Xoom 100K Sold. Good or bad?

[kjk]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Then we know exactly where you stand and will apply the appropriate attention to each of your postings.

Yes kennyc, please do so.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by madsquabbles

i too love modding. i'd love to get the tablet that the hacking community supports the most. this is one reason why i hated giving up my nookcolor, there are just tons of tweaks to do on that one.

i'd suppose android's motto should be, "there's a hack for that" as those xda folks fix nearly all the problems you can think of with your android devices.

Yes, if the IRS hadn't hit me so hard this year I'd consider a NC just to hack. And if I keep my (stock) SGT and use it as a mobile hot spot for the NC the lack of 3G on it wouldn't hurt so bad.

My opinion about the NC is that the ability to boot from the SD card is its most brilliant feature.

[wodin]

And I think the boys over at XDA should make it a priority to hack the bootloaders of ALL Android devices to do the same!

Of course, not having done any serious coding since the days of RSTS and VMS, it's entirely possible that I haven't the slightest idea about what I'm talking ablout.

[wodin]

[Off Topic]

Disclaimer, having just re-read the opening chapters of HP and the Goblet of Fire, I find that it was only in the movie version that Harry said "I LOVE magic!"

[/Off Topic]

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by kjk

Yes kennyc, please do so.

Not just me. I'm mostly pointing out your integrity and honesty to others.

[grumpy3b]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Not so. Sony had a 6" eink screen device out before the Kindle was even a thought. So Lab26 could not have dome this mysterious research. Amazon just used what was out there and what was out there was the eink Vizplex screen that Sony and others were or were going to be using. So sorry, no way there was research done.

actually didn't the K1 have the first generation of commercial screens and it was not a Vizplex? I know there is a noticeable difference between our K1 and k2 devices. The first Sony readers had the older eink screens as well.

Just asking out of curiosity not anything else.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by jocampo

So, how are you going to find out what ROM is right for you? The only way, besides reading, is installing. You are taking a risk anyway.

The reaseardh ook me 1hour. I googled, watched the Youtube videos read the web page(one page). The actual process of prep/download/install took me one more.

Originally Posted by jocampo

I even can afford losing or bricking my Galaxy Tab if I make a mistake, but for a device that most people people 500 or more, I would not recommend making experiments or test and see how it goes. Most of the time you can revert changes, others you cannot. So the risk is higher than the benefit, at least to me.

I agree this is why one should only install Stable ROMs.

Originally Posted by jocampo

Also, "how much you value" your spare time; or changing the question a bit, how much spare time you have for playing with your device? I don't know about you, but I'm really busy to spend hours searching and installing third party ROMs. I did it for my HTC cellphone and I'm still dealing with minor issues after several tries. So I gave up and will sell it on Amazon and buy a used stock Android phone instead.

You know Joe, as often as you frequent this site, do you really want to play the "I'm too busy card". I've learned early enough in life to auto translate "I'm too busy" to "I don't want to".

I agree the risk is there, I waited 8mo before I chose to ROM my phone. I did not do it for "fun" I did it because the phone did not work properly, it froze on me all the time and the GPS did not work. The ROMs fixed the GPS, freeze and lag issues. I had two choices buy a new phone @ $600 and hope I would not have any issues with this new phone or spend a couple hours and get what I want.

BTW the one thing you are overlooking is the time spent researching the product, I don't know what influences your purchasing decisions, but I personally spend a good amount of research a product before I buy. That time always far exceeds the amount of time ROMing a device.

=X=

[HansTWN]

I install a new ROM only if there is something in it I am really interested in. So, on average about once every 2 months. The nice thing about user ROMs is that they integrate new features you would never get with regular ROMs. And if you read the comments of the frequent flashers and hold off flashing until the bugs are worked out after release you are pretty much on the safe side. I get 30% longer battery life then with the official ROM, I have additional functions, and I always can go back.

And we really need to dispel the myth that the factory ROMs are "better" or "safer". Most of them really are buggy and unlike the user ROMs they haven't been paying much attention to user input. As for safety, I use a simple firewall that blocks off internet access from any app I don't specifically authorize.

