Nook Tablet vs. Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Nook Color

Thomas Ricker compares Nook Tablet vs. Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Nook Color:

One of the best features of our little website is the ability to quickly mix and match products to your heart's content. Here's a sample showing the newly announced Nook Tablet, the already available Nook Color, and Amazon's upcoming Kindle Fire, compared against one another and set against the very popular iPad 2 for good measure.

Both the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire are Android tablets with 7-inch IPS LCDs pushing 1,024 x 600 pixel resolutions and 1GHz dual-core processors.  The Nook Tablet is just a tad chunkier (yet weighs less) but the big difference is the price: The Nook Tablet is $50 more than the Kindle Fire.

Where Nook Tablet comes out ahead is with longer battery life, according to B&N. And although both show a 7-inch IPS panel in the spec sheet, B&N claims to have the edge thanks to its "fully laminated" display offering the lowest reflection and glare with unprecedented viewing angles.

…

Hit the comparison page to forage on the details, or feel free to swap in your own.

Galaxy Tab 10.1 Versus iPad 2

Very thorough review of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from DeviceGuru.

Very positive take on the Galaxy Tab, although I disagree with the statement that there's less need of tablet optimized apps because of the browser - i.e. web apps replace many native apps. As said by Robert in the comments: I went for an android tablet because of its more open nature. Of course there are some rough edges but I accept it.

DeviceGuru's conclusion:

Which is better, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the iPad 2? That depends…

In my tests, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was more successful than the iPad 2 at streaming video directly from websites, due to its support for Adobe flash. On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has fewer tablet-aware apps than the iPad 2, with Netflix and Crackle being two good examples.
...

So I guess my bottom-line advice is that, at price parity, the iPad 2 is a better bet for the average user, since it’s a more stable, near-perfect device with a rich assortment of apps for nearly every possible function you’d like to perform on your tablet. Therefore, unless you’ve got a grudge against Apple for some reason, or are enamored with the idea of having a more configurable tablet, there’s not a lot of justification to go with the less mature, less established device at the same price.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

iPad 2 Versus HP Touchpad

Great analysis from Don Reisinger

Apple iPad 2 vs. HP TouchPad: 10 Reasons to Buy iPad 2

Apple’s iPad 2 easily bests the HP TouchPad. On many levels, the iPad 2 delivers a more beneficial experience to any customer.

A quick summary:

1. iPad wins by a large margin on number and quality of apps.
   
2. Pricing is a wash, but HP should have been aggressive in pricing the TouchPad under the iPad.
   
3. iPad available in wifi and wifi+3G models; TouchPad currently only available with wifi - 4G promised for later this summer.
   
4. Displays both 9.7 inches - HP missed an opportunity to differentiate themselves.
   
5. The TouchPad works best if you own a WebOS phone - I don't see many of those.
   
6. The TouchPad loses on size and weight.
   
7. No rear camera.
   
8. Questions still exist regarding the viability of WebOS in the enterprise.
   
9. There is no 64 Gig TouchPad to compete with the 64 Gig iPad - important for media-centric users.
   
10. For now, when someone thinks of a tablet, they think Apple and iPad. To be successful, HP needs to change that mindset.
    

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The iPad 2 Pro?

An interesting rumor from This is my next's Josh Topolsky.

iPhone 5 redesign likely says WSJ, but have you met the iPad HD?:

the new tablet is said to sport a double resolution screen (2048 x 1536), and will be dubbed the “iPad HD.” The idea behind the product is apparently that it will be a “pro” device aimed at a higher end market — folks who work in video and photo production possibly — and will be introduced alongside something like an iPad version of Final Cut or Aperture.

iPads - Schools Jumping Head First into the 21st Century

A private school in Chattanooga, Tennessee goes all in on iPads.

Baylor To Require Students To Use The IPad In 2012:

Baylor School has announced that all students will be required to purchase or lease an iPad beginning in the fall of 2012.

As the first phase of the iPad initiative the school has already purchased 110 of the tablets for teachers, librarians and academic support staff so they can begin preparing for the introduction of the devices to students next year. Professional development throughout the coming year will focus on effective use of the iPad in the classroom.

...

School officials said the primary reason for creating a 1:1 tablet environment is to provide all students access to extraordinary resources in every classroom and at home.

“We are deliberately taking a year to refine how teachers will use the iPads with other media and teaching methods,” said Baylor Headmaster Scott Wilson. “The iPad is just one tool we will use to enhance the learning experience for our students, but we are convinced that it could potentially transform our classrooms in terms of engagement, creativity, collaboration, research and how we support varied learning styles.”

...

