[onQ]

Originally Posted by eastmen

wouldn't waiting for the kindle fire update be better ? It seems to be a much better device for that type of stuff and has a much thinner besel from what i can see

I didn't see anything about the Kindle Fire 2 until about 2 days ago so I will take a look at it & think about it, but I think it will have a hard time getting the sell over the Nexus 7. also Nexus 7 has a camera so it should have video chat & that's something that my mom can use.

[Rangers]

I can say the Kindle Fire 1 is terrible. At 249 the Samsung 7" Tab is vastly superior, and coincidentally since the holidays crushing the Fire in sales.

[Rurouni]

I don't know about the tv output for the PC tablet (I assume it would be good like your regular laptop/pc tv out), but on the android device that I have used (Note with mhl and MediaPad/Springboard with mini hdmi), the tv out have a big enough lag that it really wasn't possible to game while looking at the tv. And on both devices, using tv out reduced the performance of the device (lower fps).

[scooby_dooby]

Originally Posted by eastmen

Anyone semi interested in gaming would pick a dedicated device over a tablet for gaming. A next gen console and heck mabye even a current gen console would offer a better experiance while even a cheap computer will offer a better one

I'm interested in gaming, but haven't bought a dedicated handheld. There's many reasons why.

1. Games are too expensive for my attention span. For longer games I will play on PC/Console, for a shorter briefer experience I will grab my Phone/iPad. $2-4 games are much more suited to what I feel like doing when I grab a portable device.

2. Ecosystems. When I buy something for Android, it will work on my wife's phone, my son's device, my old device, and my future device. If I buy a disc for Vita, it works on a Vita, that's it.

3. Large screen. No portable device can match the sweetness that is gaming on a 10" device, yes the controls are less precise, but it feels _very_ gratifying to do everything through touch interface. The nice thing about mobile is that I can run the same sofware on either a large or small screen, at my leisure.

4. Multitasking. Again, my attention span sucks. I'd like my mobile game device to also be capable of bouncing out to Flipboad / Gmail / G+ at the drop of the hat. This is not a lack of interest in gaming, but rather additional interests on top of it.

5. Fresh software. While 3DS and Vita struggle to fill their software lineup, Mobile is exploding with new games. Granted, this is much more true on iOS than Android.

I could go on... I've really considered buying a Vita, but the small screen, expensive games, and lack of software don't make it super appealing.

[scooby_dooby]

Originally Posted by eastmen

wouldn't waiting for the kindle fire update be better ? It seems to be a much better device for that type of stuff and has a much thinner besel from what i can see

I have a Google 7 on my desk right now, boss brought one home from google IO. This thing is much smaller than it looks in pics.

The top bezel is actually pretty small (1/2"), the side bezel's are a bit thick(1"), but just big enough to rest my thumbs on, so it seems about right.

[BadTB25]

Originally Posted by scooby_dooby

I have a Google 7 on my desk right now, boss brought one home from google IO. This thing is much smaller than it looks in pics.

The top bezel is actually pretty small (1/2"), the side bezel's are a bit thick(1"), but just big enough to rest my thumbs on, so it seems about right.

More impressions as you get hands-on with it please.

[Shifty Geezer]

Originally Posted by scooby_dooby

I have a Google 7 on my desk right now, boss brought one home from google IO. This thing is much smaller than it looks in pics.

The top bezel is actually pretty small (1/2"), the side bezel's are a bit thick(1"), but just big enough to rest my thumbs on, so it seems about right.

The ASUS tablet's don't look as slick as the rivals, but I guses there's some functionality there as there is room for holding them. I do look forward to a future of A4 and 7" tablets with virtually no bezel.

[Rurouni]

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

The ASUS tablet's don't look as slick as the rivals, but I guses there's some functionality there as there is room for holding them. I do look forward to a future of A4 and 7" tablets with virtually no bezel.

It would be hard to hold it without bezel, especially when using it in landscape.

[Shifty Geezer]

I use my tablet on a surface like a table most of the time. For on-the-go portability, hodling a small tablet in your hand from behind is the norm. Certainly for using the tablet as a camera say, a lack of holding surface would be a problem, but there's be other tablets for that. Or clip in mounts/handles.

[eastmen]

Originally Posted by onQ

I didn't see anything about the Kindle Fire 2 until about 2 days ago so I will take a look at it & think about it, but I think it will have a hard time getting the sell over the Nexus 7. also Nexus 7 has a camera so it should have video chat & that's something that my mom can use.

Why , Amazon has a much better ecco system than google does currently. If its for your mom she will find the app store and content alot easier on the fire vs the nexus 7 .


The fire 2 should offer a better screen , faster cpu and more storage space.


IN all honesty any tablet that doesn't have an sd slot for more storage is not an option for me. My mother uses the kindle fire more than the touch pad with ICS on it. The fire is just easier for her to get movies and books on

[wco81]

What is A4?

Ecosystem for media and music is overrated. In all the years of using iPhone and now iPad, I've bought very few things from iTunes. Already had a big music library and preferred to rip my own DVDs (though really didn't want to load up too many videos).

Certainly downloaded a lot of free apps and bought a few.

Maybe I'll change my tune once I hook up the AppleTV and use AirPlay more but it's surprising how many people are using mobile devices for video. Even seeing a few people take pictures and record videos with iPads -- guess they don't want to buy or carry around a separate camera.

