iPad versus Android Tablet

keith_d99

Being an Apple forum - the response will surely be one-sided.

Am an iPhone user, and like iOS for the phone, but am veering towards the freedom of Android for a tablet.

Have a mate travelling from the States in the next few weeks - so can get both iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tablet for $500 - working out about the €350 mark. Would be a shame to pass the opportunity of cheap hardware from the States

madzers

Ipads are the way forward ,plus if you got an iphone you be able to sync them both with itunes ,android have a different app store you be better keping them the same

Tom Dunne

keith_d99 wrote: »

Being an Apple forum - the response will surely be one-sided.

Surely not. :eek:

I think I might be able to give a balanced opinion - I have the iPad 1 and Samsung Galaxy Tab (original 7" model).

It basically boils down to what do you want to do with your device. For the iPad, I read a lot of newspapers from home ( I'm living abroad) through the likes of PressReader. I also read the occasional magazine and have Kindle installed. I also watch the odd movie rented via iTunes, with the iPad connected to the tv via a cable.

For all of the above, the iPad is perfect - when buying content, it is almost too easy. It is painless.

The other big factor for me is that the OS is slick - doing things is intuitive.

I also love my Samsung Galaxy Tab, but for a lot of different reasons. Firstly, as I am heading off on holidays in about four hours (:D) I am loading it up with games/music/videos. It is incredibly portable, it has a camera that suits my uses, it acts as a phone, it will act as a communications device, it will also act as a mobile access point when I get back to Ireland and have no internet. I am not bringing a phone/laptop/ipad/camera with me on holidays, the Galaxy Tab will be doing all this for me.

However, when it comes to content, it is pretty much the opposite of the iPad. The same apps are (mostly) available for the device, but you are handing your credit card details out to several different vendors. Is that really a problem? Probably not, but it is, well, more hassle than in the Apple world.

And the other major difference is again the User Experience. Things just simply are not as slick as iOS. Yes, it only runs Android 2.2 (I believe the Tab 10" runs Android 3, so this isn't really a fair comparison), but it still feels somewhat clunky when compared to iOS. Even identical apps have big differences on both Operating Systems.

I have tried Android 3 on other devices and it certainly appears to address some of my issues with the user interface on 2.2. However, I haven't used it extensively, so cannot give a more than what I have above.

Would I buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10"? Yes, most definitely. It seems to be the nearest competitor to the iPad 2. And I would fully agree Android is better for the freedom it offers in terms of poking around and messing with it.

And don't get me started on App Inventor.

So, I'll stop typing now and summarise by saying the trade-off is the slick, corporate, Apple-centred walled garden, vs. the "rough around the edges", slightly-more-hassle, open-ended Android.

keith_d99

madzers wrote: »

Ipads are the way forward ,plus if you got an iphone you be able to sync them both with itunes ,android have a different app store you be better keping them the same

MMmm - bar Navigon, majority of my iPhone apps are free.

Anybody on here with iphone and Android Tablet? Might be nice to have best of both worlds too!

Also couldn't care about lack of Flash on iphone - but on Tablet it could be a drawback.

keith_d99

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Surely not. :eek:

I think I might be able to give a balanced opinion - I have the iPad 1 and Samsung Galaxy Tab (original 7" model).

It basically boils down to what do you want to do with your device. For the iPad, I read a lot of newspapers from home ( I'm living abroad) through the likes of PressReader. I also read the occasional magazine and have Kindle installed. I also watch the odd movie rented via iTunes, with the iPad connected to the tv via a cable.

For all of the above, the iPad is perfect - when buying content, it is almost too easy. It is painless.

The other big factor for me is that the OS is slick - doing things is intuitive.

I also love my Samsung Galaxy Tab, but for a lot of different reasons. Firstly, as I am heading off on holidays in about four hours (:D) I am loading it up with games/music/videos. It is incredibly portable, it has a camera that suits my uses, it acts as a phone, it will act as a communications device, it will also act as a mobile access point when I get back to Ireland and have no internet. I am not bringing a phone/laptop/ipad/camera with me on holidays, the Galaxy Tab will be doing all this for me.

