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Objective comparison of iPad2 to current Android tablets?

Kelemvor

Kelemvor

Lifer
Howdy,

I'm looking for a nice write up that compares the features of an ipad2 with the various Android tablets. I'm trying to find one that isn't biased oen way or the other.

My nephew is looking for an "ipad" but I think he might like the customizability of an android tablet better. I'm not talking about rooting or hacking, I'm just talking about widgets, custom home pages, etc. However I've never actually used one to speak first hand about the differences.

Can anyone recommend a site or two that simply compare the two systems against each other but still leave it up to the end user to decide which would be the right one for them?

Thanks.
 
Just go to a store with different models on display and let have him play around with a few different devices. That's going to be better than any product review or spec sheet, because even if they're objective, they might not be terribly useful.
 
pros of android:
widgets, different screen sizes/hardware features (transformer laptop dock, sd card support)

pros of ipad:
integration w/ itunes
better tablet apps

that's pretty much how I see it. can't really go wrong imho.
 
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The iPad 2 is better right now but by next year I think it will pretty much be a wash between the two.
 
vshah said:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.taptu.streams has a similar concept and is available for android tablets

also Pulse newsreader
Click to expand...


* Google Reader: Import up to 100 of your RSS feeds from Google Reader and convert them into Streams
Click to expand...


FAIL

and ipad 2 is better for games. add an apple TV and you can play on your TV




Warning for trolling
When someone says "this app is a possible alternative" and you post back "FAIL" without any explanation, this is trolling. I would ask you to provide more elaboration in the future, Alent1234.

Moderator PM
 
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I don't think there exists any direct comparison between the two, more likely because it's a very broad subject, and there is no objective way to assert whether a feature is "different" or "superior" or "inferior" as each person would have a different way to look at it.

That said, though, if your nephew's main concern is to play games, use apps, create music, make videos, fix photos, create documents, and he does not need Flash in the browser (note: video clips on most webpages don't require Flash), then I would say... iPad 2.

But if he wants more control over the device, and does not mind the lack of apps (or in a more subtle sense, the lack of better music creation app, if any, the lack of a movie editing app, if any, and the lack of many photo editing app) but admires the familiar feel of a file system, plus he uses Flash a lot to play online games, then I have no doubt an Android tablet was made for him.
 
Mopetar said:
Just go to a store with different models on display and let have him play around with a few different devices. That's going to be better than any product review or spec sheet, because even if they're objective, they might not be terribly useful.
Click to expand...
I think the OP's question is valid. What will his nephew learn by just messing with a tablet in the store display? Especially somebody that doesn't know shit about iOS or Android? Maybe open a browser and flip through a couple web pages?

The ecosystem behind a mobile OS is pretty complex. Somebody won't get a feel for the functionality unless they mess with it for an extended amount of time. I've had my Android phone for 4 months and there is still a ton I haven't touched.
 
dguy6789 said:
On Android all you need is an HDMI cable to play on your tv 😛
Click to expand...

MiniHDMI to be more precise. Unless there is an Android tablet with a full HDMI port that I don't know?

iPad 2 needs an adapter, but otherwise, if the AppleTV can be used, it's a perfect solution.
 
Considering that Honeycomb was just a rushed version of Android to compete against the iPad, and ICS is the real unifier, I would wait. Even then there are tons of articles saying ICS might not be a tablet focused OS, and that we'll have to wait even more. How long do we have to wait til there's something legitimate?

I've been complaining about hardware acceleration since day 1, and people kept talking about "omg wait for Eclair, no wait for Froyo, no wait for GB, and HC, and no wait ICS is gonna be the shit." I say just wait and see. Google's got a long way to catch up. If you want a solid tablet today, the iPad is the way to go. I'd take my gf's iPad 1 over my TouchPad running CM7 anyday.
 
DLeRium said:
Considering that Honeycomb was just a rushed version of Android to compete against the iPad, and ICS is the real unifier, I would wait. Even then there are tons of articles saying ICS might not be a tablet focused OS, and that we'll have to wait even more. How long do we have to wait til there's something legitimate?

I've been complaining about hardware acceleration since day 1, and people kept talking about "omg wait for Eclair, no wait for Froyo, no wait for GB, and HC, and no wait ICS is gonna be the shit." I say just wait and see. Google's got a long way to catch up. If you want a solid tablet today, the iPad is the way to go. I'd take my gf's iPad 1 over my TouchPad running CM7 anyday.
Click to expand...
With ICS, Google is taking the position that tablet apps don't need to be different from phone apps.

