Brother in law just switched and got an iPad Air. He LOVES it.

As previously noted, I'm still using my iPad 2. I love it. I literally use it for 2-3 hours every day (and have for the past 2 years) and the battery life is still strong. I've never had a software or hardware issue.

I imagine you'll love the Air.

about that

You're clearly a moron for paying more for an inferior product. :D

In all seriousness, after playing around with an AppleTV and now purchasing a Gbox Midnight MX2 to run XBMC, I now understand both camps better. The Gbox can do WAY WAY more than an AppleTV, but it also is subject to repeated crashing and tons of setup and bugfixing (I can't tell you how many hours I've spent tinkering with it, reading message boards, and watching tutorial videos). That's okay, though, because I've enjoyed playing with the toy and spend as much time exploring it as I do actually watching stuff on it. An AppleTV, on the other hand, can't do nearly as much stuff... but it's stable, does what you want, and just works intuitively right out of the box.


I think that dichotomy goes for a lot of Apple vs. competitors.

^Once I've had something for a while I'll usually start hacking it. All of my phones have eventually been CM'd and my current phone is getting to the point where I'm going to want to play with it. Even the recent iPad purchase will eventually go through a jailbreak.

I just don't want to have to mess with it day one. Unless it's free.

I don't know if the HDX has changed things or not but we rid ourselves of the kids' Kindle Fire's due to the lack of apps. Sure, there are hundreds of apps available via the Amazon store but there are hundreds of thousands via Google Play that you cannot download because the Kindle is locked in to Amazon's store and only Amazon's store.

Yep.

I recently acquired an iMac mid-2011 21.5. As a gaming rig, it isn't what I had on Windows because the software catalog just doesn't exist. But it just plain works. I don't have anywhere near the persistent tiny issues that plague Windows.

I don't have a problem with Macs, except for cost. For the gaming machine I built a year ago which rounded out to about $600 (Windows machine), a comparable Mac in terms of horsepower would be over $2k. I'm willing to put up with Windows annoyances and much larger game selection for the $1400 trade-off to get a Mac and fewer bugs...

I have both Macs and PCs. I don't have any problem with Windows 7 at all.

My gaming rig is a Mac Pro running Windows 7. I've added a nice beefy Radeon card and games look amazing.

For mixing my music and stuff, the Mac can do more with much less CPU.

And despite the lack of a gaming catalog, the games that I do have run much better natively on Mac than they ever did on Windows (I've done some benchmarking of Rome Total War, which was released in 2005 and isn't a high-end graphics beast).

I didn't have PROBLEMS. But there are certain "annoyances" there, it's just not as stable as my Mac, most likely due to the uncoupling of the hardware and OS.

Yes, Mac's are expensive and that's because the hardware options are much more scrutinized and limited. The result is a better-running system.

Unfortunately, the only Win 7 license I had left was already locked to a different set of hardware. I couldn't justify paying for another license just to play a few games.

Their app store has gotten much better .. more than enough coverage for the casual user. Someone more serious should be looking at switching it to CM anyway so it's academic.

There really isn't anything wrong with Fire OS 3.0.. yes, it's a bit dumbed down from vanilla Android but it's really not much more dumbed down than iOS is. Which is why I recommend it to anyone looking at the iPad Air. The ONLY disadvantage is the smaller app store but 90% of the users out there wouldn't care or even notice.

I will say.. the MAYDAY button seems a bit creepy to me. I'm all for 24/7 instant support but I don't want some weirdo looking at me while it happens.

You and I normally agree, but not here. Comparing iOS to Fire OS, I can't even... And that's not to take anything away from Amazon, but iOS is miles ahead.

And the Mayday button doesn't allow them to see you, just for you to see them.

I have no problem recommending the Nexus, iPad, or Fire lines. It really all comes down to the person and what ecosystem they want to be invested in. These last holidays, my family all had a mix of the three and I don't think anyone would have been happier with a different one. People just need to buy what they use. They're all pretty mature at this point.

Actually, for my kids, the Kindle vs. Android debate came down to the same issue that appears with Windows vs. OSX/Linux - games.

