Why I'm pre-ordering an iPad 2

Ashen (the reviewer of all things awful) has gotten his hands on a "WPad", a no-brand Windows 7 slate tablet PC.

Yes, it's awful.

The price is $400 (about £250) but considering how awful it is compared to an iPad (which is £100 more) it's no contest.

You might say it's unfair to judget all W7 tablets based on a review of a particularly low-end model, but remember that W7 tablets are commodity: with the exception of the hardware build quality (which one would expect be better from name-brands like HP) everything about this tablet is going to be the same with the others: the display is a low-end TN panel with poor viewing angles, Windows' UI is not well-suited to the task, touch event processing is laggy, the device is bundled with additional applets (that really don't fit in with the system aesthetic or philosophy) that provide essential functionality not already provided in Windows, things like that.

This is the lowest 'end' format we'll see touch tablet PCs take, but because Windows 7 computers are all largely a race to the bottom it means it's unlikely anyone can be assured of a quality user experience (especially as the traditionally 'high end' manufacturers like Sony and even Dell are actively avoiding the desktop Windows slate tablet market entirely).

(Of course the real reason I'm having an iPad 2 arrive at my door within 3 weeks' time is because of the demands of one of my clients, and not because I need any old tablet and I'm too much of a snob for a Win7 slate).

Well, I'm not convinced about the iPad2 myself. 

I will probably ditch my Windows Phone for an iPhone5 though. Now that the novelty has worn off, the shortcomings are really starting to shine through ... 

From your comments I was expecting a bad review - it actually looks pretty good to me?

From the review: "Good build quality", "Fast Startup", "Great handwriting recognition" ,"fantastically good for note taking","fairly nippy","massive bonus of an 'open platform'", "An awful lot cheaper than an iPad", 'How do I get one", "I need one now", "A really powerfull and flexible tool"

So, leagues ahead of those cheap Android tablets that have been doing the rounds and way better than I was expecting, really tempted to put in an order:

https://www.merimobiles.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MERI0551

($459 for 32GB)

I fail to see how that review gave you the idea that it was awful, if anything it seemed largely positive.

I can sum up why the iPad is better in one word: battery.

The top end Android tabs give it a run for its money (Xoom) but most are just pointless devices with their pathetic 1-3.5 hours battery life. From what I've read when Apple claims you will get 7 hours, you will actually get that period out in the field.

Plus, I own an Android phone, the OS is good but not nearly as polished as iOS and it also lacks a good app' store (Android Marketplace isn't "good"). So I cannot see myself paying the same price for an Android devices as I would for iOS - my phone for example cost 1/5th of an iPhone.

I think it is the right decision to buy an iPad right now. The competition isn't either cheap or good enough to be "good value" (value = price/quality).

Go on W3bbo, just admit it : you bought one because you just wanted one. If I had money to spare I might well have bought one too; they're a nice piece of kit.

Herbie

@ManipUni: I think it's a lot more than the battery. The UI is polished and fit for purpose, that's the main selling point.

I think Windows tablets will continue to sell for people who do want a desktop in a slab, but going forward I think the market is going to be owned by Apple for quite some time.

@ManipUni: I think it's a lot more than the battery. The UI is polished and fit for purpose, that's the main selling point.

You're absolutely right there is far more too it. As I see it you have two competitors:
 - Cheap Android (poor battery - useless device)
 - Expensive Android (relatively poor UI, design, build quality)

Android devices are between a rock and a hard place. If they charge too much people will naturally compare them to the iPad and lose. If they charge too little they have to pull features which people see as staples of a good tablet (like >6 hours battery).

There is a razor thin gap where Android will sell well.

PS - I don't take Windows 7 "seriously" as a tablet OS. Nuff' said.

You say the Android devices are inferior but have you actually used a Galaxy Tab?

I don't see why this would be seen as an inferior device, in fact it does alot more than an iPad would do.  Ok it's not a well designed in terms of the hardware but the OS is pretty good in my opinions and its alot more open than iOS.

The reason iPad will win out is the fact its a Apple device, it's just cool to have one.  Nobody really cares that you have a Galaxy tab or xoom unless you have a real requirement for one.

41 seconds ago, leeappdalec​om wrote

You say the Android devices are inferior but have you actually used a Galaxy Tab?

I don't see why this would be seen as an inferior device, in fact it does alot more than an iPad would do.  Ok it's not a well designed in terms of the hardware but the OS is pretty good in my opinions and its alot more open than iOS.

The reason iPad will win out is the fact its a Apple device, it's just cool to have one.  Nobody really cares that you have a Galaxy tab or xoom unless you have a real requirement for one.

I think the 'Apple as a fashion accessory' argument did hold a lot of weight about a year ago, now I'm not so sure. Even the head of Samsung had to admit that his company is going to have to seriously raise its game to compete on price, power, battery performance and form-factor. You said that the Tab is not as well-designed in terms of hardware; that's half the problem right there. The openness is good point, but the number of people who care about that is probably less than one per cent of the computer-buying public (and I think they mostly hang out here and in Linux forums).

