Bought an Android tablet...

[Misha]

And... to the store it goes back.

 

It's very good to play small games, but

 

Soundwise, it's just not up to what it costs (600$).

 

I thought I would be able to record clips with decent to good quality, but I was wrong.

 

Surfing the Web is not as efficient as on a laptop. Also, typing messages is frustrating at best.

 

The screen gets dirty because I have my fingers on it all the time, and I'm always worried it will get damaged.

 

Touch screen is something nice, but practically, I don't have much use for that expensive device.

 

I still prefer my netbook. It's almost as portable but less expensive and has more options, more features, more power.

 

Also, knowing that using a tablet in the metro is a risk because - lately - several persons have been beaten by gang members who stole their "toy", makes me want to keep it in its case, in public.

 

By the way, I got the Sony Tablet S (32 Go). It's good for a tablet (nice shape, easy to hold), but I don't think a tablet is what I need...

 

So, for now, the plan is to look for a PCI to USB adapter to be able to use my beloved EMU 0404 PCI soundcard again - with my netbook!

[kwakatak]

Sorry, to hear that, Misha. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone which is essentially a small tablet and I understand part of your frustration. Typing by swiping and putting up with the auto spell function drives me nuts, but otherwise I like the portability of it. Laptops are fragile too though - which my autistic son has demonstrated twice but still I'll never get another desktop or tower.

 

BTW, my son's school suggested we apply for a grant for an iPad 2. He's still not able to express his thoughts and there's some great software out there that's worked wonders for other autistic children.

 

Now if only we can could get him to stop throwing things.

[skatalite]

 

Sorry, to hear that, Misha. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone which is essentially a small tablet and I understand part of your frustration. Typing by swiping and putting up with the auto spell function drives me nuts, but otherwise I like the portability of it. Laptops are fragile too though - which my autistic son has demonstrated twice but still I'll never get another desktop or tower. BTW, my son's school suggested we apply for a grant for an iPad 2. He's still not able to express his thoughts and there's some great software out there that's worked wonders for other autistic children. Now if only we can could get him to stop throwing things.

 

 

In regards to your phone: You can turn off the swipe typing feature. You can also go into the Android Market and download different keyboards. I use SwiftKey, and it memorizes my patterns and what I type. So it cuts texting and such by about half.

[totamus]

Misha - That was one pricey Tablet! You might try the Amazon Kindle fire - fantastic tablet for the price and with a 7" screen it is easier to hold and put in a purse (before anyone comments: sure, it fits great in mine...). At $200 it is a great deal. I made post a few days ago about lyrics pad for the android - great musician tool for keeping all your songs, making set lists and displaying the lyrics.

 

As far recording goes, I have no experience with it on an android, but I suspect that the apple is far superior. You also might want to check out this: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=tascam+200&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13143534795892116056&sa=X&ei=gbFkT9b3B4SFtgfC0rD-DQ&ved=0CG4Q8wIwBA

 

It is great little external sound cards that has its own phantom power and very good audio quality.

[Grant Harding]

Sorry, to hear that, Misha. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone which is essentially a small tablet and I understand part of your frustration. Typing by swiping and putting up with the auto spell function drives me nuts,

That's just a learning curve thing. Swype is the most incredible thing about the Galaxy for me. I have it set up so that it doesn't constantly try to help. I can now enter text in less than half the time that any previous phone/PDA allowed. Big words are super easy, like superannuation. That word took less than a second...

[tedmich]

why in my day an android tablet had "714" on it!

(and was MUCH cheaper)

[Misha]

Advantage of a tablet, no boot-up time. Turn it on & surf the net. iPad is far ahead of Android in music applications though. I'm on my 2nd. I bought one of these this month: I haven't tried it yet.

 

Oh!! Cool gadget! Please try it and make a review!!

[Misha]

 

Sorry, to hear that, Misha. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone which is essentially a small tablet and I understand part of your frustration. Typing by swiping and putting up with the auto spell function drives me nuts, but otherwise I like the portability of it. Laptops are fragile too though - which my autistic son has demonstrated twice but still I'll never get another desktop or tower. BTW, my son's school suggested we apply for a grant for an iPad 2. He's still not able to express his thoughts and there's some great software out there that's worked wonders for other autistic children. Now if only we can could get him to stop throwing things.

 

 

Hi Kwakatak!

 

Glad to know that getting an Ipad could help your son!

 

I agree that laptops are fragile. Luckily, I took an extended warranty for my laptop and they changed the motherboard, the BlueRay, the battery and the power supply after almost 3 years of usage. The power supply fried. I'm not sure, but I think my cat bit the cable... (He didn't admit...)

