iPad v Android tablet

[RoyS]

I am considering purchasing an iPad or a Samsung/other vendor Android tablet for general use. I do not have any Apple products and have resisted the propriety methodology of Apple.. My kids have got iTouch’s which they enjoy but to my eyes they are locked into iTunes software with is slow and laggy at best…

…But Apple’s styling and UI is really very good. The fact that remote applications for Yamaha and other sound desks is in Apple software format is a strong + .. Does anyone know if these remote apps will be appearing for Andoid devices any time soon?

I realise that this is a market that is changing day-by-day, but at this point in time (28 Aug 12) what is the better tablet…

Probably worth mentioning, I'm not awash with cash....

 

Many thanks.

[Ken Coker]

Dear Roy

 

I too was a loather of the ILife style thing - although I owned, at one point, almost all of the 6800 series Macs.

I got an IPad because the students I sometimes deliver to use IPads as part of their learning and I thought I'd better see what my content looked like. I will admit that mine was given to me in lieu of overtime.

 

The big drawback of the IPad, to me, is that there is no external hard storage. There are no USB ports or SD slots, so everything has to be sent to "the cloud" or emailed to oneself. I'm learning to live with that.

 

On the positive side, it does actually work as a device with a bit of thinking about. I teach show control, and I have very successfully used various MIDI apps to control devices - http://www.mymidiremotes.com/home/ is worth a look. It can be set up as a second screen and thus control other programmes on a Mac...QLab has worked well. One colleague VJs with Isadora and uses the IPad as a controller,( obviously this needs a Mac running Isadora), and another uses MTC from it to run his MA when he's offsite but needs to what the show looks like. Colleagues report that they are excellent as an MA remote, although I have no direct experience of it. £6.99 will also by one a reasonable WP package and I think the Keynote app is about the same price - great for editing lectures on the train. I'm just playing with OSC at the mo, which seems to be ok. As a lighting/show control person I can't vouch for its sound capabilities.

 

Spotify,Tune-In radio and various readers also work - not a bad platform for reading manuals. I have bought a decent keyboard for it, which really does transform it - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Keyboard-Case-iPad-2/dp/B0052SO83K.

 

If you are looking for an Android device, then the Asus Transformer range seem to be ok, but I've not played with these.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

KC

[Shez]

I have a tablet with both windows and android on it. I bought it initially mainly for remote control of my yamaha desk with the rather nice Airfader software (it's better than yamaha's own offering) but have since used it with MagicQ and SCS for small jobs too. I've found that I've barely touched the android side of it, which surprised me.

What hardware / OS will best suit you really depends on what you want to use it for - "general use" doesn't help too much. With the recent legal wranglings, buying a Samsung tablet may soon become a little more difficult...

[RoyS]

Hi Ken & Shez and thanks for your replys..

 

...Looking at the connectivity side of the iPad... No USB, no mem card slots... Ouch!

 

But.. It has wifi doesn't it? So I'm assuming I can connected to one of our home file servers and copy/paste files across...

Is is capable of streaming a video from a home server and watching it on the fly - or must it me copied across (to whats left of the 16Gb - non-user-expandable memory...)

 

The thought of buying a piece of electronics like that I cannot legally change the battery on worries me...

 

What sort of objective advice will I get from the local Apple store on these issues??

 

..Sorry..that's probably a dumb question...

[peza2010]

Id be heading for the android side of the market.

 

Apple are brilliant at style - however they are also brilliant at creating software/firmware to cripple the hardware into only being able to do what they want you to do with it.

 

Android on the other hand, is a very open system, the official marketplace/google play, actually catalogue apps, that are intended for use on rooted devices - (rooted devices - essentially when you use one of the hundreds of custom roms that are out there as the operating system - and is a lot more open, even than the apple equivilant of breaking a place to hold criminals)

 

android tablets also have bags of connectivity, changeable batterys (the majority of them do anyway), and CAN still do all the "clever" stuff apple charge you silly money for.

[the kid]

I have half been looking at tablets for a while, both work, and fun. The android market is somewhat flooded with a WIDE range of items. once you hit 10inch screen the price seems to be from about £40 for a 8gb drive to £250 for the same size but better processing (I hear that some tablets are now running with quad core) better screen, etc.

 

You will find that some of the android forums are really very very helpful, I cannot find the link now but there was even a running topic of "I am looking for a device with x y z, I am a novice/expert and I have £xxx to spend what is best for me?"

 

For me I am half looking at one that is £90 with 16bg drive with extension SD slot +front and back cam, once I get past that I am not really bothered.

[trussmonkey]

I too was anti apple but I now have an IPAD and love it. Most of my apps will sync with a windows version of it on Google chrome etc. He is a list

 

Evernote - for taking memos etc

Chrome - for web browsing. This auto syncs all my windows desktop book marks with my laptop and IPAD !! amazballs

Facebook

Skype

Ibooks/Kindle app. - drag and drop content through Itunes (see later note)

music syncs wirelessly from desktop itunes to my ipad (assuming you have an internet connection)

+ many others

 

If you want to sync files to it without using Memsticks etc then all you have to do is attach the IPAD to the windows computer via usb cable and drag and drop them into Itunes. it will auto sync.

