The iPad is Apple’s new tablet. While this is exciting news because previous tablets have been horrible, you may want to put off your purchase for a while. There are many Android based tablet devices coming out soon. These may offer some advantages.
Android has not yet made its appearance on the market, but in a few years it will be practically the most popular smartphone operating system that will also be on netbooks and tablets. This means that you are working with a body of software that works together across multiple devices.
With an Android tablet, you’ll have access to all this software that anyone can create. One could argue that as of today, iPhone apps run on the iPad, which means there are hundreds of thousands of programs to run, but eventually, with open development, Android will outgrow them. Permission from Apple is currently required to offer an app. Google does not require permission to make Android apps.
Android will have advantages like Flash capabilities. It’s true that the web as a whole is moving away from Flash, so it might not be a point in a few years. But the idea is that on an open platform you can use or not use whatever plugins you want. Under Apple development, you are told what you get and that’s it.
Android tablets will be less restrictive in terms of hardware and ports. Having a tablet with a USB port is a huge advantage since it already has flash drives, keyboards, and other forms of media that work with it. The iPad does not offer these standardized ports.
While it’s all speculation at the moment, one needs to consider the long-term tablet market and what it will look like later in the year to get the best deal possible.
