New Apple Tablet

[dirk digler]

Cool stuff. On Engadget live right now

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/l...est&refresh=30

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by BCD

Ironic, since you were the one arguing that you didn't like an iPad due to the fact that it doesn't function in ways that the platform isn't intended (as a blender).

So no... it won't blend. It won't hammer nails. It won't microwave your food. It won't burn CDs. If you think it's supposed to, then you don't understand the market.

I think that is AustinChief's main hangup. He envisions the tablet as being a "tablet PC." A flat screen, touch screen that will totally replace your PC. I think that's a whole other iteration of what we're seeing now that will be coming far, far down the pipe for the mainstream consumer. In the meantime, Apple is cackling their merry asses to the bank as they dominate the current market and watch everyone else try to catch up with them.

Apple isn't trying to emulate PC functionality. They're trying to create a new lifestyle device that seamlessly merges into a user's daily routines.

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by NewChief

I think that is AustinChief's main hangup. He envisions the tablet as being a "tablet PC." A flat screen, touch screen that will totally replace your PC. I think that's a whole other iteration of what we're seeing now that will be coming far, far down the pipe for the mainstream consumer. In the meantime, Apple is cackling their merry asses to the bank as they dominate the current market and watch everyone else try to catch up with them.

Apple isn't trying to emulate PC functionality. They're trying to create a new lifestyle device that seamlessly merges into a user's daily routines.

I actually have TWO points that I am making.. FOR ME.. yes a tablet needs far more functionality... and that isn't what Apple is aiming for, I agree.

The second point is that Android tablets which are going for the same market... are going to eventually overtake Apple by the simple virtue of being more open and cheaper (due to the number of manufacturers).

Let's imagine there was a XOOM-like tablet that had 5x the processing power of an iPad, 4 times the memory, better screen, better cameras, a better OS(Honeycomb), sdcard, as many apps, a comparable battery,etc etc AND was priced at about $400... would you agree that it would only be lacking Apple's marketing machine? There is a very good possibility we will see one of these by end of year.. it may start at the $500 range but could quickly drop...

Other than current market lead and better marketing.. I don't see Apple being able to keep up in regards to the ACTUAL product. BUT I also don't see that being the case until there are more players in the game and especially when they start to release their second gen tablets.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by AustinChief

I actually have TWO points that I am making.. FOR ME.. yes a tablet needs far more functionality... and that isn't what Apple is aiming for, I agree.

The second point is that Android tablets which are going for the same market... are going to eventually overtake Apple by the simple virtue of being more open and cheaper (due to the number of manufacturers).

Let's imagine there was a XOOM-like tablet that had 5x the processing power of an iPad, 4 times the memory, better screen, better cameras, a better OS(Honeycomb), sdcard, as many apps, a comparable battery,etc etc AND was priced at about $400... would you agree that it would only be lacking Apple's marketing machine? There is a very good possibility we will see one of these by end of year.. it may start at the $500 range but could quickly drop...

Other than current market lead and better marketing.. I don't see Apple being able to keep up in regards to the ACTUAL product. BUT I also don't see that being the case until there are more players in the game and especially when they start to release their second gen tablets.

I'm more or less in agreement with you on the long term side of things. That being said, all the ipad-killers have just been vaporware or not lived up to the hype at this point. I know that they're coming... but they aren't here yet. I'm also not totally convinced that Apple won't adapt to the market with a "ipad pro" or some such if more becomes demanded. The evolution of the technology and the market isn't totally predictable, though, and I am skeptical of people who try to predict it with confidence. So until the "ipad killer" shows up and kills the iPad, I'll refuse to crown anyone else king of the tablet market.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Apple isn't trying to emulate PC functionality. They're trying to create a new lifestyle device that seamlessly merges into a user's daily routines.

Cool. I'll take one for $200 then.

[The_Doctor10]

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/motoro...uts-next/45978

With Apple launching the iPad 2 Friday, Motorola Mobility may be forced to scramble to bolster sales of the Xoom tablet.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek on Friday argued that earnings estimates for Motorola Mobility are too high for the second quarter and 2011 because sales of the Xoom and Atrix haven’t lived up to expectations.

