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HP releasing $799 Slate 500 to take on iPad in tablet market - Page 8

post #281 of 434
10/23/10 at 6:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by myapplelove View Post

Rubish. I have both o player and vlc and they both work great. I don't know if these guys have messed up settings or they are trying to play some 5gb mkv or what? If you think the atom, lol, will play these better be my guest. It's yor money.

Dunno. I guess you have little faith in Apple's methods of rating software. The reviews are what they are.

I can't use VLC on my iPhone, due to iOS fragmentation, so I'll never be able to test it myself.
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post #282 of 434
10/23/10 at 6:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post

... Someone on another forum brought up the fact that the HP Slate, Running Windows 7 and iTunes...

... could be used as the "pc" to initially set up an iPad...


Slate to iPad: Who's your Daddy?

That would be a rather funny image.
"Don't be a dick!"Wil Wheaton
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post #283 of 434
10/23/10 at 6:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cummje View Post

Rubbish. I've used other Windows tablets and haven't had problems. Still, they aren't as touch friendly as an iPad. But again, I'd sacrifice a bit of finger friendliness for the added advantage of a stylus in certain cases.

I'd sacrifice a bit of finger friendliness in order to run normal software that I can get anywhere, instead of being relegated to censored mini-apps unavailable except through a single vendor.
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post #284 of 434
10/23/10 at 6:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bsenka View Post

if the HP Mini can handle it, why can't the iPad using the same app?

Because compared to a netbook, the iPad is very anemic. It has hardly any RAM, and a cellphone-class CPU.

For content consumption, many modern netbooks are both better and cheaper than an iPad. And for other stuff, like archiving content, or running the coolest newest software, the iPad ain't even in the same league.

It is just a little appliance, and not a real computer like a netbook is.
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post #285 of 434
10/23/10 at 6:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fila97 View Post

In case you still don't know the MacBook Air's battery life is tested against a more stringent test that depicts a more accurate real life usage battery life.

Only Apple tells the truth about this stuff. Everybody else uses less stringent tests than Apple.
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post #286 of 434
10/23/10 at 6:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by samban View Post

Then how useful is generic port like USB where you cannot use the drivers of the desktop OS, which means lot your devices suddenly become useless. The idea of WHQL is to make sure all devices work well with windows.

Several points:

Drivers for things like a multitude of different monitors can likely be eliminated, as can drivers for things like built-in drives.

Additionally, for external devices, drivers can be kept compressed, and installed only upon having a need. That is how Windows does it now.

And if a driver is missing, it can be downloaded automagically with Windows. That is how it is done now, for things that have a more recent vintage than the current version of Windows.

So paring down the OS is baked in to Windws already. There is no need to install lots of useless stuff.
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post #287 of 434
10/23/10 at 6:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

Many would still be 16:10. The last good resolution.

Does anybody make that except one company?



And hey - Amazon does indeed sell narrow-screen 4:3 monitors! they have 18,921 computer monitors for sale. If you narrow that down by searching for 4:3, your choices go to 318. But what's that? Many of the 318 are not the old-fashioned narrow-screens! So there are even less.

Even if all the purported narrowscreens were really 4:3, that would only be .016% of the market.

But the reality is that the narrowscreen market is even smaller than that. Especially on modern computing devices. With one exception.
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post #288 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

But if one is less myopic, and considers aspects of the real world other than one product form one company, the answer is different.

If one looks at the vast majority of screens produced in the last 5 years, one does NOT see any aspect ratio except one: 16:9.

4:3 is used infrequently on some bizarre niche products. It is also used on one popular product.

Go to Amazon. They sell 1,278 TV sets with 16:9 screens, and 131 with the old aspect ratio.

They sell 18,923 different computer monitors. They don't list 4:3 as a choice, so I assume that none of them have anything but the standard 16:9 aspect ratio.

It would be truly bizarre to buy a 4:3 computer monitor. I doubt that old-fashioned stuff is even still in production (except for some bizarre, niche products).


