The iPad is run off of the Unix-based iOS (originally called the iPhone OS), created by Apple and released in 2007 for the iPhone. Since 2007, Apple has created six major versions, with numerous updates for each. A new version iOS7 is rumored to be released sometime in mid-2013. iPad (tablet) support began with version iOS3.2 in April 2010 with the release of the first iPad .
Android OS:
The Linux-based Android operating system was announced in 2007 by Google for use on mobile devices with the first release in September of 2008. Tablets designed for the android operating system were released in 2011, the year following the iPad. There were a number of companies in 2011 that created tablets designed to run the Android OS such as Samsung, Motorola and Vizio. Since its inception, developers have consistently refined and updated the system to run on both tablets and smart phones.
Windows OS:
Of the three tablet platforms featured in this Blog, Windows was the first. Windows XP was originally released for tablets in 2002. The early Windows based tablets were pretty much a bust. Future tablets are all still run on the current Windows desktop OS, which, as you will read in the Hardware section, is a terrible drain on the battery. There really is not much evolution to describe in the Windows OS for tablets.... because there isn't a special one... oh, wait... there was the Windows Surface RT with a hybrid OS, but it bombed too and they are going back to the full-blown Windows 8 OS for the new Surface Pro.
