Tablet Shootout: Which Fits Your Enterprise?
Take a close look at six tablet options, from Apple to Android, with a focus on pros and cons for enterprise users.
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Tablet mania is in high gear for 2012, and consumers are being bombarded with offerings from vendors small and large. Given the consumerization of technology, this fusillade will ultimately land on IT, so you'll want to be prepared. Our recent Enterprise Buyer's Guide: Tablets examines the current state of business-friendly tablets by analyzing the specs and features of six representative products with a focus on enterprise readiness. We take a close look at the individual entrants in this slideshow.
Until recently, the tablet market has in essence been the iPad market. But Google's rapid software development cycles, open licensing, and recruitment of a plethora of smartphone-turned-tablet OEMs has allowed Android products to chip away at Apple's lead. Last month's Consumer Electronics Show made clear that 2012 will bring yet more upheaval to the tablet landscape.
Google, with its stable of OEMs, upped its game, showing off a new tablet-optimized Android release, 4.0, a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich. Meanwhile, Microsoft displayed its dual-purpose Windows 8 laptop/tablet double play, which promises a fresh interface running on an assortment of powerful new hardware platforms, some of which will actually run on Intel processors.
Having ignored the white-hot market in mobile hardware, Intel made a strong case for relevance by introducing new low-power, fully integrated systems on a chip optimized for smartphones and tablets. It demonstrated an Android tablet from Lenovo, expected to ship soon, but the big Windows 8 tablet rollout will have to wait until later in the year.
Although absent from the CES festivities, Apple remains the 800-pound gorilla, with talk of an iPad update this spring running rampant. Yet despite the raft of Android devices introduced over the last year (some of them profiled here,) Apple still sells more than a million iPads a week and is widely estimated to control more than 60% of the tablet market. While Apple's share is likely to continue eroding, most of the damage will come from consumer-oriented devices, like Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook, that are more about content consumption--e-reading and Web browsing--than the applications that enterprises care about.
For now, though, it's still a two-platform race in enterprise tablets: Apple and Android. Although included in this rundown largely because of the entrenchment of its BlackBerry franchise, a halo effect that piqued interest among many enterprise users, RIM hasn't overcome disappointment with the PlayBook's OS and remains an also-ran.
Yet 2012 promises plenty of changes. Apple's refreshed iPad will certainly include faster hardware, updated software (Siri support anyone?), and probably a higher-resolution display, while Android devices continue playing feature leapfrog. Microsoft and Intel remain the wild cards. How well Windows 8 works as a tablet and whether Intel can make a splash remain open questions. What's certain is that tablet technology will continue to evolve at a breakneck pace.
Now take a closer look at six tablets and their pros, cons, and main differences for enterprises.
What's left to say? The iPad defines the tablet market and its second generation sets the competitive standards, from the screen size and memory to software features and user interface. No, it still doesn't do Flash and doesn't have a USB port, but buyers don't seem to care since no one can match its fluid, responsive touch interface or its rich App Store selection.
Biggest pro for enterprises: Your employees want it, or already have it.
Biggest con for enterprises: Limited external connectivity. No Flash apps. New model due shortly.
Notable differences from rivals: Largest application selection, by far. Most mature, polished OS.
Pricing: Wi-Fi, 16/32/64 GB -- $499/$599/$699. Wi-Fi + cellular, 16/32/64 GB -- $629/$729/$829.
The Jetstream leads the pack for AT&T as its first tablet with support for 4G LTE, its main differentiator from the iPad. HTC wraps Android 3.1 Honeycomb with its custom HTC Sense UI that includes Scribe (pen-based data entry). Sadly, no plans have been announced for a 4.0 upgrade. As one of the newer entrants, HTC ups the hardware ante with a dual-core 1.5-GHz Snapdragon processor and 8-megapixel rear camera.
Biggest pro for enterprises: Expandability; MicroSD and USB.
Biggest con for enterprises: Most expensive; only available from AT&T.
Notable differences from rivals: Custom HTC Sense UI with Scribe; thicker.
Pricing: Wi-Fi, 16/32/64 GB -- not available. Wi-Fi + cellular, 16/32/64 GB -- –/749.99/–.
One of only two small-screen tablets in the lineup, the 7-inch PlayBook has finally rectified one of the huge shortcomings--lack of native email and calendar support--that torpedoed it from the outset. OS 2.0 still won't support BlackBerry Messenger, but it may be enough to stanch defections from hard-core BlackBerry shops.
Biggest pro for enterprises: Tightest integration with BES central management software.
Biggest con for enterprises: Small screen, limited apps, questionable long-term viability. No BlackBerry Messenger yet.
Notable differences from rivals: Playbook OS with BlackBerry Mail support.
Pricing: Wi-Fi, 16/32/64 GB -- $499/$599/$699. Wi-Fi + cellular, 16/32/64 GB -- not available.
Available in both the standard 10-inch and smaller 8-inch screen sizes (both sporting the same 1,280-by-800 resolution), the Xyboard is a Xoom 2 by another name. Given that the Xoom never lived up to expectations as the first Android iPad killer, it's not surprising Motorola changed the name, but the Xyboard fixes most of the original's flaws and does promise an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade.
Biggest pro for enterprises: Committed to upgrade to Android 4.0. Full-device data encryption.
Biggest con for enterprises: Confusing sales channel. Wi-Fi available direct, those with cellular data only through Verizon.
Notable differences from rivals: Small and large form factors.
