sityu wrote:
But actually I would prefer a device independent tablet version.
There are several android tablets on the market, with better price and better performance than the ipad.
Android/Windows-based tablets have been variously unveiled or announced, but none are actually out in the marketplace yet. Pricing doesn't yet appear to be better than the iPad - in fact, they might be more expensive. It looks as if the
Galaxy Tab is in that category (£680 vs. iPad £529). We won't know for sure until they actually hit the stores.
I don't see much merit in developing for Android (or waiting for Android-based products to prove themselves) when the iOS is here, proven, and very widely used. Android is a cheap knock-of of iOS, developed and managed by an advertising firm (Google), and taken up by electronics firms that invest very little in R&D (why else would you jump at a free 3rd-party OS). The predicted mess is starting to show.
New applications are showing up in the marketplace for some phones and not for
others. Whether they work or not is also a lottery. Many are finding their phone can't be upgraded to more recent Android releases (although the phones are very recent) or the upgrade is a
nightmare. And because the Android marketplace lacks the management of the iTunes App store, it's slowly spiralling into anarchy.
Even the much-touted ability to play Flash is the unprofessional mess Steve Jobs has been so keen to avoid - see
here and
here.
I'm sticking with Apple - they invest heavily in R&D (and it shows), produce high-quality products, provide amazing support (especially through the Apple Store), and work vigorously to protect both their own reputation and that of their developers (through quality management of the App store). They have an unmatched reputation for reliability and customer satisfaction. That's the kind of company I want to do business with - waiting for cheaper knock-offs is false economy in my opinion.
Ralph Wessel BArch