"Android's kernel is based on the Linux kernel...."
If factual errors could kill, you'd be a serial killer
I don't know why i'm defending the somewhat childish, petulant post he/she made, but to play devil's advocate, Linux is technically not Unix and so not a "*nix" at all.
Linux is a copy of Unix done in the spirit of Unix, but it isn't actually Unix or even really in the "family."
I don't know why i'm defending the somewhat childish, petulant post he/she made, but to play devil's advocate, Linux is technically not Unix and so not a "*nix" at all.
Linux is a copy of Unix done in the spirit of Unix, but it isn't actually Unix or even really in the "family."
A copy of Unix (or Unix-like, if you prefer) is exactly what is meant by "*nix", and what Linux is. So, Linux is not Unix, but definitely is *nix.
They are correct though. Anyone says that doubling RAM doesn't add to power draw doesn't know what they're talking about.
Obviously RAM consumes some power, but the Microsoft quote is always taken out of context. RAM does impact battery life, but compared to the screen and CPU / GPU the power consumed by RAM is basically zero.
However, when the computer / tablet is in stand-by mode, the CPU is basically asleep and the display is off while the RAM still consumes the same power whether it is on or off.
So ... more memory does impact stand-by time (i.e. the amount of time the unit can be powered off before the battery runs completely dry).
Apple doesn't report stand-by time for the iPad, so who knows how much of an impact it has. Apple did double the RAM from the original iPad to the iPad2, so I didn't hear anyone complain. I doubt they will this time either.
Is it just me or does this paragraph seem to imply that the A5X is effectively the same as the A5 apart from more onboard RAM. [/quote}
It does seem to imply that.
[quote} Is there some distinction between the CPU and the system-on-a-chip side of things that I am missing?
My understanding is that that 'style' takes into consideration the processor, RAM and GPU as a single unit.
So in the iPad 2 it was an A5 system on a chip featuring the A5 main processor, a dual core GPU and 512MB of Ram
the iPad 3 is an A5X system on a chip featuring the same main processor, a quad core GPU (makes sense cause the graphics are very often the biggest processor load) and 1GB of RAM. that GPU and RAM are the X of the system.
iOS is a much more professionally coded OS and it is far more lean than Android, which is a sloppy and poorly written OS, made by amateurs for amateurs.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that its an amateur OS. The issue, to me, seems to be more one of too many cooks. Every carrier or hardware manufacturer can tweak the code in Android which makes it really hard to code for every possibility. iOS has one team of cooks, which is what leads to things like that 'leanness' you speak of. You code something for iOS and you are done. You don't have to do Nokia iOS, ATT iOS etc.
I have often felt that Google made a huge mistake in allowing others to do those tweaks. I get wanting to often choices but they should have coded them and made it more of a pick your parts system that they have vetted as sound code and they are constantly revamping to get better and better results. Basically that is what they should be 'stealing' from Apple.
"Microsoft explained that RAM is constantly consuming power"
LOL Hardware experts.
I had to laugh a little and ask myself if that is true (to the level they imply) or is it that ineffective coding for memory and perhaps battery use is the real consumer. One of the first things I remember reading about when I started coding iOS was releasing memory effectively. Apparently this was a huge issue in early apps (wasn't done well if at all) and still a big problem at times.
...It's true in everything except static RAM, which can lose power and keep its contents.
Static RAM (SRAM) needs to have a continuous power supply or it will lose its contents, just like Dynamic RAM (DRAM).
The major distinction between the two is that DRAM has a further requirement, that each and every individual cell in a DRAM needs to be read and re-written on a regular periodic basis or else its value will decay over time -- even if the DRAM module itself maintains a steady power supply.
You're thinking of Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM), which can maintain its contents (for a reasonably long period of time) after the power supply is cut off. There are many different kinds of NVRAM, based on many very different underlying technologies. They are related to each other only in as much as they all fit the general definition of RAM, and their contents are non-volatile.
Anyway, we should be very careful about using the terminology "RAM". Despite the fact that its colloquial meaning is very well understood, and nobody at all would ever be genuinely confused about the meaning of the word "RAM" in this context, there will be pedants out there who will make the (technologically correct, although often colloquially confusing) assertion that the iPad contains at least two (probably more) different types of memory, all of which could be successfully argued to fit the strictest definition of the term "RAM", and that, taken as a whole, the increase from 512 MB to 1GB of SDRAM doesn't constitute anything close to doubling the iPad's total "RAM".
