Apple didn't phase the tablet market, did they

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Texatdurango

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In recent threads there was speculation that when Apple introduced their new ipad 3 and reduced their prices on the existing ipad2 that the competition would be forced to lower their prices as well to compete.

Well, a nice tablet is still on my wish list of things to buy but after a little web surfing I can't see where Apple's price reduction on the ipad 2 has had any affect on the competition whatsoever! It seems that the Droid tablets are selling for $500+ while the 16gb ipad 2 with wifi is $400.

It seems like a no-brainer to get the best tablet at the lowest price... the ipad2 for $400, am i overlooking anything?
 
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The question is what are you going to use it for? If you just want to it to browse the net, i.e. as a "Netbook" than either would do. If there's specific programs that are only available on iPad then...it warrants going that way. Being in the SW industry, I always recommend to folks to think long and hard before making a commitment to a specific HW platform. Using a Windows platform will give you the greatest amount of flexibility, but...it's definitely not the "cool" iPad brings to the UI.
 
When I bought ours I went with a Toshiba Thrive running Android. What brought me to it was the fact that it is expandable. There is an HDMI slot that I can connect to a TV or projector if I needed to. There is a full size USB which means I can plug a flash drive into it and copy anything off of or onto the drive as well as a keyboard and mouse. It has an SDHC slot which means I can grow my storage as large as I want. The Thrive is an 8GB but I have a $30 16GB SD card. This met our needs better as it was purchased instead of a laptop. It is also WIFI. We did that because we did not want to commit to a new Data plan just for the tablet. Instead we enabled Tethering on her 4g phone for a additional fee that is still much less than a new data plan. Now all that said. The table is larger (thicker and heavier) than an IPAD and many other driods due to the extra ports but I can't say I can feel the difference between 10oz and 16oz or what ever it is nor can I feel a .25" difference in thickness. Another thing I like is that the back is a hard rubber that can be replaced and makes gripping easier instead of slick plastic that gets scratched.

No matter what I think you will be happy with what ever you get, Apple and Droid are both proven OS'. We just bought ours to fill a broader need for work related use.
 
I still love my Ipad 1. You will not find many people who are disappointed with their Ipads but you will find some who are disappointed with others. Ipads have some limitations that I would like to see changed but overall in my biased opinion think they are the best. For what that is worth.
 
I have both an Ipad 2 and a Blackberry 'Playbook'. Paid the Ipad, $519 CAD
and Playbook only $199.

For my money the Apple wins hands down. More money for an Ipad but in MHO they are 'the best'.:smile:
 
rej19 said:
I still love my Ipad 1. You will not find many people who are disappointed with their Ipads but you will find some who are disappointed with others. Ipads have some limitations that I would like to see changed but overall in my biased opinion think they are the best.
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My partner and I share an iPad2. She loves it; I like it just fine. I agree the iPad is probably the best choice today, although I'm sometimes frustrated by some of the iPad's limitations. I'll be very interested in seeing new Windows tablets that hopefully appear before Christmas. But, for today, get the iPad2 "bargain"; it's a very nice device.

I have an Android phone, but I'm so disgusted with Google that I wish I didn't. I find Google's changes to their privacy policies very troubling. However, the final straw with me was learning that the Google Street View teams not only drive around photographing everything in view, but they also intercept "public" identifying WiFi data from home WiFi networks and cross-reference it to your address and other data in their databases. Apparently, they also were caught doing much more than recording "public" WiFi data when they scanned unsecured home WiFi routers. Despite their motto, I believe there's more than a bit of evil somewhere at Google, and I'll stick with Apple tablet products for now.
 
Just got the wife a ASUS Transformer Pad at best buy, 16gig running Icecream sandwich (android 4) for $379. The older model EEE Transformer was $350 and I think the Prime was $400. They all have a 10.1 inch screen compared to the Apple's 9.8 I think it is. Function is just as good. They get very good reviews also. ASUS apparently makes nearly all the motherboards for any of them, so you may be using them regardless of which brand you buy.

Every time my daughter tells me that her iphone or ipad will do such and such, I find an app that makes my droids do the same thing. Have yet to find something that one can do that the other can not.

There are a lot out there under $400 if you look.
 
Russianwolf said:
Just got the wife a ASUS Transformer Pad at best buy, 16gig running Icecream sandwich (android 4) for $379. The older model EEE Transformer was $350 and I think the Prime was $400. They all have a 10.1 inch screen compared to the Apple's 9.8 I think it is. Function is just as good. They get very good reviews also. ASUS apparently makes nearly all the motherboards for any of them, so you may be using them regardless of which brand you buy.

