Tablets

iPad's the way to go. If you need/want a camera/video, you go iPad 2. If not, you could probably get a great deal on an iPad. I have one and I'm the only non-Mac/iPhone person in my house...and I love it.

One thing I've been told about the Ipad is that it is not compatible with FLASH files. A lot of websites have FLASH built into them now.

I was able to play with an Ipad the other day and had mixed feelings about it. I think one thing is there is a learning curve involved so my negative thoughts could simply be learned skills..

Another complaint I've heard about the IPad is the memory size. it's kind of small if you keep a large number of pictures or music on it.

quote:

One thing I've been told about the Ipad is that it is not compatible with FLASH files.

true!

We're an "Apple" house but recently my older son got a new non-apple phone and he likes to rub it in that I can't watch games on my iPad or iphone. Apple doesn't have Adobe flash and probably never will and it's really a bummer not to be able to watch college baseball games or follow on Gametracker. I usually have to check the website D1baseball.com for ongoing stats. Apple is supposedly developing a similar program to flash instead.

That said I love my iPad for pictures,reading,music ect.

quote:

Originally posted by CaBB:
We're an "Apple" house but recently my older son got a new non-apple phone and he likes to rub it in that I can't watch games on my iPad or iphone. Apple doesn't have Adobe flash and probably never will and it's really a bummer not to be able to watch college baseball games or follow on Gametracker. I usually have to check the website D1baseball.com for ongoing stats. Apple is supposedly developing a similar program to flash instead.

Yup. I have an iPad and this issue is pretty big for a baseball fan. I like my iPad, but with this omission I do not feel it was worth the money I paid for it.

My Android phone has more capability in these departments.

I see 2 concerns right away.

* small memory (I was thinking I could let my daughter use it to put all her pics on it. She just graduate HS so you could imagine the high volume of pics I'm talking about!)

* Not being able to watch a live game. (I'm not sure Id be too many places where there wasn't a televised event available to view, but still)

Thanks folks! Keep it coming.

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Have you checked in with this guy yet?



His tablets have proven to be exceedingly durable...and influential.




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I have the original iPad. I bought it after the iPad 2 launch because it was $100 less. I can care less about the camera and since the iPad 2 isn't 4G, I saw no point in spending the extra $100 for the camera, thinner design and a slightly faster processor.

I have a laptop for anything the iPad won't do. At 16GB (you can get larger if you'd like), the iPad holds plenty of photos, music, etc... I bought it primarily to use a scoring app at ball games. It's a toy. If you need a larger HD, faster processor, etc..., get a laptop if you can't afford both.

Strike, that may have just saved me a minimum of $499. Thank you.

I do have a laptop that is used for work and just simple internet browsing at night. I was or have been trying to figure out what the IPad 2 (or equal) could bring to me that this laptop doesn't already do. I have a home PC that holds most of our pictures and some of the kids music. I'm like you in that I can't really see using a camera. I mean, I did buy one of those Flip camera's last year and maybe used it twice. lol. I was thinking about trading IT in for a coke and bag of peanuts. lol.

Again, thanks everyone.

Seriously look into the Blackberry Playbook. Just released and mostly rave reviews.

Flash!
Better cameras front and back
1080p HD record and playback!
Will ruin Android aps
Bridge to your Blackberry if you have one for free web access, or WiFi if you need it
Easier sync than IPad with Itunes on your computer (strange huh?!)
Easier, more user freindly OS

Good luck!

I'm not an Apple guy but am open-minded. Being curious about it, I've been online with a friend's iPad 2 recently. Her main complaint was the Flash incompatibility. I found that I will need a lot more time to get comfortable with the web browser. Mozilla Firefox has been my preferred browser for years. I doubt whether a version is available for iPad.

quote:

Originally posted by YoungGunDad:
I see 2 concerns right away.

* small memory

* Not being able to watch a live game. (

I have the 16GB 3G iPad2 and love it. You can be as productive as you want with it or you can use it as a "toy" as previously mentioned.

As for the memory, I did find that music filled it up quickly. I have 25GB of music on my iPhone so I was able to delete the music from the iPad. I have a few hundred pictures on the iPad and they take up very little space.

MLB has an app that (via subscription) allows you to watch live and archived games. Although MLB's blackout policy really ticks me off.

Lack of Flash hasn't been a big deal to me other than GameTracker not working. YouTube has it's own app that somehow bypasses Flash. Netflix has it's own app. I'm not too upset by the Flash and am understanding that Apple is working up their own Flash alternative that I expect will be bigger and better.

Ok...so here is a really stupid question from someone who just don't know.

What is flash and it's purpose(s)?

I may use it everyday now and don't know it. lol

If you're a big fan of pop up ads then you'll really miss Flash. Watching Gametracker is something I'll never miss. MLB 2011 is a great app, but I share Biggerpapi's frustration with the blackout policy. I rarely use my laptop outside of the office anymore.

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"What is flash and it's purpose(s)?"

It's not in the pan, but here it is. It's purpose? To get from Point A to Point B.

quote:

Originally posted by YoungGunDad:

Thanks folks! Keep it coming.

The ones I've seen don't fit in your pocket. Would you mind carrying it around?

I'm no geek (just don't ask my kids) but Flash seems to be required for some videos and certain graphics. Apple wants to have complete control over their products and should be developing a Flash alternative.