Let's just say that the new A5X SoC doubles the iPad's "Primary Storage" (a technically correct term for the role the A5X's SDRAM plays within the iPad, but much less likely to be recognized colloquially for its true meaning).
No one knows for sure what makes Android eat so much more memory than iOS. Maybe it's the superior multitasking capabilities, or maybe it is the dynamic and extended implementation of UI graphics unlike the rigid UI and multiprocessing framework found in iOS.
Yes we do.
It is how Java works and Dalvik is just a way to run Java code. The deep kernel of Android is a Linux flavor, but the part that does everything that makes Android Android is plain old Java.
Java happens to be a really poor choice for coding an efficient operating system because of the way it handles object memory. That has been known by technically competent programmers for ages. Java 7 is wonderfully better than Java 1.4 and earlier, because it got rid of lots of unnecessary extra inefficiencies, but the architecture of the language is still consistent and a bad choice for an OS.
Its actually surprising Android has done as well as it has with the starting efficiency handicaps it has. Google really polished the turd so to speak. But the cost has been a lot more engineering effort necessary and the need to throw significantly more expensive hardware at overcoming the issues.
This is good stuff. I'll take an updated GPU and RAM over a processor upgrade any day of the week.
Yep me to, I was actually really upset to hear that my iPad 2 only had 512 MB. It turned out to really not matter as iOS like WP7 doesn't really matter as most apps don't run in the background, the apps are frozen until brought to the front. So the 1 GB must be for the new iPhoto and other apps that need it for graphic manipulation.
Actually a little tid bit, only Symbian, WebOS and Meego are true multitasking OSs in the sense that all apps are still running in the background regardless of what is in view. Android is very simple to make it full multitasking however, it's actually only a few lines of code that need changing but you have to do it yourself or download a custom rom from XDA. I understand why iOS isn't though, battery, makes perfect sense.
While I'm not a huge fan of the way iOS multitasks, the multiprocessing technology offered to developers for a single application in iOS is top notch. I'll take blocks and/or operation queues over threads and/or multiple processes any day of the week. Far less synchronization headache.
iOS multitasks great. What you don't like is that Apple didn't make multitasking available to every app without restriction no matter what. Big difference at the technical level, and a significant difference at the battery level. There probably are some corner cases where Apple makes it hard to write a background app that would actually be nice and useful to do, but I haven't heard one yet in listening and reading three years of multitasking arguments (and no, Pandora running in the background while you are talking on the phone just doesn't make sense from a power budget standpoint).
A copy of Unix (or Unix-like, if you prefer) is exactly what is meant by "*nix", and what Linux is. So, Linux is not Unix, but definitely is *nix ...
Nah. To be rightly called a *nix or part of the Unix family (or even "unix-like"), it should actually have some Unix lineage.
Linux is originally a clean room copy of Unix that has lifted little bits of Unix over the years but it's definitely a parallel evolution kind of thing. It has no real relation to Unix at all it's just something that's been made to resemble it from the outside.
I don't know why i'm defending the somewhat childish, petulant post he/she made, but to play devil's advocate, Linux is technically not Unix and so not a "*nix" at all.
Linux is a copy of Unix done in the spirit of Unix, but it isn't actually Unix or even really in the "family."
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrDoppio
A copy of Unix (or Unix-like, if you prefer) is exactly what is meant by "*nix", and what Linux is. So, Linux is not Unix, but definitely is *nix.
Well to get really technical, Linux does adhere to all the Unix™ API interface standards, and the only modern requirement to be called a Unix is that and a few hundred thousand $$ for the permission to use the Unix™ trademark. The only part Linux is missing is the paying for the trademark part, close enough for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sessamoid
Linux Is Not UniX
Only because if GNU didn't say that they might have to pay the trademark licensing fee. Functionally it is equivalent to a Unix.
iOS multitasks great. What you don't like is that Apple didn't make multitasking available to every app without restriction no matter what. Big difference at the technical level, and a significant difference at the battery level. There probably are some corner cases where Apple makes it hard to write a background app that would actually be nice and useful to do, but I haven't heard one yet in listening and reading three years of multitasking arguments (and no, Pandora running in the background while you are talking on the phone just doesn't make sense from a power budget standpoint).
