Am I alone here?

[Droiderisuser]

Sorry for the vague post tittle. I'm new to this form and I think there is a lot of good information here. Here is my issue. I have been an android fan for awhile now, I use the droid eris and love it. I'm in the market for a tablet and right now today the Galaxy tab seems to be the way to go for the price. The price however leads me to my issue, i am an IPad owner now, in fact I'm typing on it right now. When I go to best buy and play with the Tab for an hour or so I just don't get the same quality user experience I do on the IPad. I'm not an apple fan, this is the only apple product I own. However if I'm going to spend $499.99 on a smaller tablet I would like it to function at least as good as the iPad which also cost $499.99. So "am I alone here" has anyone else gone from the iPad to the tab and been happy about the transition? I really don't want to wait for and pay for the xoom or the LG.

 

[robertc88]

Well I played with both at Best Buy for quite awhile. I totally understand where you are coming from between the two regarding functionality for the price but I went with the SGT instead. When it dropped to $499 is when I pulled the trigger so we are talking the same cost. BUT 3G is there if I want it, nada on the IPAD for $499. I also wanted the andriod market and the IPAD doesn't have flash. Another factor with the IPAD was that 10" wasn't portable enough and it wasn't comfortable for me to manage in my hands as much as I would like.

 

[xaueious]

There is a dedicated Samsung Galaxy Tab forum. We do try to direct people to whatever help they need and try to cover a wide range of devices.

 

[Vichon]

My wife, brother and son have iPads (all 3g, in various ram levels). I agree that the iPad is a very smooth user experience. However, it is somthing like the comparison of the Mac vs Windows - (*no flame wars please*) the Mac is a more refined, smooth experience - with carefully imposed boundaries and limits. Apple maintains the experience by being very rigid on the apps, interfaces and the content - if you can live with that, it's best. My Wife, et.al., love them!

For me, I prefer to have a more customized *me* experience. I found the iPad (I used it daily for two months) became very boring! I like the learning curve, experiencing new things, new tools, etc. I also don't like a tool where things happen hidden from my view or control - if I want to see them, that is. I switched to an iPhone from a windows phone and immediately found I couldn't get the cleaver tools I was used to having on it - no tethering hack, no rapid text substitute, not customized desktop, etc. To this day, while I like the iPhone, it is still very boring to me.

So, you need to decide - what are you looking for in a device? Jobs is fairly certain that the smaller form factor is out, so if you want a 7" ish tablet, waiting for a smaller iPad is not likely to be a short wait. If you are waiting for a smooth controlled experience,then likely the Droid market will not give you what you are looking for, unless you happen to stumble onto a custom ROM or a device with the "just right" interface. The advantage of Droid is the energy and free thinking of the developers - giving widely varying experiences, some a bit rough. Only you can decide.

Cheers!

 

[Droiderisuser]

Thanks for the replies. I agree 100 percent with the iPad being boring. The user experience is not the best by far. I'm all about the custom android. What I'm concerned about is being annoyed by a lag on Internet browsing and the pinch to zoom being less responsive, silly things like that ruining my experience. If those of you who have used both the iPad and the tab don't have those issues I'm sure all be okay. I really just want to get rid of the iPad but I want to feel like I'm not taking a huge step back for the same money. I have a feeling when the LG comes out if it's not as expensive as the xoom I'll be getting that for me and giving the Tab to my wife. I'm also hoping that honeycomb will be coming to the Tab.

 

[newnick]

I bought SGT 80% for it's true portability (size and micro SD slot), 10% for it's upgradability to Honeycomb and 10% for the possibility of customization when I really want. Other than that, I know that it's not as smooth as ipad (huge gap here) and the screen is not as standput (another big gap here). But for those simple tasks I do for now, my STG delivers a decent experience. With that said, I am still very interested in IPAD. If it will offer a 7 inch version and micro SD slot, I sure will buy one.