2011: The year of the android tablet?

[Puddle Jumper]

Can you type a document on it? Sure, either with the onscreen keboard or with a bluetooth one.

Can it run any of the applications I need for work? That depends on what you need for work really.

Will it playback my existing library of media? It will playback quite a few popular formats, and I think that VLC is back in the app store and that will playback a great many more.

It not being ideal for you is not the same as it not being ideal.

I personally don't have much of a need for an iPad. I have a MacBook Air which satisfies my light/portable computing needs, but I can acknowledge their utility for others. My sisters both love theirs, they use them just like they would use laptops.

When I said that you couldn't really type up a document I was reffering to the pain of using a on screen keyboard compared to a physical one. Bluetooth keyboards would work but then you have eliminated the tablets portability advantage vs a laptop.

The apps avilable for software development on the ipad are horribly lacking compared to Windows or linux. Plus the lack of file system access would leave you relying on something like dropbox to manage your files whcih imo is not acceptable.

Unless the iPad can play back 1080p video and flac audio it would be utterly useless as a media playback device for me

 

[Skott]

It also depends on how you view the market. Apple has more iPads out there in consumer hands but now in the last couple of months or so android tablets are out selling iPads 2 to 1(I heard this on CNBC). Apple currently has a larger market share than androids but the android market is currently growing faster percentage wise(Again, CNBC). On one hand you can say Apple is best but if you look at it another way you could say the Android is doing better. Just depends on how and which numbers you look at and put a spin on it.

 

[Doboji]

Fast food has broad appeal, too... but that doesn't make it a good or smart thing to buy.



Get a grip. What's smart isn't always popular, and what's popular isn't always smart.

You haven't articulated what's "incorrect" (according to you) about my assumptions, and I'm not clairvoyant.. so I recommend either explaining what's "incorrect" or moving on.

Allow me to paint you a picture...

14 hour flight to Dubai, in economy, I'm 6 foot 5.

Which would you rather use to: (tablet, or laptop)
Review docs, ppts and spreadsheets?
Watch movies?
Read books?
Listen to music?
Play games?

 

[vi edit]

Function is one area were I find that tablets fail the most. Can I type up a document on it? not really. Can it run any of the applications I need for work? nope. Will it playback my existing library of media? No. Basically the only things they seem good at is reading ebooks and email but $500+ is a pretty steep price for that. I will admit a ultraportable isn't as suitable for 3 year olds but for most people that is a non issue.

People aren't buying tablets for work or productivity (unless you are in sales for presentation or the medical field for quick journal or med info access). They are buying them as replacements for portable DVD players. They are buying them as educational and entertainment devices for kids. They are buying them as easy to use, reliable means of casual emails and webrowsing for grandparents. They are using them for web browsing and reference cards while in the kitchen. The people buying tablets still have a desktop or sit down workstation they use for banging out word documents or doing their taxes. Everything else is being migrated over to the tablet for them.

 

[Mopetar]

It also depends on how you view the market. Apple has more iPads out there in consumer hands but now in the last couple of months or so android tablets are out selling iPads 2 to 1(I heard this on CNBC). Apple currently has a larger market share than androids but the android market is currently growing faster percentage wise(Again, CNBC). On one hand you can say Apple is best but if you look at it another way you could say the Android is doing better. Just depends on how and which numbers you look at and put a spin on it.

I'd really like to see a link to that report, because it flies in the face of pretty much everything else that's been reported. Even the reports that compare the number of tablets shipped suggest that Apple is out-shipping Android devices 2 to 1.

 

[vi edit]

Apple has more iPads out there in consumer hands but now in the last couple of months or so android tablets are out selling iPads 2 to 1(I heard this on CNBC).

Apple just in the last week or two was able to actually bring production up to the level of demand. The reason the iPad hasn't sold well in the last few months is because you can't freaking find them because Apple can't crank them out fast enough.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Android phones outsell the iPhone 2/1, not tablets.

And cnbc is a terrible resource for anything...

 

[JS80]

I understand the haters. But you really have to have one to "get it." Light, no keyboard, instant on, instant use, stability, battery life cannot be replicated on a windows laptop right now.

95% of my usage is in bed. Prior to iPad I had my laptop with a thing under it. Night and day.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I get a kick out of the haters saying sales don't mean anything after thread after thread touts Android activation figures.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

i think its funny because everytime we talk about how Android is everywhere, when I look around places, it's iPhone iPhone iPhone.

My tech friends are split 4/4 iPhone Android. However, of the 4 Android users, I'm the only one who's rooted and custom romming away. Of the iPhone users, I'm the only one that's jailbroken (I have an iPod Touch).

Last week I went to Intersolar/Semicon West in San Francisco. Lots of marketing, sales and engineers too. I look around and it's heavily iPhone. I sat in a Starbucks later in the afternoon to overcome my Food Coma, and there were 5 seats facing the window looking at the sidewalk. I found it trendy so I sat there too. there were 3 MacBooks, 2 iPads, and 2 iPhones amongst the 5 seats. I was the sole Android user there, but my MacBook fit right in.

