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Why iPad Over Another Tablet?

eljanitor

eljanitor

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I've seen the iPad and at times I consider buying one. There seems to be a few reasons that I would. However I know that there are a few other tablets out there, like the Motorola Xoom, and the Samsung Galaxy.

So what are some reasons that you prefer the iPad / iPad 2 over the others? Or do you?
 
Yours is a question that has been asked many times before.

Everyone has a preference and buys the product that best fits their needs/wants.
 
The most common answer is app availability. The android selection just isn't there yet, and from what I've heard the average quality level is way lower bc they're not as stringent as apple in what gets through. And apps are really what makes a tablet something you use constantly versus something you forget about after the initial excitement wears off.
 
eljanitor said:
I've seen the iPad and at times I consider buying one. There seems to be a few reasons that I would. However I know that there are a few other tablets out there, like the Motorola Xoom, and the Samsung Galaxy.

So what are some reasons that you prefer the iPad / iPad 2 over the others? Or do you?
Click to expand...

This subject has been hashed and rehashed many times, I'm just saying, but if you want to know.

Although "The Market" for Android is slowly catching up, it can't compete with "The App Store". Bottom line for me is software support and the simple fact that I am heavily invested in Apps for the iPad. Repurchasing the same App for an Android tablet? Uh uh, not going to happen.
 
eljanitor said:
I've seen the iPad and at times I consider buying one. There seems to be a few reasons that I would. However I know that there are a few other tablets out there, like the Motorola Xoom, and the Samsung Galaxy.

So what are some reasons that you prefer the iPad / iPad 2 over the others? Or do you?
Click to expand...

Only two non-iPad tablets you should even consider and neither one is available yet. Samsung 10.1 or HP's upcoming tablet. Do some searches on reviews of the Xoom, Playbook, Streak, etc... and you'll see why you want to avoid those tablets.
 
Prefer iPad because of the consistency of the iUniverse. ITunes, App Store etc.
Exchange of programs between iPhone, iPod and iPad. Also MobileMe counts in here.

And there are sweet little details like the magnet smart cover
 
I have an iPad and a Playbook. I got the Playbook for free and I develop for the iPad.

The main reason I would go with iPad is the App Store. Not because it has 300,000 apps but because it actually has useful applications.

The Playbook has around 3,000 apps right now and unfortunately nearly all of them are pretty terrible. Which is a bit sad because the OS itself is really nice, at least for version 1. It still has a bunch of annoying quirks (For example: You can't disable the screen timeout. The longest you can set it to is 5 minutes, even while plugged in!) which will hopefully be worked out in the next few months.

As far as Android tablets, the 10.1 and 8.9 Galaxy Tab's look interesting but we will see once the reviews come out.
 
jclardy said:
I have an iPad and a Playbook. I got the Playbook for free and I develop for the iPad.

The main reason I would go with iPad is the App Store. Not because it has 300,000 apps but because it actually has useful applications.

The Playbook has around 3,000 apps right now and unfortunately nearly all of them are pretty terrible. Which is a bit sad because the OS itself is really nice, at least for version 1. It still has a bunch of annoying quirks (For example: You can't disable the screen timeout. The longest you can set it to is 5 minutes, even while plugged in!) which will hopefully be worked out in the next few months.

As far as Android tablets, the 10.1 and 8.9 Galaxy Tab's look interesting but we will see once the reviews come out.
Click to expand...

Well, Playbook should be able to run Android apps, so that's a plus. And remember, first apps on iPhone were fart apps. Every new OS needs to spread it's wings.
 
Meanee said:
Well, Playbook should be able to run Android apps, so that's a plus. And remember, first apps on iPhone were fart apps. Every new OS needs to spread it's wings.
Click to expand...

That's not what I remember. As I recall, fart apps didn't start appearing until a month or two after the app store opened. The very first bunch of apps that hit the app store were pretty solid. What I do remember in terms of "that's not really an app" problem is that the app store was quickly overrun by ebooks apps, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Apple created a "Books" category in the app store.
 
One thing I like about the iPad is it's screen ratio. With the exception of wide screen movies the benefit of it's wider screen is you can still see much of the screen when the onscreen keyboard is in use.

