Is the Nexus 10 Good Enough to Replace an iPad 3?

November 24, 2012 48 Comments

Last update: February 26, 2013

This article has had almost 20,000 views! Thanks for reading it.

It’s been several months since my Nexus 10 arrived, so it’s time for an update on my attempt to replace an iPad 3 with it. Was the lack of good tablet apps as big of a problem as everyone said it would be? And what about the superior build-quality of the iPad? Was the Nexus 10 lacking in this area? Read on to learn the answer to these and many more questions.

My Top Gripes After a Month

Since most of my previous columns about the Nexus 10 have stressed its benefits, I’ll get right to my gripes about it. Here are the things that bothered me the most about the Nexus 10 after the first four weeks of use.

You can see an example of a good tablet interface on the left and a bad one on the right.

Limited number of great tablet apps – The number one complaint from reviewers about the Nexus 10 is the lack of great tablet apps. Although it’s true there are more good tablet apps for the iPad, I was surprised this wasn’t more of a problem for me. Many of my favorite Android smartphone apps ran fine on the Nexus 10. In some cases I did need to replace apps, but I didn’t have much of a problem finding suitable replacements. There were two reasons why I needed to replace apps. The first was the fact that some apps have controls which are too small to accurately touch on the Nexus 10. A bigger problem for me was the fact that some of my favorite Android apps couldn’t be downloaded on the Nexus 10. Examples include Zite, USA Today and Flickr. I suspect this is because the companies are working on tablet-optimized apps and are not allowing downloads to tablets because they don’t want to get bad reviews. Now that there are finally a few good selling Android tablets, I suspect we’ll see app makers put more emphasis on creating good tablet apps. I’ve included a list of some Google-recommended tablet-optimized apps here in Tip #4. It’s worth pointing out that not all popular apps are available in tablet versions for the iPad either. For example, Instagram looks much better on the Nexus 10 than it does on the iPad. That’s because it only occupies a small portion of the iPad’s screen. Sure you can blow it up 2x but the text looks distorted and ugly.

Update: After a month this is no longer a serious problem. Every day I find new tablet-optimized apps that look great on the Nexus 10. Just today a tablet-optimized version of Flipboard finally became available.

Android 4.2’s calendar issue is well-documented

Android 4.2 bugs – Although the stories about Android 4.2’s bugs have been overblown, there is no doubt that iOS 6.0.1 is a more stable, less buggy operating system. Most of the current Android 4.2 bugs are things you won’t experience unless you stream music over Bluetooth, use the lock-screen music widgets, or enable auto-brightness. There is also the well-documented issue which occurs when you try to add an event that occurs in the month of December in the People app. As far as the random crash issues go, I still experience a few a week, so Google does have some work to do in this area.

UPDATE 11/27: Google pushed out an Android 4.2.1 update today which addressed the missing December issue.

UPDATE 1/15: A Google employee confirms the next Android update will contain a fix for the Bluetooth issue.

Issues rearranging apps and creating folders – Early versions of Android were far superior to iOS when it came to moving apps from screen to screen without rearranging other apps. I’m having problems with this on the Nexus 10 now. A more serious issue is the fact it’s sometimes hard to get an app to go into a folder you drag to. Sometimes the folder moves, other times it won’t work the first time, but if you keep trying you can always get it to go into the folder. This is strange and annoying.

Sometimes magazines can be viewed and other times they cannot

Disappearing magazines – One of my biggest Nexus 10 gripes so far is the problem I’m having not being able to view some of the free magazines that Google provided. I get a ‘Fetching latest…’ message when I try to open a magazine that never goes away. This occurs on magazines I’ve viewed without problems before. This may have to do with the fact I downloaded these to my tablet. The only way I’ve been able to fix this so far is to go to Settings/Apps and swipe to the left until I see the ‘All’ heading and then scroll down to Google Play Magazines and touch the ‘Clear data’ button and redownload the magazine again.

Playback issues with ultra HD video on some apps – I’m having problems trying to watch ultra high-definition (2560*1440) movies using MX Player. The video appears to pause every few seconds now, when it used to work fine on the same software. The same video plays perfectly on the MoboPlayer app so this could be a software-only issue.

Text editing problems in the browser – It’s much more difficult to edit text in a Nexus 10’s browser, than it is to do the same with an iPad 3. There are several reasons for this: The first is the fact it’s harder to insert the cursor precisely in browsers like Chrome. The second is the fact it’s harder to accurately cut and paste text on the Nexus 10 than the iPad. The third, is the fact the Nexus screen sometimes automatically zooms in or repositions itself when you touch the screen or hit the backspace key. It blows my mind that no one at Google has tried to use the Nexus 10 for this purpose because it’s so bad. Editing text in Firefox is even worse than in Chrome. I couldn’t get copy and paste to work reliably in Firefox at all. Two caveats: these are Android-related issues and not Nexus 10 flaws, and furthermore, HTML editing is something I do a lot, but not something a typical consumer does often.

Update: I’ve figured out what is happening here. Google and browser software makers have implemented logic to try guess when you’re having a hard time touching a button or control. When they detect this, they zoom in around the area to make sure you touch the right thing. This is nice for typical users, but can cause problems when editing HTML. I must have adapted, because I’m now doing almost all of my HTML editing on the Nexus 10 instead of the iPad.

Both the Nexus 10 and iPad 3 have similar back light bleed issues

Screen-related issues – The screen on the Nexus 10 does not have blacks that are as dark as Samsung’s Super Amoled displays. There is also some light leakage in both of the bottom corners. This may only be visible when you are in a dark room and the screen is black, but I wanted to point it out. Some additional leakage is present on each side, but it’s less obvious. As you can see from the photo above, the iPad 3 has backlight leakage that is worse to the Nexus 10. Even with its backlight issues, the iPad 3 and 4 still have a few advantages over the Nexus 10’s display. They have higher contrast, more brightness and better overall color accuracy then the panel in the Nexus 10. That’s not saying the display on the Nexus 10 isn’t great. It will blow your mind when you play a game like “Asphalt 7” or watch an ultra HD movie on it. It’s also noticeably sharper when it viewing small fonts on websites.

The camera on the Nexus 10 isn’t great

Mediocre rear camera – Although the front camera on the Nexus 10 is only 2MB, it looks much better than the camera on the iPad 3. This is probably because the iPad 3 only has a 0.3 MP camera. The rear-facing camera on the Nexus 10 is not great, but neither is the one on the iPad 3.

Plastic back cover – Although I love the lightness of the Nexus 10 and the way it feels when you hold it, occasionally when you hold its case a certain way, you’ll feel the back move a little. I mainly notice this is when I’m polishing the screen using my shirt. Is this a really big deal? Not for me, but it could have been avoided with a better design.

Wi-Fi range issues – Google claims the Nexus 10 has MIMO Wi-Fi — but its antenna is less sensitive than the one in the iPad. You’ll see this on the Wi-Fi signal strength meter, and you’ll notice a difference in performance when you have a low signal. This isn’t a major problem, but it is a little annoying in light of Google’s bold claims in this area.

Google Play screen update problems – This is a minor issue but I once experienced problems with the screen flashing when I was downloading updates in the Google Play store. This also appears to be an Android 4.2 issue and probably has nothing to do with the Nexus 10.

Auto-brightness problems – Android 4.2 has an auto-brightness setting, but it doesn’t work well because it’s possible for your finger to occasionally block the light sensor when you hold the tablet in Portrait mode. To address this issue you can download Lux Auto Brightness. Lux adjusts the brightness of your display based on your environment. When you go into a dark room, Lux will automatically lower the brightness of your display after you unlock your screen. This approach seems to work better than the dynamic approach that Google uses by default.

The Nexus 10 has the 8th best battery life of 474 Android devices

The Nexus 10 is one of the more batter-friendly Android devices

Slow charging – Slow charging with the stock charger is a problem, but this was only a issue for me on my first day of use. After that, I charged the tablet at night and did not have a problem getting through most days. When I use the Nexus 10 more than normal, I charge it for an hour around lunch and that gets me through the day. Although there has been a lot of talk about battery life on the Nexus 10, you can see from the chart above it is actually one the top battery-friendly Android devices.

If you’re thinking some of these problems are pretty lame, you’re correct. It’s not easy to find too many things wrong with the Nexus 10’s hardware. Things like backlight leakage are also a problem on the iPad 3 and iPad 4. Most of the serious Nexus 10 issues are software-related, and should be fixed at some point.

Observations After 8 Weeks of Use

I order this product on day one and have spent as many hours with it as anyone outside of Google. After eight weeks I am now using my iPad 3 only a few minutes a week. Here is a summary of my observations after eight weeks:

The claims about Apple’s superior app ecosystem are overblown. I don’t miss any of the iPad apps I was running before. Not a single one. That doesn’t mean all of the Android apps are at parity, because they are not. But the differences are small enough now that they don’t bother me. Since the Nexus 10 launched the number of good tablet apps has increased dramatically.

My problems with the Nexus 10 crashing have sadly increased, but they are not a serious problem yet. Sometimes it will crash twice in a day and then go days without another crash. There is a lot of speculation over the cause of this. Some people think it’s caused by the Chrome browser. Others think the problem goes away when the GPS is disabled. I’ve noticed that many of my crashes occur when I’m using the Chrome browser and Wi-Fi signal strength is low or the tablet is downloading updates. I also suspect that moving wallpapers might be a contributing factor. This hasn’t become a major annoyance for me yet, because I’m confident Google will fix this soon.

Update: Since I installed Android 4.2.2, my crash problems seem to have gone away.

Most of the display gripes about the Nexus 10 are overblown. The back light bleed is not a problem for me, but I would like darker blacks. That is my number one screen gripe. Color accuracy on the Nexus 10 isn’t great, but that hasn’t been a problem for me. Nor have non-HD desktop icons. I do feel the lack of great HD wallpapers is a problem, but likely one that won’t last long. Screen brightness has also not been a problem for me. Although its not perfect, I love the display on the Nexus 10. To my eyes it’s much crisper than the iPad 3 and that’s what I care about the most.

The build quality of the Nexus 10 is fine. I’ll take the lightness over the iPad any day. My only gripe is the fact that the section on the back does not stay in as snugly as I would like.

One new problem I’m a little concerned about is the heat from the main chip. This was initially only a problem when gaming, but now I notice it when I’m scrolling on site like Facebook for long periods.

What About Build Quality?

Along with lack of tablet apps, build quality is the most common gripe about the Nexus 10 from Apple fans who have never seen one. I’ll admit the Nexus 10 doesn’t look great in most review photos, but in person, it looks and feels very nice. I’m not the only one who feels this way. Here are a few excerpts about build quality from Nexus 10 reviews:

Gizmodo said: “It feels extremely solid and well-built. The back panel is a hard plastic that has been rubberized in a really interesting way. It’s very smooth, but very grippy at the same time.”

Ars Technica said: “I do find that I actually prefer the textured plastic back of the Nexus 10 to the aluminum back used by the iPads—the latter gets pretty cold to the touch in November in New Jersey, and the tablet is only too happy to transfer that coldness straight to your hands. The Nexus 10 is a bit more hospitable when pulling it out of a bag that’s been outside.”

CNET said: “It is the most comfortable 10-inch tablet to hold in your hand its light weight and smoothly rounded corners the tablet never digs into your palms when held with two hands. The back is a soft, grippy, almost rubbery plastic that not only feels great to hold, but doubles as protection for the tablet. The aforementioned rounded corners have that same rubbery plastic around them. The whole outer shell feels almost like an exoskeleton accessory, specifically designed to protect the delicate tablet organs.”

Ubergizmo said: “To put it simply, the design of the Google Nexus 10 is beautiful. The front of the tablet is made of a pristine black glass surface from edge to edge. I really like the soft touch treatment which gives a solid grip when holding the tablet. This is an issue that I have regularly with the iPad. Overall, I find the industrial design to be excellent and high-quality. Unless you are adamant to feel metal when you touch the tablet, I expect most people to be pleased with the quality of this device.”

The Guardian said: “The Nexus 10 is a sleek, smooth tablet that feels solid, and sits nicely in the hands with its rounded corners – more rounded than the iPad.”

Venture Beat said: “The tablet’s curved design makes it surprisingly comfortable to hold, and the soft back case material feels simply luxurious. The Nexus 10 is so well designed that you’ll be tempted to fondle it even when it’s turned off.”

Android Community said: “It’s extremely well made, very durable, feels great and is indeed a polished and beautiful product inside and out.”

Android Police said: “Amazing build quality. I tried really hard to find a flaw in the build of this tablet. But I couldn’t. It’s top-notch – everything is super-solid… The back is the real standout feature of the device’s physical design, as it’s coated in a very soft rubbery-plastic that feels almost like leather. It definitely adds a feeling of quality, and is absolutely fantastic in the hands. It’s not cold and slippery like aluminum, nor does it feel cheap and flimsy like typical plastic. It’s slightly grippy, which allows you to hold the unit with less “force,” leading to less wrist fatigue. It also makes it easier to hold the device in your hand palette-style without fear of dropping it.”

Tech Radar said: “The rear plastic chassis has a soft-touch feel, with the rubberized effect providing additional grip in the hand, and wrapping round to the front of the tablet for a smooth, seamless finish.”

And last, but not least, Wired said: “The back panel is a grippy plastic that makes the Nexus 10 much better than previous Samsung tablets and even the iPad for one-handed use.”

Why The Nexus 10 is My New ‘Go to’ Tablet

You might be wondering why I still favor the Nexus 10, even though I admit the iPad still has some important advantages. Here’s why:

The Nexus 10 absolutely kills the iPad 3 and 4 when it comes to features.

The Nexus 10 is a much better value than the iPad 4. Its hardware beats the iPad 4 in almost every area and costs $100 less.

Apple prevents older hardware from running some features

I want access to all of the newest technologies. The Nexus 10 has features like NFC and multi-user support, which iPad users could be waiting years to get. Not only is Apple behind, they have a history of preventing their users from accessing their new features. Even though the iPad 2 is capable of running Siri and Panorama, Apple forces iPad 2 owners to buy newer hardware in order to run those features. That just isn’t right.

Speed is important to me and the Nexus 10 is faster than the iPad 3. After using my Nexus almost 100% of the time for several months the iPad is noticeably slower on things like scrolling Facebook in the browser.

Lastly, I want the same experience on my phone and tablet. Now that I’ve switched from iPhone to an Android smartphones, it only makes sense that I use an Android tablet.

Could I replace my iPad 3 with the Nexus 10?

My transition from an iPad 3 to a Nexus 10 wasn’t as easy as my transition from an iPhone to a Nexus phone. My first few days with the Nexus 10 were not great. I was getting it set up properly and finding good tablet-optimized apps. Most of my issues with the Nexus 10 were software-related, and not directly related to the Nexus 10 hardware. The Nexus 10 is not a perfect product, but it’s good enough that I’ve put my iPad 3 on the shelf and only use it for occasional HTML editing now. The surprising thing is I actually prefer using the Nexus 10 now over the iPad 3. The main reason for this is the fact the Nexus 10 is noticeably lighter than the iPad and feels much better in my hand. Its corners are nicely rounded and don’t dig into my palm the way the iPad 3 does. This is a big deal when you hold your tablet for long periods with one hand like I do. Another reason I prefer the Nexus over the iPad is the display. The crispness of text on the Nexus 10’s display is second to none.

The bottom line is the Nexus 10 is a great tablet, which holds its own against the best tablets. This says a lot, because the iPad 4 running iOS 6 is a very good product. But for me, the Nexus 10 is even better.

Final update 2/26: My crash problems seem to have been fixed by Android 4.2.2. I no longer use my iPad for a single thing. It sits on my floor lonely and unused, so I’ve decided to give it to my Dad on Fathers Day. In the past few months there have been a large number of good Android tablet apps which have been released. It’s now at the point where I can’t think of a single iPad app that I still miss — except maybe Zite which runs on my GS3.

– Rick

Copyright 2013 Rick Schwartz. All rights reserved. Linking to this article is encouraged.

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

It’s true the iPad has more tablet-optimized apps, but some popular apps still appear like this.

Here is how Instagram looks on the Nexus 10. Which would you rather use?

Filed under Blog Posts, Mobile Technology Tagged with Android, Android 4.2, iOS, iPad, iPad 3, iPad 4, Nexus 10, Tablet, technology

50 Great Tips & Tricks for the Nexus 10

November 17, 2012 280 Comments

Last updated: November 24, 2013

This article has received over 500,000 views! Although it was written for the Nexus 10, many of these tips apply to other Android tablets as well.

Welcome to the most comprehensive list of tips and tricks for the Nexus 10 you’ll find anywhere on the Internet. This started off as part of a Nexus first impressions article, but quickly grew into a list of 50 tips, so I’ve broken it out on its own. Because this article is intended for everyone from beginners to experts, there will be some things here you already know here, but you’ll also find tips you won’t find anywhere else.

Upgrade to the latest version of Android – There have been several updates to Android since the first Nexus 10 tablets left the factory. Make sure to install the newest Android system update. If your tablet isn’t already running Android 4.2.2, and it doesn’t appear under Settings > About tablet > System Updates, scroll to the bottom of this article to learn how to force an update to Android 4.2.2. What’s new in Android 4.2.2? You can see a list of all changes here.

Choose your screen orientation – The startup screen, volume control and speaker placement seem to indicate Google intended the Nexus 10 to be used horizontally in landscape mode. However I prefer the vertical portrait mode for the following reasons: First, it’s better suited for most web pages. Second, apps like Instagram and Spotify can’t be used in landscape mode. Third, it’s easier to hold the Nexus 10 vertically with one hand. Of course you’ll want to use landscape when watching most movies. In the end the choice is yours, just keep in mind if you use it in portrait mode the volume control will be reversed (e.g. pushing the lower button turns the volume up.)

Google Now delivers information without you needing to ask

The Nexus 10 Guidebook is massive

Activate Google Now – Swipe up from the bottom of your tablet screen near the center to access Google Now. Before using Google Now you must go through a tutorial and then activate it. Then make sure location services are on. To do this you need to check the box next to ‘Wi-Fi & mobile network location’ and agree with the prompt. Then go through the settings for Google Now and enter your favorites sports teams and adjust a few other settings. When you’re finished Google Now will start presenting you with information tailored to your needs like the local weather. You can see what my first Google Now page looked like in the screenshot above. It’s worth mentioning I’ve never taken my tablet to the gym, or asked Google for my drive time to work. It provided that info based on my previous behavior. I know some people have privacy concerns, but I think this feature is great.

Download the official Nexus 10 Guidebook – Google just made available a new 159 page Nexus 10 Guidebook. You can download this excellent guide here. Once downloaded, I recommend you copy it to your tablet, so you can refer to it anywhere you go. Make sure you have a PDF reader on your Nexus 10 however. You can download Adobe Reader here.

Download some tablet-optimized apps – You’ll quickly discover not all of your Android smartphone apps adapt well to the extremely high pixel density of the Nexus 10. For this reason, Google recommends you download some of the following apps: Autodesk Sketchbook Pro for Tablets, Cat in the Hat, Cut the Rope Experiments HD, Evernote, Expedia, Fandango Movies for Tablets, Friendcaster, Google Currents, Fancy, Heros Call HD Widgets, Hipmunk, Hulu Plus, Magic Piano, Mint.com, Netflix, News Republic for Tablets, Ocean HD, Office Suite Pro, OpenTable, Picsay Pro, Plume, Pinterest, Pulse News, SplashTop Remote Desktop HD, Strikefleet Omega, Sprinkle, SwiftyKey3 Tablet, Pocket, SeriesGuide, Taptu, TED, Trulio, Zappos and Zoomingo. In addition to the above apps, I would add the following apps which have all been optimized to run on tablets like the Nexus 10: 500px, AccuWeather for Android, AirCalc, Amazon Mobile (Tablet), BaconReader for Reddit, Business Calendar, Calendar, Ebay, Engadget, FIFA 2014, Flipboard, Google+, Google Pinin Input, Hotel Tonight, Kingsoft Office, NYTimes for Android, Pandora, PicsArt, Pinterest, Sing! Karaoke, Smart Tools, SkyDrive, Solid Explorer, Songza, SoundHound, Tasks, Temple Run 2, The Weather Channel, Twitter (tablet-optimized version), USA Today, Wunderlist 2 and Yahoo! Weather.
Here’s a list of the top 150 Android apps. Many, but not all are tablet-optimized. Also, check out the Tablified Market app. It highlights apps that are designed and optimized for tablets.
Install the Adobe Flash plug-in – Flash may be a dying format, but there are still millions of Flash videos around and the Nexus 10 should be able play some of them. To install Flash from the official Adobe website, follow the instructions at the bottom of this page.