The case can be made with Honeycomb that the sources have not been released -- that will, of course, impact the quality of user ROMs. But the reason Google hasn't released them is not because users have been running into a lot of problems with user ROMs, but rather because Google wants you to buy new devices and is worried that running Honeycomb on older phones might not work properly.

Everyone can decide for him- or herself. I am not trying to convince you here, I only wanted to clear up a few misconceptions. A lot of user ROMs are much superior to the official ROMs because they go into much greater detail, do more bug fixes, and add a lot of features you will never otherwise see on older devices. Especially on the Galaxy Tab a user ROM will run much much better than the really lame "company" version.

As for the "fun" part --- obviously not the flashing itself, but enjoying new functionality and interfaces on my old device just as if I had bought a new phone.

[RockdaMan]

http://www.lab126.com/index.htm

Our team is working with Electronic Paper Display (EPD) vendors to drive the invention of new reading devices.

See also the reqs in the ad for a new Senior Display Engineer.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I've considered buying a Nook Color just to fiddle with, but even that is...

I'm travelling to the US in a couple of weeks and am trying to find some sort of justification for picking one up to play with. I like the fact that (if I understand the research I've done correctly), you can 'root' in purely by setting up an SD card, and that removing the card would let it boot straight back to the original firmware. Makes me much more willing to poke at it.

[Noah98]

So far based on recent reviews, the Asus eee Transformer, Acer Iconia, and T-mobile G-Slate (only if you need a 3G contract) are all better than the Xoom. Also, the promising Toshiba tablet is set to release soon.

If you are in the market for an Android tablet, I would suggest holding out for just a few more weeks!

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Noah98

If you are in the market for an Android tablet, I would suggest holding out for just a few more weeks!

Which, I strongly suspect, is why the Xoom sales are 'only' in the 100,000s.

It's like if Apple released the iPad 2 and said that the iPads 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d were going to be available in a few weeks.

Graham

[pphilipp]

Originally Posted by Noah98

If you are in the market for an Android tablet, I would suggest holding out for just a few more weeks!

I somewhat agree.
But if a person's really interested in getting a capacitive tablet, at some point they have to quit waiting and jump right in.

Another thing, at this point in time it's not really the hardware where the weak link is. The hardware has caught up with the champ, it's on the software side where things must get up to speed and do the hardware justice.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by pphilipp

Another thing, at this point in time it's not really the hardware where the weak link is. The hardware has caught up with the champ, it's on the software side where things must get up to speed and do the hardware justice.

I think the software is better and after all, how many apps can you load on a tab, or pad, or Playbook anyway? Where the catching up has to happen is in the marketing dept!

[Noah98]

Originally Posted by pphilipp

I somewhat agree.
But if a person's really interested in getting a capacitive tablet, at some point they have to quit waiting and jump right in.

Another thing, at this point in time it's not really the hardware where the weak link is. The hardware has caught up with the champ, it's on the software side where things must get up to speed and do the hardware justice.

You are correct in that you can't wait forever, because there will always be bigger and better.

However, in the case of the Android tablet, there hasn't been a compelling device at a reasonable price. The Samsung Galaxy Tab (which is a stellar device) was way overpriced and only useful for those that wanted the 7" form factor (so not really an ipad competitor). The Mottorolla Xoom did not offer an affordable option until the wifi only model arrived, and still only comes in the $600 variety. Also, the screen quality is not on par with the competition.

While you shouldn't wait forever, you can be patient enough to wait for more than one viable option. The Xoom's only claim to fame is that it is the only large screen Android tablet that doesn't have a fatal flaw (compared with the cheapie options, The Viewsonic G Tablet with the poor screen, and the Archos 101 with questionable build quality and availability).

The Asus eee Transformer is much cheaper and has a better screen than the Xoom. It also has a unique feature (the keyboard dock).

The Acer Iconia has a solid build, comparable specs to the Xoom, and is $150 cheaper.

The Toshiba Tablet is also rumored to be cheaper, and has better features comapred with the Xoom (ex: user replaceable battery).

So, I say wait