Picked up an Asus EeePad Transformer Today

[Aidan]

Quite impressed.

Quick. Responsive. IPS screen (color is very vibrant), honeycomb, great battery life.




I think the only tablets worth buying out of the current selection are Asus Tablets, and <s>iPad</s> Samsung Galaxy Tabs.

[clyzm]

so uh

why do you need it, again?

[Aidan]

Its nice to use when lounging around the house, or what not. In fact, im actually using it right now

Not to mention that the keyboard clicks on to it, thus making it a netbook to bring to classes.

[or 1=1]

[James]

James stop bullying Aidan.

[clyzm]

i hate to judge, but, most people that buy tablet PCs are either artists who invest a lot of time in drawing, old people who want a simplified computer, and rich kids who buy it as a luxury good (read: they never use it)

it's actually kind of an insult to any computer enthusiast looking to take himself seriously

i'm just sayin'

[James]

edit: dunno if that was @ me or aidan, my post was at Aidan to show there's no mob mentality.

Artists?, like photographers etc? Don't know what a traditional artist would want unless it is one of those drawing tablets etc.

I'm thinking of getting one of those 7 inch Amazon Kindles, are the Kindles out easy to root like Android OS?

[Alex]

Kindles aren't easy to root at all, afaik.

I'm going to order an Archos G9. Not because im an artist, or need a portable PC (i got a laptop already), but just for fun.

EDIT: Also seems you can't do a lot more with a jailbroken kindle.

[James]

All I want to do is pirate books and that's all that concerns me.

[MrBlackDX]

All I want to do is pirate books and that's all that concerns me.

Why pirate when they are free at a library oh ho ho.

I disagree that picking up a tablet/notebook transformer is anti-computer enthusiast. I have about 20% of the developers in my company with these things, none of them with pure tablets.

Tablets have some uses, mostly they are a flashy gadget. Notebooks are a mini-pc which you can carry around and use.

Having both together I think is a pretty good idea, eliminates the worthlessness of a tablet, and extends the use of a notebook.

[James]

The amount of books I pirate to films/movies or videogames is at least 15:1.

[Alex]

The amount of books I pirate to films/movies or videogames is at least 15:1.

Then get a different e-reader or tablet. Kindle is too strict for that shit, I think.

[James]

Alright, just need a small one though. Tried to/I use my phone at the moment but it is too small.

[MrBlackDX]

Trying to find decent audiobooks to pirate at the moment.

I pirated a 1960's version of the Foundation trilogy by Asimov, and it ended up having really low vocal audio and REALLY high doctor who-like sound effects between transitions.

[James]

Zapzapzapzapzap

I need to sort out my old iPod for podcasts, HTC phone battery life is f'd even with it being underclocked.

[Alex]

Alright, just need a small one though. Tried to/I use my phone at the moment but it is too small.

Ever saw the screen of an e-reader by the way? I don't like it. It's better for your eyes (No constant light) yet, yugh. We're investigating the use of tablets/e-readers and such, as I work for a book & magazines publisher, and we actually believe e-readers will eventually die and tablets will be used for e-books, simply because it has more features and it's not that much more expensive (most crappy tablet is € 80, but really, its shitty).

Are you really looking for an e-reader or would a tablet do as well?

[James]

Tablet will do if it really is better. I assumed the Kindle (from what I've read, very uneducated) was primarily a e-reader but had tablet functions and a store which was the Android or Amazon store.

What I would like is a tablet with great battery life that will be able to read PDFs or whatever format I use for books and be able to invert/read with a black background white text.

[Siva]

IDK I went to best buy this week and it was the first time I saw E-Ink

I was amazed, could read that shit in any light.

But I still wouldn't buy one.

Get a galaxy tab 10.1, playing with that made me want one despite having absolutely no use for it

[or 1=1]

I'd buy this instead


http://www.helipal.com/united-states-m1 ... zAod1jyFfg

[Aidan]

@jay

If you're looking for a cheap tab to use just for kindle. I highly recommend the Acer Icona.

Here's why:
-Much cheaper than other tabs by around 120 quid (Because of lower specs, but you're only using it for kindle really so you don't need insane specs)
-A bit smaller, so it's even more portable
-Honeycomb (Just download tTorrent off of android store )

@Derek
As Jay said, those are two different types of Tablets. Artists use a drawing tablet. While the mainstream "Tab" is used more so for everyday tasks, etc.

To be honest, I thought tablets were stupid, and gimmick-like. Then I bought one, and it sucks

Nonononono lol. I'm joking....

-I bought one, and LOVE it. It's so easy to do anything, with the benefit of not carrying a laptop around.

Why even this lunch, I walked into McDonalds, completed 3 assignments using it while listening to internet radio, Skyped my friend, and torrented the Charlie sheen roast in which I then watched later on. I also played angry birds while listening to the stupid answers of some people in my comm class.

I might add that it barely used any battery power at all.

I might also add that I'm using it right now lol.

