[Chubby]

I needs some help with a technology decision, if anyone cares to offer their opinion? OK, stick with me, this could take a while....

We have decided to buy a tablet of some kind for us. Rach and I will use it, but it's primarily for our son. We are either going to get an Android tablet, or an iPad. Now, comes the rub.

I swore against owning any Apple products after owning an iPhone 3G. I loved the phone, but the propritary nature of the device and Apple's tactical obsolescence has left a bad taste.

The Android OS is great allows devices to run all sorts of video files, is freely expandable in terms of storage - can transfer any files to it over Wifi, the UI is fairly slikc. However, the apps availble for it don't come anywhere near the coverage that App Store has.

The problem with buying an iPad is having to go back to installing iTunes (boy I loved uninstalling that picec of shit software), converting to Apple format for video, transferring everything through iTunes, no expansion... BUT, the wealth of apps is unprecedented. Companies seem to develop iOS versions of kids games / software and then maybe develop the Android version. By companies I mean, Thomas the Tank Engine, Peppa Pig etc..

So there's my dilemma - do get the wealth of apps for him and the pain of iTunes and the locked down iOS, or do I go for an Android? When you are talking about the Samsung Tablets vs iPad - there isn't a lot of difference in price.

I've not arrived at these opinions overnight. I've owned an iPhone 3G and I love my HTC Sensation. I see the tablets as being bigger versions....

Thanks for reading and for your opinions...

[c4rv]

The best non-apple tablet appears to asus infinity though no UK release date yet it should be soon.

Also throwing their hat in is Microsoft with their Surface tablet running Windows 8 RT which could be an expensive doorstop or amazing.

For me its apps that break or make a tablet and both apple and amazon have a vast range of educational software.

MS will be playing catch up for tablet optimised application but their are a vast army of 3rd party windows developers who may port their apps over.

[Brush Master]

One ought to be frank and clarify that Android and Google are just the same. They want you to use a Google account and rent and buy stuff from them, period. You don't have to sing along with this tune all the way, but to some extend, you'll have to.

An Android device begins being fun with all your Android devices sync up. Your contact, bookmarks, calendars, etc, are shared, backed-up and in sync, etc. Android doesn't force you into that, but it's a lot more useful if you agree to some of this. You may also need to convert videos to an Android-compatible format, etc.

I am sure the Surface will make you sign into Microsoft Sky & Co in a similar manner.

I think you'll need to accept some level of this with a tablet or smart phone. The only way to be truly independent is to run your own Linux installation on suitable hardware, but then again, you wouldn't get the goodies either.

[InsideSoap]

You don't need to convert videos to mp4, plenty of apps that let you play all video formats on the iPad. I hate iTunes myself but doesn't take all that long to copy them over.

[Rodney McKay]

I have a Samsung Galaxy tab 10 incher provided by work and I just bought an iPad 2. I wanted by own tablet and what swung me in favour of the iPad was I felt it was just a better product, I am an Android fan and have had 3 Android phones but my personal view is on tablets Android is not as good as Apples OS.

I also prefer the Apple 4:3 screen rather than the 16:9 Android screens, the Samsung feels bulkier in the hand. But again that's my personal view, I don't use either to watch video on more for the web.

[Matt D]

Originally Posted by Chubby

The problem with buying an iPad is having to go back to installing iTunes (boy I loved uninstalling that picec of shit software), converting to Apple format for video, transferring everything through iTunes, no expansion... BUT, the wealth of apps is unprecedented. Companies seem to develop iOS versions of kids games / software and then maybe develop the Android version. By companies I mean, Thomas the Tank Engine, Peppa Pig etc..

You don't *have* to use iTunes at all, unless you have your own content (e.g. ripped CDs, "acquired" videos) you want to transfer.

Apps, Books, Films, TV Programmes, and Music can all be downloaded directly via the relevant App Store app, iBooks app, or iTunes app - from scratch and updates.

Purchased content of the above types are all available for re-downloading directly via "iCloud" (except for purchased films from Fox... until issues with rights are sorted out: The US just got Fox films "in the Cloud" a few days ago).

And since last year's release of iOS 5, iOS devices can be activated, backed up, and have OS updates all without needing to ever use iTunes.



As mentioned, you would still need iTunes if you wanted to transfer over any media you've acquired yourself.

Regarding videos... If the kind of videos you'd want to transfer are those "acquired" elsewhere they all tend to be in an iTunes-friendly format now (H.264 within the .mp4 container) and don't need converting like Xvid/.avi files do.