[Misha]

 

Misha - That was one pricey Tablet! You might try the Amazon Kindle fire - fantastic tablet for the price and with a 7" screen it is easier to hold and put in a purse (before anyone comments: sure, it fits great in mine...). At $200 it is a great deal. I made post a few days ago about lyrics pad for the android - great musician tool for keeping all your songs, making set lists and displaying the lyrics. As far recording goes, I have no experience with it on an android, but I suspect that the apple is far superior. You also might want to check out this: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=tascam+200&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13143534795892116056&sa=X&ei=gbFkT9b3B4SFtgfC0rD-DQ&ved=0CG4Q8wIwBA It is great little external sound cards that has its own phantom power and very good audio quality.

 

 

Well, it was 596$ CAD including taxes (15%), a leather case (50$) and one more year of warranty for a 32 Go Wifi tablet.

 

I know about the Kindle Fire, but haven't seen it in Canada. I have to buy it online and pay fees. It makes it more expensive in Canada and it is locked to Amazon wich is not the best thing for a French Canadian. I've never seen a Nook in Quebec, Canada either. I wuld love to try both of them because I love reading. I read a lot on my Sony Reader Pocket. (No Wifi, no sound, no SD card slot, though, but I put a bit more than 1000 books in it using only the internal memory. It is very well made and works just fine.)

 

I'm going to look at the soundcard that you suggested. I don't want to invest too much on a USB soundcard because the M-Audio Fast Track Pro that I sold gave me some headaches when I used it with my laptop.

 

Someday, I will have to try another apple product. I tried an ipod a few years ago and it didn't sound as good as my Sony MP3 player, but my niece had another model that sounded very good (I compared the 3 units with the same headphones.) Some DAC chips are better than others and newer doesn't necessarily means better. Sometimes, more ancient models of MP3 players/cellphones/etc do sound better!

[Misha]

I still don't carry a cell phone. The guy I contract to keeps insisting I do but he can go flog himself. That's not happening. My wife bought me a phone, saw the look on my face, then smiled and asked me how I liked her new phone. Love that woman.

 

My cellphone is practical because it permit me to answer to emergency calls at the job and it pay well! (1.5 X rate or 2 X rate)

 

Have you tried to buy a new guitar for your wife?? Maybe you should think about it!!

[Samilyn]

Sorry to hear the tablet didn't work out for you. Good that you posted, though. I like "real world" advice.

 

I've been wanting a tablet for a long time, and am really leaning towards the ASUS EEE Transformer, but am waiting until there is tablet that I can "erase" and install Linux on. So far, a few people have managed to load my fave distro (Ubuntu) onto a tablet. I know it can be done now, but I'm not geek-y enough to do it without a lot of headaches.

 

I guess when loading one's preferred OS onto a tablet gets simpler and the price comes down on them, then I'll get rid of my bulky laptop and spend my hard-earned money on a sleek tablet.

[gitnoob]

I thought Android was based on Linux. It's pretty slick, slicker than most other attempts at a tablet UI, but not quite Apple-slick yet.

[Glenn F]

If I were to get something, it would probably be an iPad. You can use Garageband on it, and get other plugins like Amplitube (I think) which definitely bring the rawk. I'll probably wait for a 10th generation before I get one of those thingies, though.

 

As for music players, I just got a Cowon i9. Excellent sound. My phone just phones. I'm old skool like that.....

[Hoddy]

 

That's just a learning curve thing. Swype is the most incredible thing about the Galaxy for me. I have it set up so that it doesn't constantly try to help. I can now enter text in less than half the time that any previous phone/PDA allowed. Big words are super easy, like superannuation. That word took less than a second...

 

 

I love swype...it's all I use now.

[katopp]

By all means, Android IS a branch off the LINUX tree.

Most LINUX distros do not have binaries or the likes for the CPUs used in most tablets. I doubt, that using a standard distro would be beneficial as I/O and power management are way out, compared to the standard appliance world.

Oi, root yer Transformer and enjoy a LINUX alternative by the name of Android on it. There are even bash and other tools for Android out there, so you could use it like mot other LINUX boxes...

[Misha]

 

Sorry to hear the tablet didn't work out for you. Good that you posted, though. I like "real world" advice. I've been wanting a tablet for a long time, and am really leaning towards the ASUS EEE Transformer, but am waiting until there is tablet that I can "erase" and install Linux on. So far, a few people have managed to load my fave distro (Ubuntu) onto a tablet. I know it can be done now, but I'm not geek-y enough to do it without a lot of headaches. I guess when loading one's preferred OS onto a tablet gets simpler and the price comes down on them, then I'll get rid of my bulky laptop and spend my hard-earned money on a sleek tablet.

 

 

Well, the tablet was a fun toy... but too expensive to my taste for what it can do for me. (600$ mostly to play to Angry Birds!) Maybe a Samsung Galaxy Note hybrid cellphone would be better for me, unfortunately, I'm with Virgin Mobile and they don't offer it.

 

I read somewhere that there was a tablet on which we could install Linux. I just don't remember which one.

 

Sami, I'll probably do just like you: wait until the prices decrease. That's what happened with laptops!

