Tablets: Ipad or Android?

[gregrjones]

I am thinking of getting a tablet. I see a lot of apps for worship leaders on Ipads but are Android tablets a viable option? Do they have many useful apps for worship leaders?

[MarkSnyder]

Ipad due to app availability. As a developer in a music field you need to target ipad first. Limited time and budgets go toward android. I would actually put windows tablets second, android third. Thats a developer perspective but it shows up in app availibility. A cheaper ipad mini with 7.85 inch screen is rumoured to be coming soon.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

[efrisch]

I'm a big Android fan (I'm typing this on my Nexus 7) right now. That said, if you're looking for worship specific apps, iPad is definitely the way to go. I use my Android tablet for set lists, charts, click track playback, etc., but I use stock/general apps for all of those things. Form factor matters if you want to do charts - I love the 7 inch form factor, but the bigger screen on the iPad makes a difference.

[mikeymo1741]

Ipad due to app availability... I would actually put windows tablets second, android third. Thats a developer perspective but it shows up in app availibility. A cheaper ipad mini with 7.85 inch screen is rumoured to be coming soon.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

I'd probably have to disagree with this pretty much in it's entirety.

I use my Android tab constantly as a worship leader, and have found few advantages that the iPad crew has. (and none that a Windows-based tab would have.)

Setlists and charts - check. I use MobileSheets which is very similar to OnSong. (OnSong is a better app, no doubt, but not by much, and MS has regularly adds features all the time. MS works well with Bluetooth foot pedals as well. And it's actually easier to manage files on Android than on iOS.

File sharing - Check. Dropbox, BOX and Google Drive. Oh, and a USB port for flashdrives. (Sorry iPad)

Planning - check. PCO app works great!

Multitrack recording - check.

True multitasking - check.

Apps - check. Over 440,000 and counting. Windows 8? About 4000.

Big screen - check. 10.1" in (and 16x9) makes watching movies great!




That said, the iPad is a better solution, but only if cost is taken out of the mix. There are more music specific apps, more integration with other software. Development for iPad is easier - one platform, one hardware spec. So devs are willing to forgo Android's greater market share for the easier path to revenue, and who can blame them? OnSong has been coming up with excuse after excuse after excuse as to why they haven't built their long-promised Android app yet, and none of them make any sense. But I don't even miss it. If Zubisoft puts transposing and sharing into MobileSheets, then it's game over for me. I would care if OnSong was free. (and Zubisoft is one guy coding in his spare time.)


If your budget is a factor, then 'droid is the way to go.

[MarkSnyder]

I am just in the process of releasing my app, called WorshipSong Band, which brings a full featured multitrack player to tablets. I have mostly heard people who want Ipad, Macs, and PCs. Digital Audio Music apps that are pushing the limit in, like full on DAWs, are targeting Ipad first. Ditto controllers for PC or Mac DAWS that offer an on stage front end on IPad. So I guess I am really talking about high end apps like that. I dont use planning tools or chord readers so I cant comment. I did incorporate transposing chord charts into WorshipSong Band.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

P.S, I neglected to add - I used a cross platform UI framework for the app based on game technology, so Android is pretty easy to support, so we could release an Android version if we start to hear demand for it...

[Doug Thorsvik]

I have been using the iPad and the app unrealBook pretty much daily and every Sunday for the last 15 months. At the time I made my decision the Android devices were not a contender; the apps were not there and the screens were too small or the wrong shape. I would never consider going back to paper even though I supply printed charts to the rest of the team. I have all my charts (all custom with bigger fonts) on the iPad and a foot pedal to advance the pages. I use it leading worship with the guitar and playing bass. UnrealBook has proven to be a reliable app and the programmer has continued to improve the program. He has made quite a few changes/improvements at my request! I have tried OnSong which is more popular and has more features, but it does not work as well for the key features I use: metronome, song linking, and recording the team during practice.

[stephen_can_man]

I put a video together of what you can do with an iPad and as of right now no Android device can do all of the things that I demonstrate in this video:

[mikeymo1741]

I don't really see anything in that video that an Android cannot do, except specifically control a Presonus console. Swap that out with a Yamaha MCL7 or LS9 and there's really no difference.

Everything else you showed I can do with my Android.

[stephen_can_man]

I don't really see anything in that video that an Android cannot do, except specifically control a Presonus console. Swap that out with a Yamaha MCL7 or LS9 and there's really no difference.

Everything else you showed I can do with my Android.

That is true, just tag on another 7 or 8 grand to the budget.

[mikeymo1741]

That is true, just tag on another 7 or 8 grand to the budget.

Funny, when I make the same argument to Apple owners, they say the extra money is worth it.

Your post was about capability. A good Android tablet is at least as capable as an iPad in most areas. (and a lower price, typically) Of course, many companies involved in music production only develop for Apple products. That is understandable, if somewhat lazy. One platform, one software product.

Personally, I grow weary of the "my iPad is better...." "My Android is better...." arguments. Both are very capable and useful for the worship leader, and the line is blurring between them every day.