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I thought I'd start a review page for the Touchpad. I got my Touchpad on Tuesday and have spent a good bit of time with it. In general, I see a lot of potential. I am disappointed that it took so long and isn't better than it is.
Now I understand most of the poor reviews that the unit has gotten. Comparing a first generation product with a 2nd or 3rd generation product doesn't is not likely to be very positive. But, most of us thought, between HP and Palm, the unit would be a lot further along. Perhaps HP is too big to be creative and responsive enough for a fast moving market like phones and tablets. However, to be fair, the things the unit does well, it does very well. And, what it doesn't do well, it generally doesn't do at all.
First, the weight. Personally, I like the feel of it. A few ounces either way really doesn't make much difference. It has a good balance and feels solid.
Second, the WebOS. I am new to it, but so far, I am impressed. The multitasking is really well done. The setup on the unit was simple and logically organized. There is a somewhat intuitive feel to the interface, even though if I knew more, it might be even better.
I setup my Exchange client with no problems and it works well. I will try to add some more accounts later for testing.
Now for the items I am disappointed with. I know it sounds like I don't like the unit, but I do, and it is so close. But, unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and nuclear war.
First, as far as I can tell, whoever designed this either never used an iPad or Android tablet or didn't use it much. They don't understand the first rule of the smart device market: You have to have some key working software. Okay, there is some, but in general, it is a real disappointment. There will be lots of other things needed, but everyone wants video, music, news, and a way to move data around. A lot of people will want a time manager, too. If you missed that in the design, you missed the key items.
It plays MP3s well, but without Pandora, it doesn't really matter much.
The worst thing so far is that the video player is useless. Most of the videos I see and use are AVIs and they don't work at all. And only about half of the MP4's have worked so far. One of the top priorities needs to be a movie player that isn't useless. Something like VitalPlayer for the Android.
You also need a good news reader. If you have an Android you get News360 or Pulse. Where is the comparable product?
Oh, by the way, it isn't terribly easy to find anything in the Appstore. It doesn't give enough granularity. It is hard to find the diamonds amoung the trash.
The other item that is needed is a file manager. Something like ES File Explorer on the Android. It allows you to move files from the LAN to the Local file structure and to move files inside the unit. I know the idea is that WEBOS handles it. But as far as I can tell, I have to hook up to a PC to move files. There is a paid app in the app store, but it doesn't do enough.
I have used Android up to this point. A year ago, it was pretty bad. But, today it is a great competitor. WEBOS can be there, too, but it can't take very long or there won't be a market. If HP is counting on business users only, they are probably DOA. From what I have seen, other than e-mail, business use takes a back seat to personal applications on tablets.
What do you think?
7-25-2011 It is getting better
Today, I downloaded KalemSoft Media Player and Gemini File Manger. They each fill at least part of the gap in the functionality of the Touchpad. The KamelSoft Media Player has added considerable functionality to the media play including additional codecs for AVI, etc. And, the MP4s that didn't work with the built in player seem to work with it. It is a $6.99 item but, so far, it seems to be a good investment. I had to add an app to my Android 2.2 unit to get the same capabilities, so it is makes sense that I will have to do the same for a first generation WEBOS tablet, I guess.
The Gemini File Manager is a valuable addition, because it has a nice two column, full screen, interface and has networking capablities. Currently it only works with Dropbox. But it is a step in the right direction. I had to download a file manager, ES File Manager, with this functionality for my Android also, but it was free. ES File Manager allows local network connection, which is pretty useful. This is pretty inexpensive at $2.99 though.
Last week, I downloaded SpaZ HD Beta Preview 1 to use as a Twitter client. It is worth a look. I have enjoyed learning how to use it.
I have download several news readers, but so far nothing that is as good as Pulse or News 360. NewsRoom is a start, but it is still in the phone format.
Pandora works, but it is in the phone format. And, that doesn't really matter much to the functionality.
So things are coming along. With a few more apps, it will be almost as good as my Android for my daily use. Android and iPad have a lot of apps, but how many are of any real use?
There are a few things missing. A working RDP app is essential for small businesses. A solid time management package that interfaces with Quickbooks would be useful, also.
Agreed, thanks for that review
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
Well, I am wrong about at least one thing. There is a Pandora app. It works, but it is a phone app and takes a little getting used to. But, it seems to work well.