If you do have any videos that are "iTunes-unfriendly" (.mkv, .avi), you can use:

1) AVPlayerHD to play them on the iPad. The files can be transferred using iTunes *or* FTPd over WiFi.

2) PS3MediaServer to stream them to the iPad and then AirPlayer to actually play them.

[AyeJay]

As good as Android phones are (and as cheap Android tablets are) the selection of tablet UI apps is dreadful. You'd be better off going with an iPad and maybe switching back over to Android in a few years time when Google have got their developers in order.

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by Matt D

You don't *have* to use iTunes at all, unless you have your own content (e.g. ripped CDs, "acquired" videos) you want to transfer.

Apps, Books, Films, TV Programmes, and Music can all be downloaded directly via the relevant App Store app, iBooks app, or iTunes app - from scratch and updates.

Purchased content of the above types are all available for re-downloading directly via "iCloud" (except for purchased films from Fox... until issues with rights are sorted out: The US just got Fox films "in the Cloud" a few days ago).

And since last year's release of iOS 5, iOS devices can be activated, backed up, and have OS updates all without needing to ever use iTunes.



As mentioned, you would still need iTunes if you wanted to transfer over any media you've acquired yourself.

Regarding videos... If the kind of videos you'd want to transfer are those "acquired" elsewhere they all tend to be in an iTunes-friendly format now (H.264 within the .mp4 container) and don't need converting like Xvid/.avi files do.

If you do have any videos that are "iTunes-unfriendly" (.mkv, .avi), you can use:

1) AVPlayerHD to play them on the iPad. The files can be transferred using iTunes *or* FTPd over WiFi.

2) PS3MediaServer to stream them to the iPad and then AirPlayer to actually play them.

Originally Posted by AyeJay

As good as Android phones are (and as cheap Android tablets are) the selection of tablet UI apps is dreadful. You'd be better off going with an iPad and maybe switching back over to Android in a few years time when Google have got their developers in order.

Thanks to everyone, especially the quotes above - these seem to be the salient points.

I've posted the same on my Facebook account and got a lot of similar comments.

It's seems an iTunes-free existence is possible by over-air upgrades, iCloud sync and using MediaMonkey to sync files to the device..... This makes the iPad much more attractive, and that screen's beautiful!

I've got to go where the apps are, as it's primarily for my son, who does care about the trails and tribulations of using Apple software! Seems the apps are firmly in Apple's court.

I'm gonna get grief from my colleagues when I go back to work!

[Mr. Cool]

Seriously, I prefer Android over iOS any day but don't buy Samsung, buy ASUS. Updates are slow and there software is laggy (due to TouchWiz), whereas Asus are fast with updates.

[samnoon]

I love my Android phone and like you I had been frustrated by my iPhone 3G, but recently when I had to choose between an Android tablet and the iPad I went for the latter, and I'm very glad I did. It is very easy to jailbreak which gives you full access to the filesystem and allows for transfer of files over wifi. Jailbreaking poses no risk to the device and all trace of the jailbreak can be removed by restoring the software from iTunes. Currently I don't find it any more limited than Android on my phone.

There are several media players on the app store which can play any format you throw at them, and I've been able to sync my mail, contacts and calendar with my Android. You can also use Chrome to sync tabs and bookmarks with your phone and PC.

[barky99]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cool

Seriously, I prefer Android over iOS any day but don't buy Samsung, buy ASUS. Updates are slow and there software is laggy (due to TouchWiz), whereas Asus are fast with updates.

not bought one of these tablets yet but when I do ASUS Transformer will be top of list as it seems best of it's breed

[Stuart_h]

Originally Posted by AyeJay

As good as Android phones are (and as cheap Android tablets are) the selection of tablet UI apps is dreadful. You'd be better off going with an iPad and maybe switching back over to Android in a few years time when Google have got their developers in order.

This isn't quite as smart a comment as it sounds. Android apps are built to cater for various screen sizes and resolutions because that is what they have always had to do. Apple had to reinvent apps specifically for tablets as they had only had to work on iphones before. 99% of android apps work perfectly well on tablets and even resize up where required.

[c4rv]

Originally Posted by AyeJay

As good as Android phones are (and as cheap Android tablets are) the selection of tablet UI apps is dreadful. You'd be better off going with an iPad and maybe switching back over to Android in a few years time when Google have got their developers in order.

I see this from apple owners all the time that tablets are not supported in android because they don't have compatible with tablet stamped on them. , You don't need tablet specific versions of 99.99% of android apps as they are designed to work across different hardware and screen resolutions.

The OS has been tablet optimised since honeycomb and scales perfectly fine.