iPad apps vs. Android tablet apps: Side-by-side comparison

A comment frequently heard about iPad apps is how they are more polished than similar Android apps. I have made the same observation as I use both platforms regularly. A lot of that polish has to do with iPad developers using a more consistent interface design than the helter-skelter approach often used on the Android side.

I regularly use an iPad 2 and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 running Ice Cream Sandwich (custom ROM), and have a stable of regular apps I use heavily. The best way to show how the two platforms compare with app design is to display them side-by-side, and that's what you'll find in the following gallery.

iPad vs. Android tablet apps go head-to-head

	Image Gallery: Screen shots compare top apps for Android tablets with similar iPad apps

Four of the ten apps compared have versions on both platforms, so the comparison is a direct one in design by the same developers. It is a bit odd why developers would release the same app on each platform with a different design. The other six apps compared are similar in function with its compared app, and paint a good picture of the differences in both functionality and design.

Of interest:

• TechRepublic: Android 4.0: Eight new features that actually matter
• CNET Asia’s review of Samsung Galaxy Nexus and top five features
• CNET’s first impressions
• This is My Next on the features
• Android developers blog
• Top 10 features in Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is enchanting, easy, and makes you feel special
• Unwrapping Google Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 (photos)