Help for authors timid about technology
Christmas is almost here. Which means it’s time to buy a present for the author in your life. Especially if that author is you.
Some of the hottest gifts this year are tablets. They are ultra mobile and relatively light on the wallet. For a long time, Apple has dominated the market. Does anyone even remember the HP TouchPad? It never stood a chance. Great product but it couldn’t compare with the big kids in that price range.
Asus has brought the first real contender to the field with their Transformer. It’s a tablet that connects to a docking station with a keyboard. The catch is that the tablet and keyboard are sold separately. Sneaky. I reviewed the product with a docking station as that was the most natural for authors.
This isn’t going to be a technical review because most authors don’t care about that. They care about writability, battery life, user experience, and the sticker shock.
Here’s how the two tablets stack up against each other:
Asus Transformer vs. iPad 2: Writability
Asus Transformer: Like I mentioned, it has a mobile docking station that you must purchase for it to live up to its name. The keyboard is 92% of full size so it isn’t going to bother you if you’ve ever used a netbook. Once it is hooked up to the dock, it doesn’t feel like a tablet any longer. It just looks like another netbook. An incredibly cool netbook with a touchscreen. If a mobile docking station just isn’t your thing, there are wireless keyboards you can purchase.
iPad2: It has wireless and Bluetooth enabled keyboards that you can purchase directly from Apple. You can also buy cases with built-in keyboards. None of these mimic the netbook feel of the Asus. Which, for many people, is a perk. It was never designed to be one.
Winner: Toss-up.
Asus Transformer vs. iPad 2: Battery
Asus Transformer: This is where this machine shines. The tablet itself lasts 9.5 hours, which is slightly inferior to Apple’s product. With the docking station, it is boosted up to 16 hours. One brilliant feature is that the docking station charges the tablet. You can forget about looking for coffee shops with electrical outlets. All you need to do is grab and go.
iPad 2: This tablet has a battery life of 10 hours. There are battery boosting apps but none of them come close to adding hours like the docking station.
Winner: Asus Transformer.
Asus Transformer vs. iPad 2: Sticker Shock
Asus Transformer: It will set you back $409. Add the other half of package is $119. For $528, you’ve got yourself a tablet and a netbook in one.
iPad 2: Apple has a fixed price of $499 for the entry-level product. An Apple official wireless keyboard is $69. By spending $568, you have your hands on the gadget that redefined cool.
Winner: Asus Transformer Even if you purchase the iPad with a wireless keyboard, you are still left with a tablet that needs a cover. The docking station for the machine closes up like a netbook, protecting your tablet.
Asus Transformer vs. iPad 2: User Experience
Asus Transformer: The product just isn’t as intuitive as the iPad. Nor does it have Apple’s the incredible operating system. Instead, it uses Honeycomb, which makes me just as hungry typing it as does the Ice Cream Sandwich OS. Were the engineers starving when they created these programs? There’s a learning curve to using this product. It’s not incredibly steep but it’s there.
iPad 2: Do you really want me to wax poetic about iOS5? I could. But it would be a waste of time. You already know that it’s the best system out there.
Winner: iPad 2.
Bottom Line:
The Transformer wins. Barely. If you are a serious author who just needs a grab and go device, the Transformer is what you need. It isn’t going to be as sexy as the iPad 2 but you don’t need it to be.
Apple products have always had an easy to use operating system, and that’s why they sell like crack cocaine m and m’s. Apple definabley has it in the bag they have a sexy sleek design, and offer millions of different opportunities. Any new tablet that you see on the market has copied the iPad and tried to beat it but it just can’t. They try to make up for things by saying its ram is greater or it has a better camera, but the simple truth is that it is a better all-around product
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Its real simple for me. The apple products are moslty proprietary only. So if you want to load videos or music files directly, you cannot. ALmost everything on an apple product is proprietary. WIth that said that is not shat made me get the ASUS tf101. It was my first experience with my 2nd gen apple ipod touch. ANd it was one simple feature that drove me bonkers. I hate x1000 having to put my password in everytime I want to install a new app or just use the thing. This went way beyond anoying for me. And I will not even look at anything Apple for a long time to come. It was like walking around handcuffed, simply impossible.
The plus features for this tablet have to seen to be believed. The Splashtop HD remote desktop is second to none. And the full 720p plus screen is a bonus as well. And two USB ports on the docking station. And you can use a PS3 controller via the bluetooth. HEres where it really shines. I can plug in my 1TB portable hard drive and access all my Music, Photos and videos. With zero compatability issues. I dont have to enter a password at every corner. Almost never in fact. Security may be lax. But I don’t like entering password all the time. ASUS Transformer is simply yhe best option for me and I do love the Android operating system. There are other things the make this better than the Ipad 2. And very few downsides. The tablet simply does everything I want!! More than I ever expected.
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