I moved to a table later because wifi reception sucked at the window, and two minutes after sitting down, 2 guys asked if they could share the table too. Out plops 2 iPads as they're discussing the solar industry.

Where the fuck are the Android devices?

Now I'll admit I have a lot of friends with Android phones, but Android tablets? Honestly those are nonexistent. I live in the goddamn Silicon Valley. I spend a lot of time at coffee shops and asian bubble tea places just hanging out with friends. I'll see plenty of laptops, iPads and smartphones, but never have I seen an Android tablet yet. Sure there's a lot of young hipsters, so maybe the Xoom doesn't appeal to them, but still, then I ask where the hell are the Android tablets going?

 

[Sloper]

2:1, not really.
http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/ipad_dominance

 

[Anubis]

iWhere the fuck are the Android devices?

?

prob sitting in some geeks house like mine is. i use mine daily however its only ever left my house once (travle for work) and even then it was in a bag 90% of the time. even if it was smaller i wouldent take it anywhere with me. my phone works fine for stuff when im out.

to date ive seen the same number of ipads in public as android tablets and its 4 each. dont know teh ipad version but ive seen 2 xooms and 1 galaxy tab and a transformer

ive seen like 11ty billion kindles

and just because you dont see them doesnt mean people arent buying them

 

[preslove]

2:1, not really.
http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/ipad_dominance

Expecting anything other than iPad dominance is dumb. Honeycomb was released in late FEBRUARY on a shitty Xoom tablet that was MORE EXPENSIVE than the iPad. Before then, the only Android tablets were crappy 7" 2.3 tablets that were either terrible, or sold through a carrier at a total price of ownership above the iPad.

The Asus Transformer was the first Honeycomb tablet to be released for significantly less than the iPad ($100), and it wasn't released in the US until April 26th--less than three months ago--and they weren't available in high numbers for about a month. The Acer Iconia was only dropped to $400 within the last week or so.

1.35 million is about right for how short a time actually quality and price competitive tablets have been available when that data was available (July 5, 2011). At that time, you could barely find an Asus Transformer, which had been out in the US in the limited quantities for around 6 weeks. The Acer Iconia had been out for about the same amount of time at a $480 price point and the Xoom had been out for longer at a price above the iPad.

This will all change after Asus, Acer and others start pricing their machines at ~$350 msrp with occasional sales in the $300 range. When consumers start to walk into Best Buy and find all the different tablets running the same Honeycomb OS, with sticker prices $150-$200 lower than the iPad, then you'll see a significant shift in sales to android and a large increase in tablet sales, overall. $300 is just an easier sale price for most consumers than $500.

Given Apples sales & marketing head start, though, it will still take several years for android to overtake apple.

 

[vi edit]

Does anyone know how the droid marketplace works between droid phones and tablets? That's one huge advantage the iPad has in addition to being a well designed device and has a thriving marketplace. It's happily at home in the Apple ecosystem. Any app I buy for my phone is copied to my IPad. I can easily synch movies and pictures between devices. I can shoot pictures over to my Apple TV and view them there. It's built into the existing apple environment with little to no user intervention required.

 

[MrX8503]

Why people think their needs equates to everyone's needs, I will never understand.

I don't personally need a tablet, but I'm not gonna question the other several millions of people who do buy them.

 

[ponyo]

Does anyone know how the droid marketplace works between droid phones and tablets? That's one huge advantage the iPad has in addition to being a well designed device and has a thriving marketplace. It's happily at home in the Apple ecosystem. Any app I buy for my phone is copied to my IPad. I can easily synch movies and pictures between devices. I can shoot pictures over to my Apple TV and view them there. It's built into the existing apple environment with little to no user intervention required.

It's pretty similar. I prefer the Android ecosystem and wireless sync over Apple plug into iTunes sync. Only time we plug our Apple devices is for firmware upgrade. But that's supposed to change with iOS5 so we'll see. Airplay is superior to DLNA used by Android devices but that's about it. But DLNA isn't that bad. My experience is with Samsung Vibrant phone and "7 Galaxy Tab and iPad 1 & 2, iPod Touch, and Apple TV2.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

i think its funny because everytime we talk about how Android is everywhere, when I look around places, it's iPhone iPhone iPhone.

My tech friends are split 4/4 iPhone Android. However, of the 4 Android users, I'm the only one who's rooted and custom romming away. Of the iPhone users, I'm the only one that's jailbroken (I have an iPod Touch).

Last week I went to Intersolar/Semicon West in San Francisco. Lots of marketing, sales and engineers too. I look around and it's heavily iPhone. I sat in a Starbucks later in the afternoon to overcome my Food Coma, and there were 5 seats facing the window looking at the sidewalk. I found it trendy so I sat there too. there were 3 MacBooks, 2 iPads, and 2 iPhones amongst the 5 seats. I was the sole Android user there, but my MacBook fit right in.

I moved to a table later because wifi reception sucked at the window, and two minutes after sitting down, 2 guys asked if they could share the table too. Out plops 2 iPads as they're discussing the solar industry.

Where the fuck are the Android devices?

