operating systems
Operating systems
for tablet kiosk deployments
iOS, Android, Windows, and Kindle are the primary
options currently available for self-service tablet
kiosks, which is right for you?
By Laura Miller, Director of Marketing, Kioware – www.kioware.com
a business-to-business perspective,
benefits from being the first to market.
Anecdotally, Apple is the ‘Hoover’ of the
tablet world, with customers asking for
‘iPads’ instead of tablets, not because they
want an Apple OS, but because that’s all
they know and/or they conflate the ‘iPad’
brand with the generic ‘tablet’. This bias
toward iOS begs the question, is an iPad
the best solution for kiosk, self-service,
and/or purposed device deployments?
There are certainly several pros and
cons to consider in the decision-making
process.
Device cost
iPads generally sit at a higher price
point than other comparable devices.
Windows OS offers more versatility
and a more robust feature set (full
computing power) and typically has a
slightly higher price point (over Android)
to match. Android offers a large range
of high quality/high cost and low cost
(and presumably ‘value’ quality) options.
Kindle sits at the lower end of the cost
continuum but the modified OS limits
versatility.
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Manufacturing options
iPads are available via one
manufacturer/brand vs Android and
Windows which are available from a
plethora of options at various quality,
price, and value propositions.
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From a manufacturing perspective, Apple
and Samsung have the largest market
share. As of Q4 2016, Apple held 26% of
the global market and Samsung 16%, with
Lenovo at 7%. Huawei followed at 5% and
Amazon at 4% (Source: IDC). Within the
operating system market, Android has
overtaken iOS and holds the bulk of the
26 KIOSK solutions
market share due to the wide variety in
tablet manufacturers and price points.
Windows trails both Android and iOS
(for tablet market share), with an ever
increasing but marginal share of the
current market.
Apple devices enjoy the advantage
of a strong brand identity, and from
B2B functionality
iPads were originally intended for
a consumer market and only in more
recent years have they begun to shift
with an eye toward self-service and
commercial usage. Windows has fully
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