The Nexus 10 has several different keyboard layouts like this one with number keys

Expand your keyboard – Since the Nexus 10 has such a large screen you may want to expand to a full-sized PC-style keyboard that includes number keys and extras like the screenshot above has. It’s tricky to set up, but worth it if you like to type in landscape mode. Go to Settings/Language & input and then touch the settings Sliders next to ‘Android keyboard.’ Next, touch ‘Advanced settings’ and touch ‘Custom input styles.’ It will say Deutsch and Francais, but you can ignore that. Touch ‘Add Style’ near the upper right. Then select your language and change the layout from QWERTY to ‘PC’ or one of the other styles. Now touch ‘Add’ and you’ll see your new style appear in the list. Touch ‘Enable’ and use the back key to go back to the Language & input screen. Now touch ‘Input languages’ near the top and uncheck ‘Use system language.’ Lastly, touch ‘English (US) (PC)’ and you’re done. Source: AndroidPIT
Note: Mostly-tech reader Craig has reported the above tip changed his default input language and broke voice and image responses via GoogleNow. If you experience either of those problems, switch back to the (US English) keyboard input setting.

Control your tablet using your voice – Most people don’t know you can have your tablet open an app, create a calendar event, display a map, navigate to a place, send an email, set an alarm, define a word, show movie times, take a note, display a weather forecast, identify a zip code or area code, provide flight info, find a restaurant, run a calculator or provide a translation by simply speaking. Start by touching the microphone next to the search box. For more info, go to pages 58-64 in the Nexus 10 Guidebook (See Tip 3 to find out where to get this). There’s also a list of all 53 types of voice requests here.

Watch “Timescapes” if you want to see what the amazing display on the Nexus 10 is capable of

Download a high-quality video – If you really want to see what the Nexus 10 display is capable of when it comes to video, download Timescapes. It it the first 4K movie that you can purchase for $29.95. It has almost twice as many pixels as a normal high-definition video. If you’re not ready to shell out $30 bucks, but want to watch a free 1080p preview of the movie click here. If you decide to buy the movie, make sure to download the 2560×1440 version and not the others. The movie is over 6GB, so you should back it up to your computer, so you can free up space on your tablet if you need to later. In order to play this video, you may have to download free MoboPlayer software (or equivalent).

Turn off haptic feedback if you don’t like it – When touch the screen on the Nexus 10 to navigate, you get a little vibration. If you don’t like this, go to Settings > Sound and uncheck ‘Vibrate on touch.’ Making this change will not turn off the vibration you get when you type on the onscreen keyboard. To turn that off, go to Settings > ‘Language and input.’ Then touch the Setting icon for the ‘Android keyboard’ and uncheck ‘Sound on keypress.’ Make sure ‘Vibrate on keypress’ is unchecked as well. If you’re using SwiftKey 3 Tablet, go to its settings page, touch Advanced. Touch ‘Audio and haptic feedback’ and uncheck Haptic feedback.

Shoot and edit your own home movies on your Nexus 10

Shoot and edit video on your tablet – If this is your first Android tablet, you probably haven’t used ‘Movie Studio’ yet. Movie Studio lets you edit video clips together in a timeline with transitions, music, effects and titles. Movie studio has been around since Android 3.0, but the tablets back then didn’t have enough power to run it well. Here are some good instructions how to use Movie Studio.

Unhide Developer Options – Earlier versions of Android had a ‘Developer options’ area in Settings but that’s no longer present in Android 4.2. However, you can still put your tablet into Developer Mode by going to Settings and touching ‘About tablet.’ Then click the build number seven times. After you do that you will see ‘Developers options’ appear in the Settings menu! This great tip came from Wai Ho Cheung.

SwiftKey 3 is Tablet a great tablet-optimized keyboard app

Try a tablet-optimized keyboard – If I had to pick one single app that softened my transition from the iPad 3 to the Nexus 10 the most it would be the SwiftKey 3 Tablet Keyboard. The reason for this is because I type a lot and I like to work in portrait mode. That squeezes the keys closer together and makes typing harder on the stock keyboard. I can’t say enough good things about this app. It takes a while for you to learn it, and for it to learn you, but when that happens, you’ll never go back.

Toggle between MTP and PTP – Here’s another tip you won’t see anywhere else: You can put the Nexus 10 into Camera (PTP) mode by going to Settings > Storage and then selecting the menu in the upper right-hand corner. From there, you can select ‘USB computer connection,’ which allows you to toggle between MTP (which is the default) and PTP which lets you transfer photos using camera software. PTP also works on computers that don’t support MTP.

Learn how to use Quick Settings – You can use the Quick Settings menu to turn on/off Wi-Fi, change screen brightness, turn off auto-rotate and more. To open Quick Settings, swipe down from the top right corner of any screen. You can even access the full settings menu from Quick Settings.

An Actionable Notification

Try the new Notification Shade – To open the Notification Shade, swipe down from the top left corner of any screen. You can do this even when your Nexus 10 is locked. Certain notifications like emails or calendar events can be expanded to show more information. Some notifications let you take action by touching icons. For example, Calendar notifications allow you to Snooze or send email to other guests. To collapse a notification, pinch it. To expand a notification, glide using two fingers. When you’re finished with a notification, just swipe it to the right to make it go away. To dismiss all notifications, touch the icon at the top right of the notification shade. If you long-press on an open task, you’ll be taken straight to the settings page for that app.
Uninstall unneeded apps – After you’ve been using your tablet for a while you’ll probably have apps that you never use. You may want to remove any unused apps to free up space. The easiest way to uninstall an app is to press and hold the app icon in the app drawer and drag it to the top of the screen where it says ‘Uninstall.’ If it only shows App Info, it is a system app and cannot be uninstalled. However, if you drag the app to where it says App Info you’ll have the option to disable the app, which frees up memory.

Games like “Asphalt 7” look great on the Nexus 10

Download a new game – Playing games on your Nexus 10 tablet is very different than playing games on your smartphone. The large screen, killer graphics, faster processor and great sounding stereo speakers take gaming to a whole new level. Make sure to download a game with great graphics like Asphalt 7, Dead Trigger, or Shadow Gun. All of these will cost you, but there are many great free games as well, including Temple Run 2.

Improve your gaming graphics – If you’re a hard-core gamer, you probably already know what 4x anti-aliasing is. You can enable this on the Nexus 10 if you know a secret trick. First, enable Developer Options as described above in Tip #11. Then go to Settings and click on Developer Options. You will now see an option on the right to enable Force 4x MSAA. Multisample anti-aliasing (MSAA) is a technique used to improve image quality. Since the Nexus 10 has a GPU capable of supporting MSAA, this setting should make your graphics look more detailed when you’re playing advanced games. Keep in mind this will also cause your GPU to work harder and your tablet may get hotter and consume more power than normal. It’s also possible that all games may not support this, but this seems to work great with games like Asphalt 7. Source: Wai Ho Cheung.

This wireless gaming controller was designed for the Nexus 10

Use a gaming controller with your Nexus 10 – If you game a lot, you might try using a gaming controller with your Nexus 10. You have three options: If you own a Sony PS3, you can use up to four PS3 controllers with your Nexus 10 at the same time. Instructions here. You can also plug an Xbox gaming controller into the Nexus 10, as long as you have a micro USB to USB adapter. Lastly, you can purchase a wireless gaming controller like the Nyko Playpad.

Copy your media to your tablet – One of Android’s best features is the ability to plug your charging cable into the USB jack on your computer and have your tablet appear as a hard drive. Once you do this, you can easily copy over the music, photos, videos or documents you want to take with you everywhere.

Select a lock screen – If you plan to bring your Nexus 10 outside of your house, you should go to Settings/Security and pick a pattern (recommended), PIN or password-based screen unlock.

It’s easy to connect a Nexus 10 to your TV and watch HD videos on it.

Connect your tablet to a television – The Nexus 10 has a standard micro HDMI jack, so you can purchase a high-quality cable which connects to your TV for as little as $3. This allows you to watch high-definition videos from YouTube, Netflix or any other site on your TV. Unlike other tablets, the Nexus will display a video on your tablet and television at the same time. It will also automatically scale 2550x1440p videos to 1080p, so your television can display them. As you can see from the screenshot above, the picture quality is great. Important: Make sure to power down your tablet and television before connecting or disconnecting an HDMI cable. If you don’t, it’s possible that you could damage your tablet.

Hook up an external keyboard and mouse – You can easily connect your tablet to an external keyboard, mouse, or other input device and use these just as you would with a PC. This can be done using Bluetooth or direct USB connection. To connect via USB you will need an adapter like this. To connect more than one USB device at a time, use a powered USB hub to reduce drain on your battery. I’ve tried a wired keyboard and a standard wired mouse with the Nexus 10 tablet and both work pretty well. The mouse had no issues whatsoever. The keyboard seemed to miss keys or spaces occasionally when I typed too fast. However, I really like using the arrow keys on the keyboard to precisely move the cursor around text on the screen. I also like the fact the tablet can tell there is a keyboard attached and does not display the onscreen keyboard. This saves a lot of space on the screen.

You can work faster when you connect your Nexus 10 to a traditional keyboard and mouse

External keyboard tips – In addition to entering text, you can use your keyboard to navigate your tablet’s features: Use the arrow keys to select items on screen. Press Return after selecting an item is equivalent to touching that item. Press Escape to go Back. Press Tab or Shift-Tab to move forward on a screen with multiple text fields. For maximum typing speed, turn off auto-replace, auto-capitalization and auto-punctuate. To do this, swipe down on the top of the screen and ‘Select keyboard layout.’ To do this, swipe down on the top of the screen and ‘Select keyboard layout.’ Don’t forget you can use keyboard commands like Ctrl-V to paste text just like you would with a PC.

Expand your memory – One of the biggest complaints about the Nexus 10 is the fact it doesn’t have a memory expansion slot, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add your own memory by buying a short micro USB to USB cable and connecting a low-cost memory stick. However, stock Android devices do not automatically “mount” mass storage devices like USB sticks, so one additional step is required. If you’re Nexus tablet is rooted, the best solution is an app called Stickmount (Note: I was recently told there may be problems with it and Android 4.2, which the developer are working on now). Once StickMount is installed you connect a USB stick to your Nexus using a USB OTG cable and the device will show you a popup and ask if you want to open StickMount. You’ll need a file viewer app like ES File Explorer to display your files. More details. If your Nexus 10 is not rooted, you have two options: The first is a $3 app called Nexus Media Importer, which allows you to import or stream music, video, photos and documents from a USB flash drive or SD card. More info. The second option is free. You can enable PTP on your Nexus 10 by following the instructions in Tip #13 above. Once PTP is enabled, when you plug in a supported device it should immediately bring up the Gallery app with a new folder containing all of your photos. When you open that folder, you can either import, or browse the photos. All of the above options require a USB OTG to mini USB adapter.

Where to Find More Great Tips Like These

If you’re looking for more great tips and tricks for the Nexus 10, checkout this article.

The new Photo Gallery App is a powerful photo editing tool

Edit your photos like a pro – The Android 4.2 Gallery app is more than just a photo viewer. It now has some serious editing capabilities. In addition to all of the standard Instagram-style filters, this app has some advanced photo editing features that are similar to the ones you’ll find in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The incredible screen on the Nexus 10 and fast processor, make it a serious photo editing station. For even better editing options, try Snapseed or Pixlr Express.

More powerful photo editing options

Learn how to take a screenshot – To take a screenshot on the Nexus 10, press the power button and the volume down button and continue to hold them until you hear a beep and see the screen zoom in. The volume down is on the top part of the volume slider when you are holding the tablet in portrait-mode.

Use the new Google Voice search – It doesn’t make sense to type your searches any more. Just touch the microphone near the top of the screen and talk, or say “Google” when you are on the Google Now page.

Set up a guest profile – You may want to setup a guest profile on your Nexus 10, so a friend can check their email, and install their own games, but can’t update your Facebook status. Their app settings, screen background, game-progress and high-scores remain separate. To add a new user, go to Settings/Device/Users. Touch ‘Add user’ and then touch OK. Touch ‘Not now,’ if your guest is not available. A generic new user should now appear in the list.

Customize your home screen – Every one uses their tablet differently, so you should customize your home screen(s) to meet your needs. Here are some suggestions:

a. Make shortcuts on your home screens for all of your favorite apps. To do this go to the App locker and then touch and hold an app and drag it to the desired screen.

b. Create folders for different categories of apps (e.g. Games, Utilities, etc.) and move all of the related apps into those folders.To create a new folders drag on app on top of another similar app. After the new folder is created, make sure to name it.

c. Uninstall any unnecessary apps or widgets from your existing homescreens. To do this, simply touch and drag them into the text ‘Remove’ near the top of the screen.

Buy a case for your Nexus 10
Buy a carrying case – It’s a good idea to purchase a leather case for your Nexus 10. This will protect your screen from scratches and give you additional protection if you drop it. Most cases also act as a stand for your tablet. Nexus 10 cases are just starting to appear on sites like Amazon.com. I just received this case and I’m happy with it.

Don’t forget about the free music – Although you won’t see the free music that is included with your Nexus 10 in the “My Library” widget, if you go into ‘All Apps’ and open ‘Play Music,’ U.S. Nexus owners will find ten free songs from The Rolling Stones, Cat Power, M. Ward, The Lumineers, Bob Mould, Eskmo and more. Preloaded music in other countries varies.

Install tracking software – You paid good money for your Nexus 10, so you don’t want to lose it. Make sure to install software like ‘Where’s My Droid‘ which allows you to track your tablet if lost or stolen. If you spend $4 to upgrade to the Pro version, you can also remotely lock your tablet, enable the camera to see the thief and as a last resort erase your tablet remotely. If you install this app, make sure to run the setup and connect the Commander screen to your Google account.

Try gesture typing – The standard Android keyboard now allows you to slide your finger over the letters you want to type, and lift it after each word. You don’t need to worry about spaces, because they’re added automatically for you. This feature used to be only found in premium apps like Swype. Now you can use it whenever you like.

Zoom two different ways – There are different ways to zoom in on the Nexus 10. The first is called double-tap. You can quickly tap two times on most webpages in Chrome to zoom in. Double-tap again to zoom out. This feature works on most webpages, maps, and other screens. Android 4.2 also has an interesting new feature called magnification gestures. When enabled, you can triple-tap the screen everywhere (except on the keyboard or notification bar) and zoom in. The nice thing is that you stay zoomed in, until you triple-tap a second time. To enable this feature, go to Settings > System > Accessibility and touch Magnification gestures. Then slide it from off to on and hit the back button. It’s worth mentioning that the way you zoom in works differently when you double or triple tap. Both have advantages, try each and see which is better for certain things. One user has reported that enabling triple-tap doesn’t work well when playing games like GTA3.

Pin your content so you can access it without a Wi-Fi connection

Access your Google Play media offline – Normally Google Play streams your content from the cloud when you access it. This is done so the content doesn’t take up any of your precious storage space. However, there are times where you may not have access to the Internet, but still want to read a book or watch a movie. To do that you’ll want to download or ‘pin’ the media on your device so you can access it offline. To ‘pin’ a book, open the Play Books app, go to the menu and select ‘Make available offline.’ A blue dot with a pin in it means the book is available for offline, but has not been downloaded yet. To download it, tap it once and the pin should turn white. Once the book is finished downloading, the pin icon should be upright, white and surrounded by a blue dot (like “The Time Machine” book above). Keep in mind that downloading a movie will consume a substantial amount of storage space (~1.7GB).

Press and hold to quickly change camera settings

Quickly change camera settings – You can now press and hold on the camera app screen and swipe to quickly change white balance, HDR and other camera settings. You can also go directly from the camera app to the Photo Gallery app by swiping to the right. Swipe left to return to the camera.

Improve your Internet download speeds – If you have Wi-Fi range issues like I do, you may want to purchase an Ethernet adapter. The Nexus 10 supports USB-OTG, which makes this possible. Although micro USB to Ethernet adapters are available, they don’t get good reviews, so you’re probably better of with a USB to Ethernet adapter like this and a micro USB to USB adapter. More about the types of things you can connect with USB-OTG.

Pinch-to-zoom Gmail – Gmail has a new setting called ‘Auto-fit messages’ which is not enabled by default. When you enable this setting, you can manually pinch to zoom in or out on an e-mail. This is really useful.

Learn how to decipher the notification LED – You’ve probably noticed there’s an LED on the front of your Nexus 10 that flashes occasionally. It’s there to let you when you have one ore more notifications waiting. Its LED is capable of displaying multiple colors so you can tell what type of notification you have without unlocking your tablet. Since there is no mention of this feature in the Nexus 10 manual, there is some confusion over the colors used. It appears Google uses white for Gmail or SMS texts, blue is for Facebook notifications, green indicates your tablet is 100% charged, and also may show Google Voice notifications, yellow is for Google Talk and red is for Google+. It appears third-party apps can trigger the notification LED as well. One thing I’ve noticed about the notification LED is it sometimes continues to flash after you’ve cleared your notifications. If this blinking bothers you, you can turn off the notification LED by going to Settings > Display and unchecking ‘Pulse notification light.’

Light Flow Lite allows you to take control of the colors of your notification LED

Customize your LED notifications – A free app called Light Flow Lite allows you to take control of the colors of your notification LED. It also makes your Nexus 10 flash one color after another. This app allows you to set the notification color for the over 250 applications and system events including missed calls, low battery, no signal, voice mail, calendar reminders, Gmail messages, email messages, SMS messages, MMS messages, Twitter notifications and more.

Quickly silence or restart your tablet – To quickly silence your Nexus 10, press and hold the power button for 1-2 seconds. To restart your tablet, press and hold the power button for 8 seconds.

Backup everything on your tablet

Make it easy for someone to return your tablet if lost – It’s a good idea to add a message to your lock-screen like the following: If found, please call [Enter your area code and phone number here]. To do this, go to Settings > Security > and touch ‘Owner info’ (or User Info, for other users). Then enter the text you want displayed on the lock screen.

Backup everything on your tablet – Although it’s true Google backs up some of your data, it doesn’t back up everything. My Backup Pro backs-up your photos, SMS texts, contacts, call log, browser bookmarks, system settings, Home screens, music playlists and apps. Your entire backup is stored online.

Use your tablet as a phone – You can turn your Android tablet into a phone with apps like Talkatone, GrooVe IP, Viber, Tablet Calling or others. A free Google Voice account is required by most of these programs. For best results, you’ll want to use a Bluetooth earpiece, since the mic used for this is located on the back of your tablet. For video calls try Skype or Tango. Video calls use the front camera on the Nexus, which works pretty well, however you still should use a Bluetooth earpiece for best results.

Let Google know where you live and work – In order to get the most out of Google Now you must enter your home and work addresses. To do this go to maps.google.com using your browser, touch the Menu icon in the upper right hand corner, and open My Places. From there, you can enter your home and work addresses.

Nexus 10 features to avoid – Because Android 4.2 and the Nexus 10 are still so new, there are several features you may want to avoid until the next update is available. Avoid using Lock-screen music widgets and Auto-brightness. If auto-brightness is important to you, please refer to Tip 40 here for a work-around.

Enjoy your media without cables

Get yourself some wireless headphones – The Nexus 10 is great for multimedia. After Google fixes the Bluetooth issues with Android 4.2.2 you may want to get yourself a wireless headset like this one. It’s stereo, sounds good and also has a mic, so you can make calls with it. If you have problems pairing your Bluetooth headset, try it several times. It took me at least three tries before it worked.

Get help from Google – You can call (855) 836-3987 and ask Google questions about your Nexus 10 24/7. I know some people are bashing Google for their phone support, but my phone support experience was positive. Once I waited on hold for 15 minutes, but the person who answered my call was able to quickly solve a difficult problem.

Visit the Nexus 10 support site online for more information.

Where to Find More Great Tips Like These

Hopefully you’ve learned something new after reading this. If you’re looking for more great tips and tricks for the Nexus 10, check out my next article.

