I played with an iPad 2 this weekend and a Samsung Galaxy. I also saw a myriad of new Android tablets at CES. It is Windows vs Mac all over again. I hate to be an Apple fan boy but everything else I saw just sucks in comparison. Sure there are some advantages to Android but in my opinion every advantage is outweighed by its disadvantages. Android is more open which makes it easier for programmers to deliver apps quickly without Apple’s approval process but what that means is likely more viruses and malware. Android works on many devices which means variety but it also means nothing works perfectly and apps that work on some don’t work on others and with the number of shapes and sizes coming out from so many manufacturers there will be no easy way for developers to test across all devices. And then there is just the clunkiness. The iPad is fun to use, its responsive, it invokes an emotion that makes you want to use and not put it down. I found the Android OS to be clunky and boring in comparison. Sure there will be niche cases where Android can solve some problem that the IPad can’t because of its openness but those will be limited to niche cases and not mass market. At this point the only option I see is for these guys to drop their price into the $99 range and compete on price. It is what Microsoft eventually had to do with Windows and their recent ad campaigns demonstrated that. It was all about price which means they couldn’t compete on product. Same deal for Android. I just don’t see a way that these guys will be able to compete on product in the near term and while Apple amasses a huge user base and creates a powerful network effect of developers, apps, content and users it will be hard for others to catch up and they won’t at the current price points. I would imagine we will see some $99 Android tablets on the market by the holidays of 2011 and imagine Apple will still outsell them even at that price. Game set match