Guest said:
@lawfer
You talk about Android "fragmentation", then praise a Windows tablet. That makes little sense, as introducing more (and completely disparate) operating systems is a much worse fragmentation problem than simply having different pieces of hardware.
A Windows tablet is likely to end up like the Zune. I'm sure it will be nice, but it's too little too late. Everyone will have tablet exhaustion by then.
Well, well...
First of all, I didn't "praise" a Windows tablet, I merely said right now only Windows 8 has the most hope to rival the iPad 2. This is attributed to a few facts: 1) Apple iPad opened what is a niche, but rapidly increasing market; by being the opener of this market, it, of course, holds most of its shares; 2) The competing platforms have been released, such as Android, webOS, and the QNX-based BlackBerry Tablet OS; 3) All three competing platforms have actually done little to take away market share from the iPad 2, as one of the biggest reasons for its high market share is that Apple strived to maintain a cohesive ecosystem in which all of its devices maintain the same level of usability and predictability expected from an Apple product; 4) This amount of usability and predictability, is, sadly, nowhere to be found on all competing platforms.
The only company I see that can keep the same cohesiveness around its myriad of products is Microsoft. Especially since Windows 8's hybrid interface aims to resemble WP7 and other Microsoft devices and services.
Second, who's exactly introducing more operating systems here? What makes little sense is that, from what I said, you somehow gathered I was comparing the desktop OS with a mobile OS. You seem to forget that Windows 8 will <u>also</u> run <i>on</i> ARM, opening the mobile world to the desktop OS... not that there will be an "ARM-only Windows 8" version. All this means there is going to be no fragmentation as not only new Windows operating systems are released every 4-5 years, but because even within this 4-5 year span, the new tablet devices released will unequivocally include Windows 8, and not some Windows 8.5. Where's the fragmentation here?
Third, the reason why Android is known for its fragmentation is because a new Android OS version is usually released every 6 to 12 months. This, and the fact that it is free, brings along a whole set of issues. Add to that the fact that OEMs have the freedom to release a myriad of devices, each one having X version of Android; but not necessarily the latest. So tell me how, if I buy the newly released HTC Rezound, which comes with Gingerbread, I have to wait months to get ICS, whereas the Nexus S that was released last year can get it now? (Don't even get me started on other devices, such as LG/Samsung devices.) <i>That</i> is fragmentation. Add to that the fact that some OEMs don't give a **** and you will probably never even get the latest update. (Or, if you're lucky, you <i>will</i> get the latest update, but oh no, it turns out Android 5.3 codenamed Ice Cream Truck is already out...!)
Fourth, you say a Windows tablets will end up like Zune? Wrong. Again, you seem to be comparing a desktop OS with a mobile OS (Windows CE 6.0 is the OS behind Zune). Windows 8 is a desktop/mobile hybrid. Microsoft will not manufacture its own Windows 8 tablets, like how they did with their Zune devices. OEMs will, just like you see with Windows 7 now. And tablets seem like a niche market now, but it really is a matter of time before the market blooms. Right now, I'd rather buy a tablet for my parents than a new computer; it's easier to use and its capabilities are more centric allowing its learning curve to be extremely shorter when compared to full desktop PCs. This ease of use (add the fact that its all touch-based), makes it great for everyday, simple tasks, which is something that's starting (or will start) to kick in consumers' minds coming 2012. Sometimes a new product changes the market, not the other way around.
