Tablet Wars 2011

[Hardknock]

2011 will be an incredible year for Tablets. We have the iPad 2, BlackBerry Playbook, HP TouchPad and various Android tablets like the Motorola Xoom and Galaxy Tab 10.

I'm curious where the consensus leans on B3D. Out of the 4 which are you most excited about?

Here are some spec comparisons. Keep in mind these don't take into account the software support for each device (which is a big deal).

 

[Mize]

My two cents:
<9" is too small for my eyes (BB - give us a 9.7 PlayBook).

I like WebOS the best, but Xoom has better hardware than the HP TouchPad (no video out and no SD card on that puppy?).

If there was a $500 Wifi only Xoom I'd probably buy it today. I have no use whatsoever for today's heinous phone company data plans.

 

[eastmen]

wheres the windows tablet option ?

Lastest windows weekly videocast is talking about win 8 having an optional UI for tablets like the zune / win7 phone.

 

[Mize]

Windows tablet is due out in 2012, not 2011. For now it's stripped down Windows 7 and shitty battery life if you look at the Windows-running tablets that are out there.

Windows is x86 which means Atom or Zacat at best until the tablet version comes out.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I'm most interested in the playbook. I like that its smaller and lighter. Since I have a Blackberry, because it's massively more affordable to me than the iPhone, I have a little more interest in it. Not really worried about games, even though some of the iPad games look very cool. My interest is more in the browser for doing general surfing, and even though Flash is kind of shit, there are a lot of sites that use Flash. If I was more into getting a device to play games on (I'm trying to cut back on my game spending) I'd definitely pick the iPad 2. Hopefully the Playbook will get a few nice games, maybe even those Playstation NGP games if the Android porting thing really comes true. The hardware seems like it'll be pretty capable.

They pretty much all seem like good devices, and it just depends on what you're interested in. If you want to be an App developer, then iPad is probably the way to go, because you have the potential for the most sales. But Android or Blackberry sales shouldn't be so bad either, depending on what you're expecting. WebOS, to me, as great as it looks, is the odd one out, only because I don't think the 3rd party support will be there.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

I'm not voting until there's a Win7 tablet option.

A Fusion C-50 tablet with Win7 would beat everything else in terms of functionality, performance and software library -> with competitive battery life.

 

[eastmen]

I'm not voting until there's a Win7 tablet option.

A Fusion C-50 tablet with Win7 would beat everything else in terms of functionality, performance and software library -> with competitive battery life.

holy shoot we agree on something ! though i'd really want a dual core fusion chip

 

[Mize]

Do you guys really see a Fusion (dual core even) tablet running W7 lasting 10+ hours of use and having similar size and weight to those listed above?

 

[AlphaWolf]

Do you guys really see a Fusion (dual core even) tablet running W7 lasting 10+ hours of use and having similar size and weight to those listed above?

Oak trail tablets run about 2 hours, that's comparable to 10 right? I expect fusion to be better, but its not going to approach 10.

 

[Hardknock]

I have no problems adding a Windows 7 option but unfortunately I don't see a way to edit the poll. The reason why I didn't include them is because Microsoft themselves have stated Windows 8 will be their primary Tablet OS and that's not releasing until 2012. Current Windows Tablets leave a lot to be desired from a UI and Battery Life stand point.

 

[eastmen]

Do you guys really see a Fusion (dual core even) tablet running W7 lasting 10+ hours of use and having similar size and weight to those listed above?

32nm later this year and a 25wh battery ? Yes yes i do


lets take the dm1z

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4187/hp-dm1z-taking-fusion-on-the-road

Amd e-350 2x1.6ghz fusion chip with the radeon 6310

11.6inch lcd

320GB 7200rpm drive

6 cell 55WH battery

3.52 lbs

Anand is getting 8.3hrs at idle 4.6 hours playing back x264 720p video

Drop the battery in half and you get a little over 4 hours at idel and about 2.3hrs watching video.

Get rid of the standard hardrive and replace with extremely low power flash , smaller screen and mabye a small clock rate hit along with a process drop to 32nm and yea yea i can see it lasting pretty long.

The xoom at 65% brightness playing video of an unknown quality hit in at eight an a half hours of battery life according to engadget 4 hours would be a drop in life but if you make an easily removable battey life a laptop it be fine for many users.

I'm more interested in the software tools avalible on win7/8 that aren't avalible on android/ipad.

 

[eastmen]

I have no problems adding a Windows 7 option but unfortunately I don't see a way to edit the poll. The reason why I didn't include them is because Microsoft themselves have stated Windows 8 will be their primary Tablet OS and that's not releasing until 2012. Current Windows Tablets leave a lot to be desired from a UI and Battery Life stand point.

leaks put the win 8 tablet beta in the fall. so possibly any of the tables coming this year can run it. Oak trail and the fusion tablets should be fine with it .

 

[Mize]

Oak trail tablets run about 2 hours, that's comparable to 10 right? I expect fusion to be better, but its not going to approach 10.

LOL. Yes, on my next 14 hour flight (which is Saturday, BTW) I'll consider one movie the same as three movies, gaming, music and reading... No the plane has no power outlets going over or coming back

 

[Mize]

Eastmen, I think your math is quite fuzzy, but, yes, a replaceable battery makes things better (although it increases size and weight considerably).

I'm more interested in the software tools avalible on win7/8 that aren't avalible on android/ipad.

We're after very different things. When I travel it's long flights, email, Skype, lots of meetings, etc.
The things I would want that tablets don't yet offer are:

OpenVPN client
Putty (for supporting my IT people who know less about IT than I do)
Skype video
Good editor for Word and Powerpoint

That's about it. If I need more than that (CAD, etc.) I better just bring my laptop.

