1. Price and Affordability

One of the the Android tablet is more affordable than the iPad. Android tablets beat Apple's prices by $200 or more. Additionally, Android tablets are not limited to just one model. Because there are many models available, consumers have more choice. The price is averagely 20-30% low compared to any iPad available today. Many manufacturers use Google's tab software for their machines including tech giants Motorola and Samsung. So if you are looking for a cheaper tablet, get an android.

2. Flash

There is no Flash player installed on the Apple iPad, many iPad users miss out on all that the Internet has to offer. Flash allows streaming of video and web browsers on the Android tablet so user can fully interact on the web. Since much of the content on the Internet is Flash-based, the Android tablet allows a user to browse the Internet, play games, and watch videos or movies as if they were on a desktop computer. Unless you want to severely limit your access to online content, choose the Android tablet. It offers the richest experience on the web.

3. Multi-Functionality

One of the greatest assets to the Android tablet is its usability. With an intuitive design, the tablet provides many options for connectivity; many more than its leading competitor, the iPad. Along the base and edge of the Android tablet you find a USB port, a microSD slot, and a Micro-HDMI port. With the HDMI port you can connect the tablet to an HDTV or monitor, so you can play full-screen movies and games. Tools like MyNet and File Manager let you share files and stream content on devices within your network.

4. Open Source Software / Customization

The tech behemoth Google maintains the Android software. Following their principles of open source technology, Android is available to download for free. Many of the Android tablet applications are also free. Because the operating system is open source, programmers have more incentive to develop their applications for Android which means that the Android tablet is a highly customizable and versatile device.

5. Choice of Size

Unlike the iPad, the various Android tablets come in a range of sizes. The sizes include 5-in., 7-in., 9-in., and 10-in. tablets. The 5-inch tablets are just slightly larger than popular touchscreen smartphones, which tend to top out in the 4-inch range. You can go larger or smaller versions of the iPad with an Android. The possibilities for customization on the Android tablet are inexhaustible. No matter what your preferences, you can change display and theme features to suit your tastes. Specifically, you can change colors, screen display, application display, number of screens, and more. In other design modifications the Android tablet exceeds the iPad. For instance, the push notification system is less obtrusive than on the iPad, as new messages are tucked discreetly at the bottom of the screen. From customization options to multitasking, freedom is one of the main advantages of going with an Android tablet over an iPad. With Android you're encouraged to make choices for yourself, with iPad you're confined to the strict choices Apple deems fit to offer. Buying an Android tablet instead means freedom - to tinker with the tablet to your heart's content, to buy the apps you want to without them needing to pass through Apple's overreaching App Store approval process, to actually own your product rather than feel it's merely on loan to you from Apple.

6. Merchant-Interface

Now you can turn your Android Tablet into a credit card reader. Mobile credit card company Square is making it easier for buyers and sellers to make everyday transactions. The company's miniscule card readers are now available for purchase at more than 20,000 retail locations nationwide. The Square Card Reader, standing about an inch tall, plugs into the headphone jack of the Android Tablet and enables anyone to take credit card payments through their tablet.

A lot of people find it a hassle to bring bulky devices with them wherever they go. The good thing with Android tablets, is that they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Android has tablets ranging from as small as 5.3 inches to it's largest being 10 inches.The iPad on the other hand, comes in only one size with dimensions at 9.56 x 7.47 x .5 inches.

There are many quality manufacturers offering Android tablets of different sizes such as Acer, ASUS, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Toshiba, Archos, and more. With Android tablets you have a lot of choice and you can go big or small, keyboard or keyboard-less. It all depends on your needs and your preferences True Multitasking

Left is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich multitasking with iOS 5 multitasking on the right One of the biggest downsides of the iPad is that it doesn't offer true multitasking abilities, which is a necessity in today's world. One of the main reasons of the deprivation of such a feature is due to the iPad's battery life. The hardware itself is more than powerful enough to support such a feature, but Apple appears to be unwilling to extend the functionality beyond being just a simple app launcher. Really, iOS 5 is near identical on both the iPhone and iPad, but then so too is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The fundamental difference, of course, between tablets and smartphones is screen real estate. iOS is great for phones, don't get me wrong. But for tablets, it's simply an insult to modern man.

Those wanting more from their mobile device are likley to become bored and dissatisfied with the iPad's limitations. Anyway, back to what matters. The majority of Android tablets offered on the market today run off dual-core processors, and are soon to have quad core processors as standard fare. This gives them more than enough power to handle multitasking with ease. The latest build of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (much like its predecessor, Android 3.2 Honeycomb) affords the user the ability to access the multitasking panel with just a single tap, enabling them to access and close recently used applications with a simple flick of the finger. 3. A more improved notification system

While notifications have been substantially improved in iOS 5, they are still far from ideal. In actuality, the notifications are very similar to what Android used in the previous generation for phones - Android 2.3 Gingerbread. With Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, there is a persistent bar across the bottom of the tablet that enables users to access recently used apps, go back, to go home, and to access the settings wherever you happen to be in the operating system. Simply put, Android tablets give you the ability to control what sort of notifications you receive on your device. Your usage and messages are tucked discreetly at the bottom part of the screen. Either way, both are good, and represent a big step forward in accessibility and offer the user a chance to have a birds eye of view of what is going on with their device. 4. Syncing is not required iPhoneForum One of the biggest grievances that I hear regularly from owners of Apple products is the constant necessity to sync with iTunes to update, sync content, and more.

Clearly, Apple likes the owners of their products to stay within their ecosystem. Apple has, historically, always wanted owners of their products to update to the latest revision of their software, for obvious reasons. The most ardent Apple fans that are in possession of iPhones and iPads typically jailbreak them in order to unlock the bootloader to allow greater customization of their device. However, any update from iTunes will break this new-found freedom plunge their device right back into archaic darkness. Once again they will be forced to look at hapless rows of icons and be locked into a UI prison where no deviance from the exacting symmetry that their Apple overlord dictates, is allowed. With Android tablets however, there is freedom! You can purchase apps from the Android Market, download them on your computer, and send them to your tablet without the need to sync it to your computer every time you do so. Additionally, you can put widgets of all sizes on the large number of homescreens. 5. USB, Keyboards, and Overall Utility

First off, why does Apple not provide USB connectivity? How about an SD card reader? What if you are away from your computer and have an SD card full of photos you want to unload? What would you have to do? You guessed it - connect to iTunes. And forget about trying to connect to someone else's iTunes - that's just not going to happen. This is jsut one more example of Apple's highly calculated, rigid, and vertically controlled software philosophy, - you must connect to iTunes. I will, in no way deny that Apple's products are marvelously easy to use - but for people wanting a bit more flexibility, it's a no go.