However, when it comes to content, it is pretty much the opposite of the iPad. The same apps are (mostly) available for the device, but you are handing your credit card details out to several different vendors. Is that really a problem? Probably not, but it is, well, more hassle than in the Apple world.

And the other major difference is again the User Experience. Things just simply are not as slick as iOS. Yes, it only runs Android 2.2 (I believe the Tab 10" runs Android 3, so this isn't really a fair comparison), but it still feels somewhat clunky when compared to iOS. Even identical apps have big differences on both Operating Systems.

I have tried Android 3 on other devices and it certainly appears to address some of my issues with the user interface on 2.2. However, I haven't used it extensively, so cannot give a more than what I have above.

Would I buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10"? Yes, most definitely. It seems to be the nearest competitor to the iPad 2. And I would fully agree Android is better for the freedom it offers in terms of poking around and messing with it.

And don't get me started on App Inventor.

So, I'll stop typing now and summarise by saying the trade-off is the slick, corporate, Apple-centred walled garden, vs. the "rough around the edges", slightly-more-hassle, open-ended Android.

Haha great post Tom!! I would classify myself and tech-savy (work in IT), so yeah, have to say I am veering to the "open-ended" Android for the Tablet. I too love the slickness of iOS (and soon to get much better with iOS 5) - and for a phone it's perfect, but already have the phone, so reckon Android tablet will offer something different.

Have a 6 year old laptop that needs upgrading, but I reckon tablets are the future especially for home use - and Android offers more tinkering options.

Unrelated - can't believe Samsung haven't undercut Apple pricewise in the States.

Tom Dunne

keith_d99 wrote: »

Unrelated - can't believe Samsung haven't undercut Apple pricewise in the States.

I recall reading somewhere that they simply cannot. Apple have the whole supply chain for components for the iPad sewn up, so they can cut costs. Apparently manufacturers of other tablet devices are having a hard time matching Apple on price.

DubDJ

From a slightly biased view I would reccommend an iPad 2. Although the hardware could be better on it e.g. better camera which is an annoyance for me it is a great little tablet. Even a friend who is really into Android said after using an iPad and Android run tablet he prefers the iPad. It really does come down to OS though. It's much more streamline and smooth to use. No issues or compatibility problems. I much prefer iOS over Android. Plus as I have an iPhone and iPad it really makes sense to me with iCloud just on the horizon. Gonna make things very simple for me

chrislad

I'm considering a 10.1, but I'll try the shop demo first to see how comics are on it!

floggg

The (new) Galaxy tab is better from a hardware perspective and offers greater flexibility. I've heard good things about android honeycomb (3.0) as well, so I imagine there's not much in it from user experience.

However where the iPad wins hands down at the minute is content. There are near 100,000 iPad apps, but I think only 100,000 for android. I know mist of those are crap but I think the paltry app Market would ruin the android tablet experience for me

keith_d99

floggg wrote: »

The (new) Galaxy tab is better from a hardware perspective and offers greater flexibility. I've heard good things about android honeycomb (3.0) as well, so I imagine there's not much in it from user experience.

However where the iPad wins hands down at the minute is content. There are near 100,000 iPad apps, but I think only 100,000 for android. I know mist of those are crap but I think the paltry app Market would ruin the android tablet experience for me

It's a tough one - think I may need to try out Honeycomb on a tablet in PC world! Yeah Apple wins hands down with the apps - I'm hearing that not all Android apps work on Honeycomb. I had assumed that (like Apple), all apps would work regardless.

Samsung = better hardware, expandable memory, plays all downloaded videos (no need to converting like iPad), poorer apps

iPad = solid, nice UI, Airplay (but already would have Airplay on iPhone anyhow), better apps, nearing end of product cycle though

keith_d99

Also are how many updates are you guaranteed with Android???