I bought Newroom hoping it will be like Pulse. It is also a phone app and will take some work to get used to. But it might do some of what I want until a better app comes along. I also bought TapNote for Touchpad which I think will be a good tool, and Internalz, so I can get to the file structure. It is a phone app, so it will be a little strange until it is upgraded.
I downloaded TED, which is a source for seminars that seem to be pretty diverse. The first one I watched was great. It showed off the video pretty well.
I'm still impressed.
I prefer to buy the Touchpad than iPad. Because Touchpad is a way better than other tablets but is a bit buggy yet, but with time and devs, all can be solved.
Good luck with devs and with OTAs touch pad FAIL and webOS phones are butt ugly with a nice OS
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
I actually want to buy a touchpad....only if it doesn't become a dead system and gets reasonable support compared to android and iOS from developers
I would have to add that the font rendering is the ugliest since Windows 3.11. Seriously. The UI itself is beautiful, but reading web pages or mails hurts your eyes after a few minutes. The fonts look like they are smudged, like the screen is blurry. It is a huge fail and the biggest downside IMO. Sure, application load times are really bad, and there are no apps. But apps only need to be loaded once, and the number of apps might change. The incredibly distracting font rendering won't go away
Send an email to: Leo Apotheker, Sean Robison & Steve DeWitt. They need to hear from you.
First name.Last [email protected]
Think it's Stephen but will check. No hear back from me then it's that.
Sent from my Sapphire/dream using XDA App
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
I bought one of the firesale units and starting playing with it. I have some questions:
1) It don't seem to support ad-hoc wireless networks. Is there any software I can add or configuration change I can make to change this? I have a Windows Mobile cell phone that can share its connection over wifi, but its ad-hoc only.
2) I put some pdfs and an m4v and flv video on the device, organized in folders. I go in acrobat reader and it seems to find the pdfs, but just puts them in a single list, rather than showing the file hierarchy. I would like to be able to browse the file hierarchy and touch a file and have it open in an appropriate player or reader. I have a lot of pdfs to put in the device and they need to be organized, not one big list.
3) Acrobat reader and Quick Office seem to be a little slow to load. I am wondering if there is an app that is quick loading that will show a file hierarchy and show or play pdf files and videos, similar to GoodReader for ipad?
4) Is there anything that will play .flv video files? The m4v video showed up in the photo viewer, but not the .flv
Thanks in advance.
guyandhisdog said:
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
I know its not a HP laptop. Just sayin, one HP product can and one (newer) can't. That = -1
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
treestump said:
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have u updated the pad? i've been playing with mine for 2 days and havent had a hang up or freeze yet.. u might have a faulty model
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
hurrpancakes said:
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read a review that said you can print to other printers but its a bit harder. Don't no the details sorry but at least you can. (supposedly)
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Picked mine up Saturday morning and found that article yesterday. By all means do what it says, helps a lot. The more I use my touchpad the more I like it. Great little $100 investment IMO. Really wish there was a Wordfeud or Words with Friends app for it though. Preware should be installed on every WebOS device.
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for this link! I don't even have my touchpad yet but i look forward to being able to poke around with it and get every ounce of performance possible.
Are there any other good resources for WebOS tweaks or mods? Ultimately i'll probably put android on this thing (once the devs do all the hard work) but in the meantime, i'd like to see just how usable the device is as-is.
my gripes:
browser - not as good as Android's. some pages had minor render issues, some menus didn't work right. some flash videos would not play.
browser - only way to go "back" is the back arrow at the top left corner so you have to keep your thumb near it.. awkward to hold. why no left swipe or something?
lists, any - no scroll bars! i added like 100 bookmarks then it's a pain in the ass to get from top to bottom. have to swipe down like 10 times
camera - no app is included to use it other than skype.
video player - videos files are shown as group of big icons, no way to change that to a list view, and the space allocated for the name does not have enough characters
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
serious lack of good apps that are designed for touchpad .. maybe a dozen that i ended up keeping.
no included rss reader, calc, notes, etc.
i don't believe the Bing navi app has 3D mapping or live rerouting (for use with tether) and i didn't see any in the market.
no voice to text function ?
doesn't support mkv or avi out of the box (same for Android, iOS) .. have to reencode videos from usenet. there is a (1) paid app that can play these apparently, haven't tried it yet
no video out, rear camera, back / search / menu buttons, low-res screen, heavy... but you know that going in.