As for apps, there are only a few available for iOS tablets that Android doesn't have, and Android has a few iOS doesn't.
 
Last edited:
I like the ipad 2 a lot. But I use it mostly for web browsing and listening to music, something that the Android tablets could easily do. Since I already have an iPhone, having an ipad doesn't really bring much new. So in hindsight, I would rather go for a platform which is different from iOS since I already have an iOS device.

On the other hand, if you already have an Android phone, an iPad might be a cool thing to have as you get to use two different sets of apps.
 
4DThinker said:
The one thing like about the iPad is it's screen ratio. With the exception of wide screen movies the benefit of it's wider screen is you can still see much of the screen when the onscreen keyboard is in use.

As for apps, there are only a few available for iOS tablets that Android doesn't have, and Android has a few iOS doesn't.
Click to expand...

If by "only a few" you mean about 65,000 then yes, "iOS tablets" have a few more. 🙂
 
tried android tablet (xoom and the LG one). however, found they are not what i want. for the honeycomb os, it has the dock at the bottom of the screen that u cannot make program run over it => no full screen program; no hard button (except the ON/OFF) => dont know what to do when it freezes; many apps (and rapidly increase in quantity) but the quality of apps is poor and many apps do not work on all devices; and the biggest prob: it's lagging, doesnt have the "smooth" feeling, like the iOS!

after all, hardware is not the only matter! the interaction between hard and software is even more important for me! => ipad is my choice!
 
Try them all and buy the one that meets your needs ie. one you like the looks of, feels the fastest to you, and has the software you want.

Its not hard.
 
Also, most of the Apps from "The Market" are no optimized for tablet use, which further limits your choices for apps.
 
Meanee said:
Well, Playbook should be able to run Android apps, so that's a plus. And remember, first apps on iPhone were fart apps. Every new OS needs to spread it's wings.
Click to expand...

Congratulations. I wasn't going to post in this thread but your ignorance has convinced me! 😀

The first apps on the iPhone were far from fart apps. Don't make stuff up to help your argument. First of all there were over 500 iPhone apps on launch day (and over 2,000 iPad optimized apps on iPad launch day). I would be shocked if the number of Android tablet optimized apps topped either one of those numbers, and we are 3 months removed from its launch.

And regarding those fart apps, they actually didn't gain steam until much after the launch. In fact it wasn't until about christmas that the fart apps started popping up (6 months later). So please use you brain before you use your mouth (or fingers)
 
I have a Transformer running honeycomb and I get full screen apps, so I don't know what you're talking about here. Also any honeycomb tablet is going to be able to run all apps for previous versions (of android) so your comment about apps not working on all devices doesn't mean anything in reality.



hoanganh said:
tried android tablet (xoom and the LG one). however, found they are not what i want. for the honeycomb os, it has the dock at the bottom of the screen that u cannot make program run over it => no full screen program; no hard button (except the ON/OFF) => dont know what to do when it freezes; many apps (and rapidly increase in quantity) but the quality of apps is poor and many apps do not work on all devices; and the biggest prob: it's lagging, doesnt have the "smooth" feeling, like the iOS!

after all, hardware is not the only matter! the interaction between hard and software is even more important for me! => ipad is my choice!
Click to expand...
 
There are tablets on the market other than the iPad?

I mean, I've looked around Best Buy, and I sure can't find any. Just some plastic-and-metal things that are nothing more than expensive non-working toys.
 
ChristianJapan said:
Prefer iPad because of the consistency of the iUniverse. ITunes, App Store etc.
Exchange of programs between iPhone, iPod and iPad. Also MobileMe counts in here.

And there are sweet little details like the magnet smart cover
Click to expand...

+1. The customizing flexibility offered by Android is certainly an appeal for many but the simplicity with which the iPad slides into our almost exclusively Apple household was the greatest appeal. My wife is, lets just say '"technically challenged" so having a multiple OS household would only make life more difficult. We can share apps across multiple devices and now that my wife is more familiar with iOS after using an iPhone for a couple years, she has little difficulty pickup up her or my iPad and getting done whatever she needs.
 
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