Which is so, so dumb.
 
Having both I can give my (arguably objective) opinion.
I like the iPad form factor more than the Android tablets. It seems more natural like holding a book. The downside is when watching widescreen content, it doesn't utilize the whole screen. So for media playback I use my Android device (Asus Transformer).

As far as accessories, the iPad can't be beat. There are tons of screen covers, cases, stands, you name it, they have it. The leather magnetic cover is the sh!t. I like just slapping it back on and it locks the device. Open it and the device is back on. In this state of being off/sleep, the ipad can go a lot longer on the battery just waiting on you.
I had to install an App for my Transformer to get it to kill the wifi when I put it to sleep, so it will save standby time on the battery.

As far as apps go, I personally like Android more as I don't have to jailbreak it to use widgets and such. If I want, I can have a big old clock, weather, stock, and various widgets on the desktop. My biggest gripe with the iPad is that the meebo client on itunes is made for the iPhone thus it looks like crap on the ipad, and isn't very useable. On Android it works fine on the tablet or phone.
Granted, I haven't used the iPad a lot, but with my Transformer and File Manger HD I can browse my network shares and access any file i want. No inbetween devices need to be setup or service installed on the computers.
Screen wise, and sound wise, I think they are pretty much a tie. I can't tell any appreciable difference.
Expandability wise, Android tablets the whole way. You may be able to use iCloud, but for the city slickers out there, some of us go places where 4G/3G or wifi aren't available. More onboard storage = more content to watch or listen too.

Apple Pros:
1. Form factor
2. Accessories
3. Support
4. # of available apps/media content on itunes/app store.

Apple Cons:
1. Price
2. Screen size for watching widescreen media
3. No expandability


Android Pros:
1. Price
2. Expanability
3. Better viewing size on screen
4. Widgets/Customizing/ROMs

Android Cons:
1. Form factor for Surfing/Typing
2. lack of really good accessories
3. Less support from MFGer
4. less apps (but nothing I am in need of)

What I hate about both is the proprietary power/data cords. Some Android devices use micro USB and others don't. My Transformer uses a custom plug to USB for data and charging, just like the iPad, and it's really short. Have to use a USB 3 extension to get a longer cord. My GF's Acer Iconia uses a micro USB to USB cable for data, but has a AC adapter with the round plug in socket. Standarize guys.
 
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endlessmike133 said:
With ICS, Google is taking the position that tablet apps don't need to be different from phone apps.

Which is so, so dumb.
Click to expand...

no, it's not. if you took the time to read the developer guides you'd see that what they're trying to accomplish is really quite elegant.

tablet apps usually have 2 panes.

on a phone app, left pane will be one screen, and right pane will be another screen (after making a selection on screen 1)
on a tablet it will show as 2 panes

this will be done with the same executable running on a phone or a tablet, automatically.

Spineshank said:
Pulse is a cool concept but i dont understand why so many people think its like Flipboard. I look at Pulse as an app that takes RSS feeds and puts it into a pretty interface. Flipboard is more "I make this look like a magazine and all pretty like".
Click to expand...

flipboard takes rss and google reader feeds and puts them in a pretty interface too. the interface is just much prettier
 
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I dont think comparing the accessories should count as a pro and/or con on either tablet as apple will always win. There is only one ipad and dozens of android tablets. No company is going to make comparable accessories for android devices.

As fo which one is better? Hard to say. I have an Asus TF and love it. I had an ipad once and initially loved it then I hated it as it was non-expandable. I also hated it primarily because of itunes. I really hate itunes. Then the media player. I prefer my TF for media playback for the same reasons already mentioned. The apps are getting there but are not even close to being as refined as apples apps. I will get there but not any time soon. On the flipside, most apps worth having on android are free. I also love the side loading ability of android. ipads need to be jailbroken I believe. When I did have my ipad I loved it for netflix but that is on all android devices now so it is moot.
 
Oyeve said:
I dont think comparing the accessories should count as a pro and/or con on either tablet as apple will always win. There is only one ipad and dozens of android tablets. No company is going to make comparable accessories for android devices.

...
Click to expand...

Its definitely an Apple pro though. Go try and find a speaker dock for an Android phone, there'll be a choice of 1 if you're lucky. Cases are a bit better if you pick a popular Android device but theres still a crap ton more available for iDevices.
 
endlessmike133 said:
With ICS, Google is taking the position that tablet apps don't need to be different from phone apps.

