Friday, August 31, 2012

Tablets

So I'm a huge fan of high end electronics and a huge enemy to apple technology. When talking to a friend of mine who was going out to purchase a new tablet I realized a lot of people go with Apple because they aren't sure of what other products out there are good to use. Personally I assume everybody on this blog normally plays on their phone. But for anybody in the market for a device hopefully this helps move you away from apple technology. I'm going to review three different products, the Asus Transformer, Sony Tablet S, and Samsung Galaxy 2. I choose these three because after working in the electronics market for a long time they are really my favorites and the ones I see being around the longest time.

ASUS Transformer:

ASUS may have the worst marketing department in the industry with one of the best products out there. Plain and simple, ASUS is making some of the best electronics on the market. They have been making internal electronics for years and build majority of their product from the ground up. They have the lowest defect rates in the industry at times beating Apple. What? Beat Apple? Yes. Yet many people still think of them as an off brand. The ASUS Transformer Tablet is in a position to change the way people look at the company beating out many competitive products and getting rave reviews from users.

Video: NVIDIA® Tegra® 3. Translation: This thing is fast. It's been built with speed as the priority and energy efficiency as the second most important aspect and does a good job not draining the battery.

Inputs/Outputs: Micro HDMI, Micro SD card, Two in one audio jack for headphones. Translation: If you want you can hook this up to your TV with an adapter HDMI and stream music/movies. You can load up and save pictures using your Micro SD. You can of course hook up a nice set of headphones, I recommend Beats Pro High Performance Professional Headphones.

Battery Life:  10 Hours. 15 Hours with the dock attached.

COOL FEATURE: The ASUS Transformer's coolest feature unfortunately doesn't come with it but shows itself as a $150 attachement. This feature is a keyboard dock that gives additional inputs to plug into and additional battery life extending it out up to 15 hours. My other favorite feature is of course the overwhelming power this one brings to the market.

Because of the awesome power this product brings to the table and the ability to dock into a working QWERTY keyboard it is by far my favorite product.



The price on this guy is a really reasonable $399 especially considering the new higher priced models are on the way.

Sony Tablet S:

The first thing anybody will notice about the Sony Tablet S is that it doesn't look like a normal Tablet. The curvature to this Tablet is one of my favorite features. It is one of the most comfortable Tablets to hold and almost feels like a game controller. But I guess we shouldn't be shocked to hear that Sony thought of that.

Video: NVIDIA® Tegra® 2. Translation: A little slower than his big brother the Tegra two still brings a respectable amount of speed to the product. 

Inputs/Outputs: Micro USB and Headphone. Translation: Can connect to your computer or a headset.

Battery Life: 8 Hours.

COOL FEATURE: Besides the most comfortable design I've ever felt on a tablet the Sony Tablet S offers something I wish every tablet had, an IR blaster. This little feature allows your tablet to be configured into a universal remote control. A good universal remote control with display pushes upwards of $500 dollars. Having this feature alone would push Sony Tablet S into the top spot if I weren't such a power junkie. The comfort and affordability.



This guy right here is a really affordable $349-399.

Samsung Galaxy 2:


The Samsung Galaxy 2 is probably the most Ipad-like out of the three. The design is thin, sleek, and lightweight. The Samsung Galaxy 2 is made in both a 10.1" and a 7" model. Samsung really jumps on board with the universal remote control features trying to make it an entire entertainment hub in the household. It uses a TouchWIZ interface in conjunction with Android 4.0 to make they system smoother and easier to use. Having a 7" Model is really nice because it helps Samsung take the jump to household hub.

Video: Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 Processor. Translation: Texas Instruments has been around for a long time. It's a 1Ghz Dual Core Processor so it isn't slow by any means but as a geek I really wish I saw a Tegra name in there.

Inputs/Outputs: USB, Micro SD, and Headphone. Translation: Can connect to your computer, headset, and picture storage.

Battery Life: 8 Hours.

COOL FEATURE: Coming in a seven inch sizing is probably my favorite feature of this tablet. Smaller sizing makes it more reasonably a replacement for the remote control as well as a tablet. Samsung really hits it on the nose with giving a tablet usefulness outside of playing games. Besides being a media hub it has a smoking price.




5 comments:

  1. Just wondering, what are your thoughts on the Nexus 7?

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    1. I've played with the nexus 7 and I actually really like it. It uses the sexy Tegra 3 processor which I love. By the way if you'll notice who built it (ASUS) of course I'm a fan. It also has a head start on anything Google releases.

      The downside to this tablet is first and for most it's a 7" Tablet and really the entire design is based around being a "gaming" tablet. My issue with this is that once you base your functions around gaming you lose versatility. Seven inches is too small to be used for work/school and without an IR blaster it loses home functionality.

      In the end, the only reason the Samsung Galaxy made it into my top three and the Nexus didn't is because all the extra speed the tegra 3 brings to the table along with the google love it receives all the time, doesn't make up for losing the universal remote function and the 10" size. Both things are just such a huge built in value.

      Touchscreen universal remotes are around 400-800 dollars. You get one built in with the Galaxy or Sony. The ASUS brings the most power to the table and it's 10" so you can actually do work on it as well as games.

      Nexus 7 would be bumping out the Samsung Galaxy if it weren't for the universal remote function, and honestly, if they made a 10" model would have me bumping Sony down to number three.


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  2. Seems to me, (and yes, I am someone who should know, ) that if the Asus had an IR blaster, it would be about as good as a tablet can be right now. I completely agree that they are likely the MOST UNDERRATED tech company in the US. Their Products are simply strong and super reliable.
    In Short, your recommendations are completely accurate, and your reasons. .. Not Only completely valid, but perfectly in line with general consumer trends! Thanx!

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  3. I love how apple is bashed for tablets. Sad fact is the game does not run properly and not fitted for tablets on androids. It looks plain ugly. On the iPad they have a tablet formatted version which plays like butter, graphics are much better and never once crashed on me! Lol

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    1. I managed an electronics store for a long time. I've been able to see electronics as they come out and talk directly to manufacturers who build their products.

      Personally I bash all of apples products. Investing an equal amount of money into any laptop or desktop will wield a much greater machine.

      Yes, Apple does a great job on the display. It's actually worse than the Samsung Galaxies but better than the Asus and Sony by about 2%. Worth the couple hundred extra I'm sure.

      Generally if I want product reviews I go to hardcore gamers and engineers. Turns out none of them like Apple. But I'm sure these peoples who's lives revolve around computers just don't understand why apple is better.

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