OT: Your advice - GNex 10 or Transformer Prime?

Submitted by Moleskyn on

Bit of a slow day on the board, so I thought I'd solicit some opinions: the wife and I are looking to get a new tablet for ourselves. Basic criteria: must be Android-based (I'm not interested in hearing why I should buy an iPad - we both have Android phones and love them), we're not interested in the 7" tablets (Nexus 7, Kindle Fire, etc.), must have some HD video output capability (want to be able to connect to TV).

Right now, we're looking at the Asus Transformer Prime and the Google/Samsung Nexus 10. I'm leaning toward the Nexus 10, just because I have a Galaxy Nexus phone and have liked it a lot, and the new screen sounds amazing. Plus, I like the idea that having the "official" Google tablet means we'll be among the first whenever Google releases new OS's. My only hesitation is that it's so new, there aren't many real-world reviews - just the tech blogs touting its pluses/minuses on paper. I also like the fact that the T-Prime has a slot for Micro SD.

What say you, MGoCommunity?

ceebee

December 18th, 2012 at 5:52 PM ^

One of the most prominent is pricing - if you compare what you get for the cost, Apple comes out substantially behind in several categories - most easily seen in the iPad mini which is $130 more than the Nexus 7 and inferior in almost every way.

Another reason is that I don't like the relationship that Apple wants to have with controlling what I do and how I use their hardware once I have purchased it from them. They want to strictly control the user experience and, frankly, I think that is crap. I paid for it, I want to use it without regards to how Steve Job's ghost intended it to be used.

pfholland

December 18th, 2012 at 5:58 PM ^

That doesn't make them better, it makes them different, and different people look for different things in their devices.  

Some look solely at feature set, and will pick the cheapest option that meats their criteria.  Others put a premium on industrial design, and will pay more for what they perceive to be quality design.  

It's no different than, for example, cars.  Some people don't care what their car looks like so long as it gets them from A to B and gets good gas mileage, others will pay a lot more for aesthetics or handling.

switch26

December 18th, 2012 at 6:23 PM ^

Well i can relate in terms of PC's etc..  I typically just laugh or cry when looking at friends computers / laptops they purchase from Mac..  

I am glad I can build my own computers and save hundreds of dollars staying away from brand name builds, not just Mac's.

 

The prices are absurd...  typically paying around 1000 just for the Mac Brand..

 

At least Mac Desktops have come down in price now that they use almost all PC related components like processors, video cards etc...  Back in college it was F'ing miserable having to use the computer lab Mac's when working on my Graphic design projects..   Nothing was compatible, always crashed, just trash..  Least things are improving for them

 

pfholland

December 18th, 2012 at 8:38 PM ^

No, from what the poster had typed it honestly sounded to me like he thought until recently Macs didn't use components such as processors or video cards.  If that's not what was meant I apologize for misinterpreting.

ceebee

December 19th, 2012 at 11:07 AM ^

I suppose I have a fixed perspective and I am only answering insofar as how that makes them better for me. I didn't set out to prove that they were objectively better, but those are the reasons that stand out for me and why I fell on the side of the divide that I did.



I think it is somewhat hilarious that the bulk of this discussion has come down to a IOS vs Android debate when the OP explicitly stated that he was "not interested in hearing why I should buy an iPad"

 

WolvinLA2

December 18th, 2012 at 5:59 PM ^

OK - apple products are a little pricey, but they price points aren't crazy different, so let's say price doesn't make a huge difference as long as it's within reason.  What's the difference between a Nexus 10 and an iPad?  When two items are 500 and 600 dollars, most people will still buy whichever is better. 

Can you elaborate on your second paragraph?  Maybe this is me being technologically incompetent again, but how do they control your experience?

ken725

December 18th, 2012 at 6:21 PM ^

 

From my own personal experience people that hate Apple products and refuse to buy them, tend to think that they know more than the "Apple consuming" public.  

Like the guy said, with PC or Android you can manually customize or tweak the hardware.  Apparently people who buy Apple products, buy Apple products because they are too stupid to be able to do what PC/Android user do.

 

ken725

December 18th, 2012 at 7:03 PM ^

Yes, it did occur to me.  I have an Mac Book Pro and Ipad.  I also built my own computer (with help from a friend) that runs both OSx and Windows.  

