Before I begin here, allow me to address the cost factor – when begin thinking about purchasing a tablet, you’ve got to weigh the cost of the tablet against the benefits of owning it. This is the same thing you really ought to be doing, in my humble opinion, whenever you decide you’re going to buy a bit of technology, or a car, or a house, or whatever other item you’re going to purchase for the benefits of owning it. On the other hand, if you’re thinking of purchasing a tablet so you can use it for entertainment alone, you’ve got an ever-so-slightly different set of circumstances you’re going to deal with – BUT, as I’ll maintain through the entirety of this text, comparing one tablet to the other based on specifications is, as Erica Sadun puts it, “missing the point.” You must go forth and buy the tablet you know, in your heart, if you will, will be the one you’ll love the best.

As it was announced the other day, iPad 2 is not only the same price as the first iPad was, it’s 33% thinner that the original. And it’s got a white front. And it’s a good shape for your hands. And it’s got a super cool new magnetic “Smart” cover. But the XOOM has a Silver edition. And it’s got access to the Android Marketplace. And its operating system has been developed specifically for tablets. But none of that matters to the average consumer when they’re comparing the two – because not only do they not compare the two, they’ve decided on a product almost instantly after they’ve seen the first advertisement for it.

Then there’s the now-depreciated Mac vs PC war. That war is over. Mac has taken one batch of people and PC has taken the other. The Android vs iOS (vs BlackBerry?) battle is still raging. This is a race toward the ultimate easy-to-use set of devices (not a single device) that work in an environment that works. The brand that will take the gold in people’s minds will be the one that integrates itself into our daily lives the best, does everything the average consumer wants it to the easiest, and has the best logo.

Because whether we like it or not, branding and brand power are very real forces in our technology world, just as real as they are in the political world, selling us the belief that we’ve got to believe in a person to lead us, or in the food and drink industry, selling us the belief that something man-made is better than bits of nature. Well-set type and a catchy jingle can make us hope for, want, and need a product – case in point, “video mirroring.” This is what Apple is saying is a brand new feature for iPad, one that it’s essentially revolutionary in that you can plug your device in to a bigger screen and have it display everything that’s going on on your smaller one. Sounds great! I’ve been waiting for such functionality for what seems like forever! But wait – can’t I already do that on every computer I’ve owned for the past 10+ years at least? Yes indeed. But set next to things like “AirPrint” for wireless sending of documents to super-sharp photo-quality ink spreaders and a handheld touchscreen computer that weighs only 1.33 pounds, it sounds fantastic!

Beyond that, there’s usability. Where we are today in devices between us and work is the ease in which we attain our goals. If I want a device that allows me to do the following things: play movies, read texts (books, work files, emails,) access webpages, display images, and maybe even make video phone calls, I’ll choose the device that seems to attain all of these goals in the neatest package. What’s important to me and the majority of consumers in our modern world is that I’m going to be able to do the things I want to do in the package that feels best. Feels best. That’s the sort of thing that’s beyond specs, beyond aesthetics, even beyond price.

There is a synergy in a device, that being a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts, that brands are attempting to attain because that power is what sells devices, brings in the profit, and allows them to stay in the business of creating the next best singularly successful device.

46 COMMENTS

  1. “Forget the spec” will be the new catch phrase from Apple in 2011.
    Why you ask? because they failed to deliver in a HUGE way with the iPad 2.
    You’re right, this is war and in war armament DOES indeed matter.
    Case in point, check out the Apples specs page for iPhone 4, it list camera as “5 megapixels” but look at the specs for iPad, its deception at its best. They know exactly why.
    The truth is ” HD (720p) up to 30 frames” is another way of hiding the fact that its not even 1 megapixel but rather 0.92 megapixels.
    As for the front camera “VGA up to 30 frames per second” is another way of saying 0.3 megapixel.
    They fully well know 98% of their customers don’t know that, but people do understand megapixels.
    Also failure to disclose the RAM with iPad 1 turned out to be a meager 256 MB of ram which we didn’t find that out until after purchase and taking it apart.
    You CANNOT possibly tell me there is a smart computer buyer that doesn’t look at the amount of RAM before purchase.
    Apple were sure touting Retina due to its insane resolution, but all of sudden you mean to tell me they had a change of heart and resolution on iPad 2 doesn’t matter?
    Give me a break!!!! wake up people “Forget the specs / Hardware specs doesn’t matter” are just poor poor excuses for failure to deliver.
    It’s all about specs when buying a computer and and why should tablet pcs be any different.
    We’re talking about tablets pcs here where its easier to upgrade software than it is to hardware, quit with all this BS lies and intentional deceits and just STEP IT UP.