The iPad is not as portable as a smart phone but it is more portable and accessible than a laptop. I think Apple shuns the comparison that it's between the iPhone and the MacBook but it kinda is.

The uses for this thing are incredible and are only held back by your imagination. Doctors carry them around the hospital full of your records, x-rays, etc. Universities can put their text books and lecture materials on them. Large dept stores are using them as full-line catalogs for associates to carry in the stores to help you shop. The music industry seems to like them a lot.

But honestly, what more do you need than the ability to watch a West Coast baseball game at 10pm our time? That's worth the $600 right there!!!

Wait.

West Coast has baseball?

Antz, that is a tricky question. Carrying around does mean the opportunity for dropping.

You could always keep it in a man purse. I won't judge.

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I'm ruling that it's a purse!






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Um, it's a satchel. Indiana Jones carries one.

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It's time to turn the Paige!




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Reason Apple will never support flash is because they claim it's buggy, and uses too much processor power for it to be viable for use on smartphones.

Apple supports HTML-5 but most sites today use flash.

I suppose whether one is an Apple fanboy or not would make a difference how they feel about Apple being adament about never wanting to support flash in their smartphones.

Personally, I'd rather Apple leave it up to the purchaser of the phone whether or not they want to install flash on their phone or not. I'm huge into multimedia and would love flash on my iPhone. If it eats up my CPU a bit, then so what. At least I could've chose to or not. I suppose when sites go HTML-5 it'll be better but until then, it's flash.

Even though Apple don't support it, jailbreaking an phone is perfectly legal and it is perfectly safe to do even though Apple frowns on it and claims it voids the warranty even thoughall one has to do to get rid of the jailbreak is to restore the phone to out-of-box unjailbroken condition making the warranty valid. This makes no sense to me since the jailbreaking is perfectly safe and easily reversible. Why not let the owner of the phone to decide whether they want to optionally swant to install flash or not.

Go figure..Sometimes the reasoning behind some stuff makes no sense.

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All thish tech talk smakin' me thirshty...jush han me the key wouldja'?





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Otis Campbell a geek?...Imagine that

Storage hasn't been an issue on my Ipad. It comes with 3 different amounts so you can choose what you need. I love mine. The only problem is you really can't see the screen in the sunlight but it's a great tool.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:
Why not let the owner of the phone to decide whether they want to optionally want to install flash or not.

Go figure..Sometimes the reasoning behind some stuff makes no sense.

That's the apple way. Android's developers left it open. Look at all the cool stuff people came up with. I was never really an apple guy. I'm miffed that their decision to abandon power pc and go intel-only leaves me with two (expensive!) laptops that will be pretty much useless when nothing will work without snow leopard.

I have a ten year old pc running windows 7 just fine.

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Someone called?





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OK, you asked...

First off, I'm a photographer, but I play with computers to make money...so I guess some would (OK, HAVE) called me a geek...BUT...

The current project I'm working on fits right into your question since I currently have a couple of Xooms on my desk along with an iPad and a Slate (Windows 7 tablet) and had a Playbook and an iPad2 sitting here last week to work on...

Here are some quick notes:

Playbook - 7" screen, does not offer 3/4G unless you already have (or purchase) a Blackberry to use for the communications when WiFi is unavailable...I don't think the choice of applications is at the same level as Apple or Android - at least not yet...I do think I'd wait on this until they added 3G/ 4G capability as I wouldn't want to have to rely on having a Blackberry...

Slate - 7" screen, basically a netbook (not notebook) with a touch screen. If a netbook will handle your level of use, this isn't a bad choice. The good (and bad) of Windows 7 in a very easy to carry package. Note that there are also larger screen versions of Windows 7 tablets too. Most folks know what apps are available for Windows, so I'll just leave that alone...one other thing I noticed with the Slate is that it offers a USB Port and SD Card slot that aren't standard on the other devices...

Xoom - 10" Screen, Android 3.0. Note there are other sizes of Android tablets - some with older versions of the OS and some with 3.0. HD form factor screen, so a bit shorter, but longer than the iPad. Both Google and Amazon have App Stores for Android, but not all apps will necessarily work on the more recent OS (yet) and some won't be designed for the larger screen vs. the SmartPhone sized screen.

iPad / iPad2 - 10" screen - one with and one without cameras. I should have mentioned that the others all had at least one camera...You get Apple's App Store and no flash. A hard core Apple lover friend of mine described me as anti-Apple...I'm not although I do not care for their approach on some things...I bought an iPad back in January (before most of these devices were available) because it provided me the capabilities I was looking for in a better, more complete package than the other available devices. (as a side note, I have an Android phone)

My recommendation to you is to go to Best Buy or a similar store where you can get your hands on some of these devices to see what works best for you. In general, I think both the iPad and the Xoom are fairly intuitive to use, but they are different and you may find you prefer one to the other. I don't think you can go wrong with either as they both have strong and weak points.

From a photographer's stand point, all have nice screens and have sufficient space to hold a number of photographs. Since I expect I will always have a camera on my phone if I encounter a situation where I'm without my "real" cameras, I don't really care about cameras on these devices unless it was for Skype or something like that...

I know the iPad has an option to allow you to attach an SD card for downloading photos and you can also move photos to and from with a sync from PC. I doubt I will use my iPad to edit my photos, but I doubt I would need to. However, it is a great way to show off family photos, your portfolio or whatever you've most recently photographed.

Oh well...hope that helps...probably more than you wanted, but...

TurnTwoNet