampo]

I had the Touchpad a few days with me and found not many apps.

Also, it pissed me off that the Kindle app does not have a true landscape mode. Really bad for computer books.

The colors are not so vivid as the iPad 2, at least that my impression.

But WebOs is the best Os for tablet I've seen so far. HP did an awesome job integrating all the social networks and email apps as part of the Os or whole tablet experience.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by jocampo

I had the Touchpad a few days with me and found not many apps.

Also, it pissed me off that the Kindle app does not have a true landscape mode. Really bad for computer books.

The colors are not so vivid as the iPad 2, at least that my impression.

But WebOs is the best Os for tablet I've seen so far. HP did an awesome job integrating all the social networks and email apps as part of the Os or whole tablet experience.

By "Kindle app" you mean the web app? Or did I miss something and the "real" app is available?
Unfortunately I have to agree to TouchPad: Not many apps...

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

By "Kindle app" you mean the web app? Or did I miss something and the "real" app is available?
Unfortunately I have to agree to TouchPad: Not many apps...

Perhaps he is talking about the Kindle Cloud Reader.

BOb

[jocampo]

No, not the Kindle Cloud Reader, the Kindle for WebOs. It was on mine ... :-) ... the beta version though.

An iPad with WebOs as operating system, same hardware, and with the same amount of apps, would be a "killer tablet" .

[HansTWN]

Aren't you forgetting that the browser in WebOS works much more like a PC browser? So you don't really need all those apps. You can go right to the websites.

They apparently have a few good reading apps now, Netflix is coming, Hulu works directly from the website. Pressreader app is in the works, so is Zinio. RDP is still missing in action -- I guess that currently is the big one. The Kindle app will upgrade soon enough, and the new webapp would be fine, I guess.

HP seems very comitted. There are several 1000 apps available, the old ones still work in 3.0. How much do you really need. I guess everyone has to decide on a case by case basis, but I think in a few months usability will surpass the others. Why do we need an app for everything, when we can do it right on the websites? I see the apps more as a lock-in mechanism or to make up for the lack of flash or limited computing power. On my phone I now prefer to go to the real websites instead of using their apps which are much more limited.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Aren't you forgetting that the browser in WebOS works much more like a PC browser? So you don't really need all those apps. You can go right to the websites.

They apparently have a few good reading apps now, Netflix is coming, Hulu works directly from the website. Pressreader app is in the works, so is Zinio. RDP is still missing in action -- I guess that currently is the big one. The Kindle app will upgrade soon enough, and the new webapp would be fine, I guess.

HP seems very comitted. There are several 1000 apps available, the old ones still work in 3.0. How much do you really need. I guess everyone has to decide on a case by case basis, but I think in a few months usability will surpass the others. Why do we need an app for everything, when we can do it right on the websites? I see the apps more as a lock-in mechanism or to make up for the lack of flash or limited computing power. On my phone I now prefer to go to the real websites instead of using their apps which are much more limited.

It really depends on your usage. Personally, I'm not using tablets professionally (yet), they're mere gadgets.
And one of my main gimmicks for now is GPS. Yes, you can use the brilliant Google Maps of course or the almost as good Bing Maps. But I very much prefer Navigon for example. I don't need it of course, I rarely use a tablet for navigation. Still, it's a nice way to check out POIs, hotels, restaurants and such while traveling. I don't need 5 of these apps. So I don't mind whether there are 5 similar apps on Android or 8 on iOS. I'd just like to have a single decent one.
And the web isn't always helping here. TouchPad is WiFi only and I don't want to tether or take my WiFis with me all the time. Offline apps come in handy in such instances.
The Kindle cloud app certainly is good enough, but still the exception I think.
And I simply have to admit: The reason why I've got so many tablets, readers and apps is, that most of the fun for me is in testing apps...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by jocampo

An iPad with WebOs as operating system, same hardware, and with the same amount of apps, would be a "killer tablet" .

I guess, that's what we can expect of iOS5/iPad3. I wouldn't be surprised, if most of the great features we find on BlackBerry PlayBook or HP TouchPad would be "adapted" rather quickly by iOS and Android.

[jocampo]

Hi Hans,

Trust me, I know HP is very committed, I work for them, lol ... we have put our soul and heart on this product and with the short time we had for R&D, I think we did a good job! But there are certain things that I need an app, no matter what. Let me give you some examples.

ereading
I use my iPad as an ereader, magazines, my Kindle books. I even like or use some news apps, like USA Today or Engadget. I can use the browser, but an app. has been customized for that and show you the information in a better format. It is easier to read.

Entertainment
Netflix, Hulu. I honestly did not try or use the integrated browser for that but I don't think Hulu will run. Maybe mgmueller can correct me if I'm wrong. Those are another good reason why I prefer or like the iPad.

In terms of hardware, I find the Touchpad a little bit heavier. That's something I can't change. However, I like the rounded edges and someway was easier to hold. But still feels heavy. The colors are not so vivid either.

The software it's the strongest point. The WebOs beats the iPad out of the box but Safari is faster and more fluid. Yes, I can't see or use Flash, but for regular websites using the Touchpad is not so fluid. Scrolling up and doing is faster and more fluid on the iPad, and I honestly don't know why, it should be the opposite because the Touchpad has better expects.

Wife got mad saying that I was a tablet hoarder, hahahaha, which is partially true. But without justification to keep it, like a nice Kindle app which is basically what I use most from the iPad, besides Zinio, I had no other choice than return.

HP is adding apps like crazy! So if we keep the trending and now with the better price, I really see this as a fantastic and all around tablet. With WebOs, this is really usable and the closest to a PC experience, with an awesome keyboard layout.