“Which is better to choose: an Apple iPad or a tablet from another company?” - a question often asked by potential buyers of digital devices. This article will try to explain the differences between the devices from the user's point of view.

A tablet is a mobile device larger in size than a smartphone. The device is relatively thin and equipped with a touch screen display. "Tablet" is a generic name for a wide range of products with different characteristics from different manufacturers. First of all, the gadget is controlled by touching the screen, without using a physical keyboard. There is an option to attach a keyboard, but traditionally it is not included as standard.

The tablet runs an operating system that can support small programs. The most popular operating systems are Android and iOS. iPad is a version of the Apple tablet equipped with the iOS operating system. What is the difference between the iPad and its competitors? What's better to buy? To decide on a purchase, you should consider all the pros/cons of sensory “toys”, taking into account individual preferences.

iPad: strengths

The gadget has a tendency to be more stable and easier to operate than other tablets. The most significant advantage is the App Store with many downloadable applications (~750,000 copies available for download, ~300,000 created specifically for the iPad, the rest are able to work in compatibility modes).

Apple individually approves each application before release, thereby making it more difficult for malicious viruses to penetrate Apple products. The iOS platform is characterized by an intuitive interface, continuing to be an ideal application development environment, since its functions are easy to understand. Therefore, it is ideal for various audiences/developers.

iPad: Weaknesses

Despite the rich user experience, there is a common complaint about the limitations of customization. True, the inconvenience can be circumvented by jail-breaking the device. On the one hand, it’s great that every application is checked/approved by Apple before appearing in the store, but some remain blocked in this way.

The popular gadget is not able to increase the memory through flash drives, so if the memory runs out, it is, indeed, unchangeable. Another big negative difference is the inability to play flash/shockwave videos. Therefore, it is not possible to view online clips on YouTube and many other sites. Although, now the compatible HTML5 format is increasingly being used, so the problem is almost solved.

The iPad also has a high price. When first launched, this was a strong selling point. Now it is better to purchase a new generation of tablet from any other popular manufacturer, characterized by a 7-inch screen/good power at a more attractive price than the iPadMini.

Android tablet: strengths

The biggest plus is the availability of a wide variety, providing an excellent selection of premium/lesser-known tablet brands, as well as huge customization options.

The development of the Google Play store has made great progress over the past few years. Currently, there are a huge number of applications available there that correspond to the Apple Store (although many of them are not optimized for the tablet). But, an increase in the number of interesting programs makes it possible to choose more, guided by the size/features/price of the device.

The presence of real multitasking is another feature of the Android OS (when you turn on one program, others can work in the background). The iPad does not have such a function for interacting several applications at the same time.

The big advantage of any company producing a “non-Apple” tablet is its pricing policy - it is better, because it is more affordable than that of the expensive giant from Cupertino.

Android tablet

Android tablet: weaknesses

The platform is not so clear and easy to use (Apple's iOS is certainly better), but you can gradually get used to it.

Although the Google Store currently presents a huge number of offers, most of them are not optimized for the tablet. Google Play does not pre-check before listing it on the store, which increases the risk of users downloading malware.

Conclusion

apple vs android

So, even having examined in detail how the iPad differs from its competitors, it is difficult to say unequivocally which device is better. To narrow down the choice, we can summarize a few key points for each of the objects under consideration:

• Tablet is the general name for a large number of gadgets with a touch screen/various characteristics from different manufacturers, iPad is a product exclusively of Apple (although the results of a survey of Americans showed the opposite: the majority are sure that this is a general name for “tablets”, as in the case of the names “Pampers” or "Xerox");
• The iPad is equipped with the iOS operating system (user-friendly interface/great display);
• In terms of ease of operation/performance, the iPad tends to be more stable and easier to use;
• Apple is still the leader when it comes to the number of useful applications available. Android doesn't yet boast a lot of tablet-optimized software. However, this is temporary.
• In terms of hardware, Android is a good choice for those who value a fast processor, powerful cameras, easily expandable memory

The word “iPad” or “iPed” is on everyone’s lips today; everyone knows about the existence of this computer: from babies to old people. But, you see, not every one of us can tell you in detail what an iPad is on the fly. So let's conduct a small educational program on this topic.

The very first iPad was released by the American corporation Apple back in 2010. However, in such a short period of time, this device has spread and been loved by millions of people around the world. An iPad is a mobile computer with a touch screen that can provide Internet access.

Since 2010, Apple has already released 4 versions of these tablets, improving its inventions with each new generation of mobile computers.

Tablet features

• Access to the Internet
• Possibility of using a large number of games
• Plays video and audio files
• You can take and view photos
• Possibility of using Web applications, for example, calling on Skype.

