No flash on Xoom, it keeps getting better

[freebirdforever]

Wow. And you had really kind of been looking forward to getting this. Well, who knows. And it's not the only one coming out either, and it may smooth out. I definitely don't have any force app close problems on iPad. I don't have any web browsing issues on mine either, but we all really use our devices on an individual level, so it's hard to say. But still, you are saying you don't see initial huge differences from the current what I assume is your Froyo phone?

Its pretty much the same thing I experience on my phone with a different interface. All of the apps right now are the same. Flash content sucks right now (since its not supported yet) I know the apps will make the device...but google/moto really should have gotten some good apps for LAUNCH

 

[Demandarin]

Why would they come out with a iPad 3 basically months after the iPad 2?

Because Apple originally wanted ipad2 to have retina display. But at the present time, there is no way to manufacture enough of those screens at an acceptable price. Remember how iphone came out, then 3g, then 3gs, n now iphone 4? ipad 2 is more of an incremental release, like hkw the iphone 3g went to 3gs. Its gonna have some new stuff n feautures but not a completely new overhaul. Ipad 3 will be that. Everything is rumor right now but well known sources who predicted iphone 4 specs n release said the same about ipad3. I know it sounds crazy to release ipad3 only months after ipad2 but i woukdnt be surprised. Iphone4 juss came out and theres already talk from apple of a new iphone5 being released this summer.
With all these new Android tablets coming out that are good, apple wont let ipad fall behind spec n feature wise. Ipad 1 will hold its own against xoom until ipad2 drops. Once ipad2 drops, it will be even playing field or surpass Xoom, spec wise. Then ipad3 will blow everything away..lmao. Ipad 2 already confirmed from concrete sources to have 2 cams, faster dual core processor, and sd card slot and another mysterious slot not figured out yet. The tablet war is getting good. Im still using my ioad like its brand new and still finding more n more uses. Tablets that will be better will blow everyones minds. I neverrr use a reg. Pc anymore since i got my ipad. My ipad does all computing needs i need done. Cant wait to see whats coming out, tablet wise, which is right around the corner. Stay tuned..lol

It's obvious you've been following the iPad speculation and rumors, but your expectations are a little off. Apple has never historically released a product that had specs that "blew everything away." For computers and laptops they have actually been fairly behind, adopting everything about 6 months to a year late, unless it's their own technology (like LightPeak).

I have been watching iPad 2 news just as closely as I have watched Android tablet news and I can't find a single reliable source that says thhe iPad 2 will have a dual core processor, most people think exactly the opposite. Most say the iPad 2 will be a small update, much like the iPhone 3G -> 3Gs.

If Apple does release the iPad 3 this year as well, it won't blow everything away as you say because NVidia has already said that tablets with their new Kal-El processor will be available in September. The Kal-El which is a minimum of 5x higher performance than the Tegra 2 in the Xoom is going to set the bar, it's up to Apple to beat it, which they rarely do. They normally offer innovation in the user interface over raw horsepower.

We'll have to wait until March 2nd to hear about the iPad.

As far as dual core goes, i read plenty of sites saying that. Ipad2 actually gonna have dual core processor n dual core GPU for even more pwerful processing power, graphics, n calculations. It was either this site or redmondpie.com site it was on. The dual core gpu was new to me but hey the more the better..lol
As far as ipad3 blowin everything away, specwise, my words might be exaggerrated if taken literally. Basically, i meant it gonna be up to par with competition or even surpass it.
march 2nd will be the day, stay tuned..lol

 

[Demandarin]

Everyone complaining about the price just doesn't understand what is going to happen and what ALWAYS happens (except for Apple).

Normally when a product is released that is "hyped" or highly sought after by even a small group of people, the price will be higher. This allows the company to make a little extra money off of the early adopters. A couple months later, they do a minor price drop, and then another price drop, and so on and so forth.