App Store - no sorting options (ie, #downloads, #reviews)
.....
things i like:
hardware is solid, battery life is impressive, viewing angles excellent, and the GUI looks polished. OS is reasonably responsive and stable (after ota update). basic functions (wifi, web, email, IM, a/v playback) work as expected.
good deal for $100.
I like my 32GB Touchpad so far, I applied the improvements and it does seem better, I have to try the overclock. It's good for the price I paid, but not for it's starting one. I'd still like to see Android on it and I hope there's more development both on webOS and Android for it.
For your news reading needs you could try the Mosaic app, it's similar to Pulse with its own twist.
os10 said:
my gripes:
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can by going into the Launcher and touching an app for a few seconds so you can move them around.
I hope at least some of you have tried the free Zinio reader app on Android Market. It has a specific layout for Honeycomb tablets (not just an upscale of phone version). Though the subscriptions cost you, there are many free magazines available for you to test the waters.
What I want to know is, is it possible to read a page, in portrait mode, without zooming in? I mean is the text legible in default unzoomed condition, on a 10.1 inch screen?
Btw last month this app was updated to be optimized for Tegra 2 chipset. Here is a before and after video by Nvidia.
App works well. Easily readable. However, as I don't mind paying for magazines...I find it hard to pay the subscription fees for digital copies. They just seem high.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
I like the app. Easily readable in portrait mode while lounging on my back porch.
Keep your eye our for free subs on any of the deal forums (fatwallet, slickdeals, etc). I snagged a year of popular science thru zinio for free a month back. Supposedly if you email the publisher xometimes they will convert your paper sub to zinio if you have an agreement through zinio. I havent tried that yet myself but I plan to soon.
Mediocre. Still choppy. Issues are same price or more than newsstand. Ipad2 app is much much more fluid.Android app is a tad faster.
Great to see positive reviews overall.
@xManMythLegend, is it that bad? Even after the update on June 22nd which enabled hardware acceleration?
anyone know if its possible to load magazines INTO zinio? i like this app and would like to be able to read the mags i already have in it. as of now, i have them in PDF. any suggestions?
happyhourtx said:
anyone know if its possible to load magazines INTO zinio? i like this app and would like to be able to read the mags i already have in it. as of now, i have them in PDF. any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
find where the app stores its data, check the file format, if its the same copy your stuff in that folder
I have a non supported device (Notion Ink Adam).
Does anybody know of a work around? I tried changing the device to the a Motorola Xoom in the build.prop, but no go.
I thought I'd make this list of Apps that i find very usefull on my tab.
Most of them are optimized for tablet resolution. I'm looking forward to seeing your suggestions to add them to the list.
I will try to go off the beaten path a little, and not suggest the apps everyone knows about anyhow
ASUS Supernote (Free)
This is the notetaking app that comes with the transformer...and its friggin awesome! You can't get it in the market so you have to sideload it. So far i have found no notetaking app that works as well as this one does!
ComicRack (Free/5,99€)
So you like to read comics? This is in my eyes the best comicreader hands down!
It really shines if you use it in combination with the comicrack program for pc. You can sync your libraries, read status, and lots of other stuff. The paid version offers wifi sync but the free version works perfectly fine! The dev is very supportive and open to suggestions. If you like comics, check this out!
Feedly (Free)
Great RSS reader. Tight integration with GoogleReader. A joy to look at.
BubbleUPNP (Free/3,49€)
This is my UPNP player of choice. I have a homeserver running XBMC providing all my TVshows and Movies and bubbleUPNP does a great job without a lot of hassle streaming them to the tab. The free version works great aswell!
Mantano Reader (Free/3,99€)
After trying a lot of e-readers I finally settled with this one. It has a nice interface, simple controls and quite a bit of customizability. Plus it supports epud and pdf formats, incase you get your books from "somewhere else"
Facedroid (1,25€)
My facebook app of choice for the tablet. Still being actively developed with very nice devs. Any Bugs? Write them and it will probably be fixed tomorrow!
Total Commander (Free)
Maybe you know this from Windows. Its a very advanced and powerfull file manager and there is a beta version for android! Pretty awesome app, with two pane view which makes copying and moving stuff about pretty easy! Not in the market, must be sideloaded but can be downloaded directly at the developers site.