Now I'll admit I have a lot of friends with Android phones, but Android tablets? Honestly those are nonexistent. I live in the goddamn Silicon Valley. I spend a lot of time at coffee shops and asian bubble tea places just hanging out with friends. I'll see plenty of laptops, iPads and smartphones, but never have I seen an Android tablet yet. Sure there's a lot of young hipsters, so maybe the Xoom doesn't appeal to them, but still, then I ask where the hell are the Android tablets going?

Around here the explosive growth of android is very evident. 2 years ago the only smartphones you saw were iPhones but now they are very clearly in the minority. It's not uncommon at all for me to end up in line with another Galaxy S owner.

My guess is all of the hipsters in the bay area are the reason you see so many more iPhones there.

 

[Ns1]

When I said that you couldn't really type up a document I was reffering to the pain of using a on screen keyboard compared to a physical one. Bluetooth keyboards would work but then you have eliminated the tablets portability advantage vs a laptop.

you can add a keyboard to a tablet but you can't remove a keyboard from a laptop.

Does anyone know how the droid marketplace works between droid phones and tablets? That's one huge advantage the iPad has in addition to being a well designed device and has a thriving marketplace. It's happily at home in the Apple ecosystem. Any app I buy for my phone is copied to my IPad. I can easily synch movies and pictures between devices. I can shoot pictures over to my Apple TV and view them there. It's built into the existing apple environment with little to no user intervention required.

iCloud will only cement this

 

[Dulanic]

With the lower pricing on android tabs now I can see them selling much faster now. I actually just picked up the Acer myself for 299. Really can't beat that pricing.

 

[zsdersw]

Why people think their needs equates to everyone's needs, I will never understand.

I don't personally need a tablet, but I'm not gonna question the other several millions of people who do buy them.

Why you characterize a tablet as something most people who buy them "need" I will never understand. It isn't. Functionally, it's a convenience device.. not an essential device.

 

[zsdersw]

That is true, but now you have this low-cost, incredibly good music creation tool available to everyone (with an iPad), and with it you can just mess around, or learn how to make music of your own. The same applies to iMovie, and the drawing/painting apps as well. The thing is that the iPad becomes whatever app it is running. As someone put it, iOS is an applications platform. The rest of the device disappears and it becomes a canvas.

Too much marketing-speak. Do you work for Apple?

Pretty sure no one was in line to get the Magic Trackpad, but I see your point. Apple is in an incredibly enviable position, but also bear in mind that they have to have more hits than misses (with the general public and public opinion) otherwise they couldn't keep doing this. If we expand the net out, how many movies have had people in lines wrapping around the theaters? How many games have had deep lines at midnight launches in the middle of winter? Apple is not the only company <period> that can do this, they just seem to be the only ones that can do it with phones and tablets.

Hell, look at the launch of the Wii.

I never said they were the only company that can do this, I said they're the only computer/tablet/smartphone company that can... and I'm not talking about movies or games; itching really really bad to spend the money in your wallet, in general, is a very common thing... but to stand in long lines to spend desktop/laptop money on something that can't replace them and only offers convenience... just because His Holiness Steve Jobs said it was the greatest thing ever... is just stupid, plain and simple.

Except now that they have the iPad, they might go looking for new apps, or trying new things on it. Imagine if someone handed you a computer and said 'go nuts, try anything, you CANNOT break this'. There are any number of older or younger people that can interact with an iPad that are absolutely dumbfounded and baffled by actual computers (be they Win, Linux, OS X, OS/2, Unix, whatever)

That argument fails in an economy such as ours.. which was the point of that portion of my post. Spending lots of money that, let's face it, many don't really have on "trying new things" is stupid.

 

[TheStu]

Too much marketing-speak. Do you work for Apple?

No, I do not work for Apple. Anytime I have seen Garageband on iPad mentioned in a review or otherwise the usual chorus has been how much better it is than the desktop version, and how easy it is to use it to make music. The same goes for iMovie.

I never said they were the only company that can do this, I said they're the only computer/tablet/smartphone company that can... and I'm not talking about movies or games; itching really really bad to spend the money in your wallet, in general, is a very common thing... but to stand in long lines to spend desktop/laptop money on something that can't replace them and only offers convenience... just because His Holiness Steve Jobs said it was the greatest thing ever... is just stupid, plain and simple.

Attributing it to some sort of religious like delusion is the worst sort of crap argument that far too many people fall back upon. Feel free to give any other reason really, but to argue that the people have been tricked or conned or hypnotized or anything else is just silly.

That argument fails in an economy such as ours.. which was the point of that portion of my post. Spending lots of money that, let's face it, many don't really have on "trying new things" is stupid.

Do you have any concept of how much apps cost on iOS? Or rather, how little? A $5-10 app is certainly not going to break the bank when you are talking about an initial purchase of at least $500.

I think I am starting to understand your argument now though. You are selflessly trying to save all the kool-aid drinking, Steve Jobs worshipping, Apple loving sheep. You don't want them to put themselves into financial straits for what you feel is an unnecessary purchase. This has nothing to do with your apparent deep-seated dislike for anything Apple related (feel free to point out how wrong I am by listing all the Apple products that you own, thus freeing you from subjectivity), and instead is about your noble act to save us poor benighted fools. I apologize for not understanding until now.