    • A “smart-computer buyer” will want to know specs, but then he will likely also know that just having the best specs doesn’t always mean everything. As far as laptops go you might argue that Alienware computers were/are absolutely the best for off-the-shelf notebooks, but if they don’t manage to serve my primary need then what’s the point? You could talk all day about the awesome specs on the Xoom, but you can’t convince me that the software seems finished or that the lack of apps made for it isn’t an issue. Android and iOS don’t operate the same way and so comparing specs alone will not yield an even comparison and I think that’s the point of the articles.

      • The only reason I WANT a Xoom was because I really like Android and its PC like openness ~BUT~ I NEED the iPad 2 simply because it has the functionality that I require.

        Example: I produce music. The Xoom would be amazing to use in the studio ~BUT~ Android has NO GOOD MUSIC APPS!! so this would be a huge waste of money for me. iOS has AMAZING music production apps that I can easily utilize in the music studio. And because of that, iPad 2 is what I will be getting.

        Its sad really because I really dont want apple products but they have what I need so I really have no choice.

      • If Apple wants to stay at the top they need do more than just “meet” they need to “exceed” as they have with the iPods and iPhones.
        “need” can grow over night, having room for growth and looking ahead saves money in the long run.
        Buying a good comp today can last a few years, buying a “meets my needs” comp today will lead to regrets sooner than you think. Soon as in perhaps this fall soon.

      • IMO the “openess” of Android has yet to show many real-world advantages other than being a term for fanboys to throw around.

        I’m not advocating “closed” platforms, but I wonder if most people using that term actually know what they mean by it or what it really is.

      • So, all the hardware choices that come with the open platform known as Android???? That’s not real-world advantages?

        I think the ~40Million customers/quarter would beg to differ.

      • There’s lots of differentiation. If you think it’s all the same then you’ve been living in Apple’s world way too long.

        You can purchase phones with different skins. . . pick the flavor you like. Or go with Vanilla Android. You can get a small Android phone or a large screen one–I don’t know about you but the difference between a 2″ screen and a 4.5″ Super Amoled Plus screen is striking.

        Or you can cheap it with a low end phone that does just the basics because that’s all you need or go bonkers with a LG Optimus 2x.

        This isn’t Apple. . . pick what you like. . . big, little, low end, high end, tons of features, few features, skinned, not skinned.

        REALLY?!?! You don’t get it???

      • There’s lots of differentiation. If you think it’s all the same then you’ve been living in Apple’s world way too long.

        You can purchase phones with different skins. . . pick the flavor you like. Or go with Vanilla Android. You can get a small Android phone or a large screen one–I don’t know about you but the difference between a 2″ screen and a 4.5″ Super Amoled Plus screen is striking.

        Or you can cheap it with a low end phone that does just the basics because that’s all you need or go bonkers with a LG Optimus 2x.

        This isn’t Apple. . . pick what you like. . . big, little, low end, high end, tons of features, few features, skinned, not skinned.

        REALLY?!?! You don’t get it???

      • There’s lots of differentiation. If you think it’s all the same then you’ve been living in Apple’s world way too long.

        You can purchase phones with different skins. . . pick the flavor you like. Or go with Vanilla Android. You can get a small Android phone or a large screen one–I don’t know about you but the difference between a 2″ screen and a 4.5″ Super Amoled Plus screen is striking.

        Or you can cheap it with a low end phone that does just the basics because that’s all you need or go bonkers with a LG Optimus 2x.

        This isn’t Apple. . . pick what you like. . . big, little, low end, high end, tons of features, few features, skinned, not skinned.

