I actually think that post-ICS and especially with Jelly Bean that Android is a superior tablet OS to iOS, at least for me. There's basically no feature on iOS that I miss when I'm on Android, but a few (eg. custom keyboards, the overall intent system, etc) that I miss when I'm on iOS.<p>iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes to "tablet optimized" apps) and between that and iOS ecosystem lock-in, Android/Google still has some catching up to do to make tablets a true two-horse race.
I have to give Siegler credit for actually posting an objective review of an Android device.<p>No matter which side you favor in the tablet wars I think you have to agree that we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition. Rather than picking sides we should be happy that Apple and Google are pushing each other to improve their hardware and software at a rate we rarely see in consumer electronics.
Awesome! Now if Google can just distribute it beyond the initial five launch nations, create meaningful product support, rework a half million third-party applications, and answer growing malware concerns they'll have a sweet two-month sales window all to themselves before you-know-who barges into their market.<p>I want one anyway.
As much as a I love the idea of a 7 inch tablet, there's just one thing that I really <i>really</i> use my tablet for and that's reading PDFs and old scanned comic books (guilty pleasure). The size of a ~10" tablet is more or less perfect for this despite the difficulties in handling the size of the device while in bed vs. a 7".
What I read from this article is: "Apple should release a 7" iPad and I will buy it at once. I am sad I have to use a Google product now but this 7" form factor is really irresistible".
Let's hold on a sec and put things in perspective. Although MG is regarded by some as an Apple fan boy, this is not the first time he has been enthusiastic about a non-Apple tablet.
<a href="http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/" rel="nofollow">http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/</a>
and we aren't still aren't sure what the prospects are for the Fire.
This is important to note because although Amazon has a strong commerce offering and can provide music and videos, it's own tablet lacks in apps.
The Nexus offers plenty of apps, in my opinion, but the music and video offerings are pretty weak right now.
The iOS ecosystem still offers it all, with a strong retail presence to boot, and if Apple introduces a 7ish" tablet at a good price point, I'm not sure how this will stack up then.
Why would you want to hold your tablet with two hands, other than perhaps gaming? But I figure it should be easier to play them if it's smaller. You're using the iPad with 2 hands, because you don't usually have a choice.<p>I do think Google needs to make the next version 7.7"-8", though. I think 7" is a little too small. Basically they should make one that is as large as possible (but up to 8"), which you can still hold easily with just one hand. From what I've noticed I think Samsung's 7.7" tablet qualifies for that.
In his review he says that he accidentally has pressed the software buttons while playing games. I don't know about Jelly Bean but on my TF101 ICS there's an explicit option to enable locking/unlocking of the soft buttons if you check the advanced page on the system settings. Once that's enabled, a small "slide to lock" padlock is constantly visibly in the middle of the status bar screen. So the next time when you want to play or something, just slide to lock the soft-buttons.
Wow. Someone not only discovers that a 7" inch tablet is smaller than an iPad, but that a smaller tablet is also a thing unto itself with special use cases. Welcome to 2010.
I hope the experience using it is nothing like the unboxing...<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=32DD4DF7Qpo" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3...</a>
Why after a few years is noone able to build a 10 inch tablet? I honestly don't care how good an Android tablet is, I'm just so accustomed to the iPad form factor that I won't give it up. To get me interested, an Android manufacturer needs to come up with a bezel-less 9" or 10" tablet with more screen real estate than the iPad.