Sprint Galaxy Tab Discussion - Page 4

Obviously not everyone who buys a tablet is 'cheap'.  But the attitude that pervades from the Android users I know personally is they don't value what makes good software or media good.  It's all about them and what they can get for the least cost over just about any other factor.

 

I don't know if it's "Android" or just "people" I see affluent people with iPhones refusing to pay for apps.

Maybe it skews more towards android. Everyone knows apple customers are brainless dolts, with more money than sense, who only bought because of a deep seated insecurity about being cool.

I generally like Kevin Tofel's articles; he's reasonably balanced in his interests and opinions.

It is interesting to see the dividing lines on tablet size: those that consider 7" portable and those that want a 10" screen for more fixed use.

My expectation is I want a 10" tablet (or larger) for use at home, on airplanes, on vacation. I don't see myself carrying a 7" tablet to the mall since I have an smartphone - that's the part of his usage that lost me: I was baffled by taking a tablet shopping and swapping SD cards to share music.

But were I a mass-transit commuter, a smaller tablet (or Kindle) might be better. Or if I accompanied my wife on marathon mall visits where I had time to watch a movie while she's on the changing room, as Kevin Tofel does...

I do expect to see a smaller iPad in the future (12-24 months). I also expect to see a larger one too. Just as we don't have a single laptop size, well see a variety of tablet sizes in the future. I think I want a 13" RetinaDisplay iPad

Re: paying for shiny...

You say "shiny", I say "better"

For instance, I'm trying an RSS reader, free & ad supported. I think I'm going to use it enough to pay the $1.99 for the full version. It's worth that for me to eliminate the ads.

But I haven't paid for any camera apps: they're cute for a day, but I don't use or value them to want to pay even a dollar for them.

It comes down to this: I want the best quality I can afford for things I care about. Incredibly, on iOS devices, you buy best-of-breed software for the devices for a couple of dollars.

I don't understand the false economy, though, of spending hundred of dollars on the best device for them and then hundreds more annually for the best data plan...and then skimp out on second-best apps (for things that the user cares about) to save a dollar? With a thousand dollars into the phone, why be bothered over a negligible $25 for a suite of top flight - yes, extra shiny may be part of that quality -apps?

This isn't an iOS vs android thing; I see iPhone users doing it.

I personally value lack of friction over shiny any day of the week.  Latest example is Tweetbot.  Absolutely brilliant design.  Well worth the $1.99 I paid for it and I will use it each time it gets updated (for free!) to see if Tapbots can get rid of the few little things I find annoying.  But I'm considering going back to the free Twitter client just for the raw speed it allows me to view my stream in and get to the links I want to view.  Tweetbot's two taps to open a link is just 1 tap too many when twitter lets me do it in one. 

 

Apple actually made a pretty good looking Texas Holdem game.  But it plays so slowly that I couldn't play it for more than a few hours.

 

Friction kills.

I think all that -- lack of "friction", design aesthetic, usability, design quality, etc. -- is considered "shiny" by those that don't value it.

 

Certainly there are areas where I don't prioritize quality over cost. Clothing, certainly, I make it a lower priority, buying the best I can at Sears and Haggar, rather than custom tailored Italian suits. :)

 

 

Or maybe not...

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/04/22/subway-riders-subject-to-iphone-thefts/

 

Don't think that would matter if they're nabbing the iPad anyway -- actually, maybe you *would* want something that doesn't look much like an iPad (or iPhone) regardless of size in that case.

 

I can tell you this though.  There seems to be more people carrying and using some sort of mobile device (including laptops and portable DVD players) in the NYC subways than not these days, so such theft is bound to rise along w/ the "tide" so to speak -- some even carry/use 2 or even 3 such items, eg. Blackberry + some sort of iPod + maybe a Kindle or laptop.  And the popularity (and probably pricing model) of the iPhone and iPad makes them prime targets.

 

And actually, considering how relatively few iPads I do see in the subways, if they're really being nabbed in any significant numbers, then maybe the exact form factor of the iPad might even make it an easier target than most of the mobile devices people use in the subways...

 

_Man_

 

I'm just a simple country mouse(*) and don't know how you big city types manage it. The real threat are snatched smartphones, from the article. So you'd want to avoid a 4" tablet ;)

 

 

(*) suburbs mouse, really, but I've not seen a book on that ;)

Don't get your hopes up on the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1....  From one of the developers who just got a free one today at Google IO:

 

 

Unboxing and fingerprint display:

http://blog.laptopmag.com/samsung-galaxy-tab-10-1-unboxing

Mark it down, this is the first time any of my non engineer friends have bought an android tablet, this time a Galaxy Tab. She mentioned it casually on facebook last night, and she already has an iPhone so I can't wait to talk to her and find out what led to the purchase. I'm both fascinated and horrified =) Will let you know what I find out!

Lmao:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/02/samsung-galaxy-tab

So what's a better scenario? These get sold for $100 a pop, outselling all the newer better ones on the market, or these get buried in the Vegas desert next to ET?