It works that way with just about everything, computers, cars, etc, etc, etc. Apple just doesn't normally follow this method, why else would my MacBook Pro 13" which has an old Core 2 Duo processor still cost $1000 or more? Every other company has drastically dropped the prices of their products that aren't using cutting edge technology. When Apple released the iPad, just about everyone (except for myself and a few others) complained that it was too expensive, but they just didn't realize what it takes to build these things. Now what Apple should have done is dropped the price by at least $100 on all iPad's now that it's a year old.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab did this, it sold fairly well for what it is, and even though it was selling decently well, they made their money off the early adopters, and then dropped the price so it would appeal to the mass market more. The same thing will happen with the Xoom and all of the other tablets (except the iPad), they will all drop their prices shortly after release. It's profiteering, and it sucks for early adopters, but we are willing to pay the extra to have it before everyone else.



Oh, and what Engadget didn't mention, is the scaling ability that Honeycomb has to run non-tablet specific apps. It does it AMAZINGLY well, it doesn't just put it in a little window like the iPad does, it actually scales everything up but maintains the quality. So while there may not be many tablet specific apps on the market now, you still have access to all of the other apps that are on them and they will be full screen and look great.

Just a clarification ;-). Samsung galaxy tab Didnt sell very well actually. They misinformed the logistics on it. Just because they manufactured a million n shipped them to stores, DOESNT mean that a million was sold. They tried to make it seem it was doing alot better thn it really was. Mad people took the galaxy tab back to the stores after being disappointed. One guy on another forum sold his for $75. I was like damn, i know those things cost at leeast $300. I woulda bought it just for da hell of It..lmao i guess he wanted to get rid of it that badly ;-) plus original tab was a fail from the start. Reason being its not able to upgrade to honeycomb os because of spec constraints. Thats why samsung releasing a new bigger galaxy tab thats gonna be running honeycomb. Might actually be decent.
The xoom being able to properly scale non tablets apps in original quality is very good. But, how long will it take to get a decent stockpile of tablet only apps. People dont want a Xoom to run the same apps as on their phone. Thats how i am n dats why i 99% of the time install ipad specific only. Some universal. U right, i hate when iphone app gets blown up2x n looks blurry. That fullforce cydia app doesnt wrk with all iphone apps to make them native ipad resolution. I heard retina display app does that very well but havent checked it out for myself yet.
Question Superbike, im figuring u have or had an ipad at some point in time. When did the ipad or Apple treat ya wrong? Lmao really though, im curious. U turned to the darkside, young anakin..lol

 

[SweetPoison]

Samsung galaxy tab Didnt sell very well actually.

I heard that this was a 13% return rate. Is that bad?

 

[Demandarin]

Battery life on xoom was exagerrated, they claim 10 hrs but actually more like 7-8.5hrs. Ipad claimed 10hrs. N guess what, most folks get even longer use out of it. On any device its gonna depend on what u do or using it for. Of course web browsing and 3d gameplay will drain it more but overall, ipad1 still beats out xoom on battery life. Maybe their battery is smaller with new technology, which is great, but not better thn ipad.

 

[nateccnn]

Just walked out of my verizon store after playing with the xoom and tbh.....I wasn't all that impressed. There was a lot of lag on this one, and it force closed quite a few apps that were installed on it. Browsing the web was nice, but its nothing I can't do with an alternate browser on ipad. Overall, I felt bored and was wanting more than what I got.

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.

Wow. And you had really kind of been looking forward to getting this. Well, who knows. And it's not the only one coming out either, and it may smooth out. I definitely don't have any force app close problems on iPad. I don't have any web browsing issues on mine either, but we all really use our devices on an individual level, so it's hard to say. But still, you are saying you don't see initial huge differences from the current what I assume is your Froyo phone?

I've had apps close on me on my iPad. But it doesn't give me an option to force close or wait for the app to respond so I guess it would not be called a "Force Close"...just "Close". Scrolling through a 32 page Word doc with some minor formatting like columns and table of contents and a few high res photos and it just shut down while I was scrolling through the doc. I can duplicate it any day of the week. 7 different documents.

Was playing Angry Birds the other day and it closed on me just before I got to the highest level I've ever been to. That really irked me. LOL

Just sayin...iPad is not immune to apps closing. And the performance of apps when the memory is hogged will slow down quite a bit.

