Ten... Apple iPad Mini alternatives Before you rush out and buy a device that the late Steve Jobs said wouldn’t, couldn’t and shouldn’t exist - well, kind of - you may care to consider some of the alternatives on offer, assuming that is you can’t quite make the nut and afford a full-size iPad. Until Windows RT fondleslabs percolate down to those of us empty of …
Apple is a victim of its own marketing here. No one cared about PPI until Apple introduced the "Retina" display.
I still don't care about PPI - my missus has an iPad 2 and has never complained that the text was "fuzzy", so I'm wondering why I'm hearing people complaining about the iPad Mini when its PPI is higher. The simple facts of the matter are that a 1280x800 screen on a Galaxy Tab 10.1 is more than adequate, and the importance of PPI has been blown out of all proportion.
Indeed, pixel *density* is completely meaningless. Since density is (pixels / area), it favours devices for having a smaller display. But on my Galaxy Nexus, I like my large display. If someone took my phone, made it smaller, then the PPI would go up. But hang on, you've just made it smaller! That's not what I want.
In fact, you could take the device, reduce the resolution and make it smaller, but such that the PPI was higher, and claim that therefore it's better. But hang on, you've now reduced both the resolution *and* display size!
If anything, we should be looking at (pixels * area). Or better yet, just record them as separate specs.
Density is useful when comparing entirely different classes of devices - e.g., I wouldn't necessarily expect as high a resolution on a small device compared to a large device. It also might be a reason not to criticise a smaller device - e.g., if a smaller device has lower resolution, but the same density, you could argue that that's only that it's a smaller device, rather than having two things wrong with it. But it is absurd for anyone to claim that the smaller device is *better* simply because the density is higher.
This is the only statistic that Apple claim to lead on, and it's a meaningless one. And as you say, they've been well and truely outdone at their own game - with many phones and 7" devices having higher resolutions and densities than Apple. And now the Nexus 10 completely outdoes Apple's 10" tablet.
I think the reason people complain is not so much that PPI is an issue, but that it is judging it by Apple's own standard. And if you don't care about PPI, then there are zero reasons to get it - especially when it's also priced £100 more than the competition!
(I just wish we'd see higher than 1024x600 on netbooks - resolution is much more important on these devices, than it is on oversized phones.)
Cash back in unlikely circumstances, I'd guess.
Presumably the normal "send in your invoice exactly forty two and a half days after the day on your invoice, making sure that the receipt is in Mandarin, and quote the secret code that can be found under the "warranty void if removed" sticker."
> Presumably the normal "send in your invoice exactly forty two and a half days after the day on your invoice
In the Samsung case they gave a window between 15 and 60 days from the date on the invoice (a 6 -7 week window).
The reason you have to wait 15 days is so as to time out the right to cancel on distance selling. If they didn't do this then you could order your tab, get the £50 cash back and then cancel it with a full refund.
I've claimed mine and the form I filled in was simple. The only "code" I had to enter was the serial number of the device which is only to be expected.
"Cash back in unlikely circumstances, I'd guess"
Folk shouldn't guess, they should read before commenting, otherwise they risk looking like an idiot.
www.acercashback.com
Two notable restrictions for the A110: buy from eBuyer during November to get £50 off, claim between 30 and 60 days after purchase.
Does he look like an idiot? Call 08700000000 to vote now.
OK, you have to root it and install Stick Mount (or similar), but as with previous Nexus(es?) rooting is a nice simple task (Google Nexus Root Toolkit and you can even do it with a GUI).
Still - would have been nicer if they'd just included that OOB and included an SD slot.
I hadn't realised that the Nexus 7 was not rooted as delivered. I decided against the N7 for a couple of reasons, like no SD micro and I prefered an 8 in display. Still there are plenty of tablets to shoose from that run Android. The market is changing fast. There should be some interesting stuff by tis time next year and I may well be tempted to upgrade.
