Cyprus-Forum.com

[Sotos]

The high end Androids are at least as good as the iPhone and better in many aspects, like bigger screens with higher resolution, NFC, USB OTG, Expandable memory etc. Android now has at least as many apps and developers. Some apps are better on Android some are better on iOS. There are less Android apps optimized for tablets but this is changing fast. For example Kindle is far better on Android and Google Maps are much better than what Apple has. And iOS is outdated and boring... Even Android Froyo is more advanced than iOS!

Sotos, I have used a high-end Android handset for 18 months now and an iPad for just six months and the difference in the range and quality of apps is enormous. There is no comparison. Google Maps is the only app I'd like but I really don't miss it that much. High-quality apps on the productivity side are a big difference. The user experience on the Android is also astonishingly bad. With IOS it's easy to find what you are looking for and you won't get lost in a sea of menus and options. That kind of customization might be good for some people, but I prefer my device to be as simple and elegant as possible. Also Airplay, iMessage and better customer support round off the experience. Sure, I'd like to be able to add widgets to my homescreen. But that's the only thing Apple should possibly copy from Android. I've also invested in quite a few IOS apps. There are virtually none in Android that I would miss. So I will be getting one of the older iPhones next over a new Android. For me, it's a no-brainer.

I have an Android tablet and phone and I also bought iPad (the original) and iPad3 for my parents so I used iPads a lot also. So can you be more specific about what apps you are talking about? Google Maps is essential for my phone since GPS is the second most important feature for me. What app only available on iOS would be more essential? I find the user experience better with Android, especially with my tablet that is running Jelly Bean. You can switch between apps much faster, notifications are much better and you can customize whatever you want ... the only advantage of iOS is that is so limited that is better for totally novice users... which is why I got iPads for my parents.

[Demonax]

I have an Android tablet and phone and I also bought iPad (the original) and iPad3 for my parents so I used iPads a lot also. So can you be more specific about what apps you are talking about? Google Maps is essential for my phone since GPS is the second most important feature for me. What app only available on iOS would be more essential? I find the user experience better with Android, especially with my tablet that is running Jelly Bean. You can switch between apps much faster, notifications are much better and you can customize whatever you want ... the only advantage of iOS is that is so limited that is better for totally novice users... which is why I got iPads for my parents.

I'm amazed you can say this. I really have no idea what the hell you do with your tablet. Without a doubt iOS has better apps. I mainly use the iPad as a productivity tool. And the iOS apps I use the most are just not on Android:

Keynote, Pages, Garageband, iPhoto, iMovie, Omnioutliner, Cue, Final Draft, Sparrow, Procreate, Glaze, Notes Plus, Camera Awesome, iTunes U, Showyou, Clear, Tweetbot, Readdledocs, Scanner Pro, Remarks, Pdf Expert, Cinexplayer, FaceTime, Solar Walk, Frequency, Podcasts, Next Draft, Aremac, Airvideo, Blux movie, Pinnacle Studio, Filmic Pro, Blogsy, IA Writer, Index Card, Textkraft, Storyist, Writing Kit, Inspire Pro, MagicalPad, FD Reader, Pro Cam XL, Airfile, Camera+

These are just the tablet apps I use personally. My Android impression is that it is just not useful for productivity as the high quality apps for getting anything serious done are just not there and their equivalents just don't compare with anything on IOS. Sure there are apps which work well across IOS and Android. But even the popular apps like Flipboard, Instagram, Facebook, Skype tend to arrive late and need several updates to match the iOS versions. And some just look and work better on iOS anyway like CNN, Dropbox, Skype, Evernote.

I won't even get into Games...

I really could never use an Android device for anything other than basic, casual stuff. If I need to do any real productive stuff on a tablet, the iPad has taken the place of my laptop. Something I never thought possible.

As for the rest of your comments, being able to customize the home screen on my iPad would be nice but largely irrelevant to me. I also don't have to restart my iPad as I do all the time with my Android phone. IOS is very stable and predictable. IOS is also very secure. I wouldn't trust my private data on any Android device. There's also no mystery with IOS updates. Whereas Android updates are a complete joke. Not only is the iPad a brilliant productivity tool, it's so accessible that an elderly person like your parents can use it.

Amazing really.

[cyprusgrump]

I'm amazed you can say this.

I'm amazed that you can continue to make posts that are so completely and irrationally biased towards Apple and believe that anybody takes you seriously...