How to Install Flash on the Nexus 10

Go to Settings > Security > and check “Unknown sources” under Device Administration.

Go to Google Play and download Firefox (or another browser that you are sure has Flash support).

Next, download Flash from the Adobe website by clicking here.

Drag the downloaded file labeled ‘install_flash_player_ics.apk’ into the ‘Download’ folder on your Nexus 10.

Now use an app like ES File Explorer to locate the APK in your Download folder and touch it.

Next, touch ‘Install’ and ‘Agree’ to install the Flash plug-in.

Note: Although I have not experienced any problems with Flash on the Nexus 10, I can not be responsible for the results of the actions you are about to take. You are installing software which is not officially supported, and could result in security or stability issues. I wouldn’t be too concerned however. I’ve been running this for more than four weeks now and have visited many sites. Content on most sites plays fine for me. Nothing bad has happened on the other sites.

To test that Flash is working, go to this page (or any other page you know has Flash on it). If you don’t see a video, touch where it says ‘Tap here to activate plugin’. After you do this, you should see a red box jumping around on the screen. I’ve noticed that most, but not all Flash files play on the Nexus 10. This appears to be due to an incompatibility between Flash and Android 4.2. If Flash videos don’t play the first time, don’t try to activate Flash on that page again. Enjoy!

Although it’s not essential, if you don’t plan to sideload more APK files, you should go back to Settings > Security > and uncheck “Unknown sources” under Device Administration.

Can’t get Flash to work? Try some of these suggestions.

If you have problems getting Firefox to work, try installing Boat Browser. After installing it, make sure to go to Settings > Page content settings and set ‘Enable flash/plug-ins to On. If you view a lot of Flash, you might want to make Boat your default browser. [Thanks to Karen for this tip]

How to Force An Update to Android 4.2.2 on Your Nexus 10

Go to Settings > Apps > and swipe the area which says “DOWNLOADED” to the right until you see “ALL” tab under Apps. The screens below were borrowed from a Cult of Android article for another device. Your screens may look slightly different.
1. Now, scroll down to where it says “About tablet” and touch “System updates’ and touch the “Check now” button. If it does not find the 4.2.2. update, restart your tablet and try again. If the above steps do not work, repeat them rebooting your device after step 3. You may also need to repeat the steps twice for the update to show up on your device. This approach worked for me, but may not work in all regions.
  
  What to Do If You Have Problems After You Force An Update to Android 4.2.2
  
  After I forced an update to Android 4.2.2 I could not download or update apps without an error. You have have that problem, you may want to do what I did to fix it.
  1. Go to Settings > Apps > and swipe the area which says “DOWNLOADED” to the right until you see “ALL” tab under Apps. Select “Google Play Store”, and then tap “Clear cache” and “Clear data.” Please note: After clearing the Google Play Store app data, if you have set a PIN code and/or a content filter, you’ll need to re-apply these settings.
  2. Locate “Download Manager,” under “ALL” and then tap “Clear cache” and “Clear data”
  3. Locate “Google Services Framework,” under “ALL” and then tap “Clear cache” and “Clear data”
  4. Reboot your tablet
  5. Try it again. If you still cannot download apps, try removing and then re-adding your Google account on the Settings screen. This worked for me.

Filed under Blog Posts, How-to, Mobile Technology Tagged with Android, Android 4.2, gadgets, Mobile, Nexus 10, Tablet, technology, Tips, Tricks

Nexus 10 – First Impressions

November 16, 2012 16 Comments

Last update: January 27, 2013

Earlier today I received one of the first Nexus 10 tablets. Since I’m hoping to use it to replace my iPad 3, I’m comparing the two side-by-side. Here are my initial findings so far:

First Impressions – Day One

The process of setting up a Nexus 10 is easy. You don’t even have to enter your Google account email. Just enter your password, answer a few questions and all of your apps and other data will start syncing.

The build-quality on the Nexus 10 is very good overall. This was a surprise to me, because I didn’t think the Nexus 10 looked very good in the reviews. The front is metal and glass like the iPad 4. The back of the Nexus 10 is plastic, not aluminum like the iPad, but it feels good in your hands. Because it’s corners are rounded, it doesn’t dig into your palm as much as the iPad 3. The only thing I don’t like about the plastic is the fact that it does flex a little when you squeeze it hard. This is something the iPad 3 doesn’t do.

The Nexus 10 comes with 5 books, 3 magazines, 10 songs, an HD movie and a TV show

The Nexus 10 comes with lots of free content – Content varies by country. U.S. users get the following three free magazines, Conde Nast Traveler, Entrepreneur and House Beautiful. We also get five great books including “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll. Like music? The Nexus 10 also comes with ten songs from The Rolling Stones, Cat Power, M. Ward, The Lumineers, Bob Mould, Eskmo and more. Last, but not least, the Nexus 10 also comes with an HD copy of the full-length movie “Ice Age” and the BBC TV show “Planet Earth.” Preloaded media varies by country, so your selection could be different from what I’ve listed above.

The screen on the Nexus 10 is beautiful. Small text on the Nexus 10 is noticeably crisper than the same text on the iPad 3. The free ‘Entrepreneur’ magazine Google gives you is a great example how media on a tablet can look every bit as good as a real magazine. That’s probably because HD magazines in Google Play are 300dpi and the screen on the Nexus 10 is 300ppi. I’ve attached a screen capture here, but you can only really appreciate the way it looks if you have a Nexus 10 or iPad 4. It won’t look good on most computer displays. It’s worth mentioning the quality on the free Conde Nast Traveler magazine seems to vary. Some of the ads look grainy to me, while others look great. I’m not sure why. Resolution is just one important display parameter. It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t acknowledge the fact the iPad 3 and 4 both have amazing displays that excel in some areas over the display in the Nexus 10 as well. I’ll detail some of those in my next article.

Here is an example of a 300 dpi HD magazine. In order to evaluate this, it most be displayed at 2560×1600.

The Google Magazine reader preloads pages in the background so there is no delay when you turn them. However, when you flick through the pages of an HD magazine as fast as you can, on the fourth page, you’ll start to have to wait 1-2 secs for them to load. This isn’t a flaw, just an observation.

When you have a web page loaded with a white background, the Nexus screen has a slight yellow tinge to it, while the iPad 3 has a slight blue tinge. This is very subtle so it’s unlikely most people will notice this, but I thought I would mention it anyway.

The Nexus 10 is noticeably lighter and thinner than the iPad 3. The lightness is good, but I’m not sure I’d want a tablet any thinner than a Nexus 10. It just wouldn’t feel right.

The Nexus 10 is really fast. Scrolling and app load times are the fastest I’ve seen on any device, (and noticeable faster and smoother than the iPad 3).

Syncing everything from my Google accounts and re-downloading all of my apps and data to the Nexus 10 took 45 minutes or less. That’s much faster than it took to download everything to my iPad 3.

Here is the same web page on the Nexus (left) and iPad 3 (right)

The screen on the Nexus 10 is noticeably longer than the iPad 3’s screen. At first I thought the Nexus 10 looked strange when held in portrait mode, because I was so used to the 4:3 aspect ratio of the iPad’s screen, but now I love it. The long screen displays quite a few more lines vertically as you can see above. It also displays more information horizontally, because text and images appear smaller due to the higher number of pixels per inch. The smaller text is not a problem for my eyes, but it could be a problem for others.

I’m not thrilled with the new album art carousel on the Google Music app. I’d rather see more album covers at once.

As others have noted, charging the Nexus 10 is slow when you’re using it. I plan to buy a third-party charger as soon as they’re available. Once I got on a cycle of charging all night with the power off, my charging issues seem to have gone away.

When holding the Nexus 10 in portrait mode, it seems like the volume buttons are reversed. The top button is volume down and the bottom button is volume up. This is hard to get used to. I suspect they did this because they suspect people will use this product in landscape mode, but I prefer using it in portrait mode for everything except video playback and gaming.

Like the iPad 3, the Nexus 10 has a screen that is very reflective. If you want an eReader that can be used in bright sunlight, or conditions where there is glare, you’re better off with a Kindle Fire.

One of the reviews I read said the boot time of the Nexus 10 is 18.6 seconds, however I clocked a boot time of 24 to 25 seconds (from vibration to full home screen). By comparison, an iPad 3 takes 28 seconds to boot. The iPad 3 does shutdown much faster however (~4 seconds vs. 10-11 seconds).

At first I thought the touch screen on the Nexus 10 wasn’t as sensitive as the iPad’s touch screen, but now I’m not sure. The only time I have problems is when I touch really small controls on the screen.

Page load times in the Chrome browser vary. Sometimes the iPad 3 is faster and other times the Nexus 10 is faster. The Nexus 10 displays less bars when it’s located far away from a Wi-Fi access point than an iPad 3. It’s unclear whether this is a signal strengh display issue or a larger issue.

That’s it for now. Make sure to check out additional Nexus 10 gripes in my next article.

What About All of the Android 4.2 Bugs?

If you’re wondering about all of the Android 4.2 bugs that sites like BGR are reporting. Random crashes? I’ve had several in five days, but it hasn’t been a major issue. Most of the things things these site are talking about are things that a typical user would not encounter — unless they are using Bluetooth audio, using lock-screen widgets, or trying to select December from the date picker in the People app. It’s worth mentioning that not a single one of the twenty authors who have written detailed reviews on the Nexus 10 pointed out any of the bugs we’re hearing about now. Here is what Gotta Be Mobile said about the stability of Android 4.2. “Fortunately, with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, I haven’t experienced any major issues, nor have I seen any Nexus 7 owners complaining about a plethora of bugs. I’ve heard and see some users complaining about a Bluetooth issue as well as an over sensitive auto-brightness function, but thus far, neither of those bugs are affecting my device.”

UPDATE 11/27 – Google pushed out an Android 4.2.1 update today which addresses the missing December issue.

UPDATE 1/15 – A Google employee confirms the next Android update will contain a fix for the Bluetooth issue. Version number rumored to be 4.2.2.

Summary After One Day

It’s too early to say whether the Nexus 10 is better or worse than the iPad 3. I can say it’s better than I expected based on all of the reviews. I’m convinced it is the best value in a 10″ tablet today. My goal is to use it to completely replace my old iPad 3. It will take weeks to see if that is possible. Make sure to check my next article for the answer. Also check out my list of 50 Great Tips and Tricks for the Nexus 10 here.

– Rick

Copyright 2013 Rick Schwartz. All rights reserved. Linking to this article is encouraged.

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

Filed under Blog Posts, Mobile Technology Tagged with Apple, gadgets, iPad 3, Nexus 10, technology

30+ Reasons You Should Buy a Nexus 10 Tablet

November 2, 2012 73 Comments

Last update: March 4, 2013

This article has over 40,000 views! Thanks for reading it.
It only took two days for every single model of the Nexus 10 to sell out worldwide. The 32GB model sold out just two hours after sales began.

The last two articles I wrote about tablets were my most popular ever, so I’ve decided to write another one about the new iPad 4 and its top competitor. Since some people complained my last article was unfair because I compared the iPad mini to several different tablets, this time I’ll compare the iPad 4 to a single tablet.

Don’t get me wrong, the iPad 4 certainly has some great qualities, but it’s no longer leading the way. Its Retina-display was the gold-standard for resolution, but those days are over. There’s a new tablet king and it’s called the Nexus 10. Here are over thirty good reasons why you’d be crazy to buy an iPad 4 over a Nexus 10.

It costs less and gives you more – A 16GB Nexus 10 costs $100 less than a 16GB iPad 4. That 20% less, for a product with much better specs as you’ll see below.

It has a better, higher-resolution display – Apple’s Retina displays used to be second to none, but those days are over. The Nexus 10 has a higher-resolution display than the iPad 4. It’s the world’s first tablet with a WQXGA 2560×1600-pixel display. But that’s not all, the Nexus 10 beats the iPad 4 in two other important areas as well: number of pixels and pixels-per-inch.
– The Nexus 10 has almost a million more pixels than the iPad 4’s Retina display (4,096,000 vs. 3,145,728)

– The Nexus 10 has more pixels-per-inch than the iPad 4 (300ppi vs. 264ppi). That may not sound like a lot, but you can see the difference on very small text. Like the iPad 4, text on the Nexus 10 looks very sharp.

The Nexus 10 has a processor with a faster clock speed than the iPad 4

It has a faster next-generation processor – The Nexus 10 has a processor clock speed that is over 30% faster than the iPad 4 (1.7GHz vs. 1.3GHz). The Nexus 10 is the first tablet with an ARM Cortex-A15 processor that beats the iPad 4 badly on benchmarks like Geekbench (2480 vs. 1768). This processor is 40% faster than previous generation ARM chips. The A15 is expected to be used in the iPad 5, which won’t be released until mid-2013.

It’s considerably lighter than the iPad 4 – The Nexus 10 is noticeably lighter than the iPad 4 (603g vs. 652g). This is a big deal when you use your tablet for hours at a time. I used to be able to hold the original iPad in the air with my left hand, but my new iPad with its leather case is so heavy that I have to put my elbow on the table or bed.
The Nexus 10 is noticeably thinner than the iPad 4

It’s thinner than the iPad 4 – The Nexus 10 is thinner than the iPad 4 (8.9mm vs. 9.4mm). This is surprising, because thinness is one area Apple normally dominates in. The Nexus 10 also does not have sharp corners which dig into your palm when you hold it with one hand.

It has twice the memory and twice the storage as the iPad 4 – The Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM, while he iPad 4 has only 1GB of RAM. More memory allows you to run more apps at once without slowing down. A $499 Nexus 10 also has twice as much internal storage than an iPad 4 (32GB vs. 16GB). This is important because it’s not hard to fill up a 16GB iPad when you have a large media collection or lots of apps.
You can share media by simply touching two NFC-enabled Android devices together

It has touch-to-share capabilities – Android tablets like the Nexus 10 can share media by simply touching another device with NFC support. This allows you to share photos, videos, contacts, Web pages — as well as information between apps. You can see Android Beam in action here.

It has faster Wi-Fi than the iPad 4 – The Nexus 10 has dual-band Wi-Fi and MIMO support. Amazon claims that MIMO results in better range and 40% faster Wi-Fi data speeds. Google says accelerated page loading and MIMO gives you web browsing speeds up to 4x faster than normal WiFi. Of course these are theoretical gains, we’ll have to see what the real-world numbers are.

It has a brighter display with wider viewing angles – The Nexus 10 has a Super PLS display, which has several advantages over IPS displays like the one Apple uses. Super PLS displays have wider viewing angles, and are supposed to be 10 percent brighter.

Size matters when it comes to speakers. The Nexus 10 has two front-facing speakers

It includes front-facing stereo speakers – The Nexus 10 has two large speakers on the left and right sides of its screen. These speakers shoot forward so the sound doesn’t get muffled by your hands (like it does on the iPad whose speaker faces down). The Nexus’ dual speakers also sound better than Apple’s single mono speaker. I was hoping the potential space savings that resulted from the switch to a Lightning connector the iPad 4 would allow Apple to add bigger, better-sounding speakers, but that did not happen.

You can see the Nexus 10 is fast. I’ll replace this once I find a comparison to iPad 4

It has an extremely fast GPU – Engadget says the Nexus 10 has the “most detailed and smoothest graphics we’ve seen.” Early benchmarks are mixed. Some favor the Nexus 10, while others favor the iPad 4.

It’s much easier to repair – According to iFixit, the iPad 4 is much more difficult to repair than all other tablets. iFixit gives the iPad 4 a repairability score of 2 out of 10, which is horrible. The battery is glued to the rear case which is unfortunate because it makes it very difficult to replace. iFixit goes on to say, “Just like in the iPad 2 & 3, the front panel is glued to the rest of the device, greatly increasing the chances of cracking the glass when trying to remove it. Gobs of adhesive hold everything in place, including the battery. The LCD has foam sticky tape adhering it to the front panel, increasing chances of it being shattered during disassembly.” I’m still waiting for a repairability score on the Nexus 10 from iFixit, but another source rates it “extremely repairable.”

The Nexus 10 comes with 5 books, 3 magazines, 10 songs, an HD movie and a TV show

The Nexus 10 comes with lots of free content – Content varies by region. U.S. users get the following three free magazines: Conde Nast Traveler, Entrepreneur and House Beautiful. There are also five great books you are provided with including: “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll. Like music? The Nexus also comes with ten songs from The Rolling Stones, Cat Power, M. Ward, The Lumineers, Bob Mould, Eskmo and more. And last, but not least, the Nexus 10 also comes with an HD copy of the full-length movie “Ice Age” and the BBC TV show “Planet Earth.”

It has multi-user support – The iPad 4 is a single-user device tied to a single iTunes account. The Nexus 10 is the first tablet to allow multiple users to log-in. Each user has their own home screen, background, apps and widgets. Things like game-progress and high-scores remain separate. This feature will be very important for families.

It has GPS support – The Wi-Fi only model of iPad 4 does not have a built-in GPS. That means you can’t use it to check-in or load maps of your area like you can using the Nexus 10.

You can use Google Wallet anywhere you see these images

It includes digital wallet support – The Nexus 10 has Google Wallet preinstalled. It allows you to purchase things without a walled in places like Best Buy, CVS Pharmacy, Einstein Bros Bagels, Home Depot, Jack in the Box, McDonald’s, Peet’s Coffee, Pinkberry, Rite Aid, Sports Authority, Whole Foods and many more places. In fact, there are over 300,00 PayPass-enabled cash registers today. You can learn more about NFC here. The iPad 4 has something called Passbook, but it only works at Starbucks (and the Apple Store).

It plays Flash videos – Flash may be a dying format, but there are still millions of Flash videos around, and the iPad 4 can’t play any of them. The Nexus 10 can play all Flash videos as long as you side-load Flash by following these easy instructions and use a browser like Firefox which supports Flash.

Android beats iOS 6 in many areas – This will surprise some, but Android 4.2 has many advantages over iOS 6. You can read about those advantages here.

File transfers are much easier – It’s a major hassle to get anything (but photos) on or off of an iPad 4. Android devices don’t need iTunes or iCloud to copy media. Just connect a USB cable and your device will appear on your desktop like a hard disk. You can then drag and drop any file (or folder) onto it.

The Nexus 10 has several different keyboard layouts like this one with number keys

It has a better on-screen keyboard – The Nexus 10 has a much better on-screen keyboard than the iPad 4. In addition to all of the standard Apple keyboard features like a spell checker, auto-capitalization and auto-correction, the Nexus 10 also has the ability to add words to a personal dictionary, show correction suggestions, perform gesture typing (where you swipe from key to key), Provide next-word suggestions and the ability to change your keyboard to one that is more PC-like and includes all numbers and extra keys.

You can easily load custom ROMs – Nexus devices do not come with locked or encrypted bootloaders. That means you are free to install customs ROMs and fully tailor your device however you wish.

It has a better rear-facing camera – According to reviews, photos taken with the Nexus 10’s rear camera have better color accuracy, definition and less noise than the iPad 4′s camera. The iPad 4’s iSight camera lacks Panorama, Photo Sphere and other camera features present in Android tablets.

It has a better front-facing camera for video calls – Apple upgraded the front-facing camera on the iPad from 0.3MP to 1.2MP, but it still doesn’t match the 1.9MP front-facing camera found on the Nexus 10. The iPad 4’s front camera records noisy 720p videos at a only 24fps in low light.

Nexus 10 Flash

It has an LED flash – Every camera needs a flash in order to take good photos in low light conditions. The Nexus 10 has one. The iPad 4 does not.

It has a standard micro-USB jack – The Nexus 10 has a standard micro-USB jack, so you can easily connect your tablet to a keyboard or charger without purchasing an expensive cable. The iPad 4 has a new proprietary Lightning connector that is not backwardly compatible. This was done so Apple can sell you overpriced cables that cost $20 to $50. If you want an extra charging cable for an iPad 4, it will cost $19 and is hard to find. You can buy an Android power cord almost anywhere for as little as $2.

HDMI connector

It has a dedicated HDMI port – The Nexus 10 has a built-in HDMI port which ensures it can output video to all HDMI-equipped TVs, projectors and monitors. That’s not always the case when MHL over USB is used for video output. Another benefit is that any mini-HDMI cable will work and a special adapter cable is not needed.