I got a MacBook Pro just for the reason because I really have no desire to tweak it.  I didn't want to pay the same amount for a customized PC laptop like a Origin PC.

I built my computer mostly for gaming.  When I got my MBpro, the video cards were integrated and getting 30 max fps was annoying.

Moleskyn

December 18th, 2012 at 7:07 PM ^

What's the difference between a Nexus 10 and an iPad? When two items are 500 and 600 dollars, most people will still buy whichever is better.

It's a good question. From my research, I think it basically boils down to two things: simplicity (Apple) vs. customizability (Android...and if that wasn't a word before, it is now). Apple products (specifically the iPhone and iPad) are very simple, easy to use, and fairly static. What you see is what you get. And what you get works almost flawlessly.

With Android, there's a lot more you can tweak and adjust, and you can have dynamic information instantly. The biggest example of this is widgets. On my phone, rather than just having an icon to launch my email app, my inbox actually displays right on the home screen. It updates dynamically as new emails come in, and I can start a new email right from the widget; without having to open up the app itself. Email is just an example, but you can do the same thing with tons of different apps. As far as I know, you can't get much more than the weather to display in real time on Apple products (correct me if I'm wrong).

Aside from that, things are really beginning to consolidate into virtual "ecosystems," especially as media and entertainment becomes more cloud-based. So as you become more integrated into one ecosystem, it becomes harder (and makes less sense) to branch off to another. As far as I know, there isn't much in the way of integrating music, movies, etc. you've bought through iTunes onto an Android device; and vice versa for media you've purchased through Google Play onto an Apple device. This isn't as much of a barrier for us since we only have smartphones and haven't bought a lot of media, but since we've had positive experiences with our phones, we really see no reason to take a step back.

WolvinLA2

December 18th, 2012 at 7:20 PM ^

That makes a lot of sense.  Thank you for answering my question thoroughly without telling me I like Apple products because I'm too stupid to know what to do with anything else. 

That said, it sounds like I am too stupid to know what to do with anything else, so I guess I made the right choice. 

swan flu

December 18th, 2012 at 6:22 PM ^

My perspective, not that anyone cares...

I have a lot of interests and hobbies. I love coffee. If someone were to tell my why I should buy a keurig I would tell them to go to hell, and I would then go brew a pot of coffee with my funnel, my thermometer, and my electric kettle. I love vinyl records, and I restore old turntables for relatives and friends.

Computers are not one of my hobbies, though I have mad respect for those who are computer whizzes, and I am completely incapable of troubleshooting my own PC. With macs, I have never been frustrated at not being able to fix a problem. For me, macs work, and they last a long time. It's an issue of comfort knowing that I will have a product that can work the way I want it to, even thou I have no knowledge of how it works. And I'm willing to pay a bit more for that security and perceived ease of use.

pfholland

December 18th, 2012 at 8:28 PM ^

This is exactly the point that I think a lot of anti-Apple evangelists are missing: the concerns they have are not the concerns of the vast majority of people.  Just like you would never consider buying a Keurig because of what you look for in a cup of coffee, but for the vast majority of coffee drinkers it's a perfectly reasonable solution.

unWavering

December 18th, 2012 at 7:35 PM ^

My perspective, also not that anyone cares, is that I think Apple usually puts out a great product that is easy to use (albeit somewhat limited in what it does), but I really don't like the way they do business.

For starters, they overprice the crap out of everything.  They release iWhatever 2 about 3 months after the first one with minimal upgrades and people rush to buy it because it's the 'new' thing, even though it's barely superior to what they already own.  They change charging cable ports on newer devices for the sole reason of making you buy a new charging cable.  They aggressively sue other companies for curving their phones and tablets in a similar way.  They make you use inferior apps (Apple Maps, anyone?) because they think their crap doesn't stink.

So I won't laugh at you for paying for an Apple product, but I refuse to buy anything they sell if there is an equally good competitor's product available.

teldar

December 18th, 2012 at 6:53 PM ^

Your responses seem to indicate you cannot imagine why anyone would not want an Apple product, but you then say not everyone wants the same thing.

