Dirty little secret about tablets: The platforms are basically equal

(Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

Tablet owners will argue at length that their platform of choice is better than the others. It doesn't matter if the platform under discussion is iOS, Android, or Windows 8, they are convinced theirs is superior in almost every way. That may have been true in the past but not any longer. The fact is the three major tablet platforms are now pretty much the same.

I use all three platforms heavily, and I own tablets running each. It's not unusual for me to use a tablet for 8 hours or more on a given day. I consider myself knowledgable about all three tablet OSes, gained through actual usage and not just what I've read about them.

Gone are the days I must stop and think what I need to get done to determine what tablet/platform to use.

Some days I may use one tablet for half a day, and then switch off to another running a different OS. I may use a keyboard with these tablets or I may use the tablet only. I do things typically associated with tablets, and I do heavy work at times. My usage covers a broad spectrum, from surfing the web and consuming content to working with office documents. 

I admit I am not a typical tablet user given my heavy usage, but I do all the same things most owners do. While I read ebooks, watch video, and listen to music like most tablet users, I also create a lot of content with them.

The many hours I've spent with a tablet in front of me has proven one fact that some may find hard to believe. I find the three platforms to be relatively equal in usability for typical tablet stuff. While each has particular strengths and weaknesses, they all are useful and each can hold its own against the others for tablet use.

Platform enthusiasts will consider this blasphemous, but I stand by my observations. There is relative parity across Windows 8, Android, and the iPads. They all do essentially the same things and they do them pretty much the same way. The user experience is pretty equal across the platforms. While users are all different and each will have his/her favorite platform, I feel confident that if tablets on the other platforms were used, many would be surprised to find the other two platforms were not inferior to their favorite.

This parity became evident to me when I realized I am able to use any platform on a daily basis. I can grab any tablet I have on any of the platforms and do whatever I need to do. The experience is basically the same across the platforms and I can do what I need on each.

Yes, there are apps that are better on one platform than the others, but not consistently so. I can't put my finger on a single function that typical tablet users would perform that isn't reliable on any of the three OSes. That's not to say that all apps on each OS are totally equal, rather the gaps that separated quality of apps across the platforms have closed more than many might believe.

Of course there are apps on one platform or another that I wish was better, but nothing that's a deal-breaker. Many apps are cross-platform and run on two of the platforms, and in some cases all three. Even if some apps don't run on all of the OSes, there are often alternative apps that do the same thing.

The fact that I can pick up any tablet without regrets reflects a significant evolution in all the platforms. Gone are the days I must stop and think what I need to get done on a given day to determine what tablet/platform to use. I really can just grab one and get busy. That may be hard for some to believe, but it is the reality for this heavy tablet user. I think it is true for most tablet users.

There are technical differences among Android, Windows, and iOS, and some folks have requirements that makes one of them the only option. I believe that is the exception, and the vast majority of those interested in tablets would be well served by any of the platforms. 

Others may be invested in an ecosystem associated with one of the platforms, and that will tie them into that OS. If that's not the case, it would be a shame to discount the other platforms out of blind loyalty. Give them all a chance and what you discover might surprise you. Once you realize all three platforms are pretty good, you'll discover your choices for tablets got a whole lot bigger.

Microsoft Update Skype to new Kindle Fire, 7 iOS devices tablets

Overview: Microsoft is releasing new versions of Skype for Android tablets, including new lighting fires, as well as for 7 iOS devices.

Microsoft has updated Skype for Android and iOS in recent days, with support fire HD & HDX, comes to new Kindle tablet as well as current support for Apple device running iOS7.

Skype for Android version 4.4 is for Android tablets of all kinds. The biggest change, according to an October 8 blog entry, is that tablet users "will now see a new interface that puts first, talks showing their recent calls and chat." The post added that the new update benefits version 4.0 "total rewrite" for phone users.

Microsoft post notes with "good network conditions," Tablet Android users can get up to four times the video resolution of previous versions. Users of Kindle fire HD and HDX will still be able to make use of accelerated by hardware HD-quality video, they said that Microsoft executives. Non-Kindle fire users can get the update 4.4 from today in the game shop. Fire Kindle users will be able to get the update "more later this month".

On 7 October, the Skype team released version 4.13 Skype for iPhone and iPad. The new version offers a "fresh" look for iOS 7, in addition to improvements in accessilbilty, audio and video call, according to a blog post. The update is available on the App Store starting Monday.

Mary Jo has covered the technology industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and websites and is a frequent guest on radio and TV, podcasts, talking about all things related to Microsoft. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: how Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the era post Gates (John Wiley & sons, 2008).