Would be nice if there was a developer option to turn on true multitasking though. Sometimes I'm running a web application that gets all screwed up just because I switch over for a sec to change the music.
First off, Android is most definitely Linux based. Google just decided to make it's own Java implementation to run most of Android applications. I think they are probably regretting that. First, it does have performance issues. Especially when you cram it on some of the cheap devices that run Android. Also, since Android went mainstream (maybe even because of Android), Oracle acquired Sun and has aggressively perused anyone with so called "unlicensed" Java implementations. Android Java was actually based on Apache's Java implementation which was already in dispute, so it was a poor, poor decision for Google for that reason alone.
That said, you can write Android software in C++ or even Objective C. In fact, it is encouraged for games.
That is truth. That is fact.
I guess I am an idiot for liking my iPad and having an Android phone I actually like. There are things my phone does that my wife could never do with her iPhone, and my phone is not rooted. The extras I have matter to me and keep me from buying an iPhone. They are things that matter on my phone, but do not matter on my tablet.
Believe it or not, there are legitimate reasons to choose Android over iOS. I do not believe Apple is an evil empire that destroys your freedom. I am perfectly fine with Apple controlling the experience on their devices. Some times though, it boils down to function over form.
I hate to say this because I know people will attack me without knowing what they are talking about. This is the reality though. I have over a year with both iOS and Android:
Apple has a major edge over Android on style and ease of use. No doubt.
Android has a major edge over Apple on capability and customization. No doubt.
Android also has malware, background process that can cripple your device, and ad ware. It isn't for everyone. But if you want freedom to customize, your choices are Android or a jailbroken iPhone.
THAT'S the reality. Decide what matters to you and make your choice.
Personally, I don't find it to be as easy as most people. I supposed that makes me a moron for not being brainwashed that actually thinking rationally. I need to upgrade my phone soon and I am still leaning towards Android since I now have a Macbook and an iPad. Of course, I need to learn more about jailbreaking. A jailbroken iPhone might be the best of both worlds.
I'm just like you, I live in both worlds. I have a Android tablet and a iPad, I also just replaced my iPhone with a Samsung Note. I like both devices and use them for two different things. Oh and I write apps using C++ for Android. it's very easy to do and the apps run incredibly fast. So do the normal ones, never had much of a problem. Android is running on a 100 percent Linux kernel, I compile one every week for my Asus Slider. I love to tweak!
As far as a new phone is concerned, you have got to check out the Asus Padphone, just incredible. You get a phone that you can insert into a 10 inch tablet dock, a tablet that you can insert into a keyboard dock. Get this the tablet and the keyboard both have batteries so when combined you get an estimated 24 hours. Awesome I'm totaly in, going to skip the new iPad for the time being and get this. I'll pick up the iPad towards the end of the year when there are apps that will fully utilize that great screen.
Yeah, I don't know about "amateurs", but design and performance aren't exactly hallmarks of the Google experience.
Maybe not all of their services, however, their core business, Search, is pretty impressive. How they can find 50 million relavant web pages in less than a second is quite good performance I would say. Another service that I find very advanced is Analytics. Sketch Up is also a first class application as is Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Sky. I have not used Android but it seems to work pretty well for many people. Gmail seems a bit clunky to me but is works well enough. Apple Mail is not really any better IMO. I could go on with other great Google apps like Translate and News but that would start to make me look like a Google apologist which I'm not. But I'm not a Google hater either.
God, I hope so. That's the most frustrating thing about the iPad. Quite a few times, I'll enter some text, say in a window at a site like this, switch to another tab to grab a link, & when I switch back, the page refreshes & my text is gone. If I want to write anything at all involved on a message board, I do it in notes, then copy and paste the thing. It's a pain.
Also, I hope iOS 5.1 does something about Safari's bad crashiness. It's nice that it auto-recovers the links that were open when it crashed, but I have to re-launch it 4 or 5 times a day, it seems like.
Second both these points, Lots of crashing on iPad 1 with 5.0, and always losing input text.
Comments
From Wikipedia:
"Android's kernel is based on the Linux kernel...."
If factual errors could kill, you'd be a serial killer
I don't know why i'm defending the somewhat childish, petulant post he/she made, but to play devil's advocate, Linux is technically not Unix and so not a "*nix" at all.
Linux is a copy of Unix done in the spirit of Unix, but it isn't actually Unix or even really in the "family."
