Tablets iOS or Andriod? For me it's content!

[jonomo]

Thinking of getting the Nexus 7.. or waiting for the rumored iPad Mini.. for me it was always a no brainer.. go with iOS.. mostly because of the design of the hardware, but secondly b/c of the fact that most of my music, tv, movie, and now books were all purchased on iOS starting back to the beginnings of iTunes.. quite a hefty investment!

But now I feel that the hardware is starting to be on par with Apple, and many of the services offered by Google and competitors are very appealing, such as Google drive, Docs, and Android itself.. not to mention the lower prices of the hardware... and finally, I'm sick of dealing with iTunes.. I almost never open it anymore because it's such a bloated piece of junk! I now just sync with wifi and cloud..

My dilemma comes down to wether I move to Android and dump my old iTunes content now while I'm still sorta somewhat kinda young? Or do I switch to Android? I've thought about it for a while and my feeling is to cut my losses and move to a much more flexible Android world.. Albiet, it won't be as easy and seamless as Apple, but I think I'm gonna give it a try...

So, my plan is to wait to see IF a iPad mini appears.. IF it's compelling enough to keep me to iOS in terms of design, price, and features.. if it doesn't cut the mustard.. then I'm off to Nexus 7!

 

[irDigital0l]

You know that Android has tons of free apps just like iOS right?

If you really want to go Android you might have to rebuy a few premium games and apps but everything else is free.

 

[Rodster]

Both platforms have their fair amount of Apps and worthless ***** I wouldn't pay for. The reason iOS gets the nod is because Apple feeds that ecosystem with their iDevices.

Most developers know what to expect from the platform because Apple maintains a certain level of consistency throughout. Android because it's so fragmented has a tougher time to pull dedicated apps for it's platform. That's the key dedicated apps that take advantage of the device. As an example ABC News has a great App for the iPad. It's non existent on Android.

I own both Android and iOS tablets. Seriously there is enough stuff on Android to keep you busy for awhile.

 

[irnchriz]

Android is fine for domestic use but is a no go for business.

 

[Lindenhurst]

Android is fine for domestic use but is a no go for business.

I totally agree, but Apple had the head start. Will they stay ahead?? Time will tell.

 

[UKBeast]

Android and ios are differently designed platforms developed from different minded brains.

ios is consistent, well designed and fully compatible with other idevices it is future proof and will be fed by apple. ios is a completely ready dish for the consumer right out of the box. Its got limitations to make the system easier and lead consumers to use the device as they think the way its stable, productive. Apple thinks that the consumers do not know what they need until they see them, consumer do not know the most efficient way to use the device so they do not serve super hyper mega customisation on their system instead they design the best they think for you. As a result of this you are getting a fully stable, future proof, malware free, fully compatible with idevices, properly designed operating system. An apple customers knows what he will get with the box.

when it comes to android you have got the ingredients and recipe for dinner you want to have but the meal is not ready to eat. You can customise it from the bottom to the top but you may compromise from stability, compatibility, design. Android is an open platform therefore it is not builded for a single or few device, instead made to be compatible with lots of junk mobile phones with different sizes, different screens, different hardware. So all android devices can be quite different than each other.

On apple side, there is only one iphone, one ipad, one mac os x.

according to apple, designing, ease of use,brilliant user interface is more important then engineering.

ios is an idiot proof system while android is for tweakers.

Think it like microsoft and mac os x.

After all years spent with pc and microsoft, I realised that customisation is a waste of time. No matter how you customise it at the end of the day your outcome is same. Now i am happy with apple ecosystem.

 

[urkel]

Thinking of getting the Nexus 7.. or waiting for the rumored iPad Mini.. for me it was always a no brainer.. go with iOS.. mostly because of the design of the hardware, but secondly b/c of the fact that most of my music, tv, movie, and now books were all purchased on iOS starting back to the beginnings of iTunes.. quite a hefty investment!

This is where it's annoying that Pirates have it easier than people who buy content legally. I hate the idea of being locked down to one OS due to content you actually purchased.

Personally, I heavily prefer iOS but I'm working on distancing myself from being tied to their products. Rather than buying movies on iTunes I'm buying BluRays and ripping them myself (its cheaper too). Music is purchased on iTunes but is DRM free. And I'm going to start buying books on Kindle (I screwed up by buying on iBooks and not even being able to read them on my Mac since there's no iBooks.app).

It sucks that we have to worry about this stuff but I guess thats the price we have to pay by being good citizens rather than pirates who have it easy.

 

[LSUtigers03]

I own both Android and iOS tablets. Seriously there is enough stuff on Android to keep you busy for awhile.

What made you want to get both tablets? What phone do you have? I have a Galaxy Nexus and an iPad 2. I've been wanting to get the Nexus 7 but I'm worried that I won't use it since I have an iPad.

