I've been a proponent of mobile computing for a long time (my first smartphone was a Handspring VisorPhone about 10 years ago), so I'm always interested in new devices. My Palm Pre Plus smartphone has been my constant companion since the day Verizon released it. I've gotten used to having instant access to the Internet to Google things, read the news, etc., but I've also found that extended reading on the small screen is hard on my eyes. I do have a netbook computer with a larger screen, but that's too bulky to carry around the house. I tried an e-book, which was fine for reading books, but I missed the multi-media experiences that I could get with my smartphone and netbook. What I was looking for was something in between - a tablet.
I know a lot of people love the iPad, and I've played with a couple of them, but for me the iPad is too large - comparable in convenience to my netbook - and pricey, too. Since I'm a big fan of the WebOS operating system (more about that below), my plan was to wait until HP/Palm releases their rumored PalmPad tablet this spring. That was until I wandered into Best Buy and met the Huawei Ideos S7...
I was killing time while my wife was shopping. I wandered into Best Buy and saw the Huawei (pronounced "WAH-way"). I was immediately drawn to the form factor - basically an overgrown smartphone with a 7" screen, much more portable than the iPad. The price was great - $299. Two hundred dollars less than the cheapest iPad. The specs were impressive - 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, Android, front and rear cameras, GPS, compass, user-replaceable battery, micro-SD slot, full access to the Android app Market, and (get this!) ready for use as an unlocked smartphone - no contract required! Wow! (A SIM card from T-Mobile or AT&T is required for phone service.)
When I picked up the display unit I was impressed by the build quality. Solid, if a bit heavy. Felt well-made. Then I tried the touchscreen... No pinch zoom? No multi-touch? It has a resistive touch screen instead of a capacitive touch screen like the iPad. Yuck. That was it for me. I put it down and walked away.
Turns out my wife still had a lot of shopping to do, so I found a chair and Googled the Huawei S7 on my Pre. What's this? Great customer reviews? People really like this thing. OK... So I went back in and picked up the display unit again. The screen wasn't THAT bad... Went home and did some more research, then went back the next day and bought the S7.
HUAWEI S7 REVIEW
For the most part I really like my S7. I'll cover the downsides first.
1. The resistive touch screen isn't as nice as a capacitive screen. I miss multi-touch. But, it's definitely usable. Just takes a little getting used to. (One advantage: I'm not accidentally swiping something every time I try to brush a piece of cat fur off the screen.)
2. Battery life is so-so. It's a few hours of use at best. For me, this isn't a huge problem since I mostly use it at home, where there's power available when I need to recharge.3. It has Android 2.1 - no Flash player. Not a huge deal for me since neither my Pre nor the iPad support Flash, either. No word from Huawei on whether there will be an update offered.
4. It's a bit heavy. Fortunately, it comes with a little kickstand on the back to prop itself up while watching videos, etc.
5. There are no Huawei-branded accessories currently available anywhere. More on this later.
On the plus side:
1. The form factor is awesome. It's just the right size. It fits in a pocket of my laptop bag. It's easy to carry around. It will fit nicely in a carry-on. I've read some people even carry them around in their jacket pockets.
2. It's fast. No noticeable lag when surfing, running apps, watching videos, etc. YouTube runs well.
3. The built-in speakers sound great. Pandora and Slacker run well.
4. Connection via wifi is seamless and fast.
5. It comes with a few useful apps and widgets pre-loaded. You can download any other apps you want from the Android Market over either wifi or cellular data connection.
6. It comes with 8 GB of internal storage, plus you can add a micro-SD card (up to 16 GB) to bring the total storage to around 24 GB. (Found a 16 GB card cheap at newegg.com).
7. The touchscreen is better than I expected for a resistive design. Although I can do everything with my fingertip, there is a small stylus tucked into the back of the unit for anyone who would rather tap and scroll with that. Zoom is available as a small icon on the bottom right of the screen. It also has a tiny little optical trackpad on the right edge which can be used for scrolling, etc. (although it takes a little practice.)
8. The SIM card slot is a nice feature. Although I will usually be using this where there's wifi, or via the wifi hotspot on my Verizon Pre, I have ordered a pre-paid SIM card from T-Mobile. When it arrives, my S7 will become an additional smartphone for me, with unlimited data available for $1.50 a day via T-Mobile if I need it. (Caveat: T-Mobile data will be at 2G speeds. The S7 will also take an AT&T SIM for 3G speeds, but AT&T is much more expensive. Since this is a backup connection for me, I don't need to spend the $$$ for the 3G connection.)
9. All this from a $299 tablet. Can't beat that!
OPERATING SYSTEMS: PALM vs. ANDROID
I've been using Palm OS-based devices for a long time. I waited patiently with my clunky Palm Treo while those around me got their iPhone and Android devices with their fancy multi-touch screens. When Palm finally released their new WebOS operating system on the Palm Pre and Pixi smartphones I was first in line for the Verizon release. But, Palm has always been too late with everything. By the time WebOS was out, Apple and Android were the new standards. Even so, I was planning to wait to see Palm's (now a part of HP) PalmPad this spring before I bought a tablet. That didn't happen.
Seeing the Huawei S7 at Best Buy was part of the reason I didn't wait for the PalmPad. The other was leaked information that claimed to offer some insights as to what the PalmPad was going to be. First, it sounds like it will have a 9" screen - like the iPad - which is too big for my tastes. Second, rumor has it the PalmPad may be tied somehow to Sprint service, and I definitely didn't want to be tied to any sort of contract. So, I bought the S7.
Now that I've had a chance to use both WebOS and Android side-by-side on a daily basis I'd like to offer some opinions:
Frankly, HP/Palm's WebOS is a far superior operating system in both ease of use and cleanliness. WebOS's multitasking is much better than Android's. Switching between and opening/closing apps is very easy and clear, usually just a single swipe. You always know what apps you have open. Android (at least the 2.1 version on the S7) is harder to navigate. It's easy to lose track of how many apps you have running (even though the S7 has a nice little Info icon that shows all your open apps and allows you to close them individually). Worse, many Android apps don't seem to close cleanly - they leave processes running after they close. I discovered this when my S7 bogged down yesterday, even though I didn't have any extra apps open. When I went into the menus I discovered several "orphan" processes still running - even after the apps that launched them were closed. This has not been a problem for me with WebOS, even with heavy use.
I think WebOS is still the best mobile operating system out today, with the iPhone OS a close second, and Android third. A WebOS-based tablet will be a great option when it becomes available through HP, especially if they can promote more app development (WebOS's weak point - not as many apps). Still, the other factors (especially price and size) drove me toward the S7.
S7 ACCESSORIES
There aren't any OEM accessories available for the S7 right now, but there are some alternatives available online:
There is a car mount on eBay.
For home/car chargers you can use the ones intended for the Magellen Crossover GPS or for some Motorola phones.
For cases, you can use many of the cases made for e-readers. I found a Griffin Jumper for E-Readers at Walmart that fits perfectly.
CONCLUSION
If HP announces a PalmPad with WebOS and a 7" screen sometime in the next month or so I may regret my purchase of the Huawei S7 - but not if the HP costs twice as much and/or requires a service contract. In the meantime, I can heartily recommend the Huawei Ideos S7 for anyone looking for a tablet to bridge the gap between smartphone and netbook. It's a great device, in a great form factor, for a great price.
There's lots of information about S7 accessories, settings, phone plans, tweaks, etc. available here: http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/huawei-tablets/
1/5/11
(P.S.: Rumor has it Huawei may release a new version of the S7 sometime this spring with a capacitive touchscreen and Android 2.2...)
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