Since the release of the iPad 2, the tablet has been continually sold out the minute an Apple store gets them in stock. It seems like everyone has to have the new iPad. However, is it the best tablet to suit every tech users’ needs? We decided to take a look at three competing tablets and break them down by user lifestyle to determine which tablet suits what type of personality best.
Blackberry PlayBook (16GB WiFI) $499
RIM’s “PlayBook” (an interesting name for an enterprise-friendly device) is catered towards the corporate businessman and BBM addicts. Running on the lighter side of the weight spectrum, the PlayBook is more subtle and comfortable to carry, a must-have for busy executives to transport on the go. The battery life can last you a couple days, especially if the main functions you’re using on the PlayBook is running PowerPoint presentations (which it does very well) or browsing the latest in the stock market or accessing PDF files (another thing it does well with its own Adobe Reader built in). The interface is intuitive and user-friendly and apps are responsive. With all the improvements and updates the PlayBook has undergone since its release, it’s quickly becoming the best tool for the businessman but still has a ways to go to appeal to the average consumer. The PlayBook is best for the Pragmatic White-Collar Exec.
iPad 2 (32 GB WiFi only) $599
There are two types of people who get the iPad: techie die-hard Apple fans or people who aren’t familiar with most tech but want to jump onto the Apple bandwangon with a sleek new toy. Similar to when the Wii was first released, the iPad is user-friendly and intuitive, which opens the doors to a wide age range of users from 1- year olds to people in their late 50s. In terms of usefulness, the iPad can be a very productive tool depending on your profession. For teachers, people in real-estate or customer service, the iPad’s “social” aspect of being able to be passed around for easy group viewing of charts or images makes it much more functional than a laptop or smart phone. The new PhotoShop apps that were just released for the iPad are a significant new toolset for designers, graphic artist and photographers. However, for the rest of us, I guess you could argue a better Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja experience than the average smart phone. I like to call this group of iPad users, Apple Fanboys and Chic Geeks.
Motorola Xoom on Google’s Android 3.0 $800
Deemed the only true competitor of the iPad, the Motorola Xoom tablet running on Google’s Android 3.0 is the perfect tablet for serious tech users, namely developers and people who prefer Android to iOS. Nicknamed the “Honeycomb” by Google, the tablet’s responsiveness and multitasking features can give the iPad a run for its money. With features like the ability to run 3D graphics and create high-performance 3D effects for applications and more so developers can achieve more realistic shading and textures with 3D models. The new keyboard was redesigned to suit a larger tablet screen and provides a better experience for typing with the whole hand and certain hot-keys installed for quicker navigation. The Honeycomb is great for the super user who needs to get work done, but less appealing as an easy entertainment toy with its mediocre apps. This group is made up of serious Techie Super Users.
Do you fall under one of these tablet personalities or are you still waiting for the next best tablet invention?
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wow... didn't know those are the only 2 types of people that use ipads. Fanboys and people who doesn't use tech...wow. Ipad 2 sales figures are a bit hard to find, but as of the end of march their were a range of estimates from around 5 mil to 9 million already sold. And it has only been out for around a month.
This is a nice general article outline 3 different tablets but at the same time a pretty vague lumping of the types of users they devices have.
Considering I've seen the iPad used by everyone from teachers to internet cafe patrons to database administrators to doctors and nurses, Id say your characterization of iPad users is simply very wrong. I don't see it as a fanboy and geek phenomenon at all. I think Apple marketed it very well and people really saw the potential of tablets thanks to the iPad, and went out and bought what seemed to be the default choice.
I agree with the article completely. There is a reason the sales figures aren't out there, they aren't that impressive. Are you really surprised that you would find them at internet cafe's and used in the places shown in the commercials? I sure am not and do not know people other than those described in the article who have them.
Where were all the apple fans in the other article about his and hers? They seem to have congregated here to challenge the general ipad personality type by saying that the ipad has universal appeal. Yes and no, because when it comes down to it, there's just two groups: apple lovers and apple haters.
"Nicknamed the 'Honeycomb' by Google"? Check your facts noob, the OS - Android v3.0 - is called Honeycomb, not the tablet.
@mariokartking
really the sales figures aren't that impressive? The ipod probably wasn't that successful of a product in your eyes either was it?
"Similar to when the Wii was first released, the iPad is user-friendly and intuitive, which opens the doors to a wide age range of users from 1- year olds to people in their late 50s" -
That's just a hilarious (and pathetic) statement. I'm sorry, but I'm guessing you're what, 22? Someone who sees people in their 50s as old, anyway. Since we're getting an iPad for my mom (who is in her 70s) for mother's day, you might want to consider revising your statement, or at least making your biases less obvious.
@jmorey you really think comparing ipod sales to ipad sales is even fair to the ipad. I'm not sure I understand how that comparison helps your cause.
In my company, if you aren't in the technology group, if you want a tablet, you get an iPad. I am sure there are many reasons, but saying you see people of different professions using an iPad doesn't necessarily mean they personally chose it, but that someone(s) at their company chose that direction.
I gotta say I love my (non-Xoom) android tablet, but with its current quirks, I don't think I'd want my doctor or database admin using it for anything important! (yet!)
I must be in that rare group that isn't a true Apple Lover or Apple Hater - I love my macbook pro, but really do not want an iPad or an iPhone...