Every time my daughter tells me that her iphone or ipad will do such and such, I find an app that makes my droids do the same thing. Have yet to find something that one can do that the other can not.

There are a lot out there under $400 if you look.
Click to expand...

+1 Best tablet on the market for the money. This is the newest model. It was just released within the last couple of week. It is the first ASUS tablet without the EEE designation (if that helps)
 
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I too have the Asus 3E with the keyboard. I love it and it works fine for me. Don't do gamers etc. just reading PDF and e books in doctors offices waiting for my parents!

My only dislike is the same dislike for my android phone, finger prints and smears on the screen.

The Apple people don't mention all the problems with the batteries and issues the phones and tablets have! Daughter/son in law are Apple pads and phones people. You get what you like and would be happy with, Some of the Apple people get all foaming at the mouth about it, but life is really to short next year they may be implanting wires in the brain and showing it on a contact lens :wink:

Find some thing you like in your price range, and don't look back.
:clown:
 
Still hear the sales people say "as good as an iPad" when referring to Android and Windows based system. For me there is no comparison - iPad has them all beat on versatility. Some may do a particular task better but none are as versatile as my iPad2.
 
I went to my local Verizon store, where they sell iPads and Android Tablets. I polled the salespeople there what they would buy: 9 to 1 they chose Android.
 
OldGrumpy said:
Still hear the sales people say "as good as an iPad" when referring to Android and Windows based system. For me there is no comparison - iPad has them all beat on versatility. Some may do a particular task better but none are as versatile as my iPad2.
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Show me a flash webpage.
 
Well, rather than a thread about which is better, I was actually hoping to see someone pop up and say.... "Hey George, the xxx brand just dropped $100 just like the ipad2 and it can be found here...." but I don't think that's going to happen so I'll likely go with the ipad2.

The Square credit card reader has a pretty slick app for the ipad called the "register". I like the way it works and can see myself using it at pen shows as well as leaving it on my desk in my little home office.

Thanks for the input
 
My next technology purchase will be a tablet. I have played with the Ipad and several of the Android devices. I honestly like the look and feel of the Acer Transformer Prime the best. I am going to hold out until they release the Transformer Infinity in June. One of the main reasons that I won't go with the Ipad is the difficulty in using it as a portable media hub. I like that with most of the Android devices I can load up a microSD card with movies and take the transformer where ever I go. With the addition of a mini hdmi to hdmi cable I can hook it up to a tv and watch what ever I want to. Just my two cents, but if you have any inclination to use it as a media device, I would go with an Android tablet that has space for a removable SD / MicroSD card and HDMI out.
 
Texatdurango said:
Well, rather than a thread about which is better, I was actually hoping to see someone pop up and say.... "Hey George, the xxx brand just dropped $100 just like the ipad2 and it can be found here...." but I don't think that's going to happen so I'll likely go with the ipad2.

The Square credit card reader has a pretty slick app for the ipad called the "register". I like the way it works and can see myself using it at pen shows as well as leaving it on my desk in my little home office.

Thanks for the input
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Hey George,

Have you looked at the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Samsung Galaxy Note Smartphone (AT&T) - Carbon Blue | Samsung Mobile

I've been looking at the iPad for some time now and this Samsung Galaxy Note really has me rethinking about which way to go.

Later,


Barney
 
I'm responding on my Galaxy 10.1 Tab which I really like. Bought a refurbished on Woot for $350 and it's like new.

The one thing I didn't see mentioned in the above responses was an excellent piece of advice I followed before I bought: stick with the same OS as your phone. If you have an iPhone, buy an iPad. If you're using an Android phone, stick with an Android tablet. The interface is familiar, and you've probably already purchased apps that you can run on your tablet.

Oh, BTW, Amazon gives away a free Android app every day. Some of them are junk, but a lot of them are really worth having.

My $0.02.
Doug
 
titan2 said:
....Hey George,

Have you looked at the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Samsung Galaxy Note Smartphone (AT&T) - Carbon Blue | Samsung Mobile

I've been looking at the iPad for some time now and this Samsung Galaxy Note really has me rethinking about which way to go.

Later,
Barney
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Well, I think tonight I finally made up my mind to get the ipad. I had asked Square if they were going to offer the "register" app for the Droid and they just replied... NO. That really helped me decide which tablet to get.
 