Its AV adapter supports 1080p – Although it’s hard to believe, Apple’s Digital AV adapter (which connects to the HDMI jack on your TV) doesn’t support 1080p today. It’s capable of supporting 1080p, but Apple has chosen to hold back 1080p support for now.

It has a Gorilla Glass 2 screen – I know Apple uses Gorilla Glass 2 on the iPhone 5, but as far as I can tell they do not use it on the iPad 4. If they are using it, they are keeping it a secret — which doesn’t make sense because it’s a benefit.

The Nexus 10 has a slightly larger display than the iPad 4

It has a larger display – The Nexus 10 has a 10.055” Super PLS display, while the iPad 4 has a 9.7” IPS display.

It has a 16:10 screen – Tablets are great for watching movies, but all movies are formatted to fit on a 16:9 display. Because the iPad 4 has a 4:3 aspect ratio, all 16:9 movies need to be letter-boxed so they fit on the screen. This makes movies appear smaller. The Nexus is much closer to 16:9 than the iPad 4.

It has dual NFC sensors – The Nexus 10 is the only mobile device with dual NFC sensors: one in the front, and one in the back. These have been added so you don’t have to turn the tablet around to beam things.

Android 4.2 allows you to access settings from the Notification Bar

It gives you quick access to settings from the notification bar – On the Nexus 10, settings can be quickly by accessed by pulling down on the top right portion of the screen. On the iPad 4, all app settings are grouped together in a Settings app making them harder to access.

It has haptic feedback – Like most Android devices, the Nexus 10 supports haptic feedback. This gives you a little vibration when you type, long press, or touch the navigation buttons. This makes it clear your touch was acknowledged, so you don’t have to tap twice. Haptic feedback makes games much more enjoyable because of the tactile feedback.

It has a built-in barometer – The Nexus 10 has a built-in barometer, which improves GPS accuracy. I didn’t believe this would make a difference until I compared the GPS in a Galaxy Nexus (which also has a barometer) to the GPS in an iPad and Galaxy S III which do not.

Micro-USB jack

Works with a USB mouse – One advantage of having a micro-USB jack is that it makes it easy to plug-in peripherals like a USB mouse. Even if you could figure a way to attach a USB cable to the iPad 4, it still will not work, because iOS 6 doesn’t support mice. You can also attach USB keyboards or memory sticks to the Nexus 10 after purchasing an adapter for a few dollars.

It has multicolor LED alert – The Nexus 10 has a small LED indicator at the bottom of the screen (when held in landscape mode,) which alerts you to new messages or other system events. As with other Android devices, you can customize exactly how this LED works by installing a third-party LED control app like Light Flow. The iPad 4 does not support any type of LED alerts.

The preinstalled Android Gallery App has more powerful photo editing than you’ll find on any free iPad app

It’s stock photo viewer has more advanced photo editing – There are some good photo editing apps available for the iPad, but the best are not free. The stock Android Gallery app has much more advanced photo editing than you’ll find in than Apple’s Photos app.

It has dedicated back button – All Android devices include a dedicated back button. In addition, most apps have a menu button proves fast access to settings and other app-related commands like Share. The back button makes it easy to go back to where you were before. This is one of the features I miss the most when I jump between Android and iOS.

Why You’ll Still Buy an iPad 4

If you’re an Apple fan, you don’t comparison shop, you don’t care that Apple products cost more and do less. You’ll find a way to convince yourself that all of the above reasons somehow don’t apply to you, and you’ll buy an iPad 4 anyway. And in six months, when Apple comes out with an iPad 5, which is twice as fast and has a better Retina display, you’ll buy that one too – and thank Apple. This may sound harsh, but it applies to millions of people. So go ahead and buy one — you know you want it.

The Tide is Turning

Apple has dominated tablet sales since the original iPad launched back in 2010. But those days are coming to an end. For the first time, Apple is losing tablet market share. According to Strategy Analytics, shipments of Android tablets surged to new highs in the third quarter of 2012, accounting for 41% of all tablets shipped. In the same period, shipments of Apple’s iPads shrank to only 57% of the market. IDC paints an even gloomier picture for Apple and says they now have only 50% of the tablet market. That may sound like a lot, but it wasn’t long ago that Apple had 90% of the tablet market. Apple’s drop in market share started before the Nexus 10 and Kindle Fire HD tablets were available, and will likely accelerate now. Apple’s still an important player in the tablet space, but they need to lower their prices significantly or improve their products to justify their price premium. Apple image has taken a big hit as well. As TechCrunch said, “the fourth-generation iPad doesn’t seem to be nearly as big as the leap from the first to second generation, or from the second to third generation.” Sure, most Americans will continue to buy Apple exclusively no matter what, but it’s a big world, and buyers from other countries are much more discriminating and price-sensitive.

Update 1 – The Nexus 10 went on sale on 11/13 and the 32GB model sold out within two hours in the U.S. The 16GB Nexus 10 sold out in the U.S. in the first two days. However, since then, additional supply has become available, and the 16GB model is now available for purchase again (11/18)

Update 2 – My Nexus 10 arrived on 11/16 and I’ve posted my first impressions here. You can find a list of 21 tips and tricks for the Nexus 10 here.

– Rick

For the Apple Fanboys

1. This is an opinion piece – I think the title makes that very clear. Don’t read this if you can’t handle an opposing view point.

2. This article is focused on the Nexus’ advantages – I’m aware there are good reasons to buy Apple products. Since every other reviewer focuses on those, I saw value in showing another point of view.

3. I don’t just pick on Apple – I write highly-opinionated articles about other companies as well. Here are examples where I single out Samsung, AT&T, United, Google and Rhapsody.

4. I don’t hate all Apple products – I think most of the new products Apple announced are good or great — just not the new iPad 4 or iPad mini. I own two iPhones, an iPad, an iPad 3 and an Apple TV. I buy Apple products when I believe they outperform other products and are not outlandishly priced.

5. I want this to be factually correct – Believe it or not, I really do try to keep my articles factually accurate. If think one of these points is incorrect, let me know and I will edit or delete it, but you’re not going to change my beliefs, just like I’m not going to changes yours, so we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

What About Build Quality?

Since most comments about this article mention the so-called “crappy build quality of all Android tablets” I thought I would address this issue. When I first wrote this article, I mentioned the build-quality of the Nexus 10 was good, but not great, but after reading close to twenty reviews I removed that comment. Read on to see why:

Gizmodo said: It feels extremely solid and well-built. The back panel is a hard plastic that has been rubberized in a really interesting way. It’s very smooth, but very grippy at the same time.

Ars Technica said: “I do find that I actually prefer the textured plastic back of the Nexus 10 to the aluminum back used by the iPads—the latter gets pretty cold to the touch in November in New Jersey, and the tablet is only too happy to transfer that coldness straight to your hands. The Nexus 10 is a bit more hospitable when pulling it out of a bag that’s been outside.”

CNET said; “It is the most comfortable 10-inch tablet to hold in your hand its light weight and smoothly rounded corners the tablet never digs into your palms when held with two hands. The back is a soft, grippy, almost rubbery plastic that not only feels great to hold, but doubles as protection for the tablet. The aforementioned rounded corners have that same rubbery plastic around them. The whole outer shell feels almost like an exoskeleton accessory, specifically designed to protect the delicate tablet organs.”

Ubergizmo said: “To put it simply, the design of the Google Nexus 10 is beautiful. The front of the tablet is made of a pristine black glass surface from edge to edge. I really like the soft touch treatment which gives a solid grip when holding the tablet. This is an issue that I have regularly with the iPad. Overall, I find the industrial design to be excellent and high-quality. Unless you are adamant to feel metal when you touch the tablet, I expect most people to be pleased with the quality of this device.”

The Guardian said: “The Nexus 10 is a sleek, smooth tablet that feels solid, and sits nicely in the hands with its rounded corners – more rounded than the iPad.”

Venture Beat said: “The tablet’s curved design makes it surprisingly comfortable to hold, and the soft back case material feels simply luxurious. The Nexus 10 is so well designed that you’ll be tempted to fondle it even when it’s turned off.”

Android Community said: “It’s extremely well made, very durable, feels great and is indeed a polished and beautiful product inside and out.”

Android Police said: “Amazing build quality. I tried really hard to find a flaw in the build of this tablet. But I couldn’t. It’s top-notch – everything is super-solid… The back is the real standout feature of the device’s physical design, as it’s coated in a very soft rubbery-plastic that feels almost like leather. It definitely adds a feeling of quality, and is absolutely fantastic in the hands. It’s not cold and slippery like aluminum, nor does it feel cheap and flimsy like typical plastic. It’s slightly grippy, which allows you to hold the unit with less “force,” leading to less wrist fatigue. It also makes it easier to hold the device in your hand palette-style without fear of dropping it.”

Tech Radar said: “The rear plastic chassis has a soft-touch feel, with the rubberised effect providing additional grip in the hand, and wrapping round to the front of the tablet for a smooth, seamless finish.”

Wired said: “The back panel is a grippy plastic that makes the Nexus 10 much better than previous Samsung tablets and even the iPad for one-handed use.”

These are just a few of the positive comments about the Nexus 10’s build quality. There are many more online. I’m not saying the build quality of the Nexus is better than the iPad 4. I’m just saying most reviewers like it.

Copyright 2013 Rick Schwartz. All rights reserved. Linking to this article is encouraged.

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

Filed under Blog Posts, Mobile Technology Tagged with Android, iOS, iPad, iPad 4, Nexus 10, NFC, Tablet

Who Makes the Best 10” Tablet on Earth?

October 27, 2012 39 Comments

Last update: February 3, 2013

This article has had over 16,000 views. Thanks for reading it.

Tablet Shopping Guide – No Opinions, Just the Facts

There have been lots of new tablets released since my last article, so I’ve decided to do an update. I started by evaluating all of the popular tablets, and then narrowed the list down to only eight finalists. Although there are some truly amazing 7” to 8.9” tablets out there, this article is only evaluating tablets that are 9.7” and larger. You can learn more about the new iPad mini and other smaller tablets here.

This time I’m trying a new approach. Instead of giving my opinion, I’m going to provide the facts, and let you decide for yourself. If you think I’ve missed anything, please let me know in the comments section. This is a “living” article that will be updated as I come across new information. Make sure to check back to see what has changed.

Apple just recently released the iPad 4 with a Lightning connector

Let’s start with the king of the tablets: The iPad. Apple has sold more tablets than any other manufacturer – by a long shoot. Just last week, Apple refreshed the “new iPad” by adding a Lightning connector, bumping up the speed on the processor and upgraded the front-facing camera. Let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses of the newest iPad:

Apple iPad 4

Strengths

Very good build-quality – All metal and glass construction

Fast performance – Beats the Nexus 10 on most benchmarks

Twice as fast as the iPad 3 in some benchmarks

More tablet-optimized apps than any other platform (275,000)

Very powerful battery (11,560 mAh) – Up to 10 hours battery life

Gets iOS updates on the first day they are available

Retina display (2nd highest resolution here 2048×1536)

One of the brightest displays

Boots in only 16 seconds

Excellent color accuracy

iOS apps are less likely to contain malware than Android apps

Dual-band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wi-Fi support

Optional 3G/4G support

Great selection of third-party accessories

12W AC adapter for slightly faster charging

Lightning connector is reversible so it can’t be inserted wrong

Has AirPlay support for wireless media beaming

Touchscreen can register 11 points at a time

Powerful headphone amp

1080p video with digital image-stabilization

Very good HTML5 performance

Best for portrait use

Smart cover automatically powers on the tablet when opened

Physical home button

Weaknesses

Heavier than all of the other tablets here except one (652g)

Thicker than all of the other tablets here except one (9.4mm)

Identical to the iPad 3 in most ways except processor, front cam and connector (case, display, etc.)

No memory expansion slot

Wi-Fi-only model doesn’t have an internal GPS

Use a proprietary connector so you can’t connect USB or HDMI cables directly

Lightning connector has no backward compatibility, so older accessories won’t work unless you buy an adapter

Much more difficult to repair than other tablets. Gets 2 out of 10 rating, which is horrible

Retina display has a big impact on battery life. One reviewer reports only 5.5 hrs video playback at full brightness

Gets badly beaten by the Nexus 10 on benchmarks like Geekbench (2480 vs. 1768)

Loads web pages slower than an iPad mini

3G/4G support costs $130 more (plus data charges and other monthly fees)

Single mono speaker (no front-facing stereo speakers)

Has half the memory of other tablets (1GB vs. 2GB)

Some visible light leakage the LCD display

No quad-core CPU like other tablets have

Doesn’t have NFC support

Gets very warm on the left-hand side after you’ve been using it for a while

Very reflective display

The iSight camera is only 5MP. Other tablets have 8MP and 13MP cameras

The iPad 4’s iSight camera lacks panorama, Photo Sphere and camera features found in other Android tablets

No infrared transmitter

Parental controls only work with iOS and even then have serious limitations

No camera flash – Low light photos are very noisy

The front camera records noisy 720p videos at a only 24fps in low light

No mouse support

Only has a 1.2MP front camera

Screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio, so 16:9 movies cannot be displayed full screen a must be letter-boxed

Has a 4-core GPU while other tablets have 8 or 12-cores

Worse battery life than all previous iPads

Screen is smaller than other tablets

No back button or menu button

Acer makes several affordable 10.1″ quad-core tablets

Acer has three different 10.1” quad-core powered Android tablets with very similar specs: The Acer Iconia Tab A700 (which came out back in June) and the newer A700-10s32u and A700-10k32u tablets. The A700-10k32u tablets seems like a good value at only $399.99

Acer Iconia A Series

Strengths

Full HD 1920×1200 display (224 ppi)

Quad-core processor

A good value – starting at $399 with 32GB

Good build-quality

32GB storage (twice other tablets)

Includes a GPS

Stereo speakers

Has a microSD slot for memory expansion

Runs Android 4.1

HDMI connector for TV-out

Weaknesses

1GB of memory (Some others have 2GB)

Camera lacks an LED flash

No 3G/4G cellular option

Acer doesn’t specify a resolution for the front cam (normally that means it’s 0.3MP)

No NFC support

No 5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi support

Not as thin or light as some other tablets

No internal microphone

The ASUS PadFone 2 and dock are extremely innovative

The ASUS PadFone2 is one of the most innovative mobile devices available today. Its Android-powered smartphone has amazing specs and a 13MP camera. The phones slides into a dock to become a tablet.

Asus PadFone 2 with Dock

Strengths

Fast quad-core processor (1.5GHz)

Detachable phone works on its own, or docks in tablet

13-megapixel Sony BSI sensor plus f/2.4 five-element optics

Almost zero shutter lag, can also shoot up to 100 continuous shots at 6 fps

1080p at up to 30 fps

720p at up to 60 fps

Twice as much memory as most other tablets (2GB)

3G/4G support

NFC support

9.5 hour battery life

Capable of beaming to media AirPlay or DLNA devices when free 3rd-party apps are installed

Dual-band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wi-Fi support

Phone and dock weight less than the iPad 3 or iPad 4 (649g)

50GB of free ASUS web storage

Bluetooth 4.0

Weaknesses

No Android 4.1 support yet

No MicroSD slot

Not the highest resolution display (1280×800)

Single mono speaker

No physical home button

No infrared transmitter

No U.S. carriers are offering this phone yet

Limited stylus support (no pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, special features)

The Asus Transformer has one of the best keyboard docks available

The original ASUS Transformer Prime was the world’s first quad-core tablet. This Android-powered tablet been upgraded to a 1920p HD display and has an excellent optional keyboard dock. Some reviewers believe this is the best tablet available today.

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

Strengths

Fastest quad-core processor available today (1.6GHz)

Thinner than any of the other tablets here (8.5mm)

Twice the storage of most other tablets for $499 (32GB vs. 16GB)

True 1920p HD display (224ppi)

Fast graphics (12-core GPU)

Beats the Nexus 10 on most benchmarks

Android 4.1.1 update available (ships with 4.0.4)

Excellent keyboard dock with full-sized USB connector which offers 13-14 hours of battery life

8MP camera with f2.2 aperture

Can operate as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot

Very good build-quality

Full size SD card slot

Light skin that doesn’t get in the way as much as TouchWiz

Bright display

Better black levels than the iPad 4 or Nexus 10

Higher contrast ratio than the iPad 4 or Nexus 10

Capable of beaming to media AirPlay or DLNA devices when free 3rd-party apps are installed

LED flash for camera

You can connect a standard mouse or external HD drive directly to the keyboard

microHDMI connector

Two microphones for stereo sound recording

Good selection of pre-loaded apps

1080p video capture

Gorilla glass 2 screen

Nexus devices do not come with locked or encrypted bootloaders. That means you are free to install customs ROMs and tailor your device however you like

Has an ASUS customized settings app

When docked, the battery life on the Transformer Prime is second to none

Weaknesses

Price starts at $599 but includes 32GB

Half the memory of other tablets (1GB vs. 2GB)

Images taken with camera are not the best

No NFC support

Slower Wi-Fi download speeds than the Nexus 10 and some other tablets

Not great low-light performance on camera

Single rear-facing speaker

Keyboard dock is $150 when purchased separately, but includes powerful battery

No dual-band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wi-Fi support

No optional 3G/4G support

Other tablets have better I/O performance

No infrared transmitter

No physical home button

Limited stylus support (no pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, special features)

Barnes’s and Noble’s Nook HD+ is the first 9.0″ tablet

Barnes’s and Noble’s Nook HD+ is the the world’s first 9.0″ tablet. It’s very light and costs less than any other tablet here (pricing starts at $269). This is a pure e-reader without extras like cameras, GPS and cellular capabilities.

Barnes and Noble’s Nook HD+

Strengths

The most affordable tablet here ($269 and up)

High-resolution HD display (1920×1280)

The lightest tablet here (only 515g)

Includes stereo speakers

High pixel densitiy screen (256ppi)

Expandable memory via Micro SD slot

Parental controls for a kid-safe experience

HDMI out via cable

A micro USB port rather than a proprietary connector

Weaknesses

Not yet shipping (pre-order available 11/8)

The thickest tablet here (11.4mm)

No front or rear cameras

Least powerful battery here (4000 mAh)

No 3G/4G data option

No NFC support

No Dual-band 5.0GHz Wi-Fi support

No GPS support

Lacks an ambient light sensor for automatic screen brightness adjustment

The Fujitsu Stylistic M532 is a durable business-ready tablet

The Fujitsu Stylistic M532 is a business-ready Android tablet. It has a fast quad-core processor and is thin, light and durable.

Fujitsu Stylistic M532

Strengths

Fast quad-core processor

The 2nd thinnest tablet tablet here (8.6mm)

Above-average durability

Designed for Business – Includes Absolute Computrace security

Has 32GB storage

Highest megapixel front camera available today in a tablet (2MP)

Has stereo speakers

8MP rear camera

Has 2.4GHz/5.0GHz dual-band Wi-Fi

micro USB port

GPS support

Stock Android – No bloatware

microSD card slot

Weaknesses

Display is good, but it’s 1280×800. The best tablets are 1920×1080 or higher

Only 149 pixels per inch on display (the best have 200-300ppi)

Inaccurate touch screen

No 3G/4G cellular data option

Expensive $549

30-pin proprietary connector

Runs Android 4.0.3

Only 1GB RAM (some others have 2GB)

No NFC support

No HDMI port (docking cradle ($69 direct) which allows HDMI out and USB inputs)

5 hour battery life – Lowest power battery here (3170 mAh)

Bluetooth 3.0

The Huawei MediaPad 10 is a 10 inch Android tablet with a quad-core CPU

The Huawei MediaPad 10 is a 10 inch Android tablet with a quad-core CPU and optional LTE support. Currently it’s only available in Europe.

Huawei MediaPad 10

Strengths

Quad-core CPU

1,920 x 1,200 IPS display

Optional LTE support

Very thin (8.8mm)

Attractive design

2GB memory

Good benchmark scores

Relatively light (580g)

Stereo speakers

Dolby 5.1 audio support

Strong audio output

microSD slot

Powerful amp for speakers

8-megapixel rear camera

Gorilla Glass screen

HDMI connector for TV-out

1080p video

Weaknesses

Pricing starts at 424 euros ($540 for 8GB Wi-Fi only)

Currently not available in the U.S.