Baylor junior Zach Watson began using his iPad in December and uses it primarily to keep his assignments organized, take notes in a variety of ways, write papers and read e-books. He said, “It has been a tremendous help in many aspects, especially regarding its convenience and the weight of my backpack, which used to weigh 20 pounds or more because of the textbooks. The iPad has been a valuable tool, and I look forward to further implementing it into my learning.”

Some key consequences of the move to iPads -

Because of the iPad’s functionality and availability of e-texts, apps, cloud computing and information sharing, Baylor’s long-term institutional goals will eventually include the reduction of computers on campus and other devices such as LabQuests, SmartBoards and the required use of handheld graphing calculators. Academic departments are being asked to reduce photocopying expenses by 50 percent beginning 2012-13, and parents will see significant savings in textbook purchases in the future.

How To Fix RIM's PlayBook

Based on what I've read, I'm not sure this would be enough to fix the PlayBook.

The PlayBook Will Suck Until RIM Fixes These 4 Things:

There's still a lot the PlayBook needs before it can go toe-to-toe with the iPad 2.

4. More Convenience.
3. A MUCH Better Browser.
2. More Apps. SO MANY More Apps.
1. Play or Book, Pick ONE.

Surprising iPad Use?

Not really! The iPad is the new:

• book
  
• radio
  
• TV

iPad eating up use of PC, TV, radio, book reading:

The impact of Apple's iPad is already being seen in the slowing PC consumer market, but a new survey by Google's AdMob indicates iPad use is taking the place of a wide variety of other activities.

Kno, Kno, Kno, and Kno

The woman in the picture is using a Kno. The CEO of Kno claims this design is based on what students want. So it has to look like a book? Looks silly to me.

photo via kno tablet - Architecture Design, Home Design, Interior Design, Decorating Ideas

Is the iPad 2 Selling Out?

iPad 2 shipping times slip to 2-3 weeks hours after launch:

Shipping times for the iPad 2 at Apple's online store have already stretched out to between two to three weeks, checks show. Orders only opened at about 1AM Pacific time, or 4AM Eastern. Over the course of the morning times were already slipping from 3 to 5 days to 5 to 7. The delays are affecting all iPad 2 models, whether white or black, or equipped with Wi-Fi or 3G

Macworld's Jason Snell Reviews the iPad 2 - Video

Who should upgrade? Presenters, educators, people who are going to use the video mirroring feature - hmmmmm ...

Video Review: the iPad 2:

For Apple’s competitors in the tablet market, the iPad 2 is a wake up call, says Macworld's Jason Snell. The iPad 2 raises the bar, and it gets help from clever Smart Covers, nifty HDTV features, GarageBand, and iMovie

Apple iPad 2 Versus Motorola Xoom

Great stuff from Andy Ihnatko - particularly given his earlier glowing review of the Xoom.

Apple iPad 2 is here and tablet rivals need to hit the drawing board:

But you kind of have to hold the iPad 2 to really get the redesign. It’s thinner by a third, plus its edges taper to a thin line of metal. It’s almost inconceivable that this thing you’re holding is a multicore tablet computer. The Xoom tablet is trim, light, and very pretty ... but when you place it next to the iPad 2, it looks as though it was designed and built by angry Soviet prison labor instead of by Motorola.

On iPad Competitors

iPad Competitors, time for another reality check!:

Isn’t it amazing that Motorola has considered that it okay not only to launch its tablet with a non-working SD-card reader but with an OS that is still full bugs?  I can understand Motorola wanting to get its product to market before the iPad 2 was announced, but they’ll only give a lot of people a bad impression of their product, for not having waited until Google had stabilized the OS.  While their brand is getting associated with tablets, it is being so in a bad context, but maybe they consider that is better that people talk about Motorola, even if it is to say bad things about its products. 

Another interesting competitor is Samsung.  Right after the iPad 2 was announced by Apple, one of the company’s VPs was caught on record saying that “Apple had made it very thin” and that they (Samsung) would have to review the “inadequate components and price”.   Most people understood this to mean that Samsung would be going back to the drawing board like HP did last year, in order to release a competitive product.  It turns out, though, that they are not.  They are going to release their “inadequate”product on schedule. 

HP is the only company to have gotten the message back in 2010, that this game isn’t about who has the camera with the highest number of megapixels. Its about the experience!  HP seems to have gotten the memo last year when they decided that their Slate product would not be competitive against the iPad and decided to acquire Palm with its webOS operating system and go back to the drawing board.  While I have not yet personally seen an HP TouchPad, it certainly seemed a lot closer to the iPad than Android is. Hopefully, at least the TouchPad will turn out to be a worthy competitor to the iPad in 2011. 

I hope that the other companies that are planning iPad competitors finally get the memo this year.  Those that don’t get it are going to continue to talk about meaningless products which will get little if any attention from those that have had the chance to try out an iPad or a TouchPad.