Tablets

I am starting to get particularly annoyed with Apple these days.

For starters, I have always felt that Apple produces some very good products. The first PC I got my hands on was an Apple IIe, followed by the IIc. It was not until my employer at the time decided to install IBM PCs that I was brought to use something else. At work, from then on, it has always been PCs, and even though I did lust after a Mac for the home I ended up going for PCs at home as well since at the end that was the computer I knew how to work with.

At the time, my biggest complain against Apple was always that they chose to maintain an entirely closed solution meaning that if you went Apple, then basically everything had to be Apple. There was never an alternative. They have since maintained this, but I feel with the arrival of the iPod and then the iPhone it has gone even further with things such as iTunes etc. locking you in completely with Apple.

Luckily as far as home computers are concerned there are alternatives out there, and I have been able to build some very competent setups using Windows based machines. All of these ensure that I maintain a level of freedom in what I then use on them, and I can more easily ensure the setup is like I want it, and not like Steve Jobs wants it.

When Apple came out with the iPad, I was ecstatic since I had been waiting for such a gadget for years (basically since HP came out with the tablet/laptops around 2003). Not that I wanted necessarily an Apple iPad, but my hopes were that with the arrival of the iPad many other manufacturers would produce competitive products. Initially it looked hopeful, and I was even tempted by the iPad itself.

Then I realized that the iPad was working like a big iPhone. You were completely locked in to what Apple wanted to allow you to have access to, you had use iTunes etc., and then there was the issue of flash. Unfortunately the world has gone Steve Jobs crazy, and anything he says or does seems to be gospel. A number of competitors have tried and failed to go up against the iPad, the most noteworthy being HP that have somehow managed to fail twice! First by wanting to use a Windows base for the tablet, and then by simply throwing in the towel on the Touchpad WebOS base although they were clearly on to something there. The only real contenders are the Android based ones, and Samsung has now really brought out some nice products which would actually compete very well with the Apple. The problem is Apple is now doing everything they can to fight these in the courtroom.

The first Galaxy Tab was not a bad tablet. I think the 7” size was perfect, especially if you don’t already have a smartphone. It was small enough to fit in a ladies bag, or a jacket pocket, yet provided a decent enough screen. The problems with it was that the Android was still really made for smaller phones, and the tablet itself was a bit clunky for the size. Okay, it was a first shot, and they were bound to improve on the design, a bit like Apple between the iPad 1 and 2.

So, then came the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1. Beautifully designed, with an OS also designed for the increase in size and more powerful processors. The design of the tablets themselves was very sleek, and you had the option for two different sizes. So, what has happened, well even though they are available now for several months, nobody can buy them because Apple are blocking them on the basis of a number of patent infringements.

Now Samsung just displayed their Galaxy Tab 7.7, the follow up to the initial tab from last year. This to me looks like the perfect tablet, and the one I have been waiting for. Well, Apple got them to remove it from the IFA show in Berlin again for some patent infringements.

I would love to get my hands on one of the HP Touchpads for $99, but the problem here in Switzerland is that retailers are not respecting the official HP price. Alternatively I would love to get one of the Galaxy Tab 7.7, but here it is Apple that is stopping me. I think at the end of the day, all of this might be bad for the tablet sector as a whole, and possibly could turn around and bite Apple in the ass. At least I hope so…

yeah, not a fan of mac products here...

I love my IPad. Maybe you can have one of our Canadian members get you the $99 tablet. Here in the states they are still not honoring it.