Here comes the competition

[wrecklass]

Last year the iPad pretty much had the entire playing field to itself. None of the major manufacturers had a real tablet made to compete on form and functionality with the iPad.

CES is wrapping up this week, and it is pretty clear that Apple's not going to be running unopposed. Several of the big hardware manufacturers are going to be aiming directly at Apple's market space.

The Best New Tablet

I suspect that while 2010 was supposed to be the "year of the tablet," 2011 will in fact by "The Year of the Tablet."

 

[gentlefury]

Sad thing for the competition tho is....as usual, Apple released an awesome, next level device right out of the gate. These new tablets are mostly problem ridden with laggy performance and some are pointer based OS's that are really annoying to use with your finger. Also, while the first gen competitor tablets are now being released the iPad 2 is on it's way. Also by the end of the year, maybe, probably, hopefully, a MacPad!

 

[Digikid]

ROFLMAO!!!!!

They put DELL in a top list?!?!?!?! Oh that is rich!!!!!!

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Superbike81]

2010 was "The year of the iPad (with a couple other crappy tablets thrown in)"

2011 will be "The year of the tablet"

 

[iVan]

So, if those tablets are so good, why didn't they build them before Apple?

 

[Superbike81]

Sad thing for the competition tho is....as usual, Apple released an awesome, next level device right out of the gate. These new tablets are mostly problem ridden with laggy performance and some are pointer based OS's that are really annoying to use with your finger. Also, while the first gen competitor tablets are now being released the iPad 2 is on it's way. Also by the end of the year, maybe, probably, hopefully, a MacPad!

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm. What?

Did you even look at the link?

These are all CES launched tablets, which means they aren't even out yet, and most haven't even had a live display demo. Yet, somehow, you know that they are all "problem ridden and laggy?" Is your name Nostradamus? Are you Mayan? Do you have a super cool crystal ball?

I don't often bring out the word "fanboy" but damn man, you are cutting down these products completely before they are even out which is something only a diehard fanboy would do. A lot of people did that with the iPad too, and look how far that went.

Just by hardware specs alone, these tablets will completely destroy the performance of the iPad. Now the iPad 2, who knows what will come of it. Maybe a minor upgrade here and there, maybe something much bigger.

 

[gentlefury]

Sad thing for the competition tho is....as usual, Apple released an awesome, next level device right out of the gate. These new tablets are mostly problem ridden with laggy performance and some are pointer based OS's that are really annoying to use with your finger. Also, while the first gen competitor tablets are now being released the iPad 2 is on it's way. Also by the end of the year, maybe, probably, hopefully, a MacPad!

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm. What?

Did you even look at the link?

These are all CES launched tablets, which means they aren't even out yet, and most haven't even had a live display demo. Yet, somehow, you know that they are all "problem ridden and laggy?" Is your name Nostradamus? Are you Mayan? Do you have a super cool crystal ball?

I don't often bring out the word "fanboy" but damn man, you are cutting down these products completely before they are even out which is something only a diehard fanboy would do. A lot of people did that with the iPad too, and look how far that went.

Just by hardware specs alone, these tablets will completely destroy the performance of the iPad. Now the iPad 2, who knows what will come of it. Maybe a minor upgrade here and there, maybe something much bigger.

Wow, time to chill the F out. I have seen some demos and they have looked like crap so far.

 

[Superbike81]

Show me the live demos that you saw of one of these running Android 3.0

I would really like to see it.

 

[Superbike81]

So, if those tablets are so good, why didn't they build them before Apple?

Because there was no market. Apple created the market, so of course they were first out. First to market doesn't always = best.

Give it time, these will start rolling out reportedly in late February. After that we will be inundated with more comparisons and head-to-head shootouts with "X" Android 3.0 tablet vs iPad (or iPad 2 depending when it comes out). Only then will we really be able to say who comes out on top.

But even if one wins in a review, will it really change your opinion on the iPad? The iPad 2 could win every single head to head review against the Motorola Xoom and I will still buy the Xoom because I like Android's user interface and expandability options much better. There are also people who would do the same for the iPad.

 

[Digikid]

Show me the live demos that you saw of one of these running Android 3.0

I would really like to see it.

I agree with you Bike.....I think though that I saw a video of the Motorola one somewhere....I will see if I can find it.

Think this is it.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7szoz74kViU&hd=1[/ame]

 

[Superbike81]

Read more details on that video, that isn't even a beta version of Honeycomb, that was a very early version, and it was still VERY smooth, especially handling the 3D maps.

None of the devices shown at CES were running a fully functioning version of Honeycomb, they were all just looping a video demo of the features. I think in the next few weeks though we will start to see real video of the OS in action. There are reports that the Motorola Xoom is trying to launch in late February, and since it was the main device used in testing Honeycomb, I'd say that's a pretty safe bet. So we'll probably start seeing real video at the end of this month or early February.

 

[Alanfujii]

Out of the pack, the Motorola Xoom looks interesting. I think Motorola was very sharp to differentiate itself from what will be a huge confusing mess of competing tablets.

The 10.1 wide screen HD display, could hurt Apple in the configuration aspect. It has the display to properly manipulate and move around vs. the 7 inch but being more narrow it appears more portable. Even though the size of video are the same the fact the you fill the entire screen instead of having black band top and bottom make you feel the screen is bigger. I personally almost always have my iPad in the landscape position. If the only time I don't is when an app forces me to use portrait.
The 2 GHz processor is a potential trump card. If Honeycomb is decent then Motorola is probably Apple's main competitor this year. I hope the Ipad2 has more to it than what I've heard so far.

 

[wrecklass]

I'm just glad we will see some serious competition. And we still haven't heard from HP and the new webOS they expect to ship this year. Apple will be "motivated" by these other devices.

 

[xune]

Flavor Flav and Chuck D says "Don't believe the hype!"

Motorola is probably Apple's main competitor this year. I hope the Ipad2 has more to it than what I've heard so far.

Highly presumptuous this early in the year to make a statement like that. These aren't even officially out, nor have any been fully tested/reviewed. Without price, battery life, production, or release date, it is as good as $10,000 prototypes can be.

Same goes for assuming anything "you've heard so far" on an "iPad 2". We don't know anything on the next generation iPad, other than conjecture, speculation, and rumors.

Fake mockups by Chinese third-party manufacturers do not suffice for anything factual no base any foresight as to who is going to be Apple's main competitor.

Just remember what Chuck D and Flavor Flav always say.

Surely there will be competition, but until actual warrantied ready-for sale models are the only thing that can be considered competition. Rewind a year ago when so many people thought that Microsoft's Courier was going to blow away anything Apple was going to release. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer himself said that they and their manufacturing partners were going to have working tablets released before Apple released theirs.. only to announce that the Courier project was dead. Be keenly aware of vaporware when it comes to CES demos and prototypes. I've been attending CES for 9 years, and now as anyone else who has attended, that many great products live very short lives, or never make it to the retail shelf.

The only way we'll know who is/was Apple's main competitor this year, in regards to the iPad, is to revisit this at the end of this year. Until then, it is interesting to see what the competition brings to the market and what the next generation iPad will be like.

 

[gentlefury]

Show me the live demos that you saw of one of these running Android 3.0

I would really like to see it.

I agree with you Bike.....I think though that I saw a video of the Motorola one somewhere....I will see if I can find it.

Think this is it.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7szoz74kViU&hd=1[/ame]

Didn't really show anything off in that demo....sadly. My Droid phone does the 3D maps thing exactly the same as that and just as fast...so its not all that amazing.

Honeycomb looks a LOT more useable than android has been...but I am still haunted by my phones instability and lack of good 3rd party applications.