Seems unclear ... with iPad I am more or less guaranteed IOS5 and IOS6 at least

Does anybody know the international warranty policy for Apple and Samsung?

mickoneill30

keith_d99 wrote: »

Have a mate travelling from the States in the next few weeks - so can get both iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tablet for $500 - working out about the €350 mark. Would be a shame to pass the opportunity of cheap hardware from the States

What do you want to do on the tablet?

I've an Android one (Xoom) so I'm biased. I'm not looking to argue, just giving my perspective.

I've just come back from holidays where for the first time in years I didn't take my laptop, and I didn't miss it.

What I used it for was

Browsing. No site has an issue. When you're on holliers having access to RTE news is handy to keep in touch. Maybe there's an app for that kinds of stuff on the iPad. On my tablet I just browsed to iPlayer.

Photos - it was handy being able to connect my camera to the tablet to upload photos to the internet.

Video on the planes - I'm pretty sure the experience on the iPad & Androids is pretty much the same for playing a video.

Music - I use Google Music Beta to sync my music. I think there's a similar system for Apple.

Torrents - It was handy to be able to download my ehm linux ISOs while abroad.

A couple of work related tasks like FTP & RDP. Not really too important for most people.

I think if I had an iPhone I'd get the iPad. The two different markets can mean if you have purchased an iPhone app you'll have to pay for it on your Android tablet. By staying in the same family if you purchase an app on the market you can run it on multiple devices (well you can on Android anyway, dunno about Apple).
But as I have an Android phone I've gotten the Xoom and I don't regret it at all.

If you get two different devices each device will have strengths and weaknesses so you'll be happy with neither

_Whimsical_

I have never tried an android tablet so I am not offering any comparison. I notice some people have brought up the issue of flash and difficulty in viewing multiple video formats on iPad so in case entertainment was a big issue fir you just thought I'd mention there are some good work arounds in place for these problems on iPad now.

There are several iPad apps available in the AppStore that will let you play many video formats without need to convert to traditional apple friendly formats. There are also some apps available that do a great job of delivering flash to you, iswifter for example. If you jailbreak there's xmbc that also allows you smooth access to flash content, example RTE player works like a dream on it and full content is available. Also cydia apps like ifamily guy and ice films films pluggin for xmbc offer streaming films and tv series. You also have live tv like magnet web tv and sky go. So the iPad isn't an entertainment black hole in that regard.

It's definitely not as customisable as an android device but if your willing to jailbreak and play around with it a bit you can tweak it in several ways that will improve your experience and make it more your own.

keith_d99

mickoneill30 wrote: »

What do you want to do on the tablet?

I've an Android one (Xoom) so I'm biased. I'm not looking to argue, just giving my perspective.

I've just come back from holidays where for the first time in years I didn't take my laptop, and I didn't miss it.

What I used it for was

Browsing. No site has an issue. When you're on holliers having access to RTE news is handy to keep in touch. Maybe there's an app for that kinds of stuff on the iPad. On my tablet I just browsed to iPlayer.

Photos - it was handy being able to connect my camera to the tablet to upload photos to the internet.

Video on the planes - I'm pretty sure the experience on the iPad & Androids is pretty much the same for playing a video.

Music - I use Google Music Beta to sync my music. I think there's a similar system for Apple.

Torrents - It was handy to be able to download my ehm linux ISOs while abroad.

A couple of work related tasks like FTP & RDP. Not really too important for most people.

I think if I had an iPhone I'd get the iPad. The two different markets can mean if you have purchased an iPhone app you'll have to pay for it on your Android tablet. By staying in the same family if you purchase an app on the market you can run it on multiple devices (well you can on Android anyway, dunno about Apple).
But as I have an Android phone I've gotten the Xoom and I don't regret it at all.

If you get two different devices each device will have strengths and weaknesses so you'll be happy with neither

Great post Mick!

Ah yes torrents (and usenet?) - another + for the android
Most apps I use for iphone are free - bar Navigon - can't see myself having the need for that on iPad.