There's £50 cashback from Acer on A110s bought this month, which may change the arithmetic somewhat. The Ts+Cs don't seem too bad (cashback doesn't apply to some retailers eg DSG and John Lewis, cashback does apply to e,g, eBuyer). It'll be obsolete soon anyway given the way the market's going.
Or at even higher risk but for even sillier money (around £50?), there's
http://www.mobicity.co.uk/kidigi-7-4-1-super-slim-light-7-inch-android-4-ics-tablet-with-1-5ghz-processor-8gb-storage.html
Barely more than the price of a fully configured Raspberry Pi, but including a case, a screen, a power supply - a complete tablet? What gives? Can I get a proper Linux on it?
I bought a similar chinapad from ebay (uk supplier so no import tax) for the kids. Cost me £50 inc shipping over the summer. Works just fine, it has ICS too. Rooted ok, new rom on it and all is good. It has crashed a couple of times but then again so has my galaxy S2 (and ive seen ipads crash here at work too).
Feels a bit cheap and heavy but for the kids it is great - it has already earnt its money back. The plus side is that it has a proper USB port, HDMI and SD card slot!
I bought an £80 chinapad (like the name) earlier in the year from eBuyer. Manufacturing fault, unusable after a bit (but nice while it worked). Replacement had a different fault, took a refund. Not going that way again at £80 when the Acer is £130. But for £55...
""Can I get a proper Linux on it?" Possibly, but what a boring, old fashioned thing to do when it already comes with ICS."
May be your opinion, fair enough. Others may differ. I've had ICS, and on a phone it's fine.
Elsewhere, the Ubuntu folk apparently think there's enough interest to commit to it, but their timescales (2014) don't match my wishlist.
Some folks (eg me) may be considered boring and old fashioned, but occasionally I don't mind being bleeding edge in a perverse kind of way.
It'd be a boring world if everybody wanted the same. It'd be just like deskpot PCs.
If there wasn't some interest in running something Linux-like on Android there'd be less interest in busybox etc. There are even folk building gcc to run under Android, and Debian to run ON Android.
Starts? They always do this when Apple releases something. Apple is certainly "top dog" when it comes to brand-awareness, so using something like the iPad Mini to define a class of gadgets and looking at its near-neighbours is a good way of seeing what's out there.
...never mind that the iPad Mini (like most Apple products) is overpriced for the hardware, which may prompt someone to go looking for a better value alternative.
Not just the reg. The moment the iPod came out people started running articles on iPod alternatives, despite the fact these others had been out longer.
If I was a cynic I'd say there's probably a marketing budget from a certain fruit-logo'd company involved there. If we can just get the press to frame everything else as a competitor to us we can give the impression that nothing else is quite up to scratch and they're all knock-offs! Hmmm....
Annoys the hell out of me, Apple have only just entered this market segment, one in which Google and Amazon were doing rather well already.
"If I was a cynic I'd say there's probably a marketing budget from a certain fruit-logo'd company involved there."
So your conspiracy is that Apple [a company that don't 'like' The Register or invite it to events] quietly pay El Reg to recommend and raise brand awareness of OTHER manufacturer's devices?
That's why it's so cunning!
I know, it's silly, but there could have been an effort somewhere in the Apple corporate structure to make sure that things are still framed that way, such that even talk of other devices always casts them in the shadow of the fruit.
The alternative is of course that the majority of tech journos are Apple fanboys, which is probably more likely.
To be fair to the Register, I think they are trying to give awareness to tablets that most the media prefer to ignore.
But yes, I do hate the way that most of the media either cover nothing but Apple, or when they do, it's always presented as an "i-whatever competitor". It's got nothing to do with who's top dog or who sells the most. The ipad got vast amounts of media coverage even before it was announced (remember istale?) so had nothing to do with sales or specs. And the iphone platform has never led in hardware specs, OS features, or sales, yet has had nothing but vast amounts of media coverage, whilst leaders Symbian then Android (or by company, Nokia then Samsung) remain largely ignored.
So let me get this straight, wifi is not standard on all of these?