I don't know why i'm defending the somewhat childish, petulant post he/she made, but to play devil's advocate, Linux is technically not Unix and so not a "*nix" at all.
Linux is a copy of Unix done in the spirit of Unix, but it isn't actually Unix or even really in the "family."
A copy of Unix (or Unix-like, if you prefer) is exactly what is meant by "*nix", and what Linux is. So, Linux is not Unix, but definitely is *nix.
Further reading.
They are correct though. Anyone says that doubling RAM doesn't add to power draw doesn't know what they're talking about.
Obviously RAM consumes some power, but the Microsoft quote is always taken out of context. RAM does impact battery life, but compared to the screen and CPU / GPU the power consumed by RAM is basically zero.
However, when the computer / tablet is in stand-by mode, the CPU is basically asleep and the display is off while the RAM still consumes the same power whether it is on or off.
So ... more memory does impact stand-by time (i.e. the amount of time the unit can be powered off before the battery runs completely dry).
Apple doesn't report stand-by time for the iPad, so who knows how much of an impact it has. Apple did double the RAM from the original iPad to the iPad2, so I didn't hear anyone complain. I doubt they will this time either.
Is it just me or does this paragraph seem to imply that the A5X is effectively the same as the A5 apart from more onboard RAM. [/quote}
It does seem to imply that.
[quote} Is there some distinction between the CPU and the system-on-a-chip side of things that I am missing?
My understanding is that that 'style' takes into consideration the processor, RAM and GPU as a single unit.
So in the iPad 2 it was an A5 system on a chip featuring the A5 main processor, a dual core GPU and 512MB of Ram
the iPad 3 is an A5X system on a chip featuring the same main processor, a quad core GPU (makes sense cause the graphics are very often the biggest processor load) and 1GB of RAM. that GPU and RAM are the X of the system.
iOS is a much more professionally coded OS and it is far more lean than Android, which is a sloppy and poorly written OS, made by amateurs for amateurs.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that its an amateur OS. The issue, to me, seems to be more one of too many cooks. Every carrier or hardware manufacturer can tweak the code in Android which makes it really hard to code for every possibility. iOS has one team of cooks, which is what leads to things like that 'leanness' you speak of. You code something for iOS and you are done. You don't have to do Nokia iOS, ATT iOS etc.
I have often felt that Google made a huge mistake in allowing others to do those tweaks. I get wanting to often choices but they should have coded them and made it more of a pick your parts system that they have vetted as sound code and they are constantly revamping to get better and better results. Basically that is what they should be 'stealing' from Apple.
"Microsoft explained that RAM is constantly consuming power"
LOL Hardware experts.
I had to laugh a little and ask myself if that is true (to the level they imply) or is it that ineffective coding for memory and perhaps battery use is the real consumer. One of the first things I remember reading about when I started coding iOS was releasing memory effectively. Apparently this was a huge issue in early apps (wasn't done well if at all) and still a big problem at times.
If I have a pain in my tooth, I'm not going to make an appointment with my barber.
There was a time in history when you might have.
You didn't go to a barber for your toothache but you went to a computer company for your phone.
But is a smart phone a phone with computer features, or a computer with phone ones.
Your answer to my question informs the 'rightness' of your comment.
personally I see a smart phone as the latter so hell yeah I'm going to a computer company that I can trust to get the key part of the device right.
Will an ipad2 be just as fast as an ipad3 due to the screen reoslution being higher on the 3?
...It's true in everything except static RAM, which can lose power and keep its contents.
Static RAM (SRAM) needs to have a continuous power supply or it will lose its contents, just like Dynamic RAM (DRAM).
The major distinction between the two is that DRAM has a further requirement, that each and every individual cell in a DRAM needs to be read and re-written on a regular periodic basis or else its value will decay over time -- even if the DRAM module itself maintains a steady power supply.
You're thinking of Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM), which can maintain its contents (for a reasonably long period of time) after the power supply is cut off. There are many different kinds of NVRAM, based on many very different underlying technologies. They are related to each other only in as much as they all fit the general definition of RAM, and their contents are non-volatile.
Anyway, we should be very careful about using the terminology "RAM". Despite the fact that its colloquial meaning is very well understood, and nobody at all would ever be genuinely confused about the meaning of the word "RAM" in this context, there will be pedants out there who will make the (technologically correct, although often colloquially confusing) assertion that the iPad contains at least two (probably more) different types of memory, all of which could be successfully argued to fit the strictest definition of the term "RAM", and that, taken as a whole, the increase from 512 MB to 1GB of SDRAM doesn't constitute anything close to doubling the iPad's total "RAM".
