Vega still the way to go?

[Guest Mark_L]

Well, I used to think the vega was the best way to go, it may still be if you are on a budget and can get it for £199. However I decided that as it cannot play high profile H264 and the audio was, well, !!!! SHITE !!!!!, I might as well get the IPAD as it is a far superior device in all aspects. I got a refurb for PCWORLD for £299 with full warranty.

Now i'm no ifan, I despise Itunes and apple in general but I am really happy I shelled out the extra £50, the screen is way way better than the Vega, as is the battery life and audio quality. The audio / music DAW apps are plentiful and general apps are of better quality generally than the android efforts. (just my opinion)

I think Android really has go a long way to go before it will seriously appeal to musicians like myself, a the moment its nothing more than a glorified Phone OS with some tablet abilities.

And now for the trolls, be kind....

Every device has its own plus and minus points, and no device is the 'best' in all situations.

I love my Vega, and if i was offered an I-pad I would not swap even though I'd agree that the I-pad does have a better screen.

However, I'd say the battery life on my Vega running Android 2.3 is better than any Ipad I have ever tried, and the audio quality on both Vega and Ipad isn't great, although on both it seems surprisingly 'ok' most of the time.

Plugging in a good set of headphones transforms both devices.

I supose I can best sum it up like this.... if I had to recomend a tablet for my parents it would be an Ipad, but if I had to recomend a tablet for my friend it would be someting running android.

I think we all know that in the end the open nature of the Android OS will outgrow Apple.. I can see Apple repeating the mistakes it made with Apple PC's vs's Windows/Intel PC's all over again.

But which ever proves to be the most dominent, you still need to use the right tool for the job, which is why lots of people who like graphics and music like and use Apple PC's still.

I hope you have lots of fun with the I-pad, in many ways they are good devices.

[Guest Vansphone]

Every device has its own plus and minus points, and no device is the 'best' in all situations.

I love my Vega, and if i was offered an I-pad I would not swap even though I'd agree that the I-pad does have a better screen.

However, I'd say the battery life on my Vega running Android 2.3 is better than any Ipad I have ever tried, and the audio quality on both Vega and Ipad isn't great, although on both it seems surprisingly 'ok' most of the time.

Plugging in a good set of headphones transforms both devices.

I supose I can best sum it up like this.... if I had to recomend a tablet for my parents it would be an Ipad, but if I had to recomend a tablet for my friend it would be someting running android.

I think we all know that in the end the open nature of the Android OS will outgrow Apple.. I can see Apple repeating the mistakes it made with Apple PC's vs's Windows/Intel PC's all over again.

But which ever proves to be the most dominent, you still need to use the right tool for the job, which is why lots of people who like graphics and music like and use Apple PC's still.

I hope you have lots of fun with the I-pad, in many ways they are good devices.

I agree with everything in your post with a couple of exceptions. The battery life on my iPad is much longer than my Vega and for this reason it is the one I choose for long train trips. Also I find the audio on the iPad in noticeably better than the Vega. I have tried side by side tests with a three or four different earphones and you can really hear the difference.

However, as I said with the exception of the about I think you hit the nail on the head.

[Guest Mark_L]

I agree with everything in your post with a couple of exceptions. The battery life on my iPad is much longer than my Vega and for this reason it is the one I choose for long train trips. Also I find the audio on the iPad in noticeably better than the Vega. I have tried side by side tests with a three or four different earphones and you can really hear the difference.

However, as I said with the exception of the about I think you hit the nail on the head.

I guess I was so impressed with the improvement a set of decent headphones made to both devices I didn't really notice the difference between them, and I didnt listen to them side by side so its hard to do a comparison.

I just remember both of them sounding better, significantly better, with decent headphones.

The key here ref battery life may be Android 2.3.. I have notice that since I started using Android 2.3 via Cyanomod my battery life seems to have noticably improved.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1012609

Its a very early Beta version, but it works.

