Consumer Reports hasn't been a big Apple fan lately. In recent reviews of the iPhone 4, they have stated that they couldn't recommend the smartphone to consumers due to problems with the antenna. If you remember, Apple took a lot of public criticism with the iPhone 4's antenna design.
In fact, Consumer Reports gave both versions of the iPhone 4 (GSM and CDMA) failing scores because of the issue, but they seem to see Apple's tablets in a different light. They put the iPad 2 up against several competitors and the results shouldn't surprise you.
The iPad 2 went up against the likes of Dell, Motorola, Samsung, and several other tablets varying in price range. Even the original iPad was thrown in for comparison. Each tablet was tested on 17 different criteria including portability, ease of use, touch screen responsiveness, and many others.
Surprisingly, the original iPad beat out most of the competitors, and actually tied with the Motorola Xoom. The tablet from Motorola was the closest competitor to the iPad 2, but recorded awful scores for ease of use and portability. The iPad 2 easily trumped the rest of the competition, making it Consumer Reports' top tablet.
The test results confirm Apple's theory behind the iPad 2's success. Consumers don't care about hardware stats. It's things like ease of use and portability that really appeal to customers looking to buy a tablet. They are looking to browse the internet and play mindless games, who cares if the thing has 4 processors? Although the competition is getting better, it seems as though they're still missing the boat.
What do you think?