The Android can do pretty much everything the Kindle OS can do (there are some limits on Kindle services like cloud music and books with Android, so there's that) but the catalog of quality time wasters isn't even closely comparable.

I agree with you though. For most people, it won't matter. We bought my MIL a Fire for Christmas. She'll love it, it's easy and reliable.

It's also worth noting that Google is making it harder and harder for forks to survive in the "android" ecosystem. There is an increasing amount of proprietary code that app developers rely on.

I've been making a conscious effort to use the Nexus 7 (first gen) that Google gave me. Overall it's okay…but it falls short in a few key ways.

- Battery life, especially when on standby, is terrible. I've gotten used to being able to leave a device (whether it's my MacBook Air or one of the iPads) around for days without a significant drop in battery. Now I just power the Nexus down when I'm not using it.
- The typography looks cheap and sloppy. Maybe there are some browsers other than Chrome that are a little better.
- The quality of software in the Play store doesn't even come close to what exists in the iOS ecosystem.

I've rooted it and have tried some of the alternative UIs, but they're still just launching the same sub-standard set of apps.

That said, I like the 7" form factor more than I thought that I would. I like widgets in concept, but a lot of them are kind of ugly. The Gmail app is pretty slick and the swipe keyboards are super cool.

Overall if people ask I'm still recommending iOS devices, but these are good enough to keep if you get them for free with Fiber or at a trade show.

And since this had moved into desktop discussion for a little bit, I'm going to pick up a 27" iMac in the next few weeks with a Fusion drive. Looking forward to seeing how the PCIe based SSD storage stacks up to the SATA SSDs that I've got in my Mac Pro.

heh

Pulled the trigger on an iPad Air this past week. The responsiveness especially when typing seems to be improved and just a better\easier experience. os7 design looks great on there and app wise I continue to find stuff I use daily. Thing is a lot lighter. Wish I could AirDrop between ios7 and osx but no biggie.

For what it's worth...

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/03/g...s-ios-tablets/

Android should pass Apple. There's how many Android tablets from how many retailers? There's only one Apple Ipad.

You also have to count Kindle, which is selling very well and is technically an Android device.

Not to mention you can buy Android tablets for well under $100 now. They're flimsy pieces of garbage, but they exist.

Hey AustinChief? Ever going to make good on our tablet bet? You've yet to produce any data that says Apple was anywhere close to being under 15% of the market share. DaFace's article a few posts above even shows Apple at 36% last year. Are you ever going to concede that Apple hasn't been below 15% market share?

Don't hold your breath. You know he'll show up with a justification explaining how this latest just shows that he's even MORE right than he originally said. He should have been a lawyer. :D

My iPad 2 is still going strong. Someday, I'll probably upgrade, but it's difficult to justify it at this point.

Yeah, my iPad 2 is as good now as it was the day I got it, really. I can't complain.

But to illustrate my point, both of my girls have 10" Archos tablets which were like $125 each and so far, they've had zero issues in about a year.

Yeah. My son's Kindle Fire HD performs like a champ as well (though there are issues with the Netflix app).

Not even close. I showed you the numbers (from a few years back) that showed that if you count the white label (mostly Chinese) tablets that Apple was below 35% back THEN. I can guarantee they are far below 17% (that was the bet I believe) now.. the question is whether they were or weren't when our bet concluded. The problem is that the only reliable source I know of for accurate numbers that include white label tablets makes you pay for the reports. Last I checked it was something like $1000 for the report we need.

DaFace's report is the same old nonsense that only counts branded tablets. No way I would make the bet if I couldn't include white label tablets.

Come on man. Everyone here knows that Apple's iPad never went below 15% market share. It was well above when we made the bet, and you've shown nothing that shows it was ever anywhere close to being under.

Please post something that supports your stance or be a man and pay up. I've given you more than enough time.

Dude don't pull that shit. You know the bet included the shadow market and YOU have yet to post numbers that show Apple above 15% in that regard. Do I need to go back through this thread and show where you agreed on all of this?

Apple shipped something like 74 million in 2013, I know that JUST WHITE LABEL shipments was over 100 million last year. (Hell China alone accounted for 91 million of that) The off the cuff math from that should place Apple right around the 17% range that I predicted.