GPS is not available?
When google releases their latest update, you have to wait for the manufacturer to release the update rather than have it on day 1
Some do not even have proper app stores...
I now understand why you guys shout a lot when apple releases something that works.
"wifi is not standard on all of these?"
Where the hell did you get that idea from? What use would a tablet be without some kind of network connection?
Also, the Nexus 7 certainly has a GPS receiver and, although they're not mentioned*, I would be very surprised if most of the others don't too.
The update cycle is an annoyance for Android users. That one I'll grant you. Of course it can be avoided by sticking to the Nexus 7, or rooting it. I don't tend to suggest rooting phones, but I don't see a problem with rooting a tablet if you haven't bothered with a data plan.
*A bit of an oversight there, El Reg.
Festimo,
All ten devices have Wi-Fi
Two lack GPS - the Kindle and Nook, but these are really tied-down media access devices from retailers not Android tablets proper and since the Wi-Fi iPad mini lacks GPS too I didn't use this is a stick to beat them with.
Two have (as standard) cellular radios and work as phones (Galaxy Note 2 and Vu).
If you want Android updates direct from Google buy the Nexus 7.
Hope that clarifies matters to your satisfaction.
WiFi (both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz) and GPS (real one) are standard on £109 PlayBook. And it has proper app store too, called AppWorld with a good choice of Android applications (and also native, AIR, and JavaScript ones too). Since it's running real-time OS (QNX) it natively supports multitasking (with multiple apps running simultaneously, not "pretended" one) and its Android runtime in the current OS version 2.1 is top notch.
Never mind that. For some people "it's fail unless it's Apple".
Erm, an ipad mini doesn't have GPS. I'm not sure which doesn't have access to an app store (or what "proper" means)?
And all of them make the OS update available when it's ready - the reason that this isn't the same day as when the vanilla Android becomes available is because they don't run vanilla Android. E.g., I've seen JB on the S3, and lots of the new things are new things in TouchWiz, nothing to do with what's on my Galaxy Nexus.
This has zero relevance to IOS (or, I could just as well say that ipads are rubbish, because you don't get the OS release on the same day as the Nexus - it makes just as much sense). Plus with Android you get choice - if you want to run vanilla Android, get a Nexus and stop whining. You won't get vanilla Android with an ipad - and if you don't want vanilla Android, it doesn't matter.
OS updates would only be an issue if manufacturer OSs were delayed such that you got new features after they were available on Apple. But (a) as I say, this time is taken to add the additional features on top of Android, and (b) it seems it's Apple users who have to wait months/years to get basic features like maps, multitasking, copy/paste, apps, after everyone else anyway.
And ..... what about the Galaxy Note 2?
The most complete communications device ever. Costs £500 ish which is a hell of a lot better than splashing out on an iphone with restricted screen and an ipad with no GSM. Apple would rather you bought both at great expense where the Note 2 does it all perfectly. Get it up ye Apple!
The problem with the note 2 is that it seems like a halfway-house between phone and tablet for about ten minutes. And then the screen seems a normal size, a. All other phones seem tiny by comparison.
So, your "massive" tablet-phone suddenly doesnt seem so big. So for media consumption you're going to want a tablet. Ideally a big one since a 7" one wont look much bigger. The Note 2 is not a replacement for a tablet.
Posted from my Samsung Galaxy Note II.
The PlayBook's screen and hardware is really nice, especially the touch which is the most responsive I've used on any tablet. The screen also seems to resist fingerprints extremely well. The speakers are excellent and the device lasts ages in standby.
Sadly PlayBook OS feels... lacking somehow. The apps all do what they say but there is a sense that they're missing features that they should have (e.g. to be able to remember passwords in the browser) and a sense that RIM is basically done with PlayBook OS. RIM also had to cobble together apps from different vendors and some of them are pretty basic and in some cases just glorified bookmarks (e.g. the Twitter "app" is just a link to the browser). I have to hope the device gets an update to BB 10.