Not great battery life (7+ hours)

Lacks microSD slot for storage expansion

Proprietary USB connector (no standard microUSB)

Heavy OS skin

No app drawer

No NFC support

Occasional delay when switching between open apps or launching apps

Sharp edges

Some issues with cameras

Rear-facing speakers

Highly-reflective screen

The Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 has a built-in FM radio

The IdeaTab S2110 is a 10/1″ Android-powered tablet from Lenovo with 3G connectivity and a built-in FM radio.

Lenovo IdeaTab S2110

Strengths

Very nice keyboard dock

Only tablet with a built-in FM radio

A good value. Pricing starts at $429

Bright display with 178° wide viewing angle

Very thin (8.69mm)

Fast dual-core processor (1.5GHz)

Dual speakers and SRS TruMedia audio enhancement

Optional 3G connectivity

10 hours battery life

Optional dock increases battery life to 16+ hours

Sturdy construction

Capable of beaming to media AirPlay or DLNA devices when free 3rd-party apps are installed

Micro-HDMI output

A micro USB port rather than a proprietary connector

5.0MP rear camera with autofocus and LED flash

1080p video recording

Bluetooth 4.0

Weaknesses

Lacks microSD slot for storage expansion

No optional 4G cellular

No NFC support

GPS is only available on 3G-enabled model

No 5GHz dual-band Wi-fi support

Matte finish attracts fingerprints

No infrared transmitter

No physical home button

Limited stylus support (no pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, special features)

The Microsoft Surface RT is the only tablet which runs Office today

The Microsoft Surface RT is the most affordable Windows 8 tablet available today ($499). It runs Microsoft’s new Windows 8 Operating system and comes preloaded with a full-version of Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Surface RT

Strengths

Preloaded with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013

Most affordable Windows 8 tablet ($499)

Best laptop replacement

Quad-core processor (1.3GHz)

Twice as much memory as iPad 4 and most other tablets (2GB)

Twice the storage as most other tablets (32GB vs. 16GB)

Split-screen multi-tasking feature

Multi-user support

Full-sized USB jack (instead of a proprietary connector)

More than twice as good as the iPad 3 in a JavaScript benchmark

Large screen 10.6”

Dual speakers

microSD memory slot

Has a sturdy built-in stand

2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wi-Fi support

Better keyboard support than some other tablets

The membrane keyboard doubles as a cover

Good HTML5 performance

16:9 screen

microHDMI jack

Gets OS updates on the first day they are available

Bluetooth 4.0

Weaknesses

Limited number of great third-party Windows 8 apps

Preloaded OS and apps consume 12 GB of space

Heaviest tablet here (676g)

Windows 8 requires some learning curve

Some reviewers say battery life is only 7-8 hours

No GPS support

Can’t run legacy Windows apps

Slower web page loading than other tablets

Outlook is not included with Office, so you have to use Mail and Calendar to sync up with Exchange

No NFC support

Only 1MP front and rear cameras with no auto-focus

No Dropbox (or other third-party Cloud-based storage apps) are available today

No optional 3G/4G support

Screen resolution is good, but not great (1,366×768)

Lower pixel density than other tablets here (148ppi)

Touchscreen can only register five points at a time

Magnetic cord is sometimes hard to attach

No camera flash

No infrared transmitter

Only 720p video support

Limited stylus support (no pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, special features)

Looking for a good collection of Microsoft Surface RT hardware reviews?.

The Nexus 10 tablet is the first 10″ tablet which runs Android 4.2

The Google Nexus 10 is an Android tablet which has a Samsung Exynos 5250 processor clocked at 1.7 GHz. It’s a dual-core Cortex-A15 chip that performs well in benchmark tests. Central to the speed of the Exynos 5 Dual is the ARM Mali-T604 graphics processor, which more than doubles the 3D performance of the already fast Samsung Galaxy S III’s chip. But the biggest standout in the Nexus 10 is its beautiful 2560×1600-pixel display.

Nexus 10

Strengths

World’s first tablet with a WQXGA 2560×1600-pixel display

Starts at only $399

First tablet with an Exynos 5 ARM Cortex-A15 processor that beats the Tegra 3 in benchmarks.

First and only tablet which runs Android 4.2. Will be the first to get Android 4.3

First tablet with multi-user support which allows you to set up a guest profile so someone can check their email but can’t update your Facebook status. Also allows different family members to have there own spaces and apps.

World’s highest resolution tablet display (300ppi) – Over 4 million pixels. Games like “Nova” look much sharper on the Nexus 10 than on the iPad 4

Pure Android OS (no skinning or bloatware)

Fastest processor speed available in a tablet today (1.7GHz). The Verge says: “apps launch a lot faster and multitasking is an absolute breeze — even with 20 apps open, nothing seemed to slow down.”

Fast quad-core Mali-T604 graphics processor – Engadget says it has the “smoothest graphics we’ve seen.”

Twice as much memory as most other tablets (2GB)

Comes with 5 books, 3 magazines, 10 songs, an HD movie and a TV show

Beats the iPad 4 on benchmarks like Geekbench (2480 vs. 1768)

Android 4.2’s voice input and speech-to-text entry are second to none

NFC support (Only mobile device with dual NFC sensors)

Gets all Android updates the first day they are available

The new Android 4.2 Gallery app has been improved so you can now tweak your photos like pro software.

Has Google Wallet preloaded. Allows you to purchase things with your tablet.

Boots in 19-24 seconds

Dual-band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wi-Fi support

Well-built and durable

Has MIMO WiFi and accelerated page-loading

Very good sounding stereo front-facing speakers

Rated “extremely repairable”

Capable of beaming media to AirPlay or DLNA devices when free 3rd-party apps are installed

Pleasant to hold. Doesn’t dig into your hand like the iPad 4

Has an RGB notification LED

Fast and smooth scrolling. The entire user interface runs at 60fps.

Android 4.2 has a new Swype-style keyboard that allows you to slide your finger around the keyboard to spell out words more quickly and accurately

Built-in barometer sensor improves GPS accuracy

Smart cover automatically powers on the tablet when opened

LED flash

No bloatware (pre-loaded apps which cannot be removed)

Quick settings can be accessed by pulling down on the top right portion of the screen

16:9 display

Good parental controls (when multiple profiles used)

Photos taken with its rear camera have better color accuracy, definition and less noise than the iPad 4’s camera

1080 video recording

A micro USB port rather than a proprietary connector

Gorilla Glass 2 screen

Built-in micro-HDMI port

Bluetooth 4.0

Weaknesses

16GB model is only available from the online Google Play store. 32GB model is available from Walmart, Staples, and Google Play

Many reviewers feel the Android ecosystem is lacking when it comes to good tablet apps

No microSD memory slot

Android 4.2 contains more bugs than earlier versions. Some were addressed in a 3.2.1 update, but others remain

No docks and limited other accessories are available yet

The included charger charges slowly, Consider buying Google’s magnetic pogo charger instead

No quad-core processor – Gets beat by the iPad 4, Transformer Prime and Galaxy Note 10.1 on most benchmarks

Battery life is acceptable, not great. One reviewer reports only 5 hours of video playback at full brightness

No 3G/4G support option today (some say it’s planned for the future)

Not as thin as the Asus Transformer Infinity (8.9mm)

Camera is only 5MP. Other tablets have 8MP and 13MP cameras.

Has a slightly larger bezel than other tablets (0.9″ Nexus 10 vs. 0.8″ iPad 4)

Like the iPad, it has some light leakage around the lower corners and sides of the LCD display

Wi-Fi signal strength issues

Lacks support of 802.11a

No infrared transmitter

Miracast not currently enabled

Its “smart cover” doesn’t stay closed very well

Limited stylus support (no pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, special features)

No physical home button

More Nexus issues listed under my first impressions article and a second article.

Update: The Nexus 10 went on sale on November 13th and the 32GB model sold out within two hours. Since then, Google has gotten more in.

What about the build-quality of the Nexus 10? Click here, and scroll down to the bottom of the article.

You can see the Split Screen feature here on the Galaxy Note 10.1

The Galaxy Note 10.1 is the only tablet here with full stylus support including pressure sensitivity. This Android-powered tablet also has the ability to split the screen in two and run two apps at once.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

Strengths

Full stylus support (1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, special features)

Fast quad-core processor (1.4GHz)

Excellent performance – Fast GPU – Beats the Nexus 10 on several benchmarks

Multi-view split-screen multi-tasking feature

Twice as much memory as most other tablets (2GB)

Very thin (8.9 mm)

microSD memory slot

Built-in infrared transmitter

9+ hours battery life (7000mAh)

Dual-band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wi-Fi support

Optional 3G/4G support

Good sounding stereo speakers

Capable of beaming media to AirPlay or DLNA devices when free 3rd-party apps are installed

Bluetooth 4.0

Includes quality stylus and storage space for it in the case

microHDMI jack

Weaknesses

Average-quality case

Average-quality 5MP camera

Not the highest resolution display (1280×800)

Uses TouchWiz skin

No NFC support

Preloaded with some Samsung apps which cannot be removed

No Android 4.1 support yet

Camera is only 5MP. Other tablets have 8MP and 13MP cameras.

No physical home button

Not scratch-resistant glass

Some have reported the default Clock, Media Hub, Game Hub and Music Hub widgets affect performance

The Sony Xperia Tablet S is one of the thinnest tablets available

The Sony Experia is the lightest tablet here. This Android-powered tablet has a fast quad-core processor and built-in infrared transmitter.

Sony Xperia Tablet S

Strengths

Starts at only $399

Lightest tablet here (570g)

Quad-core processor (1.3GHz)

Built-in infrared transmitter with programmable macros

Very thin (8.6 mm)

NFC support

8MP camera

Scratch-resistant screen

Splash-proof (water resistant)

Dual-band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wi-Fi support

Stereo speakers

Capable of beaming media to AirPlay or DLNA devices when free 3rd-party apps are installed

Full-sized SD card

Full-sized USB port (instead of a proprietary connector)

Full-sized HDMI jack (instead of a proprietary connector)

Aluminum body

Weaknesses

Only 1GB RAM

Not the highest resolution screen (1280×800)

No optional 3G/4G support

No Android 4.1 support yet

Back is not flat. Has a bump near the top

Limited stylus support (no pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, special features)

No physical home button

No camera flash

Areas of strength are shown in blue; Weakness is shown in red

That’s it! Now it’s up to you to select the best tablet based on your needs. Let me know which one you decide to buy and why.

Thanks for stopping by.

– Rick

P.S. Because I’m starting to get some stupid comments from Apple fan-boys, I’m going to give you a little background: Before anyone accuses me of being an Android fan-boy, you should know that almost all of this article was written on an iPad 3, which I like very much. I write very opinionated articles about all platforms. My previous post was about Windows 8 tablets. One of my most popular posts slams Samsung and Google about beaming. I was also an iPhone user for three years and think Apple TV is a great product. Some of the new Apple products look very appealing to me, but sadly the iPad 4 is not one of them. I’ve listed everything good and bad I can find about every tablet here and I’m continually updating this post as I find more stuff. Make sure to check back later to see how this article evolves. There are a few new tablets that have come out since I wrote this. Although I haven’t had time to add them yet, you can read about them in the Comments section of this article.

Thanks for making this my most popular post ever!

This post received more views on 10/30 than any other post I’ve even made. I never thought it was possible to get this many views in a single day. Thanks everyone!

Copyright 2013 Rick Schwartz. All rights reserved. Linking to this article is encouraged.

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

Filed under Blog Posts, Mobile Technology Tagged with Asus Transformer, Galaxy Note, iPad, iPad 4, Nexus 10, Padfone 2, Quad-Core, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Sony Xperia, Surface RT, Tablet, Tegra 3

Is Windows 8 Really As Bad As Everyone Says?

October 24, 2012 12 Comments

Last update: December 16, 2012

Most of the Windows 8 reviews I’ve seen so far has been negative. Is Windows 8 really as bad as they say? To find out, I stopped by Best Buy and was surprised to find there were about 14 different Windows 8 portables on display. That’s surprising considering the fact Windows 8 doesn’t go on sale for a few more days. Here are my first impressions after using Windows 8 for about an hour.

The Good

Microsoft Office is coming to other tablet platforms next year, but Window 8 has it now.

Preloaded with Office – Apple loves to talk about the Post-PC era, but Android and iOS tablets aren’t there yet. Tablets are great for email, note taking and web surfing, but they don’t have anything that comes close to Microsoft Office. I played with the preview version of Office on a Windows 8 tablet and it’s pretty good. Microsoft preloads Windows RT with the new Microsoft Office for FREE. The Office version for Windows RT includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. It’s supposed to provide “a complete Office experience,” but expect some differences, because it’s been optimized for touch screens and low battery consumption.

Dell’s Convertible Hybrid

Wide range of hardware choices – When it comes to portables, Apple gives you only a few choices. Do you want an 7.9″ tablet or a 9.7″ tablet? When it comes to laptops, they offer thin and light or a powerful and heavy. Sure there are slightly different configurations, but it’s the same basic product with different options. There are hundreds of different hardware options you can get Windows 8 on. Every thing from traditional tablets, to All-in-One touchscreens, thin and light laptops, to gaming laptops and a wide range of hybrids. The choices seem almost endless.

You can see a few of the Live Tiles on the Windows 8 Start Screen

Live tiles – Windows 8 borrows from the Windows Phone OS in some areas. One example of this is Live Tiles. Instead of having a finger-sized app icon, Windows 8 has different-sized tiles which are dynamic and large enough to display information, like the number of unread e-mails you have waiting. But that not all, the Mail Tile cycles through up to five recent emails and the Calendar Tile automatically displays upcoming appointments. Live Tiles sometimes eliminate the need to launch an app to see what you’re looking for.

Mostly compatible with Windows 7 hardware and software – One of the biggest advantages of Windows 8 is the fact that it is supposed be compatible with all of your existing Windows 7 software and hardware. This is not always the case with Windows 8 RT tablets however.

Apps crash less – There is evidence that apps like Google Drive crash much less when on Window 8, than they do on Windows 7.

New split-screen feature – You can split the screen into two sections so you can watch movies while you work, or do two other things at once. It’s a little bit like Samsung’s “Pop up Play,” but goes even further. You can see this feature and the rest of Windows 8 in action here.

Mostly intuitive – I was able to figure out most of what I needed to run Windows 8 apps without referring to the help cards on the tables in the store. I’d heard that Windows 8 was difficult for current Windows customers to learn. I didn’t have many problems in this area. Mastering all of the different Windows 8 gestures and context-sensitive actions is a whole different matter however (see below).

A more consistent user interface – All of the apps on the Start screen have a very similar look and feel. They are all very clean, colorful and modern. It’s nice that the Windows 8 experience on an ARM-powered tablet is almost identical to the Windows 8 experience you have on an Intel-powered laptop or desktop. Apple and others are moving in this direction, but are not there yet.

Faster boot times – The first time I used Windows 8 I thought it took longer to boot than an iPad 3 or Windows 7 desktop, but when I actually timed it, I found that Microsoft’s claim of faster boot times is true. An Asus Windows 8 tablet takes about 20 seconds to boot, while my Windows 7 desktop (with a SSD boot drive) took 24 seconds. The iPad 3 was the slowest of the three — taking 27 seconds to boot to the password screen.

OEM customization – There is a section of the Windows 8 Start screen where OEMs are allowed to preload their own apps. I was surprised how this section differed between Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba hardware. You can see the differences at the bottom of this article.

Location-aware laptops – Most laptops and desktops do not have a GPS like tablets do. All Windows 8 laptops appear to include a GPS and are location-aware. When you click on the Map tile, it loads a map of your area. This opens up lots of interesting possibilities. For some strange reason, the Surface RT tablet does not have GPS-support.

Easy customization – You can easily customize the tiles on your Start screen. Move a tile to a new positions by dragging it. It’s also easy to remove tiles, make them larger or smaller, create groups of tiles and enable or disable live updates.

The Bad

Few great third-party apps – There are not many great third-party Windows 8 apps at the moment. That will change, but it hard to say when.

Fairly steep learning curve – There are a lot of different types of swiping gestures, which are going to confuse some users. This video shows them to you. This video show you the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts.

Incest is bad – Windows 8 appears to use Microsoft web sites and services for most default tiles. When you search you get Bing. Bing also powers the Sports, Travel, Weather and Finance tiles. Want to buy an album, movie or TV show? All of those tiles are powered by the Xbox store. Although there could be a way to change this, most consumers won’t, and will end up with a worse off than if they were using the best-in-class apps and websites. Although it’s obvious why Microsoft is doing this, it weakens the entire Windows 8 platform.

Some Windows 8 hardware is too expensive – Although Best Buy did have some Windows 8 laptops around $600 and a single Asus Windows 8 tablet for $600, most of the hardware was in the $1000 to $1300 range. This makes me feel that Microsoft and some OEMs are still in denial. When you can purchase the newest iPad for $500, why would anyone pay up to $700 more for Windows 8 hardware? Sure Apple can get by with charging really high prices for their laptops, but Apple is Apple. The one exception to this is the new Microsoft Surface RT tablet which is only $499 with 32GB of storage. That product seems like a very good value to me. Reviews about it are mixed however. Here is a summary of seven different reviews.
Update: Since the official launch of Windows 8, I’m seeing better pricing. For example, today’s Frys e-mail blast has a Gateway Windows 8 laptop on sale for only $288. That’s a great deal.

Not all devices support touch – Since Windows 8 was designed for touch screens, I was surprised that all of the Window 8 laptops in the Best Buy store I visited except one, did not have touch screens. Why use a tile-based interface designed for touch with a mouse? I know that touch adds cost, and Windows 8 hardware is already too expensive, but I think this is an important omission.

One size doesn’t fit all – A unified interface for both tablets and PCs sounds good on paper, but causes some problems. Running the Office Apps or going to the Desktop on a smaller laptop or 10″ tablet will be a problem for some people because the text is so small. Again, there is probably a setting for this, but the Microsoft text default is too small. Menus in Office are not that easy to access — especially for those with big fingers.

Throwing out the baby with the bath water – I thought it was great that Microsoft included a Desktop tile, but doesn’t make any sense that they removed the Start button. I also thought it wasn’t intuitive how to exit an app and return to the Start screen. I tried the backspace, ESC, End key and Ctrl W — but none of those methods worked. I ended up pressing the Start button. It turns out there are three different ways to do this.

How to Bring the Classic Start Menu Back to Windows 8

There are still a lot of things that Windows RT can’t do – There are two versions of Windows 8. The RT version cannot do all of the things that the full-version can. For example, it cannot run legacy Windows apps like Photoshop. You also don’t get Outlook with your RT Office 2013, so you have to use Mail and Calendar to sync up with Exchange. More info.

It’s slower than expected – Windows 8 performance is good, but at first I thought it seemed slower than my iOS and Android-powered devices. However, when I actually started timing all three, I found my other mobile devices were faster on some things and slower on others. Launching most Windows 8 apps takes 4-5 seconds. Some take longer however, loading the entire Sports page took almost 8 seconds. Launching the Windows 8 store took almost 30 seconds, but this could have been due to Internet traffic in the store. In general, web browsing seemed slower on the Windows 8 laptops and tablets that I tried compared to other platforms (e.g. Windows 7, Android, iOS). However it’s worth pointing out that once an tile has launched, opening it again is instant (this is also the case with Android and iOS devices). It’s also worth mentioning that not all Flash-enabled sites appear in the browser.

Crapware is still alive and well – You’d think Microsoft would have learned that consumers hate it when you preload a bunch of apps that try to get you to buy or subscribe to something. I understand why companies do it, but it’s another advantage that Apple has over everyone else.

A lower resolution screen than the best tablets have – The screens on most of the Windows 8 laptops in Best Buy appeared to me to be lower quality than the screen on the new iPad, or the new Nexus 10 Android tablet. The Nexus 10 boasts a 2560×1600 pixel screen with a PPI of 300. I didn’t see a screen on a Windows 8 device that came close to that. Part of the reason the Windows 8 screens looked less crisp has to do with font smoothing which softens the edges on text, the rest has to do with quality of the panels used.

There are a few other issues which I’m not covering here like the issues with the cover splitting and issues with random muting and audio stuttering while the Surface is in use or on standby. Things like the audio issues should be addressed in a software update. If the case is truly flawed, I would expect Microsoft to find a new supplier.

