For the record, I am a Mac-hater. But I have to clarify, I hate them in the same way I hate the Cooper Mini. Both are beautiful machines and the epitome of sublime engineering, but they both seem to come with an overwhelming air of…well…douchey-ness.
To clarify, the hubris of Steve Jobs and incessant need for Mac owners to remind you how their machine never crashes while you re-boot your PC for the 5th time; is what chaps my hide.
That said I’ve spent some quality time with both the iPad and the Galaxy Tablet (Android).
Here’s my review.
The iPad is an elegant, intuitive machine. When it was in my house I didn’t reach for my laptop once. It quickly flipped to landscape like an Olympic gymnast. It was so easy to use I could have updated my Facebook status, while skydiving, during a death spiral. “Adam is….going to hit a barn at terminal velocity.”
Then I went to watch a TV Show on Hulu and was reminded that it doesn’t support Flash. Seriously. Flash. Deal-breaker my friends. Not lying, had that episode of Community opened up I would have promptly swallowed my pride, then raced to the nearest consumer electronics store to purchase an iPad.
Now to the Galaxy Tablet, I was positive that Google, my saviors of the open-web, would have created a tablet OS that would run laps around the evil Mac. I expected at least equal performance levels and Flash support. After about ten minutes of unsuccessfully watching this device fail to connect to my home network – I decided to use the 3G network to go online. Once online, I went to Hulu so I could laugh maniacally while streaming video fed my appetite for SNL Digital Shorts; only to find a message that said, “apologies, this device doesn’t support Hulu.” Sigh.
I decided to check my work email over wireless access – after fumbling with the touch keyboard and trying to login, it went on stand-by and kicked me off the internet. Also, every time I clicked a link on a web page the Galaxy would ask me if I wanted to use “Browser” or “Firefox” to continue. No, Galaxy, I would like to use Angry Birds to visit this website. WTF.
Final Summary, if you absolutely have to get a tablet – get an iPad. If you want to experience all the web has to offer and you don’t mind “booting up” then get a netbook with Windows 7. Also, in case you couldn’t tell from this blog post, the Galaxy is a colossal let-down. As far as the Android OS – keep your fingers crossed that 3.0 works as well as…ahem…a Mac.
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2 comments:
Samsung rushed the Galaxy Tab to market because they wanted to get into the tablet space ahead of a host of competitors. In 2011 you will see a steady stream of tablets hitting the market from Dell, Motorola, BlackBerry, etc.
Unfortunately for Samsung, the rush to market caused them to miss out on Google's release of a new version of Android that is designed specifically for tablets. The new Android OS for tablets is code-named Honeycomb (aka Android 3.0).
As a result, Samsung took a version of Android which was designed for smartphones (Android 2.2) and forced it onto the Galaxy Tab. This explains some of the Galaxy Tab's clumsiness.
Bottom line, if you're interested in tablets you will have plenty of new devices hitting the market throughout 2011.
Cheers,
SS
It's true that there was a rush. I think the consumer that shows a little patience is going to be the winner. That being said, Adam is right - we just want the thing to work! And when it doesn't do - what we want it to do - then it is disappointing.
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