Android support is actually pretty good in 2.1 but sadly RIM have gone out of their way to lock the thing down so it's hard to sideload anything and what stuff exists in the store is usually more expensive and less well supported than its counterpart in the Play store.
Anyway for £110 you're getting a really good piece of kit and perhaps if the device is just for email and some browsing there is no point spending much more.
Is it possible to get a keyboard for the Playbook? I'd like a really cheap tablet that has a physical keyboard of some sort. Something light I can carry to and from work and use it to type fairly long documents on. pdf and ebook support is a must.
Any suggestions? =)
There is an official Playbook bluetooth keyboard / trackpad comes with a faux leather cover / stand and is the same footprint as the tablet. It's charged separately and costs about £60. Alternatively there are a lot of generic 7" bluetooth keyboards on Ebay for less.
I haven't used a keyboard with my tablet to say what it's like with one. The onscreen keyboard is okay for stabbing out short messages which is about all I need it for since I use the tablet mostly for picking up at bedtime or in the morning to read a few websites and check my email. As I said, the tablet is okay for that sort of thing and the screen is really nice.
You can get a bluetooth keyboard and case for circa £18. Ok, but basically my playbook is just used as a glorified bedside clock, with audio book capability and WIFI as a bonus. It's nicely built, I like the O/S, and for £129 with 64GB/GPS/etc, it's somewhat good value as such, however I can't see me using this format of device for anything different or useful. Laptop still king for mobile doing type stuff, Desktop for the money earning potential.
You're intended to use your bb. If that's not keyboardy enough, a bluetooth keyboard should work.
I bought a playbook recently at £125 for the 64g - glad to see other readers comments - it's so good but so unpopular I thought I was missing some huge drawback, but it all works really well, battery life is excellent, the screen is beautiful, control is easy, system is responsive and I got all the apps I want for free from their app store, though it's true choice is limited and prices generally higher that google play
The killer app that the kindle has is lovefilm streaming. Didn't see a mention of that.
BTW having had a playbook for about six months now there is no way it deserves a score of 70%. If you have a blackberry handset the level of integration between the two is a dimention of functionality no other tablet has.
The playbook was horrible on release. But the updates have made it much more well rounded. The thing does all the basics better than my android stuff does (pics, film, media, pdf, music) with a weakness in the appstore. But £129 for a baseline tablet that is high quality and 64GB... its worth a much higher score on value alone than the 70% given.
Good article.
Although it is not released in the UK until the 16th of November, the Kobo Arc looks like a good alternative.
It is close to the Acer A110 in terms of spec; it has a higher res screen, but with a dual-core chip. However it is more open and will get JB at some point, so I thought would wait until it was in the shops before I make a final decision.
FWIW,
If I could purchase a 64G iPad Mini with 'Retina' screen, A6 chip, GPS, 1G RAM, wifi and 3g combined - 4LTE being way over the top - all for under £400 i probably would go that route, as it stands, in both specc's, performance and cost, the Nexus 7 holds the candle - tis a great shame it too is not offered with 64G with 3G and priced at £300 - I'd have one like a shot.
Now is not a good time to purchase the iPad Mini, it will be obsolete within 12 months - how else do you think Apple are going to gouge its customer-base - as for the App Store, never purchased anything from iTunes or their App Store and all my Apple mobile devices are jailbroken - I do like the iPod Touch, but like the iPad Mini, its way too expensive!
Of course they will update it, and probably in 6 months. But fanbois throwing away their iToys every 6 months to get the new one only happens in your imagination.
What really happens is that you get the device you want when you want it, and keep it for a long long time. Eventually you might get the latest and greatest, and sell the old one for a damn high percentage of what you paid for it because it's an Apple that still works like new not throwaway cheapo plastic rubbish.
