What's interesting in this case, compared to Mac vs. PC, is how the roles have changed - and I don't mean "Apple is on top", either. On the desktop, the OS tha

What's interesting in this case, compared to Mac vs. PC, is how the roles have changed - and I don't mean "Apple is on top", either. On the desktop, the OS that ran on commodity hardware was the dominant force, even though there was no 'dominant' hardware supplier. And this made sense, since the desktop is very 'general-purpose'. With tablets, the hardware is inextricably linked to the OS. The experience between different Android tablets is more variable than Windows ever was, as well as being largely dictated by the manufacturers - both by locking down the OS and the lack of hardware customisation. Maybe this will settle down in a few years, but Apple have always been in better control of their experience, so naturally they're far ahead on this one.