I’m thinking of getting one for general surfing etc. Does anyone find that the lack of Flash support is actually a problem?

Really depends what you surf. You’ll find a lot of sites that use flash also have an iphone/pad version which works without.

Not really. If most of your flash use is Youtube, then that is taken care of with an app. Skyfire picks up a bit of slack as well, other than that most websites will having HTML5 alternatives or still be useable without the flash option.

Due to the market share iPads/iPhones etc have now, website designers are having to make their products and services useable on these devices. Otherwise they are shutting out a sizeable percentage of their market.

If you have an annoying younger brother it’s just the thing;

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5kLLKgtROc[/video]

Oh, crap wrong forum.

Ok, let’s make this bike related then: Is the lack of flash a problem for surfing the main mtb websites (Dirt, mtbr, STW, Pinkbike, NSMB etc?

STW was fine on my iphone (though I regularly had to cancel ‘report-post’ which I hit by mistake…

All the other sites you listed should be fine too.

As a previous iPhone owner I had my heart set on an iPad but having recently switched to a Samsung Galaxy S2 I’m far more interested in their tab instead of the iPad. The lack of flash isn’t an issue until you use a device that has flash enabled. I never appreciated how frustrating it was, especially browsing a lot of biking sites with videos that simply wont play on an Apple device.

Flash isn’t the only issue. As I travel a lot I watched a lot of films on the iphone and the constant need to convert them to a suitable format didn’t seem like an issue at the time, but with the Samsung I can stick films on there in whatever format I downloaded them in with no need to convert them. That’s so much more convenient. Not an issue if you don’t watch a lot of movies or tv shows on it, but it is a big deal for me.

None of the videos on the Dirt website show up on my iPhone (so I assume they don’t work on iPad either). They need to sort that out, it’s annoying and as someone said above they are shutting out a big percentage of users these days.

Funnily enough I was reading a review of the Galaxy tab last night and it wasn’t exactly glowing: The screen was good, but compared to the IPad it was poorly made and nowhere near as fast, or as smooth.

The other factor is security: Apparently the Android system is far less secure than the Apple OS.

I quite like the look of the Asus eeeeeeeeepad transformer too.

packer – Member
None of the videos on the Dirt website show up on my iPhone (so I assume they don’t work on iPad either). They need to sort that out, it’s annoying and as someone said above they are shutting out a big percentage of users these days.

Skyfire will sort that out though it is a bodge (it’s not as good a browser IMO) and it doesn’t allow you to skip through a video so you have to watch start to finish.

Flash isn’t the only issue. As I travel a lot I watched a lot of films on the iphone and the constant need to convert them to a suitable format didn’t seem like an issue at the time, but with the Samsung I can stick films on there in whatever format I downloaded them in with no need to convert them. That’s so much more convenient. Not an issue if you don’t watch a lot of movies or tv shows on it, but it is a big deal for me.

I’ll echo the above, although I went for a Xoom. Being able to just drag and drop anything in is very convenient. Also, it means I can use my work laptop for extra storage while travelling, then just add/remove stuff from the tablet whenever.

Can the flash issue be fixed with jailbreak?
I’ve jailbroke mine but don’t really know what it’s capable of.

iPad/Galaxy tablet/other….

What would you get. Me and the missus are going to treat ourselves to one in the next few months and iPad is at the top of the list. Mainly going to be used just for surfing…

Can the flash issue be fixed with jailbreak?
I’ve jailbroke mine but don’t really know what it’s capable of.

Jailbreak does not provide a Flash solution, and most likely never will. Check out the iPad Hacks forum on the MacRumors website to learn more about the benefits of jailbreaking (access to Cydia apps/tweaks being the main advantage).

iPad/Galaxy tablet/other….

What would you get. Me and the missus are going to treat ourselves to one in the next few months and iPad is at the top of the list. Mainly going to be used just for surfing…
If you “get” the Apple methodology then the iPad is the best choice. If you don’t, you will probably hate it. Not used any other tablet personally so can’t comment but I’ve not seen glowing review across the board for any of them (unlike the iPad)…

I’m actually moving towards a new laptop instead. These tablets all seem too clitchy/problematic at the moment.

I’m actually moving towards a new laptop instead. These tablets all seem too clitchy/problematic at the moment.

No current tablet is a replacement for a “proper” computer (despite what the ads may try to tell you). Having said that, I do most of my sofa-surfing on my iPad. The lack of Flash support is not a problem for me. YMMV.

These tablets all seem too clitchy/problematic at the moment.

Not really. It’s more they serve a certain purpose, it’s whether that purpose is suited to your needs.

But they all have issues that potentially can limit their use, do they not?

mikey74 – Member
But they all have issues that potentially can limit their use, do they not?

Shirley you’ve investigated these & know them, if you’ve decided on a tablet over a netbook/laptop.

EDIT: Seemingly the best way I’ve seen of differentiating between buying an ipad and the rest is, are you a geek?… buy an andriod tablet, want something that ‘just’ works, buy an ipad.