Misek said:

Xoom sales have been underwhelming. While marketing has just started we believe MMI will likely have to cut production if it already has not done so. We believe the device has been a bit buggy and did not meet the magic price point of $500. We believe management knows this and is hurrying development and production of lower cost tablets. Importantly we believe management will likely have to make the painful decision to accept little to no margin initially in order to match iPad 2’s wholesale pricing.

On the Atrix front Misek noted that the BlackBerry Torch is outselling the Atrix at AT&T.

We’ll focus on the Xoom for the moment. Misek’s take on tepid Xoom sales backs up what we’ve been hearing anecdotally. We’ve heard of a handful of folks that have returned the Xoom. The frequent complaint is that the Android 3.0 Honeycomb software is buggy and prone to crashes. Expectations are simply higher given the Xoom’s price.

Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at Global Equities Research, also indicated that Google’s perpetual beta approach doesn’t fly for electronics. Google’s approach works for free services, but expectations are different for a tablet that can run you $800. “The consumer is unforgiving,” said Chowdhry in a research note.

Reviews of the Xoom have also been tepid. The good news is that Xoom prices will come down because Motorola Mobility is going to have to move inventory.

What do you know... Specs don't mean jack all if the software doesn't work properly. Who knew?

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by Unleash_the_Phury

What do you know... Specs don't mean jack all if the software doesn't work properly. Who knew?

So this means the Xoom with 5x the power for the same price is right around the corner, right?

[The_Doctor10]

Originally Posted by Pittsie

So this means the Xoom with 5x the power for the same price is right around the corner, right?

It is, it just won't turn on. But it'll look pretty and be superior in theory.

[Fish]

Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at Global Equities Research, also indicated that Google’s perpetual beta approach doesn’t fly for electronics. Google’s approach works for free services, but expectations are different for a tablet that can run you $800.

I think this is the most relevant piece of info here. AustinChief has been saying throughout the run of this thread that the iPad killer is just around the corner, and just wait till this next release, and so on. And while I agree that better tablet tech is to come eventually, consumers obviously aren't that patient.

Better specs aren't worth much if they don't translate into a smooth user experience.

I'd really like more info on the Honeycomb shortcomings though...

[Fish]

I read a couple articles listed in the report above about these Honeycomb shortcomings. Here's the gist of what I found:

Motorola decided not to use the microUSB standard for the charging cable, using a thin proprietary connection instead. This charging stem feels very flimsy and requires care to not put pressure which would likely result in damage. The microUSB port included is for connecting to a PC only, and will not charge the XOOM.

The quality of the shots taken with this 5MP camera are OK, but not outstanding.

The XOOM can be rotated to any of the four orientations to fit personal preference, and the display autorotates smoothly. This screen rotation happens quickly, although lag is detected once several apps are running at once.

This lag occurs more frequently than I would expect, and sets in after a few apps are running at once. The dual-core Tegra processor is a very fast CPU, but the XOOM regularly bogs down with several things running. This will need to be addressed, either in updates to Honeycomb or by Motorola

Unfortunately, while some third party apps are prone to crash under Honeycomb, even Google’s core apps exhibit problems regularly. I have used the XOOM heavily for over a week, and every session longer than 15 minutes is likely to have at least one app crash, the system hanging up or the entire system rebooting. This can happen while running a Google app as easily as a third party app. The overall impression is that Honeycomb is not quite ready for heavy use yet.

The problems I encountered using the XOOM can be attributed to the newness of Honeycomb. These will no doubt be remedied with updates by Google and Motorola, and I suspect the system will be a solid product in the not-to-distant future. Unfortunately, at $799 the XOOM is awfully expensive to be in essence a beta test device, and I can’t recommend buying the XOOM until the issues get addressed.

If you are an early adopter who likes to have the latest and greatest, then the XOOM will serve you well if you’re willing to put up with the growing pains I have covered. I suspect you will see the XOOM/Honeycomb combo mature nicely, and quickly at that. If however you are not one to tolerate the frustrations that a first look device like the XOOM provides, you’re better off with the iPad 2.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-new...e_skin;content

More: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/motoro...e_skin;content

[AustinChief]

We all know that Motorola was stupid to release the XOOM so early... they should have waited for the Honeycomb update that is due out Friday (which will also include Flash support)

There is a good reason that almost all the other manufacturers are releasing their tablets in May/June.

With that said, Trip Chowdhry is an idiot.