If you buy a Playbook, I'll shit on your face with a grin.

[clyzm]

it just seems unnecessary

desktops and laptops can do all of the things a tablet PC can and more, and what's more, you don't become dependent on a computer as much, since you can only access them at certain times of the day

its like a giant smart phone pretty much

i mean i guess i could see like, young urban professionals or marketers, business people using that kind of stuff

but if you're gonna use it, it should serve more than the purpose of pure entertainment... it just tells me you need something to keep you entertained/wired to the net at ALL TIMES and can't enjoy life without a computer

[Aidan]

it just seems unnecessary

desktops and laptops can do all of the things a tablet PC can and more, and what's more, you don't become dependent on a computer as much, since you can only access them at certain times of the day

its like a giant smart phone pretty much

i mean i guess i could see like, young urban professionals or marketers, business people using that kind of stuff

but if you're gonna use it, it should serve more than the purpose of pure entertainment... it just tells me you need something to keep you entertained/wired to the net at ALL TIMES and can't enjoy life without a computer

-never assume m8.

There are some classes I don't need my lappy for, and hence have a thin, light tablet with an ebook reader to use for a texbook, research resource, and music while I'm at it A school bag packed with heavy books, laptop & Charger, and whatever else is now instantly gone when all I have to (literary) do, is bring my tab.

Of course it isn't necessary. Neither is a laptop, or computer, etc.

From my experience with tablets, I thought it would make life easier (as most electronics do). It definitely did, and I'm finding it worth my hard earned money so far.

You won't know until you use it for a while, but they're actually a great device.

[Professor Layton]

A school bag packed with heavy books, laptop & Charger

You realize you don't have to have a heavyweight 17 inch quadcore alienware laptop for school purposes? Besides you can just as well read books on a laptop.

If you have to write/type a lot for whatever course you're doing, I can see it becoming annoying on a tablet, seeing as you'll be typing stuff on an onscreen keyboard. Or do you just bring paper and a pen for that?

[Aidan]

A school bag packed with heavy books, laptop & Charger

You realize you don't have to have a heavyweight 17 inch quadcore alienware laptop for school purposes? Besides you can just as well read books on a laptop.

If you have to write/type a lot for whatever course you're doing, I can see it becoming annoying on a tablet, seeing as you'll be typing stuff on an onscreen keyboard. Or do you just bring paper and a pen for that?

The EeePad Transformer has a keyboard that you click onto the tablet turning it into a netbook

I don't have an extremely large laptop. There was an M11X on for $450 at work.. then my employee discount. Got it for a pretty good price considering the specs and weight.

[Professor Layton]

How much can you compare it to a netbook though? I assume it has it's own OS which would provide problems if you wanted to use software which is widely spread for PCs.

Does it have USB ports?

[Aidan]

How much can you compare it to a netbook though? I assume it has it's own OS which would provide problems if you wanted to use software which is widely spread for PCs.

Does it have USB ports?

My model does not have a USB port (although I'm sure I can find an adaptor for it), but toshiba and acer tabs do. Other ports I have are a micro SD slot, and HDMI out.

Most run android (Honeycomb), however, there are tabs with full scale windows 7 installed. In fact I'm most positive you can remove android off of any tab, and install win7 in place.

[Professor Layton]

Don't you miss the mouse?

[Aidan]

Not really lol.


If I do miss it, it's because I'm doing a task that would be much more nifty with higher specs and a mouse.

So then I would use my lappy



Also... you can use a mouse when you plug the transformer into it's keyboard dock (if you really want)

[Alex]

Most run android (Honeycomb), however, there are tabs with full scale windows 7 installed. In fact I'm most positive you can remove android off of any tab, and install win7 in place.

Not that simple, I believe. Windows 7 does not support ARM processors, which is often used in tablets (or better said, almost always). Thus you'd have to use a ARM based port of Windows 7 (not even sure if that's available) or you need to have a tablet that has a x86 processor.

[Aidan]

Most run android (Honeycomb), however, there are tabs with full scale windows 7 installed. In fact I'm most positive you can remove android off of any tab, and install win7 in place.

Not that simple, I believe. Windows 7 does not support ARM processors, which is often used in tablets (or better said, almost always). Thus you'd have to use a ARM based port of Windows 7 (not even sure if that's available) or you need to have a tablet that has a x86 processor.

Yes, you right Alex, my mistake. I actually looked into it at work today, and came across this issue.

-but really, a year from now, half of tablets will most likely be running windows 8.

I'd like to point out that the Acer Icona runs Windows 7

Also..
http://www6.canadacomputers.com/product ... _id=041063
USB port yeeee

Not as nifty as an integrated.. but still..

USB port yeeee

BUTTT

http://www.pc-canada.com/item.asp?item= ... gn=shopbot

TWO USB PORTS AND 8 EXTRA HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE ON TOP OF THE ALREADY GOD TIER BATTERY LIFE FOR A TABLET YEEEE