iPad, Archos 101, and Samsung Galaxy Tab... questions.

[Ravynmagi]

I was going to get an Archos 101. I liked the 10 inch size, seemed ideal for web surfing, reading documents, watching videos, etc.

But then I got spooked about the quality of the display and it's poor viewing angles. So got an iPad instead (didn't think a 7 inch Galaxy Tab would be large enough for me).

I've had the iPad for 2 days and I'm not very happy with it. The hardware is pretty nice. I love the screen to death, it's awesome. But it's pretty heavy too.

However my problem with the iPad is almost all software related.

* Don't like having to use iTunes to copy files.
If I want to copy any pictures, movies, books, etc to the iPad, I have to sync it with iTunes. I can't just plug it into a USB port and drag/drop where I want.

Also iTunes makes me run a backup everytime I sync and this seems buggy because it takes ages everytime. I found a third party program that lets me disable the backup.

* No content sharing between apps.
I found some of the default apps on the iPad aren't very good. The movie player doesn't play most movies. The photo viewer has no option to sort images alphabetically. The book reader doesn't read most of my books. So I've had to dig around and find other apps for the job.

What I found odd though, is if I copy sync file in the movie folder, only the default movie app will play them. VLC can't see those files. So if I sync the video files with VNC, then the default movie app can't see them. And sadly VNC doesn't play some movie files that great either.

Same with pics and books. It seems like I can only sync content up with a particular app and no other apps can access it. This seems really weird.


Now I'm taking a second look at the Archos 101 and the Samsung Galaxy tab. I've never had an Android device and the iPad was my first iOS device. So I'm not entirely sure what to expect.

* First question for Android is, can I drag content onto my Android device's storage/SD and have it usable by any application? Or does Android have similar behavior where media has to be in a specific location for that specific application to see it?

* Second question for Archos 101 or 70 owners. I want to hear more impressions on the screen quality please. Thank you.

[pascanu]

I'm sorry you don't like your iPad. Welcome back

To answer your first question: yes. Android has a "normal" file structure implementation, like every other decent OS you know.

[warlock257]

Android is more suited for more technical people who want full control over their device.
If you're using it for video playback, you'll probably like android too. Plays a lot more formats without conversion.

I haven't used the 101 yet, but the screen quality looks pretty good from the videos I've seen.

[Hajile_Ibushi]

I have an iPod so i had the benefit of experiencing iOS's shortcomings first hand. Since the iPad is an oversized iTouch, i already knew from that there is no freaking way i'll get one after experiencing that.

Some things that really irked me on the iPod.

- Lack of multitasking. I'd be using a networking app, switch to another app to look something up, get back to the first app and find out that i had been disconnected and it has to reconnect all over again.

- Lack of a file system. If you have three ebook readers, you have to upload the ebook three times. Same goes for comic books.

- Over dependence on a PC. It needs iTunes to transfer files, and i'm the only one among my friends and family with an iPod. Ergo, it's tied to my PC alone and no way to share files.

- A ton of codecs listed on the apple home page. But the truth is, the iPod can only play one very specific codec. Being an anime video collector, i have almost every variation of the h264, divx and mpeg codec out there. None of them are compatible with the iPod.



As for screen quality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itab_m2iAKQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYOIR11iG_4

[AllenPapapetrou]

I'm sorry you don't like your iPad. Welcome back

To answer your first question: yes. Android has a "normal" file structure implementation, like every other decent OS you know.

Well, almost a "normal" file system.

There is still some confusion between "SD Card" and what Archos has called "Internal Storage".

I have Android, iPad, and Win7 Tablets. I agree with disliking the App dependent file system and forcing to use iTunes. I do like my iPad for what it does well which is a lot.

I like my 5IT for what it does well. I don't yet have an A101, but will. I just hope that Android 2.2 resolves the slowdowns and crashes that we have in 1.6 from inadequate task management.

I'm liking my A9 more and more because of its ability to run standard Windows programs. I will purchase a tablet like the HP Slate 500 for better performance than the A9.

Allen

[indra01]

Dear all,

I'm a newbee for this gadget.
I need this kind of gadget for presentation purpose, i.e. present some presentation files (*.ppt, *.pps, *.pdf), however I'm not very sure about which gadget is the suitable one (iPad / Archos / Galaxy Tab) ?

For presenting, I am usually use projector, such as infocus.

So, anyone can help me ?

And more ....... is the application in android or ios has an 'edit' function.

Thank you for the response.

[enthalpy]

The Archos 101 has and HDMI port. What's on the screen can get sent to the HDMI port. Some, not all, projectors will accept an HDMI connection.

The iPad has an external extra cost VGA connector. All projectors that I have used take VGA video. But you have to remember to buy the VGA connector, and Apple only allows a very few applications to actually display through the VGA.