Why would you buy an Apple tablet over an Android tablet?

[cronos]

ES file explorer (or any other SMB file manager) + Dice player = free AirVideo.

I just tested this and it's really not close at all to the stability and maturity of AirVideo. AirVideo is really smart with deciding when to stream as is and when to convert. It's flawless.

Seriously, AirVideo is a few levels ahead.

And I don't know if any of you got it, but I was answering the question in the title. If there's any reason at all for me to buy an Apple tablet right now, it's because of AirVideo and only AirVideo, there's nothing else. I'd rather have an ICS tablet otherwise.

 

[JeffMD]

There is one reason I choose apple over android and another to choose an ipad over tablet. The first is games, the ios simply has more first rate games. The second is alot of those game makers strive for retina and ipad side releases. Android versions of games rarely come with a tablet release.

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Tapatalk 2

 

[zerocool84]

Right now Apple simply does it better than anyone else. That is the short answer.

See how things are in about 2 years time and revisit this question again. Why? Jobs is dead. R.I.P. Steve. See how visionary and innovative Apple is then. You are only as good as your last product. Like any other company Apple has to hit a home run every time to keep ahead of competition. Can they do it without Steve? His hands are all over their products for the next two years but after that it is going to be up to someone else to pull it off. Just my opinion.

It was either an article on The Verge or Engadget that said Apple will ride Jobs' success for another 3 years tops and after that it's Cook's need to keep it going. Honestly, I'm sure Apple will be fine. Sure Jobs was their leader, but with so many people working there for so long under him, I'm sure his legacy will live on fine and Apple will live on just fine without him.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Title doesn't.

Why would I even bother buying an Android table over an Apple tablet? And I say that as a core disliker of how Apple does things, but a tablet in the iOS / Android vein plays right into Apple's Fisher-Price hands.

I've never seen a need to get rid of my iPads. I've even expanded my collection as of late for the home automation I'm having put in. Every Android tablet I bought has been a colossal waste of time (not to mention resales are in the toilet every time when I do go to get rid of it) - key (for me) app-poor, and the Android OS is still less stable and just requires way too much nursemaiding for a fricken tablet OS (the same fear I have for WinRT but I'm pretty convinced MS will do a much better job of it, while all the 'I'm a geek and can't see the wood for the trees' types will undoubted be still busy sucking on Google's teat).

I have three main uses for tablets. As a general purpose utility device secondary to a notebook (second screen to read documents, emails, etc), on-the-go entertainment - i.e. a giant iPod, and as a glorified remote.

The latter use is what I have the bulk of my iPads for and they stay at home, but whenever I venture out with one I've always found Android tablets a) a poor user experience, period and b) a fourth-rate iPad compared to what it can do as opposed to whether the camera is a little better or some other unimportant stuff in what is essentially still a toy. Why even bother?

I'll put much more stock in RT when it's out - but until then (or until 5.0 is out, where I'll once again probably get one to prod) I don't see any reason to change what I use.

Several Android tablets have IR transmitters so they can do a much better job of functioning as a universal remote than an iPad can.

 

[kaerflog]

Same reason rich guys screw models instead of women they picked up at Walmart.

Winnar !!!

 

[ponyo]

I just tested this and it's really not close at all to the stability and maturity of AirVideo. AirVideo is really smart with deciding when to stream as is and when to convert. It's flawless.

Seriously, AirVideo is a few levels ahead.

And I don't know if any of you got it, but I was answering the question in the title. If there's any reason at all for me to buy an Apple tablet right now, it's because of AirVideo and only AirVideo, there's nothing else. I'd rather have an ICS tablet otherwise.

What hardware do you have? ES File Explorer and Dice Player combo works flawlessly for me on my Galaxy Nexus. It plays everything I have. No transcoded conversion needed. And because you don't need server side software like AirVideo and your computer to do the transcoding, you do need decent hardware on your phone/tablet. As long as you're not using Tegra2 or really old hardware you should be fine. My Galaxy S and original 7" Galaxy Tab with single core Hummingbird can play 95% of my videos perfectly. Same with my CM9 Touchpad. Tegra 2 will have problems which is what most current Android tablets have. Tegra 2 is just terrible SoC for anything video related. Which is why I avoided and will not buy anything with Tegra 2.