I guess my other aim is to phase out my 6 year old laptop - so maybe Android is the way to go

keith_d99

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

I have never tried an android tablet so I am not offering any comparison. I notice some people have brought up the issue of flash and difficulty in viewing multiple video formats on iPad so in case entertainment was a big issue fir you just thought I'd mention there are some good work arounds in place for these problems on iPad now.

There are several iPad apps available in the AppStore that will let you play many video formats without need to convert to traditional apple friendly formats. There are also some apps available that do a great job of delivering flash to you, iswifter for example. If you jailbreak there's xmbc that also allows you smooth access to flash content, example RTE player works like a dream on it and full content is available. Also cydia apps like ifamily guy and ice films films pluggin for xmbc offer streaming films and tv series. You also have live tv like magnet web tv and sky go. So the iPad isn't an entertainment black hole in that regard.

It's definitely not as customisable as an android device but if your willing to jailbreak and play around with it a bit you can tweak it in several ways that will improve your experience and make it more your own.

Been down the road of jailbreak on the iphone - got bored of it - not worth the hassle.

Only device I would jailbreak is Apple TV2 - having seen Xbmc (as you mentioned above) running on it - that's impressive and defo worth the jailbreak route!

DubDJ

keith_d99 wrote: »

Been down the road of jailbreak on the iphone - got bored of it - not worth the hassle.

Only device I would jailbreak is Apple TV2 - having seen Xbmc (as you mentioned above) running on it - that's impressive and defo worth the jailbreak route!

I 100% agree with you there. I've given up on jailbreaking with the iPhone and iPad it's just too much hassle I don't mind spending the odd 79c on an app. It's worth it in the long run.

But I have got my ATV2 jailbroken. It's the only one i'd bother with really. It's worth it and theres not much to be updating for with the ATV.

kaisersose77

It's definitely worth jail breaking the iPad to get xbmc running on it. There's a proper touchscreen skin now for xbmc and it works great (xbmc itself isn't completely stable yet but it's getting there). I'm using my iPad 2 a lot more now since I installed that. XBMC streams all my videos including 1080p mkv's, can watch streaming us tv shows ( you can watch hulu as well if u have a US VPN), watch sports through livefootyonline addon, and rte player stuff through vodie addon.

keith_d99

Getting to grips with versions of Android.

If I buy Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - there is no guarantee that I will get Ice Cream Sandwich (and apps).

Is this not a major drawback of Android????

At least with Apple, you are more or less guaranteed a couple of year's iOS updates. (For instance my 3GS - 2 years old - gets iOS 5 come September).

thirtythirty

You'll get Ice Cream sandwich if you get a new high end tablet.

Couple extra points:

With android 3.2, all apps scale to fit the screen, so not more issues with "phone only resolution apps" meaning you pretty much have the entire android catalogue now, not just honeycomb specific apps.

Tablets like the Asus Transformer have full ports - 2 usb (for cameras, hard drives etc), hdmi, dlna (for streaming content to tv/ps3/xbox), and full hardware keyboard and mouse support meaning it can replace a laptop for all uses except iTunes really.

Also take a look at the Asus Slider coming out next month

keith_d99

spottyelephant wrote: »

You'll get Ice Cream sandwich if you get a new high end tablet.

Couple extra points:

With android 3.2, all apps scale to fit the screen, so not more issues with "phone only resolution apps" meaning you pretty much have the entire android catalogue now, not just honeycomb specific apps.

Tablets like the Asus Transformer have full ports - 2 usb (for cameras, hard drives etc), hdmi, dlna (for streaming content to tv/ps3/xbox), and full hardware keyboard and mouse support meaning it can replace a laptop for all uses except iTunes really.

Also take a look at the Asus Slider coming out next month

Didn't know that about 3.2 - that's good!
Swaying towards Galaxy Tab 10.1 - they are releasing a USB/SD card adaptor (also seperate HDMI - but not bothered about that - have a HD media player).