The Verdict

My first impression with Windows 8 was not bad. Certainly not as bad as I expected. Although I’m not yet ready to spend $1000+ on a Windows 8 laptop, I would consider getting a Windows 8 tablet, so I could run Office. I’ll also probably upgrade my exisitng office computer to Windows 8 (after I image its hard disk, so I can easily go back if I don’t like it). It’s too early to say whether Windows 8 will be a big success or not. I predict initial sales will be lower than expected.

I don’t believe Windows 8 is as bad as some the reviewers say it is. There is no doubt that mobile and desktop operating systems are converging and Microsoft deserves credit for leading the way in this area. I also like the disruptive pricing on the Surface RT, but don’t understand why Microsoft picked the year old Tegra 3, over the much more advanced Qualcomm S4 Pro. Microsoft has a strong history of addressing issues in their first Service Pack and I think we’ll see a lot of Windows 8 issues addressed when the first big update is released. I’m watching this platform closely and will probably purchased their second generation device, which could be released faster than you think.

Please share any thoughts you have about Windows 8 in the Comments section below.

Looking for a good collection of Microsoft Surface RT hardware reviews? Here are some.

– Rick

Copyright 2012 Rick Schwartz. All rights reserved. Linking to this article is encouraged.

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

Appendix – OEM-loaded Apps

Acer’s apps

Asus’ Apps

HP’s apps

Lenovo’s apps

Samsung’s apps

Toshiba’s apps

Filed under Blog Posts Tagged with Tablet, Windows 8

Why You Shouldn’t Buy an iPad Mini

October 23, 2012 243 Comments

Last updated: March 6, 2014

This article has had over 110,000 views! Thanks for reading it.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy an iPad Mini

There are certainly some good qualities about the new iPad mini with Retina display. It’s thin, light and runs iOS 7. Unfortunately, it’s missing more than forty important things you’ll find in other tablets and costs much more.

A 32GB Nexus 7 costs $230 less than a 32GB iPad mini with the same quality display

It’s much more expensive than other tablets – You can now buy a 32GB Nexus 7 for only $269. To get the same amount of storage in a iPad mini, you’d have to spend $499. That over 46% more, for a product with worse performance. The 16GB Nexus 7 is only $229. Apple charges $399 for exactly the same amount of storage. That a 43% price premium. Apple charges $529 to $829 for a mini for cellular support. Amazon charges only $329 for a 16GB Kindle Fire HDX with LTE support. Google charges only $349 for a 32GB Nexus 7 with LTE support. That’s a savings of a $280. You can literally buy a second Nexus 7 with the money you save.

Apple charges much more than other companies for tablets with LTE support

Apple products almost never go on sale – Apple rarely allows discounts on their products. When products like the iPad do go on sale, the discounts are very small. I just purchased tablets for my family members for Christmas and was surprised to find most of the tablets in Best Buy were on sale at discounts between $50 and $100 off their already low prices. I picked up a great 8″ tablet for my dad for only $249. Even better discounts are available online from Amazon and other online merchants and you’ll almost always get free shipping as well. Even the brand-new Kindle Fire HDX was on sale for $50 off it’s already low price.

The 8.9″ Kindle Fire HDX has a much higher-resolution display than the iPad mini with Retina display

Other tablets have higher-resolution displays – Don’t be mislead by the Retina label. Tablets like the Nexus 7 have a display that’s every bit as good as the iPad mini. Tablets like the Kindle Fire HDX have a display that is even better than the new iPad mini. How much better? The 8.9″ Kindle Fire HDX has almost a million more pixels than the iPad mini (4,096,000 pixels vs. 3,145,728 pixels). It’s worth mentioning the iPad mini doesn’t even fit the definition of a true retina display.
Screen resolution isn’t the only problem with the new iPad mini. It comes in last place in this small screen review where they said “the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is the best performing tablet display that we have ever tested.” Here’s why the Nexus 7 and Kindle HDX beat the iPad mini.

It’s easily breakable – The Apple iPad mini has been declared to be the single most breakable mobile device in the world by SquareTrade, who performed a battery of tests on it and other devices. To make matters worse, it’s very difficult to repair when it’s broken.

It’s not expandable – Tablets from Asus, Barnes & Noble, Samsung and others come with a microSD slot, so you can easily expand your storage. You can double your memory for only $12, to $19. To double the memory of an iPad mini, you have to spend at least $100 more.

Because it doesn’t have a microSD slot, you can’t quickly copy media to an iPad mini without using a computer. Tablet owners with removable media slots can take the memory card out of their Go Pro or D-SLR camera and pop it directly into their tablet. No computer is required to copy video, or other media. This is a real time saver.

The iPad mini runs out if power two hours faster than the Nexus 7

Inferior battery life – Even though the iPad mini has a much more powerful battery than other tablets, this doesn’t translate into better battery life. The Nexus 7 has much better battery life when browsing the web. That means you’ll be surfing the Internet two hours longer on a Nexus 7 than an iPad mini.

It doesn’t have a quad-core processor – Even though the Nexus 7 is only $229, it has a powerful quad-core processor. Having two extra cores allows the Nexus 7 to do more things at once without slowing down. The iPad mini only has a dual-core processor that runs at a much slower clock speed than the Kindle Fire HDX (1.29 GHz vs. 2.2 GHz). Before you make a comment about Apple’s benchmark performance, you need to read this article.

When it comes to specs, the iPad mini lags in many areas

It’s thicker and heavier than other tablets – Apple brags about the thinness of the iPad mini, but tablets from Samsung and Sony are thinner. Much much thinner? The Sony Xperia Z is only 6.9mm. That’s 9% thinner than the iPad mini. The Nexus 7 is 14% lighter than the new iPad mini (290g vs. 331g). The Kindle Fire HDX is lighter than the iPad mini as well.

The Nexus 7 does much better than the new iPad mini on display tests like contrast and brightness

Much worse brightness and contrast ratings than other tablets – The iPad mini has a much lower maximum brightness than the Google Nexus 7 (370 vs. 583 higher is better). The iPad mini also gets a contrast rating of only 804, while Nexus 7 gets a contrast rating of 1273 (higher is better).

It has less memory than other tablets and this causes problems – The best Android tablets have either 2GB of RAM or 3GB of RAM. The iPad mini only has 1GB of RAM. This translates to worse multitasking and slower app load times. How much slower? The game “Asphalt 7″ loads in only 18.5 seconds on a tablet with 3GB of memory. The same game loads in 45.0 seconds on the same tablet with 2GB of memory. iOS 7 has made matters even worse. Many iPad owners have reported memory-related problems like only having enough memory to open 6 tabs in Safari, or have 4 apps open at once without reloading tabs or restarting apps. By contrast, Android 4.4 has been optimized so it runs well on devices with as little as 512MB.

Poorer color accuracy than other tablets – Color accuracy on the iPad mini is only 63%, while the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is 100%. That means what you see on the Kindle is what the content creators intended you to see. This is also important if you use your tablet to edit photos. The Nexus 7 beats or ties the iPad mini in 7 out of 8 display tests. The Nexus 7 has more accurate color reproduction, better color saturation and as mentioned above, a much better contrast ratio and much better brightness than the iPad mini. The iPad mini also does not have sRGB coverage, while though the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 do. This means they display a wider range of colors

You can use Google Wallet anywhere you see these images

No NFC digital wallet support – NFC and Google Wallet lets Nexus 7 tablet users buy things at over 300,00 PayPass-enabled cash registers in places like Best Buy, CVS Pharmacy, Einstein Bros Bagels, Home Depot, Jack in the Box, McDonald’s, Peet’s Coffee, Pinkberry, Rite Aid, Sports Authority, Whole Foods and many more places. You can learn more about NFC here. The iPad mini has something called Passbook, but it only works at Starbucks (and the Apple Store).

GPS support is only available cellular models – The iPad mini is small enough to take with you anywhere, so it certainly makes sense that you’d want it to have a GPS so you could use it for directions. Unfortunately, you have to spend $130 more for a cellular model to get GPS support. Tablets like the Nexus 7 have full GPS support on their Wi-Fi only models.

It doesn’t appear on your desktop as a drive – It’s a major hassle to get anything (but photos) on or off of an iPad mini. Android devices don’t need iTunes or iCloud to copy media. Just connect a USB cable, and your device will appear on your desktop like a hard disk. You can then drag and drop any file (or folder) to it. This is really useful.

It doesn’t work with standard cables – Many Android tablets use exactly the same micro-USB jack, so you can easily connect them to any charger or peripheral without purchasing an expensive cable. The iPad mini uses all proprietary connectors so Apple can sell you cables for $20 to $50. If you want an extra charging cable for an iPad mini, it will cost $19 and is hard to find. You can buy an Android power cord almost anywhere for as little as $2.

Its AV adapter doesn’t support 1080p video – Another big downside to Apple’s use of a proprietary Lightning cable is that its Digital AV adapter (which connects to the HDMI jack on your TV) doesn’t support 1080p video today. It’s capable of supporting 1080p, but Apple has chosen to hold back 1080p support for now.

The size of the letterbox displayed when movies are played on the iPad mini is much larger than other tablets [Photo: Gizmodo]

No 16:9 screen, Reduced-quality movies – Tablets are great way to watch movies, but all movies are formatted to fit on a 16:9 display. Because the iPad Mini has a 4:3 aspect ratio, all 16:9 movies need to be letter-boxed with only 1024×576 resolution, which is getting pretty close to standard definition video rather than true high-definition 1280×720 video found on tablets like the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7. As Gizmodo points out, “when you watch a movie in landscape there’s almost more letterboxing than actual video. Seriously. It. Looks. Ridiculous.”

It has ineffective parental controls – Apple finally added Parental Controls to iOS 6, but they are buried is Settings and disabled by default. Even if mom is smart enough to find and enable them, her kids will still be able to read the copy of “50 Shades of Grey” she bought earlier, because Apple’s Parental Controls do not hide explicit books that are already in a library. The iPad mini is a single-user device and this prevents a good solution to this problem. By contrast, Nook tablets allow multiple users to share a single tablet using separate accounts. Each users content is hidden from other family members automatically, and profiles can be password protected. Parents with a Kindle Fire HDX can also give access to appropriate content for each child. The Nexus 7 also supports user-profiles.

You can share media by simply touching two NFC-enabled Android devices together

No touch-to-share – Newer Android tablets like the Nexus 7 can easily share media by touching another device with NFC support. This allows you to share photos, videos, contacts, Web pages — as well as information between apps. You can see it in action here.

No wireless charging – Tablets like the Nexus 7 include support for wireless charging, so you can just sit them on a charging pad and charge them without connecting a cable.

Nano-SIM makes it harder to use with other carriers – When you buy an iPad from Apple’s site with the cellular option, you’ll find Apple forces you to pick a carrier. Other unlocked tablets from Google and others don’t force you to do that. To use your iPad mini with most international carriers you will also need a SIM cutter because the iPad mini uses a nano-SIM. Most Android tablets use standard or micro-SIMs.

The Kindle Fire HDX is easier to use and has a media-centric interface

It’s harder to use and doesn’t have a media-centric user interface – If you compare the Kindle Fire HDX and an iPad mini side by side you’ll see the Kindle Fire is much easier to us. It only has 7 app icons on it’s home screen because that’s all that most people need. The remaining space is devoted to things that matter including your favorite books, magazines, music and movies. This makes sense and is also done on the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. The menu on the Kindle Fire also only has a few easy to understand options. The iPads settings are a mess. The Kindle Fire even has a “Mayday” button that allows an on-screen customer support person to temporarily take control of your tablet to assist you with problems.

It doesn’t support Flash natively – Flash may be a dying format, but there are still millions of Flash videos around, and the stock browser in the iPad mini can’t play any of them. There are several free Android browsers including Firefox that play Flash videos. See my Nexus 10 tips and tricks article for more info on this topic. Update: There is now a $10 Flash Player that runs on the iPad.

Android now beats iOS in many areas – This may come as a surprise to some of you, but Android 4.3 and 4.4 has many advantages over iOS 7. You can see them here.

Readability issues with magazines – The screen on the iPad mini is just too small to read magazines or comics because of the tiny, non-adjustable typefaces used. Text looks pinched, because it’s optimized for the iPad’s larger display. The Kindle Fire HD gets around this issue with its text view mode.

It’s not a great eReader – In the previous bullet I already pointed out the readibility issues with magazines. That’s not the only reason why the iPad mini is not a good eReader. It also has one of the most reflective displays you’ll find in a small tablet. Because of this, using the iPad Mini outside is often a problem because of glare. How bad is it? According to Dr. Raymond Soneira of DisplayMate Technologies, “The Screen reflectance on the iPad mini is surprisingly high (9.0%). The Nexus 7 has a much lower 5.9 percent reflectance, while on the Kindle Fire HD has a reflectance of 6.4%. As a result, the iPad mini reflects 53 percent more ambient light than the Nexus 7 and 41 percent more than the Kindle Fire HD. That’s quite a large difference.

Samsung tablets have much better stylus support than Apple

Reliable data cables – Apple’s Lightning cables get a 1.5 star rating in the Apple Store due to breakage, fraying and corrosion.

Limited stylus support – Although you can use a capacitive stylus on an iPad mini, you don’t get the same level of expression that you get on Android tablets. Samsung’s Galaxy Note tablets have a Wacom touchscreen with 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity. iOS also won’t let you toggle between a brush, pencil or eraser by simply holding the stylus above the screen and clicking a button. The stylus on Galaxy Note tablets even lets you preview emails, photos or videos by hovering slightly above the screen.

No infrared transmitter – Tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 — along with Vizio and Sony Experia tablets all have built-in IR-transmitters so you can use your tablet to control devices in your home like your TV — without using Wi-Fi and special apps. The iPad mini does not have infrared support.

No multi-user support – The iPad mini is a single-user device tied to a single iTunes account. Nexus tablets allow multiple users to log-in. Each user has their own home screen, background, apps and widgets. Things like game-progress and high-scores remain separate.

Mediocre-sounding speakers – The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (and other tablets) have better sounding speakers than the iPad mini. Reviews say “O.K. is also how I’d describe the speaker system. The Kindle Fire HD, which sports Dolby stereo, pumped out noticeably more pleasing audio than the Mini’s speakers.”

Very difficult to repair – The iPad mini is much more difficult to repair than other tablets. iFixit gives the iPad mini with Retina display a repairability score of ‘2 out of 10,’ where 10 is the easiest to repair. One of the main reasons why it gets such a poor score is because large amounts of cement hold the front glass, logic board, battery, front camera, back camera, ribbon cables in place. This cement makes repair extremely difficult. By comparison, the Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 both get repairability scores of ‘7 out of 10’ (10 is easiest to repair).

The iPad mini is not water-resistant like Sony tablets

Not accident-resistant – Sony’s Xperia Z Tablet is water resistant. You can submerse it in up to three feet of water for 30 minutes at a time. Now you can read in the tub, use in the kitchen or browse by the pool, worry free.

Can’t make phone calls – You can make phone calls on Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.7 and Nexus 7 if you’ve installed a SIM. You can also send or receive texts without using a special third-party app. The Galaxy Tab 7.7 calling function has been upgraded to let you make and receive voice calls privately by using Receiver Mode in public places.

No replaceable battery – Tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and Toshiba Thrive have batteries which are easily replaceable. This is important, because all rechargeable batteries have a limited life-span and need to be replaced.

Inferior multitasking – Apple places restrictions on third-party apps which run in the background. In most cases, they are suspended and not allowed to communicate with other apps. Android supports true-multitasking without any of the above restrictions. This makes it possible to do things on Android tablets that can not be done on the iPad mini.

Small keyboard makes it hard to type accurately – The keyboard on the iPad mini is small enough that you’ll have a hard time typing accurately on it. To some extent this issue is true with 7″ Android tablets, but you can install one of the many great third-party keyboards like SwiftKey3, which have much more accurate corrections and predictions than the iOS keyboard. You can see the dramatic difference here.
Android keyboard apps provide different keyboard layouts like this one with number keys

It has a much worse on-screen keyboard – Like the iPad mini, the Nexus 7 has standard keyboard features like a spell checker, auto-capitalization and auto-correction. However, the Nexus 7 has a much better on-screen keyboard. It has the ability to add words to a personal dictionary, show correction suggestions, perform gesture typing where you swipe from key to key, show next-word suggestions and the ability to change your keyboard to one that is more PC-like and includes all numbers and extra keys.

Not able to easily load custom ROMs – Android devices like the Nexus 7 don’t come with locked or encrypted bootloaders. That means you are free to install customs ROMs and fully tailor your device however you wish.

Undesired side-effects of the new display – One reviewer pointed out that “because the screen real estate is so much larger than an iPhone but icons are now roughly iPhone size, apps with lots of navigational elements can be a little less intuitive to navigate.

Hard for small hands to hold securely – The iPad mini is wide enough that it is harder to carry securely than Nexus 7. The bezel is also so narrow that its hard to hold the screen in portrait-mode without touching the active part of the touchscreen.

No LED alerts – Most Android phones have a small LED indicator that alerts you to missed calls, new messages and other system events. As with other Android phones, you can customize exactly how this works by installing a third-party LED control app like Light Flow. The iPhone has a setting buried under Accessibility that flashes an LED when a call or text is received. The iPad mini does not support LED alerts at all.

No multi-window Support – Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Note let you split the screen in two sections so you can interact with two different apps at once. Not only can you view any two windows at once, you can also drag things from one window to the other. This is a really useful feature the iPad mini does not have.

No ability to set software defaults – One of the most powerful Android features is the ability to change the default software the OS uses for different tasks. For example, if you want the Dolphin browser to open any URL (instead of the stock Android browser), just pick the app you want to use. Want to use a different app for turn-by-turn directions or media playback? Pick one, and it will use that app every time. This is an incredibly powerful feature.

iCloud is inferior to other cloud services – Third-party cloud services are more reliable, provide more storage, and are much more flexible — because they don’t lock you into an Apple-only world. If you shop around, you’ll find up to 50GB of free cloud-based storage, much better photo sharing services that automatically upload every photo and improve their quality, and store an unlimited number of photos at full-resolution (e.g. Google+). Android office apps like Google Drive are also much better than Apple’s offerings. They support more formats, allow you to share more easily and even collaborate with others at the same time. They also automatically save every change you make to the cloud, so you can access everything from any device or computer — not just Apple products. Android calendar and contact apps also have advantages and are much more open. Sure, some of these products are available to iPhone users as well, but most iPad users stick with Apple’s inferior pre-installed cloud services.

DLNA Support – Most Android tablets include DLNA support. That means they can stream media to over 10,000 devices. Chance are you have several DLNA-certified devices in your home and you don’t even know it. Most TVs, game consoles, media streamers and Blu-ray players are DLNA-certified.

Better tablets are on the way – Every month exciting new Android tablets are released. Many of these will have better specs than the iPad mini with Retina display.

The iPad mini is not a bad product, but it’s not the thinnest, or the lightest, or the fastest, or the highest-resolution tablet of its size. Other tablets are available that cost much less and do much more. You owe it to yourself to check them out. You can use some of the money you save to buy books, movies, music and some great premium apps, which will increase your enjoyment even more.

Why You’ll Still Buy an iPad Mini

If you’re an Apple fan, you don’t comparison shop. You don’t care that Apple products cost more and do less. You tell yourself that specs don’t matter and Apple’s ecosystem is superior — even though you’ve never actually used an Android 4.4-powered product. You’ll find a way to convince yourself that all of the above reasons somehow don’t apply to you and, you’ll buy an iPad mini anyway.

– Rick

If you like this article, you may like these as well:
– 40+ Things you won’t get with the iPhone 5s
– Debunking the Retina Display Myth – Why the iPad mini isn’t a true retina display
– Who makes the best tablet on Earth?

For the Apple Fanboys

1. This is an opinion piece – I think the title makes that very clear. Don’t read this if you can’t handle an opposing view point.

2. This article is focused on the advantages of other tablets – I’m aware there are some good reasons to buy a iPad. Since every other reviewer focuses on those, I see value in showing another point of view.

3. I don’t just pick on Apple – I write highly-opinionated articles about other companies as well. Here are examples where I single out Samsung, AT&T, United, Google and Rhapsody.

