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I heard a lot of these arguments before. 3-4 years ago when the early Android phones came out and being compared to the IPhone. From the post: ======== Devel

by dannyr 15y ago

I heard a lot of these arguments before. 3-4 years ago when the early Android phones came out and being compared to the IPhone. From the post: ======== Developers will rush to Android tablets once a lot of people are buying Android tablets. But hardly anyone will buy them if there’s too little compelling software available. So there must be a very good reason why someone would choose any given Android tablet over an iPad, and that reason can’t be the available apps. This, not how closely a manufacturer can mimic the iPad’s hardware, is what reviewers should be asking about each new tablet: Why would a significant number of buyers choose this instead of an iPad? Or, more generally: What will cause enough people to buy this that developers will beat down the door to make great apps for it? ======== Replace "Android tablet" with "Android phone" and "IPad" with "IPhone" and it's almost exactly like what Android naysayers were saying years ago.

kenjackson 15y ago
While I disagree with Marco, I think you can't make this comparison. Android (for phones) came up in a different world. It competed against the iPhone when the iPhone was on one US carrier and Android went to the other three. Android on phones had a captive market. That doesn't exist for tablets. On tablets Android must win marketshare by taking sales from the iPad ... not by saying, "if you're on Verizon, there is no iPhone".
- dannyr 15y ago
  I agree that there are no carriers involved which makes it different. However, there are still elements similar to the smartphone that exist. One is form factor. There will be Android tablets with different sizes, with dual screen, with slide-out keyboard. This would widen its appeal which would translate to more sales. Another is price. Like with the phones, there will be several manufacturers building Android tablets. With the competition, prices will much more attractive compared to the IPad. Also, this would be fully integrated with Google services. This is the main reason why I picked an Android phone in the first place because I use Gmail, Google Calendar, etc. The IPad cannot give the same integrated experience. On a sidenote, I actually wonder how brand affiliation would impact tablet sales. I have an Android phone which is why I picked an Android tablet. If this is true for most people, Android tablets will sell really well since Android's market share is now bigger than the IPhone's.
- nextparadigms 15y ago
  There were people who didn't buy iPhone even when it was available on their carrier. The world is big. The potential of the tablet market is pretty huge. Android tablets don't have to steal from iPad, because there are already a lot of Androi fans out there where an Android tablet is a default choice for them, though some may think twice about it and choose an iPad anyway, but the point is iPad won't be their first choice.

by dannyr 15y ago

kenjackson 15y ago

While I disagree with Marco, I think you can't make this comparison. Android (for phones) came up in a different world. It competed against the iPhone when the iPhone was on one US carrier and Android went to the other three. Android on phones had a captive market. That doesn't exist for tablets. On tablets Android must win marketshare by taking sales from the iPad ... not by saying, "if you're on Verizon, there is no iPhone".

dannyr 15y ago
I agree that there are no carriers involved which makes it different. However, there are still elements similar to the smartphone that exist. One is form factor. There will be Android tablets with different sizes, with dual screen, with slide-out keyboard. This would widen its appeal which would translate to more sales. Another is price. Like with the phones, there will be several manufacturers building Android tablets. With the competition, prices will much more attractive compared to the IPad. Also, this would be fully integrated with Google services. This is the main reason why I picked an Android phone in the first place because I use Gmail, Google Calendar, etc. The IPad cannot give the same integrated experience. On a sidenote, I actually wonder how brand affiliation would impact tablet sales. I have an Android phone which is why I picked an Android tablet. If this is true for most people, Android tablets will sell really well since Android's market share is now bigger than the IPhone's.
nextparadigms 15y ago
There were people who didn't buy iPhone even when it was available on their carrier. The world is big. The potential of the tablet market is pretty huge. Android tablets don't have to steal from iPad, because there are already a lot of Androi fans out there where an Android tablet is a default choice for them, though some may think twice about it and choose an iPad anyway, but the point is iPad won't be their first choice.