It will (via app) wirelessly print to any enabled computer

Most TV manufacturers have a remote control app for it.

 

 

I love my ipad (although it will prob be the only piece of apple tech I will own). I can get all my emails no matter what email account they are on through the default email app.

 

hope that helps.

 

TM

[bigclive]

I've got an iPad2 and I have to say that it's very slick, but also incredibly frustrating at times (It's clearly designed for non technical people!)

 

Benefits of the iPad.

 

Super slick. It does crash, but hides it well.

designed for non technical people.

Great for lying in bed browsing YouTube.

It's largely battery, which means it does run fr a long time between charges.

Fantastic as a musical tablet for composing and audio "doodling".

 

Drawbacks of the iPad.

 

Expensive.

Designed for non technical people.

Limited connectivity.

Relies on iTunes for computer connectivity (a possessive bit of software)

No Flash so many flash sites don't work or require their iPad friendly app.

Apps like Gmail and Facebook are limited compared to full browser versions.

 

In summary, (and this says a LOT) my next tablet will be an Android.

[dbuckley]

But.. It has wifi doesn't it? So I'm assuming I can connected to one of our home file servers and copy/paste files across...

if you get an app; natively, it doesn't connect to fileservers.

 

Is is capable of streaming a video from a home server and watching it on the fly

I colleague of mine tells me the iPad is a great tool to watch his pr0n collection that way...

 

I do enjoy the Fairlight CMI app for the iPad.

[rossmck]

<snip>

Limited connectivity.

Relies on iTunes for computer connectivity (a possessive bit of software)

No Flash so many flash sites don't work or require their iPad friendly app.

Apps like Gmail and Facebook are limited compared to full browser versions.

 

In summary, (and this says a LOT) my next tablet will be an Android.

 

Curious what you want to connect to that you can't with the iPad - I have an iPad and I find being able to use SD cards, and video output are about the only connections I've ever wanted from it, and both of these are available with dock port connections.

 

Your next tablet may be an Android - but it also wont have flash ( http://blogs.adobe.com/flashplayer/2012/06/flash-player-and-android-update.html )

 

If apps like Gmail and facebook are limited, why not just use the full browser version ? they work fine on the iPad, although this is not a limitation of the iPad anyway - this is a limitation of the 'mobile' version of these services (although the new facebook app is much better) and would be the same on Android.

 

Personally I've had both an Android and iPad tablet and I couldn't go back to Android - but then again I am an Apple user on the desktop too, and have an iPhone so I may not be considered that unbiased ;-) - each to their own.

[smalljoshua]

Generally speaking, I dislike Apple software, but admire the build quality of the hardware.

 

I got an iDoorstop (Sorry, iPad) about 6 months ago, primarily for use with Chamsys and Midas desks for a remote. Since, I've come to use it for a bit of email checking and the rest.

 

It doesn't do network shares natively, it doesn't do Spreadsheets nicely (IMO) and there's only so much time someone can spend on Angry Birds before it gets annoying.

 

However, despite the limitations, I still prefer it to the Android tablet I had before it. It is the only piece of Apple technology I've ever owned, I don't plan on becoming a "Convert" any time soon however I can see myself getting another iPad somewhere down the line, the same can't be said for the Android tab I had.

 

Josh

[trussmonkey]

there are apps that aere available for not much money with pretty good office (spreadsheet/word pro etc) functionality.

 

there is an app for most things.

[Ken Coker]

 

But.. It has wifi doesn't it? So I'm assuming I can connected to one of our home file servers and copy/paste files across...

Is is capable of streaming a video from a home server and watching it on the fly - or must it me copied across (to whats left of the 16Gb - non-user-expandable memory...)

 

What sort of objective advice will I get from the local Apple store on these issues??

 

..Sorry..that's probably a dumb question...

 

You may need something called Air Video to stream video - but I've not done it.

Using ITunes to share files is my least favourite way of doing things, but it does work.

An IPad will see a file server; you're best off having a web browse I think - someone will have done it before you may be assured.

 

KC

[RoyS]

Many thanks for all the interesting comments...

 

I think my opinions on the iPad haven't changed because of them and if anything have pushed me closer to Android. I have had two Android phones which have been nearly flawless in operation (HTC Desire & Samsung Galaxy S2). Because of this I'm looking closely at the Samsung tablet - but it also has some flaws: no user expandable micro SD slot for instance. With the prices of memory being so cheap (Amazon are today selling a 32Gb MSD card for £13.61) how can the manufactures charge such a lot for so little in built memory?

 

Another question: On a recent trip to London, it was great using my Galaxy S2 to navigate whilst walking around and using the Tube, with the data being pulled via 3G.

 

Assuming the tablet I get does not have 3G can I have the same functionality by simply tethering the tablet to the S2?

[Gerry]

Have a look at the Nexus 7.

It's getter good reviews.

If your chosen tablet doesn't have 3G then you can use your S2 as a WiFi hotspot and connect via WiFi or thither it.

I occasionally connect my PC to the internet by using my HTC desire as a hotspot or tether it.

Cheers

Gerry