Apple iPad or Android Tablet - What Will Be the Industry Standard?

None of the above. A key problem is the word "stable".

MONEY is the industry standard.

Whichever one Microshaft backs.

Insufficient information. What does your company use computers FOR? Invite Micro$oft and Apple in for a joint showdown. Have your tech people make the decision, not the boss.

• "Have your tech people make the decision, not the boss."

I really like the idea!

The only trouble is I've never seen it hapen and doubt it often does.

More info on what the PC is used for:

We design and manufacture machines for handling paper documents. The PC is used to store the machine configuration and setup, to send commands to the machine (start, stop etc), and to monitor and display simple status in real time. When datalogging, the PC is also required to capture and machine store data in real time (approximately 1k bytes per second).

In other words you're talking about a control systems environment where the device needs to be interfaced with a machine.

Apple don't seem to be interested in people doing out of the ordinary things with their equipment like interfacing it with machines and control systems or adding third party software and or hardware for their equipment.

My guess would be that if you invited Apple and a reputable PC/Android manufacturer to demonstrate what they could do for you then Apple wouldn't be interested.

However, I've been wrong in the past and I could be wrong this time, but somehow I just can't see Apple moving outside their existing market and into a field they have no experience in and haven't shown any interest in to date.

I actually asked a inside Allen Bradley friend of mine about this (for the I-Pad) and he said not nothing of the sort. He since started working for WACO and they do have some apps for the IPad, here his response.

"WAGO and we have a PLC that has a web server. We have some customers that use this technology to have an interface on a iPAD. We have a cusotmer that is selling a tool to help display infomaiton from our controler to a iPAD... So go to http://appshopper.com/ and Search for i-Boat."

I never got a chance to check it out. Its getting there, ^{but tying into different operating platforms has always been an issue}

I like the idea of having Apple and Android duke it out in a one on one demostration match though.

The intention is to create an App that allows the machine operator to use an i-Pad (or Android tablet) as the User Interface. The question is (from a future-proofing perspective), for this type of application, what will become the industry standard? Will the Apple i-Pad only feed into the gadget hungry marketplace or will it become a platform for a more industrial type of engineering application (much like the Mac has become widespread in the design and graphics industry).

'or will it become a platform for a more industrial type of engineering application'

Are your saying like SCADA systems

Since getting my Ipad last December, My use of my personal PC drop to about 20 hours of use, but at work, the PC is still KING.

It all depends what you use it for, as far as tablets replacing the computer, No the interface and apps are not there as of yet.

I look at the tablet to be an accessory, not a replacement. Remember, A tablet is not the answer. The question you have to ask is what is the support. And support I mean, apps, programs that do something productive.

Just received an email on the IT aspects of the I-Pad that may be of interest to you.

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/offer.aspx?o=03070050em0320&utm_source=itbemktg&utm_medium=promo&email=shaberli%40yahoo.com

you'll have to register.

Guys,

From a predominantly Windows user although I have used everything that was available in many years of IT in Business. ( Not yet tried Linux although I will have a go at that with the Raspberry Pi later.

The company that I worked for at one point had a serious problem with IT platforms. We started with a company the grew by aquisition and we had large populations of PCs and Macs. So we had a lot of experience of the mixed environment. The IT team were not terribly happy and we changed platforms a couple of times. We were unable to completely eliminate all of the PCs. (customer issues) nor could we do without Macs (see below) and we had many Unix stations and Cad stations.

A lot will depend upon precisely what you are trying to do - Automation and Control is one aspect but I am sure that you will need a variety of Office tools just for day to day business use. And that still, in this day and age means predominantly Windows.

My daughter has an IPad which she loves but it is not able to do much for her business where she PMs a Card for specific business organisation.

Back to my experience with a mixed environment and the PC and the Mac environment.

1 The IT department found that managing the Macs was notionally easier than managing PCs until something significant happened and then there was only one guy who could really hack it. Tha larger the organisation, the bigger this problem became.

2 If you did not have Macs, in those days you would have suffered doing the things that Macs were really good at, Image & Web stuff for example.

3 And as someone else hinted, the Macs may not hack a control environment ( lack of interfaces, lack of the specialised hardware etc.) although there was an input the other day from a guy who was designing Home Automation systems built around iPads built into walls. Possibly not big or powerful enough for what we are looking at, but a start?

4 Since I experienced the above, Macs, per se, have with Microsoft's aid built an Office environment, whch should cope with most office requirements.

My gut feel is that with the requirements as set out by the OP that the best solution, at this point in time, would be a Windows environment - there are more IT folk who can hack Windows IT, there are more interfaces, hardware options, and so on to make this a more attractive route than the Apple one.

I suspect that Linux could be a good candidate in the future but might suffer from the hardware interface problem, the need to do your own thing for software, and the fact that the whole team would have to relearn IT and much more. Easy for UNIX based engineers but hard for everyone else?

Just a view from someone who has been there done that or managed it - and felt the pain! Do not make life any harder for yourself than you have to!

Sleepy

Thanks Sleepy. It's a bit early on in the tablet arena to know what the engineering applications may be so I'm trying to get some input from a 'gut feeling with some knowledge and experience to back it up' perspective in order to help choose the system with the most advantages. Your input was useful. My background is mechanical so I do not have an in depth knowledge in this area.

The marketing guys want to go for the I-Pad saying that it will become the industry standard but they do not seem to have any evidence to back this up (I think that they may be entranced by the 'sparkly gadget' effect of Apple products) and they don't have to make the product work or solve the future problems caused by arbitary 'head in the clouds' specifications.

• "they don't have to make the product work or solve the future problems caused by arbitary 'head in the clouds' specifications."

Oh you are so right.

The number of times I've seen marketing guys cut corners and try and do things with equipment that it just wasn't designed to do is frightening. Then when the whole project blows up because of their corner cutting it's always the project engineer that got landed with the mess that cops the blame.

If the marketing guys think that the iPad is going to become the industry standard then I definitely place my money on in NOT becoming the industry standard.

I had software that I was use that its wasn't meant to do. The software rep's were amazed and never thought of that.

Of course the next software up grade, then it would blow up.

I agree"Money is the standard"!

Not most people can afford an Ipad, just for my low income,I preffer android tablet. I recommend a cheap and good-quality android tablet from Espow to you.I spent less money but enjoy the good product very well.

Welcome Tonymqqq,

I came vary close to being the HP tablet last fall, the only reason I have an IPAD, I had won as part of the raffle at my company christmas party.

I was very impressed by it, some friends who bought the HP were have trouble, I have no complaints and can see why the apple circle swears by it. Last week I upgrade my phone to the apple 4S.

Servie on some of the business apps, I have one SG Project Pro (from FourthFrame Tchnologies LLC), an app for project management. Its nice, had some issues with it, I didn't feel like calling the number, it was 2:00pm on a Friday, yes they have a direct line, so instead I sent them an email expected if any luck have an answer by Monday or Tuesday. Within the hour, one of the founders of the company emailed me back with a solution.

There is one thing I always felt, about the cost of what something is. It isn't always about the money, its can be about support, quality or just plane usefulness of the tool.

The iPad (and iPhone) work well with SCADA type applications, the goPoint OBD-II interface and cable is a good example, the software works (is free) and displays the engine parameters well, so it can be done. The goPoint Bluetooth is slow, and only works on the iPhone, the wired goPoint OBD III is suppose to work with the iPad and should be faster. So it can be done on the iPad