*** Official iPad 2 Launch Thread and other things announced on 3/2/11 ***

[theeedude]

iMovie is much more powerful than Youtube free online editor. Plus it can export to more than just Youtube.

iPad has Skyfire or Cloud Browse, both of which can view Flash contents just fine. Skyfire uses a pass-through server to render Flash videos so it doesn't work with every site, though it works with most regular websites. Cloud Browse uses a more advanced remote-desktop solution to allow you to control a computer remotely, which has an ultra-fast internet connection for less disruption while viewing.

Last but not least, most popular video hosting services now have a version of their player for the iPad that doesn't need Flash. Youtube is out of the question, but Vimeo, DailyMotion and etc... do have a service that allows direct viewing of their video contents on the iPad.

Beyond that, iPad has Netflix, Hulu, and specialized movie streaming services apps that cater to international TV streaming (live), ESPN3, and etc... which the XOOM doesn't have.

I use Flash on my computer often. Have yet to edit a single video. Also, I use the web browser as my go to app. I don't want to download 20 different apps to do things that can and is done in the browser just fine. Flash gets this done, you got to a website, it runs inside the browser, you leave, and it's gone. No need to go to app-store and install it, no need to jump between apps, it just works.

 

[Ns1]

I use Flash on my computer often. Have yet to edit a single video. Also, I use the web browser as my go to app. I don't want to download 20 different apps to do things that can and is done in the browser just fine. Flash gets this done, you got to a website, it runs inside the browser, you leave, and it's gone. No need to go to app-store and install it, no need to jump between apps, it just works.

okay, then iOS is not for you.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I use Flash on my computer often. Have yet to edit a single video. Also, I use the web browser as my go to app. I don't want to download 20 different apps to do things that can and is done in the browser just fine. Flash gets this done, you got to a website, it runs inside the browser, you leave, and it's gone. No need to go to app-store and install it, no need to jump between apps, it just works.

Then honestly, if Flash on the XOOM runs anything like Flash on my Samsung Captivate, I dare say you are better off sticking to your computer, and keep switching tabs on your browser.

 

[zerocool84]

Then honestly, if Flash on the XOOM runs anything like Flash on my Samsung Captivate, I dare say you are better off sticking to your computer, and keep switching tabs on your browser.

I don't care about flash for watching flash videos, I care about Flash for those thousands of Flash only sites that still exist. Sure you may not need to visit those sites but if you need to, it's great being given the option to be able to see it. I know many restaurant websites that are done in only Flash and if you want to see the menu, you're SOL.

 

[NaOH]

YouTube has a beta HTML5 site that works on both android and iphone RIGHT NOW (and so do some famous XXX sites that take on a similiar name). And there are more and more HTML5 content appearing on the web everyday. I'm not too worried about not having apps in the future. As of right now, MOST mobile devices (and some computers for that matter) can't run flash flawlessly anyways.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I don't care about flash for watching flash videos, I care about Flash for those thousands of Flash only sites that still exist. Sure you may not need to visit those sites but if you need to, it's great being given the option to be able to see it. I know many restaurant websites that are done in only Flash and if you want to see the menu, you're SOL.

Use Cloud Browse if you need that. It's one in a million.

I even use screen sharing to connect back to my Mac for that if I have to. Sure, having Flash directly on the iPad is nice, but honestly, I don't think I want to see how it works now after having it on my phone. It's traumatizing.

I still need it to show off my Flash works to clients, but that's being fazed out in favor of static contents with dynamic controls and CSS3 elements instead. Which, if I might add, isn't supported on XOOM right now last I got to play with it at Best Buy. That thing needs a software update. Pronto...

 

[Aikouka]

and what tablets don't just work? The Xoom is the only tablet recently released that has been buggy. You always hear Apple fans say this about all Apple products but I don't understand because if you say consumers want something that "just works" then why are not all Apple products not #1?

I can't really disagree with you there. The number one thing that disappoints me about hardware in regard to computing is when you spend good money (we usually attribute price to quality) and you find that it just doesn't work well.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I don't care about flash for watching flash videos, I care about Flash for those thousands of Flash only sites that still exist. Sure you may not need to visit those sites but if you need to, it's great being given the option to be able to see it. I know many restaurant websites that are done in only Flash and if you want to see the menu, you're SOL.

I really don'tknow about. I can only name a handful of sites that do flash only. Yes I'm a foodie too and I've done a bunch of the San Francisco 7x7 100 things to try list that pretty much every foodie in the Bay Area knows. I've booked plenty of those reservations there on my Android phone which ran 2.1 until the past few months... meaning I did NOT have Flash player.

