Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Apple iPad vs Samsung Galaxy pad - Which is best for government

DISCLAIMER. I own both the new iPad with the retina display, and a Galaxy Tab. I find the iPad a wonderful tool for video and photo editing, however saying that....lets get onto the article.

This is going to be a very short post as this is a very simple argument. I recently noticed the ANC were purchasing many iPads for government use. I don't generally have a problem with tablet technology, and I really do believe that it can help government officials do their job better, but I do think its worth noting that when it comes to government and political use. The Galaxy Tab smokes the iPad for one simple reason. iTunes.

Let me give you a scenario. You are a political official. You need to visit a rural school and give a presentation. When you arrive at the school the headmaster of that school hands you a multi media presentation on a USB drive.

There is almost no way (without hacking the iPad), that you can simply copy on documents and presentations. To load files normally onto an iPad requires either iTunes or iCloud. Both which you will find difficult locate in rural South Africa. Retina displays and photo editing applications are only useful to people in the media industry. 

If you wanted to copy something onto the Galaxy Tab on the fly, or if you wanted to share documents or media, then the Galaxy Tab absolutely smokes the iPad. It is easy to go to almost and device with almost any operating system and copy whatever files you need.

Tablets do not come cheap, so if government and political parties are going to be using them, then they need to buy smartly. They need functionality over, "shiny beads". Until Apple sort out the reliance of their devices on iTunes, they will always come second to the Galaxy Tab.


EDIT: Other options to consider. The Galaxy Tab allows you to insert an adaptor that has HDMI out, which is perfect for doing presentations on. Also the Galaxy Tab has an adaptor that allows you to read flash disks on the fly. It wins hands down in usability and features.

2 comments:

  1. I work with government (mostly African and Caribbean) but the principles are the same everywhere. Flash drives in rural areas with poor internet access are riddled with malware. It's by far the number one way of spreading trojans etc. Only the most extreme areas I've been to have no internet access whatsoever. Some have poor internet, but the majority (of district level sites) have at least 2.5G these days. If you want something from someone, it's far safer to have it emailed to you or dropboxed, very few exceptions.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BTW, I prefer a Galaxy to the iPad myself, but we really need more mainstream alternatives to the overpriced Galaxy in SA. Huawei does a 7" unit but I haven't seen much in the 10.1" range. I must admit, I do like the Asus Transformer... http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/

    ReplyDelete