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Sony Tablet S is a serious disappointment. Here's why.
- Thread starter glaurung
- Start date
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Yeah, I saw this one in the news. My local shops will not go along with the price cut, I am pretty sure.
Oh well, still waiting for the ICS upgrade.
Maastricht
Member
I've been comparing Sony's Tablet with the Samsung one in the store, and with the 16GB WiFi version at just over 300 euro now, it seemed quite decent (iPad 2 still costs 479 for the same specced version).
Video playback was better than the Samsung one generally. Eurogamer has some kind of new video streaming service that supports 60fps HD playback on iPad 2. I tested it on the iPad 2 first, and it worked flawlessly there. Then I tried it on the Sony Tablet, and there it ran, but more like 40fps with hiccups. The Samsung tablet didn't run it at all. Browsing was decent enough on all of them, though the Android ones have this slightly weird visible square by square buildup of the screenspace. Internet speed in there was also an issue though so I couldn't tell what the normal speed would be. And websites are hard to compare when you have Flash enabled on the Sony tablet.
They all played Youtube HD pretty well. I liked the Youtube apps on the Tablet S and Samsung better than on the iPad 2.
If the Vita gets a half-decent youtube app, then I won't need a tablet for a while just yet. Otherwise we will likely get a tablet eventually, but not before Android 4 has been released and is stable.
From the two times I had a session with the Tablet S though, I certainly wouldn't mind that one at all. But for less advanced users I would definitely still recommend an iPad for user friendliness. However, as more and more people with a budget get used to their Android phones, it may be less of an issue for them to go with an Android Tablet. Definitely hope that Android 4 is going to get things right in that department though (i.e. provde a smooth, nice looking GUI).
Video playback was better than the Samsung one generally. Eurogamer has some kind of new video streaming service that supports 60fps HD playback on iPad 2. I tested it on the iPad 2 first, and it worked flawlessly there. Then I tried it on the Sony Tablet, and there it ran, but more like 40fps with hiccups. The Samsung tablet didn't run it at all. Browsing was decent enough on all of them, though the Android ones have this slightly weird visible square by square buildup of the screenspace. Internet speed in there was also an issue though so I couldn't tell what the normal speed would be. And websites are hard to compare when you have Flash enabled on the Sony tablet.
They all played Youtube HD pretty well. I liked the Youtube apps on the Tablet S and Samsung better than on the iPad 2.
If the Vita gets a half-decent youtube app, then I won't need a tablet for a while just yet. Otherwise we will likely get a tablet eventually, but not before Android 4 has been released and is stable.
From the two times I had a session with the Tablet S though, I certainly wouldn't mind that one at all. But for less advanced users I would definitely still recommend an iPad for user friendliness. However, as more and more people with a budget get used to their Android phones, it may be less of an issue for them to go with an Android Tablet. Definitely hope that Android 4 is going to get things right in that department though (i.e. provde a smooth, nice looking GUI).
Seraphinianus
Banned
like he said in the OP, the iPad was fine, but he got bored of his toy and gave it his parents.
tech junkies are sad, functionality got lost in a sea of tech fetishism, but do what you want with your money.
Brofist
Member
And that's exactly why I'd never buy one to begin with. Or any other Sony crap.
Youtube works perfect on iPad. In fact, I prefer using it on the iPad over a PC due to the slick interface it offers. You can use both the built-in app and the actual website. Both function.
If you try to browse around the modern internet on an iPad I think you would be surprised at how uncommon Flash has become. It is very rare indeed to run across a site which is unusable due to lack of flash. There are still some sites out there, of course, but it's not the problem it might seem like.
Many sites now use HTML5 or something else which supports iOS. The iPad has become so popular that it would behoove many sites to support the platform.
To be fair, wasn't the Transformer dropped by $100 in a pretty similar timeframe? And it wasn't considered a flop.
Yes.
NO
What they're supposed to do. *GASP!* They're trying to get you to buy a product so they get paid! AMAZING! I know!
Your fault for wanting anything from Sony that is not named "Playstation," dude. Since the mid-90's, their non-Playstation hardware (and even the Playstation hardware) has been suspect at times.
yes
It doesn't sound good, but you made some fatal mistakes:
why didnt you just look it up on the internet? I'd never expect a sales person to give an honest answer or know about stuff like ICS.
