The iPad is easily the best tablet you can buy right now, but that's changing. Google showed off their upcoming tablets today, casting a spotlight on the iPad's shortcomings. Here are the Android features we wish we had on our iPads.
A Helpful, Simple, and Non-Intrusive Notification System
The Android vs. iOS fight isn't relegated to cellphones anymore. Google's tablet-focused Android operating system is introducing several great new features to Android-based tablets that we like considerably more than their feature-counterparts on the iPad. The notification system in iOS has always been nothing more than a series of pop-ups and long an annoyance of its users. This has been an issue on the iPhone, but it's particularly frustrating on a tablet where there's so much more space to make use of less-intrusive options. Android's new built-in notifications are extremely useful and stay out of your way. Music controls are easily brought up from the bottom of the screen and don't require the double-click of the home button and an additional swipe just to pause or change songs. When you receive a message in Android, you get a nice little message that fades in at the bottom of the screen to let you know without any additional interruption. On the iPad, all notifications come through the same pop-ups that not only interrupt what you're doing but can sometimes cause so much of an interruption that it'll cause you to lose a game you're playing, lose your position in a web video, or cause a few unintended typos.
True, Useful Multitasking
A Better Home Screen
A (Better) Camera App
Read more: Lifehacker
A Helpful, Simple, and Non-Intrusive Notification System
The Android vs. iOS fight isn't relegated to cellphones anymore. Google's tablet-focused Android operating system is introducing several great new features to Android-based tablets that we like considerably more than their feature-counterparts on the iPad. The notification system in iOS has always been nothing more than a series of pop-ups and long an annoyance of its users. This has been an issue on the iPhone, but it's particularly frustrating on a tablet where there's so much more space to make use of less-intrusive options. Android's new built-in notifications are extremely useful and stay out of your way. Music controls are easily brought up from the bottom of the screen and don't require the double-click of the home button and an additional swipe just to pause or change songs. When you receive a message in Android, you get a nice little message that fades in at the bottom of the screen to let you know without any additional interruption. On the iPad, all notifications come through the same pop-ups that not only interrupt what you're doing but can sometimes cause so much of an interruption that it'll cause you to lose a game you're playing, lose your position in a web video, or cause a few unintended typos.
True, Useful Multitasking
A Better Home Screen
A (Better) Camera App
Read more: Lifehacker