Discussion on:

Leaderboard: The 10 hottest tablets of 2011

Which of these tablets are you most interested in?

Link to original post:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/leaderboard-the-10-hottest-tablets-of-2011/8263

As stated in the article, our biggest gripe is the lack of software... wait, that's not true. Our biggest gripe is poor signal to noise ratio in the app store. We got the Xoom on trade from a client and have been trying to make a portable tech tool out of it, but another issue is the lack of ports. It has been awesome dealing with wireless issues, but I would love to see an ethernet tablet with multiple USB ports.

Make the pad a little thicker, a little heavier, but with a full suite of wired connectivity and the ability to use PC accessories it would be much easier to make a tool out of what up to now has been a very expensive toy.

... of hard-wired ports on what is supposed to be a mobility device. Go ahead and use #10 if you want to go that way.

Because I've got a cheap Android tab and an iPad 1, and I'll tell you, moving data to and from the Coby Kyros is a dream, and doing the same on the iPad is a nightmare.

#1 reason I'm not interested in an iPad 2 - and in retrospect, I should have held off and waited for the Android tabs to arrive. The iPad is a great machine, iOS is a great platform, but the way it is locked down severely limits the practical applications for which the device can be used. It isn't that the device isn't *capable* of it - it is simply that it isn't *allowed*.

I could jailbreak the device, but having to play cat and mouse with enabling the full feature set of my device with a manufacturer who is hell-bent on keeping me from doing so isn't interesting to me.

It is a significant problem for iOS. Being able to access the file system directly to put what files I want to put *where* I want them to be should be an option.

... but it doesn't limit mine. To put a global argument on a device that will serve different people different ways is just wrong.

That's also why I question the supposed absolute need for hard-wired connections. A mobile device is intended to be used wirelessly and I have yet to come up with any need to connect my iPad to an external device (other than my cameras) when away from my desktop. It is not a problem because I don't try to use my tablet as a laptop, though it has effectively replaced my laptop even when showing keynote presentations through a projector. The requisite connectors serve their purposes without putting a lot of unnecessary holes in the perimeter of the device.

Some people use their laptops differently as well. Maybe some users(mostly tech engineers/technicians) do not do word processing much. All they need is to connect to a network and manage some server system or what not. With Android, one can connect to a wireless network and make use of Terminal commands (you can try that with Advanced System Manager) to do loads "wonders". With the right connectivity, some users can already ditch the notebooks as it's expensive and unnecessary to maintain both.

the whole point is a vendor should not purposely restrict you from expansion should you choose to do so. moblity means more than one thing to different people.

how most people want to use their tablet devices - like you use yours or like I use mine.

Here is a possible hint - the MAJORITY of people have already spoken about how they want to use their smart-phones. They prefer the less stable but less restrictive model of Android.

Android got a slow start, but eventually eclipsed iOS on smart-phones. Now Honeycomb is like early versions of Android phone OS - and the same Apple rationalists are making the same claims they did about how Android phone OS would never go anywhere.

It is unstable
It doesn't have any apps
The devices are ugly/cheap/not Apple.

History repeats.

Price.

With the majority of Android devices as low as 1/4th the price of an iPhone 4 and most others at half the price, only the price has made Android as popular as it is--something that is being proven by the doubling of Apple's iPhone service providers and the previous generation phone now priced at the Android average price of $49 which combined have visibly slowed Android sales while accelerating iPhone sales.

hear, hear!

Any port on the tablet, regardless of OS or manufacturer will help me use the tool in yet another way. I tend to troubleshoot more wired networks than wireless, hence the need for an ethernet port.

The Toshiba tablet should be on this list just for the replacable battery alone. If the Amazon tablet makes this list and we dont even have any details just rumors then you have to include the Toshiba.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is at this time the best Tablet on the market and is not listed, it should be considered instead the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

Probably the best out there and it's not even listed. Fujitsu has been doing tablets for years and years. Their convertibles are even better in my opinion as they give you the option to switch between tablet and laptop.

This subject was pursued recently and I see you are STILL not listening! Poor!

Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, great screen, great battery life, easy to hack and root. It should have been on this list, and no tablet running Windows should have been on this list.

I was lucky to get one of the gtabs from Woot a few weeks ago for $279. We rooted it and got full Android 2.2 functionality with all the bells and whistles, and full access to the Android Market and Amazon App Store. It's only WiFi, but it works great and it's a very cool toy/tool for under $300.

I don't personally have one, but the biggest major gripe with the G-tablet from Viewsonic that I have read is that the screen has very lousy viewing angles. Other than that, its my #2 pick behind the Asus Transformer as a Android tablet, considering its got the Tegra 2 and 512m of DDR2. The Transformer has a 178 degree viewable screen, with the Teg2 and 1024m of DDR3 though I believe which makes it my top pick atm! For $400, this tab is the most bang for buck you can get right now, until the Quad cores come out, when the price drops after that, I will probably drop $300 on a new one =D

Where is Motion Computing. The tablets made for serious computer users, with Win 7 Pro, 4GB RAM and 160GB HDD, camera, bluetooth, gobi card, 802.11 etc

You did not list the upcoming Sony tablet which can be closed and thus reduces its size in half - this is in my opinion one of the only real competitors to the iPad.

If the rumours about Google making a "Nexus Tablet" turn out to be true, I will take a hard look at them. If the rumours are just that, rumours, my other candidates are the Playbook and iPad2.

I'll stick to my Viewsonic G Tablet which costs a heck of a lot less than those above. The specs are better than most of them too. Yea, I had to install a new rom, how many of you can't do that in your sleep? How many of you won't make changes to anything you buy? One of the fastest and most versatile and least expensive. Also one of the most bad mouthed. Keep your big buck tablets when they come out. I'm able to play now.

I found it strange that the just released Iconia Tab dropped off the list. It has been fantastic to work with. Was inexpensive ($450) compared to the similarly spec'd Xoom. It feels smoother and faster than the Xoom. It has a full size USB host port which has already come in handy. It has a working MicroSD slot as well. I have not had any problem finding all the apps I need. All of that should still have it on the "hot" list.

I've had mine for 2 weeks now and did a lot of research before making the decision to get it. This great tablet is flying under the radar right now but should be getting more press.
Why include the HP tablet, which isn't even out yet, and not include one as good as this?

What no mention of this ground breaking device that truly crushes the iPad ands other tablets under it amazing specs

http://www.notionink.com/techspecs.php

Shame on you!!

The ADAM appears to be an impressive device, but the support and manufacturing are in question. I have read a lot about this device and on paper it's great, but the implementation has lots of problems.

Bill

Seriously...an unreleased HP tablet that is a huge question mark at number 2...and a rumored, unknown tablet at Number 3??? You trash the XOOM for lacking in APPS (which I don't get the gripe?) but you don't know what's going to be available for the TouchPad and that's OK. A little consistency please...

When I read the Xoom review I had to go back to the top to double check the date. Really? This is May and a Tech Republic writer is still saying that a drawback is the price? Someone needs to do some homework as the 32G Wifi Xoom is the exact same price as the 32G iPad2 with significantly better hardware specs. Like double the RAM. And in May 2011, what good is a web browser that doesn't support Flash? (I detest flash, but it is a requirement on the web today)

I wanted an iPad 2 but bought a Xoom because it was just too painful to try to get an iPad 2 in March. The argument about apps is weak as well, as there is not a single app that I need and don't have. Unless Garage Band is a requirement for you, Android already has what you need and more apps are added every day.

The initial drop of the PlayBook was ready for BlackBerry owners but had some shortcomings for owners of other smarphones. Those will all be addressed through biweekly software updates... the device itself is darn near perfect.