Totally overrated. If anything 95% of all menus are in PDF.

I think any decent web developer knows NOT to code in flash all the way now. It's not just because of the iPhone. It's freaking annoying. I've browsed so many websites on my Android phone I'd rather not have Flash on.

You're absolutely right about choice though. It's nice to have. Just like it's nice to have the choice to jump off a cliff. But to make it a big issue if its not a choice? Come on. It's not like you were gonna do it anyway. It's not like Flash is really vital anyway.

 

[akugami]

If "you still don't get it" sounds condescending, which I honestly don't think it does, then I apologize, but I am not trying to be superior. I am trying to explain to you how something works, which you are assuming it doesn't.

Yes. It is. Coupled with the "you need to do more research" which makes you sound like you're a stuck up snobby know it all. I once mentioned in a different thread about how Stanza was owned by Amazon. The person who responded to me disputed this. I could have said something using similar terminology to what you used. Instead, I just said that the person might have missed it and there was a news blurb right on Lexcycle's (Stanza's developer) web site.

When an app goes from the foreground state to background, of course... it can directly influence the amount of memory free since it was the last application to have priority over memory usage. The next factor is how much memory the app that is being switched to the foreground will ask for. So if the background app freed up enough memory for the next app to launch without asking for more, the request will be granted. Unless you are trying to edit a photo while running a 3D game, it's not likely that a low memory condition will occur and block the task completion request. This will only get better as iOS gets more memory to play with.

Next is... none of the current apps on either iOS or Honeycomb will feature such "heavy" tasks as you have noted. There is no 3D modeling app for Honeycomb. There is no photo editing app for Honeycomb. There is no movie editing app for Honeycomb. There is no music studio app for Honeycomb. There is just... nothing that will do tasks heavier than downloading/uploading stuffs or applying image filters on these devices. It's just not happening.

So right now, and I mean... no theory, no speculation, no projection, just fact, and fact is... iOS multitasking does things just about on par with Honeycomb, and there are more things you can do on iOS than on Honeycomb. Add iMovie and GarageBand to the mix and it's easy to see how much more iPad 2 can do than the XOOM, multitasking or not.

Lack of software stability is not the issue with the XOOM. It just simply... lacks everything related to software. If you want to go into productivity, then there are more apps that can do a lot more on iOS than on Honeycomb, even if you can't have them run automated tasks in the background. A pretty interface, widgets, and convenient multitasking don't help much when there is nothing else that can help you do your tasks on the device.

I like my iPhone as much as the next guy and I do think that iOS is a more than adequate consumer smart phone OS but you're in denial if you think iOS is as good as Honeycomb in multitasking. The fact is even when your app requests a Task Completion iOS does not have to let the app complete the task. That is a fact. On Honeycomb, as long as you've got the RAM and the processing power available, you can multitask to your hearts content.

Another issue is how you're dismissing Xoom out of hand. Look, I have no intention of getting a Xoom but anyone who is impartial can see the potential in the Honeycomb interface. Not necessarily the Xoom device itself. Is Honeycomb having some growing pains? Yeah, judging by the crashes on the Xoom it does. There is, IMHO, nothing iOS does that can't be done on Android.

I think you're confusing "not available" and "not able" in this case. It's mainly a question of whether developers want to devote the resources into making the appropriate apps for Android. If a development house wanted to, they could put out an iMovie competitor on Android. The question is would they be a viable business move for them? There are apps I use on my iPhone that are simply not available on Android. It's why I chose iOS. But that doesn't mean I can't see the pros and cons of each platform. In this case, Honeycomb/Android is the better multitasker.

What it boils down to is that you outlined a heavy usage scenario. Exactly the scenario where iOS's multitasking would be most likely to falter. Your opinion was that iOS would be more than adequate. That isn't fact but opinion. My opinion is that iOS's multitasking is ok for smaller task but not up to anything demanding. I pointed out why. You can agree or disagree but nothing you've pointed to is conclusive enough to change my mind. And I happen to own an older iPhone and two iPhone 4's and my brother has an iPad 1. I've actually been accused more than once of being biased in favor of Apple's devices.


Incidentally, for those who care, with the RIM Playbook able to run Android apps out of the box it looks like the better platform over a straight up Honeycomb tablet.

And for those comparing the hardware between the Xoom and iPad 2. It seems that it is indeed 512MB of RAM. At least that's what the reports are. It also seems that the iPad 2's cameras are lacking. Nowhere near the excellent cameras on the iPhone 4.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Yes. It is. Coupled with the "you need to do more research" which makes you sound like you're a stuck up snobby know it all.

