Well yes after you install it at some point you may need to stop the application if it crashes or becomes unstable, or uninstall it or perhaps you may need to reset the data or move it from internal memory to sd. For example on the uninstall screen you get options such as 'Force stop' and 'Clear cache' which will be quite confusing to technophobes. In contrast to uninstall an app in iOS click on it for a few seconds until is starts jangling, then click on the cross.

Or uninstall an Android app by long press until an uninstall icon appears and then drag the item to it. Or go to your apps in Google play and click uninstall.

And if an app does crash you get a pop up appear asking if you would like to close it .....

Sounds like you are waaaaaaay out of touch with android .....

Tablet wars - love it - Playbook for Mums

The long press method as far as I know doesn't work unless you're using something like app brain or perhaps launcher pro where you hold the icon over the trash icon until it turns into an uninstall icon. That method doesn't work on my stock htc evo. I would image also that if you 'delete' an icon from one of the home screens some technophobes will likey get confused that they are only deleting a short cut, not deleting the app from the device. Android can have many ways of doing the same thing and can cause a novice to get confused.

There is no guarantee that an app will throw up an error message, it may just become unstable or start hogging the CPU. The nav app has done that to me a few times.

I like android, and have developed a few apps for it, but I maintain that iOS particularly the iPad is easier to get to grips with for the computer novice.

Why don't you buy her a laptop ?

Honestly unless she needs the portability then desktop or a laptop with a proper keyboard and decent sized screen (I don't know what her eye sight is like) will be miles more comfortable and easier to use. Virtual keyboards are a PITA.

Long press works on my nexus .... and my transformer ..... both using standard launcher.

Like I said android has moved on .....

Never get an app hanging now without a pop up appearing. Goodness knows what your evo is running???

Tend to agree to some extend. I use my transformer with the keyboard dock more often than not.

Gingerbread 2.3.4 rooted with htc sense but stock ROM,which is the latest version of android available for my phone. I'm assuming that the long press delete is something that is feature of honycomb and ics then? I must say off topic that it's irritating that Ice Cream Sandwich is not yet available for my phone, which does illustrate the fragmentation issue you have with Android.

Just to let you know, the Kindle Fire has got a completely different interface to the normal Kindles. I've never used the Fire so can't comment on how easy it is to use, but have a quick look on YouTube and you'll see there are barely any similarities so if you're holding out for that reason... don't!

I would have a punt on this one, a bit pricey, on 4 interest free payments at the moment, and you can send it back if she doesnt get along with. check out qvcuk.


Acer Iconia A100


Looking at kindle fire it looks just like a playbook, without cameras.

Cheaper "starter" tablets are for techies who either like the customizability or can deal with the downsides. For your mum you should just get an ipad, its just a smoother experience. If you can't afford the new one, I guess used ipad 2 is probably going for less now.

But for ease of use and ease on the eyes, the new ipad should be the way to go if you can afford it.

ICS is fully fledged and ready to go c/w the Android market..
And since when did one need a degree in computing to use memory cards and HDMI.

The other thing to note is that many of mums favourite web browser might well be barred from IOS.
In a similar wrong vein 'never let your mum have a laptop'.
And if mum has a laptop she might well think WTW is this stupid gadget for. No keyboard!

The only difference for non ICS is that non 3G tablets need tweaking to add Android Market. Even then the alternative app stores have much of the major stuff supplied.

so to answer the question i asked...


so you disagree that android has a steeper learning curve than IOS?

Starter tablet = quite cheap to most.
Whilst the iPad is simple in that purposely limits functionality it is still not a (cheap) starter tablet.

Stuart thinks people have to be tricked into buying apple products, so there is no point arguing with him.

Android lag must be a rumor spread by the ghost of steve jobs...

yawn ...... do you really think the term marketing is trickery ?????

are you trying to say apple arent extremely good at marketing ????