We still have the iPad1, bought a month before the 2 came out, and it's still flawless, and we don't feel the need to change it. I also have an iPod touch which is approaching 4 years old now, and I'm still very happy with it thanks. I have an iPhone4 which I'd *quite like to change for a 4S as I'd like the better camera. A quick spin round ebay tells me I can sell the 4 for nearly the price of a comparable 4S, so the only thing stopping me is that the 4 is generally so good that I literally can't be arsed.
Don't Fandroids do the 'oh shiny, I must have the latest upgrade right now' dance as well?
All the so called Apple fanbois I know don't throw their iToys away. They pass them on to other family members.
Funnily enough, the android fans do that as well (apart from the real cheapo devices running Android 2.2/2.3).
All this slagging off is getting rather tiresome.
I have two MacBook pro's (one 5 yrs old and still going strong) and a Kindle HD so what does that make me in your classification?
"All the Fanboi whining is getting stale from both sides." +1
Not just stale, but positively decomposing. Our household has Macs, PCs, an iPod, an iPhone and a Galaxy tab. OS's are Windows, OSX and (occasionally) Linux mint.
Hardware agnostic and OS agnostic. I use what I consider the best bit of kit for the job as all have their strengths and weaknesses.
Fandroids have to do this more because the device they bought a year ago turns out NOT to be getting the latest OS, whereas Apple devices remain in the upate path for years and years - my old spare phone (3GS) is still receiving updates and could be running 6 if I wanted it to. And it still looks and works like a new phone. I'm even thinking of getting another one so I can give them to my kids for Xmas - should keep them off my phone & iPod, and they're banned from even *thinking* about playing with my wife's 5 :)
Gosh I sound like a real fanboi but I'm platform agnostic really. I just like an easy life and Apple gives me that in spades for the present.
But surely the number of people in either camp who actively chase the latest and greatest are really very few (citation needed ;-) IME anyway. There's maybe 3 people in the office here who care about that sort of thing (out of about 50) - and we're a technology company.
PS Downvoted again by the fandriods!! - must be doing something right? Who cares though? Upvote - downvote..... not a single gram of fuck is actually given!
As of version 2 of the O/S you can't 'root' the playbook and I'm not entirely sure you meant root, but meant replace the o/s. However the current version of the o/s is more than capable of running android apps in a VM, (as such), as long as they are packaged appropriately and submitted to RIM's playbook store for verification They run just as well as native apps, but tablets ain't open so for certain stuff they are being stone walled by 'other' companies.
I work in Mobile apps and have tested apps on most of these devices.
Whats most important to me is the quality of the screen and how the device feels in the hand.
Motorola Xoom2= POS
Archos=POS
Playbook= Antiques roadshow POS
Kindle Fire= Amazon content delivery system. Plus I believe they track all your browsing through MIMO.
Note 2= Best Phablet.
Nexus 7= The best Tablet by miles.
Not tested or had my hands on the rest or ipad mini yet. Hope this helps.
In that whole list, the only tablets with 3G were the Sony Experia (too big to be an alternative to the iPad mini), the Galaxy Note (too small) and the Blackberry Playbook (not Android). What the hell? This is supposed to be a mobile device, one I can use whilst on the move, not just sitting in a coffee shop! To be a reasonable alternative to an iPad mini requires similar performance, similar screen size, at least as good resolution, either an sd card slot or 32GB internal (maaaaaybe 16GB in a pinch), and 3G (4G is worthless till 2015), as well as access to an app store with more than a dozen apps. There isn't a single tablet either on this list or, AFAIK, anywhere at all, that ticks all these boxes, except the iPad Mini.
I guess that's why its so expensive. There's STILL no bloody competition.
> Nexus 7 32Gb 3G £239
iPad mini 32Gb 3G £449
There, competition. £210 cheaper competition. Now, care to explain why it's so expensive?
1) Quality of parts
2) Extra support that pays for a very effecient swap in the shop system if it's broken
3) Software support/development costs (inc. cloud services etc)
All the extra services don't come free and grow on trees. The Apple ecosystem does need money to support 300 million+ devices on its network.
if 1) is true, 2) is irellevant, if you need 2) then 1) is a myth.