Will post some more when I get the time.
Hope you find something usefull here.
Might I add
Dolphin browser
Droid TV
Stumble Upon
Currents
NodeBeat
Ted Air
Floating Image
Di radio, Jazz radio
I can haz tablet (sorry
PewPew2, Osmos, Where's my water, Reckless Racing HD, World of Goo, Reflexions
Redditmag, baconreader
Voodoo Screen tuning
Setcpu, voltage control
Fast reboot pro
Volume+
Rom toolbox, spare parts +, antutu
Pulse
I really enjoy Pulse New, its a nice way to bring a lot of news feeds together in one place
https://market.android.com/details?...=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5hbHBob25zby5wdWxzZSJd
TextPlus
Its a free text messaging service, just because im too lazy to use my phone or my brother is using my phone. Textfree doesn't support tablets but this does and it syncs over devices and even gives a few free calling minutes.
https://market.android.com/details?...=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5nb2dpaS50ZXh0cGx1cyJd
Dirty Jokes
I really don't need to elaborate much more, its just funny
https://market.android.com/details?...S5hcHBzcG90LnN3aXNzY29kZW1vbmtleXMuZGlydHkiXQ..
HD Widgets, Wizz Widgets
I like widgets, finding large tablet friendly ones isn't so easy
https://market.android.com/details?...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNsb3VkdHYuaGR3aWRnZXRzIl0.
https://market.android.com/details?...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zbm93YmVlLmNvbG9yaXplLmhkIl0.
Zenonia
Zenonia is an RPG style game that has touch friendly controls, interesting story, and a little less grinding thing your final fantasy. There are 4 of them and none of they are related so you can grab the two free ones if you don't want to buy the two paid ones
https://market.android.com/details?...251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5nYW1ldmlsLnplbm9uaWEiXQ..
Swiftkey X Tablet version
Sent from my GT-P7310 using XDA Premium HD app
If you have a Google Voice account, GrooveIP is pretty awesome. Turns your tablet into a mobile phone. Incoming and outgoing calls.
bdfull3r said:
TextPlus
Its a free text messaging service, just because im too lazy to use my phone or my brother is using my phone. Textfree doesn't support tablets but this does and it syncs over devices and even gives a few free calling minutes.
https://market.android.com/details?...=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5nb2dpaS50ZXh0cGx1cyJd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But only any good if you have a 3g version of the tablet, not wi-fi only?
choccy31 said:
But only any good if you have a 3g version of the tablet, not wi-fi only?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app works perfectly fine on both my smartphone a rather weak LG Optimus V and my tablet the overpowered Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 wifi
i have the wifi only tablet and it works perfectly fine for me.
quick boot
I.like quick boot because i dont have to press the power button to turn off the tab or go to the boot load,recovery,ect,ect,ect....
I've dreamed of having this on a tablet ever since they came out. I cannot believe iOS got this before any Android implementation, Cornerstone is ok, but this beats it hands down!!!
http://thebigboss.org/quasar-a-window-manager-for-ipad?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=quasar-a-window-manager-for-ipad
that isnt even true multitasking. you see they dont have a video playing in one window while browsing in another. all it is is opening up different windows. the other windows stop loading or doing whatever as you open a new one.
i can do all of that and more easily on just a rooted prime with stickit floating media player and overskreeen floating browser. On android it will be true multitasking because all things are going at the same time , all on the screen at once. ex. i could open up overskreen browser to browse xda. then i can open up multiple movies or vids with stickit and have them playing. then i can open up Facebook app and browse the app. i can have all that on my screen going on at once. one doesn't pause for the other action. so ill have my movies playing and watching them in a resize able window while looking at Facebook while also looking at xda in the overskreen browser. this is all at the same time, on the same screen, in real time. no slowdown or anything what so ever. i can even open up multiple browser pages and have them in their own individual windows if i want.
plus thats not an ios feature. thats something developers from cydia implemented. cydia isnt even supported by apple. jailbreak(isnt supported by apple also) is required to get cydia. then this app is in cydia. it looks cool but more of an illusion of multitasking. id say cornerstone blows this away or even what i described i use because what android does is true multitasking. on ios its not.