 

[Zaap]

Apple just does the 10" tablet better than anyone else currently. I've been hoping that would change, because competition keeps things from stagnating, keeps progress driving forward and lowers prices all around. But Apple set the bar HIGH with the iPad, and currently no one can best it for anything close to a reasonable price.

That's not a slam against cheaper tablets that aren't for the same purpose. It's just a fact at the same level as the iPad. I've seen no compelling reason to buy anything else at a similar price point, and I say this even as a bigger fan of Android than I am iOS. Android devs need to regroup and rethink the 10" tablet arena. And Microsoft needs to forget about trying to compete in the same tablet arena as the iPad- that's not going to work either. If the TabletPC isn't higher-end and more toward the full laptop scale of use (therefore much more expensive than even an iPad) than current iOS/Android tablets, then they are just junk. It'll be another WindowsCE disaster.

Apple's perch is really solid with the iPad. I can see why others have scrambled around and fallen trying to compete- you either need to make something as/more expensive with a seriously compelling reason to own it over an iPad (no easy feat) or you have to go with a price point much, much cheaper than an iPad without sacrificing so much quality your product is crap. And to top if off, Apple hasn't rested on their laurels with the iPad, they've kept up with improving it to where it's consistently at least a year, possibly two ahead of everyone else.

 

[poofyhairguy]

ES file explorer (or any other SMB file manager) + Dice player = free AirVideo.

Leave out the ES Explorer and just use the network support in Dice Player. ES is adding overhead you don't need.

I just tested this and it's really not close at all to the stability and maturity of AirVideo.

The magic of Dice Player and a decent SoC is that you can play the native files as they are with no transcoding. The solution is completely different than what Air Video is, and it is something you can't have on an iPad without jailbreaking. If it is not stable it is due to the SoC or your network.

Seriously, AirVideo is a few levels ahead.

I don't know about that. Over the last three years I probably have had more Air Video traffic than anyone on the forum and even I won't say its the best no questions asked. It lacks library support, advanced metadata support and it is limited to one platform.

Where Air Video wins is the fact it is brain-dead easy. It finds a way around your router, it figures out the bitrate for transcoding over a connection, it is a pin number that unlocks devices. That is why I have used it from the start. But with that said, Plex is catching up fast with far superior multiplatform support and library support.

Also saying "Air Video rules all" misses the main point of why I won't buy an iPad for myself or why the Dice solution rocks.

When I am away on vacation, the last thing I want to have to depend on is the shitty hotel wifi to transcode my videos from hundreds of miles away via Air Video. Especially because I very rarely watch the video on my device in those occasions- most of the time I prefer watching it on a real TV via HDMI- and the compressed Air Video solution looks like garbage over your average hotel wifi on even a 32 inch TV.

In those situations I have found I much prefer to have the actual file playing on the actual device via an external HD and Dice Player to a TV via HDMI. On an iPad even jailbroken that is impossible, when on my Prime I don't even have to root to use NTFS drives or play mkv files.

Air Video has its place in the food chain as a good cloud solution for iOS devices. But it is not the only solution and its three year head start on competitors in the easy department might be gone soon.

 

[ponyo]

Leave out the ES Explorer and just use the network support in Dice Player. ES is adding overhead you don't need.

Just check and tried it. Worked flawlessly. :thumbsup: Thanks! I didn't even know Dice Player had SMB share support built in. That's super. Now I can get rid of ES Explorer.

I was huge fan of AirVideo and my daughter still uses that religiously on her iPad and iPod Touch. But other programs have caught up and it's no longer a must program on iOS side. I prefer solution without having to install client software on the PC. I use XBMC on the AppleTV2 for my TVs and Dice Player on Android phone/tablets. I bought $6 MHL HDMI adapter for my phone so I can plug my phone to the TV directly when I'm traveling or on vacation.