And Google develop Android for free? Their programmers do it just for the love of it?
Google Music, Google Drive, etc. cloud-based services, all free.
Keep believing the hype.
@theskyes
Google has their ads services to pay for all that. That's their source of income to keep you going round the Android loop. You see/click their ads, Google gets money for that, Google pumps money into Android to make it appear free & their eco-system and then back around again.
Seriously though, it isn't hype. The products speak for themselves. If you can find any early Android 2.0 devices still being used in the field, let me know. I do know there's plenty of 3G/3GS being used on a daily basis.
And the fandroids keep on coming... keep smiling!
1: No evidence to support this. It's like the homeopathy of technology - "These two things may be the same thing, but this one is 'better quality' because it just is, even though I can't tell you how".
2: It's your legal entitlement to get something broken replaced, and I've never had any trouble with any company. Unless it's your fault, in which case Apple won't replace that either. You can get insurance to cover it, but you have to pay extra for that, and lots of companies offer that kind of thing - and I've seen plenty of horror stories where even when you're paying the extra, they don't cover you. Not that my non-Apple ever seems to break. I guess that's because I buy decent build quality. Seems like Apple products are always breaking, from how people are always telling me about how they get to replace them... (I just love that Apple fans simultaneously praise Apple for things like "build quality" and just "working", as well as that Apple are great because, after paying extra money for insurance, Apple are always replacing their products when they keep breaking.)
3: Not sure what you mean here. On one, you can develop using free software, on any kind of device. You can publish on Google's site for a one off fee of $25, or anywhere else you like for no cost. On the other, you can only develop using a special Apple computer, and have to pay Apple $99 a year to develop for your own device, with no way to get round it.
The Android "ecosystem" is way bigger than IOS, as was Symbian before it. So that's not an argument to justify the cost.
@Mark
>
2: It's your legal entitlement to get something broken replaced, and I've never had any trouble with any company. Unless it's your fault, in which case Apple won't replace that either. You can get insurance to cover it, but you have to pay extra for that, and lots of companies offer that kind of thing - and I've seen plenty of horror stories where even when you're paying the extra, they don't cover you. Not that my non-Apple ever seems to break. I guess that's because I buy decent build quality. Seems like Apple products are always breaking, from how people are always telling me about how they get to replace them... (I just love that Apple fans simultaneously praise Apple for things like "build quality" and just "working", as well as that Apple are great because, after paying extra money for insurance, Apple are always replacing their products when they keep breaking.)
Technology breaks due to defects by human error in manufactuering. It's just the convinience. Most Android users have to wait 2 - 3 weeks at least to get a repair/replacement. Is there any manufactuer that can do it for you within an hour in a shop? Not seen any myself.
3: Not sure what you mean here. On one, you can develop using free software, on any kind of device. You can publish on Google's site for a one off fee of $25, or anywhere else you like for no cost. On the other, you can only develop using a special Apple computer, and have to pay Apple $99 a year to develop for your own device, with no way to get round it.
I meant the infrastructure of the whole iOS ecosystem plus the operating system updates, research & development etc. Keeping 3/4 year old devices updated is pretty tough. Something Google hasn't seemed to crack yet and retains their pump/dump stratedgy with devices. I mean, Google does have its ad cash to spend keeping the "technically" open-source Android low cost to develop. That's the benefit of an open system.
Thought I'd clear up my thoughts and take on some more pointless thumb downs.
The 'quality parts' thing is hokum. A piece of aluminium is not a 'quality part' that causes that much price difference, and I'm not aware that iDevices have a MTF that's higher than Android ones.
"Is there any manufactuer that can do it for you within an hour in a shop? Not seen any myself."
Manufacturer? No, but why would I need it to be the manufacturer, when the retailer can do it. You just walk into the retailer, say "This is fuggerd, I want a replacement" and they replace it. Simples.
Don't fool yourself that Apple are offering a unique and wonderful customer experience.