[Shifty Geezer]

Originally Posted by wco81

What is A4?

Standard international page size. About 8" by 12", but a slightlty shorter, fatter aspect (8.3" x 11.7"). As a long standing convention, it's the workspace area people are most familiar with. A 10" screen is a little wanting for real-estate. And A4, bezel-free screen would be the perfect substitute for a paper notepad.

[wco81]

I thought you were referring to an SOC or some other silicon.

Yeah it might be a size that some manufacturer explores if they can't crack the 10 or 7-inch market segments.

[Arwin]

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

Standard international page size. About 8" by 12", but a slightlty shorter, fatter aspect (8.3" x 11.7"). As a long standing convention, it's the workspace area people are most familiar with. A 10" screen is a little wanting for real-estate. And A4, bezel-free screen would be the perfect substitute for a paper notepad.

Actually not that international. Europe uses A4, but the U.S. use Letter, which is slightly smaller. We always had a lot of fun with that with supporting printers in our international firm, with documents being sent from all over the world in different sizes. This fun lasted until printers got built in features to convert Letter to A4 automatically, after which it finally became a non-issue.

For me personally, 10" (or Apple's 9.7") is fine for me, for tablet use, certainly at 2048x1536, which makes sure you can put that space to good use.

[Shifty Geezer]

Originally Posted by Arwin

Actually not that international.

International as in an ISO standard used everywhere except the US and Canada, which refuse to get with the times as ever.

[wco81]

I thought Europe was more green. A4 wastes more paper, kills more trees.

Anyways, not sure why tablets would need to follow the paper paradigm.

There's talk about rollable displays or even pico projectors on smart phones.


There seems to be constraints on the types of displays available. For instance, Apple may have locked up 10 inch displays with the high DPI for awhile. It may also be that 16:9 is more common for tablets other than Apple in the larger format.

[Arwin]

We are talking about tablet size in terms of paper standard sizes simply because that's what somehow seems to have evolved as the most comfortable size.

Note, by the way, that most print on paper has margins too, just like bezels on tablets.

[ToTTenTranz]

Beyond3D:
The place where you discuss GPUs, CPUs and paper sheet sizes.

[Sigfried1977]

Do tablets with Wacom-like pressure sensitive surfaces exist (I bought myself a Wacom Cintiq last week and I'm loving the hell out of it, but it's about 10 kilos and requires a PC to function)? That would be the only thing I'd be interested in in a tablet. No need for an over-sized smartphone unfortunately.

[Shifty Geezer]

Originally Posted by wco81

I thought Europe was more green. A4 wastes more paper, kills more trees.

It's not wasted paper if you're filling it up. If you don't need as much paper as A4, use a smaller size. A4 is just the principal sized sheet you buy and use around the world. When you load a laser printer, you put in a ream of 500 sheets of A4. Photo paper is sold in 6x4" glossies as that was the photo standard, and in A4 sheets. Large notepads are A4 sized. Folders and boxes to keep sheets in are sized for A4 paper. Briefcases are designed to fit A4 sheets. It's a standard that makes it easy to work with (like most standards ).

A tablet wouldn't have to be exactly that size, but it'd be nice to have a larger option than 10" especially factoring in people have been working most usually with ~62000 mm^2 of space for many years as opposed to the ~45000 mm^2 of iPad. A 16:9 aspect makes sense for viewing media though.

[Shifty Geezer]

Originally Posted by Arwin

We are talking about tablet size in terms of paper standard sizes simply because that's what somehow seems to have evolved as the most comfortable size.

Dunno about that. Looking it up on Wiki, turns out it was a scientific choice, and a sensible one preserving the aspect ratio when you halve the size each time, centered on the root size being a metric area of 1 m^2. I've now been educated in the ways of paper and can better apply the weight measurements of g/m^2 that we're given (1/16th of the listed weight per sheet. I like simple mathematical standards ).

Note, by the way, that most print on paper has margins too, just like bezels on tablets.

Margins are for doodling in.

[Shifty Geezer]

Originally Posted by Sigfried1977

Do tablets with Wacom-like pressure sensitive surfaces exist.

At this point that's immaterial as the accuracy of capacitive screens is terrible. Styli need a large surface area to register a touch, which can mean +/- several millimetres on where you're trying to touch. I guess for finger painting in broad strokes, pressure sensitivity would be nice, but in those cases you can use touch area as a measure which is available - you can draw thicker lines with a thicker contact from the drawing implement (finger), or just count a thicker touch point as a harder press.

[Rurouni]

Originally Posted by Sigfried1977

Do tablets with Wacom-like pressure sensitive surfaces exist

Isn't those windows tablets have wacom tech in it? The pressure and pen resolution might not be as high as on cintiq, but should get the job done. As for angle sensitivity, I don't know. I want to Google it, but it's almost 5 and I need my sleep.

[Gitaroo]

There is a stylus from adonit call jot touch, which has pressure sensitive tip on the stylus itself (up to 240 different pressure point I think). Was suppose to come out in may but has been delayed for months. It was the main reason why I got the new ipad, that retina res + procreate + jot touch seems like a good and cheap alternative for painting than buying a wacom.

[Sigfried1977]

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

At this point that's immaterial as the accuracy of capacitive screens is terrible.

Not talking about capacitive surfaces of course. Not interested in using it with my fingers anyway.