I don't own a tablet, but almost everyone in my family does. I have seen and used them--Kindle, Kindle Fire, Nook, Ipad. I have tested others as well. For me, you really need to know what you want to do with it. For instance, the higher resolution screen on the latest Ipad is stunning. If you want to be able to show photos to people, or play videos, this might be worth the additional price alone. If that type of thing is not important to you, then the Ipad 2 at the lower price would be a better bargain. As you go down in price, the processing power and screen quality is less, which is why they're cheaper. To add a USB port, or other accessories, adds to the cost. So if you needs are minimal, the lower priced units will suffice. If you want more functionality, you want a higher end model. Apple will always charge a premium price for their items. You are paying for software that comes with the unit and a dedication to producing software that is less error-prone than the others. I own both a PC and a Mac computer, and I can say easily that the Mac is consistently easier to operate and more intuitive than other systems. Of course, computer experts will disagree, as they spend their whole life working on PCs, so arcane codes are not difficult to remember, as it might be for those of us more casual users. I hope this helps to clarify your thinking before making the decision.
 
Well, rather than a thread about which is better, I was actually hoping to see someone pop up and say.... "Hey George, the xxx brand just dropped $100 just like the ipad2 and it can be found here...." but I don't think that's going to happen so I'll likely go with the ipad2.
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Hey George, I'm going to upgrade my iPad 2 to an iPad 3 tomorrow. That being the case, the market on used iPad 2s should go all to hell over night. :(

I've had my iPad for about 5 months now and am quite happy with it. I've had no thoughts or need of upgrading until earlier today when I finally started listing a whole mess of stuff I need to re-home on eBay. The 1MP camera is shamefull. I've got a nice D-SLR, but for a quick shot or two for a listing, the convenience of doing it all wih a single device is huge. If upgrading keeps me listing all this stuff it'll be a wise upgrade.

I never thought I'd use the camera on the iPad and so far I haven't. But listing a half dozen ads with my iPhone this afternoon has convinced me of the need, even if I never use it for any other purpose.

-Matt
 
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George,
I have two ipads--one we have at my studio and one at home. The apps that I specifically wanted was not available in Android version and the other, had issues, according to a blog I had read.

ipads and andriods are amazing as a whole. You will love it. The things you can do with it is limit-less! We just keep finding more and more uses....I just picked the ipads, but I am sure andriods will be always close.

We do use a Credit Card reader and I have to tell you that the credit card needs to be in pretty good shape. A little tip though, when a card won't work, put it inside a plastic grocery bag and slide it again bag and all. As crazy as it sounds it works most times.....
 
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Well I'm not worried about falling tablet prices anymore! Between recommendations from you good folks and a video I watched on the Apple site about the new ipad3, I will be the proud owner of a new ipad 3 on or before May 17! :smile:

I visited the site to order an ipad2 but after watching the ipad3 launch presentation, I figured the new high resolution display and the new camera features, were worth the extra $100. if you are interested in an ipad2 DO NOT watch the ipad3 launching video else you'll be in the same boat as me! :cool:

I already have both the Square and Intuit accounts and readers that I have been using on my Android smart phone so can't wait to get going with the tablet as well.

Lets see.... 17 - 5 - just a few days to wait! :wink:
 
PTsideshow said:
Good for you, Now that the Evil empire have started to turn you to the darkside an apple phone can't be far behind. Enjoy your new peice of equipment!:wink:
:clown:
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Or Mac desktops. ;)

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner because I can't reach my desktop!
 
Texatdurango said:
Well I'm not worried about falling tablet prices anymore! Between recommendations from you good folks and a video I watched on the Apple site about the new ipad3, I will be the proud owner of a new ipad 3 on or before May 17! :smile:

I visited the site to order an ipad2 but after watching the ipad3 launch presentation, I figured the new high resolution display and the new camera features, were worth the extra $100. if you are interested in an ipad2 DO NOT watch the ipad3 launching video else you'll be in the same boat as me! :cool:

I already have both the Square and Intuit accounts and readers that I have been using on my Android smart phone so can't wait to get going with the tablet as well.

Lets see.... 17 - 5 - just a few days to wait! :wink:
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Whew! Finally! George, as world and business savvy as you are, I KNEW that you would eventually figure out that ALMOST NEVER is the cheapest price the best value!

I purposefully didn't respond to this post until you made up own mind. That +/- 100 -200 that you agonized over finally gave you some relief when you finally figured out that "well it's as good as the new iPad only cost $200 more" doesn't really work.