        REALLY?!?! You don’t get it???

      • The point of the articles is excuses excuses excuses.
        Apple has made an incredible run in the recent years and they did this with innovation, creativity, and by delivering the goods.
        All I’m saying is “show me the money”
        Covering up a 4-Cylinder with a Ferrari frame isn’t innovation nor is it an actual Ferrari.
        Delivering a 3G tablet while the world around them is “Xooming” by on 4G isn’t what I call delivering the goods nor is it staying ahead of the competition.

      • The frame of a car doesn’t cover anything since it provides foundation an isn’t seen. Anyways, the iPad 2 is equally quick. The verdict is still out on RAM, but it might not matter since I’ve never actually wanted for more RAM on my original iPad or iPhone 4. The real difference for me is still the software and IMO Apple still has a huge lead over Android’s Honeycomb.

        I’ve seen screen resolution mentioned and while the difference is negligible anyways, the iPad still has a better quality screen in every respect from overall picture quality to the viewing angles enabled by the IPS technology. This is just an example, but one of the many ways that other companies lead in specs and ultimately fail to deliver any actual beneficial results.

        What’s the difference if my Ferrari only has a 4-banger if it’s faster in the real world, better looking and drives better than yours?

      • Because it’s not actually better and faster in the real world. iOS devices don’t live in the real world they live in Apple’s curated garden where you have a very minimal OS that has the flexibility of a rock and very minimalistic apps. This is why PC/console games are being ported 1to1 over to the Tegra 2 and other chips on Android and not iOS, because the Android hardware can handle it–they have enough RAM, CPU, and GPU to pull it off and the game developers have said flat out–you can’t do it with Apple’s new iPad 2.

        Crashing. . . well, people I’ve heard from hate the iPad 1 because it crashes whenever using an app that needs lots of RAM. . . that’s why specs matter. While you may not do anything that needs more than 50MB RAM others do–that’s the real world!

      • Other than possibly RAM when we find out what it is, Tegra 2 holds no real advantages over the A5. People have been talking about the gaming capability of Android hardware for a couple of years now and nothing has come of it. The real challenge will be getting people to buy games because Android buyers typically want free and many are unlikely to be willing to pay the $4.99-9.99 that the average great iOS game costs.

      • Well, we don’t know just yet how many advantages the Tegra 2 will have over the iPad 2’s CPU but either way the iPad is still crippled with low RAM as is the iPad 2 with NO standard ports, NO SD expansion, and crappy cameras = gimped device. And Android tablets will have quad-core Tegra 3 by August 🙂

        I guess Pocket Legends developers disagrees with you about Android users being cheap. . .$$$
        Source: http://www.androidcentral.com/developer-says-pocket-legends-making-more-money-android-ios?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+androidcentral+%28Android+Central%29

        You can also checkout NIVIDIA’s Tegra Zone for HD games coming to Honeycomb.
        It’s all about numbers. Now that Android smartphones have gotten numbers in the wild you will see more money for devs and good apps. This will be true as tablets increase. The stupidity of saying Android users are cheap is a typical Apple Fan hating on other, try and stop regurgitating stupid invalid statements you read online. Many Android phones are more expensive than the iPhone. Just because Android users require quality apps instead of spending money on iFart apps does not make them cheap. . . it means they are intelligent and wise with their money.

      • Pointing out one developer that makes more money does nothing to change the
        many, many other that make way more on iOS. Google said themselves that they
        need to figure out a way for developers to make more money. Your statement,
        ” Just because Android users require quality apps..”, makes absolutely no
        sense because even a child can see that even the most basic apps usually
        have a much higher visual and functional quality that their Android
        counterparts when there are cross-platform apps available for comparison.
        For example, NewsRob is probably the best application for sync with Google
        Reader on Android compared to Byline and Reeder, plus many others on iOS.

        I’m sure you could find one or two Android phones that are more expensive
        than the iPhone, but not many, either way it doesn’t matter because the most
        common Android phones sold are mid-range devices. High-end devices do not
        make up a majority of Android phones sold.

