The tablets are coming! The tablets are coming! Android OS is getting bigger, faster than you think. The iPad has also done extremely well, but it finally has some competitors looming on the horizon. Will your next computing solution have no keyboard?
According to a study by statisticians at the Nielsen Company, in the 6 months leading up to August 2010, 32 percent of American new phone buyers bought phones loaded up with Google’s Android OS.
This is a ways ahead of Apple and RIM, who are at 25 percent and 26 percent, respectively. In terms of overall phone operating system share, as of August 2010, BlackBerry OS still reigns supreme at 31 percent (dropping from 36 percent this January), Apple’s iOS sits pretty consistent since January, now at 28 percent, but Android has been eating up market share, rising from just 8 percent in January to 19 percent by August 2010.
By now, you’ve surely heard of the iPad. Maybe some of you have even seen an iPad. Then there are those who have touched one. And of course, there are the few who actually own the much-coveted product itself.
Six months after the ‘magical’ product dropped, it has certainly more than proved that it is here to stay and playing to win. Apple mananged to sell 4.5 million units in the first quarter of its availability, according to CNBC.
Compare this with the iPhone’s sales during the same time frame: a mere one million units. And at the time, the iPhone’s sales were said to be out of this world. Just look at how much the iPhone has shaped the way we think about what a phone should do and can do.
But enough about Apple’s triumphs. Let’s look at what else is out there. It seems that almost immediately after Apple announced the iPad earlier this year, every other major company has been touting an up-and-coming tablet product or some sort of slate device.
Strangely, many of them have either failed to materialize or have been beleaguered with delays of many varieties, from design issues to manufacturing hold-ups. Finally, many months late, we are finally beginning to see the mass industry response to Apple’s latest disruptive industry-changing product.
The JooJoo was perhaps the first real product to hit shelves, but it was rushed and had rather poor execution. It didn’t measure up, mainly due to software issues, in spite of supporting Flash.
A tablet made by exoPC has been in the works since at least the iPad announcement, and still has yet to see the light of day. The company recently pushed back the release date yet again. This time they are apologizing by giving buyers a free stylus and stand.
HP has been teasing some sort of slate product which takes advantage of webOS, which they now have control over due to their acquisition of Palm.
More recently, we saw the announcement of 3 possible big-names putting out tablets and tablet-like products.
Let’s take a look at them now. They are the Dell Streak, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and finally, the BlackBerry PlayBook. They each offer some unique features that make them stand out in the marketplace. Let’s find out if they are worthy of your consideration.
Dell Streak
This device is currently offered at 5 inches, much smaller than the iPad. Dell has chosen a different form factor size and usage scenario than Apple. The Dell Streak will operate on AT&T’s 3G network, and will run the Android OS and have GPS and WiFi.
Of note is the fact that it has the highest pixel density out of the tablets we will be looking at today, and features both a front and rear camera. Weighing in at 0.49 lbs, it is the lightest of the bunch.
The idea is that this is something that will slip into smaller spaces than the iPad but will be able to provide far more functionality than a phone. Though it has 3G connectivity, you’d probably want a headphone/mic or a headset if you choose to use this as your full time phone.
There are rumors abound that Dell will be releasing a 7-inch model of the Streak in the future, so keep an eye out for that.
Samsung Galaxy Tab
This guy is a bit bigger than the Dell Streak, measuring 7 inches diagonally. In terms of pixels, it has the same number of pixels vertically as the iPad, at 1024 pixels, but has 600 instead of 768 horizontal pixels. Interestingly, the 1024x600 resolution is in fact a common netbook resolution, so that’s a good place to look to see if you will be okay with such a setup.
This platform will also run on Android, and has both a front and rear facing camera. The Galaxy Tab has GPS and WiFi. It is also under than 1 lb, weighing in at 0.84 lbs. It runs on a similar graphics hardware setup as the iPad, and has double the iPad’s memory. With resources like that, the Galaxy Tab looks poised to do quite well once it becomes available.
BlackBerry PlayBook
BlackBerry’s offering is similar to the Galaxy Tab, but has a new OS that RIM developed internally, called BB Tablet OS. It runs on the 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9, which will be able to handle tasks quite well.
It features similar connectivity as the other tablets, and adds the promise of 4G for the future. It weighs 0.9 lbs, about the same as the Galaxy Tab, and also has 2 cameras, though they are both of higher resolution than Samsung’s tablet.
The 7-inch screen boasts a resolution of the 1024x600, which is identical to the Galaxy Tab. One big hardware item that sticks out is the 1GB of memory, which outclasses all the other tablets so far. Hopefully BlackBerry can make good use of that memory.
Wrapping Up
There are a few other criteria that should be mentioned in direct comparison. The PlayBook and the Galaxy Tab are the only ones here that support Flash (10.1), while the iPad and the Dell Streak do not.
The iPad is the only one with no built-in camera, though it is the largest tablet here. It also has the lowest pixel density, so if you thought the iPad looked sharp, just wait till you see these. It’s about time that the rest of the industry got their act together and put some competitive juice into the tablet market.
The 3 competitors to the iPad all weigh 0.5-1.0 lbs lighter than the iPad, so that will certainly also make a big difference in terms of the feel of these tablets and their everyday use.