Welcome to the land of 2 million apps - 7 or 8 of them, perhaps useful to you and will be supported for some time because it is foward technology-- not backwards!

Millions of Chinese ( who incidentally, produced the iPad) buying them on the black or gray market because they will not be available there for at least a year or two, should tell you that you are "on to something"

Respectfully submitted
 
PenMan1 said:
Texatdurango said:
Well I'm not worried about falling tablet prices anymore! Between recommendations from you good folks and a video I watched on the Apple site about the new ipad3, I will be the proud owner of a new ipad 3 on or before May 17! :smile:

I visited the site to order an ipad2 but after watching the ipad3 launch presentation, I figured the new high resolution display and the new camera features, were worth the extra $100. if you are interested in an ipad2 DO NOT watch the ipad3 launching video else you'll be in the same boat as me! :cool:

I already have both the Square and Intuit accounts and readers that I have been using on my Android smart phone so can't wait to get going with the tablet as well.

Lets see.... 17 - 5 - just a few days to wait! :wink:
Click to expand...

Whew! Finally! George, as world and business savvy as you are, I KNEW that you would eventually figure out that ALMOST NEVER is the cheapest price the best value!

I purposefully didn't respond to this post until you made up own mind. That +/- 100 -200 that you agonized over finally gave you some relief when you finally figured out that "well it's as good as the new iPad only cost $200 more" doesn't really work.

Welcome to the land of 2 million apps - 7 or 8 of them, perhaps useful to you and will be supported for some time because it is foward technology-- not backwards!

Millions of Chinese ( who incidentally, produced the iPad) buying them on the black or gray market because they will not be available there for at least a year or two, should tell you that you are "on to something"

Respectfully submitted
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It's like an old lady with a mirror - it all depends on how you look at it. Speaking in generic terms, you're right. There is often something better on the market for more money and it might well be enough better to warrant the difference in price.

But, if you know what you want (make and model). The cheapest price is ALMOST ALWAYS the best value. :wink:
 
I never can get it to work that way for me, Smitty. I expect a level of "value added" service. Service is more important to me than price. Frequently, when I opt for the cheaper price on the same item, I rarely get the level of service I want.

When I do get the lowest price AND the best customer service from the same place, I try to reward the company by sending other good customers. Seems that excellent customer service keeps getting harder to find.
 
I can't remember when I have regretted paying MORE for an item because I decided it was better to have features beyond what I thought at the time were needed! This goes for tools and electronics. There have been MANY times I have tried to save a few bucks only to wish later I had purchased the "slightly better" model! It seems that often paying the $$$ upfront is a better deal in the long run!

With that said, I sure wish Apple sold Ipads with expandable memory! :frown::rolleyes::smile:
 
PenMan1 said:
I never can get it to work that way for me, Smitty. I expect a level of "value added" service. Service is more important to me than price. Frequently, when I opt for the cheaper price on the same item, I rarely get the level of service I want.

When I do get the lowest price AND the best customer service from the same place, I try to reward the company by sending other good customers. Seems that excellent customer service keeps getting harder to find.
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You're right there Andy, but I have a long memory and to be honest it has always been hard to find. It is hard and it is expensive (as I'm sure you know) to provide excellent service all the time.

With me it depends on the item...many items today don't get "serviced". If they fail within the warranty period you exchange them.

Cars are something else too, the best improvement in initial quality in my lifetime has been in cars. I bought a 1988 Dodge Caravan and since I bought that car, I have not had warranty work done on a single vehicle I've bought, including several I bought for children and some pretty low priced ones. There have been 16 new cars and 1 late model used still under warranty since 1988. Ford, GM, Chrysler, Hundai, VW and Suzuki all represented, NO warranty work and very few repairs. So I don't even consider service after the sale on cars. I take them to local service shops that use top flight materials. It usually isn't the dealer because they are too expensive.


 
Lenny said:
I can't remember when I have regretted paying MORE for an item because I decided it was better to have features beyond what I thought at the time were needed! This goes for tools and electronics. There have been MANY times I have tried to save a few bucks only to wish later I had purchased the "slightly better" model! It seems that often paying the $$$ upfront is a better deal in the long run!

With that said, I sure wish Apple sold Ipads with expandable memory! :frown::rolleyes::smile:
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Boy, I sure can -- and don't have to think very long to come up with a list. Including my latest TV...It has features that I'll probably never even want to know what they do much less use them.
 
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