I'd say that with Android 2.2 it was worse than an Ipad, but under 2.3 I could swear it was better, I work with people that use Ipads and thats the impression I get.

But lets not forget that all this is very subjective!

The only way to really test would be to fully charge both devices, then do exactly the same actions on both repeatedly and see which one went flat first.

I dont know about you, but I have better things to do with my time :D

Edited April 4, 2011 by Mark_L

[Guest stoolzo]

Not sure if any serious musician would want to get a phone/pad for making music.

I must be lucky but my audio sounds normal to me.

Vega + 32gb sd + 3g dongle can be had for under 250 pounds.

Ifad 2 for the same functinality around 700 pounds.

DOH !!!!!!!!!!!!

I think you will find a great many professional musicians use ipads for controlling software on stage and in the studio, amongst other things.

I have already said the vega is great for those on a budget, an excellent bargain, i just think its not so great now the ipad as come down in price.

each to their own though, this was just my opinion.

[Guest Minimonkey]

Just seen this site http://www.adventvega.net/ nice pics with a few videos/reviews/accessories etc

Edited April 5, 2011 by Minimonkey

[Guest nigelphilip]

I am starting to think about getting an Eee Transformer, especially as I have £50 worth of DSG vouchers that I could use against a £379 Eee in-store but cannot use online to get a £199 Vega. That really narrows the price differential for me.

I won't be getting an iPad, don't want to get into bed with Apple, and, who knows, I might actually want to upgrade or plug something into my tablet :D

Lol. Well said. Dont become no apple fanboy. __

[Guest BillBong]

Well I took the plunge and ordered a Transformer from Comet earlier today. It went through at £360 after the discount code and showed a delivery date of this friday - but I'll believe that when I see it as every other distributor is showing a release date of the 18th.

[Guest Vansphone]

Well I took the plunge and ordered a Transformer from Comet earlier today. It went through at £360 after the discount code and showed a delivery date of this friday - but I'll believe that when I see it as every other distributor is showing a release date of the 18th.

I will be interested to know what you think of it.

[Guest .stu]

Well I took the plunge and ordered a Transformer from Comet earlier today. It went through at £360 after the discount code and showed a delivery date of this friday - but I'll believe that when I see it as every other distributor is showing a release date of the 18th.

Good luck. I toyed with the idea but it's just too expensive for me at the moment, and after watching a video on youtube I noticed that the bezel is quite large and it is just a thick as the vega - in fact according to the specs is is less than a millimetre thinner, and only 4-5 less in height and width. Also the lack of usb is offputting. On the other hand the IPS panel, GPS, compass and HC would be nice to have.

Think I'm gonna wait for a while and see what the new Samsung Tabs are like when they come out.

[Guest stoolzo]

Lol. Well said. Dont become no apple fanboy. __

alternatively you could just try to appreciate that the IPAD is actually a pretty good device despite Apples closed platform and other failings. I would never get an IPHONE for those reasons but the IPAD is by far the best tablet out there at the moment for people wanting to make music and play games. Sure there are a few decent games coming through now for Android / tegra but the quality and quantity is still with IOS. There is little or no decent music apps for android, what there is, is pants...

Anyone else who thinks otherwise is a deluded fandroid, yes it can be turned around..

[Guest Vansphone]

alternatively you could just try to appreciate that the IPAD is actually a pretty good device despite Apples closed platform and other failings. I would never get an IPHONE for those reasons but the IPAD is by far the best tablet out there at the moment for people wanting to make music and play games. Sure there are a few decent games coming through now for Android / tegra but the quality and quantity is still with IOS. There is little or no decent music apps for android, what there is, is pants...

Anyone else who thinks otherwise is a deluded fandroid, yes it can be turned around..

I think you have made a good point.

When it comes down to it, what is important is not so much the operating system but what software is available for that operating system. My daughter uses Garageband a lot on the iPad. She does not care at all about the difference between open source and closed systems etc, she is just interested in having a device that does what she wants to do. I on the other hand like having more than one email client running at the same time. I can't do that with the iPad but I can with the Vega.

