Tablet Order Cancelled

I was hoping to get a tablet for the holidays. Very exciting. Helaine Santa ordered an Asus Tranformer Prime (TF201). It was considered hands down the best hardware available.

Yes Apple fans the TF201 has better hardware than the iPad2 though Apple’s IOS 5 is currently a smoother, more intuitive operating system than the version of Android that ships in the Prime.

The point is probably moot. An hour ago I asked Helaine to cancel the order.

First, you might be wondering, why am I still waiting for this tablet on January 9th. Good question. I have no good answer.

Meanwhile as the CES opens (and with my tablet still a no show) Asus has announced the next model!

The original Transformer Prime TF201 is barely a month old, and it received solid reviews for its strong performance and sleek design. Hot on its heels is the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF700T. This model is due out in the second quarter of 2012, and will complement the existing model; pricing starts at $599 for the 32GB version, and $699 for the 64GB version.

The new model has new placement for the GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth receivers. There have been some complaints those elements under performed in the original model.

Meanwhile Acer has unveiled the Iconia Tab A700. It also looks to have beefy guts in a slender form.

I’m used to computer hardware quickly supplanted by new models, but while I’m still waiting for delivery? Please!

iPad2–Just What I Didn’t Think I Wanted

Truth is Apple took a product which is incredibly loved and by all outward appearances made it more lovable.

I traded tweets with Darren Kramer this evening. We were talking about the new iPad2, a device I find surprisingly alluring.

“I am so impressed with how that company relentlessly innovates. Go ahead, confess your love for Jobs.”

Darren is such a Steve Jobs fanboy, but he’s right!

Truth is Apple took a product which is already incredibly loved and by all outward appearances made it more lovable.

Apple has slimmed the iPad2 by a full third. At the same time it added a speedier cpu and graphics processor. On the outside are two video cameras (front and back) to facilitate video chatting and movie making. On the inside there’s Garage Band for audio and iMovie for video.

It’s got a ten hour battery! This is going to supplant laptops on airplanes, vacations and Metro North.

To paraphrase Wallis Simpson, the American-born Duchess of Windsor, a tablet computer can never be too rich in features or too thin!

I wanted a tablet which would run the Android operating system and be comparable to the original iPad in its capacity. Not anymore. The bar has been raised. Nothing outside Apple is even close.

I don’t want to like Apple products. I have it out for them. To me Apple stands for smug self righteousness. Apple is the rich kid who got into college because of his father’s influence.

On the other hand they deliver!

Where Is My Tablet?

Nothing against the iPad, but I chafe at the thought of owning another device which needs Steve Jobs’ approval for me to use as I wish.

I want a tablet computer. Please don’t ask why. I’m not sure I can explain why. Must I?

Think of it as an obsession. I’m talking to you shoe lovers!

The whole tablet genre has been around for awhile, but it wasn’t until Apple produced the iPad that anyone really cared.

Sorry Microsoft. Earlier Windows based tablets were pretty much non-starters. That’s gotta sting in Redmond!

As CNBC reported last fall:

Big news for Apple and Apple investors: The iPad is the highest-scoring product that a leading consumer satisfaction index has ever tracked.

It’s just I don’t want an iPad!

Nothing against the iPad, but I chafe at the thought of owning another device which needs Steve Jobs’ approval for me to use as I wish. That’s why I already have a love/hate relationship with my iPhone. It’s the geek in me pushing back.

After the Consumer Electronics Show I expected a boatload of new non-Apple tablets running Android, the Google produced operating system. Over 100 were introduced at the show. Few have appeared.

Motorola is unveiling it’s new Xoom tablet tomorrow. It’s too pricey.

There are tablets from Huawei and eLocity that look promising (though a friend from PCMag.com said of the Huawei, “Looks like another lousy low-end tablet to me.”).

Here’s what I’m looking for:

  • Capacitive touch screen
  • SDHC card slot
  • Front facing camera for video chatting
  • Android operating system
  • Wifi and Bluetooth. Cell connectivity not necessary
  • USB connectivity

I’d like to use a tablet computer with my camera, but at the moment there are no Android apps which recognize the RAW formats my Canon delivers. I expect that itch will soon be scratched. The same goes with apps to play poker online.

When a tablet that fills my needs comes out and costs less than $400 I’ll be ready to buy. It hasn’t happened yet. It will.

What’s taking so long?

I Want A Pad

The iPad is beautiful but it’s under Apple’s evil grasp. What you can or cannot do with an iPad depends on Steve Jobs’ mood on any given day. There’s a lot Steve and I disagree on!

I want a pad.

Uh oh.

Helaine, don’t worry it doesn’t exist yet.

The iPad is beautiful but it’s under Apple’s evil grasp. What you can or cannot do with an iPad depends on Steve Jobs’ mood on any given day. There’s a lot Steve and I disagree on! That’s OK on a phone, but a deal breaker on a pad.

I want a pad that’s an email/surfing machine I can take on the road. It also has to help with photography. The iPad does not.

I’d like to be able to view and do simple editing on my RAW photo files for emailing and the blog. There’s no need at the moment for Photoshop and other ‘heavy lifting’ tools.

I really don’t care about cell connectivity right now. WiFi will most likely be fine.

Today cheap pads have resistive screens. I’d like capacitive for multitouch (like iPhone pinching).

I’d rather not use Windows. I can’t tell you exactly why. I expect Android will be the go-to operating system for pads.

This type of pad should be out before the end of the year and under $300. At least that’s what I think.