Android iPad Competitors

When Apple introduced the iPad in 2010, many wondered if it would take off. When it did, people starting asking when a Google Android OS tablet would be introduced. Several have been released since then, and more are sure to be released as the tablet market shows no signs of slowing down.

With Apple's iPad, there's only one type available (memory/storage and mobile network connectivity variants are the only current options), while Android's open source operating system means that several manufacturers can build and market tablets and personalize the OS. The sophistication of Android's UI, and its rapidly-growing apps market, leave users little to envy about iOS. How do Android competitors to the iPad compare? Read on, and check out the comparison table at the end.

• Motorola Xoom
• Samsung Galaxy Tab (including the 10.1)
• LG Optimus Tab (G-Slate)
• HTC Flyer

Apple's iPad 2 is smaller, lighter, sleeker, and with a cleverly-integrated cover. These Android tablets have their work cut out for them.

With impressive hardware and software, the pricey Motorola Xoom is the Maserati (or Porsche) among Android tablets now. Here's why the Xoom compares favorably to its competition from Apple, even the iPad 2:

• Honeycomb (3.0) - with a major overhaul of the interface over 2.x, Honeycomb also optimized for the tablet experience
• Great screen resolution: 1280x800, vs 1024x768 on both the original iPad and the iPad 2
• Better browser (arguable): Chrome's integration brings easy search and cross-platform bookmark syncing
• Better Google app integration: Maps, Gmail, Calendar - all better on Android devices
• Can play Flash, although this is becoming less relevant as HTML5 adoption continues to grow (although hitting a Flash-enabled Website and seeing that box with the question mark is really frustrating on an iPad!)

Comparable to the iPad 2, the Xoom features:

• a dual-core processor (the Tegra 2)
• gyroscope, for better gaming (this was missing in the original iPad)
• front- and rear-facing cameras

Cons vs the iPad 2:

• a bit heavier: 1.6 lb (730g) vs 1.5 lb (680g)
• half the storage: one option, 32 MB, vs up to 64 MB on the iPad 2

Pricing is very similar to the iPad 2, accounting for the fact that the 32GB variant is the only one that Motorola offers, while Apple offers 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB options. The Xoom runs for $539 for the Wi-Fi only version, $799 for 3G-enabled but without a contract, and $599 for a 3G-enabled Xoom with a 2-year contract with Verizon.

The Xoom is the tablet you want to have if you love the iPad 2 for its full range of capabilities and intuitive tablet interface, but are more wedded to the Google suite of apps, Android, and its app Marketplace than you are to Apple, iTunes, and the App Store.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab was the first major Android entrant in the tablet wars with Apple. In addition to a different operating system and a different app ecosystem, the Galaxy has a smaller form factor - a 7-inch (18 cm) screen, instead of the iPad 2's 9.7-inch (24.6 cm) screen - and substantially lower weight - at 1.3 lbs (599 g) - compared to the iPad 2. What the Galaxy Tab lacks in sex appeal it makes up for in terms of portability.

The primary criticism of the Galaxy Tab is that the OS (2.2, or Froyo) isn't really optimized for a tablet-like experience. When Honeycomb (the latest Android OS update, 3.0), with a more explicitly tablet-friendly interface, is launched for the 10.1, expect that gap to close up rapidly.

Its second-generation product, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, goes head-to-head against the iPad 2, with a bevy of impressive enhancements: a dual-core (Tegra 2) processor, dual cameras (enabling Facetime-like video chatting), and Honeycomb. A release date and price point have not yet been revealed, but conventional wisdom seems to suggest that it will be available sometime during the summer of 2011 and be priced competitively against the popular iPad 2. However, with the Xoom and Optimus already available, the longer Samsung takes to release its new tablet, the more it will have to drop its price to remain competitive.

The LG Optimus Tab, marketed as the G-Slate by T-Mobile (a nod towards Google, no doubt), is high on portability, weighing in at an anorexic 0.9 lb (420g) and with an 8.9 inch screen. Sporting Android OS 3.0 (Honeycomb), the Optimus Tab has a similarly optimized user experience as the Xoom and Galaxy 10.1. With the Tegra 2 dual-core processor, it's certainly powerful and fast enough for gaming, video and processor-intensive apps.

In most of its specs, it's similar to the Galaxy 10.1, but it does offer HDMI output, something Samsung's newest tab does not.

With 32GB of storage, LG's tablet costs $699, so about $100 cheaper than the Xoom but also smaller (with an 8.9" screen, compared to Xoom's 10.1"). Carriers matter, as well: the LG runs on T-Mobile's HSPA+ (4G) network, while the Xoom makes use of Verizon's LTE (4G) network. 

HTC, the popular handset maker who manufactures many of the most popular Android phones (like the Desire, Incredible, and Aria), has ventured into the Android tablet wars with its Flyer, which it seems will be a more affordable option for potential buyers. Its smaller screen (7") and single-core processor (but a fast 1.5 GHz one) suggest it's not going up against the more powerful Motorola, Samsung and LG competition, or the iPad 2, for that matter. It also does not explicitly support 4G wireless data connectivity, instead supporting 3G technologies (HSPA & WCDMA).

Most interestingly, the Flyer also adds a stylus ("magic pen") that allows you write on the screen as an alternate input form. I'm not entirely sure this is a move forward, but maybe this will appeal to some.