[Sotos]

I have an Android tablet and phone and I also bought iPad (the original) and iPad3 for my parents so I used iPads a lot also. So can you be more specific about what apps you are talking about? Google Maps is essential for my phone since GPS is the second most important feature for me. What app only available on iOS would be more essential? I find the user experience better with Android, especially with my tablet that is running Jelly Bean. You can switch between apps much faster, notifications are much better and you can customize whatever you want ... the only advantage of iOS is that is so limited that is better for totally novice users... which is why I got iPads for my parents.

I'm amazed you can say this. I really have no idea what the hell you do with your tablet. Without a doubt iOS has better apps. I mainly use the iPad as a productivity tool. And the iOS apps I use the most are just not on Android:

Keynote, Pages, Garageband, iPhoto, iMovie, Omnioutliner, Cue, Final Draft, Sparrow, Procreate, Glaze, Notes Plus, Camera Awesome, iTunes U, Showyou, Clear, Tweetbot, Readdledocs, Scanner Pro, Remarks, Pdf Expert, Cinexplayer, FaceTime, Solar Walk, Frequency, Podcasts, Next Draft, Aremac, Airvideo, Blux movie, Pinnacle Studio, Filmic Pro, Blogsy, IA Writer, Index Card, Textkraft, Storyist, Writing Kit, Inspire Pro, MagicalPad, FD Reader, Pro Cam XL, Airfile, Camera+

These are just the tablet apps I use personally. My Android impression is that it is just not useful for productivity as the high quality apps for getting anything serious done are just not there and their equivalents just don't compare with anything on IOS. Sure there are apps which work well across IOS and Android. But even the popular apps like Flipboard, Instagram, Facebook, Skype tend to arrive late and need several updates to match the iOS versions. And some just look and work better on iOS anyway like CNN, Dropbox, Skype, Evernote.

I won't even get into Games...

I really could never use an Android device for anything other than basic, casual stuff. If I need to do any real productive stuff on a tablet, the iPad has taken the place of my laptop. Something I never thought possible.

As for the rest of your comments, being able to customize the home screen on my iPad would be nice but largely irrelevant to me. I also don't have to restart my iPad as I do all the time with my Android phone. IOS is very stable and predictable. IOS is also very secure. I wouldn't trust my private data on any Android device. There's also no mystery with IOS updates. Whereas Android updates are a complete joke. Not only is the iPad a brilliant productivity tool, it's so accessible that an elderly person like your parents can use it.

Amazing really.

My phone and tablet never crashed and I never had to restart them. So this issue is not a problem of Android but of your specific phone. And for my tablet I received regular updates. It was Honeycomb when I bought it, then it went to ICS, and now is on Jelly Bean. All updates were OTA, when iPad still required to be connected to a computer to update. So this also depends on the device you buy... it is not an issue with Android. Personally I would never bother to do any productivity tasks on a tablet... let alone on a phone!! Small screens, no physical keyboard-mouse, weaker apps compared their desktop versions, no real multitasking (especially on iOS) etc means that you really can't be productive on a tablet, so whats the point of even trying? Nothing can match a desktop for productivity. If you are constantly on the go then you could get an ultrabook which would be 100 times better than any tablet for productivity. But if productivity on a tablet is your main argument then the best in this will soon be the Surface and the other Windows tablets.

[Demonax]

Personally I would never bother to do any productivity tasks on a tablet... let alone on a phone!! Small screens, no physical keyboard-mouse, weaker apps compared their desktop versions, no real multitasking (especially on iOS) etc means that you really can't be productive on a tablet, so whats the point of even trying? Nothing can match a desktop for productivity. If you are constantly on the go then you could get an ultrabook which would be 100 times better than any tablet for productivity. But if productivity on a tablet is your main argument then the best in this will soon be the Surface and the other Windows tablets.

Nonsense. I use my iPad as a replacement for my laptop on a daily basis. I’ve been doing it for the past six months. I use the iPad about 75 per cent of the time, and my desktop 25 per cent. My laptop has been gathering dust. I use the IPad with the Zaggfolio keyboard-case which makes typing every bit as comfy as it is on a notebook. I can write thousands of words on it.

The iPad gives me 10 hours battery life which is great for trips. As well as Built-in broadband. But the best thing about using the iPad are the apps which on the iPad are absolutely focused on getting things done. No icons and menu items you don't require. No rummaging around folders to find documents. No multitasking or juggling around windows to open and close them.

