There has been a rise in interest surrounding tablets after the rebirth of the device in the form of the robust Apple ipad. The ipad hit the market and thanks to celebrity endorsement, the trusted Apple name and a rather sexy ad campaign they quickly flew off the shelves. With the tablet market taking off serious competition for the ipad is beginning to emerge. And well there are various operating systems being developed for tablets the ipad’s biggest OS competitor at present is Android. It seems that the majority of the tablets set for release in 2011 have an Android OS.
The Android OS has become a key product in the development of Smartphone’s and PDA’s and now tablets; with the introduction of apps it will become an extremely competitive digital platform able to compete with Apple and eventually the mighty Microsoft. Over the past few months I’m sure many consumers have considered purchasing an Android based tablet but are unsure of what to choose as these devices are so new to the market. But in order to make an informed decision about whether to buy now, hold off for a while or not buy at all depends on an understanding of the evolution of the Android OS and its role in the tablet.
When Android was first designed it was aimed for use on Smartphone’s and was never marketed as an OS for tablets or other potential computer devices. The Android OS was designed for use with small screen devices at a maximum of 5 inches. However third party wholesaler’s made the independent decision to try and use it on netbooks and more recently tablets. This was an initial problem for the creator of the Android OS, Andy Rubin, who saw his product solely for use with Smartphone’s – he would have to go back to the drawing board so to speak in order to make the OS work for larger screens. However, working with Google, Rubin solved the problems so the system could be used on larger screen devices. The latest version of the software is dubbed the most powerful OS for Smartphone’s; however it’s performance may not be too good on devices with screens larger than 5”.
Netbook and tablet manufacturers such as Samsung and Dell have made the Android OS work for 7” tablets but it has taken some serious software work and ultimately it’s still not going to out perform the ipad. However the apps should still work well on the Android tablets.
To be clear, current Android Operating Systems are optimized for use on Smartphone’s, and all of the hardware and software eco systems have been designed with this at the fore front. But Google understands that that the tablet market will also be big, and it has been working on a new version of Android designed for tablets dubbed Honeycomb. This is the Android OS that will ultimately be more important for use in tablets. Apparently it will support screens over 5 inches and up to 10 inches.
At the early stage of the market tablets and their Operating Systems will be constantly changing and evolving so unless you have gone into a store and had hands on experience with a tablet – and thus fell in love with the device – I would hold off on purchasing just yet. There are currently hybrid tablet-PC models emerging too with many offering a Windows OS so it may be worth doing your research first rather than plumping for the current tablets just because they are affordable and available.
Whatever happens the tablet and the tablet-hybrid market is set to become highly competitive over the coming months; 2011 will undoubtedly be the year of the tablet device.