 

[urkel]

On apple side, there is only one iphone, one ipad, one mac os x.

according to apple, designing, ease of use,brilliant user interface is more important then engineering.

ios is an idiot proof system while android is for tweakers.

Think it like microsoft and mac os x.

After all years spent with pc and microsoft, I realised that customisation is a waste of time. No matter how you customise it at the end of the day your outcome is same. Now i am happy with apple ecosystem.

Just curious but when was the last time you used Android?

I feel that for the first few generations then Android wasnt as intuitive but I got to try Jelly Bean the other day and I'd say the UI, ease of use, design etc is equal/better than the current state of iOS.

Also, I feel you are using an outdated analogy by comparing Android customization with that garbage everyone used to do with Windows XP. This isn't about skins and tacky interface tweaks, the Android customizations I've seen are all about accessing information more easily WITHOUT it getting in the way.

I dont think I could move to Android but using it definitely does make me add things to my iOS wishlist.

 

[Eddie Bombay]

Tablet = iOS

Phone = Android

 

[CNeufeld]

I had an iPad 2 and iPhone, replaced them with a Asus Transformer Prime and Nexus phone. What I found was that the tablet apps for Android mostly sucked, in my opinion. Most were just stretched version of their regular apps, and didn't utilize the extra screen real estate effectively. I returned my Transformer Prime inside my two week window, and went back to iOS devices. I did keep the Nexus phone as an unlocked backup phone.

I'm sure the Android developers are hard at work making "proper" tablet apps... That was back when the Transformer Prime first came out, so your mileage may vary.

Clint

 

[Rodster]

What made you want to get both tablets? What phone do you have? I have a Galaxy Nexus and an iPad 2. I've been wanting to get the Nexus 7 but I'm worried that I won't use it since I have an iPad.

My first tablet was a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 which I still love to this day. I then bought a Kindle Fire only because I buy tons of stuff from Amazon and i'm an Amazon Prime member and use it everyday.

I recently bought an iPad and like that a lot as well. As phones go I have an Android phone.

My best advice and I found this out the hard way. The grass is always greener on the other side. If you find yourself using your iPad a lot then stick with that.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Things get a bit weird at the end of a given Apple product lifecycle. You get a lot of comparisons of new hardware with the Apple hardware that is nearing end of life. I don't think the OP here is right/wrong but there are always interesting clue words that people use in their post and sometimes it doesn't always seem to add up. For instance I've highlit in bold the sections that don't seem to quite make sense.

Thinking of getting the Nexus 7.. or waiting for the rumored iPad Mini.. for me it was always a no brainer.. go with iOS.. mostly because of the design of the hardware, but secondly b/c of the fact that most of my music, tv, movie, and now books were all purchased on iOS starting back to the beginnings of iTunes.. quite a hefty investment!

But now I feel that the hardware is starting to be on par with Apple, and many of the services offered by Google and competitors are very appealing, such as Google drive, Docs, and Android itself.. not to mention the lower prices of the hardware... and finally, I'm sick of dealing with iTunes.. I almost never open it anymore because it's such a bloated piece of junk! I now just sync with wifi and cloud..

My dilemma comes down to wether I move to Android and dump my old iTunes content now while I'm still sorta somewhat kinda young? Or do I switch to Android? I've thought about it for a while and my feeling is to cut my losses and move to a much more flexible Android world.. Albiet, it won't be as easy and seamless as Apple, but I think I'm gonna give it a try...

So, my plan is to wait to see IF a iPad mini appears.. IF it's compelling enough to keep me to iOS in terms of design, price, and features.. if it doesn't cut the mustard.. then I'm off to Nexus 7!

1. I'm thinking a hefty investment in one ecosystem likely means that to make a wholesale move would require the new ecosystem to be "substantially" better.

2. Other than the Microsoft Surface I haven't seen any other tablet that was on par with Apple offerings. The Nexus isn't that product externally. It's plastic with a rubberized back.

3. If a person is wedded to Google services then I always recommend that they look at Android. It's really a no brainer though it has nothing to do with "Content" which the title of this thread contains and if Content really is the important thing iOS has a decided advantage here.

4. There is no iPad mini so I'm assuming the lower cost hardware is Android phones which many of the top phones are exactly the same price as the iPhone.

5. iTunes could be better but then again what library management app out there is better? I'm hoping for major changes this year to iTunes.

6. Flexible? Means a lot of things.


To me it sounds like the decision is made and this is basically just a circle jerk thread which offers little value to people as there's no "meat" involved. The "Content" part is just a ruse.

 

[jonomo]

Android is fine for domestic use but is a no go for business.

Can you elaborate? I mostly use my tablet for emails and reading docs. Rarely do I use it to modify slides, sometimes to write up documents.

 

[Eddie Bombay]

Android is fine for domestic use but is a no go for business.

