Tablet discussion: Acer, iPad, Xoom, Galaxy Tab, ect....

[Shawn Hopkins]

If you're a Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited subscriber they've just added beta support for tablets on their website. It's clunky and it's not as good as a dedicated app, but it works, and for me that really removes the last issue I had with taking all of my digital sources to the superior to PC tablet reading format. It only seems to work for paid subscribers now, though. I accidentally signed in with a free account first and got the same old flash warning message.

[mistergoodman]

If you're a Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited subscriber they've just added beta support for tablets on their website. It's clunky and it's not as good as a dedicated app, but it works, and for me that really removes the last issue I had with taking all of my digital sources to the superior to PC tablet reading format. It only seems to work for paid subscribers now, though. I accidentally signed in with a free account first and got the same old flash warning message.

Thanks for alerting me to this. I had let my membership lapse, but when I saw your message I took advantage of the offer on their site for a free 30 days. As you note, without an actual membership you're stuck with the Flash interface, even if you're signed in to a Marvel.com account. However, armed with a free 30 day membership I was offered the chance to use the new beta once I attempted to read a comic. On the beta the panel by panel view was too small to be of any use on the iPad, but the page by page view worked great on the iPad, especially when using a browser that allows full screen browsing. Right now I'm reading Incredible Hercules, and then I'll check out Chaos War.

[west3man]

Thank you both. I'm loving ComiXology and my GitCorp goodies, these days, but that's a nice option to keep in-mind.

[Manga4life]

Well, I traded in my Asus Transformer Prime for $199 to a local tablet dealer and paid an extra $100 for the Nexus 10, which is absolutely amazing running Android Jelly Bean (the best mobile platform ever, no argument whatsoever). The screen even has a better resolution than the "New iPad" and has all the connection and apps in the market I need to do the things I want to do, I just wish they'd release this tablet on a grand scale like they have the Nexus 7. Speaking of the Nexus 7, I sell these in my work place and I've NEVER seen a tablet fly off the shelves quite like this, even over iPad I'm selling these these at at least a 3-1 ratio, it's even demolishing the Kindle Fire HD (a limited Android based reader/tablet).

Congrats on the success, Google!

[Shawn Hopkins]

The Comixology blog had a post about how the Comixology app was the third-highest grossing iPad app of 2012. I think that speaks well for the future of digital comics.

http://blog.comixology.com/2012/12/1...d-app-of-2012/

The only sad thing is that the second highest grossing app is a ridiculous fake slot machine, and the first is some kind of pay-to-play city builder/Pokemon deal.

[Manga4life]

A couple different tablet based news sites have bee reporting that more people are using Android now than they are using Windows, which is huge for the mobile OS. Apparently tablet and cell phone sales have swallowed sakes of laptop and desktop PC's and Android is now the largest platform in the world. Kinda cool, IMO.

They kind of went the Windows rout too with allowing multiple OEM's to use their software on their hardware versus creating one device to house their OS.

[jaw2929]

I've got the first version of the Kindle Fire and I really like it a lot. Admittedly it's the ONLY tablet I have and with the introduction of the new Kindle Fire HD.... Well while it looks cool, I'm good keeping the one I have!

[west3man]

I just used the Surface Touchtype keyboard and was pretty impressed. It seems like a nice product. I'm still not buying into RT but I think it could work well for some.

Too bad they took so long to come out with it. Too bad they took so long to get it to broader markets like Best Buy. And it's too bad they didn't couldn't live up to their promise of no-compromises.

[Gryphon]

Is there a jailbreak for ipod touch 5?

[Gryphon]

I dont know where else to ask this but, how would I open an account on the US app store if I am in canada. I have been told it is possible but I don't know how to do it.

[Iangould]

just checked best buy's website and they are selling refurbished tablets for $80, which i feel is a major ripoff. i do smell a big business opportunity in usa for tablets, anyone interested?

I've been importing tablets from China and selling them in my store and via eBay here in Australia for about a year with minimal success.

There's too much of a stigma associated with "no-brand" Chinese good and people attach a lot of significance to a known band and their warranty.

[Manga4life]

My first tablet was a Chinese one I got in 2009, it was an Android 2.1 tablet with a horrible resistive touch screen and a low 4GB of internal memory running on 256 MB of RAM. At the time the iPad didn't exist and I thought the idea of having a mobile WiFi device that could access the internet that was 10.1 inches would be really handy (and it was), but the performance left a lot to be desired. I used this tablet up until mid 2011 when I got the Asus Transformer, which was a MASSIVE upgrade from the Chinese tablet with a much better processor, much more internal storage, higher RAM, and a capacitive touch screen with an IPS display. I freakin' loved that tablet and would still be using it today if I didn't get such a wonderful deal on a Nexus 10.1 from Samsung. I also got an iPad 2 last Christmas (2011) because my mom didn't know I had a tablet and when she came over with it I was in a state of shock. I really had no need for an iPad since I has the significantly better Transformer but I accepted it anyhow and used it here and there as my "at home" tablet while I carried my Transformer with me everywhere I went and tethered wireless through my Android phone (rooted) so I could access the web and apps anywhere I went. Now with my Nexus 10 I have no need for any other tablet and will eventually sell off my iPad 2 and used my Transformer as a trade in toward the Nexus tablet, I would've used the iPad as a trade in but the dealer said they didn't have a high demand for Apple products for some reason.

Right now I'm personally floored by the amount of Nexus 7 sales, this holiday season I sold more Nexus 7 tablets than any other tablet including all iPad's, Kindle Fire's, Nook's, Asus Transformers, Acer's, or anything. If I had the need for a 7 inch tablet this would be the one, but the bigger the better for me.

[Shawn Hopkins]

I've been importing tablets from China and selling them in my store and via eBay here in Australia for about a year with minimal success.

There's too much of a stigma associated with "no-brand" Chinese good and people attach a lot of significance to a known band and their warranty.

That's a good point. There are decent no-brand Chinese tablets, but I don't think the bad reputation is going away in the U.S. because too many people have been burned by the bad ones that pop up at supermarkets and drug stores and tend to have flaws like being underpowered, having resistive touchscreens, and not being able to connect to the Google Play store. I think it's going to continue to be a product for the really savvy consumer who knows exactly what they're getting in to, and the really dumb one who thinks they're getting something as good as an iPad for $80. The people in between will play it safe and go for name brands.

[Manga4life]

I don't know, I've had customers come into my workplace with cheap Chinese tablets they paid between $100-$200 for and they always feel cheap and flimsy. Most of the times they have a previous Android OS on them and to upgrade them it always seems to be a hassle, that and most of the screens suck despite being a multi-touch display. You get what you pay for with most of those Chinese tablets, almost every one I've played with in the past 6 months have been a nightmare.

[mistergoodman]

I agree. Hell, Google is basically selling the Nexus tablets at cost to get a foothold in the tablet market, and they still start at $200. Even if the Chinese companies skimp on paying for patents (which implies a certain nonchalance about business ethics that may find it's way into their products in other ways) a reliable product with good performance and some actual support comes with a cost. And how many software developers are testing their apps on Chinese no-name models with minimal distribution in the US?