With the iPad, all that goes away. You can devote nearly every second of your time to the task at hand, rather than babysitting a balky computer.

I edit photos quite comfortably on the iPad. Photoshop remains the more powerful tool. But I can apply fancy effects, layer together multiple images into a collage and dress up type on the iPad.

I use Pages and TextKraft for writing stuff. Notes Plus for note taking. Procreate for drawing and painting. Blogsy for blogging, the mobile-browser version of Gmail and Tweetbot Twitter client. I use other photo, video, editing, writing apps from time to time and am frequently discovering new ones; most iPad apps are cheap so you can explore the App Store without blowing much money.

Even with the added bulk of a Zagg keyboard, the iPad is the smoothest, least cumbersome mobile computing device I’ve ever used, and I rarely leave the house without it. At home I'm happy to sit at my desk on a big screen iMac. But unless I have the need for a specific Mac app I will use the iPad mostly.

It's not perfect. But it works really well and apps are improving all the time. It's more or less my primary computing device. I still use my desktop Mac for intensive stuff, and I'm not saying I don't also need a desktop. But I use it less and less. And my laptop, not at all. In a few years time I expect tablets to be more powerful and flexible still. It's been interesting because I only bought the iPad for casual stuff and not productivity. But there you go. Interesting times ahead...

[Get Real!]

DemonDude,

So how much money have you thrown away on all this iGarbage you’ve accumulated over the years?

You could’ve built a beast of a computer!

[Demonax]

DemonDude,

So how much money have you thrown away on all this iGarbage you’ve accumulated over the years?

You could’ve built a beast of a computer!

Good question, GRDude. I've only had it for six months. The only cost was the iPad and Zagg folio case. Apps cost me nothing because Apple had an offer for a gift voucher which meant I could have fifty pounds worth of apps for nothing. Apps are free or really cheap anyway. For example, just a few pounds for a decent word processor or image editor. It's hardly a fortune. If you want you can just get the cheapest iPad and a Zagg case for around 475 pounds if you want wifi only. I was looking at getting a Macbook Air but that's twice as expensive as my current set-up. I've still got a desktop machine which does any power stuff I might need. But the iPad and Zagg folio keyboard covers all my mobile needs. The Zagg keyboard/case turns this thing into a very nice portable laptop for when you need to type lots of stuff.

[kurupetos]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Demonax]

Microsoft faces declining PC sales because of the onslaught of mobile computing. While tablets are soon going to outship notebooks.

Utter rubbish!

I'd like to see you perform the duties of anyone who does a lot of typing like an office clerk or programmer, with a tablet!

And don't tell me you're going to hook up an external kbd because you will have defeated your lame argument!

Do you mean that more tablets are going to be sold than notebooks is rubbish? Or declining PC sales is rubbish?

Well the first is happening already. As for the second, do you know what 'declining' means? It means selling fewer. Have you any evidence that PC sales are not in decline?

As for an office clerk or a programmer, what makes you think people will stop using desktops and keyboards altogether? I use a desktop and a tablet for different purposes. I use a tablet more because it does a lot of the things I use a computer for. But it's not a desktop replacement for me. Not yet anyway.

[Demonax]

yes definetely microsoft has failed....

Microsoft sells 40 million Windows 8 licenses

By Rick Whiting, on Nov 28, 2012 12:36 PM (5 hours ago)
Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses since the new release of the company's flagship operating system software became available just over one month ago.

The Windows 8 sales numbers are the first Microsoft has disclosed since the product began shipping on Oct. 25

Microsoft did not break down the sales numbers to say how many of the 40 million copies of Windows 8 have been sold with new PCs and laptop computers and how many have been sold as upgrades for older Windows releases. The blog did say that Windows 8 sales are "outpacing Windows 7 in terms of upgrades."

Microsoft also did not disclose sales numbers for its Surface tablet, which also went on sale on Oct. 25. That device runs on Windows RT, a version of Windows specifically developed to run on ARM-based devices.

http://www.crn.com.au/News/324436,microsoft-sells-40-million-windows-8-licenses.aspx

The vast majority of Windows 8 licenses Microsoft sells isn’t direct to consumers. It’s to Lenovo, HP, Dell, and all of its other hardware partners, who then go on to sell (or not sell) those devices to real people. So how many copies of Windows 8 are on people's desks, and how many are collecting dust on an electronic store’s back shelf?