When the iPad was first announced, I was a little surprised that it was so large and had that aspect ratio -- I was hoping for a 7" display at 16:9.

Was I wrong!


After using an iPad, you realize that part of its magic is that its screen size and aspect ratio allows it to do most things well. A smaller screen with an aspect ratio tied to HD video would be far less useful.


Ever see a book in that handy, singleton 16:9 form factor, or a printed page or a photograph?


Ever try to type text on a 16:9 7" display with a virtual keyboard?

In portrait mode the keyboard is too narrow to touch type; in landscape mode the keyboard is so tall you can only see a small portion of what you are typing (the keyboard takes up half of the display).


Ever try to hand write on a on a 16:9 7" display with a stylus?

In portrait mode you can only write a few words per line; in landscape mode you can only write a few lines of text.


Ever try create a picture, a CAD diagram, a painting, a page layout, a story-board, a flow chart, take some notes, write a program, enter a signature... on a 16:9 7" display?


A computer screen is used for a lot more than watching videos.


Myopia is in the eye of the beholder!

.
"So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world."
– Alan Kay –
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"So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world."
– Alan Kay –
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post #289 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post

.

I think HP released this tablet because:

1) It made a commitment to MS

2) It needs to maintain a good relationship with MS for the HP line of computers that use Windows

I believe that HP will also release a WebOS Tablet that is amed at the same audience as the iPad.

Good points here. Also, if the Slate were built on the WebOS, then any software venders would have to rejigger their software to work, which would delay the release of the Slate further, so it's not HP's fault alone. I think they're worried about Apple's success catching the attention of business and enterprise, so they're trying to nip that in the bud.

A bit of ammo for the HP Slate sales reps:
USB portso if you need a keyboard, you can plug one in!
SD card slot for expandable memory and downloading photos & video.
Runs Windows 7Businesses are resistant to change, because change requires training and additional overhead. They'd much rather stick with what they're familiar with. "Everything that works on your Windows 7 desktop at work or at home will work on the Slate."
The user-facing camera would be useful for video conferencing.

But there are some features of the Slate that leave me scratching my head:
16:9 aspect ratio? Businesses don't really have a need for that.
Rear-facing camera w/ flash seems more like a consumer feature to me.
But most significantly, as has been pointed out by other posters here, the Slate is essentially a keyboardless netbookat twice the price.

I think you're right that the WebOS and the devices it powers will be targeted toward a consumer market.

Time will tell if this Slate is a win in the business market or not.
"Don't be a dick!"Wil Wheaton
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post #290 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post

Ever try create a picture, a CAD diagram, a painting, a page layout, a story-board, a flow chart, take some notes, write a program, enter a signature... on a 16:9 7" display?


A computer screen is used for a lot more than watching videos.


Myopia is in the eye of the beholder!

.


If narrowscreen monitors are better, why doesn't anybody use them? Except for one product, even Apple has shitcanned that old-fashioned stuff.

And no, I have never used a 7 inch touchscreen of any aspect ratio. I use the smaller, not-4:3 touchscreen on my iPhone though. I do not wish it to be 4:3.

And besides, many of those undoable tasks cannot be done on an Ipad anyways - it is too weak and doesn't have full software packages available for it. Even if it did, it doesn't have enough RAM or CPU to handle that sort of stuff.

So given that the hardware is insufficient for the listed tasks, how does the narrowscreen on the iPad help? I mean, aside from making it magical.
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post #291 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

I can't use VLC on my iPhone, due to iOS fragmentation, so I'll never be able to test it myself.

iOS fragmentation? Are you saying because you have older hardware you expect all the latest apps to run on your hardware? In which case, most of them can... If you have an iPhone 3G you can run iOS 4.1 ... It is somewhat slower, but you can run many apps.

VLC so far has not so good reviews, I haven't tried it. But OPlayer and CineXPlayer should at least give you more options for XVID and MKV. These are shaping up to be pretty solid given they do not even use specialised hardware acceleration APIs.
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post #292 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Futuristic View Post

But most significantly, as has been pointed out by other posters here, the Slate is essentially a keyboardless netbookat twice the price.