4. I don’t hate all Apple products – I think some of the new Apple products are fine — just not the iPad Air or iPad mini with Retina display. I’ve owned two iPhones, two iPads and an Apple TV. I buy Apple products when they outperform other products and are not insanely priced.

5. I want this to be factually correct – Believe it or not, I really do try to keep my articles factually correct. If you find an error here, please let me know and I will fix the section containing the error. If you read the comments section, you’ll find many examples where I’ve done so.

6. Save your flames – You’re not going to change my beliefs and I’m not going to changes yours.

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

Note: This article was originally written about the first iPad mini. Since then, it has been updated to reflect new iPad mini with Retina display. Keep this in mind when you read the comments.

Filed under Blog Posts, Mobile Technology Tagged with 4G LTE, iPad, iPad 2, iPad mini, Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HDX, NFC, Retina display, Samsung Galaxy Tab

What Samsung & Google Don’t Tell You About Beaming

October 8, 2012 63 Comments

Last update: October 17, 2013

This article has had almost 190,000 views! Thanks for reading it. Although this article refers to the Galaxy S III, S Beam also works with current Samsung mobile products.

Beaming Is Not New

By now you’ve probably seen the Samsung TV commercial where the wife sends a video to her husband by simply touching phones.

Samsung promotes video sharing in their newest ads

Both Google and Samsung refer to this process as beaming. Beaming multimedia is very cool, but it’s not new. I helped create patent-pending software back in 2009 that sent music, photos or video from a web browser to a connected TV, stereo, game console or mobile phone. That was the first software that used the term “beam” to describe the wireless transmission of multimedia from a computer to a connected device, but readers have pointed out that Palm Pilots were beaming contacts, notes, to-do items and calendar entries more than a decade ago. Beaming of multimedia from one phone to another has been possible for over a year using this and other apps, but few knew this was possible before Samsung started running their commercials for the Galaxy S III. The technology which makes beaming possible is called NFC, which stands for Near Field Communication. NFC has been available on Android devices for almost two years. You can learn more about NFC and its many uses here. The technology used to beam the music playlist in Samsung’s TV commercial is called S Beam. It uses NFC and Wi-Fi Direct and has been available since May.

Beaming Isn’t as Easy as It Looks

The Samsung commercial makes beaming look easy. Google claims Android Beam lets users share with a single tap. Is it really this easy? No. Beaming only works after both mobile devices have been setup properly. Before I wrote this article, I couldn’t even get beaming to work between my Samsung Galaxy S III and a Nexus 7 tablet. But once I setup both devices properly and learned a few tricks, beaming now works almost 100% of the time. This article will teach you how to beam like a pro.

You need to configure several settings before you can beam

How to Beam Like a Pro

The section will teach you how to setup your devices and use Android Beam.

In order to beam items from one phone to another, you need two Android devices that have NFC support. Here’s a list of all of the phones with NFC support.

Before trying to beam you must go to Settings/More Settings and make sure NFC is checked and Android Beam is enabled on both devices.

Now you’re ready to beam, but before you can do so, you need to open the app you wish to beam from. A list of supported apps is displayed later in this article.

Next, you need to locate the item you want to beam. You can beam web pages, contacts, maps, YouTube videos and much more.

Finally, you need to hold the backs of your two mobile devices together until you hear a chiming sound. If this doesn’t happen in a few seconds, move your devices apart and then back together.

Troubleshooting Tips: Beaming won’t work unless the screen on the destination device is unlocked. You do not need to tap the two devices together, but they do need to be very close. When beaming from a phone to a tablet, you may need to move your phone around on the back of the tablet to find the spot where the NFC module is located.

After you hear the chime, you need to quickly touch the item you want to beam. If you do this correctly, you’ll see the screen shrink and hear a two-tone confirmation sound.

If you press too long, you’ll hear a fast four-part tone that goes from high to low and you’ll need to beam again.

If you wait to touch the screen until after the image grows back, you need to move the two devices apart and beam again.

If you touch outside of the shrunken item, it won’t beam.

You may need to click OK to accept beamed media

After performing all of the steps above, the beamed item should appear on the other devices’ screen. Although this may seem like a lot of steps to follow, once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy and you’ll want to beam all of the time.

In order to accept a beamed You Tube video on devices like a Samsung Galaxy S III, you need to touch “OK” when you see this message:

Good Luck Trying to Beam a Music Playlist

Want to beam a music playlist like you see in the Samsung commercial? What about a photo or video that you took with the camera on your phone? You can’t do that with Android Beam (running on Android 4.0-powered devices). Fortunately, there are several solutions to these problems.

Use S Beam on Two Galaxy S IIIs — NFC is great for transferring things like contacts or URLs that point to maps or YouTube videos, but it’s not ideal for large files like videos. That’s why S Beam uses NFC for device pairing and Wi-Fi Direct for high-speed data transfer. Wi-Fi Direct is capable of data speeds around 250 Mbps, but because the Galaxy S III supports Wi-Fi channel bonding, files can be transferred at speeds up to 300Mbps. Of course your mileage may vary, depending on the distance from your wireless access point and the amount of interference in your area.

You can see S Beam in action here. Real world speeds are good, but not amazing. The actual transfer time for a photo is 1 to 2 seconds, but it takes an additional 4 to 6 seconds to establish a connection using S Beam.

Another thing to be aware of: When you touch the back of a Galaxy S III to another S Beam-enabled device for the first time, it takes about 10 seconds to make the connection. For security, the connection times out after 10 minutes.

Use Android Beam on Two Mobile Devices Running Jelly Bean — Android Beam now allows you to send photos and videos from one device running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) to another. Just select a photo or video in the Gallery app, and then hold any two NFC-enabled devices back to back. When prompted, tap the screen to send the file as described above. File are now send using Bluetooth, so transfer speeds are faster than earlier. However files transfers are not as fast as S Beam — because Bluetooth is only capable of data transfer speeds up to 24 Mbit/s. Performance isn’t too bad. It takes about 7 to 9 seconds to send a photo, and 15 seconds to send a short video.

Beamed photos don’t automatically appear

After you beam a photo from the Gallery app, you’ll see the photo downloading in the Notification bar. After the download is complete, you have to swipe down, and select the photo you wish to view. Beamed videos automatically appear after the download is complete however and are ready to play.

Cool observation: Bluetooth does not need to be enabled before you beam a photo. Android Beam will automatically turn Bluetooth on and off as needed. This should reduce battery usage.

Most people don’t know Android Beam can now send multiple files from one Android 4.1 device to another. To do this, long press on a photo or video in the Gallery, select the items you want to transfer, and then hold the devices back-to-back to start the beaming process. Because Bluetooth is being used, you should avoid trying to send too many files at once.

Which Apps Work and Which Ones Don’t?

Apps that work with Android Beam
Here is a list of apps that work with Android Beam followed by any issues they may have.

aCalendar

Any.Do – This task management app lets you beam assignments to co-workers

Chrome

Clover Pay

Contacts (Android 4.0) – This app seems to be a little temperamental. Wait until the screen gets small before you tap it. This takes about four seconds. Then tap near the photo area.

Financial Times

Gmail

Gallery – only works when Android 4.1 is installed

Google Play – Android Beam pushes a link to the app’s details page in Google Play. On the other device, Google Play launches and loads the details page, for easy downloading of the app.

Google Earth

Google I/O 2012

Google Maps

Internet (stock Android 4.0 browser)

Just Player

Kingsoft Office

Local – Maps, but nothing else

MonTransit

Navigation

NFC Reader

Paper Camera

Pattrn

People (Android 4.1)

Shazam

Shazam Encore

Songkick Concerts

StumbleUpon

WiFiBeam – This app can pass WiFi setup info from one device to another

YouTube – Can’t beam ads, skip any ads before beaming.

This is a partial list of the apps which work with Android Beam. As I find more apps that work, I’ll add them here.

Apps that don’t work with Android Beam

Calculator

Currents – Loads app, but not selected article

Gallery

Google Now – Cards can’t be sent

Google+

Play Music (appears to work on Android 4.0, but music is not transferred immediately)

Samsung’s Calendar

Street View on Google Maps

Most other Android apps

The Pros and Cons of Android Beam and Samsung’s S Beam

Android Beam – Pros

Works with all NFC-enabled Android devices running Android 4.0 (or later)
Works on devices that do not have Wi-Fi Direct support
Requires less configuration than S Beam (because Wi-Fi Direct does not have to be enabled)
Very safe because NFC only works at distances of 4cm or less.
More power efficient than S Beam because it uses NFC and Bluetooth

Android Beam – Cons

Only works with Android devices that have NFC support
Has data transfer rates up to 10x slower than S Beam
Can only send photos, videos and playlists if you’re running Android 4.1 (or later)
Beamed photos don’t automatically open
Doesn’t use Bluetooth for transfers unless you’re running Android 4.1 (or later)

S Beam – Pros

Capable transfer speeds up to 10x faster than Android Beam
Supports music playlists, photos and videos on Android 4.0 devices
Once a transfer in started it’s capable of working at greater distances than NFC-only transfers
Safe when good Wi-Fi security practices are followed.
Can be used to transfer documents from one Galaxy Note 2 to another

S Beam – Cons

Only works with a limited number of Samsung devices (like the Galaxy S III)
Only works on devices running Android 4.0 (and later)
Wi-Fi Direct draws so much power that it’s turned off after only a few minutes of inactivity
Only works on devices that have with NFC and Wi-Fi Direct support
S Beam works with fewer apps than Android Beam

You can now beam files from Android to iOS devices

How to Beam Files to an iPhone or iPad

S Beam isn’t the only game in town. I’ve been using an app called Bump for years. It started as a way to exchange contacts on iOS devices, but now can transfer any file you have on your device (videos, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc). First install the Bump app on both of your devices. Next, launch the app on both devices and select the type of file you want to exchange. Then touch your devices together lightly until you feel them vibrate. You need to press the blue Connect button on both devices, before your file can be transferred. Like Android Beam, Bump can be a little temperamental and often requires several tries before it works. Also be aware that all music metadata and album art is lost when you transfer music files.

Cross-platform Beaming Issues

In theory, you should be able to tap an NFC-enabled Windows Phone 8 to a Galaxy S III or Galaxy Nexus and share anything. However, I’m told that sharing of web pages and contacts work fine, but sharing of files and photos does not. Let’s hope Microsoft and Google get together to address this issue soon.

The Final Word

While it’s true that Samsung and Google may have oversold beaming, once you know how to use it, it’s a powerful feature. As more devices support these two features, I’d like to see both companies enable these by default so no setup is required. Also, Samsung should find a way to automatically toggle on and off Wi- Fi Direct (like Google does with Bluetooth beaming), so you don’t have to turn it on every time. I’m glad that Samsung has made this concept something that everyone now is aware of. We live in a wireless world, and you should never have to connect a cable to transfer files.

Have fun beaming!

– Rick

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

Filed under Blog Posts, How-to, Mobile Technology Tagged with Android Beam, Beam, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S III, Mobile, NFC, S Beam, Smartphone, Tablet, technology, TwonkyBeam, Wi-Fi Direct

iOS 6’s Advantages Over Android 4.2

October 7, 2012 9 Comments

Last updated: January 23, 2013

[This article is still under construction. Please come back later to view the final version]

Last year I wrote two articles that compared Android to iOS. One stressed Apple’s advantages, and the other stressed Google’s advantages. Both turned out to be extremely popular. Since each operating system has had a major new update since then, I’ve decided to update both articles. Android has come a long way since my first post, so far that some experts feel it’s reached parity, but iOS still has a few important advantages. Earlier this week I listed Android 4.2’s advantages over iOS 6. Here are the advantages that iOS 6 has over Android 4.2.

The Top Ten Most Important iOS Advantages

The App Store still leads based on quality and quantity of apps (App Store: Left; Google Play: Right)

Better Overall App Quality – Google Play has almost caught up to Apple in the total number of apps, but there is no doubt that Apple still has the edge when it comes to the number of quality apps available — especially in categories such as games, media creation and children’s apps.

Both of these phones run the same version of Android, but their graphic interfaces are quite different

More Consistent User Experience – Some reviewers have complained that Apple hasn’t made any major changes to iOS since the first version. That may be true, but it’s not entirely a bad thing. The user interface on every iOS device is very similar. By contrast, the Android user experience varies greatly from one manufacturer’s device to another due to skinning.
Fragmentation is also a problem on the Android platform. Sixty percent of all iPhone users are running the newest version of iOS, while less than 5% of all Android users are running the newest version of Android. Because carriers and handset manufacturers don’t make all Android updates available on every phone, over half of all Android users are still running version 2.3, which was released back in 2010. Apple doesn’t allow skinning, and most of the time allows users with older devices to upgrade to the newest OS (although they may not always get access to all of the new features). This results is a more consistent user experience.

Tablet-optimized apps look better on larger screens

Tablet-optimized App Listings – The App Store displays iPhone and iPad apps in separate areas. iPad-optimized apps normally look better on tablets — because they have been modified to take advantage of the larger screen which tablets have. I wish Google Play had a filter for tablet-optimized apps.

No Carrier Bloatware – Carriers preload their Android phones with loads of apps. Some promote paid services (e.g. VZ Navigator), while others are carrier-branded or third-party apps. Many preinstalled apps are things you don’t need and will never use. They clutter the screens of Android phones and often cannot be deleted. Apple doesn’t allow carriers to install bloatware on their products. While you could argue this isn’t an operating system-related advantage, it is an advantage that iOS users have over non-Nexus Android users.

Siri has improved and has some advantages over Google Now and S-Voice

A Better Personal Assistant – Although Google Now is pretty good, the version of Siri which is included with iOS 6 has some advantages — including more human-like and actionable responses. Here’s a good comparison between the two.

More iOS-only or iOS-first Apps – By now you’d think all popular apps would be available on both platforms, but that’s not the case. Android is still missing some popular iOS apps. To make things worse, even when developers support both platforms, they often release their iOS apps first.

Better HTML5 Support – Although Flash is still a popular way of handling multimedia on the Web, many people believe HTML5 will one day replace it. Instead of supporting Flash, Apple put its efforts into supporting HTML5 and it shows.

Dynamic App Icons – iOS may not have widget support yet, but I love how the icon for the Calendar app displays the current day and date. Folders and apps like Spotify also are capable of showing notifications.

Global Search – Swiping to the right displays a screen where you can search for Apps, Calendar, Mail, Music, Notes, Web and Wikipedia. This is a pretty big deal and Apple has shown they will litigate if anyone attempts to support this.

Other Areas Where iOS is Ahead

Better Voice Mail App – I think it’s ridiculous that I have to dial *86 to get voice-mail on my Galaxy Nexus. You’d think its 1998, not 2012. Apple’s phone app has dedicated voice mail button and its interface is excellent.

Better Power Management – iOS devices seem to have power management than Android devices. Some of this may be a result of the fact that iOS doesn’t allow third-party apps to run in the background. Others might have to do with the fact that iPhone 4S has an under-clocked processor and no LTE support. Whatever the reason, it’s an Apple advantage.

One-button Operation – Apple uses a single button to return to the Home screen, display the search box, and show recently opened apps. Is it intuitive? No, but once you learn it, it works well.

Better Calendar app – Another thing I miss is the iOS calendar. I found it much easier to add appointments to the Apple Calendar than the Android Calendar.

Better Cut & Paste – Although Android devices had cut and paste first, Apple has done a much better job implementing the feature. iOS devices have more region selection options and it’s much easier to quickly select text by dragging the region select handles around. Although this seems like a minor issue, it’s important to some users.

iOS has better support for USB audio devices – iOS devices can play and record audio with standard USB audio devices using the camera connection kit. Android is saddled with a USB port that cannot host audio devices. Android 4.1 supports audio output only (no input) with accessory devices, but audio accessories have to be the USB host. [Source: Paul N.]

You can enter phonetic pronunciations for Siri – iOS allows you to add phonetic pronunciations to your contacts which will tell Siri how to pronounce certain names.

These are just some of the main advantages iOS 6 has over Android 4.2. Let me know if I left any major advantages out, and I’ll add them here.

– Rick

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

Filed under Blog Posts, Mobile Technology Tagged with Android 4.1, Apple, Google, iOS 6

Android 4.4′s Advantages Over iOS 7.1

September 30, 2012 48 Comments

Last update: October 30, 2013

This article has had almost 20,000 views. Thanks for reading it.

Google Now learns about you and delivers information without you needing to ask.

The Top Ten Most Important Android Advantages

Although iOS is a great operating system, Android has many advantages over it. Let’s start with the most important ones:

Google Answers Your Questions Before You Ask Them – Google Now goes beyond Siri because it learns about you through your searches, and automatically provides useful info to you. For example, Google Now knows when you need to leave for work and from which gate your flight is departing. It also automatically displays things like sports scores, traffic and weather. It will even alert you if there’s a traffic jam and automatically recommends places around you like restaurants. Google Now can now can give you movie start times, help you track packages and help you find great spots to take photos based on your current location.

Google Now goes far beyond Passbook by looking for flight confirmations in your email so it can automatically notify you of upcoming flights and changes to your itinerary. Unlike Passbook, you’ll don’t need to install a separate mobile app for each airline you travel with. When you get to the airport Google Now pulls up a digital boarding pass for you which includes a QR code to scan at the gate along with information on the terminal, gate number, seat number and boarding group. Google Now looks at where you’re going, and tells you how the weather will be when you get there. The service can also remind you of hotel, event and restaurant reservations.

Update (4/29): While it’s true that Google Now can finally be run on iOS there are significant limitations: It cannot be run on the iOS lock screen like it can on the Galaxy S4 and other Android 4.2 phones. It also can’t run in the background as a widget. Google Now is also missing quite a few options on iOS and doesn’t run automatically upon startup. Some of the best Google Now cards are not currently available on Google Now for iOS. This includes Airline boarding pass, Activity summary, Events, Zillow, Fandango, Concerts, Research topic and Nearby events. Another important difference is the fact that Google Now can only be activated from within the Search app, and it must be turned on by a user, who will be prompted on launch of the updated app and must sign in to a Google account. Once you’ve given permission to turn it on, it can be accessed inside the Search app only.

A Digital Wallet That Can Buy Things Today – Apple’s Passbook shows promise, but it’s the only digital wallet which can’t buy things anywhere except Starbucks (or the Apple Store). Android supports near field communication (NFC) and Google Wallet which lets you buy things at over 300,000+ PayPass cash registers. After setting up Google Wallet on an NFC equipped phone like a Samsung Galaxy S III, you simply place your phone on the terminal for a second, enter your PIN and your Google Wallet will be debited by the amount of the purchase. Google Wallet is currently accepted at more than twenty retail chains including 7 Eleven, Best Buy, CVS Pharmacy, Duane Reade, Einstein Bros Bagels, Footlocker, Home Depot, Jack in the Box, McDonald’s, Peet’s Coffee, Pinkberry, Rite Aid, Sports Authority, Whole Foods and more. You can learn more about Google Wallet here.

Better Sharing Between Apps – It’s easiest to explain system intents by contrasting the sharing options between an iOS app and an Android app. When you share on my iOS Notes app you’re given four different sharing choices: Mail, Message, Print and Copy. When you share from the Android Notes app, you’re allowed to share via Bluetooth, Google Drive, Dropbox, Email, Facebook, Gmail, Google+, Read It Later, SkyDrive, Text Message, Twitter, Wi-Fi Direct, WordPress Blog and 17 other apps. The actual list varies, depending on which apps you have installed. Google realizes Android cannot be best at everything, and allows you to choose which apps you want to interact with.

Android lets NFC-enabled phones touch to share

Touch-to-Share Anything – Android Beam allows any two NFC-equipped devices to exchange data wirelessly by simply by tapping them together. This allows Android users to share web pages, maps, You Tube videos, contacts, links to apps and more. Starting with Android 4.1, Android Beam made it possible to share photos and video bover Bluetooth for the data transfer. Samsung’s S Beam combines NFC with Wi-Fi Direct. This makes it possible to transfer almost anything including music playlists, documents, photos and longer videos between two Samsung devices. Here is a video of S Beam in action. It’s even possible for Android devices to share data with Windows mobile phones.

