Yet another "thoughts on tablets" question

[Kmcferrin]

I was waiting for after Xmas to get a tablet, and had my hopes pinned on the Transformer Prime. Unfortunately I have yet to find one that I could actually purchase, online or B&M, let alone actually test drive to see how I like it. After hearing about the issues that many people are having with the Prime, I'm leaning away from that device altogether unless the availability issue is related to a new hardware rev that fixes the issues.

So what else is out there that's looking good? I only need wifi, and I want something that will be fairly current (able to go to at least ICS and maybe Jellybean).

It looks like the Moto Xoom is all but gone, last year's news. It's also a bit pricey. The Samsung Galaxy devices look really nice, but again they're old tech and Samsung is notoriously bad about providing software updates, and they're also pricey. It also doesn't help that there's probably 10 different variations of the the Galaxy tab, so I'm sure that will slow it down even more.

The original Transformer is still out there, but I'm not sure about going the Tegra 2 route. There's also the Iconia A200 which just came out, and it looks pretty good except that it's also using the Tegra 2. It actually looks pretty much like a purely cosmetic refresh of the A500, so again I think I'm looking at last year's tech. I've had Asus and Acer hardware in the past with no issues, so I'm assuming that the OG Transformer or A200 would both be likely to get ICS in the next few months.

I've seen Asus will have the TF701, but to be honest the "new" features over the TF201 don't impress me much. Much more interesting would be the fixes for the radio issues that the TF201 has, but IMO that's something that Asus needs to address with a hardware rev on the TF201, not a new release that costs $100.

I've seen that Acer will have an A700 (?) that's Tegra 3 based, but I haven't seen anything about availability yet. Just that they teased it at CES. Does anyone else have a Tegra 3 device on the near roadmap?

I feel like I'm in the worst time to buy right now. I understand that "there's always something better coming if you wait a little longer", but I feel that we're at the tail end of the 2011 tech and it's too early for the 2012 tech to be available. If I knew that the next wave of new devices were going to be available in February I'd wait, but nobody is talking hard dates (that I've heard). All of the good stuff that we've seen at CES may not be available until June, and I definitely don't want to wait that long.

Does anyone have any insight?

 

[bdfull3r]

The tablet market is volatile as it should. Two years ago it didn't even exist as we know it. It is really hard to recommend a device that works for everyone (though Apple tries) and it is even harder to announce a device that won't become obsolete within a matter of months.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Devices are powerful and despite the lack of Official Samsung support, they all have incredible modding communities, both the 10.1 and 8.9 already have incredibly functional ICS alpha builds.

You did pick the wrong time to buy. The iPad3 is out into a couple months, i know it is expensive and not android but it is the standard for all tablets at the moment. Once that is released you will see companies responding. i think the best time to look into buying a tablet would be April to May ish. Save your tax return money for after companies respond to the iPad3. even if it is a minor update like the 4S is, it is better to wait in my opinion just in case.


If price is the deciding issue i would recommend looking into this gem announced by NVIDIA
Asus Announces $250 7-inch Tegra 3 Tab At Nvidia's CES keynote
ASUS has one of the better record sin terms of support, their tablets get updates before every other except maybe the Xoom The transformer and transformer prime are suppose to be the first devices updated to ICS. i am hesitent with how they handled the issues with the Prime but it is something to look into

 

[Kmcferrin]

If price is the deciding issue

It's not, really. I'm a cheap bastard, but I'm willing to pay a little more for a device that has extra features/functions that I would use. My feeling on the Xoom and Galaxy pricing is just that they don't offer anything above and beyond what the Iconia and Transformer offer (except a slightly more stylish build). For example, compare the 16GB Galaxy 10.1 and the 16GB Iconia A200. Samsung's is $100 more expensive, but the only advantages I see are it's 1/8" thinner and has a rear camera. I know that the cameras are fairly standard, but I can't imagine using a tablet to take pictures. I'd be more likely to use the front camera for video conferencing than the rear. But then the Iconia has USB, which I might very well use, so it's a bit of a wash really in features.

I guess what I'm getting at is that cost isn't an issue so long as there is additional value for the added cost.

 

[bdfull3r]

It's not, really. I'm a cheap bastard, but I'm willing to pay a little more for a device that has extra features/functions that I would use. My feeling on the Xoom and Galaxy pricing is just that they don't offer anything above and beyond what the Iconia and Transformer offer (except a slightly more stylish build). For example, compare the 16GB Galaxy 10.1 and the 16GB Iconia A200. Samsung's is $100 more expensive, but the only advantages I see are it's 1/8" thinner and has a rear camera. I know that the cameras are fairly standard, but I can't imagine using a tablet to take pictures. I'd be more likely to use the front camera for video conferencing than the rear. But then the Iconia has USB, which I might very well use, so it's a bit of a wash really in features.

I guess what I'm getting at is that cost isn't an issue so long as there is additional value for the added cost.

Again i would recommend waiting until the start of Summer after the iPad and the Mobile World Congress products are out and available. Then you should see more options with the quad core and HD displays