iTunes in Lebanon

[Mared_3400]

Originally Posted by lebanese_a

From the US, it's available at Virgin bass if anyone is interested for 1050$ for the 16GB version!

Since you are getting it from the US, have you considered the BlackBerry PlayBook or the Motorola Xoom instead?
I myself would recommend the BlackBerry PlayBook for you. A much more superior user experience.

[lebanese_a]

Originally Posted by Mared_3400

Since you are getting it from the US, have you considered the BlackBerry PlayBook or the Motorola Xoom instead?
I myself would recommend the BlackBerry PlayBook for you. A much more superior user experience.

Reviews of the Motorola Xoom agree that the software still needs polishing, I also have an android phone and as stated in my first post the android marketplace experience in Lebanon is very crappy! In addition to that the iPad already has a lot of interesting apps that I want and those are not yet developed for the Xoom or will never be developed to it.
I know you did not mention it but I also tried the Galaxy Tab and I have to say the experience was really bad pinch to zoom is really slow for example and that's a seriously simple feature that everyone managed to implement correctly already!
I saw some videos of the Playbook, while it looks interesting it didn't manage to convince me to buy it as it doesn't offer anything special + it's not even released yet.
The only other Tab I might consider buying is the HP one but this isn't coming before summer.
Note that my first reaction to the iPad 1 was that I would never buy it, apps and trying it + the need of a simple good device for casual browsing the net and reading stuff convinced me to buy it. I was actually considering buying a Kindle in its place and if the reading experience it offers is not great I might still get an e-Reader I guess.

[Mared_3400]

Originally Posted by lebanese_a

Reviews of the Motorola Xoom agree that the software still needs polishing, I also have an android phone and as stated in my first post the android marketplace experience in Lebanon is very crappy! In addition to that the iPad already has a lot of interesting apps that I want and those are not yet developed for the Xoom or will never be developed to it.
I know you did not mention it but I also tried the Galaxy Tab and I have to say the experience was really bad pinch to zoom is really slow for example and that's a seriously simple feature that everyone managed to implement correctly already!
I saw some videos of the Playbook, while it looks interesting it didn't manage to convince me to buy it as it doesn't offer anything special + it's not even released yet.
The only other Tab I might consider buying is the HP one but this isn't coming before summer.
Note that my first reaction to the iPad 1 was that I would never buy it, apps and trying it + the need of a simple good device for casual browsing the net and reading stuff convinced me to buy it. I was actually considering buying a Kindle in its place and if the reading experience it offers is not great I might still get an e-Reader I guess.

I agree with you with the Galaxy tab... I consider it a complete failure and was released way too soon user experience is really low.
As for the Xoom, software definitely needs polishing, but this all happens in a software push. If you are looking for a 10" tablets I would recommend the Xoom as it will offer more features and power than iPad.

PlayBook... It will be officially released in 8 days. For me this is the tablet I will be picking for the following reasons. Processing and memory power, portability (7" and 400g), QNX OS, true multitasking, micro hdmi and the ability to have a presenter mode, and finally the ability to bridge it to my BlackBerry.
I agree with you that you still didn't get the chance to try it which explains a lot, but after having my hands on the device for 2 days it completely erased my doubts.

[lebanese_a]

Originally Posted by Mared_3400

I agree with you with the Galaxy tab... I consider it a complete failure and was released way too soon user experience is really low.
As for the Xoom, software definitely needs polishing, but this all happens in a software push. If you are looking for a 10" tablets I would recommend the Xoom as it will offer more features and power than iPad.

PlayBook... It will be officially released in 8 days. For me this is the tablet I will be picking for the following reasons. Processing and memory power, portability (7" and 400g), QNX OS, true multitasking, micro hdmi and the ability to have a presenter mode, and finally the ability to bridge it to my BlackBerry.
I agree with you that you still didn't get the chance to try it which explains a lot, but after having my hands on the device for 2 days it completely erased my doubts.

How did you get to try it for two days? Anyways I can see how this device has an advantage for you, I just don't share the same priorities you have, the screen size does not annoy me, I don't really need the multitasking since I won't do anything productive on the device (I will use it to "consume" info not "produce", I will still use my laptop for that). The new iPad also has a dongle that adds HDMI capabilities but I doubt I will use it, I have my PS and a WD TV Live to watch shows and movies from and while I might use it to do some presentations at work or university I'll probably be needing the VGA adapter and not the HDMI one. Finally I do not have nor am I planning to get a BB so that's also something I won't use!

I personally think that the 2 companies who might have a chance to offer something good against the iPad are HP and BB since they will be in control of the software and the Hardware but you cannot deny that it is apple that is currently leading while others are still copying...

[Mared_3400]

Originally Posted by lebanese_a

How did you get to try it for two days? Anyways I can see how this device has an advantage for you, I just don't share the same priorities you have, the screen size does not annoy me, I don't really need the multitasking since I won't do anything productive on the device (I will use it to "consume" info not "produce", I will still use my laptop for that). The new iPad also has a dongle that adds HDMI capabilities but I doubt I will use it, I have my PS and a WD TV Live to watch shows and movies from and while I might use it to do some presentations at work or university I'll probably be needing the VGA adapter and not the HDMI one. Finally I do not have nor am I planning to get a BB so that's also something I won't use!

I got to test the pre-release version as part of my work. Anyway at this point although the official release days is not till the 19th, but most of the electronic stores in North America are having demo sessions about the playbook. I do understand that iPad also has a dongle that adds HDMI capability, but again that is something you will need to buy on top of your $550 iPad instead of having it built in.

Originally Posted by lebanese_a

I personally think that the 2 companies who might have a chance to offer something good against the iPad are HP and BB since they will be in control of the software and the Hardware but you cannot deny that it is apple that is currently leading while others are still copying...

I personally think that nothing will compete with iPad nor with the PlayBook. Once the PlayBook is released, iPad will shift to the regular consumer, while BB will have the business users (governmental agencies, organizations and so on) plus a fairly shares of the regular consumer.