[omniusovermind]

I found some inaccuracies in his as well

[samab]

I have PB and Asus Transformer with Android 4.0. There is just no comparison - on Transformer I have like 50 or more games and 20 or sth like that application with excellent Google Chrome. I use it at university for reading and writing in PDF books with stylus. On Playbook I don't find any interesting games (apart from Angry Birds and Cut the Rope) and beside browser I have zero app that is useful (well, the calculator is awesome on PB), ezPDF doesn't seem to work like most apps converted from Android. Adobe Reader doesn't seem to have ANY options. Sorry to be posting things like that on Blackberry forum, I hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings.
Android 3.0 had some lags but with 4.0 it's all gone. Google Chrome is still not perfect, but it's easier to use than Blackberry browser (you use it just like desktop version, no strange image-tabs or swiping to reveal them).

Have you tried to see if your mahjong html5 canvas game works on the Playbook?

[anon(757282)]

A few observations on Android. I have a Motorola XYBoard 8.2 32GB that I am using/testing for aviation use with an app not available for PB yet.

Android Honeycomb is very laggy, and typing is a pain and very slow, even with the so-called SwiftKey keyboard. Noticable delay withe every keystroke, and when I finish a word, half the time the word disappeared! Very poor keyboard. Also navigating is slow. Drag a screem, and the tablet is always a beat behind. Much slower than the PB.

Important thing if you intend to use an Android tablet outside or in bright light. Screen is very reflective, including the PB. The XYBOARD is the brightest android tablet, but a full 100 cd/m2 less than the PB max brightness of 513 cd/m2.

But in real life, the worst part of Android is that the control icons on the top and bottom margins, that give access to apps, options,etc, are tiny symbols of thin light lines on a black background. Invisible in bright light! Even at the brightest screen setting. Useless! You have to guess at the button you want to push. Android is designed to be used in dimly lit rooms.

PlayBook on the other hand is much brighter (to be fair, still affected by direct sunlight), and also has noticeably higher contrast, and you can SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING! The swipe control helps alot too.

Android does more apps (too many, like a landfill) and google app support. Not impressed so far.

[greatwiseone]

Having owned the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Honeycomb and have a ICS loaded Touchpad, I can say that ICS really solve a lot of problems that Honeycomb had. The task manager allows you to "remove" running apps quickly, the lag has significantly reduce, etc.

My main issue with Android (same with iOS) is the extra steps I need to press for things. While the number of apps on Android dwarfs the PB, the PB's UI and gesture based navigation beats it hands down. The multi-tasking capability on the PB is also much better. Of further interest is that the spec's between the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and PlayBook are similar (1Gb Ram, 1Ghz dual-core processor)...but the Gal Tab 10.1 CHOKES when it tries to run anything 1080p (e.g. YouTube). On the other hand, the PlayBook lets me output 1080p video to a TV while I can surf the web on it or use other apps on it.

Interestingly, I have about 100 android apps on my Touchpad, and I'm pretty much satisfied in terms of what I need. We really just need may be 30-50 basic apps to be on the PlayBook and people can stop whinning (netflix, skype, better pdf marker, etc.).

[barskin]

Having owned the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Honeycomb and have a ICS loaded Touchpad, I can say that ICS really solve a lot of problems that Honeycomb had. The task manager allows you to "remove" running apps quickly, the lag has significantly reduce, etc.

My main issue with Android (same with iOS) is the extra steps I need to press for things. While the number of apps on Android dwarfs the PB, the PB's UI and gesture based navigation beats it hands down. The multi-tasking capability on the PB is also much better. Of further interest is that the spec's between the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and PlayBook are similar (1Gb Ram, 1Ghz dual-core processor)...but the Gal Tab 10.1 CHOKES when it tries to run anything 1080p (e.g. YouTube). On the other hand, the PlayBook lets me output 1080p video to a TV while I can surf the web on it or use other apps on it.

Interestingly, I have about 100 android apps on my Touchpad, and I'm pretty much satisfied in terms of what I need. We really just need may be 30-50 basic apps to be on the PlayBook and people can stop whinning (netflix, skype, better pdf marker, etc.).

See the thing is which 30-50 basic apps it would take satisfy, say, for instance, me, as well as anyone else. It takes a very large variety to begin with.

[Michel Souris]

As well as the PB, I've got an Acer 7" tablet, which is great. It's fast, not at all laggy, has a wealth of apps, and is beautifully integrated. It's running Honeycomb, which others say is laggy, but it's as fast as the PB. If Ice Cream Sandwich is faster and smoother, I can't wait. And Google Play is awesome!