 

[Kanalua]

Because that's what my wife wanted. That's why.

 

[Anomaly1964]

I've seen a TON of good answers here both ways...

For me, as the tablet is PURELY A TOY, $399 for the Asus 300 for the 32GB model with the Tegra 3 processor and the docking station for $149 was a great price point for me...

I have never been into anything PROPRIETARY which is why I shied away from the iPad (would never have a MAC either)...

 

[vbuggy]

Several Android tablets have IR transmitters so they can do a much better job of functioning as a universal remote than an iPad can.

If you're small-time enough for going that way, sure.

 

[cronos]

What hardware do you have? ES File Explorer and Dice Player combo works flawlessly for me on my Galaxy Nexus. It plays everything I have. No transcoded conversion needed. And because you don't need server side software like AirVideo and your computer to do the transcoding, you do need decent hardware on your phone/tablet. As long as you're not using Tegra2 or really old hardware you should be fine. My Galaxy S and original 7" Galaxy Tab with single core Hummingbird can play 95% of my videos perfectly. Same with my CM9 Touchpad. Tegra 2 will have problems which is what most current Android tablets have. Tegra 2 is just terrible SoC for anything video related. Which is why I avoided and will not buy anything with Tegra 2.

I was testing it with the CM9 Touchpad (using the smb support built-in to Dice). I have also tried similar smb setup before with a Dell Streak (Froyo) that I did stream movies to sometimes. I don't know why but whenever I tried the smb solution, video files above a certain bit rate will stutter every five seconds or so. I couldn't find a way to make it work smoothly.

I then tried Mirage (Android client that works with AirVideo server) which was an improvement, but still it chokes on certain videos on the TP and the Streak. Double checked with my old 2nd gen iPod Touch through AirVideo and it played the same files super smoothly.

Just to be complete, I finally settled down on Plex. It has clients for all the mobile OSs I need, and it also has an app for the Roku which I ended up getting for the bedroom.

 

[cronos]

I don't know about that. Over the last three years I probably have had more Air Video traffic than anyone on the forum and even I won't say its the best no questions asked. It lacks library support, advanced metadata support and it is limited to one platform.

I will admit that's probably an exaggeration. My comment was based on my frustration last year. I had a perfectly working setup of AirVideo streaming to my old iPod Touch, then I got two new Android devices and I couldn't find anything at the time to make it work as good as the old setup.

Where Air Video wins is the fact it is brain-dead easy. It finds a way around your router, it figures out the bitrate for transcoding over a connection, it is a pin number that unlocks devices. That is why I have used it from the start. But with that said, Plex is catching up fast with far superior multiplatform support and library support.

Completely agree on you on this one. I have mentioned in my other post that I finally decided on Plex as the solution that works overall better throughout all of the variety of devices in my home.

 

[lothar]

Why would you buy an Apple tablet over an Android tablet?

Umm...Because besides the ASUS tablets, most Android tablets are a PoS.

The only tablets I've ever seen that were not overpriced were the Touchpad, Playbook, and Kindle Fire.
Every other tablet is overpriced(yes, even Apple's iPad2 and 3).

All tablets are toys.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Email, news reading. I absolutely love using the iPad for reading Flipboard, visiting websites, and generally replacing my laptop. Additionally, games are nice on my iPad. I had an iPad 2 for a few months before selling it off prior to the 3.

I enjoy my HP TouchPad for checking on my Bitcoin rig and having widgets setup. For news reading, my TouchPad is trash (running CM9). The only thing I really use it for is Draw Something and then watching videos. The battery life is so bad that I wouldn't consider it too useful.

There's advantages to both, but if I were to pick one for daily use (like when I had my iPad 2), the daily driver was my iPad 2. However, I've been trying to find more and more uses for my TouchPad in the past 2 months now that my iPad has left me....

 

[MotionMan]

ZOOYUKA,

Let's put it this way:

If you were going to be given one tablet for free (including all necessary cables), that you cannot sell, and have to use as your only tablet for at least the next, oh, year or two, which would you pick, a current android tablet or the new iPad?