You lost the bet. Man up and put your money where your mouth was. Apple has never been under 15% tablet market share. There's not a single source anywhere that shows that it ever has. If you actually knew anything about JUST WHITE LABEL shipments, you'd post a link referencing those. But you don't have that because it doesn't exist. Your off the cuff math doesn't cut it. Gartner has a category classed as OTHER that covers other tablets.

It's time for you to man up and pay me.

Digitimes listed 90.4 million white label shipments from China in 2013 unfortunately that figure comes from articles referencing the numbers... feel free to pay $2500 for access to the actual data.

So **** YOU for calling me a liar and saying it doesn't exist you piece of shit.

I am not passing my off the cuff math as any kind of proof of anything other than the fact that using reports that only count brand name tablets is not sufficient. I've been clear about this throughout the thread.

If it exists, then put forth some proof. I've given you way over a year after our bet to put forth any kind of proof, and that was after extending the end date of the bet already. You've yet to put forth anything other than unreferenced claims. Either prove that Apple's market share dipped below 15% or pay your bet. It's that simple.

The suspense is killing us.

I LOVE how you think you can call me a liar and then just move on. That's a dirtbag move on your part and you know it. Care to retract that?

As for burden of proof.. why is it on ME? You have yet to show any number that include white label shipments. So why don't YOU show some proof?

I'll have no problem if you can show the data that includes white label shipments. (not just China but India, Malaysia and Korea.. Korea may be included in Digitimes data but I'm fairly certain India is not, no clue on Malaysia)

I never called you a liar, I said your data doesn't exist. So far that has proven completely true.

The burden of proof is on you because at no time has Apple been anywhere close to under 15% market share. Everyone knows that. The ball started in my court with Apple owning over 1/2 the market share. Gartner's data shows that. Gartner even lists OTHER, which covers white box shipments. That's the entire point of "OTHER".

IDC also shows the same: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24420613

They also list OTHER.

That's 2 independent sources that clearly show Apple is nowhere close to being under 15%, which includes OTHER categories that cover white box.

There's my proof. And you still can't find any source at all that shows Apple being under 15%.

Do the right thing. Honor your bet.

Other does NOT include white box. I showed you this earlier in the thread. I also showed you earlier that IDC data has the same problem with only counting branded tablets. Go back through the thread and you can see where the few times I had access to white box data it directly contradicts the IDC reports of the time.

So you have nothing even close to proof and you should know that.

And saying the data I gave you doesn't exist is calling me a liar. Just because I'm not willing to pay $2k for you to see the data doesn't "prove" it doesn't exist. That's idiotic. I told you that there were 91 million Chinese white label shipments (I may be off by .6 on that one) last year and you claimed that the number doesn't exist. That's calling me a liar. Like I said, do you care to retract that? If not, fine, we'll assume you are saying I am lying about that figure.

Of course OTHER includes white box. You've never shown otherwise. Please point out where you have other than your own claim. Your entire argument hinges on that, but you have no data to show for it. If you can't show it, then we have to assume it doesn't exist.

If you're claiming that the data from IDC is incorrect, and the data from Gartner is incorrect, then it's your responsibility to prove that data is incorrect. You're the only one claiming their data is wrong.

Show me, or I expect you to pay up your bet.

I've shown it earlier in this very thread and you even acknowledged it. Search the thread, it's there. I feel ZERO motivation to show you something I have already shown you.. especially after you've been a complete asshole. Do your own work ****stick.

EDIT: and I'm not claiming the data is INCORRECT just incomplete and doesn't fit the parameters of our bet. OTHER in the IDC report is for the Kindle Fire, Google Nexus etc.. This is not anything new.. it has been discussed NUMEROUS times in the thread... it's pretty outrageous for you to pretend it hasn't now.

It's not my responsibility. I've held up my end of the bet. I bet that Apple wouldn't be below 15% in the tablet market. I have Gartner data that supports that claim, and does so by a huge margin that even your white box claims can't overcome. I have IDC data that supports that claim, and also does so by a huge margin.

You've not put forth any data that shows anything to the contrary. Only claims of mysterious white boxes that you can't seem to find any proof of anymore.

