Is Android Ready For Rugged Prime-Time?

By Jim Plas, VP of marketing, Xplore Technologies, www.xploretech.com

Android has taken the consumer market by storm, but is it enterprise-ready?

There is no doubt that the Android operating system (OS) is a consumer success — one only has to look at Samsung for proof. As frequently reported, there are now more Android phones than iPhones sold worldwide. Certainly the commodity nature of Android hardware has something to do with that — not everyone is ready to spend $500 for a phone when you can get similar functionality for half that or less. But Android tablet shipments are unquestionably lagging behind iPad’s — for now. While Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Google’s Nexus, and Samsung’s Galaxy tab are all making headway, the future onslaught of low cost Android tablets has the potential to result in the same scenario we’re seeing in handsets. The affordability (and nearly disposable price point) will ultimately prove too attractive to the consumer and market share will lean to Android.