Tablet PC comparison: Apple iPad 2 versus Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000

Many tablet PCs are available in the market today, all of which vie for the attention of customers, and of course, their money. Thus, it’s really important for any person interested in owning one to come up with a tablet PC comparison.

iPad 2

This article compares the iPad 2 of Apple with the Galaxy Tab P1000 of Samsung. Why these two? Well, the iPad 2 and the Galaxy Tab P1000 are the tablet PCs that I’ve personally seen and touched.

Price

Without a doubt, price is one of the main considerations of customers before buying anything.

In this regard, the Galaxy Tab P1000 is slightly better because it’s cheaper than the 16GB, Wi-Fi only iPad 2.

Size

Another thing that should be considered in tablet PC comparison is the size of the gadget. Size does matter here because portability is seen as one of the main advantages of tablet PCs.

The Samsung product can fit in a big pocket. The iPad 2 can’t.

While the size of the Apple device seems like a negative thing in terms of portability, it does have an advantage. The iPad 2 makes typing easier because of the bigger keyboard. I can’t even imagine writing a 500-word article using the virtual keyboard of the seven-inch Galaxy Tab P1000.

However, the size of the iPad 2 has led some critics to derisively call it a giant iPhone, another Apple product. Some people see the iPad 2 as a humongous Apple smartphone, sans the phone function.

Phone

For me, the main advantage of the Galaxy Tab P1000 over the iPad 2 is the phone function: the Samsung device is both a tablet PC and a phone in just one gadget. 

There are really a lot of factors to consider when buying a tablet PC. After all, customers need to make sure that they spend their hard-earned money on something that’s worth it.

The bottom line: it’s different strokes for different folks. Regardless of the reason though, it’s really important for a customer to come up with a tablet PC comparison before making that big purchase.

Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden in Singapore (slideshow)

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Greenery coexists with concrete jungle in Singapore

Toa Payoh Town Park

It’s no secret that there are many tall buildings in Singapore, the smallest country in Southeast Asia in terms of land area. Due to the limited space, the city-state builds vertically.

This doesn’t mean though that Singapore is only about skyscrapers. Despite its small size, Singapore strives to make sure that it has ample space for greenery.

Some of the green areas in the country are the various town parks, the Chinese Garden and the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

What’s impressive is that the greenery and the concrete jungle don’t really compete for precious space. They actually complement each other: the greenery softens the look of concrete, while the buildings serve as a reminder that Singapore is a prosperous nation.

The greenery has an additional function. Trees help lower the sizzling temperatures in Singapore, which sits almost on the equator.

Singapore skyline looks impressive from any angle

Yesterday: a post featuring the Singapore skyline as seen from Indonesia’s Batam Island.

Today: a post featuring the Singapore skyline as seen from the city-state itself.

Singapore skyline as seen from Batam Island in Indonesia

The Singapore skyline is considered to be one of the best skylines in the world. But for me, the fact that it can be seen from neighboring Indonesia makes it a little bit more special. 

Is there any other skyline that can be seen from foreign territory?

Next post: a closer look at the Singapore skyline.

How to transfer videos to iPad 2

Videos taken with other cameras can be edited in iMovie for iPad 2, but to be able to do that, you must first know how to transfer videos to the iPad 2.

I’m discussing in this post how I transfer videos from other cameras to the iPad 2 and make those videos visible in iMovie for editing.

There are many other ways, I’m sure, but I can say that my own way of doing it is easy and cheap. I use free apps, and I transfer the videos without a Camera Connection Kit or iTunes.

Tools I use:

1. Laptop (Windows)

2. Dropbox

3. Film Genie app

4. Video Editor Free app

Process:

That’s how I transfer videos to the camera roll of the iPad 2 for editing in iMovie.

Videos taken with other cameras can be edited in iMovie for iPad 2

It’s a given that videos shot with the iPad 2 can be edited in iMovie. But videos taken with other cameras can be edited in iMovie as well, even without a Camera Connection Kit and iTunes.

The video above is a combination of videos shot using four different devices:

DEVICE	USED IN…	FILE FORMAT	YEAR TAKEN
Kodak	Singapore	MOV	2011
Nokia 3230	Hong Kong	3GP	2007
iPad 2	Philippines	MOV	2011
Olympus	France	AVI	2009

The tools I used to transfer the non-iPad 2 videos to the iPad 2 were my laptop (Windows), my Dropbox account and some video editing apps (apart from iMovie, of course). The best part: all of the tools I mentioned are free, except the laptop.