demandarin said:
that isnt even true multitasking. you see they dont have a video playing in one window while browsing in another. all it is is opening up different windows. the other windows stop loading or doing whatever as you open a new one.
i can do all of that and more easily on just a rooted prime with stickit floating media player and overskreeen floating browser. On android it will be true multitasking because all things are going at the same time , all on the screen at once. ex. i could open up overskreen browser to browse xda. then i can open up multiple movies or vids with stickit and have them playing. then i can open up Facebook app and browse the app. i can have all that on my screen going on at once. one doesn't pause for the other action. so ill have my movies playing and watching them in a resize able window while looking at Facebook while also looking at xda in the overskreen browser. this is all at the same time, on the same screen, in real time. no slowdown or anything what so ever. i can even open up multiple browser pages and have them in their own individual windows if i want.
plus thats not an ios feature. thats something developers from cydia implemented. cydia isnt even supported by apple. jailbreak(isnt supported by apple also) is required to get cydia. then this app is in cydia. it looks cool but more of an illusion of multitasking. id say cornerstone blows this away or even what i described i use because what android does is true multitasking. on ios its not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this is a jailbreak tweak and not supported by Apple, this is a given with any tweaks like this. However, I will agree with you on the pausing of 'windowed' apps, not ideal at all. And using Overskreen, and / or airterm is great, but they are app specific. Cydias implementation, while not perfect, is still pretty nice to have any app windowed so you can have info displayed any where then just switch over to have it update, yes ideally they would keep running in windowed mode, but I feel this is still a nice feature to have as you can have info displayed in say Facebook, and then have twitter in another window if you want to use some FB info to post an update to twitter and need to see both at once.
I'm still waiting for Android to get a windowed implementation where you can, much like Overskreen or airterm, but have any app go into 'windowed' mode to fullscreen seemlessly, allowing you to choose what suits your needs at the time. For me this would pretty much seal the deal as Android being the clear winner for a tablet OS( in my mind it already is light years ahead of iOS in everything other than the 'polish' of apps being developed for iOS, but that's just an issue with sheer number of 'established' devs giving iOS more priority over Android, and the fact that it's easier to develop for a known set of hardware Vs. the array of HW available for Android ) ... Even with that Android is obviously better, especially if you're a power user.
Anyways, this post wasn't a supposed to be a dis on Android, just more of a "I want, I want.." kinda post.
Yeah, come back when iPad can do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
luminus69 said:
Yeah, come back when iPad can do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I stated, I know the Prime is a much better device, and can handle a ton more, just a feature "wish we had it" post.
RubenRybnik said:
I know this is a jailbreak tweak and not supported by Apple, this is a given with any tweaks like this. However, I will agree with you on the pausing of 'windowed' apps, not ideal at all. And using Overskreen, and / or airterm is great, but they are app specific. Cydias implementation, while not perfect, is still pretty nice to have any app windowed so you can have info displayed any where then just switch over to have it update, yes ideally they would keep running in windowed mode, but I feel this is still a nice feature to have as you can have info displayed in say Facebook, and then have twitter in another window if you want to use some FB info to post an update to twitter and need to see both at once.
I'm still waiting for Android to get a windowed implementation where you can, much like Overskreen or airterm, but have any app go into 'windowed' mode to fullscreen seemlessly, allowing you to choose what suits your needs at the time. For me this would pretty much seal the deal as Android being the clear winner for a tablet OS( in my mind it already is light years ahead of iOS in everything other than the 'polish' of apps being developed for iOS, but that's just an issue with sheer number of 'established' devs giving iOS more priority over Android, and the fact that it's easier to develop for a known set of hardware Vs. the array of HW available for Android ) ... Even with that Android is obviously better, especially if you're a power user.
Anyways, this post wasn't a supposed to be a dis on Android, just more of a "I want, I want.." kinda post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree. i want any app to be able to be windowed. Maybe those developers will make something that can do that. they seem to be the only developers, creators of stickit & overskreen, that seem to be going in that direction. the people from tablified app also created a floating messaging client. so its only a matter of time before more n more apps will be able to be windowed just like on a PC. thats why i love overskreen, stickit, aircalc, & floating air terminal so much.
Oh god here we go. ****storm imminent. Massive buttrage incoming. FLAME WAR HAS BEEN IGNITED I REPEAT FLAMEWAR HAS BEEN IGNITED.
