Washington Post senior vice president and chief digital officer Vijay Ravindran lost his MacBook Air when his son’s spilled baby bottle put the fizzle in it.
So he got an Asus Transformer (aka Asus Eee Pad) to replace it and never looked back. He ponied up $399 for the 16-gigabyte version with a 32-gigabyte memory card then added a $150 keyboard dock that essentially transforms it into a netbook.
While he hasn’t given up on Apple entirely, he credits the tablet with replacing his MacBook Air an iPad with one device for use when he travels and says he was also “pleasantly surprised” that his go-to apps (like Angry Birds) were available for the Asus.
After a couple of months of using the tablet he says: “I am happy to report that I don’t regret my choice. While I continue to use a MacBook for work and a MacMini and an iMac at home, among several Apple products, I don’t travel with a laptop or Apple product and still manage to effectively field large volumes of e-mail and edit documents.”
He also thinks some Apple aficionados would be wise to consider crossing over to the competition:
“If you are an Apple product user who lives with the same fear (of the product being lost, stolen or damaged), or have trouble with the touch-screen keyboard like I do, an Android tablet or netbook might be a greater improvement than you realize.”
Via Wapo
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.
54 responses to “Asus Android Tablet “Triumphs” over Apple for Washington Post Exec”
I’m an Apple fan, but am happy to see competition. But his “go to” app is, uh, Angry Birds?
When a man says his “go to app” is Angry Birds, then he kind of loses all credibility as tech critic.
My friend has one of these. yuck, hate android tablets
So basically he went for the Asus cause he doesn’t want to risk the more desirable iPad or Mac being stolen. Maybe they should start making Android tablet covers for the iPad to sway those from stealing. ha
If it does get stolen, there is always Find My iPhone(iPad). To me it’s better because you can find your device and potentially catch the crooks. I’ve been very happy with my iPad and I still get Android fans drooling over what it can do.
NEVER!
So a VP and Chief Digital Officer’s killer application is Angry Birds? I mean was that the big criteria for choosing ASUS because Angry Birds was available for it. And of course the 17-18 million people who have an iPad tablet are all shivering in their pants because they are afraid of the tablets being stolen.
I am stunned by the sheer genius of this man.
What exactly was the point of this? Claims the Asus gives him the option of a keyboard dock – apparently oblivious to the fact that there’s one available for the iPad as well. Apparently the Asus offers some mysterious protection against loss and theft (aside from its lack of desirability) combined with some special resistance to baby bottle spills.
The icing on the cake, of course, is that his must-have, executive go-to apps (i.e. Angry Birds) are “also” available for Android.
I suppose it should come as no surprise that an executive in a dead industry is ignorant about technology.
Do you guys have any editorial staff at all?
I like to see competition as well. Let me know when there’s some available.
What crap is this ? If this guy is Washinton Post SVP.. wonder what other are like out there in that office. This is crummiest reason to use Andriod … I understand that Andriod tablets are like potatoes, nobody would steal them for sure :)
This article leaves me bewildered at both the Washington Post exec, whose purpose for his $1000+ MacBook Air seems to have been playing Angry Birds to while away the time–oh, and answering emails and editing documents (what kind?); and the author who took the time to pass this drivel on. Sorry Nicole, there’s probably a real story in here somewhere, but your snippet seems to miss it entirely. “Angry Birds” is his go-to app? Sounds like the Washington Post is getting ripped off salary-wise. The word “vapid” comes to mind.
Wait, what? If a tablet can’t handle email and edit docs, then it has essentially outright failed. It’s everything beyond that that actually matters. Fluff… this actually sounds like an ad
This SVP is yet to discover the “Bunny Shooter” :) Oh wait…. thats not on Andriod…or is it ??
This story is about as bad as your Windows advertisements. I don’t get why a Mac fan site posts stories about windows/android products so much.
define idiot? tsk.