        You can use your argument about awesome hardware all-day long, but IMO it
        really doesn’t matter unless the software is equally good. While Nokia’s
        devices might not have been the most powerful, they certainly have made and
        continue to make some of the most beautiful hardware on sale, but Symbian OS
        is pure crap and they have finally admitted that.

        I could go on and on, but I’d rather save it. Maybe someday you’ll see
        beyond Android and realize that there are great things about every platform
        and that competition is good. You keep pointing out simple little things
        that are wrong with the iPad, but you ignore the glaring omissions with the
        Xoom….. circular logic indeed.

  2. Yup tell them. But the truth is alot of woman and older ppl don’t look into this there just buying a brand. Its like Jordan’s no matter what ppl have to have them every yr. And apple is that brand and they no this, so they can throw BS updates on there upgrades and ppl will always buy it. That’s why there so sucessful. They no they don’t have to go out there and add all the high tech stuff in at once.

  3. You’re an Apple fan. That’s why you are saying “forget the specs”!!! But the specs matter. Otherwise they wouldn’t show the sec sheet, neither say that “it’s twice faster than the first ipad” and so on. But I have to admit that average people will buy depending on their preference. But you’re still an Apple fanboys. But when you write articles you must be neutral.

    • You are right. Apple is so hypocritical it’s amazing! Oh, our device is “magical” blah, blah, blah. . . look at our new CPU we designed. . . no one can come close to use. . . blah, blah, blah. . . HU?!?! Someone has a better CPU & specs?!?!?! UH. .. . . . our devices are just “magical” who cares about specs. . . we are just cooler and better. . .

      Why?
      Because we are just cooler and better.
      Why?
      Because we are just cooler and better. . . .
      On and on it goes. . .

      Apple is form over function, marketing over fact, distortion over reality–that’s the Apple way.

    • Only on the same platform. Cross-platform spec comparisons are stupid as each platform uses those resources completely differently.

      I was more impressed by iOS4.3 home sharing and iMovie (even Garageband) on iOS – hell I might even make a tune or two!

      Tragically the Tablet war will descend into a spec war.

  4. You’re an Apple fan. That’s why you are saying “forget the specs”!!! But the specs matter. Otherwise they wouldn’t show the sec sheet, neither say that “it’s twice faster than the first ipad” and so on. But I have to admit that average people will buy depending on their preference. But you’re still an Apple fanboys. But when you write articles you must be neutral.

  5. You’re an Apple fan. That’s why you are saying “forget the specs”!!! But the specs matter. Otherwise they wouldn’t show the sec sheet, neither say that “it’s twice faster than the first ipad” and so on. But I have to admit that average people will buy depending on their preference. But you’re still an Apple fanboys. But when you write articles you must be neutral.

  6. This is so funny. Do you honestly think that Apple is trying to sell it’s ipad to techie people? Of course they aren’t. They are selling a brand/accessory to people who like different colour covers and sit on facebook all day. Their target market doesn’t want to be able to reconfigure a linux server on it or write pearl script, they want something that’s easy, doesn’t want them to update a million drivers every day and they can show off to their mates. Does the ipad do this? Yes.
    They are not doing anything revolutionary in the sense that they are inventing the technology (e.g. facetime is just video chat) but the thing they ARE doing, is bringing that technology to your average joe bloggs who thinks he is computer literate because he went on a 1 hour Desk top publishing and microsoft word course.

    • Impress your friends with an iPad. . . that’s funny, it just cracked me up though I’m sure people are trying to do that.

      As to the easy of use thing. This is Apple’s great marketing ploy. They have tried since the 80’s to convince people that their products “just work” and are “easier to use.” In a nutshell, it’s all BS and just marketing. After leaving the Mac world for over a decade I had to work with OS X for a while after using Win7–OS X was without a doubt the worst experience I’ve had in a very long time with an OS. Give me windows, Linux, anything other than that POS. . . yet people believe it is easier to use. Why? Marketing!

      That’s the same for iOS devices. They are just as buggy as anything else. They are only easy to use if you enjoy going back and forth from one app to another, etc.