But, the ipad's gonna have a monster log load of compatibility problems with that because apple locks down their stuff so it's going to be insanely hard to adapt screen sizes especially because there is little variation in resolution for ios devices. For android, this is much easier because you've got devices from 320x240 all the way to the upcoming 1920x1200 tablets.
Sent from my tf9001 with XDA XD.
They make this operating system called "Windows". I suggest you check it out.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Cydia is a nice touch to ios. Makes my iPhone somwhat bearable.
Sent from my Incredible using XDA
/me really hopes they can get this to work in all apps.
lol are they just now getting widgets???
Add more ram to the Android tablet realm then this would be more advantageous. Sure for simple tasks like Facebook, twitter, one tab browser, just small stuff, the prime would be able to handle all at once. But add in YouTube, more tabs in browser, a game, then bam, where's my ram?
$1 gets you a reply
Kailkti said:
Add more ram to the Android tablet realm then this would be more advantageous. Sure for simple tasks like Facebook, twitter, one tab browser, just small stuff, the prime would be able to handle all at once. But add in YouTube, more tabs in browser, a game, then bam, where's my ram?
$1 gets you a reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure how you have missed this as it was posted ~5198298 times, but how about 15 vids at once on the ram it has now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Screwedupsmitty said:
I'm not sure how you have missed this as it was posted ~5198298 times, but how about 15 vids at once on the ram it has now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I'm talking about, 15 vids at once. I believe we have enough ram to make a feasible implementation, I personally am not looking to have even 4 or 5 intensive apps running windowed, but having my RSS reader, a terminal, a video and a 'casual' game def. seems doable to me.
I stand corrected. Just tried leaving real racing 2, browser and YouTube in memory but I still have roughly over 100mb free.
With 6 tabs open on all flash intensive sites did I start to near the limit. (+ the real racing &, youtube)
$1 gets you a reply
we already have the source code for android for windowed apps. it just needs to be included into roms. but that is no easy task. so apple is actually late in the game.
i for one would like to see tiling window-managers on android, since i am a tfp+dock user.
So you guys really want development to spiral in the direction of "windowed" apps? Didn't you purchase Android products for an alternative for Windows? Honestly, if it heads in that direction, you're going to just eventually have a slow bulky java app and you'll be begging for the next Tech powerhouse to design another OS as an alternative...
Jeesh...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Ever heard of Linux
Many flavors of Linux all have window based desktops available for years. Why would having this function on Android be any different.
rorytmeadows said:
So you guys really want development to spiral in the direction of "windowed" apps? Didn't you purchase Android products for an alternative for Windows? Honestly, if it heads in that direction, you're going to just eventually have a slow bulky java app and you'll be begging for the next Tech powerhouse to design another OS as an alternative...
Jeesh...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
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In what world is Android an alternative for Windows? You could say Mac, Linux, Unix, hell even Chrome desktop, but Android? I don't think so. Android is an alternative to iOS, Palm, Windows -Phone-, Blackberry OS, etc... but don't compare a mobile( phone and tablet ) OS as an alternative to a Desktop OS. And yes, if you added Windowing and a couple other features to Android, then, maybe, you could make that comparison, but saying that "you'll eventually have a slow bulky java app" just by adding a Window manager is not logical. Hell, if I run 2 instances of Crysis, while watching a move, torrenting and compiling a project Windows will get slow also, it's on the owner( or limiting number of windows apps, or some other preventitive method ) to keep your system running smooth.
That being said, Android as is, is great for most people, hell just keep using it that way, but isn't Android all about options and customizability? Why not allow people another option for those who know how to manage their systems and wont go loading 10 intensive apps at the same time, what the hell would you do with that many apps open anyways on such a small screen? Guess you could video out, but the resolution wouldn't be great anyways. I'd imagine this to be a very light weight window manager, for lightweight multitasking, not for playing a tegra 3 game while listening to music and having 2 videos playing, lol.
I am considering getting a Nexus 10 to replace my iPad 1. I mostly use my iPad for browsing the net and reading magazines on Zinio. Zinio really has the best magazine selection, far better than Amazon or Google Play. However, the Zinio app for the iPad is really awful, and the same problems seem to plague the app on my phone.