...
the garbage, its garbage. don't check it out.
Also:
micro USB is the standard for phone/tablet USB connections.
why didnt you just look it up on the internet? I'd never expect a sales person to give an honest answer or know about stuff like ICS.
...
the garbage, its garbage. don't check it out.
Also:
micro USB is the standard for phone/tablet USB connections.
You know what, I am willing to backpedal with this claim a bit.
So here's the revised statement: Sony's customized Honeycomb Android ROM is shit.
Pureblood Android looks relatively taint-free, it has a lot of nice widgets and you can customize it up the wazoo. But Sony ***has to*** bring its own mudflapping flavor to the software, but by doing that they shoot themselves in the foot so hard. Having a customized ROM and no ability to replace it with a stock Android ROM means they impede their own development of the product, plus the users need to wait fucking four years for a simple update that the normal Android users get as soon as the ROMs hit the interwebs. And what's worse, developing that shite costs Sony money and as soon as they drop the support for the hardware, the users are left there, helpless.
That last bit was the reason why I never bought a Sony Ericsson Android phone and opted for an iPhone instead. I mean, the Xperia phones are still running Android 2.3 or something. Egads.
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
Google needs to make a real tablet solution that's better than what they have, at least make it as intuitive as iOS.
It was only dropped when the next version was announced, which happened after about 4/5 months.
Sony released a tegra2 device when tegra3 tablets were announced. What a dumb company.
Houston3000
Member
I don't have a Sony Tablet (I just have a Galaxy S smart phone) so maybe I'm a bit naive on the subject but it's just running a regular version of Android, right? I mean, it might have some bloatware installed but it's not like you can't customize it.
Install a different launcher; Go Launcher, LauncherPro, Zeam Launcher, whatever - Go Launcher is what I use on my phone. Go through your launcher settings and make it look the way you want, since it's a tablet you probably want to add more rows/columns of icons customize the number of screens/docks, etc. You can go ahead and hide all the bloatware apps, just hide everything that's made by Sony. Stop trying to use the Sony Marketplace, stop trying to use the Sony Music Player, it's all bullshit - go to the Android Marketplace and download real apps. PowerAmp and WinAmp are both excellent music players for Android for example.
Like I said, I don't have a Sony Tablet so I can't comment on the hardware but Android is fine. It's strength is in its customization; if you're set on using the stock shit, and not even the stock google shit, than you're setting yourself up for disappointment.
Install a different launcher; Go Launcher, LauncherPro, Zeam Launcher, whatever - Go Launcher is what I use on my phone. Go through your launcher settings and make it look the way you want, since it's a tablet you probably want to add more rows/columns of icons customize the number of screens/docks, etc. You can go ahead and hide all the bloatware apps, just hide everything that's made by Sony. Stop trying to use the Sony Marketplace, stop trying to use the Sony Music Player, it's all bullshit - go to the Android Marketplace and download real apps. PowerAmp and WinAmp are both excellent music players for Android for example.
Like I said, I don't have a Sony Tablet so I can't comment on the hardware but Android is fine. It's strength is in its customization; if you're set on using the stock shit, and not even the stock google shit, than you're setting yourself up for disappointment.
So is practically every other Android phone out there bar the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S unless you've flashed a custom ROM.
SE to be fair have promised ICS for all their 2011 phones.
longdi
Banned
i think the tablet s is quite a bit better than acer, asus and motorola honeycomb tablets. it is just honeycomb is a pos and sony mobile division is lousy and lttp.
sony also still have their head up their asses thinking they can sell this at the same price as ipad2 many months later. i see they are doing the same thing with vita accessories and games. some one needs to tell sony, you guys no longer innovate so stop overcharging us!
sony also still have their head up their asses thinking they can sell this at the same price as ipad2 many months later. i see they are doing the same thing with vita accessories and games. some one needs to tell sony, you guys no longer innovate so stop overcharging us!
I checked it out online, dude. I knew plenty to go on, but there were still bits and pieces that shatter its otherwise mediocre quality as a retard tablet.
Well, you could have easily checked all the things you asked the sales rep who pretty obviously didn't know what he's talking about...
I'm just saying, before making a big purchase like this one, you should have probably checked more thouroghly about it and looked in more than one place if all they had was a used unit serving for display and a shady looking sales rep.