Good for him. What he buys and uses is his choice. Who knows? The ASUS Transformer might make him decide to dump all of his Apple products and buy ASUS products in the future. Hey, he might be missing out on ASUS’s inexpensive computer product lineup. More power to him.
i read his piece. he likes the fold-together tablet/keyboard because it is easier to carry around then a tablet and separate keyboard like the iPad. fair point. he prefers Android browsers because they have Flash and the Android home screen because it has widgets. ok we have heard that before. he prefers a certain Android email app to iOS Mail. otherwise i guess apps and OS’s are all the same to him, he says nothing more about them. he thinks DoubleTwist is a good as iTunes, and referred to some unknown “iTunes single computer requirement” limitation i never heard of (unless he means instead iOS computer syncing – is this guy a professional writer?) which means he doesn’t use AirPlay/Home Sharing etc. at home (and maybe doesn’t entirely know what he is talking about on this topic). he likes not having to connect via USB to a computer for anything, but does note iOS 5 will solve that soon.
he mentions he has only used the iPad 1 (what version iOS he does not say), and does not critique anything about the Transformer hardware or software at all except to note it is wifi only, which is one-sided. it’s pretty clear it is a traveling work tool for him mostly. he makes a point that he uses a lot of Mac hardware at home, but does not have an iPhone (he does not say what kind of phone he does have, but i would guess it is a company BlackBerry, because he says nothing about using any Google services), so integrating everything seamlessly is clearly not a priority for him, and maybe it’s practically impossible.
so take it for what it’s worth – if your circumstances, needs, tastes, and priorities are the same as his, it’s worth considering.
I’m really afraid for the Washington Post. With talent like this they are doomed, doomed, gone…
I guarantee this is an arranged product placement. Far too much of the “article’s” benefits are superficial at best and so many details are left out. Reading between the lines it’s like an Asus ad begging the reader ‘we know you won’t buy any of other cr@p@ss products but please get our tablet’. If this dude is their chief digital officer it’s no wonder traditional print is going out of business.
im no executive but my ipad eat any asus at breakfast
Oh Boy!!! Is he really an executive of Washington Post ? I have tons of doubt because as an executive of WP, he surely know ipad covers 90% of tablet market and i don’t think any product who is less powerful than any other competitor product can cover that much of market. Hey nicole, where did you find him ?
Hmmm… Well, I’ll give it to him, as far as I’ve seen Asus Honeycomb tablets are the best honeycomb tablets as they do have some kind of look of their own going for them (hardware is just about the same as the rest).
But as many other pointed out, his go-to app is Angry Birds? This feels very serious…
I think this is a bit funny too,
“have trouble with the touch-screen keyboard like I do, an Android tablet
or netbook might be a greater improvement than you realize.”
or you know, just get a keyboard for the iPad :p
i dont mind reading an article saying an android tablet is better than an ipad or other apple products. but only when it is better! not some stupid advertisement for a tablet. im wondering if you’re actually mocking the article.
I DON’T UNDERSTAND.
“If you are an Apple product user who lives with the same fear (of the product being lost, stolen or damaged), … like I do, an Android tablet or netbook might be a greater improvement than you realize.”
Now somebody explain the equation to me? HOW THE HELL would an Android Tablet or Netbook be LESS LIKELY to get stolen, lost, or damaged??????
Well they did announce a vintage book cover for the iPad. That can work just as well. People wouldn’t dare steal a library book.
I’m sure though the Android tablet will get stolen just as easy as an iPad though. I’m not fond of swapping to a more complex generation. Plus I love using iOS exclusive emoticons. If Android doesn’t go emoticons, then nope.
Well they did announce a vintage book cover for the iPad. That can work just as well. People wouldn’t dare steal a library book.
I’m sure though the Android tablet will get stolen just as easy as an iPad though. I’m not fond of swapping to a more complex generation. Plus I love using iOS exclusive emoticons. If Android doesn’t go emoticons, then nope.
Does anyone really – I mean, really – need a tablet? Of course not. Ultimately, it’s a luxury good. Most of us have a laptop. A tablet is just a nice diversion – for the most part. Singapore Business School
Does anyone really – I mean, really – need a tablet? Of course
not. Ultimately, it’s a luxury good. Most of us have a laptop. A tablet
is just a nice diversion – for the most part
Now it is! https://market.android.com/det…