By that logic, the iPad is less than a netbook at up to 3 times the price.

It doesn't have the RAM, it doesn't run regular full applications, it has a laughably small disk drive, no HDMI, no ability to output HD, no stereo speakers, and will not play nicely with the vast majority of content, especially web videos, like the local news stations.

You may have a valid criticism of the HP product, but if you apply the same criteria to the Apple product, it comes up short. Don't compare the iPad to a netbook. It is not in the same class.
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post #293 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

And besides, many of those undoable tasks cannot be done on an Ipad anyways - it is too weak and doesn't have full software packages available for it. Even if it did, it doesn't have enough RAM or CPU to handle that sort of stuff.

Fair enough, then the question is do you think a 9" HP Slate at $799 is appropriate for "that sort of stuff"...? Or would one might as well get a $599 11" netbook.
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post #294 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

iOS fragmentation? Are you saying because you have older hardware you expect all the latest apps to run on your hardware?

No. I'm saying that because of iOS fragmentation, VLC will run on some iOS products, but not on the vast majority of the iOS products that Apple is currently selling.

Look it up.
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post #295 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

No. I'm saying that because of iOS fragmentation, VLC will run on some iOS products, but not on the vast majority of the iOS products that Apple is currently selling.

Look it up.

Huh? VLC is currently available for iPad. They only need to develop for one other version, iPhone/iPod touch. If this is a basis for "fragmentation" of iOS, that idea would be pretty thin, I'd say.

By saying "will not run on the vast majority of iOS products that Apple is selling", you just mean they haven't made an iPhone version. That's all. Your phrasing has a clear slant.

As mentioned, look at CineXPlayer and OPlayerHD. Arguably better than VLC, and, wow, works on the extremely fragmented ecosystem of just 3 products ~ iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
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post #296 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

If narrowscreen monitors are better, why doesn't anybody use them? Except for one product, even Apple has shitcanned that old-fashioned stuff.

And no, I have never used a 7 inch touchscreen of any aspect ratio. I use the smaller, not-4:3 touchscreen on my iPhone though. I do not wish it to be 4:3.

And besides, many of those undoable tasks cannot be done on an Ipad anyways - it is too weak and doesn't have full software packages available for it. Even if it did, it doesn't have enough RAM or CPU to handle that sort of stuff.

So given that the hardware is insufficient for the listed tasks, how does the narrowscreen on the iPad help? I mean, aside from making it magical.

Simple!

The iPad:
-- is a mobile device
-- the screen is used for input as well as output


Every one of the tasks I mentioned I can do, and have done, on an iPad!

There are apps for all of these, and much, much, more if one opens his mind and looks...

The CPU, GPU and RAM are quite well suited to these tasks... and the screen is proportional to the needs of the user:

.
"So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world."
– Alan Kay –
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"So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world."
– Alan Kay –
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post #297 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

No. I'm saying that because of iOS fragmentation, VLC will run on some iOS products, but not on the vast majority of the iOS products that Apple is currently selling.

Look it up.

The VLC for iPhone release is imminent, and it's likely to run on all iPhones and iPod Touches ever released, including the first generation. So that's two products that the developer needed to develop. Or they could build it as a universal app and the same product, downloaded from the same link, sharing the same code, would run on every iOS product ever released.
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post #298 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

Fair enough, then the question is do you think a 9" HP Slate at $799 is appropriate for "that sort of stuff"...? Or would one might as well get a $599 11" netbook.

I don't know. I've not read many reviews of the new HP Slate.

I don't know if it is powerful enough to be a satisfying real computer or not. I don't know if it is necessary for a tablet to be powerful or not. I'm very interested in the category, but I am seldom an early adopter.

But I do know that I have wanted a cool tablet for years. And I know what my reaction was to the iPad. I found it sorely lacking in functionality.