"Something Google hasn't seemed to crack yet and retains their pump/dump stratedgy with devices."
Seriously? And Apple don't? Apple's entire business model is based around flogging punters an updated product every year.
Quality parts?
What have you been drinking? I lose count how many iMac panels I've seen that have done the rainbow stripes of death... And wasn't there a macbook fault a couple of years back with the nvidia chipset?... And white iphone cases going yellow?... And faulty iphone with yellow tinted screen?...
And that's just what I can remember off the top of my head.
My own brother's 4s recently went mad, got really hot, drained the battery within 4 hours. He tried resetting it, still no good. Went to the store and got it swapped (as is your legal right). Two weeks later he's still trying to get all his music and contacts synced properly.
Hardly handed down from Mount Olympus are they.
Aren't there a load of stats out there that indicate that more then 50% of tablets never get taken out of the home?
If that is the case then why would you need 3g in every one of them?
I take mine on my travels. It does not have 3g but there again, I have a MiFi (on the 3 network) which I use to connect up when needed which isn't all that often. Sometimes, it is nice not to be always connected to the internet unless of cource you have become addicted. If so, I can sell you a nice ocean front plot of land on an island in the Indian Ocean where (unless you have a satelleite receiver) the internet is a long way away (like 15km).
Peace and quiet. Delightful.
"If that is the case then why would you need 3g in every one of them?"
I don't want it in all of them. Just some of them, so I actually have some choice that isn't apple (or fecking blackberry, but that's a whole other rant).
I like to be able to browse the interwebs on a train (in the morning, for example, usually to read the news). Or, say, waiting for the doctors or whatever. Or in a hotel, where they want to charge me by the hour for wifi (it was a 4 star hotel, so you'd think the wifi would be gratis, but nooooo). Basically any time that I'm sitting down and the alternative is to stare into space like a lobotomy victim. (and no, that's not all I want a tablet for, but its what I want the 3g connection for). This is hardly a niche use, you'd think SOMEONE would be wanting to provide a solution for it.
And, as another commenter points out, someone finally has with the latest Nexus 7 32 GB 3G, and its about bloody time (and its a shame that soft home button keeps driving me up the wall - I keep pressing it instead of the space button when typing - or I'd be seriously considering getting one right now). But my points (that none of the tablets in the article really are alternatives to the mini, and that tablet makers seem to hate 3G) still stand, and will do until there are several iPad mini alternatives, not just one. Maybe in 2013.
7: Zip lining down OHLE
8: Running around the dodgier Middle East countries wrapped in an American flag
9: Running around the dodgier states wrapped in an Arab flag
10: Nothing
"Woah", I hear you call. "Nothing is better than an iPad Mini? Doesn't that go against your list?"
Nope. Having "Nothing" is prefereably to having this iProduct.
I'd recommend steering away from Sony tablets. I invested in a Sony Tablet S, which by all accounts had a shelf life of a few months. No word from Sony on JB updates.
Normally this isn't an issue but the modding community is steering clear of at least the Tablet S as there are no ROMs for this model (only a rooting) despite it being out for about six months. You can't even do a nand backup.
You're so right... my two year old £99 Android phone is now totally useless, it can only do exactly what it could the day I bought it. Why can't it be like an old iPhone, which can get updates to the latest version of iOS, well, sort of, as half the new functionality isn't available and what does work, slows the phone down considerably.
Damn it, should never have saved £400 when I got that Droid. It's costing me such a fortune in, ummm, well, errr... nope, can't see how it's costing me any money at all.
I'm not quite sure what the author is on about TBH.
I've charged my N7 off pretty much every micro USB plug I have. 500mA from the PC, 1A from my phone, the supplied 2A (when I can find it). The only place it won't charge is from the USB socket I put in the car, and the reason for that is I haven't done anything with the two data wires. They're just disconnected. For high capacity chargers these wires should be linked together, I just haven't got round to fixing it. It charges my phone, which was the original reason to install it. The N7's battery life is good enough that I don't run it flat (only the misses has managed that from playing too much Angry Birds!).