Personally, I would rather never have an object which uses itunes because it really tries to control your content. and Apple seems quite draconian in terms of what and how you put on your hardware. I have hundreds of epubs I read and multiple formats of video files which I'm not positive about Apple supporting. I know android and am not interested in another operating system. so I would prefer an android. but I will say Apple seems to have more child oriented apps, which is attractive if you have a 4year old.

pfholland

December 18th, 2012 at 7:07 PM ^

I think you're reading bias into my responses when none exists.  My opinion is (and has been) that different people want different things in their devices.  For some of those people Apple provides value that other device makers don't.  For others Apple takes away flexibility that they care about.

What I'm arguing against is that bias you're accusing me of, the perception from members of either of those groups that the other group is composed of idiots.  Both groups are making logical decisions, just based on different priorities.

danimal1968

December 19th, 2012 at 12:48 PM ^

can be read just fine in the Ipad using the Apple Ibooks app, and there are some free apps that also read epub files.

There are also apps that will play some video formats not natively supported by the Ipad.  To my knowledge, though, it doesn't play Flash videos.

That said, if you know Android and don't want to learn another OS that's probably the best reason to stay with Android.  It's a big reason why I've stayed with IOS.

ceebee

December 18th, 2012 at 5:09 PM ^

I have the Nexus 7 and I absolutely love it. Though I can't comment with any experience on either the Nexus 10 or the Transformer, I think that the Transformer Prime being on ICS almost makes it a deal-breaker in my mind, though I have read the hardware is excellent.

My best experiences with android have been on google products because the experience is unspoiled by manufacturer UI crap.

CalJr3000

December 18th, 2012 at 5:28 PM ^

Got one last year and love it.  I don't even touch my laptop anymore.  I never ended up purchasing the keyboard dock or the HDMI cable, just a nice case.  As with most Android stuff it was very easy to root it and get it up to Jelly Bean so I didn't have to wait on Asus to release that.  Streaming video works nice and it handles multiple apps running at once just fine, plus the battery life is great.  You and your wife say you already have Android stuff, so because you're not technologically ignorant like the standard iOS user, you should be able to get the most out of it.  Good luck either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

crum

December 18th, 2012 at 7:41 PM ^

I am fortunate enough to get pretty much every device out there for my company. I am a huge fan of any Prime Tablet with the exception of the TF200 due to a design flaw that kills the gps and wifi reception.

Depending on what you want to do and how much you like to mess around with your toys will decide which one you want.

I believe the most user friendly are the iOS devices, they are also the least innovative devices of the three. iOS devices are pretty much tied to your computer via cable or wifi sync if you want to remove/add data to your device.(this doesnt include the iCloud but I am not getting into that)

Android devices are not very user friendly and take some technical skills to get used to them before you can really get a grasp on how comfortable you are with these devices.

I like the nexus 7 and 10 but not for enterprise use. The browser runs pretty clean and i like the device performance.

The Prime tablets are by far my favorite, I have a tf200 and Infinity with the docking station keyboard the infinity works flawlessly for me as I use a VDI anytime I am not in the office, which is very often. There is room for storage expansion via SD card, so right now I have 96gb storage on my device. The keyboard dock has a USB port and a slot for your Camera's SD card, something Apple foolishly neglects on its path to be the least innovative technology company that lives off of its marketing.

With the Android tablets you get the Google Play store vs the iOS App Store. I really like the User interface for the Google Play store when you are on your PC, to me its much more user friendly than Apples app store.

I know I jumped around a bit but just wanted to give my opinion, quickly, as I am long winded.

swalburn

December 18th, 2012 at 5:31 PM ^

I'm a big apple guy but I recently purchased a Nexus 10.  I wanted a device that was basically a widescreen media consumption device.  I have Sling box so I can watch HD tv on my tablet in bed, Netflix, and Hulu Plus.  The resolution on the Nexus is 2500 x 1600.  The display is amazing.  So far I'm loving the Nexus.  I don't do any real computing or gaming, but the display alone was worth purchasing it for.  It is very integrated with google and I'm really enjoying it.

WolvinLA2

December 18th, 2012 at 5:33 PM ^

In terms of watching TV in your bedroom, wouldn't it have made more sense (and been cheaper) to buy a TV for your bedroom?  I know technology is great and everything, but I think you're overthinking this one.

WolvinLA2

December 18th, 2012 at 5:45 PM ^

But don't you want to watch it on a decent sized screen, not have to worry about internet connection, and so on?  Can't you pause it to take a poop?  What if there's a second person in your bedroom you want to watch TV with?  Are you going to hold the ipad between you?