Multi-user Support on a Single Device– Multiuser support was a new feature in Android 4.2. For now, it’s restricted to tablet use. When enabled on the quick settings menu, you’re taken to a lock screen similar to a log-in screen you’d see on a PC. Choose the user, swipe to unlock, and you’re in. Each user has their own home screen, background, apps, and widgets. Even when multiple users share an app, you’re still able to keep your app settings, game-progress and high-scores separate. You can even set up a guest profile so a friend can check their email, but can’t update your Facebook status. All iOS devices are tied to a single iTunes account and changes made by one user will affect all other users of that device. Multiuser support is a very difficult feature to add, so it’s very unlikely we’ll see this in iOS soon.

Associate Multiple Gmail Accounts with a Single User – iOS only allows you to associate a single iTunes account with a single device. Android lets you add extra Google Accounts to a device running Android 4.0 (or later). Each account has its own email, contacts, calendar, apps and Google Play media. This allows you to use one email for work and another for your personal use, or one email for you, and another other for your significant other. By adding both accounts to your tablet, you’ll be able to view the merged data.

More Advanced Multitasking – Apple places restrictions on third-party apps which run in the background. In most cases, they are suspended and not allowed to communicate with other apps. This improved with iOS 7, but it still very different than what Android is capable of. Android supports true-multitasking without any of the above restrictions. This makes it possible to do things which cannot be done on iOS.

For example, Samsung’s “Pop up Play” feature, allows videos to hover, so you can text and watch a video at the same time. It’s also possible to have two apps visible at one time on devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Widgets update in real-time w/o needing to launch an app

Smart Widgets – Widgets provide you with real-time weather updates, stock quotes, recent e-mails and more. Widgets are always visible and updated in the background — without needing to launch an app. Widgets provide easy access to system and application settings. Want to disable Wi-Fi or GPS services? Use a widget. When using Android widgets are “smart” and automatically resize themselves based on the amount of room available on the screen. You can get widget-like iOS apps, but they can only run on your lock screen, and some require a jail-broken phone, or third-party software to run.

An Open Source Foundation – The underlying architecture of the Android is open-source. This makes it much more customizable than iOS. Not only is the Android OS customizable, handset manufacturers like Samsung open source their software for individual phones like the Galaxy Series. This makes it relatively easy for developers to improve on what Google and Samsung have done. A wide range of different custom ROMs can be easily loaded onto rooted phones or tablets. These ROMs often have significant benefits when it comes to performance and battery life, and also provide additional features. iOS 7.1 is a totally closed operating system. Although it can be jail-broken, it’s much harder to do. At the time of this writing, the iPhone 5 had not yet been jail broken. Expert say iOS jailbreaks are going to be harder in the future.

The Android Market has several advantages. In this example, I’m using an iPad to install an Android app which will be remotely downloaded to my Android phone.
A Better and More Open App Store – Although this may not sound like a platform benefit, it’s very important. Google Play has far less restrictions than the App store. There is a long list of apps Apple won’t allow, including apps which compete with iTunes, free Wi-Fi tethering apps, VoIP apps which use technologies like Google Talk, and great utilizes like Farproc’s Wi-Fi Analyzer. Apple also practices their own form of censorship by removing apps like “500px” from the App store, while leaving other apps that feature hard-core porn like Twitter’s “Vine” app. Update 2/3: 500pix is back with an NC+17 rating, while Vine remains.
Another Android advantage is the number of quality alternative app stores including AppBrain, GetJar, Handango, Handmark, and the Amazon App Store, which offers one paid app a day for free. The only apps which can be installed outside the Apple app store are Cydia apps, which are only available for jailbroken devices. Another Google Play advantage is the fact that it lets developers upload videos as well as screenshots for their apps. This gives you a much better idea what the app does without having to download it first.

Other Areas Where Android Is Still Ahead of iOS

Apps Crash Less – I use iOS and Android 4.4 many hours each day. Apps occasionally crash on both, but I experience more crashes on iOS — especially while using the Safari app with multiple tabs open. Studies have confirmed that iOS apps crash more than Android apps.

Fewer Security Vulnerabilities than iOS – This is going to surprise many of you because companies spend millions trying to convince you that malware is a serious problem on the Android platform, but security expert Symantec released a study in April 2013 that says Apple’s iOS had more security vulnerabilities than Android in 2012. Symantec’s report revealed that there are 387 documented vulnerabilities on Apple’s iOS software, compared to a mere 13 on Android.
Much better account security – Like Apple, Google requires an e-mail address and password to setup any device. However this is easy to hack, so Google offers optional two-step authentication. This is done by downloading a Authenticator app on your mobile device. This app generates unique verification codes that are entered along with your password. Apple’s iCloud was cracked because of the lack of two-factor authentication.

Notifictions are now actionable

More Advanced Notifications – Although notifications have improved in iOS, Android still has advantages in this area. You can tell at a glance what types of notifications have occurred, and clear all notifications with a single click. Devices running Android 4.1 (or later) have rich push notifications, which can be expanded and collapsed with a pinch. These notifications offer even more contextual information and are now actionable. That means if you’re notified about a meeting, you can dismiss it from the Android notification bar, or email others about the meeting. You can also call (or text) someone right from the pull-down notification menu.

Flash Video Support – Flash may be a dying format, but there are still millions of Flash videos around and iOS can’t play any of them. All Android devices running 4.0 (and earlier) can play Flash videos out of the box. If you have an Android device running Android 4.1 (or later) and you didn’t previously install Flash, you’ll need to side-load it by following these easy instructions.

Extensive Customization Options – There are so many ways you can customize Android devices it would be impossible to list them all here. Almost anything can be changed in the Android ecosystem.

More Effective Parental Controls – Apple finally added Parental Controls to iOS 6, but they are buried is Settings and disabled by default. Even if mom is smart enough to find and enable them, her kids will still be able to read the copy of “50 Shades of Grey” that she bought six months ago. This is because Apple’s Parental Controls do not hide explicit books which are already in your library. iOS is a single-user OS and this prevents effective parental controls. Android 4.2 allowed each family member to have their own password-protected account. All of the media is only visible when logged in to their own account. This prevents children from accessing inappropriate content.

Restricted User Profiles – In addition to parental controls, Android 4.3 allows you to control access to apps and content at a user level. This allows you to control which apps each user can see and which are hidden. It also allows an app to behave differently when it’s running in a restricted profile. For example, an app can hide unpurchased levels and not allow in-app purchasing. Restricted profiles are also ideal for retail kiosks or POS systems.

Easy File Transfers – It’s a hassle to get anything but photos off of an iOS device. With Android devices there’s no need to use iTunes or iCloud to copy media. Just connect a USB cable and your mobile device appears on your desktop like a hard disk. You can then drag and drop any number of file onto your mobile device to copy them. This is a really big advantage.

Virtual surround sound audio – There are several iOS apps with surround-sound capabilities, the Android 4.3 OS has advanced surround-sound technology from German audio pioneer Fraunhofer built-in. Android 4.3 supports surround sound three different ways: Over HDMI, over any headphones and using the stereo speakers on supported devices including the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10.

Instagram on iPad
No Need to Use 2x Zoom on Some Apps – Android automatically stretches apps so they look good on screens of all sizes. Many iOS apps like Instagram still appear small when they are run on a tablet, or have to be blown up to twice their regular size in order to occupy the entire screen. When you do this, the graphics look distorted and funny.

Ability to Set Default Software – One of the most powerful Android features is the ability to change the default software the OS uses for different tasks. For example, if you want to the Dolphin browser to open any URL (instead of the stock Android browser), just pick the app you want to use. Want to use a different app for turn-by-turn directions or media playback? Pick one, and it will use that app every time. This is an incredibly powerful feature. You can even replace the stock keyboard with a 3rd party keyboard like SwiftKey. Apple doesn’t allow this.

Fewer Image Scaling Issues – The way Android is structured, apps automatically support all new resolutions without needing to be modified like iOS apps do. Every time Apple releases a product with a different sized screen like the iPhone 5, developers have to scramble to make their apps look great. If they don’t, text will be less crisp and there may be screen layout issues. Android seems to have fewer issues in this area. It seems Google has a better method of scaling up low-resolution images which makes them less ugly than they appear on Apple devices.

3rd-party Keyboards Improve Your Typing Speed

Third-party Alternate Keyboards – There are some outstanding third-party keyboard apps that run on all Android phones and have many advantages over the stock iOS 6 keyboard. Some of the best keyboards include Swype, which lets you create words by tracing between the letters on the keyboard. Swype can even sync your personal dictionary across all of your Android devices. SwiftKey 3 goes even further by predicting the next word in your sentence based on past behavior. To save time you can personalize it using your Gmail, Facebook, Twitter or blog posts. This can save you a massive number of keystrokes, as you can see from the screenshot on the right. SwiftKey and other 3rd-party keyboards also have extensive customization options unlike iOS. You can see the dramatic difference here. There are other good keyboards as well. Here’s a good review of some of the best ones.

Smoother Scrolling & Transitions – Starting with Android 4.1, the CPU and graphics run in parallel and the entire interface runs at 60 frames per second. The processor jumps into action the moment you touch the screen to keep input lag at a minimum and graphics are now also triple-buffered to keep scrolling and transitions smooth. It’s true that iOS had less of a problem with this, but its interface doesn’t currently run at 60fps.

Smart App Updates – Google Play now delivers only the parts of an updated app which have changed to devices, rather than the entire app. This makes the app updates much faster to download, and conserve both battery and data usage.

You can zoom-in on offline maps with no signal

Better Speech-to-Text Entry – Android’s speech-to-text entry is second to none. Unlike iOS, Android is capable of doing the speech-to-text conversion without a network connection. It’s also more accurate. Siri does not work well on voices with certain types of accents and certain dialects. It’s normal for voice recognition systems to require some training, but Siri doesn’t seem to improve over time. By contrast, Google’s voice recognition technology requires no training on voices with strong accents as long as they speak close to the microphone and talk a little slower than usual.

Intelligent Switching between Wi-Fi and Cellular – iOS sometimes has problems switching between cellular and Wi-Fi connections. If a Wi-Fi signal is present it will select it — even though its signal strength is low, and its data is slower than the current 3G or 4G connection. Devices running Android 4.1 (or later) don’t have this problem when the “Wi-Fi Only Connects to Strong Signal” option is enabled. This forces your mobile device to only connect to strong Wi-Fi signals.

Offline Maps – Although Google Maps was mentioned above, offline maps are important enough to have their own section, because the time you need a map the most is when you don’t have Internet access and are lost. Android allows you to download any number of maps to your device and access them without an Internet connection.

A Media-centric Home Screen – Android tablets like the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 displays your media library on the first screen you see. You’ll see the last book, magazine and CD you played (or read) larger than the others. This is a feature which has really grown on me. Of course you can move or delete this, if you don’t want it on your home screen.

Predictive text is one advantage the Android keyboard has over iOS

A More Advanced Default Keyboard – Android’s in-line spell checker and suggestion modes work better than Apple’s today. The Android keyboard (4.1 and later) guesses what the next word will be before you’ve started typing it. You don’t even need an Internet connection to see the suggestions. The Android keyboard also lets you add dictionaries, gives you control over auto-correct and has advanced settings. Android 4.2 also included a new feature called Gesture Typing, which lets you glide your finger over the letters you want to type on the keyboard.

Attach Any File to An Email – Android allows you to attach any file to an e-mail — not only images or video like iOS 7 does. This is important, because it’s common to attach Word docs or Powerpoint presentations to work-related emails.

Photo Sphere goes beyond Apple’s Panorama and lets you capture 360 degree photos

360-degree Photos – Android 4.2 introduced a new camera feature called Photo Sphere, which lets you capture Google Street View-style images that are larger than life. While you take photos in every direction Android stitches them together to create 360-degree experiences that you can share on Google+ with friends and family, or add to Google Maps.You can see Photo Sphere in action here.

Superior Music Scan & Match feature – The new Google Play Music service has a free “Scan and Match” option that goes through your entire music library and saves it to the cloud, so it’s accessible from any Internet-connected device. Like iTunes Match, you don’t have to upload most songs because they are already there. Unlike iTunes Match, Google lets you store 20,000 songs on its servers for free. Apple charges $24.99 a year for the iTunes Match feature and transcodes all of your high-bit rate songs down to 256kbps prior to uploading to iCloud. Google allows songs up to 320Kbps.

Advanced photo editing comes standard

More Advanced Photo Editing Features – The stock iOS camera and photo viewer apps are very limited on features. The Android Gallery app let you tweak your photos in a similar manner as you would with Photoshop. This goes far beyond the four options Apple has (rotate, enhance, red-eye and crop). Starting with Android 4.1 Google let you apply Instagram-style filters to still or video footage including warm vintage, posterize, black and white, and sepia. You can also edit different video clips together by simply pausing and resuming video recording.

A True Full-screen Mode – Android 4.4 supports a new ‘Immersive mode’ that allows apps to take over the entire screen when needed. That means you won’t see any controls on the top of the bottom of the screen. To get the controls back just swipe from the top or bottom of the screen. On the iPhone, this type of full screen mode isn’t possible.
File Management on Your Device – iOS apps like iExplorer claim to be file explorers, but they don’t allow you to browse, copy, paste, rename and delete any visible file or folder on your device. This is because Apple doesn’t allow you to access the iOS file system. Android file explorers like ES File Explorer do all of this and much more. The 10 best Android File Explorers.

Individual App Volumes – Android lets you adjust the volume for individual apps and functions. To do this, press the volume keys along the side of your device and wait for the on-screen volume slider to pop up. Touch the Settings button on the right and you’ll see sliders for music, video, notifications, ringtones and alarms.

A Persistent Back Button – Android’s Back button is available at all times. Some iOS apps display a Back button, but it’s not always available and some apps don’t include it at all. This is one of the features I miss the most when moving back and forth between Android and iOS.

A Live Wallpaper

Miracast Wireless Video Streaming– Android 4.2 added support for a wireless video streaming standard called Miracast, which is an open alternative to Apple’s AirPlay. One advantage that Miracast has over AirPlay and DLNA is that it streams over Wi-Fi Direct and does not require a Wi-Fi hotspot. Miracast allows you to stream anything that’s on your phone (or tablet) to a Miracast-ready HDTV. Although there aren’t many TVs that support Miracast yet (LG will be among the first), experts are expecting many to be released next year, along with low-cost dongles that plug into the HDMI port of older TVs. Most of the newest smartphones and tablets already support Miracast — including the Samsung Galaxy Series, LG Optimus G, Nexus 4 and more. You can see Miracast in action here.

Moving Screen Backgrounds – iOS 7 has dynamic backrounds that give the illusion of moving, like Android apps, but this is very different than the live wallpapers that run on Android devices. They allow you to run cool animations or videos on your home screens. Most live wallpapers like Ocean HD span across all five of your home screens and pan when you move from screen to screen. You can interact with some live wallpapers by touching the screen. For example, touching the screen on Ocean HD causes the swimming fish to change direction. You can even have a 360 degree panoramic photo as your live wallpaper (e.g. PanoPlanet Live Wallpaper).

High-definition Magazines – Traditional magazines are printed at 300 dpi. Since Android tablets like the Nexus 10 have a screen that supports 300 ppi, it makes sense to offer magazines at their native 300 dpi resolution. Look for HD magazines in Google Play that only be viewed on Android devices.

Full Stylus Support – Although you can use a capacitive stylus on an iOS device, the OS has very limited support for it. You won’t get the same level of expression you get on a Samsung Galaxy Note II, which has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity. iOS also won’t let you toggle between a brush, pencil or eraser by simply holding the stylus above the screen and clicking a button. The stylus on Note II even lets you preview emails, photos or videos by hovering slightly above the screen. Here are some more things you can do with a stylus.

Android has better resource monitoring than iOS
Data & Resource Monitoring – Android shows you exactly how much data you have used so far each month and warns you when you’re getting close to your data cap. You can even disable mobile data entirely if you’d like, once a certain threshold has been reached. Android also lets you see how much battery and memory and data each app is using.

Haptic Feedback Support – The Android OS and most Android devices support haptic feedback natively. This gives you a tactile vibration when you type, long press, or touch any of the navigation buttons. This is done to make it clear your touch was acknowledged, so you don’t have to tap twice. Haptic feedback also makes games much more enjoyable to play.
More Screen Unlock Options – Android now has five different ways to unlock your screen: A slider (which lets you access the home screen or camera), pattern unlock, PIN unlock, password unlock and Face unlock.

No Bluetooth Transfer Restrictions – Most iOS Bluetooth apps have limitations which Android apps don’t have. They cannot send data over Bluetooth to an Android device (unless the iOS device has been jailbroken). Most apps available in the App store can only send photos, and cannot send audio, video and other documents.

Speed Dials – Android allows you to add icons for contacts directly to your home screen(s), so you can quickly call or text them. iOS users must first open the Phone or Messaging apps before communicating with contacts.

Multicolored LED alerts – Most Android devices have a small LED that alerts you to missed calls, new messages and other system events like low-battery. As with other Android phones, you can customize exactly how and when the LED works by installing a third-party LED control app like Light Flow. The iPhone does have a setting buried under Accessibility, which flashes an LED when a calls or text message is received, but it’s not nearly as flexible as this feature. Light Flow lets you assign different colors to voice mail, missed calls, calendar reminders, Gmail, Facebook notifications, SMS messages and many more things.

The Tide is Turning

Although iOS still has some very important advantages over Android, it seems that every time I update this article, the list of Android advantages gets longer, and the list of iOS advantages gets shorter. Even the most die hard Apple fans admit that iOS is showing its age and Apple still hasn’t figured out Sharing or the Cloud. Apple’s between a rock and a hard place, because they have to add some of the above features at some point, but when they do they will be accused of copying Android. Sure Apple still has a few tricks up their sleeve, and an amazing patent pool, but they are clearly playing catch up at the moment.

“Real Men Use Android”

After many years of promoting Apple’s products Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki recently switched to Android. Really. He recently did a interview where he said, “People are kind of amazed, but I don’t use any iOS products, none at all. I fell in love with Android on the smartphone, and then I got a Nexus 7 and started using Android on the tablet as well. To me the great irony is that Apple’s slogan was `Think Different,’ but today if you think different you’re looking at Android.” Guy uses a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Now that Apple has finally caught up to Android hardware in areas like 4G , Guy says it’s Android’s “superior software that keeps him from moving astray.”

Guy Kawasaki’s Five Favorite Android Features

Multiple apps running in multiple windows

Widgets

Ability to launch files and choose default apps

Ability to see all your apps in an alphabetical listing no matter what folder they are in

Ability to pick your own keyboard (he uses SmartKey)

– Rick

Follow me on Twitter @mostlytech1

Filed under Blog Posts, Mobile Technology Tagged with Android, Android 4.1, iOS, iOS 6, iPhone 5, Mobile, NFC, OS

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Observations After 8 Weeks of Use

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Why The Nexus 10 is My New ‘Go to’ Tablet

Could I replace my iPad 3 with the Nexus 10?

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How to Force An Update to Android 4.2.2 on Your Nexus 10

What to Do If You Have Problems After You Force An Update to Android 4.2.2

First Impressions – Day One

What About All of the Android 4.2 Bugs?

Summary After One Day

Why You’ll Still Buy an iPad 4

The Tide is Turning

What About Build Quality?

Tablet Shopping Guide – No Opinions, Just the Facts

Apple iPad 4

Acer Iconia A Series

Asus PadFone 2 with Dock

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

Barnes and Noble’s Nook HD+

Fujitsu Stylistic M532

Huawei MediaPad 10

Lenovo IdeaTab S2110

Microsoft Surface RT

Nexus 10

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

Sony Xperia Tablet S

The Good

The Bad

The Verdict

Appendix – OEM-loaded Apps

Why You Shouldn’t Buy an iPad Mini

Why You’ll Still Buy an iPad Mini

Beaming Is Not New

Beaming Isn’t as Easy as It Looks

How to Beam Like a Pro

Good Luck Trying to Beam a Music Playlist

Which Apps Work and Which Ones Don’t?

The Pros and Cons of Android Beam and Samsung’s S Beam

How to Beam Files to an iPhone or iPad

Cross-platform Beaming Issues

The Final Word

The Top Ten Most Important iOS Advantages

Other Areas Where iOS is Ahead

The Top Ten Most Important Android Advantages

Other Areas Where Android Is Still Ahead of iOS

The Tide is Turning

“Real Men Use Android”

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