Original Source: Uberflip
Archives For iPad
Onswipe, a digital publishing tool developer that helps websites create “touch friendly” web experiences without building a standalone app, found that Apple’s tablet represented 98.1 percent of 29.5 million unique impressions over 1200 sites from Sept. 13 to Sept. 20.
Need anyone same more…?
More Post-PC Era Evidence: Six scenarios where the iPad is trouncing the PC
Yet another indication that we are moving into the Post-PC era. As the article summary indicates, Jason Hiner, the Editor of Tech Repulic is no Apple fanboy (advocate) but even Hiner can’t ignor just how much of an impact the iPad is making in the following areas:
- Business meetings
- Couch and nightstand
- Conferences and events
- Airplane flights
- Quick kiosks
- The kid machine
I have to agree with Hiner and can personally attest to all but the kiosk uses. Later this summer we will be deploying iPads for our admissions/recruiting advisers who will be using the devices in a kiosk service scenario so this makes it six for six. While these six points or uses are significant, Hiner missed a few more areas where the iPad not only trounces the PC but is impacting other other aspects of our lives.
Auto Travel – All you have to do is take a multiple day drive or extended trip with an iPad equipped with cell coverage and you will not want to travel without the device. The basic mapping app provides enough functionality and view that you will not want to rely on a traditional GPS or a smartphone. Viewing travel pictures, videos on the wide screen is a dream and lets not forget about how amazing video is on the device.
Education – The current rage in K-12 and Higher Education is mobile learning and the iPad has become the go to device that many school districts and Universities and colleges are currently deploying. Whether the iPad is used as an access device in the form of an ereader or as in input device for note taking or media creation Education is just starting to “scratch the surface” of the opportunities mobility provide.
Jason Hiner may be a bit premature in suggesting that the Android tablets have failed but he does point to some very relevant limitations of Android tablets when compared to the iPad. Based on the explosive growth of the Android phones in 2010 many tech commentators expected the Android tablet to at minimum match iPad sales in 2011 but this never happened. Hiner offers the following for reasons for Android tablet lack of success in 2011:
- The price
- The lack of tablet apps
- The enterprise doesn’t trust Android
- The 16×9 problem
While I agree these are significant limitations with the Android devices, I also think that you need to take into account the poor battery life, unreliability of the Android OS and apps as well as the fragmented user experience. In the past month two months that I have been using a Samsung Galaxy Tab I have been shocked at how easily I can repeatedly cause applications to crash or freeze, how poor the battery life is not and how long it takes to recharge the Galaxy Tab.
Perhaps the biggest indicator that I don’t trust Android and the Galaxy Tab surfaced on a recent ski trip that my family and I took over the Christmas break. I didn’t want to pack so much so I limited myself to only my laptop and one tablet. I chose my iPad because it was much more reliable and the battery life was so much better. When one is traveling you don’t want to spent time tinkering with a device, you just want it to work.
I won’t go so far as to agree with Hiner and suggest that the Android tablets are a failure I will agree with him that there is a long way to go before they reach the level of functionality and reliability. The sooner they get to this point the better it is for everyone–the more competition there is in the emerging tablet space the more we all win.