Nate

 

[Demandarin]

I checked out the link Superbike put up for the xoom hands on review. This is what im impressed with about Xoom, dual core tegra2(x2 A9 cortex) running at 1GHz a piece. Im truly stoked at the 1GB of ram compared to ipad 256mb. Dayyuuumn, multitasking galore with ease.
What im not impressed with, build quality. No where near as good as ipad. Has a newer cell phone type plastic build. They said it feels rugged n smooth but its still plastic..lol that site even said that the hdmi ports Does Not do mirroring and will more thn likely need some kimd of dock. Whoever said it does, we need screenshots for proof ;-) Reminds me of Archos..lmfao i was a brief Archos 5IT owner but when it couldnt connect to my wifi router because them dumb mofos limited the wifi capabilities, i took it back to best buy. If i cant connect thru my wifi router program on my phone, its useless to me. Thays when i opted to get the ipad and been happy ever since since ipad uses all wifi protocols. Also, u can easily tell from screen shots of the xoom and ipad running the same website, that ipad display is wayyy better. Colors look alot more sharper n richer. Xoom screenshot webpage rendering looked like the colors were faded or too bright. Not bright as in screen brightness but colors dont pop like ipad. I dont like the hardware button locations also. Review also said screen rotation has more lag thn ipad, but its not a dealbreaker, just weird.lol.
All n all Xoom is a good starting point for Android honycomb OS. Tablet specific apps are a must for it to be successful. Lets see how muany Xoom's they sold after 1 day to see if it out did apples release. Sh$&, the preorders on ipad were skyhigh. Xoom is good n will get better over time But its no Ipad..lmao i can already tell it wont be as successful. Blame Apple, they r a juggarnaut when it comes to marketing and advertising their latest device.
March 2 might be the early death of Xoom already, n less thn a week of its release..lol
Lets wait n see. Ipad1 still holding it dlwn against Xoom. Ipad2, lets see what cha got in store for us.
One thing though about Apple, i hate f$&@@n Itunes n having to be chained to a desktop or laptop for transfers. Thats why i jailbroke just to get Ifiles n do whatever da hell i want. Download whatever apps, movies, file formats or whatever. They need to make the desktop itunes be within the device itself so u dont need to run to computer for major stuff. Only for backup, its needed.
Anyone has links to Xoom videos or reviews? I only saw the early ones in prerelease.

 

[Demandarin]

Samsung galaxy tab Didnt sell very well actually.

I heard that this was a 13% return rate. Is that bad?

I would say thats bad. Do the math of lets say outta 1 million sold 13% got returned, thats 130,000(thnkx to quick switchin to calculator app midpost..lol) tabs that got returned. Thats a ton of disappointed people. Now the galaxy tab2 might be somthin. Supposedly 10.1 inch screen, honycomb OS, and beefed up specs like the Xoom. I would predict the new Galaxy tablet to outsell the Xoom. Not enough people know about the Xoom yet. It hasnt been advertised as much. Even original galaxy tab had decent commercials to "make" u think itll give ipad a good run, which it didnt.

 

[Demandarin]

One more thing, if its true that ipad2 will have dual core cpu and dual core gpu, Xoom doesnt stand a chance with just tegra 2 dual core cpu. Juss sayin..lol

 

[zorah]

Agreed. What it comes down to for me is purely app availability. On its' own I honestly don't think the iPad is really anything special. It has a fantastic screen, but the rest of the hardware is average at best. What makes the iPad "magical" (to use a Jobs term) is the apps available to it. Once I see developers really focusing on Android I might change my mind, but for now I am just going to wait and see.

I totally agree. It is the apps that make it "magical". Also for some, its the very ease of use too, but for me its the apps. Until all of the ones I use are available I won't even consider moving to another mfg. I'm rather expecting Apple to keep up with the competition so don't think I'll need to move. Since I, like most others, have quite a number of apps that work really well, I really don't want to start over, neither from a money stand point or just setting it up. I don't plan on upgrading to Ipad 2 but may consider upgrading to 3 with one of our Ipads. There would have to be a considerable difference to make me change to mfgs and that does not include Flash which isn't very important to me. Not being able to have content I want could make me reconsider however.

