> > Android apps that you purchase will work on products from Google (Nexus), > Samsung, HTC, LG, and other companies. iOS apps that you purchase will > only > work on products from Apple. >
I think this only tells part of the story - You are still being locked in to google ecosystem, (to access Google Play) and manufacturers of those phones need to pay Google for certification eg ( http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/23/how-google-controls-androids-open-source ) I agree that lock in is bad, I just don't think it is any less on any particular platform. It's a reality of any technology at the present time. On 18 December 2014 at 18:00, Russell Coker <[email protected]> wrote: > > Choose a category and if there is a wide range of devices to choose from > (such > as the range of Android devices) then one of them will win. > My apologies, it seems like we are both saying the same thing - Apple has a limited range of devices. I was engaging with you point as if you had said Android wins "handily" in each category that apple serves, but I think you were just saying there is a much greater range of choice? To give my opinion on some earlier points, Apple devices are significantly more expensive. Has the new lock technology > to prevent theft been added to all the iPads? If not then it seems like a > bad > idea to have young kids carrying around expensive items that can be > re-sold. > RE: Activation lock - yes, by default, it's effectively opt-out and pushed on you every time you do a software update / set up a new device. RE: Expensive, I'm not sure I agree. In the sense that they have a higher starting price, I certainly agree, but value for money at the specifications they offer is another thing altogether. You really need to compare two similar devices not compare across device categories, Eg compare 2 9.7inch tablets, (16GB iPad around ~$480) and make sure you look at the overall cost in the context of a school environment. You need to look at the software update lifecycle of each device, for example the iPad 2 (and all since) is still supported on the latest version of iOS, nearly 4 years from it's release date. There are a lot of android tablets released last year that won't get even this years Android Lollipop, and compatibility then becomes a problem with apps, as well as security updates, etc. When comparing specs you need be aware of: Battery reliability (eg life after 2 years. On iPad it rated to 1000 cycles / 85%, which is well more than 3 years of normal usage) / runtime (as discussed before) Cpu efficiency eg native code vs Java. You need less CPU for native code. RAM efficiency see above - The contradiction of "There are and should be multiple devices for > learning" and "we nominate iPad as the core device" appearing in > the same sentence. > I totally agree it's madness to deploy iPads in place of laptops. They are a companion device that are useful for reading (textbook / ebooks) collaborative learning, videos / video editing, research etc but they are no replacement for laptops which are used for writing / typing / programming etc. If you can only afford one device, don't make it an iPad, make it a laptop, because you can still do some of the functionality of the iPad it is just less engaging. _______________________________________________ Free-software-melb mailing list [email protected] http://lists.softwarefreedom.com.au/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/free-software-melb Free Software Melbourne home page: http://www.freesoftware.asn.au/melb/
