Poll: my tablet is an iPad/Android, etc...

[hyperpape]

I don't know the methods and whether they're ideal, but Comscore just claimed the iPad has 97% of all tablet mobile traffic. Now traffic may be different than ownership (and there's some scattered evidence that breaks in the iPhone's favor), but it's fair to say that the iPad is much more common.

I don't think the members of this board match the public--Android tablets are way more common, thanks to KGS and demographics. So here's a poll. The Kindle fire is included for the future.

Please answer based on tablets you use. If you bought a $99 HP tablet (can't even remember the name) on a whim but never use it, don't count it.

[p2501]

I like my iPad, it's not a must have but I use it often

[Marcus]

I don't even own a cellphone ... what would I do with a tablet?

Get off my lawn!

[Jrs22]

I would ordinarily prefer an android tablet to an iPad, because I lean to open software environments. I bought an iPad last spring because the android market just didn't seem mature enough for me to risk $500 on an android tablet when I knew I could do everything I wanted with an iPad. Now that I'm learning Go on my ipad with Smartgo Kifu and Smartgo Books I'd be hard-pressed to make my next tablet an android unless they or their equivalent are available for the android. I'll just have to tether myself to my desktop when I'm ready for KGS.

[daniel_the_smith]

I'll just have to tether myself to my desktop when I'm ready for KGS.

Panda-tetsuki is a really nice IGS client for iPad.

[Jrs22]

I'll just have to tether myself to my desktop when I'm ready for KGS.

Panda-tetsuki is a really nice IGS client for iPad.

Thanks for the tip. I've just registered, and I can ease in to internet go by watching other games.

[oren]

I'll probably get an Android tablet in the near future.

[oren]

Are you waiting for the Ice Cream Sandwich?

No, it's more about waiting for a few more paychecks. However, Ice Cream Sandwich might be a good reason to wait longer as well.

[RobertJasiek]

What I want does not exist yet: weight ca. 600g, battery 10~15 hours, screen matt, 4:3, ca. 10", Windows 8 (or in case of emergency Android). And when I am dreaming, it should also have iPad's outer design (without a home button) and be available at a reasonable price. So presumably I need to wait a year or two... iPad? No way, as long as the file system is closed, the screen glaring and an USB port missing.

[Mivo]

I picked up an iPad 2 in May and while I half expected that I would regret the purchase after a week or two, it has become a daily companion that I would not want to miss. For once, a "don't really need it, but want it"-gadget didn't lose its appeal within days!

I use it for browsing, email checking, light work, tsumego, watching games on Tygem and Wbaduk, playing against igowin HD and CrazyStone, studying games with SmartGo Kifu, playing other games (there is an amazing number of actually creative puzzle and strategy games available for it), watching TV shows (streamed via AirVideo from the PC) and reading ebooks. The latter surprised me the most because I expected to get a headache rather quickly or lose focus, as I do with reading long text documents on a normal LCD screen, but it is surprisingly pleasant.

If I had bought an Android tablet in May, there would already now be various newer and arguably better models. The iPad is still top of the line and just seems to have overall better longevity than the fast evolving Android market. There are too many competitors, I feel, and now that Amazon comes up with their own store, there will be even more fragmentation. I prefer the "stability" (or better: steadiness) I get from the Apple product, even though from a philosophical perspective using an Android device would be more compatible with my views.

Robert, you can "hack" (jailbreak) the iPad and access the file system via SSH and other methods. This comes at the relatively small cost of not being able to purchase "in-app" products. I say "relatively" because the SmartGo Books are in-app purchases, so depending on what you'd want the device for that could be a significant limitation. It's not something I've done with my iPad (no need), but it's simple and fairly risk-free compared to hacking other devices (where there was/is a greater risk of "bricking" the device).

[hyperpape]

About longevity: I'm quite scared that my iPad battery will degrade on me the way my wife's iPhone battery did. By the time I broke my phone (27 months, perhaps?), hers was essentially unusable. From what I understand, it's a general issue with the type of batteries used, but that doesn't make it less bothersome.

[hyperpape]

Quite surprised: I had thought that I'd see a lot more people with Android tablets.

[LocoRon]

Lets see... I have an Android tablet, a Windows Vista convertible tablet PC, and a Nokia N800 (Maemo) tablet--which I didn't include in my vote, as I currently have it boxed and no longer use it (I would like to use it again, but will wait until I have a good use for it).

I like all my tablets, and all for different reasons. My Windows tablet would be the king of productivity if it weren't so heavy and the battery so bad (this is a used machine, a couple years old, and the battery close to shot). The Xoom is a beautiful little device, and great for media consumption... not so great for actual work (I did finally find a neat little note-taking app, and have just recently ordered a stylus online--if this works out well, I hope to be able to use this to take notes in class...we'll see).

Anyway, it doesn't really matter what sort of market share iPads have right now. It's only a matter of time before Android catches up, and ultimately surpasses it. Oh sure, there probably won't ever be any individual device that outsells the Apple equivalent (phone or tablet), but the shear numbers and varieties will win out in the end.

[RobertJasiek]

Robert, you can "hack" (jailbreak) the iPad

Jailbreaking is a great security risk (I have heard for Android, but probably it is also true for iPad). When I use any computer, I presume security. So before I would jailbreak any tablet, I would first inform myself how to maintain the prior security level. As a Windows user, I have almost no idea how to do it for another OS. I like Windows so much also because I know how to set security very tightly. For another OS, I would have to learn that afresh. Android and iPad are said to be (still) reasonably secure if one does not jailbreak. I would want to use a tablet rather than having to learn security before daring to enter the internet. Without jailbreak, I could simply use it. (In contrast to smartphones, whose OSs appear to be cans of worms.)

[LocoRon]

Robert, you can "hack" (jailbreak) the iPad

Jailbreaking is a great security risk (I have heard for Android, but probably it is also true for iPad).

I'm not really sure about this.... I do recall one instance where some malware was discovered that used an exploit to gain root privileges without the user's knowledge or consent--on unrooted phones, at least. On rooted phones, this same app and technique popped up a window requesting root access, and as such, the rooted phone was actually more secure.

Of course, if you install malware and give it (or allow it) root access, that malware can do more harm than if it didn't have root access. So I guess this comes down to how much you trust the developers of these root-enabled (or root-required) apps. But the same can be said for any software, ever--regardless of the operating system.

It must be pointed out, though, that both jailbreaking and rooting do void your device's warranty.