I would not call it trickery for those who keep up the belief/mantra that IOS is better than Android.

yes i disagree there is a steeper learning curve with Android

To do what the majority of people want to do seems to me to be basically the same steps ?

if you want to dig deeper then options are there but i cant see whats deemed complex about the more modern versions of Android ......

i don't know either. but giving people a shot of an iphone or ipad and they get to grips with it instantly. but give them android, and they seem confused as donald duck. someone i know who got an android phone as a free upgrade, stuck it in the drawer and didn't use a phone at all for a few weeks as they just couldn't get to grips with it, but they got to grips with the ipad instantly

most people i've spoken to have said it's a harder learning curve, but once you get through it it's pretty similar

part of the problem is the umpteen different versions and umpteen different handsets so there are so many differnent options, unlike ios. so the simplicity of a reduced number of versions makes things easier for a lot of people, especially when they see it on the tv being used. you don't see many android tablets getting used in tv shows, nor handsets, compared to ios devices

Well my wife and kids have managed just fine ...... so have the 60% of smartphone users who now use android phones. I really don't see what's complex about it? Like I say most tasks are actually the sam process as on iPhones....

As for the TV shows you are starting to see more android phones but with tablets I'll agree that you see more ipads. But what does that tell us???

Android isn't that complex, but I think iOS has a more intuitive interface generally so non technical people can probably get to grips with and understand it quicker.

Main benefits of iPAD over the android tablets are

1) Much better apps available. Some nice polished apps like Garageband, iMovie and iPhoto and the new brilliant Wonders of the Universe app etc.. With a few exceptions all the top development companies are focusing their tablet app development on the iPad.

2) User interface. Every Android tablet I have tried feels quite laggy and you often see the screen juddering or becoming momentarily frozen. iOS on the iPAD is silky smooth.

3) Product fragmentation and upgrades. You buy a specific Android device and you never seem to know if and when any operating system upgrades are available unlike iPad where you can always upgrade to the latest os.

4) The new iPad retina screen, which really helps with reading and web browsing.

1) I agree - android has some catching up to do with regards to shinier apps in some cases but its getting there.

2) what you have to remember is that Android tends to be doing more. iOS is basically the same as the Android app drawer ... its purely an app launcher. When you see Android homescreens they tend to have widgets and live wallpapers. With iOS this isnt n option. Plus many of the tablets you see around are low budget ones and probably underpowered for complex homescreens.

3) You have one tablet option that gets 'most of' each upgrade. Most high end android tablets already have - or are rolling out - ICS.

4) The retina screen (that isnt retina by Jobs classification) does look very crisp but it wont stay ahead of the game for the year until the iPad4 comes out id wager. Asus are already releasing one thats almost the same dpi. The downside of the iPad is the 4:3 ratio - making it very dated for modern multimedia use (but arguably better for ebook reading).

Well no, android lag is based on how they built the os, and the lag is based on an oversight how they handled the rendering thread, the tablet isn't "doing more" its simply unable to figure out what is more important to do first..
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/12/a...k-here-to-stay
"Android UI will never be completely smooth because of the design constraints I discussed at the beginning:
- UI rendering occurs on the main thread of an app
- UI rendering has normal priority
Even with a Galaxy Nexus, or the quad-core EeePad Transformer Prime, there is no way to guarantee a smooth frame rate if these two design constraints remain true. It’s telling that it takes the power of a Galaxy Nexus to approach the smoothness of a three year old iPhone."

Ipads aspect ratio is better for every other application other than video. 90+% of the time you won't be watching video, but reading webpages and such, 16:9 is horrible on a cramped screen, it only makes it more cramped.

Haha.

If occasional and momentary "android lag" on lower end devices is the best thing you can think of as a reason not to go for Android then it says a lot

If you Google "iOS lag" it does seem its not just limited to android though ....

yep laptaps are a lot more practical for older people. the screen can be set to any angle while the keyboard stays flat, and you can use windows as an OS.