I was wondering what the experience is like on a Nexus 10. Do you find that the magazines scale properly? Does anyone have a subscription to National Geographic (this magazine has been optimized for tablets) ... and if so, does it render properly on a Nexus 10?
I really want to avoid giving Apple any more money.
I have a bunch of subscriptions through the play store and they all look gorgeous on the nexus 10.
The magazines in the google magazine app look so amazing on the n10 it is insane looks way better than on ipads
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks guys, unfortunately the magazine selection on Google Play is pretty poor in Australia. No New Scientist, The Economist, National Geographic. I want to know what Zinio is like on the N10. Anybody tried it? Could someone download it and try ... pretty please?
what problems do you have with it on the ipad? I've only browsed it there briefly as its my friends. i'm downloading the app right now, just want to know what you are looking for. My friends current gen ipad is here to so I can compare the two.
Thanks y2whisper. Note that my Ipad is the first generation and not the current iPad 4.
On the iPad, the app crashes frequently, especially in the store, with larger magazines, and multimedia heavy magazines like National Geographic. The resolution of the magazine is very grainy on the iPad, and it is difficult to read text unless you zoom in. There are also all sorts of usability issues - the app fails to auto-download new issues of magazines unless I specifically click on it. It won't download in the background if I swap out of it and do something else (good old Apple's lack of pre-emptive multitasking). This means a good 5-10 minute wait where I can't do anything else on the iPad because the Zinio server is so slow. If I try browsing whilst it is downloading, there is a good probability the app will crash. Also, there is no way to delete single issues of magazines. If you have a folder full of copies of Time you can delete individual issues. But if you have a single issue of Time you can't get rid of it.
Some of these complaints are due to the app and not the device, so I don't necessarily expect that the N10 will be any better. However, I would like to know:
1. Do the magazines automatically render to take advantage of the higher resolution?
2. Does the multimedia content in magazines work?
3. Can magazines download in the background?
4. Does the app crash, or act unstable, etc? Can you check your resource meter to see if it eats up spare CPU cycles when run in the background?
5. Are there any issues on the Android version which are not present on the iOS version?
I realize that you won't be able to answer all my questions, but I would be grateful for any help you can give.
1. The render to where they are clear but don't use all of the real estate that the screen has to offer. it does do landscape view which google magazines doesn't
2. Wasn't able to find one for free that I could test but the interactive magazine functionality does exist including national geography
3 couldn't test this as the preview magazines loaded up to quick to see about background downloading
4 suggest an app and I will use it to monitor it. but no crashes thus far.
5 unsure so far
you do have to zoom at times in articles on this. a problem i don't have with google magazines. too bad their library is crap in your area.
Thank you so much for taking the trouble, y2whisper.
I'm a Zinio magazine reader, I used to use the Adam. Since it died about 9 months ago I've essentially stopped reading magazines... Until now!!!!! I got my N10 about 2 weeks ago and I've been reading all of my mags. Images are amazing, Zinio has been behaving very well no crashes, speedy downloads, my wife thinks I'm having an affair... Yes with my N10 and 9 months worth of subscribed magazines. I've rediscovered my bathroom and throne.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
While my N10 didn't arrive yet, I have bought a few magazine issues on my SGS3. On the small screen everything looks very clear, though I still have to zoom in for the letters to be large enough to read comfortably.
Also, there is background downloading, though speeds in general (not only in background) are quite slow as you mentioned.
y2whisper said:
1. The render to where they are clear but don't use all of the real estate that the screen has to offer. it does do landscape view which google magazines doesn't
2. Wasn't able to find one for free that I could test but the interactive magazine functionality does exist including national geography
3 couldn't test this as the preview magazines loaded up to quick to see about background downloading
4 suggest an app and I will use it to monitor it. but no crashes thus far.
5 unsure so far
you do have to zoom at times in articles on this. a problem i don't have with google magazines. too bad their library is crap in your area.
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Google Magazine does do landscape, it is dependent on the magazine. For example, open up the Traveler magazine that came free with the n10
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
Landscape mode for Google Play magazines?
Hi all,
I really hope you can help me out with a question I have about google play magazines. I am wondering if the Nexus 10 takes advantage of landscape mode when viewing magazines. I have an iPad and I love how GQ changes when you switch the orientation. My Nexus 7 does not change, and i was wondering if the Nexus 10 acts more like an iPad in that regard.
Thanks!!!!