      All operating systems, all programs, all tech gadgets, etc. . . require the user to learn it them. That’s just a fact. Android is just as easy to use as iOS and often more so because it allows you to be more efficient in many ways, iOS does not. And average Joe can actually understand this when it’s showed to them. They just want to know if the product will do x, y, and z.

      Apple is form over function, marketing over fact, distortion over reality–that’s the Apple way.

  7. “Forget the specs” well lets talk about software, iOS uses C – C++ and Objective C all of which are not the most complex of programming languages they use less resources but they take lots of space and considering that iOS has nothing but icons on the screen without any information/services running in the background its going to be blazing fast because of the freed up resources for other applications and the system in general, Android on the other hand also has C and C++ with the addition of Java, C being the Core, C++ with some third-party libraries and Java being basically the UI, Java takes a lot of resources out of the system because Java applications are typically compiled to byte-code that can run on any Java Virtual Machine but that process takes time and resources and Android 3.0 has so much graphics on the screen with the 3D effect while swiping through screens and live wallpapers and widgets that update and moving wallpapers that move with the screen and having a high res display(1280×800 thats HD res!) like the Xoom will need even more resources, if you want to know which is better i would say none of them, you simply cannot compair something that was written by diffrante programming languages. To me personally i think Specs matter 100% but we are humans after all we will never agree on anything 🙂

    • How can you say specs matter 100% on the back of an arguement which states that different software uses these resources with varying efficiency? Specs are only relevent within the same platform, certainly not cross-platform, even less so with full multitasking sapping resources.

      I like the piece as it encrourages the user to step away from what has been traditionally important (features) and focus on benefits. Of course if the same logic had been applied to Mac vs PC then the outcome would have been very different, though, as pointed out, consumers rarely engage this logic.

      The only parts I disagree with is the ‘benefit’ of Android marketplace, in comparison to the iOS App Store it’s a clear loser. Also the way Honeycomb is ‘written for tablets’ as if iOS isn’t and those who are writing it actually have a track history of any kind of device!

      • The OS for ipad is exactly the same as the one for iphone. the apps that are developed however are different. Now you have to download multiple versions of an app for it to scale properly. android has just introduced the fragments API which will allow devs to create one app that reacts differently depending on the device that is utilizing it. Remember honeycomb has only been out for about 3 weeks now, and it does have some growing to do, but grow it will, and fast.

      • Wrong. Xcode allows iPhone and iPad UIs to be added to the same application and built as a universal app bundle. You can also modify the UI directly but merely scaling existing elements is a waste.

        Best stick to commenting on the platform you know.

      • Compelling argument but I’d rather invest in the one that’s making money for anyone other than Google.

  8. “Forget the specs” well lets talk about software, iOS uses C – C++ and Objective C all of which are not the most complex of programming languages they use less resources but they take lots of space and considering that iOS has nothing but icons on the screen without any information/services running in the background its going to be blazing fast because of the freed up resources for other applications and the system in general, Android on the other hand also has C and C++ with the addition of Java, C being the Core, C++ with some third-party libraries and Java being basically the UI, Java takes a lot of resources out of the system because Java applications are typically compiled to byte-code that can run on any Java Virtual Machine but that process takes time and resources and Android 3.0 has so much graphics on the screen with the 3D effect while swiping through screens and live wallpapers and widgets that update and moving wallpapers that move with the screen and having a high res display(1280×800 thats HD res!) like the Xoom will need even more resources, if you want to know which is better i would say none of them, you simply cannot compair something that was written by diffrante programming languages. To me personally i think Specs matter 100% but we are humans after all we will never agree on anything 🙂

  9. I actually think spec don’t matter.

    I bought iPod touch 3rd gen @ jan 2010 and bought iPod touch 4th gen @ jan 2011.
    I usually use any product for 2-3 years but 4th gen was way convincing.

    Back to the point :
    iPod touch has only 256 MB both 3rd and 4th gen.
    After testing same games on iPod touch vs iPhone vs galaxy vs N8.

    I saw iPod touch performed so much better.

    It was ahead of iPhone by one second and also android devices and N8 seen some really smoothless games.

    And iPod touch Has worst spec vs N8 both in processor and spec.
    But still iPod touch worked very smooth.