Please read back all of my posts and point out to me where I said "you needed to do more research". I don't recall having written anything as such in my replies to you, and I couldn't find it anywhere. The closest I've found was that I wrote "please do more reading" but that is in no way anything like "you need to do more research". Are you sure you are reading the right responses?

It's one thing that you feel offended by my response, but when you are poking in words that I didn't write, it's getting to a different level altogether.

Also, I don't think telling people which device you have or what you are familiar with has anything to do with this discussion. It only matters whether or not you can dig up enough knowledge about something to respond. It doesn't really matter what your bias is.

But getting back on topic, I'm not even looking at it as "able" and "not available". I am looking at it from this angle: "is it something I can do right now?"

The problem with the XOOM, and Honeycomb, or Android as a whole is... you just don't have certain things. Developer commitment or financial reasons aside, there is just nothing that can do the tasks I mentioned. Out of the box, the big fact is: iPad 2 can do more than XOOM. A lot more.

And if you consider potential, iOS 5 will be showcased in WWDC in June this year. It'll bring about changes, and it's fair to expect Apple will do something about multitasking to take advantage of the dual-core chip. So that means iOS has the potential to catch up to XOOM's more capable multitasking system. But hey, why bring that up?

And if you ask me why I keep bringing up the XOOM, that's because it's the only official Honeycomb representative on the market. I might well have brought up the Nook Color or the Galaxy Tab if I was just trying to jab at Android.

Incidentally, for those who care, with the RIM Playbook able to run Android apps out of the box it looks like the better platform over a straight up Honeycomb tablet.

That is still up for discussion and there is no concrete decision yet. Also considering Android's VM is still struggling in court, it's not likely that that will be a feature any time soon. Or at least not until RIM announces it.

 

[akugami]

Please read back all of my posts and point out to me where I said "you needed to do more research". I don't recall having written anything as such in my replies to you, and I couldn't find it anywhere. The closest I've found was that I wrote "please do more reading" but that is in no way anything like "you need to do more research". Are you sure you are reading the right responses?

It's one thing that you feel offended by my response, but when you are poking in words that I didn't write, it's getting to a different level altogether.

I once mentioned something I thought everyone who was familiar with ebook apps on iOS would know to someone in a thread. It was that Stanza (my favorite ebook app) is owned by Amazon. A reader disputed this and said that Stanza was owned and developed by Lexcycle. Which was true. Except that a few months prior to that discussion Amazon had purchased Lexcycle. I merely pointed out that the other person might have missed it in the news blurbs and pointed out a post by Lexcycle on their own web site which mentioned that they had been bought out by Amazon. Contrast this with what you did by using words like "In case you're too lazy to check it out" or "Please do some reading, or learn more English if that's too hard to understand." And these are direct quotes of yours that I'm posting. I'm not going to dig through every single wording in your post but sprinkling in comments like those gives your message a condescending tone.

Also, I don't think telling people which device you have or what you are familiar with has anything to do with this discussion. It only matters whether or not you can dig up enough knowledge about something to respond. It doesn't really matter what your bias is.

Funny you should mention digging up information. You refuse to acknowledge the evidence I've presented showing that you were in fact incorrect. My statement that iOS for tablets is not a good enough multitasking OS. That's not to say it's not adequate, it just means Honeycomb by nature is currently the more flexible and powerful OS. Considering that you champion iOS's multitasking when I've shown that it i unreliable. The OS decides whether your app gets to continue or not. Not you. Not the app developer. The OS. I've pointed out this fact in at least two posts but you refuse to acknowledge it.

But getting back on topic, I'm not even looking at it as "able" and "not available". I am looking at it from this angle: "is it something I can do right now?"

And yet your implication was that Android somehow couldn't do certain tasks when it was mostly a matter of app support. Generally speaking Android has enough apps that anything you can do on iOS there is an app available on Android with the same functionality. It is only in niche areas where iOS shines.

The problem with the XOOM, and Honeycomb, or Android as a whole is... you just don't have certain things. Developer commitment or financial reasons aside, there is just nothing that can do the tasks I mentioned. Out of the box, the big fact is: iPad 2 can do more than XOOM. A lot more.

And if you consider potential, iOS 5 will be showcased in WWDC in June this year. It'll bring about changes, and it's fair to expect Apple will do something about multitasking to take advantage of the dual-core chip. So that means iOS has the potential to catch up to XOOM's more capable multitasking system. But hey, why bring that up?

