The simple fact is that the apps available for the iPad are better than the alternatives. Where there are iOS and Android versions of the same apps, the iPad ones are more complete, more features, run better. Same is true with some of iPhone vs Android apps (compare Facebook and Foursquare on both platforms, for example). Add to that there are a ton more to choose, solid tools for productivity (PDF annotation for example) coupled with syncing via Dropbox and WebDav on the iPad, and you have the total package.
That really has nothing to do with iOS, but rather app developers. Once more apps are written for Android tablets, they will be just like the iPad. And I have to seriously disagree about iPhone apps being better than their Android counterparts. I went from the iPhone one day to Android then next, and with exception of ESPN ScoreCenter, which is now just as good, every single app I had on the iPhone works just as good as on my Android phone as it did the iPhone. I can’t speak for nonsense like Facebook or Four Square as I don’t participate in that junk. I have no desire to collect ‘friends’ and let them know what I’m thinking about every second of the day and I have no desire to be the ‘mayor’ of a restaurant or venue.
It is a great reader for magazine and newspapers. The Zinio magazine reader is excellent; the Wired iPad app provides a version of the magazine that it was ALWAYS supposed to be. No need for paper. Full powered spreadsheets and word processors -- and even presentations; with both Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Quick Office HD. Note taking apps that are stellar (i.e., UPAD and Note taker HD among some of the better ones).
I can’t comment on electronic magazines, but for note taking you really can’t beat what HTC has done with the Flyer and Evo View.
I am not a gamer, but the choices are excellent. I love Galaga 30th Anniversary; Easy Sudoku; the Angry Birds stuff; but I really don't do a lot of games, but I know there are a ton of options.
You can download games for these things? I had Blackjack and a Bubble Wrap game on the iPhone, and now an Air Hockey game on the tablet. That’s as much gaming as I’ve done on these things. I did install Angry Birds for five minutes to see what the fuss was about, after I can to the conclusion it’s a waste of time, I removed it.
Yeah, it does not have widgets. And I wish I could have a screen running pure calendar widget, but by itself, its not a deal breaker. And I have mostly eliminated the vast majority of widgets on my Droid X; they don't add anything; and they suck up resources. On the droid I have a brightness widget. On the iPad, I use a three finger gesture, swipe, and can change brightness easily. I want to multi-task, I swipe to the right or left; I want to go to the home screen, I five finger pinch. Its brilliant.
Your phone must do a poor job of managing resources then. I can’t say I’ve ever noticed a difference with or without widgets. I run nearly 25 individual widgets on both the phone and tablet. The only thing that ever slowed my original Evo down was live wallpaper. Live wallpaper runs beautifully on the 3D, but hiccups every once in a while on the tablet which is disappointing for a 1.5 GHz processor, but I don’t use Live wallpaper all the time.
To say Widgets don’t really add anything is your Apple Fanboyism talking. Seriously, they don’t add anything? I couldn’t live without the ESPN ScoreCenter, Winamp and Pandora widgets. They make interfacing with your device so much easier. I wish more of the apps I use a lot had widgets like the Fox News App, Sirius XM app and the Verizon NFL app. And I wish the Google Music widget displayed album art.
I can sync wirelessly to itunes to do a backup; can buy music (AND a LOT of music) from itunes on the iPad; the video quality of the video player just rocks. I don't have to take a video and convert it on a PC before I can play it on the tablet; and Netflix works perfectly on the iPad. Add to that airplay. Any video on the screen can be instantly mirrored to my HDTV via AppleTV.
I can sync wirelessly to Winamp to copy media, all contacts, messages and whatnot are backed up to Google (a lot better than using that clunky junky iTunes thing), I can buy music from the Amazon MP3 store. The video quality of my phone outshines the iPhone, and my tablet is pretty impressive as well. Netflix worked perfectly on both my Android devices, the app wasn’t officially in the Market for my phone and tablet so I just downloaded the APK from XDA and it worked perfectly until I canceled the service because Netflix streaming blows chunks.
The iPad is the complete package. It just works; and it just works extremely well.
I can say the same for my Android tablet. I would like to see how much better it is when Honeycomb gets released for it, and experiment with some more tablet specific apps. Right now, the only app at all I could care about that’s on Apples App Store but not in the Android Market is Time Warner’s app. But from what I’ve gathered that has more to do with content providers wanting to make sure their content is secure and since Android is so easily hackable TW has to do some extra work on the Android version of the app. Their latest reversion of the iPad app does not work on Jailbroken iPads.
