For those thinking about Android tablets...

[AppleGoddess]

I will be getting a Android phone, but will keep my iPad .

 

[NebulaClash]

You're Correct, but only to the extent that Hugo Barra, the director of products for mobile at google was quoted by Tech Radar as saying that "Froyo(2.2) is not optimized for use on tablets," however, he never said that future versions of Android would never be optimized for tablets. Furthermore, Chrome OS is "Stateless" and Android and iOS are also slowly becoming more and more reliant on cloud services, so maybe we won't need Chrome, and in some ways Android is already fulfilling Googles vision. On my iPhone I have Gmail, Omnifocus, Dropbox, Simplenote, and even the Kindle App all which sync with cloud services. On my retired Nexus One it's the same story, minus a few apps that are only in iOS.

Now we have another story that points out that current Android versions are not optimized for tablet use, and furthermore 3.0 (Gingerbread) will ALSO not be ideal for tablet use. It's not until the version that will follow 3.0 (Honeycomb) that Google will finally release a version of Android that should be appropriate for tablet use.

That's right, no Android tablet you find on the market today has an OS optimized for tablet use. None. And none of the 3.0 tablets will be optimized for use either. Maybe some time in 2011 iPad will get some competition, but right now if you are thinking of getting an Android tablet, keep in mind that it is not ready for prime time according to the people talking with Google. That isn't stopping manufacturers rushing out tablets that sorta work with less-than-optimized OSes, but that's because they are desperate to get something on the shelves. Are you that desperate to buy something that isn't ready?

As for what you are saying, japasneezemonk, I said what I said about Chrome based on Google's views last spring. I admit that their perspectives might change over time, as you suggest, but I do think Chrome is their preferred future. Google makes money when you use the Web and see ads. Nothing else helps them. So why would they prefer Android with non-Web apps that do not require you to go through Google, when they have Chrome that is Web-only and thus makes money for Google no matter what?

So time will tell what they ultimately decide, and I'll admit I don't know how it will turn out. But what I do know is that there are NO Android tablets on the market today that are running an OS that has been optimized for tablet use. What we see now, and what we will see in the 4th-quarter, are tablets rushed to market. Christmas is going to be owned by iPad.

 

[Syk]

Well that sucks to hear that...Still 3.0 may make for a better experience who knows.

One thing Apple has over Android tablets is that Apple makes the OS and hardware which helps because they don't have to wait on another party. RIM seems to be doing the same for their PlayBook. If they get their OS sorted out and developers to develop for it they may be the ones to give Apple competition instead of the Android tablet makers, well if they don't price themselves out of it.

I waiting to see what ipadv2, playbook and win7 tablet have to offer in 2011.