[Asus Transformer TF700] wynand32:
I'm not here to sell the benefits of the iPad. For most people here (and hell, many people whether they know it or not), Android is a much better tablet operating system. I'm just bothered by people who seem to put on blinders about what's great about the iPad and what SHOULD BE much better on Android. Those things are:

1. Apple has built a great ecosystem, gotta give them credit. I argued as recently as a couple of months ago that the apps don't matter. After a month or so with the iPad, though, I've changed my tune. There are some absolutely beautiful and useful apps for the iPad that I'd love to see on Android tablets. And, when you go to the App Store and do a search, what's the first thing you see? Yep, all of the available iPad-optimized apps that fit the search. It's unacceptable to me that Google STILL hasn't made tablet apps easier to find in Google Play.

2. The iPad is a superior tablet in terms of build quality and components. First, it feels like a single piece of fused glass and aluminum. I've handled a number of Android tablets, and extensively used or owned a few (OG Transformer, Transformer Prime, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7", Toshiba Excite 10, Toshiba Excite 7.7, etc.), and none--not a single one--even comes close in build quality. Android tablet makers really, really need to improve this.

3. The screen goes without saying, but here's my position on it: if you're like me and 80% of what you use a tablet for involves lots of text, then get an iPad. Even if you want to still use an Android tablet. Text on the iPad is so, so much better that things like ebook reading become sublime. Pictures and video are also better. If Samsung were to use an equivalent screen in an Android tablet, I'd pay $700 for it, no lie.

Fix Google Play so tablet apps are discoverable, do whatever it takes to get Android developers to make excellent tablet-optimized apps, improve the build quality, and get a truly excellent screen, and now we're talking business. Maybe Google will manage to do some of this with the Nexus and Jelly Bean, and whatever other things they have in store next week. If all they do is make a cheap tablet, then I'll be mighty disappointed.

I really, really WANT Android tablets to be successful. I'm just objective enough to recognize that in the ways that matter to the mass market (i.e., the market that will determine whether or not Android tablets survive), the iPad remains in a class by itself. And that's a real shame.

---------- Post added at 11:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 AM ----------

Trust me, the difference is even more apparent in real life. As I suggested in my earlier thread, go check it out. And this isn't to try to sell you an iPad, but rather to continue on my point that Android tablet makers are selling us short.

---------- Post added at 11:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:46 AM ----------

That's exactly how I felt. In fact, I messed around with the iPad 2 at stores every now and then and had no interest in it. Then I messed around with the iPad 3, and pulled out my wallet on the spot. Since then, I've used quite a few Android tablets and keep going back to the iPad. And that's not because I'm a fan of iOS, I'll tell you...

---------- Post added at 11:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:49 AM ----------

First, yes, I wonder if the text issue isn't Android-related. In fact, I swear that text got worse on my Prime when I upgraded to ICS. I think ICS might be the culprit...

And I still gotta say: because colors and contrast are so great on the iPad, video is also another notch better. So far, only the Toshiba Excite 7.7 has had video that approaches the iPad's, even if the iPad does letterbox quite a bit.