| Jan Vermeulen | July 19, 2011 | 3 comments |
Android and iOS 10-inch tablet showdown between Apple, Samsung, Acer, and Asus
With the latest entrant to the South African tablet PC market, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer (TF101), available for some weeks already, it’s interesting to take stock of the local tablet PC space to see how the various players compare.
Apple long dominated the world of tablet PCs with its iPad, but Google has released a version of its Android mobile operating system (OS) optimised for tablet PCs which has led to a number of devices vying for Apple’s crown.
The first Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” tablet was the Motorola Xoom which received mixed reviews and is yet to be launched in South Africa.
Vodacom has listed the device in its latest deal booklet as “coming August 2011,” but its pricing has yet to be confirmed. It remains to be seen how well the Xoom will be able to compete against the newer Android tablets which have already hit South Africa.
The first table shown below pits Android and iOS (Apple’s mobile OS) tablet models with 16GB of internal storage against one another.
| 16GB 10-inch Tablet Pricing Comparison | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tablet | ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | iPad 2 Wi-Fi | iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G | Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v |
| Platform | Android 3.0 Honeycomb | iOS 4.3 | iOS 4.3 | Android 3.0 Honeycomb |
| Display | 10.1″ | 9.7” | 9.7” | 10.1” |
| Resolution | 1280×800 | 1024 x 768 | 1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 |
| Storage – Internal | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB |
| Storage – External | microSD (32GB) | None | None | None |
| Processor | 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 | 1GHz A5 | 1GHz A5 | 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 |
| RAM | 1GB | 512MB | 512MB | 1GB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi + 3G | Wi-Fi + 3G |
| Camera | 5MP rear, 1.3MP front | 0.7MP rear, 0.3MP front | 0.7MP rear, 0.3MP front | 8MP rear, 2MP front |
| Price | R4,299 | R4,399 | R5,599 | R8,249 |
Although the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v doesn’t look competitive with its high price, the Vodacom franchise that provided the last price they had for the device explained that it was a month old.
According to them, the 10.1v is no longer available as Vodacom is expecting its successor (or successors) “soon.” This is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and possibly its smaller brother, the 8.9.
The next table compares the 32GB models of various tablets.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v isn’t listed, as according to Vodacom only its 16GB version was officially available. Although the Acer Iconia A500 also has a 16GB model, the 32GB model advertised at Incredible Connection was cheaper than the 16GB versions we found scattered around the ‘Net.
| 32GB 10-inch Tablet Pricing Comparison | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tablet | ASUS Eee Pad Transformer | iPad 2 Wi-Fi | Acer Iconia A500 | iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G |
| Platform | Android 3.0 Honeycomb | iOS 4.3 | Android 3.0 Honeycomb | iOS 4.3 |
| Display | 10.1″ | 9.7” | 10.1” | 9.7” |
| Resolution | 1280×800 | 1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 | 1024 x 768 |
| Storage – internal | 32GB | 32GB | 32GB | 32GB |
| Storage – external | microSD | None | microSD, USB | None |
| Processor | 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 | 1GHz A5 | 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 | 1GHz A5 |
| RAM | 1GB | 512MB | 1GB | 512MB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi + 3G |
| Camera | 5MP rear, 1.3MP front | 0.7MP rear, 0.3MP front | 5MP rear, 2MP front | 0.7MP rear, 0.3MP front |
| Price | R5,199 | R5,399 | R5,999 | R6,599 |
It is encouraging to see the Asus taking on the iPad in terms of pricing.
While the iPad 2 seems to be the poorer device on the spec sheet when compared to the Transformer and Iconia, one mustn’t forget the advantage the device offers when it comes to applications.
No comments:
Post a Comment