[Prestidigitweeze]

If you asked whether I'd be interested in owning an iPhone 5S, the answer would be no. I prefer the customization and potential of Android.

If, however, you asked which tablet I might buy, the answer would have to be an iPad for now -- not because the hardware is exceptionally innovative or solid, but because the majority of music software developers support it.

Sometimes being independent means looking like a conformist: buying the product everyone else loves to hate in order to use third-party tools to which most people don't pay attention.

For now, the divide is between enthusiastic Android development and established professional software. Where indie startups can get the job done, Android is central (and the most fun). But on either side, Microsoft corrals legacy business software while Apple hoards the traditional players in the arts.

Photography and graphic design haven't been Apple's exclusive domain since the '90s, and everyone knows that Cubase and Reaper are fabulous DAWs for the PC. But Android and Windows don't have enough solid pro music software for their tablets. There's the latency issue, there's compatibility, and there's the legion of handshakes between long-term developers and the underlings of bearded computer mavericks. No amount of coolness and flexibility will impress a musician who's simply trying to write a piece of music or lay down tracks. USB Audio Pro and Multitrack USB are steps in the right direction, but the destination is still a tad distant for my tastes.

I expect things to change drastically in the next five to ten years. When they do, I'll be happy to use Android for music, since there's less chance of lockdown as long as it supports multiple hardware manufacturers.

Until then, I'll use the tools I've been given while trying not to pay attention to how disappointing Apple's launches might be. I'd forgive the lack of innovation if Apple didn't choose to hide labyrinthine exoskeletons and legalese-slippery screws behind apparently friendly aluminum eggshells.