Which tablet
September 29th 2011 08:33
Its a long story - about how my search for a fast computer morphed into a search for a reasonably quick ultraportable and from thereon to possibly a netbook, whcih then raised a question in my mind - why not a tablet? Why not indeed! Most of today's computer work is being done on the web through either web applications or through the ubiquitious big G's services.
Not being an Apple person, I delved into the usual choices that Android tablets offer. After ruling out the Motorola Xoom (high price) the battle got close between the Asus Transformer and the Toshiba Thrive. This despite the fact that Xoom is supposed to get the first Honeycomb updates after Google bought them out. My years with technology have taught me to not believe any announcement made by company CEOs well in advance. See it to believe it is a safe motto in the world of technology. Oh and by the way not being a big fan of Samsung's products straight away ruled out the Galaxy tab. Despite the Transformer's IPS screen, the Thrive's chunkiness (in itself a negative for so many people) appealed to me. Having been a Thinkpad user, solidity and reliability are important things for me. And the Thrive ticked the boxes in that regard. Not to mention connectivity and expandability with full size USB ports and HDMI ports. The Transformer's biggest plus was its dock (as an accessory). It not only added a touchpad and a keyboard (laptop style) but also added a USB hub functionality. Over and above this it adds another 5 to 6 hours of battery life. Sounds indispensable right? Thing is it adds cost. With the accessory, the Transformer will cost as much as a more than decent laptop (yes, a laptop and not a netbook) with a dedicated display card and over 500 GB of space! Not cool - despite the portability factor.
Just when the button was going to be pushed in favour of the Thrive, somebody suggested the HP Touchpad. It did not appeal to me at first given that HP had discontinued support for the device although they still reportedly want to keep developing the Web OS used in it. Not to mention the factor that HP had nowhere near the amount of apps that either one of its competitors - Android or Apple - have. But digging a little deeper, the HP Touchpad started making sense. At about half the price of any of the other tablets, it offered up a very fast OS with 32 GB of space along with a fast processor (Qualcomm 1200 GHz). The HP Web OS not only looks good but also supports true multitasking with a 'cards' type feature where you control and view the open applications as individual cards which can be flipped back and forth or banished out - as you see fit. That left me with just the problem of the apps not being there with HP. Enter Homebrew - a community dedicated to building and refining applications for the HP devices.
One of the things that always made me side with Android over Apple in phones (I use a Motorola Milestone) is the value and joy it offers to the inveterate tinkerer. With Homebrew, HP too had possibilities in that regard, I felt. Add in a few extras such as the Beats Audio engine and the Synergy feature of the Web OS (where it aggregates our contacts across various web applications such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo etc.), the HP offers maximum value for money!
[Updates to follow about hands-on experience and Homebrew customizations]
Not being an Apple person, I delved into the usual choices that Android tablets offer. After ruling out the Motorola Xoom (high price) the battle got close between the Asus Transformer and the Toshiba Thrive. This despite the fact that Xoom is supposed to get the first Honeycomb updates after Google bought them out. My years with technology have taught me to not believe any announcement made by company CEOs well in advance. See it to believe it is a safe motto in the world of technology. Oh and by the way not being a big fan of Samsung's products straight away ruled out the Galaxy tab. Despite the Transformer's IPS screen, the Thrive's chunkiness (in itself a negative for so many people) appealed to me. Having been a Thinkpad user, solidity and reliability are important things for me. And the Thrive ticked the boxes in that regard. Not to mention connectivity and expandability with full size USB ports and HDMI ports. The Transformer's biggest plus was its dock (as an accessory). It not only added a touchpad and a keyboard (laptop style) but also added a USB hub functionality. Over and above this it adds another 5 to 6 hours of battery life. Sounds indispensable right? Thing is it adds cost. With the accessory, the Transformer will cost as much as a more than decent laptop (yes, a laptop and not a netbook) with a dedicated display card and over 500 GB of space! Not cool - despite the portability factor.
Just when the button was going to be pushed in favour of the Thrive, somebody suggested the HP Touchpad. It did not appeal to me at first given that HP had discontinued support for the device although they still reportedly want to keep developing the Web OS used in it. Not to mention the factor that HP had nowhere near the amount of apps that either one of its competitors - Android or Apple - have. But digging a little deeper, the HP Touchpad started making sense. At about half the price of any of the other tablets, it offered up a very fast OS with 32 GB of space along with a fast processor (Qualcomm 1200 GHz). The HP Web OS not only looks good but also supports true multitasking with a 'cards' type feature where you control and view the open applications as individual cards which can be flipped back and forth or banished out - as you see fit. That left me with just the problem of the apps not being there with HP. Enter Homebrew - a community dedicated to building and refining applications for the HP devices.
One of the things that always made me side with Android over Apple in phones (I use a Motorola Milestone) is the value and joy it offers to the inveterate tinkerer. With Homebrew, HP too had possibilities in that regard, I felt. Add in a few extras such as the Beats Audio engine and the Synergy feature of the Web OS (where it aggregates our contacts across various web applications such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo etc.), the HP offers maximum value for money!
[Updates to follow about hands-on experience and Homebrew customizations]
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