 

[Hardknock]

leaks put the win 8 tablet beta in the fall. so possibly any of the tables coming this year can run it. Oak trail and the fusion tablets should be fine with it .

It will be interesting to see. I'm personally excited to see Windows ported to ARM processors. This should significantly improve size and battery life of Windows based tablets.

 

[eastmen]

Eastmen, I think your math is quite fuzzy, but, yes, a replaceable battery makes things better (although it increases size and weight considerably).

any reason why you think this ? I also don't see a replaceable battery adding weight to anything. The ipad has a huge two piece battery inside of it from what I understand. My laptop has a 4 cell battery that is pretty light in the grand scheme of things. That dm1z is less than 4 lbs and there is alot of redudant weight on that thing i could see them at least halfing the weight down to 2lbs with that 6 cell battery they have in it . Remember a drop from 40nm to 32nm will not only reduce the power consumption but also the cooling required so alot of weight inside the laptop can be removed easily

We're after very different things. When I travel it's long flights, email, Skype, lots of meetings, etc.
The things I would want that tablets don't yet offer are:

OpenVPN client
Putty (for supporting my IT people who know less about IT than I do)
Skype video
Good editor for Word and Powerpoint

That's about it. If I need more than that (CAD, etc.) I better just bring my laptop.

I'd use it more at work so i can put all my tools on the device when i go to fix a pc. I'd want to be able to play some older games , half life 2 , left 4 dead and what not perhaps. Word is good and with a pen input it be amazing.

Long flights don't bother me because 1) the longest flights i do are really to florida so its just under 4 hours of flight time. But 2) I have my cell phone for skype and email , I have my 3DS (its paid for already ..... just want it to come out darn it ! ) for gaming and i have my zune hd for music and podcasts.

I keep my phone on me no matter what so its not adding ot my travel size , there are very few real games on andriod and while slightly more still not enough to keep me busy on a flight with the ipad so i'd bring my 3Ds also . My zune hd is the smallest thing i got so its not a big deal to bing with me. I can prob fit the 3DS , phone , tablet , zune hd and an extra battery or two for my tablet in the space of my old 15 inch laptop that i would travel with .

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Oak trail tablets run about 2 hours,

wut?! Source for that?
I find it really hard to believe, since even the old Atom netbooks with 3-cell batteries (~2200mAh) lasted for about 4 hours.
My EeePC 901 did 7 hours straight, with a 4400mAh battery.
And that's 2 generations ago.



Nonetheless, the new tablet version of C-50, with a 4 watt TDP, should be able to provide quite a decent amount of battery life compared to 40nm dual-A9 ARM solutions. I wouldn't say 10 hours, but 6-8 hours shouldn't be hard to get.




Of course, if one's a battery life extremist and absolutely needs to be staring at a 10" screen for 12 hours continuously during a 15-hour flight, and has some kind of battery-swapping-fobia, then a x86 tablet probably won't be a choice for 2011.

32nm later this year and a 25wh battery ? Yes yes i do


lets take the dm1z

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4187/hp-dm1z-taking-fusion-on-the-road

Amd e-350 2x1.6ghz fusion chip with the radeon 6310

The E-350 (18W TDP) shouldn't be anywhere representative of the tablet version of C-50 (4W TDP).

I'm more interested in the software tools avalible on win7/8 that aren't avalible on android/ipad.

^This.
I imagine myself playing a game in my desktop and then, when on a trip, continuing to play the same game in a 10" tablet, with decent visuals.

 

[metafor]

wut?! Source for that?
I find it really hard to believe, since even the old Atom netbooks with 3-cell batteries (~2200mAh) lasted for about 4 hours.
My EeePC 901 did 7 hours straight, with a 4400mAh battery.
And that's 2 generations ago.



Nonetheless, the new tablet version of C-50, with a 4 watt TDP, should be able to provide quite a decent amount of battery life compared to 40nm dual-A9 ARM solutions. I wouldn't say 10 hours, but 6-8 hours shouldn't be hard to get.




Of course, if one's a battery life extremist and absolutely needs to be staring at a 10" screen for 12 hours continuously during a 15-hour flight, and has some kind of battery-swapping-fobia, then a x86 tablet probably won't be a choice for 2011.

I think you grossly underestimate how much of a phobia towards all of those things the average consumer has. It may not seem like a big deal but when choosing between a tablet that lasts 10+ hours (even if it's not continual use) compared to even 6 hours of typical use, most people are willing not only to pay a premium but to give up features as long as it isn't video, music or web browsing.

That being said, Oak Trail should be competitive assuming ARM stands still. This won't be the case.

 

[AlphaWolf]

wut?! Source for that?
I find it really hard to believe, since even the old Atom netbooks with 3-cell batteries (~2200mAh) lasted for about 4 hours.
My EeePC 901 did 7 hours straight, with a 4400mAh battery.
And that's 2 generations ago.

my bad I was thinking the already available i5 based windows tablets not oak trail.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

my bad I was thinking the already available i5 based windows tablets not oak trail.

Yes, the lowest-power Arrandales have a TDP comparable to E-350, but the GPU performance is light-years away, of course.

The ULV Sandybridge might make things a bit more even, graphics-wise (and CPU performance might even double the dual-bobcat in E350), but we're now talking about completely different price points. That ULV Sandybridge is highly binned, for sure.


Nonetheless, 18W CPUs shouldn't be in tablets.. they're putting a black cloud over x86 in tablets..