I do like that there are bittorrent and usenet clients available for Android.

keith_d99

See Apple got the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Europe (bar Netherlands) - can still buy in the States - would ye still buy???

Crackity Jones

keith_d99 wrote: »

See Apple got the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Europe (bar Netherlands) - can still buy in the States - would ye still buy???

Its obviously a decent tablet if Apple so intent on blocking it. I'm in same boat as yourself. I have the Samsung and an iPad 2 reserved in Dixons @ Dublin Airport. Much as I'd like to try out the Android tab, I've been looking at reviews, forums etc but last night just going through all the iPad apps on itunes and upcoming iOS 5 swung it for me and I'm gonna go with the iPad 2. Big thing for me as well is the resale value. I know I'll have no bother selling the iPad in the next year if iPad 3 comes out or Android App store has sufficient tablet Apps and the OS is a fluid and snappy as iOS.

keith_d99

After playing around with an iPad - gonna go with that! All about the apps - iPad apps are amazing. I had always presumed that iPad apps were just enlarged iPhone apps - not so - totally different experience.
Honeycomb is too far behind re apps.

Off chance, anybody know a US online store that doesn't charge sales tax?
Amazon don't see iPad

whiterebel

Crackity Jones wrote: »

Its obviously a decent tablet if Apple so intent on blocking it. I'm in same boat as yourself. I have the Samsung and an iPad 2 reserved in Dixons @ Dublin Airport. Much as I'd like to try out the Android tab, I've been looking at reviews, forums etc but last night just going through all the iPad apps on itunes and upcoming iOS 5 swung it for me and I'm gonna go with the iPad 2. Big thing for me as well is the resale value. I know I'll have no bother selling the iPad in the next year if iPad 3 comes out or Android App store has sufficient tablet Apps and the OS is a fluid and snappy as iOS.

Xoom next on the agenda apparently. They seem to be going after all that resemble the iPad too closely.

torrestorres

keith_d99 wrote: »

See Apple got the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Europe (bar Netherlands) - can still buy in the States - would ye still buy???

So if apple banned samsung tab, does that mean all Flytouch, Superpad china brands are also banned?

BrianD

whiterebel wrote: »

Xoom next on the agenda apparently. They seem to be going after all that resemble the iPad too closely.

That's what's disappointing about Apple. All tablets look similar as do laptops etc. They will also functionally work the same i.e touch screen etc. Apple are doing the consumer no favours by stiffling competition.

I can't see the Samsung ban lasting too long.

whiterebel

BrianD wrote: »

That's what's disappointing about Apple. All tablets look similar as do laptops etc. They will also functionally work the same i.e touch screen etc. Apple are doing the consumer no favours by stiffling competition.

I can't see the Samsung ban lasting too long.

From what I can see, Apple bought out the iPad, and everyone else rushed out and copied it. Don't forget Apple lost out to Windows years ago because, a lot of people think, they didn't pursue Microsoft hard enough for infringing in the beginning. They lost the famous Look & Feel case, and won't make that mistake again.

mickoneill30

whiterebel wrote: »

Xoom next on the agenda apparently. They seem to be going after all that resemble the iPad too closely.

This photo was taken in Jan 2010. That was before anybody knew any solid details about the iPad, it was still just a rumour if I recall correctly.
Maybe Apple are going after anybody that makes a device that looks like the HP Slate?

http://www.newlaunches.com/entry_images/0110/07/Microsoft_and_HP_slate_PC_tablet6.php

I know the HP Slate didn't become a product but that kind of detail doesn't seem to matter for patents.

whiterebel

mickoneill30 wrote: »

This photo was taken in Jan 2010. That was before anybody knew any solid details about the iPad, it was still just a rumour if I recall correctly.
Maybe Apple are going after anybody that makes a device that looks like the HP Slate?

http://www.newlaunches.com/entry_images/0110/07/Microsoft_and_HP_slate_PC_tablet6.php

I know the HP Slate didn't become a product but that kind of detail doesn't seem to matter for patents.

