Google OS vs iPad 2

A friend recently asked my advice as to whether he should buy a Google powered laptop. He thought my reply was useful so I thought I’d replicate it here:

Right, Google OS… As you’re aware this is a bet on the future of computing, or at least personal computing, being given back to the network (or Cloud). Twenty years ago the computers on our desks didn’t have hard drives and all the data was stored centrally on the network. With storage becoming cheaper and workers wanting more control and needing to become more mobile the trend went the other way.

So, it appears that computing is going full circle. I love the idea of only carrying a simple machine that boots quickly and is capable of all the simple tasks that I need but I don’t think I’ll ever give up on
wanting the power user capabilities of a fully fledged, powerful, PC.

I believe that the best of both worlds is to have a desktop computer at home with a Touch Pad to take with me on the move. This is where the iPad, Motorola Xoom, Galaxy Tab etc fill the need for me… If I just
want to perform simple tasks and access my data in the cloud then I think one of these devices would be more fitting.

Google obviously have a handle on this market too with Android. Talking of Android also brings us on to the subject of SmartPhones like the iPhone etc. These are amazing at bluring the realms of online and reality by making social networks truly a part of our lives… But, they’re difficult to write emails on and that brings us back to the Touch Pads. These would be my preference if I already had decent PC and network attached storage device at home – like you have 🙂

In conclusion; my personal choice, if I were in your shoes, would be to get an iPad 2 instead of a laptop. There maybe times when you need more functionality but I can’t think of anything off of the top-of-my-head that you would need that’s not currently possible with it 🙂

END…

Of course as a MicroStrategy employee I’m a little biased in my motivations for ‘going mobile’. But, it has to be said, that I’d personally prefer an Android powered device. I don’t particularly like the strangle-hold that Apple impose on their users. For ‘power users’ this is a limiting factor. I believe that I’d want more flexibility and control over any device that I would own… you can bet that I wouldn’t actually use that extra flexbility tho 😉

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 at 11:37 am and is filed under Android, Google, MicroStrategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.