Different strokes for different folks.

[Guest simonta]

alternatively you could just try to appreciate that the IPAD is actually a pretty good device despite Apples closed platform and other failings. I would never get an IPHONE for those reasons but the IPAD is by far the best tablet out there at the moment for people wanting to make music and play games. Sure there are a few decent games coming through now for Android / tegra but the quality and quantity is still with IOS. There is little or no decent music apps for android, what there is, is pants...

Anyone else who thinks otherwise is a deluded fandroid, yes it can be turned around..

Sadly true. It's one of the weak areas for Linux and Android in particular. Linux has always lagged behind Windows and Mac OS in this regard and interrupt driven, polyphonic support on Android is pants. Hopefully something Google will get around to. I can understand that the focus at the moment is very much on mobile devices and UIs but matching iOS for sound support is not possible at the moment.

[Guest Mark_L]

IPAD is by far the best tablet out there at the moment for people wanting to make music and play games.

Sorry but have to disagree with you there, if you want something to play propper games on then DO NOT buy an Ipad (or even an IPAD 2), buy something running Tegra 2.

Android and Tegra 2 is taking off as THE mobile gaming platform. A number of big studios have announced they are going to start releasing for Android, several large game engines including Unreal and Unity are offering out of the box Android/tegra support and even the likes of CCP who make EVE online (awsome game BTW) are going to release a version for Android now we have a decent chipset with some propper 3D grunt (Tegra 2).

The reality of the situation atm is :-

If you want a nice slick interface with a good screen on a propper quality device that does everything ok, (EDIT: and sounds good :D ) and you don't want to mess about, then buy an IPAD or and IPAD 2.

If your on a budget and want a powerfull and flexible device for web browsing, playing games, watching films, collecing emails, then buy a tablet like the VEGA.

if you want an alternative to the IPAD with a quality feel, and you want to play propper games, go for a top end Android 3.0 tablet.

Edited April 6, 2011 by Mark_L

[Guest stoolzo]

Sorry but have to disagree with you there, if you want something to play propper games on then DO NOT buy an Ipad (or even an IPAD 2), buy something running Tegra 2.

Android and Tegra 2 is taking off as THE mobile gaming platform. A number of big studios have announced they are going to start releasing for Android, several large game engines including Unreal and Unity are offering out of the box Android/tegra support and even the likes of CCP who make EVE online (awsome game BTW) are going to release a version for Android now we have a decent chipset with some propper 3D grunt (Tegra 2).

The reality of the situation atm is :-

If you want a nice slick interface with a good screen on a propper quality device that does everything ok, (EDIT: and sounds good B) ) and you don't want to mess about, then buy an IPAD or and IPAD 2.

If your on a budget and want a powerfull and flexible device for web browsing, playing games, watching films, collecing emails, then buy a tablet like the VEGA.

if you want an alternative to the IPAD with a quality feel, and you want to play propper games, go for a top end Android 3.0 tablet.

"Tegra 2 is taking off"

To quote you, it, it "is", not "has" or "did", its simply not there yet, possibly further off than you think, for instance take a look at epic's (unreal engine) recent statements on the android platform fragmentation, this aint going away soon and will only get worse, much worse unless google rein in the platform.. wait a minute though if they do that wont it be more like IOS?..... you dont want that do you.

How flexible really is a tablet if the software for it is a bit pants?, if you mean you can drop a different ROM on it every week make it look different every day if you like but you are still left with the same lack of good software support. This is the problem I am finding with android in general.

Believe me I hope things change but the very nature of "Open source" is killing android due to fragmentation of devices, bloatware and the like.

Bring back windows mobile and stick that on the Vega :D

[Guest zzleezz]

"Tegra 2 is taking off"

To quote you, it, it "is", not "has" or "did", its simply not there yet, possibly further off than you think, for instance take a look at epic's (unreal engine) recent statements on the android platform fragmentation, this aint going away soon and will only get worse, much worse unless google rein in the platform.. wait a minute though if they do that wont it be more like IOS?..... you dont want that do you.