Your opinion is out of the box Xoom can't do as much as iOS. All of those pretty featured apps that was showcased with iPad 2 aren't "out of the box" features. If we get into downloading apps that allow more utility out of the tablet, iOS has Android beat. No question but outside of niche and specialized apps, Android will do everything iOS can. I'd say 95% of what everyone would use an iPad for can be done on Android.

iOS5 is iOS5. We can't predict what the future brings. There is zero concrete news that iOS 5 will even be out this year. Heck, there is zero concrete news on iOS 5 period. The iPad is certainly a major iOS product launch and that merely used an updated version of iOS4. If we could, we'd be rich. In the here and now. iOS4's pseudo-multitasking is more than suitable for general consumer usage but as a serious work tool and for someone who needs true multitasking, it's not going to cut it.

I think I'm done with responding to you because of the tone of your message as well as the fact that you refuse to acknowledge the rebuttals that I've presented. This is just going to go back and forth with no end in sight. I've said what I wanted and I don't have much more to add to it. I like my iPhone. It's my device of choice. It has apps that I need/want that are not available on other mobile platforms. But I'm not blinded that I can't see the pros and cons of iOS or of competing mobile OS's.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I once mentioned something I thought everyone who was familiar with ebook apps on iOS would know to someone in a thread. It was that Stanza (my favorite ebook app) is owned by Amazon. A reader disputed this and said that Stanza was owned and developed by Lexcycle. Which was true. Except that a few months prior to that discussion Amazon had purchased Lexcycle. I merely pointed out that the other person might have missed it in the news blurbs and pointed out a post by Lexcycle on their own web site which mentioned that they had been bought out by Amazon. Contrast this with what you did by using words like "In case you're too lazy to check it out" or "Please do some reading, or learn more English if that's too hard to understand." And these are direct quotes of yours that I'm posting. I'm not going to dig through every single wording in your post but sprinkling in comments like those gives your message a condescending tone.

Those quotes were taken from my responses to DivideByZero, not towards you, sir. Where did I respond to you with those quotes??

Funny you should mention digging up information. You refuse to acknowledge the evidence I've presented showing that you were in fact incorrect. My statement that iOS for tablets is not a good enough multitasking OS. That's not to say it's not adequate, it just means Honeycomb by nature is currently the more flexible and powerful OS. Considering that you champion iOS's multitasking when I've shown that it i unreliable. The OS decides whether your app gets to continue or not. Not you. Not the app developer. The OS. I've pointed out this fact in at least two posts but you refuse to acknowledge it.

I have pointed this out over and over again that the kernel will grant the request most of the time even if it can deny it, but you just keep insisting that it'll deny the request. I am adding to your view. I am not dismissing it.

I just don't want to keep this up knowing you'd just keep imposing your view on it instead.

Your opinion is out of the box Xoom can't do as much as iOS. All of those pretty featured apps that was showcased with iPad 2 aren't "out of the box" features. If we get into downloading apps that allow more utility out of the tablet, iOS has Android beat. No question but outside of niche and specialized apps, Android will do everything iOS can. I'd say 95% of what everyone would use an iPad for can be done on Android.

95% is your opinion. I'm certain the millions of iPad users out there disagree.

For instance:
There is no way to access Netflix on Honeycomb.
Flash is not there, and there is no app, so no way to access Hulu as well.
And since Flash is not there, you can't view videos on Engadget, on any tech blog, or not on New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc....

I think I'm done with responding to you because of the tone of your message as well as the fact that you refuse to acknowledge the rebuttals that I've presented. This is just going to go back and forth with no end in sight. I've said what I wanted and I don't have much more to add to it. I like my iPhone. It's my device of choice. It has apps that I need/want that are not available on other mobile platforms. But I'm not blinded that I can't see the pros and cons of iOS or of competing mobile OS's.

This is your tone that you're setting here. Not only are you reading my responses to other people and assuming them to be to you, you are dismissing my points and then saying that I'm dismissing your points whereas I'm merely adding to yours. I mean no disrespect, but crying about someone else's tone in a discussion doesn't help support your side, and it only shows that you only want to humiliate the other side instead. I hope that is not your intention.

Also again, stating what you own isn't relevant, and it only shows that you only know one thing for sure. Would it be relevant if I stated that my main phone is a Samsung Captivate, and that I have used Android for roughly 2 years? Or that I don't have any iOS device in possession? Of course not.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Bottom line: Apple's gonna sell 10x more iPads than any other tablet in 2011. The product is well-designed, easy-to-use, and most importantly it's priced the same as the competition. People are used to pay more for an Apple product, and it's not the case with tablets.

I can see many picking up a 1st gen 16GB WiFi for 399$...

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

The refurbished 1st gen Ipad for $350 are a steal. I'd save myself the $200 and use it towards an Ipad 3 along with the funds I got from selling the 1st gen Ipad. Win Win?