My only concern is this... with most tablets coming out in June, I wonder how many manufacturers will release a newer version with the Tegra3 processor as soon as Xmas... btw.. the Tegra3 is amazing... if you haven't already guessed that from my past posts.

[The_Doctor10]

Originally Posted by AustinChief

We all know that Motorola was stupid to release the XOOM so early... they should have waited for the Honeycomb update that is due out Friday (which will also include Flash support)

There is a good reason that almost all the other manufacturers are releasing their tablets in May/June.

With that said, Trip Chowdhry is an idiot.

My only concern is this... with most tablets coming out in June, I wonder how many manufacturers will release a newer version with the Tegra3 processor as soon as Xmas... btw.. the Tegra3 is amazing... if you haven't already guessed that from my past posts.

It's not about the hardware. It really isn't. Software optimization and efficiency is far more important; Apple has known this for years, and consistently outperformed higher-spec products as a result.

Why on earth would Motorola release the Xoom knowing less than a month later, a critical OS update was available? Because to me, that seems to be a surefire way to piss off anyone who was excited enough about your product to actually buy it. But instead, they just took people's money and gave them something crap, and something they could only buy with a data plan, for several hundred more than the arguably superior iPad 2. And they didn't even give them all the stuff they promised. All of which screams 'we can't actually deliver what we said we would, but we'll still take your money'. Which I imagine will sour an awful lot of people on the Xoom, which means down the road, people are going to either buy more iPad 2s or Android tablets that aren't the Xoom. This also further proves that when a company assembles its own product with its own software, the results are almost inevitably better than a company who just writes software for dozens of different devices.

So the new Xoom release is going to have Flash. And eventually 4G. And eventually an SD slot. Who really cares? 4G is useable in all of ten cities in North America. Oh, and the SD slot's real genius, considering the thing has a 32 GB hard drive but can't actually connect via USB. GREAT design there, Motorola. As for Flash? Ever stop to think that the reason these companies keep pushing back their Flash support for tablets is because they've realized that, as of right now, Steve Jobs was right? Flash doesn't work well on these devices, and kills the battery while taking up too much RAM. So no, the Android users can't have it yet, BUT it'll be here soon. We promise. Remember, we made good the last time we told you we'd do something... right?

If Android wants to beat Apple at something, they need to actually invent something new, not sponsor inferior versions of what Apple did.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Unleash_the_Phury

It's not about the hardware. It really isn't. Software optimization and efficiency is far more important; Apple has known this for years, and consistently outperformed higher-spec products as a result.

Why on earth would Motorola release the Xoom knowing less than a month later, a critical OS update was available? Because to me, that seems to be a surefire way to piss off anyone who was excited enough about your product to actually buy it. But instead, they just took people's money and gave them something crap, and something they could only buy with a data plan, for several hundred more than the arguably superior iPad 2. And they didn't even give them all the stuff they promised. All of which screams 'we can't actually deliver what we said we would, but we'll still take your money'. Which I imagine will sour an awful lot of people on the Xoom, which means down the road, people are going to either buy more iPad 2s or Android tablets that aren't the Xoom. This also further proves that when a company assembles its own product with its own software, the results are almost inevitably better than a company who just writes software for dozens of different devices.

So the new Xoom release is going to have Flash. And eventually 4G. And eventually an SD slot. Who really cares? 4G is useable in all of ten cities in North America. Oh, and the SD slot's real genius, considering the thing has a 32 GB hard drive but can't actually connect via USB. GREAT design there, Motorola. As for Flash? Ever stop to think that the reason these companies keep pushing back their Flash support for tablets is because they've realized that, as of right now, Steve Jobs was right? Flash doesn't work well on these devices, and kills the battery while taking up too much RAM. So no, the Android users can't have it yet, BUT it'll be here soon. We promise. Remember, we made good the last time we told you we'd do something... right?

If Android wants to beat Apple at something, they need to actually invent something new, not sponsor inferior versions of what Apple did.

@ your hatred of everything Android.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by BCD

@ your hatred of everything Android.

This is irony overkill.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

This is irony overkill.

I dont hate Apple. Never said that. My only complaint on Apple products is price. I've also never said Android was better.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by BCD

I dont hate Apple. Never said that. My only complaint on Apple products is price. I've also never said Android was better.

Yeah.... says the guy who's last avatar was an Android logo pissing on an Apple logo. You are the epitome of unbiased as it relates to this debate....