I am thinking about buying an IPad- however it is very costly.
Is there a quality difference between an IPad and an android tablet?
The android tablets are much cheaper.
If I was to buy an android tablet, which brand is the best?
Just asking if anyone knows the answer , as I am computer illiterate.
Well, Apple IS a hardware company. And Jobs is a stickler for the design of a device as well as it’s user interface software functionality. I’ve only seen and played around with a Samsung 7” tablet at a store. It was alright. I don’t think from a hardware standpoint it is as well designed as the iPad which I do own.
As for costs. Yea, it’s not cheap, but it’s not really overpriced either and is comparable to the higher end Android based devices with similar specs.
So go seek out both and take a look. If you have an apple store near you, go there for the iPad. They have many on display, all live and connected to the net, with plenty of knowledgable people to answer your questions. Droids, you can probably find at Best Buy, and a few other places. Hold them, feel them, play around with them.
I think the iOS is a good fit for those who say they’re not computer literate.
The comparable tablets aren’t cheaper, and the cheaper tablets aren’t comparable. The Xoom and Galaxy Tab are well-built by companies that have a good reputation for quality, but one side effect of a (somewhat) open OS is that anyone can put it on any conglomeration of off-the-shelf hardware slapped together with less design and engineering skill than a drunken crow with a nest full of shiny objects.
The best answer is to try them hands-on. That’s true of any technology, but especially tablets. You wouldn’t buy a car without a test-drive, not just to try speed and handling, but to find out if the seat pokes you in an uncomfortable way or the door sills are too high and mess up your visibility or you can’t easily reach the radio controls and cup holder. There are hundreds of little variables that add up to the driving experience that don’t translate to a spec sheet.
Well, first of all there is actually only one Android tablet that is running a OS that is designed for a tablet: the Motorola Xoom. It runs Android 3.0 honeycomb. The rest are running the phone version of Android squished and expanded to sort of run as a tablet contrary to Google's advice! Even though ithe Xoom has a high resolution, slightly wider screen than the iPad, it is also a far lower in quality screen, losing brightness and color quicckly at just slightly less than normal viewing angles!
The best of the next non-honeycomb lot is the Samsung 7" Galaxy Tab (soon to be released as a 10" version... Someday). However the 7" version's screen is 55% smaller than the iPad's and the Xoom's . . Nor is its six-seven hour battery life close to the iPad's and Xoom's documented 10-12 hour life! That's unfortunate because 32GB Tab's unsubsidized price is also MORE expensive than the 32GB iPad's!
Most of the rest are still vapor or hot air ware. The others on the market literally are no where even near in contention! Most of the low cost Android "tablets" use resistance touch screens (instead of capacitance) with styluses, lack multitouch capability, have battery life measured under four hours, and memory capacity under two Gigabytes on board with SD Slots not useful for anything but storage.
Even the Xoom has only 17 tablet optimized applications available for it in the Android Market place (Steve Jobs was being charitable when he said under one hundred in his keynote address unveiling the iPad2). . . Although it can use all of the Android non-phone Apps available. Unfortunately those apps are merely size doubled to attempt to fit the screen and often spill off the screen and don't scroll. Some controls are unavailable because they are off the screen.
Compare that to the now over 70,000 tablet optimized apps available for the iPad and 300,000 fully functional non-phone apps from the iPhone and iPod touch that work just fine on the iPad. . . Plus an entire Eco-system of accessories that simply are not available for any of the Android models.
Every viable Android tablet in competition with the iPad is MORE expensive (or competitive) than the iPad unless you buy it with a data contract! That can get you a $200 discount up front but it adds $800 - $1200 onto the price over the two years of the contract! The Xoom REQUIRES a contract to even turn on the WIFI, but you can cancel after one month! The iPad 3G WIFI is purchasable without a contract and you can buy your airtime as you go, when you need it.