I don't understand why Android tablet manufacturers are failing

[vi edit]

iOS is very well designed when it comes to touch input but it doesn't leverage the extra screen real estate of the iPad to improve functionality like Honeycomb and ICS do. Although to be honest I think QNX may have the perfect tablet UI unfortunately the software support and hardware is to lacking for it to seriously compete with iOS or Android.

My only real complaint is the spacing between apps. There's definitely a lot of wasted room there. But on the flip side I'm used to fairly high resolution desktop displays where text and spacing is pretty close together. Again...average consumers are an issue here. They are still running 800x600 on a 17" monitor "because otherwise the words and pictures are too small!"

My 4 year old can pick up the iPad and browse to any game she wants to play easily. I'm sure the spaceing makes it easier for her over a much more crammed together arrangement of buttons. Same thing goes for a 60 year old.

I'm not an "Apple Fanboy" by any stretch. And I have zero issues with Google/Android. I am a geek at heart with a long history of building, tweaking, tinkering with PC's and various electronic devices. But I can certainly appreciate the simplicity and reliability of the iOS devices. Combine that will excellent accessory availability, a thriving app store, and an ever increasing cross functioning "ecosystem(I HATE that phrase btw)" and it's just a great combination of function and design. It works for what I need, it works for my wife, it works for my 4 year old, it works for my retired parents.

And price wise it is no more expensive than the growing pile of other "premium" Android tablets...if anything it can be had even cheaper. Hell an iPad 2 is $450 at Best Buy this week.

People can hate tablets, they can hate Apple, but they're in denial to think that the iPad isn't a incredibly well designed and supported device for the buying masses.

 

[Brian Stirling]

Just as long as your not holding your breath, k?

Splain?


Brian

 

[QueBert]

So the average consumer doesn't care that Android has more functionality like file system access and a UI thats actually desiged for tablets but they do care that the iPad can be used for something incredibly obscure like that music production example?

Personally the more I have used an iPad the less I understand why people like them. Sure it is great if you spend 100% of your time running a specific app but the actual os and interface is simply to lacking for any real productivity.

I can't speak for the average consumer, but my step mom would definitely fall into that category. She could care less what company makes a product. She went to a few stores and played with all the tablets they had on demo extensively. And she went with the iPad. She said using it just felt better to her. By AT standards since she didn't buy an Android one, I'm sure she's a clueless Apple Fanboy who's dumb as hell. File system access doesn't matter to 99% of people I know, hell most people I know with PC's don't even directly access the file system. I asked her about the UI's and she said the iPad's was the best. This is going to vary person to person, but I don't think ICS is super great on a tab, it's no worse or no better than iOS, but that's just my opinion. And no the average person isn't going to care about shit like you can buy docks that have balanced 1/4th inputs for studio monitors. But the flip side is the average person also isn't going to care about a file system or having 25 keyboard apps to chose from. You know 1 thing that the average consumer will be drawn to? Isles upon isles of various accessories. That imho is probably iOS's biggest selling point to the non Apple fan boys. Who apparently are retards, even though I'd bet 90% of Android owners don't even their device runs Android. They're still smarter right?

As for ICS making better use of the screen size and extra resolution, I'll just say this. I fix computers for a living, and easily 90% of the clients I have, regardless of how big their monitor is run it at a resolution of around 1024x768 or 1280x720. Extra relistate is a non issue and in fact I'd bet money most people like icons to be bigger not smaller. So that would give the nod to an iPad. But for those who do like more usable screen, with JB iOS you can make it have twice as many icons on the screen if you wish.

 

[Doboji]

Wow this thread blew up...

What blows me away the most isn't so much the adoption of the Apple tablet... I get that Apple's marketing is better, and that their loyal user base is bigger etc etc..

I also understand that Android tablets are clawing some space in the market with the Kindle Fire in particular.

My problem though is that when compared side by side the iPad2 is STILL the BEST tablet on the market in terms of hardware and software. I was SURE that the Android tablets were poised to blow by Apple at around this point this year... just like they have in terms of phones. (I truly consider the topline Android phones to be superior products to the iPhone 4S). And now with the release of the iPad3 next week the gap between that device and the competition is going to get bigger...