I bought my kid a Dell Mini 10 for $250 (on sale) within days after the iPad was announced. It blows away the iPad WRT capability, power and functionality. No magic. Just a nice little laptop for cheap. And the battery lasts all day, in case anybody wanted to chime in with that stuff.

And he can set up his Palm Pre Plus to be a mobile hotspot, so it can be used anywhere, anytime.

He's much happier than if he got an iPhone and an iPad instead.
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post #299 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:39am
Just use CineXPlayer or OPlayer on iPhone and iPad. Plays XVID and MKVs. Sorted.

Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

Here's the first few reviews from the iStore:

Customer Reviews
does not work

by kon646
Installed it, connected to itunes as directed, loaded files in the shared files window on my MBP, synced.....nothing. iPad VLC app shows no files loaded.

Should be called ALN (Audio LAN Client)

by John Fischetti
I have high hopes for this app, but unfortunately every video i've thrown at it only plays audio.
The video files i've tried are around 700x300px, .avi files averaging around 1.2 - 1.4 gb in size

mkvs make the app crash!

by Xatanas
I love the idea of VLC on the iPad, but after adding different mkvs, the app simply crashes. I tried various combinations and even uploading only them one by one and letting each alone in the app to no avail. Sorry it's just not good enough.
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post #300 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

Dunno. I guess you have little faith in Apple's methods of rating software. The reviews are what they are.

I can't use VLC on my iPhone, due to iOS fragmentation, so I'll never be able to test it myself.

The bonus is, you could actually test out Oplayer Lite on your iPhone. For the low, low price of.... Free.

Then perhaps you could get back to us on any challenges you might have with certain MKV or XVID files or other formats?

We await your feedback.
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post #301 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

By saying "will not run on the vast majority of iOS products that Apple is selling", you just mean they haven't made an iPhone version. That's all. Your phrasing has a clear slant.


Agreed. They need to make different version for the different fragments of iOS. The software works only with certain less-popular versions of iOS.

But the majority of iOS users are stuck with the wrong fragment of the OS, so they are out of luck, and cannot use VLC, or any other software written exclusively for certain fragments of iOS.
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post #302 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

I don't know. I've not read many reviews of the new HP Slate.

I don't know if it is powerful enough to be a satisfying real computer or not. I don't know if it is necessary for a tablet to be powerful or not. I'm very interested in the category, but I am seldom an early adopter.

But I do know that I have wanted a cool tablet for years. And I know what my reaction was to the iPad. I found it sorely lacking in functionality.

I bought my kid a Dell Mini 10 for $250 (on sale) within days after the iPad was announced. It blows away the iPad WRT capability, power and functionality. No magic. Just a nice little laptop for cheap. And the battery lasts all day, in case anybody wanted to chime in with that stuff.

And he can set up his Palm Pre Plus to be a mobile hotspot, so it can be used anywhere, anytime.

He's much happier than if he got an iPhone and an iPad instead.

That's alright, the iPad is not for everyone if a small laptop is actually what they're after. I for one am against shoving Apple products down people's throats. Apple users don't do this.

We try to just talk about what we discovered about it, and leave the choices to others.

Many people that get an iPad already have a laptop or desktop computer. It may not make much sense to get an iPad if you don't already have your own computer.

But the challenge for the HP Slate is, how it directly compares to netbooks because that's the category it's playing in. The iPad may have "poorer specs" but it's in a different category.

The comparison should be HP Slate to $999 MacBook Air 11". Guess what, the MacBook Air 11" has a 16:9 screen...
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post #303 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

Agreed. They need to make different version for the different fragments of iOS. The software works only with certain less-popular versions of iOS.

But the majority of iOS users are stuck with the wrong fragment of the OS, so they are out of luck, and cannot use VLC, or any other software written exclusively for certain fragments of iOS.

Hmm... the thing is when you say "fragments", or "wrong fragment", it sounds worse than it is.

Fragments implies small pieces. But there are only two halves here. iPhone/touch and iPad.

The "wrong" "fragment", if anything, is iPad. There are far more apps for iPhone.

