Okay, I agree maybe I should not be that violent about it, but Apple fanboys masquerading as independent reviewers piss me off no end. Recently, I read Engadget's review of Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. the iPad and I was appalled at the senseless way they take sides with the Apple's shitty foray into the tablet market!
I knew about both the products and bought the Galaxy Tab after comparing the features and advantages in my lifestyle. (Add that to the fact that I wouldn't be caught dead in a ditch with an iPad and it doesn't sound very objective, but I did a lot of research and tried hard to find a better alternative to the Galaxy, but I didn't.)
One thing they keep harping on is the size, yes the SamTab is almost half the size of the iPad but I don't like the way they portray it to be a bad thing. Size, in both devices, is both a pro and a con depending on your persepective. A 7" screen SamTab can be put in the pocket, yes, in a normal size, trouser front pocket or jeans backpocket. I have done and I can walk without feeling it digging into my thigh. The jacket pocket is even easier, I can even put it in the jacket pocket with the thick protective case on.
But then, a 9.7" screen display would be better than a smaller 7" screen display. Although in that case, not by much. The SamTab has a resolution of 1024x600 whereas the iPad sports only a resolution of 1024x768 for a screen that's about double in size. So it's not just about size, it's about quality as well.
The big issues with the iPad like it's a dumb device that can't make phone calls even though it uses a 3G sim card they gloss over it or actually try to be funny saying who would want to use a huge 7" phonep pressed to their ear. What these idiots don't know or don't tell is that you can't make a call like that, you use either the speakphone or a bluetooth handsfree. I have used both with the SamTab and the experience is fantastic!
I keep 2 lines, one of them is my primary while the other one I use sparingly. If I wanted to I could put my primary SIM card in the SamTab and take it out, leaving my phone home. iPad owners can't do that.
Let's talk about the cameras, oh, sorry, what cameras? iPad doesn't have any! The reviewing idiots try to make you think that it's stupid to have a camera on device this big. Maybe so, but think about this, you are in the train, reading an ebook on the SamTab, you suddenly look out the window and see a beautiful building that just takes your breath away! What do you do? You lift up the SamTab, press two keys, point and click!, you have a shot!
If you were reading on the iPad however...you would still be fumbling for your iPhone while the train moves on...
And what about video calling? I am sure the iCrap owners would say, “We don’t need it!” Yes, you need only the things Apple says you need, like Flash, you don’t need Flash!
Don't even get me started about the apps. Apple keeps boasting about its huge AppStore. The fact of the matter is that Android market is touching about 100,000 now and any app that you could get on the iCrap platform, you could get on the Android. What's more Android owners can install apps from anywhere be it Android Market, Samsung Market or the world wide internet. If you were so inclined you could program your own Android App. Apple crap owners can only walk into the Apple AppStore like sheep and pay good money for the same kind of apps available for free on the Android.
But there are two apps that make me throw out a challenge to any iLovers out there to get them on Apple any time in 2011 or the near future. One of them is Locale, the other one is Tasker. They both do the same kind of thing with Tasker being cheaper (about £3) and more configurable. What do they do? Let me give you an example.
If the day is Monday to Friday and the time between 8 am and 5 PM, when your trains reaches within 1000 yards of the Charing Cross station, the phone (or your Android device) speaks, in clear words, in your ear (through headphones if you are listening to music on your way to work), "Your station is approaching. Get ready to disembark!"
You can create that level of detailed, fully configurable condition-based actions in Tasker. I know this fascinates you so, a couple more examples that I use personally.
If I am at home (it knows by time), and I plug in the charger, when the battery gets full, the phone says, "The battery is full."
When I get home, (it knows by seeing that my home wifi is in range), it reminds me of things I needed to do after I got home. It reads out a note, so I can continue to change while listening to it.
When my cousin calls, it brings up a dialog box containing items I needed to discuss with him. Of course, I created the note in advance and kept adding to it as I remembered more topics, but it's triggered only when he calls.
The possibilities are endless. Apple crap owners can never have that because Apple would never open its iOS platform to developers to that level.
On Android, both the developers and users get a free, open, uncensored environment to experiment and play around in. Google encourages people to experient, they don’t even mind that people root their phone. Apple's Walled Garden is just that, a restricted area for the iSheep to gather in.
The one thing Apple does best is to create a design, (no it doesn't have to be a good design) and spend unthinkable amounts of money to make it popular by marketing until it starts to look "Oh so sexy!" to its victims!
The one thing SamTab cannot do is have a 10" screen. The things iPad can't do can fill a whole blog not just a blog post.
Oh, another thing is battery life, iPad is supposed to have 10 hours of battery life whereas SamTab has only 7 hours. I don’t know if iPad lives up to its claim but SamTab does. Objectively speaking, 10 hours battery life would be good to have, but even 7 is quite good for me. In everyday use I use it for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening on the train. I can think of some other situations where I would use it for about 3 hours or so, but 7 is quite nice and reassuring to have.
Even when I fly to India, my flight is about 8.5 hours long, with settling in process and the other general stuff, I don’t even get to use a device (in the past my Android phones or PSP) for 7 hours in the whole flight. But judging from the performance so far, it should be able to do more than 7 hours on one charge. I take it off charger in the morning when I leave for work, and use it continuously on the train for slightly over an hour. By the time I get to office, it uses about 12-14% or charge with the screen being always on.
I have been writing the dirty i-words a lot in this post, excuse me while I go wash my hands!
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