Diane

Diane
Kind of where I am at too. I have a lot invested in apps that work and do awesome for me on both my phone and now iPad. Money and setting up stand point is well stated. But if I didn't have an iPhone or iPad, might I have Android-sure. I am interested at large and would I say never. No. Just not anytime soon for me at this point and not in the foreseeable future. I don't have a crystal ball though and all of it is to the good.

 

[zorah]

Wow. And you had really kind of been looking forward to getting this. Well, who knows. And it's not the only one coming out either, and it may smooth out. I definitely don't have any force app close problems on iPad. I don't have any web browsing issues on mine either, but we all really use our devices on an individual level, so it's hard to say. But still, you are saying you don't see initial huge differences from the current what I assume is your Froyo phone?

Its pretty much the same thing I experience on my phone with a different interface. All of the apps right now are the same. Flash content sucks right now (since its not supported yet) I know the apps will make the device...but google/moto really should have gotten some good apps for LAUNCH

Yeah, I guess it would have been nice to have it ready for LAUNCH, eh???

 

[writerranger]

It will be interesting to watch. I'm not rushing to get iPad2 or Xoom or any other new tablet, because the one I have does what I need it to do.

Anyway, it won't be too many years down the road when we'll laugh at our iPad and giggle at the ancient technology. I'll enjoy what I have right now.

 

[zorah]

Just walked out of my verizon store after playing with the xoom and tbh.....I wasn't all that impressed. There was a lot of lag on this one, and it force closed quite a few apps that were installed on it. Browsing the web was nice, but its nothing I can't do with an alternate browser on ipad. Overall, I felt bored and was wanting more than what I got.

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.

Wow. And you had really kind of been looking forward to getting this. Well, who knows. And it's not the only one coming out either, and it may smooth out. I definitely don't have any force app close problems on iPad. I don't have any web browsing issues on mine either, but we all really use our devices on an individual level, so it's hard to say. But still, you are saying you don't see initial huge differences from the current what I assume is your Froyo phone?

I've had apps close on me on my iPad. But it doesn't give me an option to force close or wait for the app to respond so I guess it would not be called a "Force Close"...just "Close". Scrolling through a 32 page Word doc with some minor formatting like columns and table of contents and a few high res photos and it just shut down while I was scrolling through the doc. I can duplicate it any day of the week. 7 different documents.

Was playing Angry Birds the other day and it closed on me just before I got to the highest level I've ever been to. That really irked me. LOL

Just sayin...iPad is not immune to apps closing. And the performance of apps when the memory is hogged will slow down quite a bit.

Nate

That totally bites! I have never had an app close on me like that in the middle of something! I have had some that just flat out don't open at launch because they're buggy, but that's a developer issue (Weatherbug anyone????). But, no, not anything like that. Not ever when I am in the middle of USING an app. Maybe like you said, due to how much memory is being used? I don't play videos and huge video type games that use up memory. And I remember my old WM PDA devices which would crash as memory would be all used up-those were the days.

 

[zorah]

It will be interesting to watch. I'm not rushing to get iPad2 or Xoom or any other new tablet, because the one I have does what I need it to do.

Anyway, it won't be too many years down the road when we'll laugh at our iPad and giggle at the ancient technology. I'll enjoy what I have right now.

Yep! I am for sure more than enjoying my iPad right now. Heavens. I just got the thing three months ago! So I'm not about to get anything else. It's doing everything awesome for me and isn't going to "suddenly" stop doing so just because the 2 will be out in a few months. Oh sure, eventually I'll update, but certainly not anytime before the battery needs replacing on this one! You're right though-we'll think it ancient some day. LOL.

 

[Demandarin]

Im right along with yall, i love my ipad as it is right now. Mi am antsy bout the front facing cam. Almost all my family has Evo n be video chattingwit each other. Im the true tech head out of them all n i dont have a cam on ipad to do so..lol new skype update does wrk well though. Allows u to see video from the other person. They cant see u though. Plus word is out they got facetime video chat wrkn on ipad now, u have to be jailbroken n like skype, they cant see u but u can see them.
Ill more thn likely upgrade to ipad3 unless this second has features that i truly want n desire!