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Google's Chromebooks Overtake Apple's iPads for First Time in U.S. Education Market
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In other news, screwdrivers outsold hammers last year, thus conclusively proving the demise of the nail. This whole article is flawed in that it is comparing two dissimilar things and uses that faulty comparison in order to make a very conclusory implication.
I think apple should put more effort into buying market share in schools because whatever the schools get may influence what kids buy in the future. It may also set the standard for what is required to take to school in the future. Like Microsoft office has been required in many places for a long time.
Apple has 150 billion in the bank. Making iPads dirt cheap for schools would not affect them too much, in fact it has been said apple could go years without making a profit and their billions would sustain them.
Fair enough. Pencils and paper outsell iPads in schools. Chromebooks are totally different devices.
I'm about to put my Chromebook on eBay. It's almost totally unused.
I like Google search, Gmail, Android etc. etc., but I simply don't understand a computer that is very nearly useless if it doesn't have an internet connection.
In my opinion, the Chromebook doesn't know what it wants to be. An Androidbook, however, I'd totally understand.
But equally, I don't really understand iPads/tablets either.
I like Google search, Gmail, Android etc. etc., but I simply don't understand a computer that is very nearly useless if it doesn't have an internet connection.
In my opinion, the Chromebook doesn't know what it wants to be. An Androidbook, however, I'd totally understand.
But equally, I don't really understand iPads/tablets either.
Irrelevant as they can't run Android apps. They can only view html documents.
HTML as a platform isn't enough.
It's about the services, not just the hardware. My daughter (8th grade) has a Chromebook from school and their program is very impressive. They use Google Docs and Drive extensively for writing, collaboration, getting/turning in homework, etc. It's all integrated with the curriculum, textbooks, etc. Security and lock-down is excellent too. For example, teachers can see every app or website that students are viewing during class - but only during those hours. I was surprised at how mature it all is for a first year pilot. Nothing like that exists for Apple as far as I know, and I doubt schools would want to depend on Pages and iCloud anyway.
I would be willing to consider a Chromebook as an alternative to a MacBook Air if I there was one with built-in LTE. Since they're almost useless without an Internet connection (not enough onboard storage to hold but a few files), and most apps being web/server based, I'd need one with LTE.
And other than the $1500 Google Chrome Pixelbook (or whatever it's called), I don't think there are any.
And other than the $1500 Google Chrome Pixelbook (or whatever it's called), I don't think there are any.
Makes perfect sense - they're not supposed to leave campus, so lack of WiFi shouldn't be a problem. They have a familiar form-factor and are marketed and discounted very aggressively.
If Apple wants to fight back, they should introduce a real keyboard cover for the iPad. It would need to be powered by the device (no separate battery), meaning a direct connection instead of the bluetooth stuff we have now. Basically, they need to rip-off the Surface keyboard. I wouldn't mind an actual, precise pen either (there's a massive difference between a stylus and a pen).
An iPad Pro with faster specs isn't what anybody wants. The iPad Air 2 is already ridiculously fast; nobody who owns one will complain that they want it to be faster.
The iPad already has amazing speed. It's reasonably-priced. It has world-class productivity software. The reason sales are declining is because we still struggle to be productive using it - for that, new interaction designs are required and they will almost certainly involve hardware features.
If Apple wants to fight back, they should introduce a real keyboard cover for the iPad. It would need to be powered by the device (no separate battery), meaning a direct connection instead of the bluetooth stuff we have now. Basically, they need to rip-off the Surface keyboard. I wouldn't mind an actual, precise pen either (there's a massive difference between a stylus and a pen).
An iPad Pro with faster specs isn't what anybody wants. The iPad Air 2 is already ridiculously fast; nobody who owns one will complain that they want it to be faster.
The iPad already has amazing speed. It's reasonably-priced. It has world-class productivity software. The reason sales are declining is because we still struggle to be productive using it - for that, new interaction designs are required and they will almost certainly involve hardware features.
This. Chromebooks are replacing traditional windows laptops in schools. iPads are an extra expense school districts may decide to go for but they won't replace laptops altogether, chromebooks can replace windows laptops. Microsoft should be very worried about this. Unfortunately what this means for most schools is they will either end up with super cheap Chromebooks or super cheap windows laptops, neither are particularly good overall.
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You made good points until you said "world-class productivity software". The iPad absolutely does not have world class productivity software. That comment is laughable. I love my iPad air 2 and I use it almost exclusively these days. MS office and pixelmator are great apps and they work very well but they are absolutely nowhere as efficient or powerful as their desktop counterparts and by no means are they "world class". Anyone writing a research paper on an iPad (even with a real keyboard) is going to have a horrible experience next to someone using a chromebook or Mac/windows laptop.
Wrong word. Taxes are not voluntary. One can freely chose to buy or not by an Apple product based on a criterion or criteria. If a products price tag doesn't match a person or entity's budget it's simply uneconomical or unaffordable.
though i would consider ipads to be used in schools, i think the price and the lack of keyboard could be important factor. Chromebook is a proper computer type device (though a new kind) you can type in, which is very important.
Wait... whut?
Almost everyone I know has a tablet. About 2/3 have iPads, most of the rest have Android, one has a Surface.
I've never laid eyes on a Chromebook, ever. I just naturally assumed they were killed off, along with the rest of that whole failed netbook experiment.
Almost everyone I know has a tablet. About 2/3 have iPads, most of the rest have Android, one has a Surface.
I've never laid eyes on a Chromebook, ever. I just naturally assumed they were killed off, along with the rest of that whole failed netbook experiment.
This.
$149 for a Chromebook or $499 for an iPad. I'd go with a Chromebook, too if I was buying 1,000+
For the "decision makers", it's not about what best for the kids, it's about what is best for the budget and payroll.
Oh, I didn't mean to say they're truly desktop-class, but they do have extremely capable productivity software. The problem is that you can't really interact with it productively -- writing a word document, making a powerpoint presentation, etc. doesn't really lend itself to the iPad or to touch-interaction in general.
Now, if the iPad had a real pen as an input device, or a physical keyboard as convenient as the Surface's, we would be able to be much more productive with the devices. Maybe it still won't match the desktop in all cases (maybe it'll be even better for other cases), but it'd be much more realistic than the current proposition.
Apple should really embrace the NUI (Natural User Interface) paradigm in general. This is something Microsoft is currently doing better than anybody else. NUI is about computers becoming more human in their interaction -- using a combination of interaction methods such as touch, speech, pens, whatever; all of which can be used interchangeably so that the computer fits human beings rather than the other way around.
Apple currently does touch and some limited speech interaction, but other input devices like pens and keyboards seem to be treated rather apathetically. They would make the iPad a better product and a much more realistic business tool than it currently is. Not a desktop replacement, but something which has a place alongside a desktop.
1. Kids don't choose what devices are in school.
2. Kids will ALWAYS be one step ahead of us with technology. Always.
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I hated my Chromebook, probably the worst laptop I've ever had. But I live in an area with very poor internet connection and the lack of local services made it a very flaky device indeed.
That said, I can see why they're being used more than iPads. They're cheaper and they have keyboards.
Chromebooks could never replace real laptops that work offline. As is commonly known Chromebooks are useless without an internet connection. I would rather get the $200 HP laptop with Windows than a Chromebook. My wife is a teacher and in her elementary school the WiFi isn't always reliable. I can never understand this push for doing everything online and saving everything to the cloud. Many times it's much more productive working offline as you're only hampered by the speed of your computer not the network.
Maybe they just better suit the needs of those using and/or administering them? Is that not a possibility?
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