Google's two-way tablet strategy – News Digital: Gadgets & Hardware



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With smartphones, Google has the market leader in his own home with Android. For notebooks, the business mixes with the cheap Chromebooks competition. Apple and Microsoft both responded and introduced cheaper devices, some of which are specifically tailored to the educational market. Apple bets on iPads and Microsoft on new Surface Go laptops and cheaper Windows partners

In one area, Google's software strategy is not so obvious: Tablets complicated. Here, Google has two operating systems with Android and Chrome OS in use and with the current work Fuchsia, maybe even a third soon (This is the new operating system of Google looks like).

The end of 2015 presented and now stopped pixel tablet should have been originally equipped with Chrome OS. But then, it came with Android. In the test we wrote at the time: "For the first Google tablet, there are superior qualities of hardware: beautiful, convenient and stable.The deduction is available for the software.On the phone, Android is at least the second best operating system.On the tablet, it is behind the productivity behind Windows 10 and the comfort behind iOS.Here Google needs to improve.This could soon happen with the merger of Android and Chrome OS. Pixel C would be the perfect device for that. "

No new Google Tablet

Two and a half years later, the systems of Are still not merged, but there are two exciting new offers ] Huawei and Acer show what is currently possible on a tablet running Android and Chrome OS.

For Huawei, the year 2018 is already considered a success in history books. With the P20, the Chinese group has one of the best mobile phones on the market today and sells a lot of them. The group also gained a foothold in the notebook sector and received top marks for its latest laptops in tests. In the first case, Huawei benefits from Android from Google, the second from Microsoft Windows 10. With the new M5 tablets (from 340 francs), Huawei supports Android.

When testing the practical variant with an 8.4-inch screen, Google beats Software better than previous years. Many applications are now at least a little optimized for large tablet screens and give the impression to Android 8 that developers have sometimes tried on a tablet. Tablet is trolling Android directly into the ease of use and selection of applications far behind iOS and the iPad there is. Where the new Huawei tablet trumps is in the hardware. The high quality metallic glass design with rounded edges looks good and feels even better in the hand. The screen pleases, the speakers sound better than average, and the battery lasts several days or even a week, with occasional use. One can only criticize the fact that the tablet does not have a headphone jack. But at least one adapter is included.

If you like to listen to music, watch movies, surf the net and sometimes write an e-mail, you can not go wrong with the new Huawei tablet. If you want to work with the tablet, you'll do better with an iPad (from CHF300) or a Windows tablet.

Chrome instead of Android

This is exactly where the new Acer Tab 10 (400 francs) comes in. It's the first tablet that does not work with Android but with Chrome OS. In the United States, it targets the education market. In Germany you can find it at large online retailers in the normal range.

That it is aimed at schools, you can see the 10-inch tablet at first glance. The glass-plastic design does not look very elegant, but stable. You need training until you find the power button and the volume controls. If you hold the tablet in landscape mode, they are at the top and sometimes at the bottom. In addition, the retractable pen in the device can rarely be found right away. Otherwise, the material is not spectacular. Much more exciting is the software. How will the ChromeO operating system designed for laptops beat on a tablet?

Where is this "@"?

The first complication is not long in coming, there are difficulties in setting up. Where is it "@"? A keyboard does not have a tablet and there is no key for special characters on the on-screen keyboard. Finally, the rescue: You have to press "old gr" as on a laptop keyboard and the desired sign appears. Also in the episode, the tablet holds several times for a notebook. The software congratulates you from the beginning with the image of a laptop for the purchase of a Chromebook.

Once these first hurdles are overcome, you will feel at home quickly. The software looks like a mix of Android and Windows. Thanks to the Playstore, you can now easily install Android apps. Gone are the days when Chromebooks had to do everything in the browser.

Seen this way, tab 10 is the first Google tablet that does not feel like an oversized phone. Less success are the methods of entry. The pen provided is useful. But not more. It is much slower compared to pens for other tablets. If you write quickly, it will always take a few microseconds, if not a second, for the font to appear. There are also similar problems with the on-screen keyboard. Overall, she reacts rather slowly. Fortunately, you can connect the tablet via Bluetooth with an external keyboard.

Not as comfortable as with iOS

Interesting detail: In Google's My Devices view, the new tablet is not reported as Acer Tab 10 but as a Google Scarlet. An indication of how the two companies worked together on the device?

In total, you can say tab 10 indicates that it is the first of its kind. Many Google startup problems will still be able to patch by software. It is therefore recommended only to experimental users who know exactly what they are engaging in. Casual users are currently better served with an Android tablet or iPad.

Nevertheless, the potential of Chrome OS with Android apps on a tablet is obvious. In terms of comfort, this is not enough for the iPad at a low price, but in many areas, the combination already competes with Windows 10. But clearly: Absolute professional programs should not be expected in the foreseeable future .

We still do not know what Google strategy will use in the longer term. Is it only emergency solutions until Fuchsia completes the group's next operating system? Unless Google makes a clear decision, manufacturers like Huawei, Acer or Samsung will have a hard time finding alternatives to Apple's iPad. (Tagesanzeiger.ch/Newsnet)

Date created: 25.07.2018, 18:33

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