iPad 2 vs. Android Tablets

During the recent iPad 2 release Steve'a jobs gets right down to the business at hand, ripping the competition. Jobs took several shots at Android, belittling the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the apps, or lack thereof, available for Honeycomb (Android 3.0).  So, I’m curious…was this just Apple doing their thing or are Android tablets really that inferior?

Let’s break it down…

Apps, Apps and more Apps. Currently the App Store has about 65,000 apps for the iPad, which is slightly more than the 100 or so for Android 3.0.  That said, if history is any indicator, we’ll see rapid development of the Android Marketplace in the very near future.

The Ever Important “Look” – The new iPad 2 is thinner, lighter, and faster than the old one, and it has cameras. That's pretty much it sums it up. Pitted up against the Motorola Xoom -- the first and thus far only Android Honeycomb tablet on the market -- Apple's new iPad 2 comes out ahead in terms of thickness and weight.

The Real Power – The iPad 2 is either equal to or somewhat behind the Xoom when it comes to raw processing power.  Both units have dual-core 1GHz processors. The Xoom has 1GB of RAM; rumors and more rumors suggest the iPad 2 has 512MB. Since Apple has not officially divulged that detail for the device, it's hard to say anything definitively. Very strange to me, everything but the RAM?

I fully expect the tech-oriented person to strongly consider one of the Android 3.0 tablets while the average consumer will probably look to Apple based on its marketing power. While Motorola ads spit out specs, 90 percent of which mean very little to average consumers, Apple focuses on real-world uses. Android tablet makers need to focus on the areas in which it may be able to outpace the iPad – 4G/LTE support, unique form factors, etc. – and maybe, just maybe, they’ll have a shot.