What operating systems are there for tablets,
and what are they good for?
Tablet PCs have many differences to desktop
and notebook systems, but one of the most vexing is that there's far less
freedom when it comes to choosing the operating system. The hardware, software
and connectivity of tablet devices are all tied together very heavily, and that
means outside of official updates, the operating system you buy will be the one
you're stuck with from then on. You can't officially {or easily) put Windows 8
on an iPad any more than you can run iOS on a Samsung Galaxy Note.
Therefore, when you choose a tablet, you're
not just buying hardware, you're also selecting the operating system that
you'll be stuck with for the device's entire life. Indeed, the decision may
even persist beyond that point: when you buy an app for Android tablet, you
can't then shift your purchase to another ecosystem next time you upgrade. If
your next tablet runs anything other than Android, you'll have to buy the
software again to access it.
Rather than being a short-term, temporary,
single-device decision, the choice of tablet operating system you make today
can place considerable influence on the purchase of future smartphones and
tablets. If you want to retain access to the catalogue of software you've
purchased on one device when you switch to another, you'll have to stick with
the operating system you initially chose, so choosing well is important.
If
your next tablet runs anything other than Android, you'll have to buy the
software again to access it.
Luckily, the selection of operating systems
available to choose from isn't particularly large, consisting mainly of either
iOS (for Apple devices), some version of Windows or some version of Android.
Between the three, they run 95% of all tablets, with iOS the most popular
overall (due to strong sales of the various iPad models).
Regardless of which device you plan to buy,
knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the operating system is as important (if
not more so) than knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the hardware. With
that in mind, we've looked at the operating systems that are available to
general consumers and explained exactly what the advantages and disadvantages
are so that you can make an informed decision when choosing a tablet to buy.
Android
Although Apple's dominance of the tablet
market is reasonably comfortable, Google's Android operating system has allowed
other manufacturers to strengthen their position. By creating a competitive
brand, Google has ensured manufacturers can offer tablet devices with a similar
range of features and services to those offered by Apple and iOS. And
competition has been strong.
Based on a modified Linux kernel. Android
was developed with mobile computing in mind and initially deployed on netbooks
and smartphones. Indeed, it is currently the best-selling smartphone OS, with
global sales of Android-powered devices having long eclipsed sales of the
competition.
Rather than using simple version numbers
Android's releases are code-named after desserts and ordered in ascending
alphabetical order. The earliest Android tablets ran Froyo (version 2.2) or
Gingerbread (version 2.3), but these days, you're more likely to find devices
running some version of Honeycomb (version 3.0), Ice Cream Sandwich (version
4.0) or Jelly Bean (version 4.1).
Rather
than using simple version numbers Android's releases are code-named after
desserts and ordered in ascending alphabetical order.
Android's version fragmentation is undoubtedly
one of the operating system's less attractive traits, as it can create
incompatibilities for developers and confusion for consumers. Android versions
tend to arrive pre-installed on devices and while updates can be made
available, this is at the discretion of the manufacturer. When Jelly Bean was
released late in 2012, some Ice Cream Sandwich devices took months to receive
an update, while others received none at all.
As well as being open source and released
for free under the Apache license, Android is an 'open development' platform,
meaning that any developer can create and distribute software for it. This is
in contrast to Apple's more restricted model, which requires software to be
approved by and distributed through the App Store before users can legitimately
install it.
There are currently just under 900,000 apps
available to Android users - slightly fewer than Apple's App Store. However,
the number of apps in the Google Play store (formerly the Android Market) is
continuously growing and may even overtake iOS before the end of the year.
Unlike Apple, Google does not restrict Apps based on their content and instead
relies on its community to self-moderate.
There
are currently just under 900,000 apps available to Android users - slightly
fewer than Apple's App Store.
This level of openness can lead to unwanted
difficulties, however. Malware has been found on the Android Market in the past
and the lack of any central app-moderation body means that users can find
themselves shelling out for poor quality-applications that would not pass
Apple's quality control process.
Notably, because it's open-source Android
is highly customizable and allows manufacturers to alter its look and behavior
to suit their customers and technology. This can be as simple as skinning the
operating system to give a signature look or as complicated as limiting access
to certain features. The flip-side of such customizability is that smartphones
and 3G-enabled tablets tied to a specific contract may contain proprietary software
that cannot be easily removed.
Although Android makes a convincing rival
to iOS, it can occasionally look a little rough around the edges. Bugs, quirks,
inconsistencies and incompatibilities are easy to find in its software (both
proprietary and third-party) and in all cases, can be difficult to resolve.
Developers often attribute this to the sheer variety of Android versions and
hardware available, saying it's simply too hard to test every device before
software is released. A price, it seems, you simply have to pay for the
benefits that Android otherwise offers for free.
