Sorting Through The Tablet POS OS Debate

By Jim Roddy, VP of Marketing, RSPA

In an interview with Business Solutions, John Giles, president of Future POS, offers his insights into tablet POS (point of sale) for hospitality and retail — specifically the issue of the choice of operating system and what that means in terms of the devices that will run it and the cost.

“I think the tablet as a POS device has tons and tons of potential,” says Giles. He comments, however, tablet POS systems launched over the past few years, most using iOS, have little value:  “That’s an evolutionary dead-end because Apple is not going to make a full-sized iPad workstation. If they did, it would be priced right out of the market.”

He says businesses that choose iOS POS fall into two categories: underfunded companies that try to use an iPad they could already own for business or business owners who are “technophiles” that are fans of Apple. “But I think both of those people are going to realize long-term this really wasn’t the mission-critical application they needed to run their businesses, and they need to go reinvest in something that is better.”

Giles says Android tablets for POS cost less: “Their price point is almost half that of what you get with an iOS device.” He adds that unlike Apple, “Android is wide open, you have third-party manufacturers making hardware for it. Just like the Windows PC and the IBM PC, they published their specs.”

He says the difference in price means potential for Android-based POS systems. “You can get a tablet or an Android workstation that’s cheaper than a Windows workstation. You’re never going to see an iOS POS ruggedized workstation that is going to be cheaper than a PC-based workstation.” He says it doesn’t make sense for Apple: “Do you want to compete with a $500 all-in-one? No — not on price you don’t. You can make yours prettier, but now you’re the expensive option. You’re not the iPad coming in and saving them money. You’re the iOS workstation that’s coming in and costing them more than a Windows PC, probably.”

Giles says, “not knowing how the OS war is going to shake out,” Future POS chose to develop a cross-platform app. He comments, however, “But long-term, I’ve seen this play out before and I think I know how the story ends.”

To read the complete visit with Giles, see “Future POS’s Giles Talks EMV, Tablets, Reseller Relevance.”