In a future post I’ll explain how I transferred videos from other devices to the Camera Roll of iPad 2, and how I made those videos visible in iMovie for editing.

Pros and cons of using iPad 2 as a mobile journalism tool

On Wednesday, I tested Apple’s tablet PC as a media production gadget. Today, I’m enumerating the pros and cons of using the iPad 2 as a mobile journalism tool based on that test.

Pros

1. The iPad 2 is portable. It’s thin and light, making it easy for anyone to carry it around.
2. Taking pictures with an almost ten-inch device was a new experience for me. It was indeed cumbersome at first, but you’d get used to it.
3. Shooting videos – please refer to my description of taking pictures.
4. The iPad 2 is an all-in-one media production tool. You can edit photos and videos, create animation and publish texts in the field using just one device.
5. Battery life is good. The battery charge was still above 60 percent after about three hours of heavy usage (3G, photo and video editing, writing).

Cons

1. The WordPress app wasn’t as easy to use as the WordPress website. I couldn’t see any button or feature allowing hyperlinking and writing picture captions.
2. I wasn’t able to include audio because the SoundCloud player couldn’t be seen on the iPad 2. There was also no slideshow in the article, because just like the SoundCloud player, the Slide.com player couldn’t be seen.
3. Using 3G is expensive.

These are my initial thoughts on the pros and cons of using the iPad 2 as a mobile journalism tool. I said “initial” because my perceived pros and cons could still change. For example, the battery of a new iPad is, of course, in good condition. What about a one-year-old iPad?

Testing iPad 2 as a media production gadget

This is my first ever attempt to write an entire blog post using only the iPad 2, and outside the comforts of a Wi-Fi hotspot.

I’m using 3G right now and it’s draining the battery quickly.

In the blog post “iPad 2 as a media production device for mobile journalists,” I said “I will attempt to come up with an entire blog post, with text, audio, video, photo, illustration and animation, using only the iPad 2, to see for myself if this Apple product can be a good media production device.”

I can include an illustration and animation in this article, but I don’t think it’s really necessary to do so. In a breaking news environment, photos, videos and the story itself are the things that matter. Illustrations and animation can come later.

My subject in this post is the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. I chose UP because the scenery is beautiful, and it’s relatively safer to use an iPad here compared with other parts of the metropolis.

Below is a video of some UP scenes, which I edited using the free app Video Editor. It doesn’t do too many things, but at least I was able to combine two videos into one video and upload it to YouTube.

Below, and the two pictures above, are photos taken using the camera of the iPad 2. I did some minor edits using the app Adobe Photoshop Express.

iPad 2 as a media production device for mobile journalists

It’s been mentioned in some forums that the iPad 2 is primarily a media consumption gadget, but as a content producer/journalist I would like to explore the potential of the iPad 2 as a media production device.

Thankfully, the iPad 2 has the capability to take photos and videos, enhancing its content production potential. The quality of the pictures and videos is another issue though.

If you don’t add anything to the iPad 2, it is pretty much a consumption device: surfing the Internet, listening to music and watching videos are the main activities that you’d most likely be doing using the gadget.

But with free and paid apps, the iPad 2, it seems, can be transformed into a versatile media production device.

Here are some of the free apps that I’ve downloaded so far:

Noterize. (note taking). As a journalist, I think that this can be a great companion at press conferences. The app is capable of recording audio while you’re taking down notes.

PS Express. (photo editing). The features are quite limited, but I downloaded it because of the Adobe Photoshop name.

Hokusai, WavePad, QuickVoice. (audio recording). You can also edit audio using Hokusai and WavePad.

Video Editor. (video editing). The free version allows users to combine videos and share the finished product with other people via email, YouTube and Facebook. I’m hoping though that there would be a free video editing app that would be as powerful as Windows Movie Maker.

The following are the two apps that I’ve bought so far:

Inkpad. (vector drawing). I think of it as a $7.99 version of Adobe Illustrator. 

Animation Creator HD. (animation). I’ve always wanted to try my hand at animation, so I think that this $1.99 app would be a great start.

I will attempt to come up with an entire blog post, with text, audio, video, photo, illustration and animation, using only the iPad 2, to see for myself if this Apple product can be a good media production device.