Don't be a bet welcher. I thought you had more dignity than that.

Dude you are being a completely delusional asshat. I have shown you numerous times throughout this thread that the IDC data doesn't include white box shipments and that would be key to the whole thing. We discussed all of this in a civil manner earlier yet now you pretend as if you have suddenly forgotten all of that. Don't talk to ME about dignity.. you are behaving like a complete dirtbag.. first by claiming I made up the white box figure I gave you then by conveniently "forgetting" the data that showed that IDC (and others) obviously don't use whitebox figures in their reports.

Are you trying to pander to the people who haven't followed this thread close enough? Or do you honestly believe the bullshit you are trying to shovel?

I've brought this up multiple times since the bet ended so long ago. Each time you said you were going to find that data that shows you're right. That has never come, and it doesn't appear that you have any intention of trying to provide it. In post #2031, I addressed your digitimes source regarding white box tablets. It specifically says it's numbers include white box tablets. Here's the quote:

Apple is still way above the 15% cutoff for our bet.

You've had way over a year to address any of these issues. My patience has expired.

It's time to pay up. This has gone on long enough, and you've made no attempt to resolve this. I have data that shows you are wrong. You have no data that shows you are correct. Please make arrangements for my tablet.

I could care less about your patience. I have attempted to get accurate white box figures but without paying for them I haven't found a source. Of course you also have "made no attempt" to show any accurate data.

I will admit that the Digitimes ABSTRACT you posted is the closest thing we have at the moment to anything resembling accurate info but unfortunately if you click the link you will notice that the full figures are not available unless you pay $1685 for them.

According to that report.. Just Android tablets was 87 million in 2012. Apple sold what 65 million in 2012? Add in Windows tablets and you are well below the "projected" sub-40% number given past data already. This proves that the IDC is way off...and it doesn't give you any proof since whoever wrote the abstract is projecting a number that very clearly already had been passed... making it imperative to look at the actual numbers.

This is why I stated THEN and numerous times before that we need to see real numbers that include ALL the tablets. You seemed fine with that originally, going so far as to say that you thought the bet would be close-ish and that we would need to find numbers/sources to agree on.

BTW: Gartner claimed that Android sales were 53.3 million in 2012... so yet again more proof they DO NOT count white box shipments in their figures.

Gartner absolutely does include white box sales.

Here's an article from Digitimes regarding Gartner's 2014 numbers including white box tablets:

http://i59.tinypic.com/2ch5guw.jpg

Just what do you think those 60 million OTHER units are for ****'s sake?

The white box units are included, and you owe me a tablet.

Is this a hill worth dying on?

Holy crap you are bad at math. Ok so Digitimes says there were 87 million androids shipped in 2012. The table you posted says there were 61 million ipads shipped. 87+61=148 not 116. AND that doesn't even account for NON-Android tablets (Win7/RT/8 etc) So if Gartner is accounting for white box how do you explain the massive discrepancy?

The quote you posted only shows that Gartner recognizes the white box segment it in no way say they include it in their data.. and obviously they don't since the numbers very clearly don't add up.

And the 60 million OTHER units are other branded tablets not in the list... you know like Google, Dell, Sony, ACER, Archos, etc...

lol


So predictable.

I might just send him a tablet to shut him up but in no way will I concede the bet until I see real numbers especially after he called me a liar earlier. **** that. The problem is that he is being a complete prick and trying to change the parameters after the fact. I'm guessing he just really needs a tablet right now or is on the rag.

And you can **** yourself as well. This isn't "lawyering" these are the actual NUMBERS. Would you concede a bet based on something you very clearly discussed earlier as not a valid metric? Go back through the thread and you'll see I made this clear all along.

I may very well have lost the bet, I don't have access to anything but snippets of the actual data... but Fish doesn't either and is now being a disingenuous prick trying to pretend we haven't gone over this ground from the onset.

Then just show me a reference that supports your numbers. I've put forth multiple references to support my claim. You've claimed they're inaccurate dozens of different ways. But what you haven't been able to do is show anything concrete that disproves the numbers or supports Apple's market share ever being close to below 15%. Or even 25%.

Forgive me if I don't take your word over the widely used data from several different global technology market organizations.