    It all depends on capability.

    For example :
    There may be hundreds of job holders in Microsoft who got so many good qualifications compared to people at apple but now who is technology leader ?

    10 years back apple vs Microsoft = Microsoft wins

    In 2001 there is Steve jobs , johnny Ive , phil , Scott working and they work even today.
    So talent wins. But not product specs or hyping

  10. I think, Even as an Android smartphone user, I’d choose an iPad if I was after a tablet. Purely for quality. I believe Android have a lot of growing to do. Also, Android isn’t going to be worth it until big companies start publishing to it. Most major companies now have their own app, which only seem to be available on the iPhone. It needs to change, before Android gear can actually be worth it.

  11. I think, Even as an Android smartphone user, I’d choose an iPad if I was after a tablet. Purely for quality. I believe Android have a lot of growing to do. Also, Android isn’t going to be worth it until big companies start publishing to it. Most major companies now have their own app, which only seem to be available on the iPhone. It needs to change, before Android gear can actually be worth it.

  12. Who says specs does not matter; if specs are not important, apple will not hide behind closed doors to create them. Apple to me is a technology design and a marketing company. Any company that designs better technology than apple or markets it products better than apple is kidding. Look at apple stores architecture. People like class and beauty and (…) . The next thing apple is doing now is pushing it pricing. When class and beauty becomes affordable it takes a tool on specs. Do you thing the average person cares about the battery or the engine in a Mercedes. In marketing, when a product has a perceived quality, it sells itself; and thats much effective than spending money on advertising.

  13. Which came first….The tree, the seed, or the Apple?? Give your brains a rest on this Tablet Tech, no “one” company can claim to have there cake and eat it too!!

  14. Apple vs. ***** (put here any company name) is NOT a battle of quality vs. quality, design vs. design or intuitiveness vs. intuitiveness. It is a battle APPLE HYPE VS. COMPETITORs. 50% of their success is their marketing. 35% is that they control media resources and pay NOT advertisings, but for ARTICLES about them, for reviews, for densitive COVERAGE. An Apple a Day. You must not forget them. It’s money. It’s business. Media resources are busineess. Nobody will write infinite articles about your infinite ‘leaked’ ipad corners or ‘found’ your prototype in a bar if you wouldn’t carefully work on this and pay for this.

    To compete with Apple successfully, every company must invest in HYPE. It sells.

    Why Apple’s feeded sites write only great news about apple and biased shit about everyone else, but Android sites write everything, including sh*t about Android? This is a problem.

    Specs and price matter for 90% of people. When I want 64Gb of memory, i don’t want to buy another device, i want to buy an SD card. I want movies on a native HD screen. I don’t want restricted web. I don’t want ANY restrictions. I want USB port. I don’t want to buy senselessly proprietary $40 cable. If you tried on your computer to run programs, having 512Mb of RAM instead of 1Gb, for example, you DEFINITELY know that SPECS MATTER. Windows XP like ios ‘just works’ too. But people choose Windows 7 which is absolutely awesome.

    When you buy NOW a COMPUTER (tablet computer), nobody would convince you that a brand new Celeron 1.33Mhz/512Mb/32Mb video card integrated/2 USB ports/NO Blu-Ray/WinXP ‘beast’ is perfect for your needs and ‘just works’.

    Honeycomb > scaled phone ios.
    Xoom > ipad2.
    Specs matters.
    Price matters.
    Design matters.
    Hype can sell everything, including 512Mb half-featured ipad2, 33%(!!!!!!!!) thinner, that can show 9(!!!!!!!!) your video calls with all those ugly effects at the same time. Probably, some new call-center feature.
    Deal with it.

      • how do you figure? apple takes 30% of a dev’s profits for having an app in the store as opposed to 0 from google. Not only that, but the android market is growing more rapidly than the apple store did and is predicted to have more apps withing a year or two, most of which are new, useful apps instead of another stupid flashlight app in the apple appstore.

  15. I’m trying to figure out which tablet would be best to buy for my dad for Christmas. He would be using it for online gaming and most likely nothing else. I don’t want to pay a lot for one that’s only  used for games. Any ideas?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.