Pricing: Wi-Fi, 16/32/64 GB -- $499/$599/– (10-inch); $399/$499/– (8-inch). Wi-Fi + cellular, 16/32/64 GB -- $579.99/$679.99/– (10-inch); $379.99/$479.99/– (8-inch).
Sony brings its own design touch to the tablet sweepstakes with a tapered design reminiscent of the MacBook Air. Unlike its Android competitors, Sony doesn't offer models supporting cellular data, but otherwise the specs are almost identical: dual-core, 1-GHz Tegra 2 processor, 1,280-by-800 display, 16- or 32-GB flash, and the standard Android software stack. Unlike the other large-screen competitors, Sony does undercut the Wi-Fi iPad by $100 and also promises an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade.
Biggest pro for enterprises: Android 4 upgrade will be available. Optional add-on battery pack (may need due to the next item).
Biggest con for enterprises: No cellular data, smallest built-in battery with shortest run and standby times.
Notable differences from rivals: Least expensive Wi-Fi device. Tapered design may appeal to some users.
Pricing: Wi-Fi, 16/32/64 GB -- $399.99/$499.99/–. Wi-Fi + cellular, 16/32/64 GB: not available.
This Android tablet came closest to challenging the iPad's hegemony in 2011. The Galaxy Tab is not only as thin and light as its rival, despite having a slightly larger, higher-resolution screen, it essentially matches or exceeds Apple spec-for-spec, down to the price tag. One key advantage: availability of 4G LTE wireless. At press time we had no word on Ice Cream Sandwich availability for the Galaxy Tab, but hackers have already ported it to rooted devices.
Biggest pro for enterprises: Broadest carrier support (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) for 4G cellular data.
Biggest con for enterprises: No commitment to upgrade to Android 4.0. Could be due for an upgrade soon.
Notable differences from rivals: Thinner (slightly) and lighter than iPad 2. Least expensive 4G device.
Pricing: Wi-Fi, 16/32/64 GB -- $499/$599/–. Wi-Fi + cellular, 16/32/64 GB -- $529.99/$629.99/–.
This Android tablet came closest to challenging the iPad's hegemony in 2011. The Galaxy Tab is not only as thin and light as its rival, despite having a slightly larger, higher-resolution screen, it essentially matches or exceeds Apple spec-for-spec, down to the price tag. One key advantage: availability of 4G LTE wireless. At press time we had no word on Ice Cream Sandwich availability for the Galaxy Tab, but hackers have already ported it to rooted devices.
Biggest pro for enterprises: Broadest carrier support (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) for 4G cellular data.
Biggest con for enterprises: No commitment to upgrade to Android 4.0. Could be due for an upgrade soon.
Notable differences from rivals: Thinner (slightly) and lighter than iPad 2. Least expensive 4G device.
Pricing: Wi-Fi, 16/32/64 GB -- $499/$599/–. Wi-Fi + cellular, 16/32/64 GB -- $529.99/$629.99/–.
Tablet mania is in high gear for 2012, and consumers are being bombarded with offerings from vendors small and large. Given the consumerization of technology, this fusillade will ultimately land on IT, so you'll want to be prepared. Our recent Enterprise Buyer's Guide: Tablets examines the current state of business-friendly tablets by analyzing the specs and features of six representative products with a focus on enterprise readiness. We take a close look at the individual entrants in this slideshow.
Until recently, the tablet market has in essence been the iPad market. But Google's rapid software development cycles, open licensing, and recruitment of a plethora of smartphone-turned-tablet OEMs has allowed Android products to chip away at Apple's lead. Last month's Consumer Electronics Show made clear that 2012 will bring yet more upheaval to the tablet landscape.
Google, with its stable of OEMs, upped its game, showing off a new tablet-optimized Android release, 4.0, a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich. Meanwhile, Microsoft displayed its dual-purpose Windows 8 laptop/tablet double play, which promises a fresh interface running on an assortment of powerful new hardware platforms, some of which will actually run on Intel processors.
Having ignored the white-hot market in mobile hardware, Intel made a strong case for relevance by introducing new low-power, fully integrated systems on a chip optimized for smartphones and tablets. It demonstrated an Android tablet from Lenovo, expected to ship soon, but the big Windows 8 tablet rollout will have to wait until later in the year.
Although absent from the CES festivities, Apple remains the 800-pound gorilla, with talk of an iPad update this spring running rampant. Yet despite the raft of Android devices introduced over the last year (some of them profiled here,) Apple still sells more than a million iPads a week and is widely estimated to control more than 60% of the tablet market. While Apple's share is likely to continue eroding, most of the damage will come from consumer-oriented devices, like Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook, that are more about content consumption--e-reading and Web browsing--than the applications that enterprises care about.
For now, though, it's still a two-platform race in enterprise tablets: Apple and Android. Although included in this rundown largely because of the entrenchment of its BlackBerry franchise, a halo effect that piqued interest among many enterprise users, RIM hasn't overcome disappointment with the PlayBook's OS and remains an also-ran.
Yet 2012 promises plenty of changes. Apple's refreshed iPad will certainly include faster hardware, updated software (Siri support anyone?), and probably a higher-resolution display, while Android devices continue playing feature leapfrog. Microsoft and Intel remain the wild cards. How well Windows 8 works as a tablet and whether Intel can make a splash remain open questions. What's certain is that tablet technology will continue to evolve at a breakneck pace.
Now take a closer look at six tablets and their pros, cons, and main differences for enterprises.
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