why did you choose the Ipad vs. Droid tablets

[Thomas Evers]

Can any one help with the pros/cons of implementing, (from scratch), Ipads in a school next year vs. waiting for some of the less expensive Droid tablets to catch up.

[Jeremy Dorn]

I don't think "less expensive" is the way to think. There will not be a Dell of tablets as everyone (including Apple) is getting their parts more or less from the same suppliers. Apple is swing the biggest stick there and getting the better deals.

 

The advantage of Android is that is customizable and highly flexible. It is much easier to bend to a particular use then the iPad is. However that means someone has to do the bending and I don't think anyone has figured out that the education market is still open (when do they ever).

 

However I see the flexibility and openness of Android as also a problem. It's designed to be customizable by the end user, which means more things students can get into and break. I'm constantly amazed at what 3rd graders can find to fiddle with in Mac OSX. I'd hate to think about what they'd find "loss" in Android. Honestly, if software companies want to test how secure their interface is they should just hand it over to a study group of children ages 8 to 12.

 

I'll agree with Lincoln, look/list out your needs. Then go down that list and see if you can find the hardware or software solution to match. Also what kind of school? There is a difference between the needs of elementary, middle, and high school. A difference between 1:1 and say Library/Mobile-Cart use. It's the wild west of computers in classrooms all over again.

 

What you'll be waiting for is not the physical units, but how the Android tablet app market evolves. Android tables will almost always be running neck and neck or trailing Apple. It's the iPod market all over again. With Amazon stepping up and making a true app store for Android (one with an approval process and some real oversight) we can all hope things will rapidly improve and give Apple the competition it needs.

[Lincoln Whitaker]

I have been using the i-Pad since November of 2010 and I have found some limitations with the device.  Specifically the fact that flash and java don't work on it.  I have been wondering the same thing that you have ever since the beginning of the project that I'm working on.  I don't have a good suggestion for you except to think about exactly what it is you want to do with the tablets and see which one best fits that bill.  I feel that we are at the very beginning of implementing tablet technology in the classroom.  Good luck.