If you needed another reason to believe it’s raining tablets, here’s one that is truly Super. Super Bowl 2011, that is:

And while this ad is impressive, the Xoom is a big promise and the attack on Apple quite blunt, one thing comes to mind: will Android deliver?

I totally agree with the guys from n3w.media saying this in a post 2 weeks ago:

Android is capturing market share by trying to replicate Microsoft’s model of world domination, which was quite simply to be the Operating System of choice on as many hardware platforms as possible.

This is definitely the Google way of doing it, and by keeping it fresh and free they are doing a pretty good job with most device manufacturers (which are not Apple or Microsoft). Or as the n3w.media guys put it:

The Android OS is attractive to manufacturers that want to deliver a cheap mass market handset, quickly, that is still a SmartPhone. They have no license fee to pay for the OS and they can pretty much do what they want with it. There is clearly a market for such devices, but they tend to be price conscious consumers. This is a very unattractive market to many software developers as it is difficult to sell applications to people that don’t value them and have a mentality around ‘free’.

Well, a quick look at the Android market will tell you the picture is quite different. In fact, I found almost any piece of software I ever wanted on the Android market, and then some. But the real issue is not really the abundance of downloadable apps. In my view, if your case as a device manufacturer is a (rather) cheap mass market smartphone, you better step up to the plate. The iPhone is your target, and the Jobs gang is not waiting around for no one.

Android biting on Apple. CC: laihiuyeung ryanne

Take video calling for example. Apple has educated the market that smartphones have front facing cameras and video calling capabilities. Would you buy a smartphone without a front facing camera these days?  No. Would you buy a smartphone without an integrated video chat client inside these days?  Well, if you ask the guys from Nexus404.com, the answer is NO. Here’s what they wrote a couple of weeks ago about the new HTC Thunderbolt:

The HTC Thunderbolt keeps popping all over the Internets and this time it’s not all good news. In fact we’re pretty surprised to hear that the HTC Thunderbolt will not offer Mobile Hotspot functionality or Skype video chat out of the box considering that we’re looking at an amazing Android device scheduled to hit stores soon.

You could say the guys from Nexus404 are a bit over-reacting, but here are a few facts:

• Video calling is everywhere and it’s catching on with everyone.
• People don’t like downloading apps. Most of them won’t bother with that. The future is definitely more integrated on one hand, cloud-based on the other.
• People expect to get a “total experience” out of the box, and it’s not about features, it’s about applications.

Bottom line from all of this – all the great hardware technology in the world won’t save you. Success will continue to be determined by software availability – apps, apps, apps. And in order to get software developers and integrators to use your smartphone or tablet in their deployment, you need to provide them tools. And these tools include video calling. Yes.

And I dare to say that even though “Skype video chat” has become a synonym to video calling (as can be seen above), I don’t see Over-The-Top applications, even pre-integrated, as providing the necessary tool set. Just listen to US integrators, trying to build services around the iPhone, with its close FaceTime service, and you’ll see what I mean.

So it’s basically not a question of will or will not Android deliver. Android delivered, and keeps delivering. The big question is whether device manufacturer will deliver Android and how. I guess we’ll find out some answers to that question in 2011.