A tablet is often compared in terms of functionality to a laptop, since both of these computers are mobile and relatively compact. However, the tablet has a number of advantages.

• It can work offline for a long time.
• It's not that expensive.
• It has a sensitive screen, thanks to which even a child can use it.
• You can easily install and uninstall programs.
• It weighs little, so it is convenient to carry it with you all the time, almost like a mobile phone.

iPad 2

Following the iPad, iPad 2 appears on March 2, 2011, what kind of computer is it and how does it differ from the previous one?

To better visualize the differences between the first and second versions, we will list the advantages of the second over the first:

1. iPad 2 is 4.6 mm thinner and 80 g lighter.
2. It has an A5 processor, that is, dual-core, unlike the previous one with an A4 processor. Therefore, the second model has a higher speed.
3. It has two cameras and a gyroscope.
4. The RAM of the second iPad model is twice as large as its predecessor (512 instead of 256)
5. A slightly larger built-in battery allows you to work longer.
6. The second iPad was equipped with an improved graphics core.

iPad 3

But time and technological progress do not stand still, and now, following the appearance of the second version, the iPad 3 appears on store shelves. Let’s try to figure out what this new product is.

iPad 3 differs not so much in size and weight, but in technical characteristics.

• The third iPad has an excellent quality LCD display with a resolution of 2048x1536 (1024x768 on the previous model).
• It has an A5X processor and 1 GB of RAM (as opposed to 512 MB on the iPad 2)
• This model, under increased loads, is also capable of working up to 10 hours without recharging, however, it will take more time to charge the tablet.
• A good 5 megapixel camera allows you to take photos of higher quality than the previous model.

iPad 4

iPad 4, what is it? At the end of October 2012, the fourth generation iPad appeared, even more advanced and advanced.

1. Its first difference is the powerful A6X processor.
2. This model has a Lightning connector and support for the 4G LTE network. Naturally, it supports all other networks.
3. The size and weight of the model have decreased. Now it is possible to easily hold the tablet in one hand even for a child. 10 inch screen reduced to 7
4. The memory capacity of 4 is 16, 32 or 64 GB depending on the model.
5. The model has a 4-core graphics processor and a camera
6. The new model is more productive, allowing you to work up to 10 hours in video viewing mode, and in standby mode up to 1 month. Its screen is covered with special scratch-resistant glass.

The 7-inch screen tablet is sometimes called a mini version of the iPad. Although in terms of technical characteristics and price it is not at all different from the iPad 4. So, if you have a question about the iPad Mini, what is it, then let’s say right away - it was created for those who want to have a model that is smaller in size, but of the same quality .

Thus, knowing the main differences between iPad models, you can choose the one that meets your requirements for the technical characteristics and capabilities of a mobile computer.

1. The display is a rectangle with rounded corners. The diagonal of this rectangle, excluding roundings, is 12.9 inches (for iPad Pro 12.9 inches) and 11 inches (for iPad Pro 11 inches).
2. The amount of available space is less than stated and depends on various factors. The standard configuration (including iOS 12 and pre-installed apps) takes approximately 10 to 12 GB depending on the device model and settings. Pre-installed applications take up about 4 GB; they can be deleted and downloaded again. The amount of available space may vary depending on the device and software version.
3. Size and weight vary depending on device configuration and manufacturing process.
4. Battery life varies depending on device settings and usage. More details on the page.
5. To use FaceTime, all users must have a FaceTime-enabled device and a Wi-Fi connection. Availability of FaceTime over cellular networks varies by carrier; Data charges may apply.
6. Data plan required. Gigabit Class LTE, 4G LTE Advanced, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi calling are not available in all regions or with all carriers. Speeds are based on theoretical throughput and may vary depending on local conditions. For more information about LTE support, contact your carrier or visit.
7. Cellular plan must be purchased separately. The model you purchase is configured to work with a specific cellular network technology. Contact your carrier for information about your device support and cellular plan availability.
8. Not all carriers support Apple SIM and eSIM cards. Check with your carrier for details. Not available in mainland China. eSIM is supported on the 11-inch iPad Pro, 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad (7th generation), and iPad mini (5th generation). Apple SIM technology is supported on iPad Pro 9.7-inch, iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad (5th and 6th generation), iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 4.

Apple iPad - iFail or iWin?

So, Apple introduced another “revolutionary product that revolutionized the industry” - a tablet computer. And although it will appear on the shelves in two months at best, its usefulness for everyday life can be appreciated now.

What is Apple iPad

The iPad is a beautiful tablet that weighs 680 grams and is packaged in an aluminum and glass body. All user interaction with the device is carried out through a touch screen with multi-touch support. Text entry also occurs using the on-screen keyboard, although the list of separately purchased accessories includes a hardware keyboard attached to the bottom.