How flexible really is a tablet if the software for it is a bit pants?, if you mean you can drop a different ROM on it every week make it look different every day if you like but you are still left with the same lack of good software support. This is the problem I am finding with android in general.

Believe me I hope things change but the very nature of "Open source" is killing android due to fragmentation of devices, bloatware and the like.

Bring back windows mobile and stick that on the Vega :D

LOL, I have to confess to having not read this thread for a while so I am a little bit out of date but the fact is this whole argument started to get very boring some time ago.

But....... I just had to lol at this line stoolzo "Believe me I hope things change but the very nature of "Open source" is killing android due to fragmentation of devices, bloatware and the like." Made me smile a LOT. Name another faster growing platform? Name another platform that has gone from curio geek OS to market leader in a lot of very important markets (including USA) in such a short time (3 years?). Yes it has its problems, no its not for everyone, but for a platform this young in its development cycle to be this good and at the same time this popular is staggering and I think a lot of people are starting to lose sight of just what an amazing bit of software it really is.

Keep a decent perspective on this, android only young itself, tablet flavour android really only in its embryonic stages and yet some are whining that its not as good as an iPad!!!

Dear oh dear. If I was MrJobs I would be feeling very very nervous indeed.

[Guest Village Idiot]

LOL, I have to confess to having not read this thread for a while so I am a little bit out of date but the fact is this whole argument started to get very boring some time ago.

But....... I just had to lol at this line stoolzo "Believe me I hope things change but the very nature of "Open source" is killing android due to fragmentation of devices, bloatware and the like." Made me smile a LOT. Name another faster growing platform? Name another platform that has gone from curio geek OS to market leader in a lot of very important markets (including USA) in such a short time (3 years?). Yes it has its problems, no its not for everyone, but for a platform this young in its development cycle to be this good and at the same time this popular is staggering and I think a lot of people are starting to lose sight of just what an amazing bit of software it really is.

Keep a decent perspective on this, android only young itself, tablet flavour android really only in its embryonic stages and yet some are whining that its not as good as an iPad!!!

Dear oh dear. If I was MrJobs I would be feeling very very nervous indeed.

That's all fine but isn't iOS also new/young?

[Guest zzleezz]

That's all fine but isn't iOS also new/young?

Hhhmm, having just done a little wiki digging it seems that the first iPhone was released in jan 2007 and the first android handset was released late in 2008. Thats actually closer together than I thought but given how fast things move in the mobile phone world (im looking at you Nokia!) I continue to stand by my comments :D

Another way of refuting the misreported and perceived demise of android due to its fragmentation is to point at market share in recent quarters, android is basically kicking arse. It might not be entirely relevant to tablets as they stand now, Apple will always garner an instant following due to the weight behind its marketing machine, but its fair to assume that any initial gains that the iPad had will be under threat if Google do manage to get their act together in the same way they have with the phone software. My personal feeling is they have pushed all the right buttons for me so far so I dont see why how they can fail now.

[Guest .stu]

Hhhmm, having just done a little wiki digging it seems that the first iPhone was released in jan 2007 and the first android handset was released late in 2008. Thats actually closer together than I thought but given how fast things move in the mobile phone world (im looking at you Nokia!) I continue to stand by my comments :D

Another way of refuting the misreported and perceived demise of android due to its fragmentation is to point at market share in recent quarters, android is basically kicking arse. It might not be entirely relevant to tablets as they stand now, Apple will always garner an instant following due to the weight behind its marketing machine, but its fair to assume that any initial gains that the iPad had will be under threat if Google do manage to get their act together in the same way they have with the phone software. My personal feeling is they have pushed all the right buttons for me so far so I dont see why how they can fail now.

It's already game over in the android v ios war - you may see ios on TV sets one day, but android will be everywhere on almost anything you can imagine and even some you can't B)

Edited April 6, 2011 by .stu