$800? iPad 2 now looking Good for an Evo user

[Marine0816]

I was really looking forward for the Xoom to tag team with my Evo.. But now the price is so ridiculously priced, and the Honeycomb software doesnt look as polished as the apple sofware ie. stuttering and jerky transitions. I'm looking at the ipad 2. I will be missing FLASH and more contrlol, But it might be worth it for a proven product and Brand. Motorola really screwed the pricing with this thing...

Anybody feel the same way?

 

[Maikai.Guy]

I was really looking forward for the Xoom to tag team with my Evo.. But now the price is so ridiculously priced, and the Honeycomb software doesnt look as polished as the apple sofware ie. stuttering and jerky transitions. I'm looking at the ipad 2. I will be missing FLASH and more contrlol, But it might be worth it for a proven product and Brand. Motorola really screwed the pricing with this thing...

Anybody feel the same way?

"Honeycomb software doesnt look as polished as the apple sofware ie. stuttering and jerky transitions." Huh? By all accounts of hands-on experience Honeycomb is supposed to be incredibly smooth and fast. Are you using the Nook port as a comparison?

A current iPad can't hold a candle to the XOOM. For all it's features and benefits over iPad and iOS, it's actually priced right.

My beef with Mot is they've done a p__s-poor job of differentiating the XOOM and allowed the press to negatively impact the perceived value of XOOM by making a big deal over the price while making believe it doesn't represent a major step forward in the pad market (which it does).

The XOOM and Honeycomb is taking one giant step toward replacing notebooks with pads. Android is based on the Linux kernel, which is a very capable full blown OS, superior to iOS in many ways. It's just a matter of time that the applications catch up to what hardware, like XOOM, can really do.

IMHO, we are just a few years (if not sooner) from the critical mass of apps written for Android and "cloud computing" to come together and make notebooks a thing of the past... like floppy disks.

 

[frenzy757]

I will admit I am torn as well.

I think overall Honeycomb is superior to iOS as an overall OS. It is more capable and I like the widgets etc.

HOWEVER, a tablet for me, will largely be an entertainment device. That being said, games are semi important (honestly I probably won't be gaming much on this), BUT media apps are.

Android is STILL missing Netflix and as of now streaming for MLB.tv. Those are two things that I use a lot at home and would like to on the road.

Without these two, I am stuck to using my own movies that I rip (which I could just as easily do for the ipad so it is sort of a wash there).

Like I said, on a phone I don't care too much...I wouldn't watch that many movies on a phone, but a tablet? YES, i expect to be able to treat it as an entertainment device while I am sitting at an airport or a hotel.

the Ipad2 and even the iphone are intriguing just for that.

 

[qnet]

I thought the Xoom was very smooth from the videos I watched. It seemed a lot smoother than previous versions of Android. This is one of the reasons I want it so much.

I have a Ipad and, from the videos I watched the Xoom is just as smooth. The interface is very much improved. I even tested my Ipad operation while watching one of the videos and, it was no better than the Xoom, especially when opening a app that hadn't been used that day. The Xoom actually looked quicker in some ways with no stuttering. The only thing I noticed was a slight lag in the auto-rotation.

My beef is the rumored Verizon data charge for wi-fi functionality and, lack of information and real demos.

 

[frenzy757]

I thought the Xoom was very smooth from the videos I watched. It seemed a lot smoother than previous versions of Android. This is one of the reasons I want it so much.

I have a Ipad and, from the videos I watched the Xoom is just as smooth. The interface is very much improved. I even tested my Ipad operation while watching one of the videos and, it was no better than the Xoom, especially when opening a app that hadn't been used that day. The Xoom actually looked quicker in some ways with no stuttering. The only thing I noticed was a slight lag in the auto-rotation.

My beef is the rumored Verizon data charge for wi-fi functionality and, lack of information and real demos.

I'll believe the data charge when I see it...it will suck if that is true!

 

[Baconator]

I was really looking forward for the Xoom to tag team with my Evo.. But now the price is so ridiculously priced, and the Honeycomb software doesnt look as polished as the apple sofware ie. stuttering and jerky transitions. I'm looking at the ipad 2. I will be missing FLASH and more contrlol, But it might be worth it for a proven product and Brand. Motorola really screwed the pricing with this thing...

Anybody feel the same way?

Motorola, Verizon, or Best Buy have not confirmed a price. If you look at the ad it has a BUNCH of misspelled words.

