Is Android Failing as a Tablet Platform?

[Michael Knutson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/the-failing-of-android-as-a-tablet-platform/3003' target='_blank'>http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-ne...t-platform/3003</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"I like Android. I own both a tablet and a smartphone running Android, and I find them both to be great mobile devices. I have tested and reviewed dozens of phones and tablets running some form of Android, and for the most part I have liked them all. My personal preference for Android aside, I have to be honest and state that Android is failing as a tablet platform compared to the competition."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/lpt/auto/1308850245.usr17748.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>Failing? Not really, but, I look at Android for tablets somewhat like I look at Linux for desktops and laptops, it works, but there is currently no compelling reason for me to switch. Like Linux, Android for tablets come in a variety of flavors, layered atop Honeycomb, just as the various Linux distros are layered upon a Linux kernel. Slight differences. The author makes a good point, that no one company is stepping up and driving the platform forward, not even Google. An example would be the Xoom's lack of support for the SD hardware onboard, even though this was touted as an advantage over the competition. A fix is rumored to be soon available outside North America, according to Motorola Europe. What about us? Until someone (Amazon, for example?) steps up and drives (unifies, extends) Android for tablets forward, it'll continue to be second in the race, and we all know that almost nobody remembers a second place finisher in a competition.</p>

[Craig Horlacher]

Remember how Android was for the first few years? It took a while to get going. I think in one year the tablet market will be overrun by Android as well. Once Amazon gets their tablet out there and in the fall when Ice Cream Sandwich is released along with new quad core processors I think Apple will find things more challenging. It may have been a bumpy start for Android tablets but it's going much faster than it did for Android phones I think!

I say watch out iPad (or ipad2), your days as #1 (in sales) are numbered!!!

[k1darkknight]

Personally, I'm waiting for SOMEONE to come out with an Android tablet that allows for making voice calls over some carrier's VOICE network. Not VOIP, but actual voice-based frequencies.
I know that VOIP is supposed to "be the future", but it's a future that hasn't quite arrived for wireless, just yet. For now, there are still enough places where voice network signal comes in just fine, that data either isn't available at all, or is spotty enough that I wouldn't trust it with a phone call.

I'm one of those who doesn't bother with a landline, so I've gotten used to being able to make phone calls almost anywhere. If I were to switch to a device where I could only make calls in certain areas, or couldn't get good enough data signal to make calls indoors, I'd certainly be upset.

Do I like my current phone? Decently enough, yes. Do I REALLY want a tablet? Oh, dear God, YES!
Do I want to carry around both a tablet AND my wallet-thick HTC Touch Pro 2? Oh, HELL no!

[Macguy59]

Ice Cream Sandwich is released along with new quad core processors I think Apple will find things more challenging.

Hardly. No offense but you make the same [failed] case that the current TV ads do. It's not about the CPU inside or internals per se. For a quad core to matter to the general public it needs a "killer app". I read something the other day that stated "rightly or wrongly the iPad has defined what a tablet should be" and I think that's as true today as it will be a year from now. I enjoy Android on my Infuse 4G but it sucks on tablets. It's still about apps and the end-to-end user experience. My local Best Buy continues to have a high return rate on Android tablets fwiw

[frankenbike]

I dunno. For weeks it was hard to get ahold of an Asus Transformer because they were selling a lot faster than the manufacturer predicted.

I can only say that having Flash on my browsers is like having access to tens of thousands of web based apps. I can watch Justin.tv and Ustream.tv while I'm at the airport (which I do). With the chat windows that come with them. Full screen.

And I like that my storage can grow while the micro sd chips grow in capacity. I currently have a total of 32gigs with the micro sd, and when 32 gig cards come down, I'll get that. And maybe 64gb cards will work.

I haven't seen anything on an actual iPad that I envy. But I do put up with things knowing this is the first real year of Android tablets. My main pet peeve is lack of ad-hoc wifi, which is a temporary problem for me. Aside from that, it's exceeded my expectations.