Not sure how you got focused on VLC, it's a fairly experimental build. The real players in the game are CineXPlayer and OPlayer which smartly makes for both halves of iOS.
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post #304 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

By that logic, the iPad is less than a netbook at up to 3 times the price.

It doesn't have the RAM, it doesn't run regular full applications, it has a laughably small disk drive, no HDMI, no ability to output HD, no stereo speakers, and will not play nicely with the vast majority of content, especially web videos, like the local news stations.

You may have a valid criticism of the HP product, but if you apply the same criteria to the Apple product, it comes up short. Don't compare the iPad to a netbook. It is not in the same class.

Will you please point out where, in my post from which you quoted me, I said anything to the effect of "iPad rulz, Slate drools!"?? I'm pretty sure I didn't even mention the iPad anywhere in the post. The only mention of "iPad" was in the post that I quoted, but even that wasn't in reference to a comparison between the two.

I thought I was giving a pretty objective, detached assessment of the Slate.
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post #305 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe hs View Post

Come to think of it, I have removed a couple of things so 11.07GB is probably more accurate.
14 and 20GB are from microsofts windows 7 sys requirements webpage.

Well removing all the languages that you will never use frees up a Gig right there. There are a few other legacy items you can remove as well freeing up another Gig. I use MacKeeper, easy to remove all the extra stuff freeing up a ton of space AND making your computer run a bit better.
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post #306 of 434
10/23/10 at 7:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pennywse View Post

Well removing all the languages that you will never use frees up a Gig right there. There are a few other legacy items you can remove as well freeing up another Gig. I use MacKeeper, easy to remove all the extra stuff freeing up a ton of space AND making your computer run a bit better.

Did you remove printer drivers? Apparently that's at least 1GB, even in Snow Leopard, as I understand.
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post #307 of 434
10/23/10 at 8:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

That's alright, the iPad is not for everyone if a small laptop is actually what they're after. I for one am against shoving Apple products down people's throats. Apple users don't do this.

We try to just talk about what we discovered about it, and leave the choices to others.

Many people that get an iPad already have a laptop or desktop computer. It may not make much sense to get an iPad if you don't already have your own computer.

But the challenge for the HP Slate is, how it directly compares to netbooks because that's the category it's playing in. The iPad may have "poorer specs" but it's in a different category.

The comparison should be HP Slate to $999 MacBook Air 11". Guess what, the MacBook Air 11" has a 16:9 screen...

And it has a separate physical keyboard and touchpad -- so you never lose screen real estate for input.

.
"So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world."
– Alan Kay –
Reply
"So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world."
– Alan Kay –
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post #308 of 434
10/23/10 at 8:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


But the challenge for the HP Slate is, how it directly compares to netbooks because that's the category it's playing in. The iPad may have "poorer specs" but it's in a different category.

Why is the Apple slate in a different category from the HP Slate? I could easily conceive of an HP Slate with a cellphone OS instead of a full OS, which would eliminate the biggest differentiator.

ISTM that they share a form factor, and are therefore in the same category: Tablet computers.
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post #309 of 434
10/23/10 at 8:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

The bonus is, you could actually test out Oplayer Lite on your iPhone. For the low, low price of.... Free.

Then perhaps you could get back to us on any challenges you might have with certain MKV or XVID files or other formats?

We await your feedback.

Thanks! I'll check out Oplayer. I have little desire to pay for software in a category that has so much great free software, however.

I use, variously for different purposes, VLC, Windows Media Player, the built-in player in Utorrent, Firefox, IE, Chrome, Winamp and of course, on occasion, Quicktime and iTunes.

Every single one of them was free. Most all of them (with notable exceptions) will play all modern codecs.

If oplayer will allow more versatility out of my iPhone (even a little bit), I will use it.
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post #310 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post

You are right!

The problem is this: a tablet with a pc os is a niche product.

When the iPad was announced in Jan, the pundits forecast total tablet sales for 2010 as:

-- Total tablet sales: 11 .5 units
-- Total iPad sales .5 million units

Wrong!