 

[dsignori]

"Honeycomb software doesnt look as polished as the apple sofware ie. stuttering and jerky transitions." Huh? By all accounts of hands-on experience Honeycomb is supposed to be incredibly smooth and fast. Are you using the Nook port as a comparison?

.....

My beef with Mot is they've done a p__s-poor job of differentiating the XOOM and allowed the press to negatively impact the perceived value of XOOM by making a big deal over the price while making believe it doesn't represent a major step forward in the pad market (which it does).

The XOOM and Honeycomb is taking one giant step toward replacing notebooks with pads. Android is based on the Linux kernel, which is a very capable full blown OS, superior to iOS in many ways. It's just a matter of time that the applications catch up to what hardware, like XOOM, can really do.

....

+1. Agree with all the points above.

 

[davekr]

Motorola, Verizon, or Best Buy have not confirmed a price. If you look at the ad it has a BUNCH of misspelled words.

This is what I said in another thread. Everyone is assuming the 799 price is set because of that one Best Buy ad that clearly isn't a final draft. It is very possible that the price will be different at launch. That is why I'm holding judgment until an official price is announced.

 

[dsignori]

This is what I said in another thread. Everyone is assuming the 799 price is set because of that one Best Buy ad that clearly isn't a final draft. It is very possible that the price will be different at launch. That is why I'm holding judgment until an official price is announced.

Could be true. Adding a bit more fuel to that fire might be this pic showing that the "creative" for the XOOM is delayed. Perhaps the "creative" are ads and signs with prices on them? One can only hope ...

 

[AtomicAge]

I am not too optimistic that this is not the official price. With all the negative press that it's been getting, one assume that Motorola would call shenanigans if it weren't true...

 

[Maikai.Guy]

I am not too optimistic that this is not the official price. With all the negative press that it's been getting, one assume that Motorola would call shenanigans if it weren't true...

That assumes Motorola knows what they are doing in the marketing department. IMHO, they have their heads up their butts.

It's not just price that's being slammed by the press. They are also making unfair comparisons to iPad... often the lowest priced iPad... and ignoring the differentiating features. Motorola is choosing to remain silent and allow these unfair comparisons.

If they knew what they were doing, they would be releasing small packets of information each week aimed at letting the public know the XOOM is "taking it to the next level" and really can't be directly compared to iPad. At least not the existing models. Communication about benefits and features would grab the press' attention while providing support for a premium price.

A new video every 7 to 10 days would do it. But that video would have to be more than a handsome boy giving flowers to a cute girl.

 

[E_man]

I agree, the iPad 2 could be amazing, and the HP TouchPad as well. Honestly, why not wait and see? I plan on buying in June-ish, and by then, the landscape should be far more clear. Besides, you do realize that honeycomb tablets with a Tegra 2 look like they will start at $400? Unlike with the iPad and presumably the HP Touchpad, there are options in the honeycomb world.

Toshiba will probably have their T2 tablet at ~$600 if I had to guess based on their hints.

 

[jerrykur]

I think the Xoom is going to have to be considerably cheaper to attract buyers beyond the "I want an Android tablet" group.

I play with 3.0 on my Nook Color and it is nice, but the iPad has the market share. And nothing in 3.0 is that revolutionary when compared to the iPad. Different?, cooler?, yes. But what can you do on the Xoom you cannot do on an iPad? If there aren't killer features than the price has to be better to get people to select the Xoom.

 

[Marine0816]

Thats what I'm talking about. This price is stupid, when the ipad has more apps and more support. And the ipad will be in its second generation so the bugs in the first generation will be dealt with. I can not be an early adopter for a high priced and unproven tablet. I already have an Evo so whats the point in having two android devices? All ill be missing is the flash support. I still have my first generation ipod touch and it still works. I rather put an investment on the ipad 2 than the unproven over priced xoom.

 

[Scout_313]

I've had quite a few Android phones in the past (Droid, Droid Incredible, Droid X, and Droid Pro) but currently own an iPhone and an iPad. To be honest, I find both devices to be somewhat disappointing. I bought my iPad this week and I've already put it up for sale. It just doesn't do nearly as much as I would like it to and other than the larger screen, my iPhone can do everything that the iPad can do.

To be honest, I'm not totally impressed with my iPhone either. There are certain things about it that just irritate me like the lack of ringer profiles, having widgets (I never used that many on my phones but I really loved having a couple), and other small things. However, I do love the size of the phone, the great battery life, and the fact that every thing is so easy to get to. I also haven't dealt with any lag or had to force an application to close.