It makes no sense... if I were a product exec at Samsung looking at what Apple has been doing... when they released the iPad 2 my immediate directive to me team would be pretty simple....

1. Retain your thin form factor, improve the build materials, ceramic or Sapphire crystal back, carbon fiber... something interesting
2. Double the resolution of the screen and get me SAMOLED
3. Quad-core Exynos
4. Ice Cream Sandwich
5. Work some exclusive high-end app collaboration.
6. Let's be at MINIMUM $100 cheaper than the iPad

GO!....

And yet, it appears, that's not going to happen... in fact NOONE is going to step up to the plate and deliver this.

Thats just f-in sad. I'm not going to buy an inferior product out of blind loyalty to Android. I'm going to buy the best product... and that's going to be Apple's.

Which is irritating as hell.

 

[xaeniac]

Wow this thread blew up...

What blows me away the most isn't so much the adoption of the Apple tablet... I get that Apple's marketing is better, and that their loyal user base is bigger etc etc..

I also understand that Android tablets are clawing some space in the market with the Kindle Fire in particular.

My problem though is that when compared side by side the iPad2 is STILL the BEST tablet on the market in terms of hardware and software. I was SURE that the Android tablets were poised to blow by Apple at around this point this year... just like they have in terms of phones. (I truly consider the topline Android phones to be superior products to the iPhone 4S). And now with the release of the iPad3 next week the gap between that device and the competition is going to get bigger...

It makes no sense... if I were a product exec at Samsung looking at what Apple has been doing... when they released the iPad 2 my immediate directive to me team would be pretty simple....

1. Retain your thin form factor, improve the build materials, ceramic or Sapphire crystal back, carbon fiber... something interesting
2. Double the resolution of the screen and get me SAMOLED
3. Quad-core Exynos
4. Ice Cream Sandwich
5. Work some exclusive high-end app collaboration.
6. Let's be at MINIMUM $100 cheaper than the iPad

GO!....

And yet, it appears, that's not going to happen... in fact NOONE is going to step up to the plate and deliver this.

Thats just f-in sad. I'm not going to buy an inferior product out of blind loyalty to Android. I'm going to buy the best product... and that's going to be Apple's.

Which is irritating as hell.

So are you going to buy an Ipad3? I can not say I blame you. It is amazing with as many competitors in the Android market place no one has come with an "Ipad Killer". But I am with you. Android products are somewhat close to the Ipad, but the premium products leave me wanting more for the price point they are coming in at. And none of them blow me away

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

But the thing is honestly no one cares about dual core or quad core. It's been shown that iOS can use about half the memory of Android and still survive. Whether its dual or quad or hex or octa, the point is the next flagship Android tablet needs to run as smoothly and fluidly as an iPad 3.

You can throw in a shit GPU or a great GPU, but it has to be able to run all those games too.

The other thing about resolution is no one gives a shit. As long as you can read, you're good. Look, HD 720p screens are great, but have you seen the SGS2? Non pentile WVGA fares quite well still. Sure some techno geeks like us might care a lot, and it might even be a plus for the average Joe to have HD resolutions, but it's NOT going to be a dealbreaker. I can guarantee you the lack of good tablet apps will be a far bigger issue than anything else.

Form factor is another. The iPad 2 did a great job. Let's build something light and thin.

And yes, even at $499, it's gonna be tough to compete. If the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was priced at $349 last year, I think it would've stood a good chance. However, even picking up one at the Comcast store (sure it might be loaded down with bloat) I saw it lag like hell. I know I can get it to NOT lag, but even putting a few widgets and apps slows this thing down to hell. You can see all the display model iPads running smooth as hell still.