Windows 8.1 tablets vs. Amazon's Kindle Fire HD: Enterprise face-off

Whose tablets are the most enterprise-ready of them all?

One of the most interesting pieces of Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and HDX tablet announcement this week was the company's focus on "enterprise-ready" features that will be part of its two newest tablets. Amazon dedicated a separate press release to the enterprise functionality in the new devices, listing features such as WPA2 Wi-Fi support for secure access to "resources like SharePoint"; data encryption; built-in Mobile Systems Inc.'s OfficeSuite viewers for office documents; mobiile-device-management support and more.

Amazon execs, citing Forrester data, claim Kindle Fire "is already the second most popular tablet at work in the U.S." (The No. 1 workplace tablet is from a company that only recently has been touting its appeal to business users.)

What about Windows -- specifically, Windows 8.1 -- tablets from Microsoft and third-party PC makers? Though the Softies didn't emphasize it much, there was some enterprise functionality built into Windows 8, and there's even more in Windows 8.1, especially in the Enterprise SKU.

On the management, networking and security fronts, here's how the four different Windows 8.1 SKUs (Windows RT, Windows core, Windows Pro and Windows Enterprise) stack up, feature-wise:

 

A couple of the management features here are probably worth re-explaining.

There is still no support for domain join for Windows 8.1 RT or Windows 8.1 core. But there is now support for those two SKUs for two new Windows 8.1 management features: Workplace Join and Work Folders. These two features are designed to provide a middle ground between devices that are either domain-joined or not. Workplace Join allows users to have some IT-sanctioned access to corporate resources. WOrk Folders allow users to sync data to their devices from their user folders located on Windows Server in a company's data center.

"Assigned access" -- which is available for Windows 8.1 RT, Pro and Enterprise (but not core) -- is the name for the ability to lock down a device so that it can run only a single Windows Store application.

   

Other new, business-focused Windows 8.1 networking features that Microsoft announced earlier this year include NFC tap-to-pair printing, Wi-Fi direct printing and broadband tethering using a personal Wi-Fi hotspot.

On the office suite front, since Amazon is highlighting availability of free OfficeSuite viewers, it's probably worth mentioning that Microsoft is bundling its own Mail and Calendar apps on all Windows 8.1 devices. If you're running an ARM-based device, you also get the basic Home & Student Office suite, plus Outlook RT, for free, as well. Microsoft has said its four core Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) also will be preloaded for free on smaller screen (less than 10-inch) Intel-based Windows 8.1 devices. Microsoft also makes viewing and basic creation/editing of Office documents available for free with Office Web Apps, which work in IE, Chrome and Safari browsers.

Microsoft's chart comparing the four different Windows 8.1 SKUs, from a feature and functionality standpoint, is a handy one for business users and IT admins who may be considering Windows 8.1.

10 disadvantages Windows 8 tablets have compared to the iPad and Android

Seagate wants to put hard drives into tablets

One of the technologies that facilitated our transition from the PC to mobile post-PC devices is flash memory. While PCs relied for decades on hard drives for storage, hard drives contain moving parts, and as such aren't a good choice for things that we carry around with us, and are definitely not a good idea for things that we throw around.

But Seagate still thinks that there's more life to squeeze out of the aging hard drive technology, and is releasing a new Ultra Mobile HDD. The drive combines a super-slim (5mm) 500GB 6GB/s SATA hard disk drive with 16MB of on-board cache to deliver a peak data transfer rate of 600MB/s, but this drops to only 100MB/s for sustained transfers.

(Source: Seagate)

Seagate recommend that OEMs pair the drive with 8GB of flash storage too, and this, combined with Seagate's Dynamic Data Driver software, results in "power consumption equal to that of a 64GB tablet and the performance equal to that of a 16GB tablet - while costing less than either."

To make the drive more robust than your regular hard drive, Seagate have incorporated zero-gravity sensors (ZGS) which provide extra protection when a device is dropped or in freefall, and have added "improved shock and tolerance for gyroscopic motion supports even the intense maneuvers of gamers."

Seagate are also offering two years of data recovery and hardware replacement  cover for $30 through its Rescue and Replace program.

According to Seagate, the drive brings "7× more space to tablet applications at a fraction of the cost" in a package weighing only 93 grams.

But there's one drawback to this drive making its way into tablets. While the drive is only 5mm thick, the other dimensions are the same as any regular 2.5-inch notebook drive, which makes it rather big for most tablets.

Another problem is reliability. While having 500GB of storage on tap might be a great selling point, OEMs might be a little uneasy about using a hard drive in case that increases support costs.

