News - Android tablets continue to dominate the market

[HEXUS]

Google's Android OS was installed on over 65 per cent of all tablets sold in Q1.

Read more.

[Biscuit]

I wonder what the difference in upgrade cycle is? I Upgrade my devices fairly regularly (18-24 months perhaps?) however not everyone is the same. I suspect people with even the first Retina iPad see very little need to upgrade to an new one. Even the iPad 2, given the casual nature of the devices, would probably still do everything it needs too for most people.

[Saracen]

....

You can easily buy a dozen barrel bottom low end android tablets for the price of one ultra high end iPad. I wonder which 'side' would swap with the other if they could?

Personally, I wouldn't buy either "barrel-bottom" Android tablets, or an iPad. But I'm more likely to buy half-decent modestly priced Android tablet, and am still not going to buy iPad.

[valhar2000]

My biggest problem with Windows tablets is that they cost at least 50% more than similarly spec'd Android tablets. Even if you like Windows, going for Android is a no-brainer.

[crossy]

By number of sales or by income? Tesco sure sold a lot of Hudls but did they make any money from them? Apple sell iPads at a profit and then continue to make money from app / media revenue. Samsung make less profit from tablets than apple and make next to nothing from the post purchase income.
You can easily buy a dozen barrel bottom low end android tablets for the price of one ultra high end iPad. I wonder which 'side' would swap with the other if they could?

Sigh! Tesco has always come clean that the whole purpose of Hudl (and the Kindle Fire come to that) is as a vehicle to sell other services - whether it be online shopping and video (Hudle) or music and video (Kindle Fire). It's also interesting that Android folks have had the "we've got the largest market share" boast rammed down our throats at every opportunity by Apple and their iFan lackeys. So if this shuts the latter up then it's good news in my book. (And no - I'm not necessarily laying that "iFan lackey" accusation at you Jenny_Y8S)
Oh, and your "barrel bottom" android tablets will probably be 7" ones, so not that comparable to a high price, sorry "high end" iPad. I don't think you'll find many Android fans buying those no-name ones - too risky ... as the cliché says "there's a price to all this cheapness".
Interesting that I got a mail recently from Dabs who were selling reconditioned Galaxy Note 10.1's at only £10 less than the cost of a new iPad 2 in the same mailing. Okay, the '2 is old now - but where's that Apple premium?
I tried to sell someone on getting an iPad (Mini) at Christmas, but when they compared capabilities they ended up with a slightly more expensive Note 8 - mainly because they claimed that there was a lot more the Note could do, and the much touted screen on the iPM was actually worse than the Notes.

My biggest problem with Windows tablets is that they cost at least 50% more than similarly spec'd Android tablets. Even if you like Windows, going for Android is a no-brainer.

If you're talking about "proper" Windows tablets then you can get one or two for the same cost as a Galaxy Tab 3 - HP Omni 10 for example. On the other hand if you can put up with Windows RT then there's the Surface's (1 and 2) plus ones from Nokia and others - all at about the same cost as a mainstream Android tablet. For the high end user I don't think that the "choose Android" mantra is any more true than "choose iPad" is/was - unless you need a particular app then it's pretty easy to get a decent one (just avoid anything by Acer).

I'd actually like to see Windows do better, maybe even take some market share from Android so we have a more "balanced" market. But that presupposes that Microsoft can encourage developers to support Windows RT which is the bottom end offering.

[Biscuit]

Android is cool, but it's also possible to have a preference for Apple while still retaining a balanced view.

I'm yet to experience such a thing

Worth pointing out that risks with iOS do/have exist(ed), even when the're not based on malware. Often they are new OS release bugs that can be damaging to personal data. Apple has a bit of a history with this spanning across all its platforms. Doesn't take much google-fu to find out about them.