While what you say is correct, the world has moved on... as nicely as I can put this... It does't matter how good/bad a Windows tablet is... nobody cares!

.

Touche. I pretty much agree with you. I was really surprised when they figured the iPad would sell such low numbers. Being not really all that expensive and a great product they should have expected way more.
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post #311 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cummje View Post

Touche. I pretty much agree with you. I was really surprised when they figured the iPad would sell such low numbers. Being not really all that expensive and a great product they should have expected way more.

I figure at least 0.5 million anti-Apple, wanna-be tech reviewers bought them just to complain about it on their blog site.
Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"
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Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"
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post #312 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

Why is the Apple slate in a different category from the HP Slate? I could easily conceive of an HP Slate with a cellphone OS instead of a full OS, which would eliminate the biggest differentiator.

ISTM that they share a form factor, and are therefore in the same category: Tablet computers.

If the HP Slate ran a tablet-targeted OS instead of a desktop OS, then I would say it's comparable directly with the iPad. I see what you did with referring to "cellphone OS" and I'm not biting.

As it is, the HP Slate is comparable to a netbook, at least the way I'm looking at it.

The HP Slate is not comparable to an iPad other than they both have a "tablet form factor".

Therein lies perhaps the "mistake" HP has made. They haven't made an iPad competitor, they've made a netbook competitor.
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post #313 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

Hmm... the thing is when you say "fragments", or "wrong fragment", it sounds worse than it is.

Fragments implies small pieces. But there are only two halves here. iPhone/touch and iPad.

The "wrong" "fragment", if anything, is iPad. There are far more apps for iPhone.

Not sure how you got focused on VLC, it's a fairly experimental build. The real players in the game are CineXPlayer and OPlayer which smartly makes for both halves of iOS.



Somebody suggested that VLC would allow iOS devices to play popular codecs. I looked it up, and found that it doesn't work on the vast majority of iOS devices, because iOS is a different OS on different devices.

I'm kind of used to a world where if you are using the latest version of an OS, software written for the OS will just work. I'm not used to checking which fragment I have, and whether the software is written for my fragment.

I like it when it just works. I guess I think different.
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post #314 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

Thanks! I'll check out Oplayer. I have little desire to pay for software in a category that has so much great free software, however.

I use, variously for different purposes, VLC, Windows Media Player, the built-in player in Utorrent, Firefox, IE, Chrome, Winamp and of course, on occasion, Quicktime and iTunes.

Every single one of them was free. Most all of them (with notable exceptions) will play all modern codecs.

If oplayer will allow more versatility out of my iPhone (even a little bit), I will use it.

There's a catch to the free version of OPlayer You'll see... But it's good to test out it's playback functionality.

As to whether the full version is worth $2.99 or should be free because so many desktop video players are free... I leave to you all to decide.
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post #315 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Futuristic View Post

Will you please point out where, in my post from which you quoted me, I said anything to the effect of "iPad rulz, Slate drools!"?? I'm pretty sure I didn't even mention the iPad anywhere in the post. The only mention of "iPad" was in the post that I quoted, but even that wasn't in reference to a comparison between the two.

I thought I was giving a pretty objective, detached assessment of the Slate.

I have no problem with your asessment of the slate. I realize that you did not asses the iPad.

So I used your criteria for the Slate, and applied it to the iPad.

No offense. I thought it was a fair method to use.
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post #316 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

Somebody suggested that VLC would allow iOS devices to play popular codecs. I looked it up, and found that it doesn't work on the vast majority of iOS devices, because iOS is a different OS on different devices.

I'm kind of used to a world where if you are using the latest version of an OS, software written for the OS will just work. I'm not used to checking which fragment I have, and whether the software is written for my fragment.

I like it when it just works. I guess I think different.

I'll pass on the fragment topic for a moment.