The iPad was announced about a week later, AFAIR. I very much doubt they copied that in a week. It was around for months that it was going to be a bigger version of an iPod Touch, so it wouldn't need Einstein to figure out what it would look like.....

mickoneill30

whiterebel wrote: »

I very much doubt they copied that in a week.

So what? I'm not saying they copied it. I'm saying before the iPad was released there were devices that look like the iPad / Galaxy Tab / Xoom.
It's not a earthshattering form factor. It's a rectangle with a black border.

DjFlin

Until Ice-Cream Sandwich comes out, no Android tablet is worth having. Honeycomb (The version of android most tablets run) is essentially a giant beta test.

Personally, I'm avoiding all tablets, the iPad doesnt have the features I want, and Android has too many problems right now. But if I had to buy a tablet for my parents or someone, I'd choose the iPad hands down right now.

Once Ice-Cream Sandwich launches, not to mention Windows 8, then the tablet marketplace will get interesting.

whiterebel

mickoneill30 wrote: »

So what? I'm not saying they copied it. I'm saying before the iPad was released there were devices that look like the iPad / Galaxy Tab / Xoom.
It's not a earthshattering form factor. It's a rectangle with a black border.

Earthshattering or not, its a patent Apple have taken out, and for the moment, a German Court believes Samsung and Motorola have infringed upon it. It'll be interesting to see if its upheld in the long run.

mickoneill30

DjFlin wrote: »

Until Ice-Cream Sandwich comes out, no Android tablet is worth having. Honeycomb (The version of android most tablets run) is essentially a giant beta test.

You could generalise about all software like that.

It depends what you want the tablet to do (iPad or Honeycomb).

For surfing the internet, checking email, watching video, reading books I don't see anything beta about either platform. My folks have a laptop. There's nothing they do on their laptop that they couldn't do on a tablet (either type). They're not power users obviously.

mickoneill30

whiterebel wrote: »

Earthshattering or not, its a patent Apple have taken out, and for the moment, a German Court believes Samsung and Motorola have infringed upon it. It'll be interesting to see if its upheld in the long run.

I didn't hear that the German court had done anything against Motorola. I agree with the rest of your statement though.

whiterebel

mickoneill30 wrote: »

I didn't hear that the German court had done anything against Motorola. I agree with the rest of your statement though.

Hence me saying next.

Edit:Sorry I see I included Motorola in the previous post. Samsung only for the moment, Motorola apparently in the works.

mickoneill30

whiterebel wrote: »

Hence me saying next.

Hence all you want. There is no next in your post.

Edit: I see it now up in post 24. I was replying to post 32 though.

whiterebel wrote: »

Earthshattering or not, its a patent Apple have taken out, and for the moment, a German Court believes Samsung and Motorola have infringed upon it. It'll be interesting to see if its upheld in the long run.

DjFlin

That whole patent thing is bogus.

Companies should try to set themselves apart by innovating, not patent trolling one another. Apple arent the only ones who do it, just the most recently noted.

whiterebel

DjFlin wrote: »

That whole patent thing is bogus.

Companies should try to set themselves apart by innovating, not patent trolling one another. Apple arent the only ones who do it, just the most recently noted.

And what's the point innovating if anyone else can just copy? With the money spent on R&D and possible lost sales, they need to protect their innovations. I'm just surprised patents are not more clear cut with all that goes into them.

DjFlin

whiterebel wrote: »

And what's the point innovating if anyone else can just copy? With the money spent on R&D and possible lost sales, they need to protect their innovations. I'm just surprised patents are not more clear cut with all that goes into them.

Of course they're expected to protect their R&D, but patenting a 10 inch touchscreen device isnt innovation, its trolling. It'd be like Toyota trying to patent the steering wheel.

Apple recently patented a bit of tech that will essentially steam clean fingerprints off your devices. That is innovation, something that sets them apart, that is what they should protect, not something arbitrary.