The “hardware” part of the device looks decent: the gigahertz processor of Apple’s own design should have good performance, and the battery should also last 10 hours of active use (or a month in standby mode). Apple can only be praised for its 9.7-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels. iPad can communicate with the outside world using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 or 3G module. Versions with 3G and GPS cost $130 more, and instead of regular SIM cards they use some completely incomprehensible micro SIM - does anyone even know what this is? The 3G module in iPad can only be used for data transfer, but not for calls and SMS. But from the point of view of the average user, the iPad is, by and large, an iPod touch enlarged several times, which is emphasized by the absence of any interfaces except for the dock connector. Many hoped that the device would run a full-fledged Mac OS X, adapted for touch screens. This did not happen. The iPad runs iPhone OS 3.2 with all the ensuing consequences. Consequence number one (probably the most unpleasant) is that the device cannot run applications for Mac OS X and does not support multitasking mode. Consequence number two - synchronization with a computer occurs only through iTunes. However, iPhone owners are no stranger to this. Consequence number three is the lack of Flash support in the browser. This decision has both positive and negative sides. The positive is the absence of the need to stick into stupid advertising, the negative is a significant limitation of the interactivity of the web, in which Flash is currently the de facto standard.

Maps look much better on a big screen than on an iPhone

Of course, all the bundled iPhone OS applications (maps, YouTube, etc.) are still there. The device can also run existing iPhone applications available in the App Store.

How is iPad different from iPhone or iPod touch?

In addition to the obvious differences (size, performance), there are several more non-obvious, but very important. Firstly, a special version of iWork, an excellent office suite, will be released for it. In this regard, the iPad can be used to work with text documents, tables and presentations.

Touch version of iWork - work “at your fingertips”

Secondly, the iPad's pre-installed email and calendar programs look much better than their iPhone counterparts. Of course, working with MS Exchange is supported.

Judging by the screenshots, Apple managed to create a complete replacement for the paper diary

Thirdly, watching videos (HD 720p supported) on a screen with such a diagonal and resolution is a dream. Unfortunately, the device only supports iTunes-compatible formats (read: MPEG-4 ASP and MPEG-4 AVC in M4V and QuickTime containers). Fourthly, the 1024x768 resolution and WebKit-based browser are a guarantee that the quality of viewing web pages on the iPad will not be inferior to full-fledged platforms. It is impossible not to mention iBooks - an application for reading electronic books that will be sold through the iTunes store. In our country, of course, they will not be available.

Keyboard Dock is a must-have for full typing on iPad

Numerous accessories will be available for sale with the device. The most interesting among them are the keyboard dock already mentioned above and adapters that allow you to import photos from your camera to the device. There are two such adapters, one of them is designed to connect the camera directly to the iPad (via a USB port), the second is for plugging SD cards into the device. There are currently no photo apps for the iPad; they can only be viewed. But I'm sure that eventually Adobe (or someone else) will release something like Photoshop Lite.

Price issue

At the moment, the matrix with retail prices (in the USA) looks like this:

In our opinion, there is no point in buying a version without 3G. Add to this the cost of iWork ($10 for each of three applications), a dock with a keyboard ($70) and an adapter for connecting a camera ($30) - and it turns out that even the low-end version of the device, equipped with everything necessary for work, will cost around 760 dollars, and the older one - 960. Let me remind you that we are talking about prices in the USA. Under these conditions, the iPad begins to directly compete not only with netbooks, but also with full-fledged laptops, including ultraportable models based on the CULV platform.

Preliminary conclusions

To sum it up, we can say with confidence that the iPad, like its brothers (iPod and iPhone), are focused not on content production, but on its consumption. However, this is normal, since 99% of the world's population is engaged in consuming the fruits of other people's intellectual labor. Despite this, a typical “office worker” may well find the iPad useful, since the device covers all his basic tasks: you can write a memo, draw up a small estimate, send it all by email, and then go to chips with a sense of accomplishment.net and enjoy fresh bojani. If you need something more complex and sophisticated, it is better to pay attention to netbooks or CULV laptops, which at a lower price have significantly greater functionality, although they are larger in size and weight. P.S. An extremely unfortunate name was chosen for the new product: firstly, it is similar to the iPod, and secondly, iPad can be translated into Russian as “ya pad”, since one of the main meanings of the word “pad” is exactly that. It is no coincidence that immediately after the announcement a parody name began to circulate on the Internet

This page has attempted to answer the questions: What is an iPad or Apple iPad? How does the iPad differ from laptops, and what are the main differences between the iPad and other tablet computers?

