Why the iPad is King

Tired of making excuses for holding out, I finally bought my first (real) tablet last weekend as a climax to the end of my vacation. I already waited for the release of the newest model, iPad 2, and I knew another netbook wouldn't do the trick.

Apple's iOS devices, iPad, iPhone, and iPod, are very proprietary in that Apple requires that you use iTunes to transfer files, and in that Apple has strict control over it's offerings in the app store. It's well know that Flash isn't supported (intentionally), and has now made it near impossible for competing ebook apps to sell directly.

Why is the iPad king then? As the first tablet to actually create a new computer category, it lives up to the hype, and is much more useable than it's competition.

TABLETS

I've played with other tablets, mostly running Android, and I find it a bit strange compared to iOS in it's organization, and it seems a bit clumsy, and less smooth in it's operation. The biggest problem with Android is that just about about anyone can build a tablet and stick Android on it. There are good quality tablets running it, but you have to find them first. Android has the advantage of being open source, which is great for development, but, there is little to no quality control in the products or applications developed for it.

Though it has had a rough time with the critics, I think the Blackberry Playbook is the only product of it's kind to offer any competition operation-wise to the iPad. I like it's smaller size, and it works much more smoothly than any Android-based device I have used. The gestures make sense, it actually works with Flash, as opposed to my favored iPad, and offers a true multi-tasking experience. If it had been embraced by the public at it's introduction, I may well have bought it instead. Unfortunately, I have to ultimately consider usability as developers will only make apps for the most popular devices.

NETBOOKS/LAPTOPS

I have owned a few other portable devices, and have resold them quickly because they did not live up to my home computer in respect to one area: continous use. It used to be impossible for one to expect a portable computer to hold more than two hours of battery power before requiring a recharge.

I haven't tested how well the iPad lives up to it's boasted ten hours per charge, but it appears to be in that area. When using a laptop or netbook, I lived under the continuous fear that I needed to either find an outlet, or get my work done within a specific period of time. As it usually goes with batteries, they eventually loose the ability to hold as much as when new. two hours is bad enough for me. With the iPad, I an not concerned I will run out of power between charges.

Without moving parts like hard drives, it not only retains it's power longer, but boots faster. Standby mode on the iPad literally sips power almost undetected, compared to other portable devices, that need to be fully shut down to save power when unused. Standby mode on the iPad is off to me, so a full boot isn't needed and I'm using it immediately.

The iPad, being light, slim, fast, and requiring less power, has continued to rule the tablet category since it was created. There remains the potential for other tablets to eventually dethrone iPad, but for now Apple still dominates, despite it's extreme protectionism.