Apple devices are no different. They want the USB data pins connected just right or they won't charge either.
So Alun, stop using cheap knock off chargers!
Would this be a travel charger by any chance?
Whatever it is it was supplying a minute current. The N7 will charge from 500mA (standard USB), but the screen has to be off (that panel takes some juice). The proper charger can supply 4 times this current (2 amps), which will charge the tablet whilst it's being used. Most tablets are like this, the screens just use too much power for the 500mA USB limit.
As soon a USB socket can supply over the 500mA standard, it has to tell the device it is capable of it (otherwise the device would just try to pull too much from the socket and cause the PC's USB controller to shut down the USB port as protection). This is usually done by linking the two data wires together (a charger has no use for these anyway).
If your charger doesn't link them, the tablet won't know if can suck harder.
From what you say it sounds like your charger was even worse than outlined above. It is probably badly regulated and maybe dangerous. A friend has some knock off Chinese Apple-esque chargers which my N7 just ignores. Won't charge at all, although both his and my phones will. I checked one out on my 'scope when it was charging my phone and the quality of the supplied power was horrendous. Smooth was not a word I would use. It looked like a the mad scribblings off a deranged fanboy who queued for three days only to have the stock run out as he reaches the front of the queue.
"Would this be a travel charger by any chance?"
It was just a standard USB to wall socket adapter I use at home (albeit connected to the wall via a European 2 plug travel adapter). I also tried a dedicated USB travel adapter. The hotel staff confirmed the power supply in Lanzarote is generally quite poor.
Personally I love my Nook Tablet. Granted it's a couple years old now and had to be rooted to get anything like acceptable usability, but still I love it. It may not have GPS and GSM, and maybe I lose access to the Play store every time I let it grab an update from B&N but I love it. It might have a few little glitches but......
Oh who the hell am I kidding. I want a Nexus damnit.
The Apple App Store is the killer feature with all iOS devices - it's far better than the Android / other App stores. The choice comes down to pay £269 for a tablet you will use constantly and probably get many, many years of use from or buy something cheaper, find out you wished you had bought the iPad anyway or end up with something that is unsupported after a year or two.
You've never actually used Google's Play Store, have you? After using it dealing with Apples pitiful excuse for an app store makes me want to pull my hair out. There's that much of a difference in the experience.
As for wishing I'd bought an iPad....well if I could give away the one I was given at the office I would. I can't do half of what I was hoping to do on it when I got it. Up until they cracked down on unauthorized devices on the wireless I had ended up bringing my Nook to work to do what I should have been able to do with the iPad.
"You've never actually used Google's Play Store, have you? After using it dealing with Apples pitiful excuse for an app store makes me want to pull my hair out. There's that much of a difference in the experience."
Experience is a personal thing. My experience is the complete opposite of yours. The only difference is I've very little hair left to pull out.
The first thing that struck me about this review is that the devices chosen were mostly 7 inch or widescrenn displays. That is not much help to someone who wants an 8 inch 4:3 aspect ratio 1024x768 display at a comfortable weight; something lighter than a 10 inch iPad but bigger than a 7 inch widescreen. For some of us the screen size and weight are important, and that is the basis on which I chose my tablet. Ok, my Android tablet doesn't have everything that the iPad mini has; it certainly doesn't have the price tag. I was able to but my Scroll Engage made by UK company Storage Options for £120, and you can buy it for about £100 now if you shop around in the main online stores. The format is just right for me. As I said it doesn't have everything the iPad has, but then it does have physical connectivity that the iPad doesn't (USB, Sdmicro, HDMI). I can't comment on the iPad mini itself as I haven't handled one.
You can snap up a 64gb Playbook for £129 at the moment, making it a bargain. Its a very solidly made little tablet, meaning I can let my 1 year old play with it to his hearts content without fear of it smashing into little pieces the first time its dropped.
BB10 OS has been promised for the playbook too.
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