MotionMan

Why the crickets in response to this question?

MotionMan

 

[Puddle Jumper]

ZOOYUKA,

Let's put it this way:

If you were going to be given one tablet for free (including all necessary cables), that you cannot sell, and have to use as your only tablet for at least the next, oh, year or two, which would you pick, a current android tablet or the new iPad?

MotionMan

Android, specifically the LTE Galaxy Tab 7.7 if I wasn't paying for it. The only way I would use an iPad as my personal tablet is if I was being payed to do so.

 

[MotionMan]

The only way I would use an iPad as my personal tablet is if I was being payed to do so.

Why?

MotionMan

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Why?

MotionMan

Lots of little things, it's much heavier than I would like, I don't like a lot of things about the iOS tablet interface like all of the wasted space, multitasking isn't very good, I don't use iTunes at all so that doesn't offer anything for me, no flash, not development friendly, etc.

 

[MotionMan]

Lots of little things, it's much heavier than I would like, I don't like a lot of things about the iOS tablet interface like all of the wasted space, multitasking isn't very good, I don't use iTunes at all so that doesn't offer anything for me, no flash, not development friendly, etc.

Well, at least you can articulate your reasons.

:thumbsup:

MotionMan

 

[slackerinabox]

Why the crickets in response to this question?

MotionMan

iPad (2 or 3, I'd rather have last year's apple tech compared to even cutting edge android):

- Much more robust tablet app selection
- Jitter/force close free
- Apples superior service and supprot
- FAR superior resale value (makes upgrading every few years cost effective)
- Premium feel (though the asus prime seems pretty rugged, I've never liked the build on samsungs)
- Airplay + apple tv + good receiver/speakers = really cool media experience
- My wife never bugs me for help. It just works. My MIL also has stopped calling me for tech support after she left windows and went Apple. AWESOME.
- Robust 3rd party accessories (from docks to cases and keyboards)
- Predictable lifespan: I know my wife's iPad will be cutting edge for a year, last years tech but still very usable next year and be up for a replacement the year after. That's 3 solid years. Android gear's outdated every 6 months
-Software upgrades are regular and I don't have to wait while the manufacturer stalls

 

[Oyeve]

- Jitter/force close free

Really? Then surely you hardly use your iProduct much. IOS crashes a lot. It is NOT invulnerable to crashes. The iphone 4 that I use as a testing device crashes, it slows down if it tries to do more than 2-3 things. Hell, playing bejeweled Blitz can bring it to its knees!

 

[slackerinabox]

Really? Then surely you hardly use your iProduct much. IOS crashes a lot. It is NOT invulnerable to crashes. The iphone 4 that I use as a testing device crashes, it slows down if it tries to do more than 2-3 things. Hell, playing bejeweled Blitz can bring it to its knees!

I don't jailbreak anymore and have zero issues on my ipod touch, my wife's iphone, ipad 2, etc. I did jailbreak my appleTV and it does crash once every once in a while (with HEAVY, daily use) but I don't blame it because I'm using Plex, a non sanctioned app. Compared to my Android experience (rooted, to be fair), iOS is much more stable. Perhaps android's more stable if you don't futz with it but, with all the carrier and manufacturer bloat and slow software updates, rooting/modding android because far more necessary than jailbreaking iOS

 

[Subyman]

Eh, I bought an Ipad1 and it has been plenty for anything that a tablet can do: surf the web, check email, stream video, and play games. It honestly surfs the web faster than I thought it would, so I was pleasantly surprised. I never feel that I need a faster device. I chose to go with Apple simply because of the app support. I installed Cydia, but anything I'd want on there is pay-for any way. Kind of defeats the purpose of installing "open-source" stuff. If I wanted to pay for apps, I'll just use the app store.

On another note, I've never had the iPad 1 crash, nor my iPhone that I've had for a year. If you are using apple software or tier 1 software from reputable developers, then there shouldn't be any problems.