As for VLC, to me, I think there was a lot of hype about it but I think what happened was a separate group from those that work on the desktop versions took the source code and put out the iOS VLC app.
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post #317 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post

And it has a separate physical keyboard and touchpad -- so you never lose screen real estate for input.

.

Yep. The Air seems much better compared to the iPad. It will run real software, for example.

But it still has insufficient disk space for general purpose use. If you have NAS, and don't mind cooling your heels while stuff downloads, it could be sufficient, however.
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post #318 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

If the HP Slate ran a tablet-targeted OS instead of a desktop OS, then I would say it's comparable directly with the iPad. I see what you did with referring to "cellphone OS" and I'm not biting.

As it is, the HP Slate is comparable to a netbook, at least the way I'm looking at it.

The HP Slate is not comparable to an iPad other than they both have a "tablet form factor".

Therein lies perhaps the "mistake" HP has made. They haven't made an iPad competitor, they've made a netbook competitor.

Fair enough. You categorize by OS, instead of the other aspects.

I suppose that is one way to do it, but I am not aware that anybody besides you considers that a valid method. Using that method, for example, puts the iPad in the same category as the iPhone.

So if the OS makes the HP Slate a netbook, then it seems to follow that the OS makes the iPad a cellphone. But I disagree with the premise, so I instead conclude that all tablet computers are in the same category.

BTW, most of the guys who make a living selling this stuff also categorize these sorts of products together, without grouping them by OS. They instead group them by form factor. As does everybody else I've ever heard or seen who has made such a distinction.

But please, be consistent. If the HP Slate is in the netbook category due to its OS, then the iPad must be in the cellphone category due to its OS, no?

And to go deeper, the Slate does NOT run Windows Starter or XP, which are the OSs of choice on Netbooks. Instead, it runs a full version of Windows 7 Home Premium, which AFAIK, is not usually included with netbooks. So the HP diesn't even come with a netbook OS, but instead, a full laptop OS. Is it a laptop?
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post #319 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

There's a catch to the free version of OPlayer You'll see... But it's good to test out it's playback functionality.

As to whether the full version is worth $2.99 or should be free because so many desktop video players are free... I leave to you all to decide.


Well, we entered into this line of discussion by examining whether the iPad could match the Slate as a consumer oriented media consumption device.

I pointed out the extra versatility of the Slate, by using the example that it could play all normal codecs, unlike iOS devices. I was corrected, I am told that some versions of iOS will play more codecs if you download additional apps.

If those Apps are not free, then I think that the Slate wins on this narrow point. But $3 is almost free, so the distinction is admittedly weak. I'll look forward to trying oplayer. If it saves me time, so I don't have to keep converting videos to one of the few codecs that work on my iPhone, I'll use it. I watch very few movies on my iPhone anymore, however, because it is such a PITA to convert the videos. I'm no longer in the habit. Maybe oPlayer will get me back into it? I hope so.

I might even pay for it. But given the choice of a zillion great free programs for the Slate, or a couple of paid applets available for the iPad, I dunno if the iPad is a compelling choice for me.
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post #320 of 434
10/23/10 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by appl View Post

Yep. The Air seems much better compared to the iPad. It will run real software, for example.

But it still has insufficient disk space for general purpose use. If you have NAS, and don't mind cooling your heels while stuff downloads, it could be sufficient, however.

How do you define "real software"?
How do you define "general purpose use?"

The Air and the iPad aren't really relevant to a "which is better" discussion, as they are different devices. The Air is a standalone computer. The iPad is an "appliance". Saying the Air is much better than the iPad is like saying "a motorcycle is much better than a bicycle" (I'm lifting the analogy from this articlethe author describes the Slate as the motorcycle, but I think substituting the Air in this case is appropriate). Adding to this the fact that the iPad can be docked to the MBA, in my opinion, negates the whole comparison between the two. For a more geeky analogy, saying the MBA is better than the iPad would be like saying the USS Enterprise is better than one of the shuttles in its shuttle bay.
"Don't be a dick!"Wil Wheaton
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"Don't be a dick!"Wil Wheaton
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