[TheAnimus]

iOS Sandboxing may keep you safe with (so far) near perfect accuracy but it also prevents you skinning your keyboard purple or customising the OS is other more practical ways. iOS also arguably has the lead in many of the more serious productivity apps, especially when it comes to tablet apps. Horses for courses

don't agree with that at all. We've seen serious rooting vulnerabilities in it, jail break me springs to mind. As for productivity?! Surface wins there hands down.

Not to mention lack of flash etc

[moeburn]

Are any of these market survey sources ever reliable? Some say Android dominates, some say Apple dominates, some say Windows is surging, some say Blackberry is surging...

[Myss_tree]

I have an Acer W4 (Windows 8.1), LG G Pad (Android) and iPad mini non retina (IOS).
All would be classed as in the 8" tablet sector.
They all have their strengths and weaknesses and overall when you weigh them up against each other there is no clearcut winner so i would carefully look at what you want from a tablet before making the leap.
Hardware wise they are all well built devices, the G Pad feels nicer in the hand(s) though a bit weighter than the iPad but less than the W4. Both the G Pad and W4 have expandable storage. Lookswise there is not much to choose between the iPad and G Pad, both are attractive designs.
For watching films/video then the G Pad is better for general internet browsing then the iPad. For an all rounder its the W4.
The flaw with all are the OS's, mainly ...
iPad ... Apples walled garden.
G Pad ... lack of updates to latest version.
W4 ... scaling not good in desktop.
The i Pads lack of expandability is a major flaw so best to buy the largest (storage wise) you can afford.
At RRP prices the W4 competes well against the others, my G pad with 32GB was £220, i Pad 32GB was £260 and the W4 64GB was £251.
You can currently get the G Pad for as little as £119 and a first gen iPad mini is a better buy from Apples refurb store.
If i had to choose one of the 3 ... the W4 followed by the G pad though for general browsing of the internet i tend to use the iPad.
The W4 is a bit hefty, full fat Windows tablets could do with slimming down and Microsoft need to sort out the scaling for desktop use. Do this and Microsoft have the Holy Grail in the 8" tablet form factor, as it is the 'Messiah' tablet is yet to come.

[crossy]

iFan! How wonderfully original, up there with iSheep.

Sorry, is there a better short description for the wealth of Apple aficionados - running from the fairly laid back through to the rabid "I tuck my iPhone up in it's bed every night" extremists?

Android is cool, but it's also possible to have a preference for Apple while still retaining a balanced view.

True, and the reverse is also the case. I'd count myself as an Android fan (thought I'd mention that in case it wasn't obvious) yet, as I mentioned above, I was trying to sell someone on an iPad Mini at Christmas - because it was the best fit for them as far as I could see. I don't really have an issue with iPads or iPhones as such other than that I consider them unjustifiably overpriced, and the bleating of the extremists does get right up my nose. I'm sure you get bugged by the sniping of the Android zealots (oh you bought a Crapple, what an idiot - they annoy me too).

iOS also arguably has the lead in many of the more serious productivity apps, especially when it comes to tablet apps. Horses for courses. You pays your money, you takes your choice.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/cybercrimin...ndroid-1446540

Quite true, although - with some exceptions - Android is catching up fast ... not as fast as some would like, but quick enough to give the Apple HQ some worry. Big exception though seems to be music-related apps, (that's music creation - not MP3 players etc), there if you ain't got an iPad then you can more or less forget it.

I'm trying to learn guitar at the moment (an uphill struggle with my elderly fingers) and I seriously thought about getting one of those "cheap" iPad2's from Dabs just so I can get some of the apps available. According to the feedback I've seen, the developers of those apps either feel that there's not enough Android tablets out there (what the flip!) or, more justifiably, iOS is a better platform. For the latter I've seen some technical discussion that there's an issue with realtime scheduling on Android which breaks apps that need guaranteed service times.

As you quite rightly say, horses for courses. I think the previous domination of the market by iPad was unhealthy and I'd hate to see Android end up with too large a share either. Since Blackberry or Linux ones aren't going to be a go-er, then the only alternative is Windows. Come on Microsoft - get your finger out!