Which is so, so dumb.
Click to expand...

they better not because as it is, honeycomb at least is better than GB on a tablet. I have CM7 on my Touchpad, and it's retarded having a giant Gmail without 2 panes. With that said, Honeycomb was a dead end and everyone knew it. So knowing this, would you settle for mediocrity now, knowing it has no future, or would you hope that the new ICS is enough to propel Google's newer tablets to the frontrunner position? I kinda thing Google's not there yet, so either wait and see, or jump on the iPad now.

As for this whole Pulse vs Flipboard crap, Pulse is nowhere near Flipboard ok? There's nothing that even comes close to Flipboard on Android, and I swear even if you gave it a year, no one else will come up with something as nice. It's already been how many years and the Facebook app on Android still sucks dick?
 
Pulse, lol. Its an alternative, but its a sucky one. I feel like this happens a lot on the Android platform. I'd move to Android if its apps were real competitors and if the OS was smoother.

Android wasn't meant for tablet design, iOS was from day 1, so iOS is going to be more refined. If you want customization go with Android, if you want polish go with iOS. Pretty similar in deciding a smartphone too, but its probably more pronounced here for a tablet because Android tablets are still far away from working out the kinks.
 
MrX8503 said:
Pulse, lol. Its an alternative, but its a sucky one. I feel like this happens a lot on the Android platform. I'd move to Android if its apps were real competitors and if the OS was smoother.

Android wasn't meant for tablet design, iOS was from day 1, so iOS is going to be more refined. If you want customization go with Android, if you want polish go with iOS. Pretty similar in deciding a smartphone too, but its probably more pronounced here for a tablet because Android tablets are still far away from working out the kinks.
Click to expand...

We already know your non objectivity on the subject. What "kinks" need to be worked out? The tablets and the OS are there. The only thing lacking is 3rd party app development. That isn't the device's fault, it's the developers fault.
 
endlessmike133 said:
With ICS, Google is taking the position that tablet apps don't need to be different from phone apps.

Which is so, so dumb.
Click to expand...

Actually if you bothered to do any research on Android development you would see that Google already provides the developers with everything they need to make a single app work perfectly on both phones and tablets including an appropriate interface for each. Sadly most mobile developers seem to be inept and intent on taking shortcuts rather than making their apps truely good. Sadly Apple has encouraged devs to be lazy by doing things like only developing for 3 resolutions, it makes things easy up front but now they are locked into fixed resolutions and aspect ratios when it is possible to do so much better.

As far as the difference between the two I feel it can be broken down to this.

iPad= better apps
Honeycomd= better interface
 
Puddle Jumper said:
Actually if you bothered to do any research on Android development you would see that Google already provides the developers with everything they need to make a single app work perfectly on both phones and tablets including an appropriate interface for each. Sadly most mobile developers seem to be inept and intent on taking shortcuts rather than making their apps truely good. Sadly Apple has encouraged devs to be lazy by doing things like only developing for 3 resolutions, it makes things easy up front but now they are locked into fixed resolutions and aspect ratios when it is possible to do so much better.

As far as the difference between the two I feel it can be broken down to this.

iPad= better apps
Honeycomd= better interface
Click to expand...

Uh, how's that a bad thing? If you notice Android fragmentation makes it difficult. Tons of apps get releases and updates where the changelog says "Fix for Droid Bionic" or whatever other Android device. It means instead of making the app better and adding new features and making it not look like ass, they have to spend time tailoring it for each phone. I remember how much trouble there was for some apps to work with Moto's 854x480 instead of the standard 800x480.

So what if Apple has only 3 resolutions? At least the devs aren't scrambling day and night to work out compatibility issues.
 
DLeRium said:
With that said, Honeycomb was a dead end and everyone knew it. So knowing this, would you settle for mediocrity now, knowing it has no future, or would you hope that the new ICS is enough to propel Google's newer tablets to the frontrunner position? I kinda thing Google's not there yet, so either wait and see, or jump on the iPad now.
Click to expand...

Woot? Honeycomb was much better than (the old) iOS4 for a tablet. I think a lot of people did not used or played with honeycomb. I have so much more fun with it. It's so much more useable than iOS for 6 months. I don't even need a PC to get content on my Transformer - even without root.
 
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