BTW, I know lag can be fixed. My Nexus S can run smoothly although it does bog down a bit, but my SGS2 can be blazing fast as hell. It feels like an iPhone 4S easily or an iPad 2. I know it can be done, but too bad stock Android isn't as blazing fast as it *should be.* The day they can get out of the box performance to be just as amazing as iOS, then Android will sell like hotcakes. People always use my phones and say "Oh I thought Android was slow as shit," or something along those lines. They do admit its much faster than other phones they try, but once again my Nexus S was nowhere near even a regular iPhone 4 in fluidity. The SGS2 does come close. If brute force speed is what it takes for Android to do well, then whatever. Consumers aren't gonna cry over quad or dual or hex. As long as it runs well.... and iOS has proven even a 3GS can run just as well as those 1ghz+ Android phones in regular UI tasks.

 

[Necrolezbeast]

I'd say a lot of it has to do with the bloat... I've only played with a few tablets: Transformer, iPad 2, Lenovo A1, and an Ainol Aurora (which I purchased) I'd say all the Android devices ran like shit, with the Transformer being the best... followed by the Aurora... then the Lenovo being last...
When I received my Aurora I played around for about 15 minutes before I loaded up the custom rom, to have a feel of the difference... good god! Fruit Ninja went from unplayable to as smooth as the wife's SGS2 (although she does have the i9100g, not the exynos). Why oh why don't the manufacturers optimize the way custom developers do? It just seems they load it with shit and don't optimize anything. I guarantee that the cheaper Android devices would be selling a lot better if the manufacturer took the time to make sure things run well so when the customers come to play around they aren't welcomed by a huge lagfest of unusable bloat.
I haven't been lucky enough to play with a Transformer Prime, but I suspect the stock performance to be pretty nice.... possibly the level at which people won't be immediately turned away while picking up the demo device and scrolling around the home screens.

 

[Doboji]

It doesn't matter how much everyone "cares" about dual core or quad core, or resolution. It matters which product is superior. Android manufacturers should have the superior product by now, and it should be a matter of the marketing and reputation catching up. Right now the products aren't even par, and it's about to get worse.

 

[zerocool84]

Before the Kindle Fire came out, Apple's tablet marketshare had dropped almost 30% so it's not anything crazy. They had a year head start so of course competition is going to have to catch up just like it was with the iPhone. Competition is already catching up even quicker than it was with phones. It can't happen overnight but it's definitely happening.

 

[badb0y]

It's impossible for Aaple to keep the market share they have it has to go down.

 

[MrX8503]

I suppose by "doing back flips while solving rubicks cube" you mean using physical buttons, menus, and having to master the art of reading. People seem to prefer "point and click at shiny icon" but then again some people prefer not to be told how they can or can't use their phone, or jump through various hoops for jailbreaking it.

It obviously didn't work for Nokia or MS as they practically abandoned that practice and now RIM is holding on to dear life.

Wow this thread blew up...

What blows me away the most isn't so much the adoption of the Apple tablet... I get that Apple's marketing is better, and that their loyal user base is bigger etc etc..

The whole marketing thing is nothing but a farce. Marketing helps, but its not what put $100B in Apple's bank. The majority of Apple's consumers are everyday people not people that are from mac cults. If it was, Apple's growth would have been capped and it obviously isn't.

 

[bearxor]

Splain?

IF a 8" iPad happened, which I honestly don't think it will, it will still have what you would probably consider "excessive bezel" because Apple likes to give you a place to grip it with your fingers.

Now, even IF a 8" ipad comes to fruition, there is no way, just absolutely no way Apple abandons the 4:3 aspect ratio on tablets. Doing so would cause fragmentation in the store and Apple does not want that to happen. Just like we'll always have a 3:2 aspect ratio on the iPhone.

So, I just wouldn't be holding my breath if I were you.

 

[akugami]

Well to be fair the ipad sucked ass until the ipad 2 came out. Only apple fans bought them (granted there is 1billion fans) but in reality when ipad first came out it sucked. like when the iphone first came out it sucked. Iphone wasnt decent until the iphone 3. But it sold billions on fanbase alone. I am actually interested in the ipad3. If I could connect as a usb device I would consider one.

Disagree. The iPad 2 is just a faster iPad 1. The updated OS has more to do with the iPad 2 being "better" than any hardware update. And the iPad 1 currently is able to use the same upgraded OS version as the iPad 2.

