Anyways back to today. In anticipation to the iPad launch I sold my Xoom and transformer prime and pre ordered my first iPad. I have to say that I might not have even known what I was missing as I really thought that android was a great tablet OS but now after having the iPad for less than a week I have a completely different opinion and I see that Android OEMs have been going at this all wrong in the tablet space. When the iPad first came out my opinion was why would anyone want a giant iPod touch? The new iPad is a lot of things, but it is not a giant iPod touch and what makes it different is the wide selection of apps and the way that apple presents the tablet experience. I’ve been reading Walter isacsons book on Steve jobs and like I said the iPad is a completely different beast than what android is.

You said, “not a single person has been able to show me what they are able to do with an iPad that I cannot do on my Xoom” well this is what I am responding too. Apple is paying attention to things that google and their OEMs are not. The idea for the iPad has been in the works for years at apple but ultimately jobs didn’t want to release a multimedia consumption device. This is what android tablets are is multimedia consumption devices. Sure they may be able to do some other things, but at the end of the day that is what they are for. The iPad does it as well, but has the iTunes Eco system which will never be surpasses no matter how many google music (or play), movie rental, or books are released. Why do you think that android is struggling? The iPad was created for many different reasons and yes it does consume media and does it well, but it is a gateway to all things digital. It is a platform that was built for the ground up to deliver an experience that you cannot receive anywhere else. Apple has attempted since day one and back when the iPad was just an idea to be a device that is between a phone and laptop that you get an experience you cannot get anywhere else. What I mean by this is that they have concentrated on things android hasn’t. Things like education and text books, things like iWork, iMovie, and now even iPhoto. It is not just a device to co exist with laptops it is the next logical step that will take the place of laptops and apple is merely making its first moves to get it that way. I believe that as we move along ios will open up much like Mac OS x, but apples closed Eco system has opened many doors and made a ecosysystem where great devs can protect their creations and make money doing it. You said there is not one thing you cannot do on your xoom that the iPad can. I beg to differ. The iPad does magazines, iTunes (which is much better than google music plus offers tv, movies, books, text books, and even college courses through iTunes u), it is a desktop replacement with its iWork apps where you can actually do real work like writing papers, spread sheets, and keynotes, it is as app power house that offers a much better experience than android does. I can go on, but I won’t. The point is if you love android (and believe me I do), but love technology more then give the iPad a chance as I really missed out on a lot and believe me there is no tablet on the market that looks, performs, and is prepared the way the iPad is. Google and it’s OEMs have completely missed the mark and now have Microsoft and windows 8 breathing down its neck. This is the reason rubin is “doubling down” as they see it, now. You cannot compete by merely releasing a low end and I feel that is the direction that android is heading and although I will buy a nexus branded sub $200 tablet and so will a lot of people but they are moving in a lower direction and shooting for the wrong goals. Apple has created quite the product with high end specs (don’t argue the specs like quad core processor as I’ve owned one in the prime and it performs no where near what the new iPad does and at much less the pixel density and processors bottle neck out) apple was right to up the GPU as they have been right about everything else. They have a plan and google and their OEMs are chasing what they think apple and the iPad is, but not what apple is planning to make it. You can really see that and this new iPad not only keeps android at bay in the tablet space for at least the next year, but has even furthered the gap. Android cannot catch up.

Google needs to make really simple, like batshit simple, for devs to improve their UI with consistent standards. 

Also two thoughts:

Google should release a nice audio editor/mixer to compete with GarageBand, it’s going to have be pretty slick

Google should also attempt Picasa for Android to compete with iPhoto. 

The difference between these apps and Apple’s? They’ll be free in the Play Store.

Proud to be Droid Bionic user running 4.0.3 ICS btw.

1.The iPad does have more tablet exclusives than what are on Android tablets.
2.Some of them are complete exclusives (this part can be said for Android as well)
3.Android has a more advanced UI that has more built in functionalities.
4.Android tablets seem better for business based off of my experience while the iPad is more for social networking and games.
5.Android tablets will need to have more sales before they will have more tablet exclusives on them.

These five arguments can pretty much be agreed on by everybody.  They don’t point to one as being better or worse, they just are a list of some advantage and disadvantages both platforms have compared to one another.

They’ve all started asking me about tablets, and frankly, I’ve been underwhelmed by anything offered on the Android platform so far.  I’ve told them to wait until the possible NexusTab is released in June, and if not, then asking them to hold out until Christmas to see Win8 or just grab the new iPad. 

Off topic, but you Android fans are not doing any service to this platform that you so love by being the pretentious d-bags most of you come off as:  “Just root it” is NOT what the average Android user wants to hear, and the way you dismiss these people as “dumb users” only serves to reinforce the perception, marketing-based or not, of Apple that “It just works”.  When your argument falls back to root – you lose.  Every time.  And you only serve to alienate folks that you should otherwise be attempting to either convert or stay on the Android platform.  If you have to root, then your beloved platform is not open.  Carriers take the blame or not, the platform is not open if you have to tell the average consumer they have to void their warranty on a $600 device in order to take advantage of all the “openness” of the platform.

Google’s model worked to gain market share, if they don’t tighten up, they’ll be an afterthought once M$ comes back full throttle later this year.  A year from now, the landscape will be markedly different, with Apple & Microsoft as the dominant tablet players, and Microsoft surprising everyone with their gains in the phone space.  Tablets will allow Microsoft to become dominant in the phone space.