Honeycomb should give the iPad a good run for its money though.

Wbbo does make one very good point: Windows and Android will be involved in a race to the bottom that Apple will simply sidestep.

leeappdalec​om wrote: You say the Android devices are inferior but have you actually used a Galaxy Tab?

I have. They're great.

But that being said, they cost the same as an iPad and as good as they are I feel iPads are better. It is both the software and hardware in general.

I hear the "it does MORE" point a lot and frankly I've never understood it. At the end of the day this isn't a PC or even a laptop, when I am out and about I want it to do the things it does very well.

What more does the Android OS do that I actually want? Without being vague about it. Can you list particular functions I need from the Android tablet?

I own an Android phone. I could very easily see myself owning an iPhone in the future even though it does "less." But the "more" I get from the Android OS isn't really important.

• One thing that really grabbed me about the Tab was the ability to stick a 32GB SD card in, having 32GB + 16GB storage, browsing to a video site like CH9 in my browser then being able to download and store LOTS of content on my SD card.  Then being able use a file explorer to browse my files like videos etc like I would do on a PC.
• Also the ability to stick my £10 a month T-Mobile data sim card in and get unlimited data usage.
• I wanted to be able to stick the tablet in my coat pocket which the Tab does pretty well while still having a nice 7inch screen to play with.
• I like the live tiles on the desktop updating, ect twitter, facebook, bbc news etc etc
• Front facing cameria (iPad 1)

Saying that my next tab will probably be an iPad 2/3 whenever the Tab wears out or I fancy an upgrade.

The major problem I'm finding with the Tab is by far battery life, its needs charging at least once a day and more with heavy use.  Most of my work on it is, watching videos and browsing the web, I also have Skype and IM running in the background.  

For a tablet to be truely useful to me it needs to be easy to carry i.e. fit in a pocket or be light enough to carry. And to be always availiable when I need it out and about, too many times I've gone to use the Tab and the battery is dead.

So although I do agree the iPad is the better overall experience I don't think the Tab is that far behind and could be more compelling to consumers if they get battery life right.

There is an SD and a Micro SD slot on this cheapo Win7 tablet so storage is pretty good - and perhaps one of the main benefits (over iPad) is the ability to play almost any video / audio format without having to convert. 

It would be nice if it had a SIM slot for 3G browsing mind.

#1 reason why I am not gonna buy the Android Tablets = Bad Quality Touchscreen Experience.

The touchscreen is not 'responsive' like the iPad/iPhone's touchscreen.
It feels laggy and sometimes doesn't detect my touch at all.

#2 reason = Bad User Experience with the UI (yes this is subjective).
With those two alone, I can't stand the Android tablet at all.

stun wrote: #1 reason why I am not gonna buy the Android Tablets = Bad Quality Touchscreen Experience.

The touchscreen is not 'responsive' like the iPad/iPhone's touchscreen.
It feels laggy and sometimes doesn't detect my touch at all.

Interesting criticism. When did you try a Android Device last? I can detect no difference between the iPad and any recent device I've used (even cheap ones).

39 minutes ago, ManipUni wrote:

*snip*

Interesting criticism. When did you try a Android Device last? I can detect no difference between the iPad and any recent device I've used (even cheap ones).

I tried this $499 Samsung Galaxy Tab from BestBuy about two weeks ago. Hated it.
http://bit.ly/eN8D3t

But the iPad and Galaxy Tab have similar touch sensors?

From your comments I was expecting a bad review - it actually looks pretty good to me?

From the review: "Good build quality", "Fast Startup", "Great handwriting recognition" ,"fantastically good for note taking","fairly nippy","massive bonus of an 'open platform'", "An awful lot cheaper than an iPad", 'How do I get one", "I need one now", "A really powerfull and flexible tool"

So, leagues ahead of those cheap Android tablets that have been doing the rounds and way better than I was expecting, really tempted to put in an order:

https://www.merimobiles.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MERI0551

($459 for 32GB)

I think I was overstating the bad things a tad too much. For what the WPad is, it's "okay" given the price, features, and functionality. The hardware is alright (possibly even considered 'great' given the low cost) but looking at the bulk of the unit and the fact it's a really low quality TN display (even if it has got a decent DPI) writes it off for me, I need my viewing angles and colour accuracy.

What I should have focused on was how this product demonstrates how Windows 7 is not suitable for touch tablet use: third-party programs that don't really "fit in" with Windows are bundled to provide essential functionality such as viewing the built-in camera, or the playback of non-Hollywood-approved media files. Then there's the trouble shown with the on-screen keyboard (I know you can resize it, but then it becomes too small to type on). It's all of these little things that add up to give an unsatisfying (if not unpleasant) user experience.

The tablet is the new platform and it's essential that it is executed well in order to win the PR war. It doesn't matter if Windows 8 on cheap-as-chips touch-tablets will blow Apple out of the water, so long as people associate 'Windows' with 'desktop-oriented experience that doesn't work well on a touch-tablet' then it isn't going to succeed at all.