What is iPad

IPad, iPad, iPad is an electronic device manufactured by Apple. For reference: Apple is a very large American corporation, a manufacturer of personal and tablet computers, audio players, phones, and software.

Externally, the iPad looks like a flat panel with a touch screen, that is, a screen on which all actions are performed using your fingers. The iPad is an Internet tablet that provides users with Internet access and performs many of the functions of a regular computer, but is still significantly different from it.

When did the first iPad appear?

The very first iPad was presented to the general public on January 27, 2010 at a presentation in San Francisco by Steve Jobs, who was then the CEO of Apple Corporation. On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs passed away.

The start of sales of the device took place in New York on Fifth Avenue on April 3, 2010. In Russia, official sales of the first iPads began on November 9, 2010.

Since then, several iPad models have been released, differing from each other in performance, screen resolution, weight, size and other characteristics.

What types of iPads are there?

At the time of writing (January 2015), Apple has released 9 different iPads, namely:

1. On January 27, 2010, there was a presentation of the very first tablet, which was simply named: iPad.
2. On March 2, 2011, the second generation model was presented to the public - iPad 2, with improved characteristics compared to the first modification
3. On March 7, 2012, the world was able to see the third generation model called “The New iPad” (with a Retina display, characterized by a very high pixel density). On the night of May 24-25, 2012, official sales of the new iPad 3 began in Russia
4. On October 23, 2012, Apple introduced two models at once:
   • Apple iPad 4 (marketed as the "iPad with Retina Display"), which resulted in the production of the previous model, the iPad-3, being discontinued
   • and the Apple iPad mini (with a regular (non-Retina) display), which is a smaller version of the iPad Internet tablet with the same characteristics as the iPad 2, including its display resolution. The functions and capabilities of the iPad mini are no different from those of a regular, full-size iPad.
5. see clause 4
6. On October 22, 2013, two more new products from Apple were presented, namely:
   • iPad Air, a full-size iPad with improved features
   • and iPad mini with Retina display, which is significantly superior to its small predecessor in various respects
7. see paragraph 6
8. On October 16, 2014, Apple management presented the updated tablets to the public:
   • iPad Air 2, which, in addition to the classic versions, can also be purchased in gold color
   • and iPad mini 3 with very minor changes

How else are iPads different?

Each generation of iPad also comes with some different features:

• They may or may not have an additional 3G (4G, cellular) module. You can read more about it in the article
• and have different capacities of the “hard drive,” that is, internal memory. Read more in the article

What can the iPad do?

The iPad does not completely replicate the capabilities of a laptop or computer, but, meanwhile, it has sufficient functionality for:

1. web surfing (viewing websites and pages on the Internet);
2. widespread use of all kinds of games;
3. reading e-books;
4. playback of multimedia files (video, music);
5. viewing photos;
6. using web applications (such as the Skype video calling program);
7. creating photos and videos (starting with iPad2, which has built-in video cameras);
8. many other actions;

Advantages of iPad over laptops

The iPad has unique properties that distinguish it from laptops

1. long battery life
2. relatively low cost of the device
3. sensitive touch screen
4. Intuitive finger control, easy installation and removal of programs
5. small size, weight and solidity of the device, which together gives it mobility comparable to some extent with conventional cell phones

What makes the iPad better than other tablets?

The points below are quite subjective, but most iPad users note them as the main advantages of the iPad over other tablets:

1. Appearance – stylish, beautiful, durable aluminum body
2. Workmanship
3. Very long battery life
4. Reliability and stability of the operating system (ios), its closed nature
5. Availability and large number of quality games and other applications
6. Responsive touch screen
7. Application speed

What makes the iPad worse than other tablets?

Again, a subjective opinion created from a large number of reviews by different people, which you can read on this site

1. Closedness of the file system (it is also marked as a “plus”)
2. No USB
3. Lack of support for flash technology
4. Impossibility to upgrade
5. Long time to fully charge batteries

What else do you need to know about iPad?

1. Unfortunately, if you buy an iPad tablet of any model, you will not receive detailed instructions on how to use it. It’s not entirely clear why, but instructions are not supplied with iPads. This happens somewhat unexpectedly, and you need to be prepared for it.

2. Unfortunately, you will not be able to immediately turn on and start using your newly purchased iPad. The fact is that first you need to activate it, that is, fill in some data and create an account for further work. In principle, this is not difficult, but not everyone succeeds in this procedure the first time. It is best to activate your iPad within WiFi range.

Previously, to activate an iPad you needed to have a personal computer, but now, thank God, there is no such need.

Finally

On the days when sales of each model began, large queues of people lined up in all countries wanting to be the first to purchase the new product. Now we can say with confidence that the iPad is very popular all over the world.