[kennyliu]

As well as the PB, I've got an Acer 7" tablet, which is great. It's fast, not at all laggy, has a wealth of apps, and is beautifully integrated. It's running Honeycomb, which others say is laggy, but it's as fast as the PB. If Ice Cream Sandwich is faster and smoother, I can't wait. And Google Play is awesome!

Honeycomb is mostly laggy on skinned versions of Android (such as Samsung's). Besides, many people have an initial impression that it's laggy because, when they go to a store, they get to experience a tab with so many things running (e.g News, Social Hub, Pictures widgets, etc. all updating at certain intervals and some synced, which certainly taxes the RAM/CPU/GPU). But if you disable all these or play with stock Android, it's much less laggy.

As for ICS, it does seem snappier. And that's expected as "Enhanced speed and performance" and "Hardware acceleration of the UI" are in the changelog.

[anon(757282)]

Honeycomb is mostly laggy on skinned versions of Android (such as Samsung's). Besides, many people have an initial impression that it's laggy because, when they go to a store, they get to experience a tab with so many things running (e.g News, Social Hub, Pictures widgets, etc. all updating at certain intervals and some synced, which certainly taxes the RAM/CPU/GPU). But if you disable all these or play with stock Android, it's much less laggy.

As for ICS, it does seem snappier. And that's expected as "Enhanced speed and performance" and "Hardware acceleration of the UI" are in the changelog.

Will be interesting to get ICS on the XYBoard. Just typing this short post is painful.. Deleted words.. Double periods.. Auto incorrections.. piece of .. cannot even type that acronym without words being substituted..
By the way, using that android tablet to type this post. Ugh..

[sportline]

i had a lenovo thinkpad for a few month. its dissappointing for the price..

[kennyliu]

Will be interesting to get ICS on the XYBoard. Just typing this short post is painful.. Deleted words.. Double periods.. Auto incorrections.. piece of .. cannot even type that acronym without words being substituted..
By the way, using that android tablet to type this post. Ugh..

It sounds to me you are having problems with the keyboard (or touchscreen sensitivity?). Have you tried an alternative keyboard? Go Keyboard and a few others are good. Is it possible that the smart/slide/swift functionality (if you have it enabled) is misbehaving?

I have used many Android tabs, but I have never had any keyboard or typing related problems, except for the keyboard layout itself. I like the PB's keyboard layout more.

[meltbox360]

The playbook keyboard is laggy too. Annoys me when I try to login some places and I have to wait for it to type out my user name long after I'm done typing. If RIM fixes that, browser crashing and the pdf reader gets search I will be content. Browser crashing even once in a while is irritating. I still like the tablet and I will probably never buy android again since my nexus one is not a great experience... I was hoping for something more refined and not with crazy touch screen issues.

[neller2000]

Will be interesting to get ICS on the XYBoard. Just typing this short post is painful.. Deleted words.. Double periods.. Auto incorrections.. piece of .. cannot even type that acronym without words being substituted..
By the way, using that android tablet to type this post. Ugh..

With the Playbook you have one choice. You have numerous choices with Android and you definitely made the wrong one. I have a Motorola Xoom and I have zero lag typing on it whatsoever. No double period. No deleted words. Not even sure how those would even occur.

But I can definitely agree that the Xyboard is a piece of garbage for a tablet. My much older Xoom is much more snappy and responsive. It seems every time a new Android tablet pops there's always some serious or nasty flaw going on somewhere so I have passed on every single one since the Xoom. The Galaxy Tabs are by far the worst. Hoping for the Google Nexus tablet next.

I actually would take QNX over Android for tablets any day however. But the massive bugs, the older hardware, the bridge function which almost discriminates against other smartphone brands and most importantly the total lack of pretty much all the apps I need and use have kept me away so far.

[mikeplus1]

that's because it

Being serious though, yeah, it's been spoken of here and there in some tech sites, just not very often. I think the sammy galaxy one did 'OK' since that company has a fairly decent following but nothing really impressive. You'd have to go hunting for some 2011 sales figures for each manufacturer including non-androids to get the exact numbers

"what doesn't get mentioned very much is that currently the Android tablets have been met with a pretty dismal reception as well, and aren't selling very well."

I didn't know this.

I was probably being just a little sarcastic about it not getting mentioned very much because it has been all over the tech news lately how Apple has slipped to only a 54.7% table market share with Android gaining ground and likely to take over the top spot in the near future. I think the new Android tablets running 4.0 (ICS) are much improved and agree that the Galaxy, Asus and possibly couple of others have done 'OK' as you say, but expect to see both of them increase their individual market shares. As much as I love my PB, it seems RIM will have to really WOW everyone (not CB fans of course) with BB10 and it may be too little, too late in order to gain much of the market.