Should I go iPad or Android?

I am planning to purchase a tablet and want guidance on which would be best? Logos/Vyrso is my main reason, though I'll also do email, web, etc. I'm interested in your overall impressions as well as Logos-specific input. My questions for y'all:

Why did you choose your particular tablet?
What do you like best?
What do you wish was different?
Most important factor(s) I should weigh in my decision.

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Comments

JT (alabama24)

I have no experience with android (nor any desire to), so you can take my comments with a grain of salt. Here are some thoughts:

Since your main purpose is Logos, you should know that the iOS app is further along in development.
The iPad has over 70% of the market. The next two competitors (Samsung & Kindle Fire) have under 8% of the market each.
If money isn't an issue, I would NOT get anything smaller than an iPad's form factor.
You say that the device will primarily be for Logos, but you very well may be surprised with the other things you do with it. With this in mind, the iOS APP Store is the largest mobile store with the most apps.
iOS is designed for security. It isn't fool proof, but it is more secure than Andriod.

I love my iPad and use it daily. You should be aware that the mobile app is NOT "Logos 4." You should not expect do do all of the same things on it. There are many features that require a internet connection. It is great for reading (including reading plans) and highlighting, which is what I use it for.

Kevin A. Purcell

I own my third iPad (get new one each year) and a Kindle Fire. I owned an ASUS EeePad Transformer too before selling it. The Logos iPad app is ahead of the Android app. You can't add notes or highlights on Android yet.. There are other things.

If all you do is read books on the tablet, then the Android will work find and I'd go with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7" tablet. It's 7" and only $250 compare to 10" and 500 minimum for iPad. Kindle books and Logos for just reading work great on it.

If you think you will do much more than reading - which you wil, trust me - then get an ipad if you can afford it and get as big an iPad as you can afford. I have a 32 GB and it feels cramped.

Adam Carrigan

Thanks, Kevin, for the feedback. Since you've owned several devices (and I don't yet have enough $$ for a new iPad), maybe you can answer a few additional questions:

What would I be missing by buying an iPad2 instead of the new one?
I will usually have internet available. When I don't, what will I be missing out on with the Logos app (for iPad or Android)?
I've heard that there are more free apps for Android, whereas many for iPad cost $$. Has that been what you've found?
I've also heard that there's less flexibility and customizability with an iPad. What's been your experience?

Adam Carrigan

Thanks for the feedback. Two follow-up questions:

You mentioned "iPad's form factor." What is that?
Though I will usually have an internet connection, what functionality will I be missing when I don't?

Lionel B Dyck

Kevin - let me chime in. I would recommend a iPad 2, either new or refurbished (which is less expensive).

What you won't get in comparison with the iPad 3rd Generation is the Retina display which is like going from an old tube TV to HD. You may not notice the difference (many don't until they see a video or high definition picture). I have a wifi only iPad and when there is no wifi around you can't download new pubs or do some searches/word studies.

I can't comment on the Droid vs IOS apps as I haven't looked into the droid market but I can tell you that there are more IOS apps than you'll ever need/want/use. There are many that are free, and there are even apps that tracks free apps as some will start free or be place on sale for free to drive market share (and they hope positive feedback in the app store). Other apps are $0.99 which is fair and there are others that are more expensive but you don't need to get those unless you see the need.

I've been a happy iPad user with Logos since the iPad 2 came out last year. Is Logos the best Bible app? I couldn't say but it does most of what I need when I'm away from a real PC.

For reading plans I gave up on Logos and am using YouVersion which does a FANTASTIC job with reading plans. You pick one and it just works, even syncs to their cloud so you can use YouVersion plans on multiple platforms.

Just my $0.01

JT (alabama24)

You mentioned "iPad's form factor." What is that?

Shape & size. The iPad is roughly the size of a "real" hardcover book.

Though I will usually have an internet connection, what functionality will I be missing when I don't?

If you don't have an internet connection, you can't view books you haven't downloaded. You can't do word studies or passage guides. These are all things done on the Logos servers due to hardware limitations.

I've heard that there are more free apps for Android, whereas many for iPad cost $. Has that been what you've found?

You should get an answer from Kevin, but I will take a stab at it. No, there are not "more" free apps on Andriod, but by percentage this may be true.

I've also heard that there's less flexibility and customizability with an iPad. What's been your experience?

Again, it would be good to hear from Kevin, but I will throw in my 2 cents. "Flexibility" and "customization" are not always good things, but yes, Andriod is so. If you were climbing a ladder, would you want the most flexible one, or the most stable? Let me give you an example. Apple was hard nosed about not allowing Adobe Flash on their mobile devices for two reasons: 1) Battery Life and 2) Security. Everyone made a huge deal about this at the time, but Apple won out and Adobe is no longer developing flash mobile. Yes, having flash would offer more "flexibility." Yes, having flash would allow for more customization. But in the long run Apple was concerned about the users experience. If flash became a gateway for a virus, or if it drained the users battery, who would they be upset with? Adobe? Nope. Apple stuck by their guns and it was the right decision.

Andrew T

Adam,

I don't know if you had heard, but Google is looking to release a tablet that is around $199 very shortly. They are trying to match the price of a Kindle, while providing the functionality of the ipad. It is so far being called the Google Nexus Tablet. I would wait for that before you buy anything.

David Salazar

I have a Lenovo ThinkPad tablet and love it. Although around 1/2 thicker than the iPad you get a stylus that does practically all the functions as your finger (cept pinching -zoom/unzoom, etc). Plus you can write and it will transcribe (depending if you buy and app) you can write with the pen and it will transcribe in any app that you are using) or just take notes.

One of the nasty things about tablets is finger prints and with the styles you really don't have to worry about that.

Definitely the Logos app is more developed for iOS... i suppose at some point they may get pretty even (I suspect that the iOS will always be a little ahead just because of market share (doubt android will catch up or overtake in # as in the phones for tablets).

If you plan to use Logos extensively on the tablet with bells and whistles (whatever they may be) go for iPad. If you're going to use it for basic passage guide stuff (then consider both OS) In terms of apps yes iOS has many more (especially designed for tablets). But in 90% of cases there is an Android version or comparable.

If you want to have access to SD cards and USB port you definitely should go with certain Android tablets (but don't go for Android 2.xx, try getting with Ice Cream Sandwich (4.xx). iPad I'm sure has some add-ons that you can purchases but why carry around more stuff when you can have it built in. All depends on your style and wants. For me, Apple products just aren't designed to do/function how I want or need it to do.

Francis

This is a great and very useful discussion. If I may ask a question of my own: how does one check for lexical information when using a Logos app? I was using biblia.com yesterday and so far the only answer I'd have is to open the original language resource (BHS or NA), check what the word is and then manually open a lexical resource to look it up. Is there not something available that compares to the type of info mouse hovering provides in the desktop version of Logos? What about keying to strong's numbers?

Graham Criddle

Hi Francis

how does one check for lexical information when using a Logos app?

You can "press and hold" on a word which provides you with a pop-up menu and some options. In the example below I chose the "Look up" option (others are Copy, Search, Highlight and Note)

You can then choose the Bible Word Study option which gives

From here you can reference off to BDAG, L-N, etc (it is limited in that you can only have three lexica)

You get similar functionality on the Android app.

For both apps, these functions only work when online

Hope this helps

Graham