Shirley you’ve investigated these & know them, if you’ve decided on a tablet over a netbook/laptop.

Yes, hence why I am moving back towards a laptop.

Got an ipad and an SGS2 (has flash). Don’t miss the flash.

Tried various android tablets out the other day (will be getting one for work dev. stuff), I’d prefer my ipad 1 over any, as a consumer device. Far better software support, and felt faster in a lot of use.

Are you a geek?… buy an andriod tablet

I’m an epic geek, and my personal device is an ipad…

it’s a generalization, they don’t always work 😉

Geek here too, ipad2 (maybe 3) is on my shopping list, sometimes you just want something that works without any fuss.

Anyway to me the price difference is what would sell Android tablets to me, make em half the price of an ipad & they’d fly out…

I do find the lack of flash annoying, especially for biking sites I regularly visit such as Dirt where the videos will not play.

Check out my Mint Sauce cover…

sometimes you just want something that works

That is why I am attracted towards the Ipad. although I have never been interested in getting tied up in the whole “Apple thing”. I have never had an IPod or IPhone and don’t intend to either, but as you say, the Ipad just seems to work.

However, I have been thinking of getting rid of my pc, in which case a laptop would be a better choice, especially given as I enjoy photography and photo editing is currently somewhat limited on tablets.

Or do I buy an IPad now, and then buy a new laptop further down the line? That way I can have both

I enjoy photography and photo editing is currently somewhat limited on tablets.

You need a PC too really, but I really like loading the photos off my camera onto the ipad, then sitting on the sofa with a drink flicking through them, maybe making a few tweaks to see how things look in an editor on the ipad, or publish to flickr/facebook from there.

Nice bright screen, and holding the pictures in your hand is a very compelling way to view and share photos. Great way of showing pics of a trip etc. to family and friends too.

I would have thought a decent spec modern laptop would be able to deal with PS Elements and RAW processing.

iPads are brill. Don’t buy one just yet. Sit tight cos the iPad 3 could be just around the corner.

LOVE the Mint Sauce cover. Where did you sauce that from?

I bought an Ipad just because I could & I fancied one, not trying to sound conceited but I did really fancy one. It’s an absolutely fantastic bit of kit, it was invaluable on a recent trip abroad where the 3g came in to its own.
It will never replace my laptop, but I never expected it to, but as a casual entertainment device its unbeatable. I do have reservations, like the lack of charging from USB really does my head in, but in the grand scheme of things it’s not a big issue, none of them are…

iPads are brill. Don’t buy one just yet. Sit tight cos the iPad 3 could be just around the corner.

Don’t hold your breath.

a great toy for general surfing….get one you wont regret it!

agree that waiting for the “next best” could be a little frustrating.

We tested basically all the iPad type things we could get our hands on for work recently, and in almost every respect, probably because you have to do everything within the apple environment, the iPad won hands down.

The rest (Samsung, HP, Asus, Blackberry) ranged from totally, gobsmackingly, mind smashingly shite (Asus, Balckberry playbook), to just completely unusable (the rest).

It is quite staggering what apple have managed to do with the iPad, and as soon as you give up trying to fight the system and do things your own way, the more you get out of using the iPad.

I agree that I find Dirt annoying that the videos won’t show. Hat’s off to STW though for making all movies work off the bat. Nice job.

Kev

iPads are just too much ££££ for what they are IMO. Having said that I’m a shareholder in the UK company which provides the design for the graphics processing unit in iPads, iPhones and Apple TV, they get a royalty per device shipped so for all you prospective fanbois out there BUY, BUY, BUY 🙂

I’d wait, the high resolution version will be due out early next year.

I missed out on getting a couple of pairs of Oakleys for free the other week because of my ipad. Could have gone and switched the lap top on but then, who wants to wait more than 0.5 seconds for a computer to boot up?

Asus eeepad is pretty good and IMO the best alternative to the ipad.

😆 ^^

another wee interesting value prop: it’s been blistering hot weather here for a while, and having a device that stays cool on your lap is a godsend!

Kev

It works fine. And the lack of flash is rarely an issue. There are video players for it which will play almost any video format. They are not really laptop replacements. Although pages and keynote aren’t bad. Great for travelling, surfing on the sofa, and doing a lot of iPod type things. A great grown-up toy.

i tried watching the same videos on the ipad2, xoom and asus, the ipad played them smoother, where flash was required it didn’t play that smooth on the android tablets, only occasional do i come across a video i can’t watch, often videos will come up on another site in a format you can watch. Combined with the issues about getting updates at different times all over the world, the customer service offered by the android brands just doesn’t cut it. I bought an iPad2*

*disclaimer: I also have an Android phone so not a total apple geek.

surfing on an ipad1 now. Will buy ipad3 when released. Nothing i have seen comes close. Hope HTC come out with a top drawer android tablet.