Tablet and Mobile

Archive for the ‘Gadgets’ Category

We’re now looking at nearly 2 years since the launch of the original iPad and though the device retains some of the magic, those of us there at the beginning are no longer in awe of the fantastic design that has made so many millions for Apple and changed the way we work and play.

It now seems fairly natural to be walking around with a slim glass-and-aluminium device that’s more powerful than mainstream PCs of just a few years ago – so the only questions is – WHICH tablet should we be carrying?

I recently got my hands on a 7” Android tablet running “Gingerbread” – or Android 2.3.  Since then we’ve seen “Honeycomb” and finally “Ice Cream Sandwich” but most of the cheaper tablets are running 2.3 or lower.

To be honest I would not waste my time with anything LESS than version 2.3 is it’s fore-runners were never designed for tablet use.

Until now I’ve avoided Android tablets altogether for a number of reasons including the absolutely useless “resistive” displays that many of the cheaper ones employ. These are of the old-fashioned variety you have to press on to get any response and they are deeply unsatisfying to use. One of the iPad’s best features is the utterly responsive “capacitive” display which requires no finger pressure AT ALL to work – and so that for me is the minimum I’m prepared to look at.

The Yuandao N12 Fast Tab is one of dozens of 7” tablets out there that runs Android 2.3 and on the surface of it, it’s a mini-iPad..  the 7” format means it fits comfortably into a big hand and you’d expect that to be a big plus compared to the iPad’s rather larger format. In fact there is little apparent difference in weight.

So, in 2012 how to Android and Apple stack up?

The N12 is CHEAP – I’ve seen it at £100 including VAT in the UK so it’s not in the same league as iPad price-wise or feature-wise.

Let’s look at the pluses and minuses of this particular tablet – which is not untypical of the far-eastern offerings available right now..

Minus

• Battery life –claimed to be 20 hours standby and 5 hours video – yes, if you are lucky, more like it 4 hours of use. The iPad has never run out on standby in the time I’ve had it and gets around 10 hours of video NO PROBLEM.
• Microsoft Exchange – The M12 cannot handle any but the simplest of Exchange setups – if the setup won’t work with email and password, there seems to be no way to get into manual setup – this is a MAJOR omission for corporate use.
• Display – fast and responsive but ultimately at 800*480 pixels it’s an overgrown phone and the pixilation is obvious, even watching movies.
• WIFI – the WIFI is very insensitive, picking up less signal than many phones and dropping out occasionally.
• Limited memory – a common Android problem, although the unit has 8GB internally with access to an external memory stick, it seems that even though you can move Apps into this larger space, there is an internal CORE of 512MB RAM (this is a common limit – see specs – APPLE do NOT have such a limit) and even Apps in external memory use up SOME of this 512MB RAM which soon gets eaten up – putting a limit on how many Apps you can install – this is really unacceptable but somehow manages to escape most reviews.
• Speed – not quite fast enough to make good use of Flash – one of the so-called Apple-killer features, the Flash performance is poor.
• Finish – the unit has a nice Aluminium finish which unfortunately has sharp edges – after repeated handling while, say, watching a movie, tends to get annoying. This sharp edging appears to be common among the Chinese offerings
• Reliability – the hardware seems reliable enough but Gingerbread is chocker full of bugs – the language control means that some menu items come up in Chinese no matter what you do and installations can easily be messed up.
• The Android market has some gaping holes compared to Apple, the latter having an excellent PDF reader (GoodReader) and several other business tools missing from Android market.
• Front-only camera which is poor quality and not that reliable – only sometimes works with Skype. No back camera.
• No Bluetooth – yes you heard it  – no Bluetooth (the iPhone 4 and iPad2 reliably handle 2 simultaneous Bluetooth connections – in my car for example the phone is Bluetooth hands-free but also talks to a separate Bluetooth unit to play audio through the car stereo – something the old 3GS could not quite tackle)
• No sign of upgrades available – website is in Chinese, very little English discussion on the web.
• Large border area around the screen.
• 16:9 wide format

Plus

• The 7” format would fit into a large coat pocket and just feels nice
• The screen is bright and responsive
• The Android market has come a long way and although still full of rubbish, there are some hidden gems in there – many of which are free.
• External memory means no limit to movies you can store on the device.
• USB means external keyboard is easy to implement (though Bluetooth would be more convenient)

Summary

Based on the above – for me the ideal would be a 7” tablet with little border area i.e. mostly screen, running a later version of Android which properly handled Microsoft Exchange, on a tablet with at least 1024 pixels wide, rounded corners, 6-10 hour battery life, Bluetooth, sensitive WIFI, at least 1Gb internal working RAM, preferably more.

With current improvements to the Android Market, there is definitely a place for these devices. If you look at the likes of the Samsung S2 phone – slim, incredibly light, super display – think of one of those stretched to 7” or so and I reckon there is definitely a place for such a device provided the price is right (i.e. WELL under the cost of an iPad) – as yet it does not seem to exist, the NOTE being the nearest but still too small.

For now, the iPad is still streets ahead of Android…maybe they’ll keep that lead, maybe not. There is something quite nice about the smaller form factor and lower cost of the Android devices – opens up all kinds of possibilities if only the quality bar was raised…

Is it just my imagination or has there been a complete absence of innovative new apps recently? We’re getting the odd update, the odd new same-as-before game, nothing new however? Perhaps the people over at Crytek could fill the gap with a version of their superb Crysis game?