Let's just say that the new A5X SoC doubles the iPad's "Primary Storage" (a technically correct term for the role the A5X's SDRAM plays within the iPad, but much less likely to be recognized colloquially for its true meaning).
No one knows for sure what makes Android eat so much more memory than iOS. Maybe it's the superior multitasking capabilities, or maybe it is the dynamic and extended implementation of UI graphics unlike the rigid UI and multiprocessing framework found in iOS.
Yes we do.
It is how Java works and Dalvik is just a way to run Java code. The deep kernel of Android is a Linux flavor, but the part that does everything that makes Android Android is plain old Java.
Java happens to be a really poor choice for coding an efficient operating system because of the way it handles object memory. That has been known by technically competent programmers for ages. Java 7 is wonderfully better than Java 1.4 and earlier, because it got rid of lots of unnecessary extra inefficiencies, but the architecture of the language is still consistent and a bad choice for an OS.
Its actually surprising Android has done as well as it has with the starting efficiency handicaps it has. Google really polished the turd so to speak. But the cost has been a lot more engineering effort necessary and the need to throw significantly more expensive hardware at overcoming the issues.
This is good stuff. I'll take an updated GPU and RAM over a processor upgrade any day of the week.
Yep me to, I was actually really upset to hear that my iPad 2 only had 512 MB. It turned out to really not matter as iOS like WP7 doesn't really matter as most apps don't run in the background, the apps are frozen until brought to the front. So the 1 GB must be for the new iPhoto and other apps that need it for graphic manipulation.
Actually a little tid bit, only Symbian, WebOS and Meego are true multitasking OSs in the sense that all apps are still running in the background regardless of what is in view. Android is very simple to make it full multitasking however, it's actually only a few lines of code that need changing but you have to do it yourself or download a custom rom from XDA. I understand why iOS isn't though, battery, makes perfect sense.
While I'm not a huge fan of the way iOS multitasks, the multiprocessing technology offered to developers for a single application in iOS is top notch. I'll take blocks and/or operation queues over threads and/or multiple processes any day of the week. Far less synchronization headache.
iOS multitasks great. What you don't like is that Apple didn't make multitasking available to every app without restriction no matter what. Big difference at the technical level, and a significant difference at the battery level. There probably are some corner cases where Apple makes it hard to write a background app that would actually be nice and useful to do, but I haven't heard one yet in listening and reading three years of multitasking arguments (and no, Pandora running in the background while you are talking on the phone just doesn't make sense from a power budget standpoint).
A copy of Unix (or Unix-like, if you prefer) is exactly what is meant by "*nix", and what Linux is. So, Linux is not Unix, but definitely is *nix ...
Nah. To be rightly called a *nix or part of the Unix family (or even "unix-like"), it should actually have some Unix lineage.
Linux is originally a clean room copy of Unix that has lifted little bits of Unix over the years but it's definitely a parallel evolution kind of thing. It has no real relation to Unix at all it's just something that's been made to resemble it from the outside.
I don't know why i'm defending the somewhat childish, petulant post he/she made, but to play devil's advocate, Linux is technically not Unix and so not a "*nix" at all.
Linux is a copy of Unix done in the spirit of Unix, but it isn't actually Unix or even really in the "family."
A copy of Unix (or Unix-like, if you prefer) is exactly what is meant by "*nix", and what Linux is. So, Linux is not Unix, but definitely is *nix.
Further reading.
Well to get really technical, Linux does adhere to all the Unix™ API interface standards, and the only modern requirement to be called a Unix is that and a few hundred thousand $$ for the permission to use the Unix™ trademark. The only part Linux is missing is the paying for the trademark part, close enough for me.
Linux Is Not UniX
Only because if GNU didn't say that they might have to pay the trademark licensing fee. Functionally it is equivalent to a Unix.
iOS multitasks great. What you don't like is that Apple didn't make multitasking available to every app without restriction no matter what. Big difference at the technical level, and a significant difference at the battery level. There probably are some corner cases where Apple makes it hard to write a background app that would actually be nice and useful to do, but I haven't heard one yet in listening and reading three years of multitasking arguments (and no, Pandora running in the background while you are talking on the phone just doesn't make sense from a power budget standpoint).