There's no word on pricing, or whether any OEMs have adopted the drive.

Lumia tablets? Surface phablets? Microsoft's tricky new post-Nokia positioning challenges

With its Nokia handset purchase, announced on September 3, Microsoft is going to be taking over not just Nokia's Lumia and Asha phone lines, but also Nokia's still unannounced ARM-based tablet and phablet.

Although the acquisition transaction isn't slated to close until early 2014, the move still means Microsoft is going to have to find a way to position its own Microsoft Surface tablets alongside the soon-to-be-Microsoft-owned Lumia tablets and phablets.

Both Microsoft and Nokia are expected to launch new 10.1-inch ARM-based tablets this holiday season. Nokia's "Sirius" is Qualcomm-based, according to rumors; Microsoft's Surface 2 will be NVIDIA-based, according to tipsters. These two devices will have a few distinguishing characteristics, like different attachable keyboards and different kickstands. Nokia also is expected to launch a six-inch phablet, codenamed "Bandit," running the Windows Phone 8 operating system. The rumored launch event for the new Nokia tablet, and maybe also the phablet, has been September 26.

Microsoft has gone through a lot of gyrations over the past few years in trying to figure out how to position its various mobile device offerings -- its PCs, tablets, slates and phones.

Officials largely abandoned its consumption vs. creation device pitch when it decided to stop hawking tablets based on its Windows Embedded Compact operating system. The company seems to have mostly moved away from the "all tablets are PCs" positioning, too. I've been hearing a lot more from the Softies about marketing its Surface RT and Surface Pro devices as "enterprise tablets" that are ready for business, thanks to integrated Office, a USB port, and keyboard cover. (The Intel-based Surfaces also run existing Win32 apps and can be managed using Active Directory, too.)

So where does that leave Nokia's coming Lumia tablet? Is that another enterprise tablet? And if so, how is that different from the Surface 2? (Or any other Windows RT tablets that may still be on the market as of this holiday season?) And where does it also leave the ARM-based Lumia phablet that's expected to arrive this fall, too?

On a conference call with analysts and press to discuss the deal on September 3, Microsoft's Executive Vice President Terry Myerson said Microsoft is viewing tablets and phones as "a continuum."

"I think it's fair to say that customers are expecting us to offer great tablets that look and feel and act in every way like our phones. We'll be pursuing a strategy along those lines," Myerson added. 

This might have been nothing more than a comment about the increasing number of components that are shared across the Windows and Windows Phone OS -- everything from the common NT core, to the tiled "Metro-Style"/Modern interface, to the increasingly common development platform/framework. It also might have been a passing reference by Myerson, who is now the engineering chief of the new OS division at Microsoft that is in charge of the Windows Phone, Windows, and Xbox One operating systems, to the cross-platform unification steps that are expected.

With the GDR3 update to Windows Phone 8, due this fall, Microsoft will enable OEMs -- including itself -- to put the Windows Phone OS on five- and six-inch devices with 1080p resolutions. (It's GDR3 that's expected to power the Lumia Bandit phablet.) Microsoft also has been rumored to be working on a seven to eight-inch Surface device, but supposedly that device will run Windows 8.1, not the Windows Phone 8 OS. 

Microsoft's next few months on the operating system front should be very interesting. Just a year ago, Microsoft was embarking on an ambitious plan to deliver a new version of its Windows operating system on a near-annual basis. If it continues that strategy, the next Windows OS should be Windows 8.2 due in the fall of 2014. But meanwhile, Windows Phone Blue, the complement to Windows 8.1, isn't supposed to arrive until early 2014, last I or my sources heard. 

Will Microsoft stick with those plans? Will it start releasing more minor, interim updates to the Windows OS on a near-quarterly basis, as it has done this year with the Windows Phone OS GDR updates? Will Windows RT and the Windows Phone OS operating systems become one -- in more than just name? So many questions for the new Microsoft + Nokia team. And so few certainties....

Best Android tablets (September 2013 edition)

Summary: Don't want to get locked into Apple's ecosystem by buying an iPad or iPad mini? No problem! Here are my top Android tablets for September 2013. For those of you with limited carry space, there's a phablet for you to lust over.

Tablets are everywhere, and while Apple's iPad – along with its little brother, the iPad mini – commands the most media attention, there's no shortage of excellent Android alternatives to choose from.

Here are my top seven Android tablets for August 2013.

All of the tablets features here are very capable, powerful workhorses, and are ideal not only for home users, but also for enterprise users or those looking for a BYOD tablet. Any one of these will give you an excellent Android experience, and, when combined with the right apps, will allow you to get a lot of work done when you're away from your desk.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.