Also, the original iPhone did not suck. Was it deficient in many areas? Yes. It was. However, it did a lot of things right that has still not changed today and many elements of it's UI and design was copied by others even today.

For the same reason people lined up around the block for the original iphone, which was a poor excuse for a "smartphone" at best. The average Joe consumer doesn't want all the capabilities of Android, and would rather download flashy-looking apps with shiny-looking icons, or games which involve swiping your finger back and forth like a madman, and be sure to show off his toy to fellow hipsters.

The original iPhone was indeed a poor excuse for a smartphone but it has evolved into a very well rounded product. What really sold the iPhone is #1, Apple's brand name recognition and #2, the fantastic (for it's time) user interface which has only been improved upon.

And the part I bolded easily applies to most people using Android devices as well. It's a fact that the overwhelming majority does not use, nor need, most of the capabilities of the iPhone much less Android. And it's not that much of a separation between what an iPhone can do and what Android can do. One can argue that due to peripheral and software support, the iPhone and iPad can do much more than Android as well.

Also, it's kinda ridiculous to argue about what the original iPhone can or can't do. There were many things that Android couldn't do in it's early release. Not to mention it was notoriously unstable in it's first year.

Apple was a minor company a decade ago too.

And what "serious gear-head" wants to live under Apple's thumb, installing only those applications personally blessed by Jobs himself? Gear heads want a phone/tablet they can modify.

Try to keep your arguments straight, you're all over the place. You Apple fanboys truly live in your own world, don't you?

I've been overclocking since CPU's since the days when you had to set jumpers for your CPU and had a 300 baud modem. When I was about 8, my brothers and I found an Atari 2600 along with games in an alley which we tinkered with and fixed (way back before the NES was released). I'm sure there are those with more experience with computers than me. I'm a serious gear head. I've tinkered with all sorts of gadgets. I've got a storage room in my old house full of gear that's no longer used.

I don't want a phone or tablet that I can modify.

I want a stable phone that gives me the minimum amount of hassle and works reliably as a phone first, and as a PDA/Smartphone second. That's Apple's iPhone. And if I wanted to, I can easily jailbreak and modify my iPhone. My iPad is used by my Mom who is as un-technical as it gets. It's also used by my 3 year old. I don't have the time or the inclination to tinker with it. Your anecdote is not grounded in reality. There are a ton of people including a friend of mine who is head of Android development at a startup company who primarily uses an iPhone (though he also has an Android phone) and iPad.

 

[Pliablemoose]

ICS is the first OS comparable to iOS... It's been out what? A couple of months now?

Give it some time to mature, and I think we'll see some interesting #'so.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Most people won't give a shit what hardware exactly is in the iPad. They buy it because it's the only tablet by far that they can identify with.

 

[linthat22]

The way I describe the difference when people ask me which one they should get, I always say: Get the iPad if you want something familiar and straight forward. Get an Android based tablet if you want something different and like to tinker.

 

[jiffylube1024]

I've got an Asus Transformer TF101 with the keyboard dock. I just picked it up used recently off kijiji. I debated between the TF101 and the iPad 1, and ended up getting the Transformer, which just got Android 4.0 ICS a few days ago.


The iPad still has a big edge in games and apps. The Android market is great, don't get me wrong, but there's still some stuff lacking - like no official Scrabble app! Even now, many of the new games coming out are iOS exclusives that started development in the last year or two. iOS/Apple App store has huge inertia from being first. The gap is narrowing, but that means that the difference between the Android Market and Apple App store is no longer a chasm but simply a gap. And the narrowing of the gap has slowed considerably; Apple is definitely the app king.

The ASUS, however is fantastic because it's got a micro SD slot in the tablet. For $40 I went from 16GB to 48GB of internal storage! The keyboard dock has a regular SD slot and 2 USB ports that support flash drives and hard drives. I could easily run 100+GB in this tablet with the keyboard dock!