If it were actually close, it would be different. But there's not a single reference anywhere on the internet that says Apple's tablet market share has ever been under 20%.

Those numbers I just showed you are from YOUR sources.. just look at the last few posts YOU made. Jesus.

And the problem with your numbers is not that they are inaccurate it's that they are only meant to ONLY address the BRANDED market. I'm sure they are fine for that... they just don't help us any.


I'll do the slow math for you again...

YOU posted a Digitimes report that said 2012 Android shipments was 87 million.
YOU posted a Gartner report that says Apple shipped 61 mil in that same time.
YOU posted a Gartner report that says the total shipped was 116 mil.

There is just one reference for the numbers.. your own posts don't line up.

And yet again you ignore the MULTITUDE of times where we discussed this. I have made it clear from the VERY beginning that the IDC/Gartner type of reports you see all over the internet only deal with BRANDED tablets and will not be usefull for us. You didn't take issue back then, yet now you seem to want to change things.

EDIT: How shit went down on this...

Fish: I'll bet ya blah blah blah
Austinchief: ok but we need to include white box tablets not just the IDC/GARTNER type of data
Fish: fine whatever .. I'm sure we can find data to agree on
Austinchief: sounds good

(time passes)

Fish: LOOK! IDC/GARTNER SAYS I WIN!

Actually that was only after you realized you would have to hitch your wagon solely to white box unit numbers that would prove harder to track.

Just find me a link that says Apple tablet market share was ever under 20%. Show me that you're not the only person in the world who thinks that possible.

ROFL

Anecdotally, Android tablet marketshare in my house has seen gains. It peaked at 50% one day when I borrowed someone's PwnPad to play with.

Since one of the Androids was on loan and the other was given to the household as a gift from the manufacturer. The two iPads were purchased and the next tablet purchase is likely to be an iPad.

Hopefully this anecdote shows how ridiculous the market share argument is or, alternatively, the stats get included into this highly entertaining argument between two supposedly full grown men.

I feel like the French manning the Maginot Line!

I got my iMac, iPhone, and iPad 2. Everybody else here has Android phones and Android tablets, plus Windows PCs (that they expect me to support :D).

Luckily my daughters wanted iPods for Christmas.

I have an iPad 1. It's great for surfing around.

Have a Sammy Note that I do all manner of things with. I like the Note better, but whatevs.

I am having some issues with this iPad crashing constantly on safari or chrome. Googled the issue and made some changes that have decreased the frequency, but not totally repaired the issue. Not huge. Just annoying.

I have an iphone 4 (gonna upgrade soon to a 5 probably) I also have a Google Nexus 10. I like both devices.

My neighbor has a Galaxy 4 and that shit feels like a plastic toy. I like the way the Iphones just feel. It feels like its built sturdy and not cheaply. Odd thing is my Nexus 10 feels pretty damn sturdy. I guess its just the Samsung phones that feel like they are cheaply made

My wife has a Galaxy S4 and I don't see how you can call it a phone. It's too big.

I call it a phablet.

Just picked up an iPad 3, hope it doesn't become obsolete any time soon lol.

It won't. I still have an iPad 2 that works great
Posted via Mobile Device

AustinChief, do you have any new information? Our bet ended quite some time ago.

Yeah, you should be fine for a while. My first gen still hums along for netflix and the battery is still pretty amazing. My less than six months old Nexus 7 will go two days without a charge while the first gen iPad gets charged maybe once every two weeks.

Been wanting an iPad for a while....after messing around with Hearthstone on a buddy's at work it expedited the process.

Juat purchased an ipad4 froma desperate college student again. God I love the pawn business.

Still getting used to that keyboard? :p

Wasn't using on that post.

BTW, I got it for $250.00. 16 gig. It's a sweet little machine.

Nice!

New Apple offerings unveiled today.

Do you want?


http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2...hone/71921438/
Posted via Mobile Device

The new Apple TV is $149.

Yea, I read it's going to be somewhat of a gaming console as well.

http://i57.tinypic.com/4vohzn.jpg

LMAO

Notice the date. This was released in 2012....

It's basically the Fire TV, but with an Apple on it.

Holy shit that guy nailed it!