Would be nice if there was a developer option to turn on true multitasking though. Sometimes I'm running a web application that gets all screwed up just because I switch over for a sec to change the music.
First off, Android is most definitely Linux based. Google just decided to make it's own Java implementation to run most of Android applications. I think they are probably regretting that. First, it does have performance issues. Especially when you cram it on some of the cheap devices that run Android. Also, since Android went mainstream (maybe even because of Android), Oracle acquired Sun and has aggressively perused anyone with so called "unlicensed" Java implementations. Android Java was actually based on Apache's Java implementation which was already in dispute, so it was a poor, poor decision for Google for that reason alone.
That said, you can write Android software in C++ or even Objective C. In fact, it is encouraged for games.
That is truth. That is fact.
I guess I am an idiot for liking my iPad and having an Android phone I actually like. There are things my phone does that my wife could never do with her iPhone, and my phone is not rooted. The extras I have matter to me and keep me from buying an iPhone. They are things that matter on my phone, but do not matter on my tablet.
Believe it or not, there are legitimate reasons to choose Android over iOS. I do not believe Apple is an evil empire that destroys your freedom. I am perfectly fine with Apple controlling the experience on their devices. Some times though, it boils down to function over form.
I hate to say this because I know people will attack me without knowing what they are talking about. This is the reality though. I have over a year with both iOS and Android:
Apple has a major edge over Android on style and ease of use. No doubt.
Android has a major edge over Apple on capability and customization. No doubt.
Android also has malware, background process that can cripple your device, and ad ware. It isn't for everyone. But if you want freedom to customize, your choices are Android or a jailbroken iPhone.
THAT'S the reality. Decide what matters to you and make your choice.
Personally, I don't find it to be as easy as most people. I supposed that makes me a moron for not being brainwashed that actually thinking rationally. I need to upgrade my phone soon and I am still leaning towards Android since I now have a Macbook and an iPad. Of course, I need to learn more about jailbreaking. A jailbroken iPhone might be the best of both worlds.
I'm just like you, I live in both worlds. I have a Android tablet and a iPad, I also just replaced my iPhone with a Samsung Note. I like both devices and use them for two different things. Oh and I write apps using C++ for Android. it's very easy to do and the apps run incredibly fast. So do the normal ones, never had much of a problem. Android is running on a 100 percent Linux kernel, I compile one every week for my Asus Slider. I love to tweak!
As far as a new phone is concerned, you have got to check out the Asus Padphone, just incredible. You get a phone that you can insert into a 10 inch tablet dock, a tablet that you can insert into a keyboard dock. Get this the tablet and the keyboard both have batteries so when combined you get an estimated 24 hours. Awesome I'm totaly in, going to skip the new iPad for the time being and get this. I'll pick up the iPad towards the end of the year when there are apps that will fully utilize that great screen.
Yeah, I don't know about "amateurs", but design and performance aren't exactly hallmarks of the Google experience.
Maybe not all of their services, however, their core business, Search, is pretty impressive. How they can find 50 million relavant web pages in less than a second is quite good performance I would say. Another service that I find very advanced is Analytics. Sketch Up is also a first class application as is Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Sky. I have not used Android but it seems to work pretty well for many people. Gmail seems a bit clunky to me but is works well enough. Apple Mail is not really any better IMO. I could go on with other great Google apps like Translate and News but that would start to make me look like a Google apologist which I'm not. But I'm not a Google hater either.
That's not the point, nVidia doesn't make the OS but the chip.
Also, according to Anandtech, the iPad 2 is about 1.4x faster than Tegra 3, not 2x as Apple claimed yesterday...
It does matter, because otherwise the Tegra 3 is just a paper beast.
Also, the Tegra 3 is only just catching up to the *year-old* iPad 2 and its A5?
God, I hope so. That's the most frustrating thing about the iPad. Quite a few times, I'll enter some text, say in a window at a site like this, switch to another tab to grab a link, & when I switch back, the page refreshes & my text is gone. If I want to write anything at all involved on a message board, I do it in notes, then copy and paste the thing. It's a pain.
Also, I hope iOS 5.1 does something about Safari's bad crashiness. It's nice that it auto-recovers the links that were open when it crashed, but I have to re-launch it 4 or 5 times a day, it seems like.
Second both these points, Lots of crashing on iPad 1 with 5.0, and always losing input text.