Tech Tuesday – Top 5 iPad alternatives
In an attempt to prove I am not totally biased towards Apple, here are FRC’s top 5 iPad alternatives.
I haven't got it THIS bad…
I know, I know, I am an Apple-a-holic. I have an iMac, a Macbook, 2 iPhones, 2 iPods, and an appletv. I have a problem, but they are just so shiny and pretty, plus I am very much a sucker for a good sales pitch
“ Hi, My name is Scott, and I am an Apple-a-holic”
There I am well on my way into the 12 steps. So bear with me. As part of this desaturation of technological products, I have been looking into iPad alternatives.
Although I still think the iPad is the strangest and most pointless of the apple products, I am sure I can browse just as quick by picking up my macbook as I would form picking up the iPad, I have been window shopping. Not for an over sized iphone, not for an undersized netbook, but for an alternative to an iPad.
It seems that there are some really good android alternatives. Some are a lot cheaper, some do more, but can they really be better?
Here are FRC’s Top 5….
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 – £370
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 offers a direct alternative to Apple’s iPad 2. Sporting the Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, it’s both marginally thinner and lighter than the iPad 2. This is some achievement, especially when you consider the fuss Apple made about how thin and light the iPad 2 was on launch. If you want an iPad-like tablet that’s not an iPad, this is the one. The prices are the same as the iPad 2, so it’s a straight shoot-out on features…
Sony Tablet S – From £399
As a veritable mega-giant in the consumer tech universe, Sony’s landing on Planet Tablet was always going to be interesting. Blasting off alongside the fold-in-half Tablet P, the Tablet S has a unique wedge-shaped design and top-end specs. It’s a very decent and refined tablet, and has the unique feature of having access to original PlayStation games. The only issue is that it’s not as tidy as the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Apart from that, it’s one of the best Android tablets out there.
Toshiba AT100 / Thrive – £349
There’s a predicament with the Toshiba AT100: it has a certain appeal for advanced users who’ll appreciate the slick performance, but the bulky size is a major problem. One brilliant move was to make the USB and HDMI ports full size. You can just unplug your Xbox and snap in the Toshiba AT100 when you want to watch on an HD TV. The tablet enables you to plug in a regular keyboard and mouse – this ease of adding peripherals is a win. Battery life is another bonus. Yet, the hefty size and weight (plus the passable screen quality) is the main reason we prefer other recent tablets.
HTC Flyer – £465
HTC has decided to release the tablet running on Android Gingerbread, which will upset some purists that believe these tablets should run on Honeycomb. However, the HTC Sense overlay deals with that, offering a new range of widgets and content to mask the fact it’s running older versions of the OS (although a Honeycomb update is imminent). The new tablet has a 7-inch LCD screen, and comes with an aluminium unibody shell that feels very nice in the hand.
Viewsonic Viewpad 7 – £167
The Viewsonic Viewpad 7 is exactly the same, albeit slightly more expensive than the Linx Commtiva N700 – and confusingly, Viewsonic is marketing it as a smartphone. It’s a terrible smartphone but it’s a fairly competent 7-inch Android tablet: its 600MHz processor isn’t really fast enough for Flash though, not to mention recent Android releases. There’s no Android 3.0 on board here though, so this should only be considered if you can get it for a cut-down price.
Have you got a tablet? What about an iPad? Or do you think they are pointless? Comment below…
Scott Lawlor
Hmm, did my iPad at LFF inspire this post?
HAHAH Maybe a little
no love for the ASUS Transformer?
It was on the short list, but for some reason I didn’t add it. An honourable mention maybe?
Ahah, my hubby is an Apple-holic too, matey. We don’t have Apple TV though, do you like that one?
AppleTV is actually pretty good. I won’t go into the details but it does everything I need it too, and is very FAMILY friendly.
Also in USA it streams Netflix, if you still use them
I love my little APPLETV. It is very family friendly and works very well. In USA it streams NETFLIX too, so maybe good for you Ruth!
Some good suggestions there Scott but I’ll be getting an iPad 2 in a month or so. The funny thing is I work for Dell now but I use Apple product at work, shh.
HAHAH Your secret is safe with me Ted!!!
I dunno…iPads just *look* better. One day, when I’m rich, I’ll invest in one of these things…
Oh there is no doubt the iPad is very sexy, but these are great alternatives!!
I’m not sure anything will ever persuade me to look beyond my iPad. I love it – more than I love many humans.
HAHA That is quite a statement Louise!!
Having an iPad myself I wouldn’t get another one, although I did one of those Archos tablets (which are relatively cheap) for some family, they are pretty decent and can also play movies well.
See my kids would love an iPad, but it seems expensive for themt o fight over. Maybe this Archos you speak of would be good for them
I would get the iPad, it just is the best thing that’s out in my opinion. It’s always immediately ready, reading books and magazines on it works great and there are so many cool apps out. Of course most of that is possible on other tablets too, but I think the iPad is not in the same league, not even the same sport
I like this post because the only apple I have is getting mushy from being on my kitchen counter too long.
HAHAH That is too funny BT
*gulp* That is too much spec for me to look at… I got the iPhone and fell in love with it, and I love the look of the iPad, but wouldn’t getting one be insane? Isn’t it just a bigger version of the iPhone? (And now, I’m running away from iPad users hitting me over the head with the smaller, lighter iPad2 yelling “NO, YOU IDIOT!”)
I mean like you said, Scott… oversized iPhone/undersized netbook!
I have phone and laptop, one of which I live on pretty much all day… I suppose something inbetween would be good for travel and such would be good…
Wow. I’m looking at these tablets and TOTALLY losing my train of thought now. Can you tell? If they’re like their phone counterparts, I would go for iPad or Galaxy Tab.
HEHE What a fun comment. I totally have agreed with you in days gone by about tablets, and to a large extent still do. But every time I see someone whip one out and start using one, I get jealous. But i think this is just the nerd in me….I get very jealous of TECH
Wow thtat’s a lot of APPLE!
I am an ANDROID.
I have Samsung Galaxy Tab and I love it! And I’m surprised how much I actually use it.
I get that Apple has this air of being hip, but there’s a lot of product out there that’s simply better for a)normal use b)gaming and c)reinforcing your awesomness. If you’re not an artist (music, graphic design ..) I don’t really see any reason why you should be using a Mac when there’s a lot of better products out there with better specs that are cheaper. I know this is controversial to say, and I guess it’s a matter of preference. But TBF I don’t see any legitimate reason why Apple is considered superior.
I’m interested in seeing what happens when Amazon rolls out that insanely cheap tab.