These are the droids I want

The iPad. When it was announced last year I was on a wait and see approach. At the time my tax refund was on its way to my bank account and I waited to see whether I would purchase one or if I would get a new notebook. After the keynote which showed the iPad as nothing more than a larger screen version of an iPod touch, I quickly made the decision to purchase a new MacBook instead, and decided to hold off to see what a future version would include.

Since then I purchased a newer generation iPod touch, as well as my first Android based product. In this case, the Sprint Epic 4G, which is part of Samsung’s highly successful Galaxy S phone line. But still, I was curious to see what the upcoming iPad 2 would have over its predecessor.

Last Wednesday I found out all the updates it would have. And yes, once again it’s the same updates the original should have included in the first place, namely the front and rear facing cameras. It would only make sense since Apple is really pushing FaceTime video conferencing.

First the iPhone 4, then the 4th generation iPod touch, and then as a Mac app, and now it’s on the iPad 2. The rest of the iPad 2 just seems more like a equipment and speed boost to match up with the other iProducts: dual core CPU, graphics processor that is said to be up to 9x faster, gyroscope, blah blah blah. But what I wanted to see added most was not there, namely an SD card slot and a Retina Display. When you think of it, if you’re adding a dual core processor and claim your graphics power is nine times that of the original, why would you not want to add a sharper display? Those like me who are spoiled by the iTouch’s Retina Display would not want to go back.

So I guess you can all see what my opinion is of the iPad 2. Even keeping the same price as the original (which is a good idea considering the competing Motorola XOOM will cost $799 non-contract,) my response is still a big fat "meh."

But when I think of it, I may have found the reason why my response is the way it is. It might be because Android is taking over my way of thinking. Since getting the Epic last Christmas, I have been using it a lot more. Since Android is accessible to every carrier, it makes it easier as a Sprint subscriber to obtain one, instead of having to be contracted to either AT&T or Verizon should I purchase a 3G iPad 1 or 2. I could always get a Wi-Fi only version but I won’t have the flexibility as I do with my Epic. That was just the start. The jump to 4G speeds is something that I won’t get with the iPad 2. But primarily, there is that little factor called "open source" that drew me more towards Android.

Being able to do whatever I want with my phone, even if I want to root it to stock Android, is the type of freedom I wanted. If I purchased an iPad 2, I would be constrained with iTunes, and over the last few months, with my previous MacBook freeze-ups, trying to get all of my apps, songs, and podcasts sorted out was becoming a pain, and eventually I stopped syncing with iTunes and downloaded straight to my iPod touch.

Last week, however, officially became the turning point for which music player I would end up using. The update to Froyo (2.2) changed my Epic all for the better. That is, when I was able to get it, because due to claims of connectivity and SD card issues, the update was recalled. In my case though, I had no problems with connections or my SD card; in fact, the music player was actually improved over the Android Éclair (2.1) build, and it started to become my primary music player.

As for the iPod touch, it is still being used, both as a game player (Angry Birds is the only game I have on Android so far) and for all my podcasts, but I have to wonder if I might be pulling away from Apple’s closed source control, and that I might be assimilated by Android.

Resistance…is futile!

Currently Playing: Killzone 3 (PS3)

Waiting For: EITHER MLB 11: The Show (PS3) or MLB 2K11 (360/PS3)