Not for business? I can see my list of patients for the day on the fly. My phone automatically sends them a text and reminder emails confirming their appointment a day prior. Before I had to hire a billing service and a service to remind patients everyday. I know this may seem like peanuts but I'm saving around 25k a year now that I don't need those services. By on the fly I meant widgets as simple as even a calendar.

Ex of something called a widget:

For me android is great for business (private practice doctors) and my iPad is for the home (well sometimes).

 

[nuckinfutz]

Android isn't bad for business but Apple's more closed system is more business friendly because of the security factor.

Plus Apple's mobile device management (MDM) features are improving.

 

[iCole]

I think both OS'es are closing in on eachother. Android really starts to get more stable, fluid and is getting it's own consistent look and feel. iOS is getting more Android'ish with notification center and those deep social networking integration. I think there aren't a lot of important things you can do on Android that you can't on iOS when it comes to general functionality.

I think it will come down to looks, ecosystems and price. If I would move to Android, I think I might miss Photostream and those handy push notifications on the lock screen. And the general consistent speed of the device. But I'll probably would survive without problems. Which wasn't so when I bought my Galaxy S a few years ago. What a piece of ****, that was, before the OS updates anyway.

 

[NbinHD]

I think both OS'es are closing in on eachother. Android really starts to get more stable, fluid and is getting it's own consistent look and feel. iOS is getting more Android'ish with notification center and those deep social networking integration. I think there are really big this you can do on Android that you can't on iOS when it comes to general functionality.

I think it will come down to looks, ecosystems and price. If I would move to Android, I think I might miss Photostream and those handy push notifications on the lock screen. And the general consistent speed of the device. But I'll probably would survive without problems. Which wasn't so when I bought my Galaxy S a few years ago. What a piece of ****, that was, before the OS updates anyway.

Yep, totally agree with you. Both OS' have there own benefits and are catching up on each other, in there own way. Apple has to catch up with the customization aspect, while Android has to improve on the fragmentation, stability etc etc. I think Apple is a little too secretive with there products and there release dates etc etc.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Yep, totally agree with you. Both OS' have there own benefits and are catching up on each other, in there own way. Apple has to catch up with the customization aspect, while Android has to improve on the fragmentation, stability etc etc. I think Apple is a little too secretive with there products and there release dates etc etc.

Apple's content is still better on a global scale wrt available TV, Movies and Music. Don't see that changing much as I'm sure that the media isn't in love with Google who slapped the TV creators with Google TV an the music creators with Google Music.

Apple has been designed in typical Apple tradition.

1. Start out conservative
2. Add features
3. Polish

start the cycle again. Android couldn't leverage their big lead in features and iOS closed the gap and has done it with more polish IMO.

The duopoly of OS X and iOS connected with iCloud is going to be a very strong draw going forward.

 

[irnchriz]

Can you elaborate? I mostly use my tablet for emails and reading docs. Rarely do I use it to modify slides, sometimes to write up documents.

Not for business? I can see my list of patients for the day on the fly. My phone automatically sends them a text and reminder emails confirming their appointment a day prior. Before I had to hire a billing service and a service to remind patients everyday. I know this may seem like peanuts but I'm saving around 25k a year now that I don't need those services. By on the fly I meant widgets as simple as even a calendar.

Ex of something called a widget:

Image

For me android is great for business (private practice doctors) and my iPad is for the home (well sometimes).

To be honest I don't class you as needing any serious IT support if you can run everything from a PIM. Well done running on a shoestring, you work the same way android was built. Lots of stuff slapped together and shipped out the door. Very little in the way of structure or support mechanisms in place.

I do get the argument for android, its great for pissing about on, you can skin it, tweak it, hack it and generally ***** about on it but thats generally frowned upon in a business environment.

Just try rolling out android devices across a workforce. Its a logistical nightmare, no centralised device management (googles business app offering is woeful at best) and third party products are still in their infancy. Until google rectify this situation android has no place in any medium sized or larger organisation. (we are looking with interest at the samsung GSIII as samsung are meant to be rolling out a business ready version which includes device management etc)

We stick to Blackberry and iOS. iOS is taking over from BB for the majority of our clients but we still have some who have staff that want to stick with BB. We have no issue with this as the infrastructure is all in place and all of the devices are easily manageable.

 

[Dunbar]

We stick to Blackberry and iOS. iOS is taking over from BB for the majority of our clients but we still have some who have staff that want to stick with BB. We have no issue with this as the infrastructure is all in place and all of the devices are easily manageable.

I'm curious what sort of device management advantage iOS has over Android? My S3 accesses my corporate Exchange server the same way my iPhone did. I believe my IT department actually has more control over my S3 than they did the iPhone. I had to agree to a bunch of security permissions when setting up my Exchange account on the S3. Any mainstream software company or subscription based service has good apps for both platforms. I guess I can see the point if you're using proprietary applications developed in-house but wouldn't BB users have the same issue of not being able to use an iOS app? I get that Android isn't as intuitive so it might be more hassle for an IT department to support than iOS.