I'm not saying this product is very good, it doesn't sound like it, but it looks like the whole purchase could have been avoided if you spent just a little more time looking into it.
p_xavier
Authorized Fister
Most companies don't understand how integration is important.
I don't want to download music from 20 sites, I want simplicity and that's why iTunes is king. You want to stream music from your PC to DLNA tv? It won't work perfectly because none of them tested all configurations with all devices.
You want to buy a movie and transfer it to your TV or PC? Well it's not simple with an android device unless you pirate. Also it's just as stupid to rebuy your games for many devices. Sony dropped the ball but they're not the only one. I want simplicity not 50 half assed choices.
I don't want to download music from 20 sites, I want simplicity and that's why iTunes is king. You want to stream music from your PC to DLNA tv? It won't work perfectly because none of them tested all configurations with all devices.
You want to buy a movie and transfer it to your TV or PC? Well it's not simple with an android device unless you pirate. Also it's just as stupid to rebuy your games for many devices. Sony dropped the ball but they're not the only one. I want simplicity not 50 half assed choices.
Salvor.Hardin
Banned
I really can't stand those Nokia borders. They're so distracting.
There is one more relatively serious issue with the Sony Tablet S: wifi signal.
The tablet's wifi antenna is apparently so weak, it can only maintain a properly good connection when you are within 10 feet of your wifi access point. That's right, 10 feet is the recommended range for the device.
In my relatively small apartment I get maximum signal strength with my laptop, my iPad, my iPhone, even my 3DS and the PSP. The tablet gets two bars - barely. Plus it seems to kill off the connection at every possible moment to preserve the battery - even when docked.
This does not matter when you are using this thing at home, but when you go to a public place and expect to connect to a public wifi access point, be prepared to scout out the router and get as close to it as possible.
The tablet's wifi antenna is apparently so weak, it can only maintain a properly good connection when you are within 10 feet of your wifi access point. That's right, 10 feet is the recommended range for the device.
In my relatively small apartment I get maximum signal strength with my laptop, my iPad, my iPhone, even my 3DS and the PSP. The tablet gets two bars - barely. Plus it seems to kill off the connection at every possible moment to preserve the battery - even when docked.
This does not matter when you are using this thing at home, but when you go to a public place and expect to connect to a public wifi access point, be prepared to scout out the router and get as close to it as possible.
But my wife loves the dual core Tegra 2 chipset!
freenudemacusers
Member
Yup.
here's the nokia concept
Speaking of big fuckups, here is Microsoft late to yet another tech craze.
freenudemacusers
Member
Am I missing something? That's a fan concept right?
entremet
Member
What's so bad about this build of Honeycomb?
here's the nokia concept
This is so hot.
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
This is what happens when you are blinded by brand loyalty.
He's just talking shit!
On the flip side, it's only advantageous if you invest solely in the itunes store and Apple product. Apple actively impede the integration of competing storefront. Beyond games, I don't use Apple's device for multimedia simply because all my media is with Amazon. I have more devices that integrate seamlessly with Amazon than iTunes, including my TV.
LQX
Member
This time it might benefit MS though as so many tablets with Android or another modified OS seem to be failing. People seeing Windows 8 on tablets might give many of them a big push.
entremet
Member
LOL at your username.
MS has been way too entreprise focused for while. That's why they're playing catch up all the time.
Yeah, that's not a real device. Just some dude who's better than I am at photoshop.
Marty Chinn
Member
Another person who doesn't see how MS is doing something that the other companies aren't and it's a bold and better way of doing it.
It's still android.
Prime time baby. Prime time.
longdi
Banned
w8 metro UI looks perfect for tablet navigation for my sister and girl friends, futuristic looking and colorful but any concrete date of release? will microsoft still be super anal tight about the hardware specs. hate how wp7.5 still using old soc. hardware acceleration helps with the ui but once you run higher demand apps, the phone still hit slowdowns.
RukusProvider
Banned
hahahha the manual actually states 10ft?
this thing will be a silent flop. You should be able to find them in bargain bins down the road. If you wait a little longer, you can pick up a vita from the same bucket also.
Yeah, but Windows 8 is a real operating system that could offer the power of a real PC with a very smooth touch interface. Android sucks on tabs thus far and iOS is a bit limited.
We'll see, though, but it could actually work for MS this time.
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