I love that Android plays pretty much all DivX formats without any conversion. It goes hand in hand with the SD/micro SD slots.
--------

I really like the Android 4.0 OS a lot. IMO, it just blows iOS 5.0 out of the water. There's so many useful widgets (email/gmail, data counter, weather, etc), the task switcher/killer program is wonderful & fast, the notification area (bottom right) is chock full of useful information. Android lets you download stuff from the web (mp3's, movie files, etc.) easier and then use them, copy them, delete them, etc. I use the file directory browser to play podcasts from my downloads folder that I download on the go. With Apple you either get it from the App store or on your PC and then sync it. Granted, they're now doing wifi syncing, but the Android is still a better standalone device.

On the other hand, I also love buying/downloading apps from my PC and having it automatically go onto my tablet without syncing anything (not an Android 4.0 feature, but still an Android advantage). This feature is especially handy whenever you have to set up a new device (new phone or tablet).
----------

My gripe with Android is that, while ICS is way smoother and nicer than Honeycomb, and definitely a much more complete computing experience than iOS, iOS 5 is still faster, smoother, and more polished. I wouldn't trade the functionality of ICS, but I am envious of the polished feel of iOS. There's fewer lags. Even the touch sensation feels more responsive on iOS. There's still the occasional keyboard lag in ICS when typing a lot. iOS is a fluid typing experience. I like the Android custom keyboards (SwiftkeyX and Smart Keyboard Pro) better than the stock iOS one, but the iOS keyboard has a better feel to it.

Also, my tablet sometimes randomly reboots after say 1-2 hours of use. It doesn't happen when I'm in the middle of something, say, watching a movie, but when I'm doing several things at once and jumping between programs. It's not the biggest problem in the world, but it definitely shouldn't happen, and it takes some of the lustre out of the Android OS. Android is still definitely a work in progress, even if ICS puts it way ahead of iOS in several key ways.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Oh yeah, I got distracted there with my Android report. My opinion on why Android tablet sales are failing:

At $400-600, it's very hard to justify the purchase of any tablet right now. In general, tablets are luxury devices that are used for things like reading, video watching, etc. They're content consumption devices.

People are used to paying extra for Apple devices, which are marketed and sold as premium products. However, Android doesn't have the Apple mystique, and there is a huge market of would-be Android buyers (like me) who are just not interested in a tablet at the $400+ price range. People outside the US are also SOL with the Kindle Fire - it only lets you use the app market if you've got a US account with a US address and a US credit card on file!
------

Apple is much clearer at marketing what the iPad is and what it can do. Android is extremely functional and the OS (4.0) is better than iOS 5, however Google does a shitty job of getting this message out.

The platform fragmentation (different brands and screen sizes) also is scaring new customers away IMO. On the one hand, it's a good idea to compete with Apple by having different screen sizes. 7", 8.9" and 10.1" all have their advantages and disadvantages. On the other hand, when a person buys an iPad, they know they are getting the real "iPad experience" and that there ipad will work well with just about any app.

With Android tablets, consumers may be unable to decide which size will best suit their needs, and don't feel like they are willing to make a $500 mistake getting the wrong tablet.

Finally, the iPad, for better or worse, turns head. Like the iPhone before, when you're in an airport, coffee shop etc, you can't help but notice people with iPads. Your brain just says "hey, there's an iPad!" Premium Android tablets turn heads too, but they're also more mysterious to people. There is a certain personality of person who buys an iPad in part to use it, and in part to get noticed for owning an iPad (IMO).

 

[Red Storm]

Before the Kindle Fire came out, Apple's tablet marketshare had dropped almost 30% so it's not anything crazy. They had a year head start so of course competition is going to have to catch up just like it was with the iPhone. Competition is already catching up even quicker than it was with phones. It can't happen overnight but it's definitely happening.

This.

Android isn't failing in the tablet market, they are grabbing market share at a very quick rate considering they started at 0%. I don't know why or how people are expecting them to take the lead overnight. Remember the very first Honeycomb tablet, the Motorola Xoom? That was only a year (and five days) ago. Not even a year for the carrier-free version (which launched March 27, 2011 I believe). At the end of this year I expect that ~38% market share to have grown. That's pretty impressive considering the competition and all the inferiority claims in this thread.