[Misha]

If I were to get something, it would probably be an iPad. You can use Garageband on it, and get other plugins like Amplitube (I think) which definitely bring the rawk. I'll probably wait for a 10th generation before I get one of those thingies, though. As for music players, I just got a Cowon i9. Excellent sound. My phone just phones. I'm old skool like that.....

 

I read that Cowon players sounded very good. Audiophiles use them. I don't see these products in Montreal, though.

 

You know, my Blackberry phone well even if it's not a very good multimedia product, my camera takes good pictures and has a flash, my MP3 player sounds good, my video player plays well, my laptop is a good laptop, my netbook is a good netbook... It's just that it takes some space and weights a bit when I want to carry all these with me! I thought the tablet would solve that problem. The one I got (and returned yesterday) did not!

[Misha]

I will when I finally put my hands on it. It's waiting for me 9,000 miles away from where I am today. But I bought both the iPad2 & the iDock used from a forumite I trust. So I think it will work out. He says the Alesis was full of bugs when he bought it but he's already installed the updates that make it functional. Bad things about the iPad are Apple's marketing totalitarianism. As good as the music apps are - it's still damned difficult to export an audio or MIDI file. A tablet is no substitute for a decent laptop. But the iPad is definitely a keeper. No boot-up time. Fast surfing on the net, books, movies & you can make music on them.

 

Oh! OK! Well, I can wait until you have it with you!!

 

And for the Ipad... maybe someday I'll buy an Apple product. Maybe I would have kept it if I had bought one! I know that people love them!

[busdriver72]

why in my day an android tablet had "714" on it! (and was MUCH cheaper)

 

I hear ya! I thought an "Android Tablet" was something Data took when he had a headache.

[Grant Harding]

I love swype...it's all I use now.

I used to hate tapping out words like prosthetic and sympathetically, but now it takes about 1/4 of the time it would have taken, even on a keyboard. Like playing guitar there's an initial learning curve that most people can't navigate.

[Samilyn]

 

By all means, Android IS a branch off the LINUX tree. Most LINUX distros do not have binaries or the likes for the CPUs used in most tablets. I doubt, that using a standard distro would be beneficial as I/O and power management are way out, compared to the standard appliance world. Oi, root yer Transformer and enjoy a LINUX alternative by the name of Android on it. There are even bash and other tools for Android out there, so you could use it like mot other LINUX boxes...

 

 

Yup, you're right. I guess what I really want is for tablets to become advanced enough to behave like a powerful laptop. Wishful thinking now, but maybe in a few more years?

[T.B.]

A couple of people have been annoyed when I've refused to give them a definitive answer if they should purchase an iPad. My question is, do you have an idea what you want to use it for? I always suggest they try out both (Android/iPod) platforms before making a decision. I love my iPad, I ended up purchasing the 3 edition (64GB) because I ran out of space on iPad 2. I'm not bitching about my cable subscription bill much because for the first time I feel like I'm getting my money worth, since I can access it anywhere I can hook-up to Wifi. GarageBand and all they umpteen music app tutorials, such as "TheMusicPath" for guitar, make the iPad invaluable tool for me.

 

I hope Linux Ubuntu or Linux Mint make there way onto a tablet, last year there was much talk this would come to past. For whatever reason such talk has cooled. I don't think they can prolong for long... nothing worse than playing catch up when others have carved out their piece of the market.

[Grant Harding]

I want an iPad that's the size of a big TV tray, indestructable, and with removable legs that allow it to be stood up like an easel (use with a wireless keyboard) or used flat like a table. It needs to run the same OS and have all of the functionality of a top of the line MacBook Pro.

[gitnoob]

http://www.buy.com/prod/samsung-sur40-surface-computer-amd-athlon-ii-x2-245e-2-90-ghz-40/226521990.html

 

 

[video=youtube;UF8WxXsM44U]

[Samilyn]

 

A couple of people have been annoyed when I've refused to give them a definitive answer if they should purchase an iPad. My question is, do you have an idea what you want to use it for? I always suggest they try out both (Android/iPod) platforms before making a decision. I love my iPad, I ended up purchasing the 3 edition (64GB) because I ran out of space on iPad 2. I'm not bitching about my cable subscription bill much because for the first time I feel like I'm getting my money worth, since I can access it anywhere I can hook-up to Wifi. GarageBand and all they umpteen music app tutorials, such as "TheMusicPath" for guitar, make the iPad invaluable tool for me. I hope Linux Ubuntu or Linux Mint make there way onto a tablet, last year there was much talk this would come to past. For whatever reason such talk has cooled. I don't think they can prolong for long... nothing worse than playing catch up when others have carved out their piece of the market.

 

 

Me too. After becoming thoroughly disgusted with Windoze and trying various flavors of Linux with varying degrees of understanding and success, I've become completely sold on Ubuntu. This particular distro makes climbing the Linux learning curve a breeze for non-geeks like me.

 

Some very smart geek-peeps have indeed put Ubuntu on the ill-fated HP tablet, but I'm not that smart, so I'll wait. As you say, I don't think they can prolong such a critter for long.