One of the things that worries me most about the 21st century is that as the technology gets more complex, it becomes easier to baffle the public into submission.

Take 3d as an example… with glasses – using a stereo image, it’s easy to get a 3d effect. I say “effect” – because it’s not really 3d – it’s just part of 3d.

Let me explain. Take 2 pictures of a person against a backdrop. The images will be taken a few inches apart – and the system will one way or another display the imagery – left image for your left eye, right image for your right eye. Because of the slight overlap of images, you “see” 3D. But no matter what you do, you’re only going to see it from one perspective. You are NEVER going to be able to move around and see what was BEHIND that person’s back – even though it FEELS that way.

3d then with glasses – from a stereoscopic original image – “works”. A prime example being AVATAR. Of course with glasses you can move around freely – but you’ll only get the same imagery no matter where you move.

Without glasses things get worse. The “lenticular” system as it’s known, or as I call it the crappy last-century-3d-postcard system, takes vertical stripes of the two images – and alternates them. Using a flat lens system the two alternative images are redirected to each eye… BUT NOW you can’t even move around freely – the system works only in fixed locations as the lens has no way to tell where you are.

Another new gimmick that’s coming along that CLAIMS to be 3d but isn’t – uses the camera on your tablet or other devices to monitor your head movement… and adjust the imagery accordingly. As long as you are moving, your brain will be fooled into thinking the images is 3d – and this is actively being marketed as a future for 3d – mainly because it’s cheap – the problem is – it ISN’T 3d. Stop moving and you will get a static image in 2 dimensions.

None of this stops sharks from claiming they can get 3d out of even simple 2d images – think about it – it’s impossible – the information simple isn’t there in a 2d image. In a movie you could conceivably compute some of this information from adjacent images – but if for example the person is moving horizontally against a backdrop, then you can ONLY glean horizontal information.

Yet over at the BBC iPlayer you’ll see how the marketing magic is already taking over from fact…listen to the claims around 5 minutes into the video…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00yc6ss/Click_29_01_2011/

Don’t ever let it be said I’m in Apple’s pocket – you might find this interesting… the Blackberry Playbook!

According to the blurb, Included in the video above is a brief demo of email pairing with your BlackBerry® smartphone via BlackBerry Bridge, multi-tasking, viewing Microsoft® Office® documents, and secure access to business applications such as Flash®-enabled dashboards from SAP® BusinessObjects Explorer.

Meanwhile of course we’re waiting to hear official confirmation of the iPad 2… nothing yet.

 

Need somewhere relaxing to stay for a few days while you’re up in the Northeast – check out Hollyberry Cottage.

Couple of new things to tell you about… I’m sure most of you have had a go at a putting screen saver onto your smartphone. If not, ask yourself, what are you going to do when you want a new phone – are you going to be smart, look after your phone and sell it on EBay for up to £150 – or dumb and put it in a cupboard – or worse, let it get into a such a state you can’t get a bean for it?  Some months ago shortly after I got my phone, I was lucky enough to be wandering around the London underground and stumbled upon an SME who did phone repairs. On asking him if he could put on the screensavers he delighted in telling me that he was the BEST – and promptly put a screensaver on my phone which I have to say was virtually perfect.  Over time, keys and other items make a mess of even the best screensavers and a couple of weeks ago I started looking for a replacement.

It’s important to get the 3 layer ones because the extra stiff-ness makes them easier to fit which minimising bubbles.  I tried several 2-layer ones – and ended up immediately throwing them in the bin – being impossible to fit without bubbles. Then I was sold a 3-layer model for a fiver which worked reasonably well, except when I got it home it turned out it was a mirror version. Now, these might be good for young girls as vanity mirrors – but for looking at your phone they’re utterly useless. Some the sunshine you can’t see a thing but your reflection!

As luck would happen, Tesco sell 3 unbranded in a pack for under a fiver.. no markings, just a red pack that says SCREEN PROTECTORS and tells you what model they are for. In fact, they are clear, 3-layer units, and really do look good quality. I got them home, got out the air blower and kitchen roll, washed my hands, cleaned the screen, blew any bits of dust away with the blower – and set to work. First of the three RUINED.  Another belt of air, a little more care starting in the middle and working outwards and… SPOT ON, my phone now has a satin finish protector and one ONE imperfection or bubble, it’s better than new in fact. At under £5 for three, who CARES if it takes 2 attempts!

The second item you see in the photo! It’s the JuiceBar! After only a short time in the sun, it is currently – as you can see, charging my phone! It doesn’t come with an iPhone connector – but then it does come with USB socket so you just plug your ordinary iPhone cable into it. It does however come with a connector with a variety of plugs AND a mini-USB in so you can charge IT in the absence of sunshine – think of it as a solar powered spare battery! It’s staying in my car window from now in for emergencies.

Excellent stuff! I’ll report back when we get some proper sun – and it’s coming with me to Spain next time! Comes complete with shirt clip so when you’re out and about you can be charging it’s batteries! Comes complete with internal 800maH battery and a large surface area to collect the sun.