 

[alent1234]

yeah, but a huge chunk if not most of android tablet market share is Nook and Kindle Fire. not the official google devices

 

[Red Storm]

yeah, but a huge chunk if not most of android tablet market share is Nook and Kindle Fire. not the official google devices

So...? It's an Android tablet.

 

[alent1234]

amazon and B&N will switch OS in a heartbeat if something else came along that would make it cheaper for them. like say Windows 8

the value in those devices is the back end services and products

the true android tablets like the transformer and xoom are dismal failures

 

[smartpatrol]

Go to Best Buy and look at their tablet section. They have maybe a dozen Android tablets. . . all of which feel cheaper than iPad, look uglier than iPad, and are far slower and laggier than iPad. The ONLY reason most people would even consider one of these Android tablets is if it were significantly cheaper than the iPad, and yet most of them are $400-$500. It's not surprising at all that the only Android tablets selling in significant numbers are in the $200-$250 range.

Android fans waiting for the "iPad killer" are like Linux fans still waiting for the year of Linux on the desktop. And no, Ice Cream Sandwich is not some magic panacea that will suddenly make Android tablets sell like hotcakes. I own a Galaxy Nexus and an iPad 2. . . ICS is still nowhere near iOS in terms of fluidity, input lag (or lack thereof), stability, and overall polish.

 

[Doboji]

This.

Android isn't failing in the tablet market, they are grabbing market share at a very quick rate considering they started at 0%. I don't know why or how people are expecting them to take the lead overnight. Remember the very first Honeycomb tablet, the Motorola Xoom? That was only a year (and five days) ago. Not even a year for the carrier-free version (which launched March 27, 2011 I believe). At the end of this year I expect that ~38% market share to have grown. That's pretty impressive considering the competition and all the inferiority claims in this thread.

Once again Market share doesn't make a product better... I'm not interested in how many of my friends mothers are buying whatever product. I want to buy the best product available on the matrix of price and quality. When looking at that matrix the iPad dominates... period. It's a much better product.

Inevitably people will buy some Android tablets... mostly because they don't know the difference and want to save a buck.

In my mind the market breaks down to 3 basic segments.
1. Your mom... the average Joe user who doesn't really know anything and is driven primarily by marketing and prices. iPad's marketing is absolutely stellar, and their prices are highly competitive. Android gains some marketshare here because plenty of Joes walk into the Verizon store and are told the Android tablet is just like an iPad and costs $50 less...

However if you were advising Joe HONESTLY about which device they should purchase... the iPad is the better product and price point 90%+ of the time.

2. The loyalist... these guys will buy x brands product even if it's really ground up monkey turds. The Apple loyalists will buy iPads and the Android loyalists will buy Androids. Doesn't matter which product is superior here. I think Apple is carrying a bigger following still... but Android is gaining ground. iPad is still the superior product here whether we Android fans admit it or not.

3. The geek... these are the guys who evaluate the detailed technical pros and cons of each device and try to pick the superior product. From this point of view iPad is clearly the superior product, Android does win brownie points for it's customization capability, and it's lively hacking/developing community. But again when you really look at it technically... iPad is a superior product. Android Tablets will always have some market share here as they're fun to Tinker with.

But at the end of the day iPad still dominates, and will continue to dominate as long as it's
1. the superior platform
2. competitive price
3. brilliant aggressive marketing.

Sure Android will sell some tablets... just like some people drive Suzuki cars... but really who are we kidding?

I see some numbers listed here like 38% market share by Android... get real. Do those numbers include e-Readers? I bet they do. Take a walk around any public place and count 100 tablets being used... how many of them are iPads vs Android? It's not even close.

Samsung, Asus, Sony, Motorola... these guys need to get their crap together and offer something compelling, and I just don't see anything on the roadmap in the same ballgame as what the iPad3 looks like it'll be.

 

[Red Storm]

Once again Market share doesn't make a product better... I'm not interested in how many of my friends mothers are buying whatever product. I want to buy the best product available on the matrix of price and quality. When looking at that matrix the iPad dominates... period. It's a much better product.

I personally don't care about market share. I think the best tablet on the market right now is the Transformer Prime. If you feel it's the iPad... then get an iPad? I'm not seeing the problem here...