I can't really see myself buying the iPad 2 unless they make some huge changes to the OS as I see the Xoom and Blackberry Playbook being much more capable devices all-around.

 

[Maikai.Guy]

The mistake people are making is comparing the XOOM to the lowest cost iPad. It should be compared to the 32GB iPad, at very least. A more appropriate comparison would be a [XOOM + 32GB SD card] versus the 64GB iPad.

The price for the XOOM tracks very favorably with the price for the iPad, even when comparing to only the 32GB iPad.

As for being "unproven"... this is EXACTLY what people were saying when the Nexus and Droid were first announced. Now here we are, barely over a year later, and Android dominates the mobile OS market. iOS is THIRD (ignoring Symbian). At last look, Android devices were being activated at a rate of 300K units PER DAY worldwide. Apps are growing at a rate of 30K per month. Last look for apps clocked Apple at about 300K and Android at 230K. The forecast is Android will surpass iOS in apps in the second quarter of this year.

Almost every indication and market analyst says far more Android tablets will ship in 2011 than iPads. And remember, most of the Android tablets will not be released until May/June!

Look, I'm not trying to bash Apple here. I had three iPhones myself and loved them, before I switched to Android.

I'm just holding up reality. If you like/love/trust/whatever Apple, great! It's a solid platform with a solid future. You won't go wrong by purchasing an Apple iPad.

But don't kid yourselves into thinking Android has not become the world's dominant mobile OS. Don't kid yourselves into thinking iPad is in any way cheaper, more refined, less buggy, etc, etc, etc... than an Android tablet, like those being released by Motorola, LG, Toshiba, and HTC... to name just a few.

 

[jerrykur]

The mistake people are making is comparing the XOOM to the lowest cost iPad. It should be compared to the 32GB iPad, at very least. A more appropriate comparison would be a [XOOM + 32GB SD card] versus the 64GB iPad.

But Apple was smarter. They introduced an entry level Wifi only iPad for under $500. Motorola failed to do this and it is a huge mistake. I am using a Nook Color every day and have thus far have seen no need to have a tablet that works directly on a cellular network. Wifi is quite prevalent and if needed I can tether quite nicely with my Evo.

I like Android, but for many casual smartphone/tablet users the iPhone/iPad is a great combination. Also for us app developers there is something nice about not having to worry about whether your app is going to be slow because of hardware issues. The best in this area is Microsoft that enforces minimum hardware specs. Hopefully Google will wake up and do this with Android versions.

 

[Menno]

But Apple was smarter. They introduced an entry level Wifi only iPad for under $500. Motorola failed to do this and it is a huge mistake. I am using a Nook Color every day and have thus far have seen no need to have a tablet that works directly on a cellular network. Wifi is quite prevalent and if needed I can tether quite nicely with my Evo.

Motorola doesn't have the capital that Apple did. Apple had YEARS of overcharging carriers for their device (earning .22 on the $1 which is INSANE) which let them Research and develop the product wholly on their own.

Motorola, a company that barely escaped bankruptcy a few years back, needed to partner with a big company to develop it (Verizon) meaning verizon get's an exclusive on it.

The only android maker I see that could really pull off a wifi only launch would be (Maybe) HTC, and even that's pushing it.

 

[qnet]

I own both the Iphone 4 & Ipad (which I may be selling depending how things go with the Xoom). I also am using the Mytouch 4G as my primary phone. The Apple devices interface is smoother but, Android is getting better and better. It really looks improved from the minimal videos I've seen of Honeycomb.

I really like the Apple devices but, admit being a little biased toward Android because of my experience with the Nexus One. I like the whole pure Google thing and, it was cool when I got that phone last year. I regret selling it now with all the accessories (desk & car dock). The purchase of the Mytouch 4G was just me missing the Nexus one and, the disappointment with the Nexus s. When Google comes out with another pure handset I'm jumping on it.

I'm also biased toward Android because, I like the underdog. I think competition is good and helps technology advance forward.

 

[cparker5]

I'm also biased toward Android because, I like the underdog. I think competition is good and helps technology advance forward.

This is an excellent point and why I know many of my colleagues in the IT Industry support Android. It is an uphill battle obviously, but I do think that Android has pushed Apple and Apple will continue to push Android. It is a win-win for the customers!

Good post!