Here's some reasons why:
1) It fits in your pocket/purse so you take it with you. Most iPads/Xooms are home by the TV a month after they were bought as the just don't get dragged along on a daily basis. Add to that some reasons below, and most people STILL take a laptop with them. Isn't portability/mobility the most important use case for a tablet???
2) It runs the real web, not some mobile subset. This thing is more HTML compatible than most desktop browsers. It runs flash and renders the pages as if you were at a computer. I can get a mobile subset from my smartphone. If I'm spending 499-699 on a tablet, I want it to give me the full web experience.
3) It allows me to create/edit Microsoft Office documents (Word, Powerpoint and Excel). I can display them on a full 1080p projector/monitor/TV while continuing to use my PlayBook for looking at the speakers notes, sending emails, looking things ip on the web, etc. With forthcoming DLNA support, I'll be able to hook up to these HD devices WIRELESSLY. Imagine... wandering around the stage with my playbook, advancing slides, showing full 1080p videos... no cords.
4) Full HD cameras front and back for astounding video conferencing. The 5M Camera on the back takes astonishingly good videos and the 3M on on the front already shows every blemish on my face! The stereo sound is fantastic too. I use this with my wfie to video chat when I'm on the road - both in bed, no reason to go down to the computer.
5) Sharing data/files. It has USB support. Full USB OTG (on the go) is coming but better than that, this thing shows up on my network as a NW drive WIRELESSLY. I can drag/drop files to it, setup automatic syncronization, or play files from it with my PS3, Wii or X-Box 360. I can sync to iTunes wirelessly as well. But I don't NEED iTunes for anything.

A Tablet is meant to be a portable device that gives you productive access to all your data/media and internet content. I don't want to have to bring along my Laptop to do real productive work... I expect my tablet to be used for work and play.. The PlayBook is the only tablet so far that can do this. And don't get me started on the iPad's security issues. If I can't use a tablet to connect to my corporate intranet/applications, then its useless to me.

Well Said

I live in South Africa, so the Playbook is not hear yet

Looks like you may be wrong on that. The PayBook is not selling that well in the US. In Vancouver there flying off the shelf , lots of BB users in my area.

I have been using one for a few months and like everything about it so far. One small exception is the Win7 OS uses pretty small targets for touch control of normal apps. This compounded with a ever so slight offset in screen calibration took some adjustment to accomodate.
This is really a netbook with full up Win7 and a touch screen that flips to face outside when closed over the keyboard. The $550 price is a good value over many other netbooks offering a crippled Win7 OS. The flip mode touchscreen just makes this value even better.

I have been looking for something to replace my Motion LS800 and since there's some software I don't want to give up, I've been focusing on Windows tablets rather than Android. Samsung is the only representative on this list. On paper the HP Slate 500 looks good but it's not making anyone's top-10 lists either. So does it look like Windows tablets are a dying breed?

Richard,
Fujitsu has been doing Windows tablets for many years and will continue. Check out Fujitsu's Q550 at
http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=Q550.

Eee Slate is a 12.1" multi-touch screen with an Intel Core i-5 running full Windows 7 OS. They have a couple of different models around $1,000. It's been out for a couple of months, but seems to be perpetually on back order now.

And I love it! Dispite the short battery life. But then I only turn it on when I use it. The short boot time is amazing. I also have an HP 500 (the school I work for bought it for me). The EP121 bootups from dead cold to UI almost a 20 seconds befor the HP 500. I even turned on the HP 500 before I turned on the EP121.

I hope ASUS follows up the ep121 with a seciond and third generation.

The I-pad is a big I-phone that doesn't make calls. It took a year to add a camera. What's the big deal. The Motorola XOOM is a PC replacement, not a toy.

This list may be helpful to those considering one of these tablets in the list, but I just picked up an eLocity A7 tablet, and it's got to be the best under $300 android tablet on the market right now! It's got the dual core 1ghz arm processor combined with a stable yet recent Android 2.2 and is slated (no pun intended) to get an upgrade to Android 3.0! This tablet cannot be beat for the price.

Creative Labs have 2 nice tablets (7" and 10") and a mp3/mp4 player based on Android, that is very interesting, and they are not on this list. Why?

Are you insane ? The HP has not released and it got the 2nd spot. Take a look at the poll results. I think that is a reasonably good indicator.

I could forgive including 1 nonexistent tablet to reach a round number, but to give the #2 spot to a prototype and #3 to a rumor is ridiculous.