An editorial on iPad sales and competition

[OtterBooks]

When/if Amazon introduces tablets, we will see whether or not this entire product market ever really existed outside dreams of tech enthusiasts and journalists. imho

Originally Posted by Torwan

Normal people don't buy tablets. They buy desktops or notebooks. Only tech-fans buy tablets, but they are a minority. These people usually already have a smartphone which offers the same as a tablet does, only smaller. So even in this group you'll find people who'll say: "Why? I already have a device that can do it..."

Truth. I would differ in suggesting that it's techie-fans who buy non-iPad tablets, and toy-inclined/high disposable income-types who buy iPads (and many Apple products).

I used an EVO 3D last weekend (for the entire weekend). Thing was impressive. I found myself thinking "why in the world would I need a tablet in addition to this??? Hell, it's more powerful than most released tablets, and it cost me $200 with a contract I was gonna renew anyway. A few more inches are not gonna turn this 4.3 inches into a home theater experience, so it may as well fit in my pocket."

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by Torwan

A good tablet is almost as expensive as a low-cost notebook.

Nay. A tablet (in the 9"+ range; 7" tablets are mostly a different case) is almost always around half the specs of a typical notebook computer, with far less storage space. Rarely more than 1GHz (dual-core, if you're lucky) and 1GB RAM, with 8/16/32/64GB of storage. Notebooks/laptops at the $400 price point will generally get you a 2GHz dual-core, 2-4GB of RAM, and a minimum of 160 GB storage space. Things look progressively better for laptops as you get up to $699 (64GB iPad 2 with wi-fi only; they top at $829 with 3G, but laptops generally don't get that).

Tablets compare more to netbooks in specs - but are generally $100 or more (for 32-64GB models) in price with less storage (again, a minimum of 160GB).

[anamardoll]

There are certainly more than a thousand apps in the Google Market. Anyone claiming otherwise has not done his research.

I believe there is a tablet market outside the iPad, but how big it is remains to be seen. I like my Nook Color CM7 device, and would really like a 10 incher with a few more features. I know several people in Real Life that feel similarly, but who don't want an iPad for various good reasons. A net book isn't the answer in several of these situations. It's a case-by-case thing.

My use case for a tablet is something that I can lay flat on a table (like a paper notebook), write on with a stylus (like a pen), and have the writing converted into computer text -- basically, let me write my novel "on paper" into Google Docs or something similar. Yes, there are laptops that have detachable screens, but as far as I can tell, they cost far more than a new tablet.

Now I just need the HTC stylus tablet to come out and live up to the marketing blurbs.

I would like to add to this discussion that just because YOU cannot see a need for a tablet does not mean OTHER people do not. Haven't we already gone through that with smartphones and eReaders and everything else???

[kjk]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

Apple are shifting away from being a hardware manufacturer to being a content providing middle-man. Steve Jobs is smart enough to know that the average iPad owner is going to buy a lot of stuff from iTunes to go with their iPad, and he's made sure that all of that content has to go through Apple and have 30% extracted.

Really. Apple is "shifting away" from being a hardware manufacturer?
Just because they are adding content doesn't mean they are shifting away from hardware.

[RockdaMan]

Yes, every and anyone who buys an iDevice is a raging fanatic. Of course...

Originally Posted by Torwan

The main flaw of tablets is this: Use case.
A good tablet is almost as expensive as a low-cost notebook. However, the notebook can do everything the tablet can do as well, most things even better, except mobile internet. The tablet is easier to carry around. But that is not a really strong argument. Name anything a tablet can do, you'll find a similarly priced notebook, that can do it as well or better.
On a fair with a lot of tech-savvy guys, someone used an iPad1 as a tray for two bottles of water. Someone pointed at him and said: "Finally a use-case for the iPad." Reaction: A lot of laughter and nodding along...
Second flaw: People who may buy it
Normal people don't buy tablets. They buy desktops or notebooks. Only tech-fans buy tablets, but they are a minority. These people usually already have a smartphone which offers the same as a tablet does, only smaller. So even in this group you'll find people who'll say: "Why? I already have a device that can do it..."
Third: Apple iPad, the exception
Why does the iPad sell good? Because Apple has fans. No, real fanatics. They will throw away their iPhone4 if the iPhone5 arrives. Have you seen an Apple-fan who still uses an iPhone1? They will buy almost anything from Apple and call it "the coolest, best, most awesome thing ever". Have you ever heard someone talking about a Samsung- or Dell-thing like that? Or ever seen someone saying "I have Windows 7. It's the best thing on the planet."
This is why the iPad sells well...

[RockdaMan]

You have Honeycomb (the Tablet version of Android) on your Archos?

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

I'll have to check later, but I'm pretty sure that I have access to more than that on my Archos tablet.

[RockdaMan]

If you read the OP you'll see exactly who it is that's buying iPads. No need to guess.

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

When/if Amazon introduces tablets, we will see whether or not this entire product market ever really existed outside dreams of tech enthusiasts and journalists. imho
Truth. I would differ in suggesting that it's techie-fans who buy non-iPad tablets, and toy-inclined/high disposable income-types who buy iPads (and many Apple products).
I used an EVO 3D last weekend (for the entire weekend). Thing was impressive. I found myself thinking "why in the world would I need a tablet in addition to this??? Hell, it's more powerful than most released tablets, and it cost me $200 with a contract I was gonna renew anyway. A few more inches are not gonna turn this 4.3 inches into a home theater experience, so it may as well fit in my pocket."

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

You have Honeycomb (the Tablet version of Android) on your Archos?

No.
It's annoying that the forum doesn't like the reply No because it's too short.

[RockdaMan]

"Some tablet makers and OS developers are trying to convince people that their products are better than the iPad. The fact is, all they are doing is adding features to Apple’s concept. Anyone can copy a concept and then add small things to it, but Apple still owns the original and consumers identify with that. Nobody is being fooled.

Until one of these companies stands up and makes a break from an Apple inspired design, Apple will continue to own the tablet — and phone — market. I honestly don’t expect that any of these companies will do it because they don’t want to roam too far away from Apple. That’s where the money is.

For Apple’s competitors, selling 1 million units a quarter is a windfall in revenue and market share. If Apple only sold 1 million iPads in a quarter, it would be devastating, and would be felt in the markets."

http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/08/1...ust-a-feature/

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

If you read the OP you'll see exactly who it is that's buying iPads. No need to guess.

I guess its a lot easier to just show up and spout your anti-Ipad opinion than actually read the linked article and may be learn something
What geeks wanted from thje Ipad was a laptop replacement. That's why they are crying down the Ipad today.
"Its not as good as a laptop.Its not as good as a laptop.Its not as good as a laptop.Its not as good as a laptop."
However, Apple saw that what consumers wanted was an Ipod for audio-visual media and mobile apps. Apple gave them just that and consumers have responded in droves, much to the discomfort of geeks whio don't realize that consumers didn't want a laptop replacement.
The thing is, Apple did give geeks what they wanted too. The Macbook Air is the ultraportable, yet elegant and capable laptop the geeks wanted. It was ationce beame the bestselling Mac laptop.

Apple's genius was to realize that they couldn't give geeks and regular consumers what they wanted in one machine, so it released two.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Apple's genius was to realize that they couldn't give geeks and regular consumers what thety wanted in one machine, so it released two.

Well done. And Apple is a very different company from 5 years ago. Intels partners are going mad trying to match the $999 price for their forthcoming 'Ultrabooks'.

PC makers are struggling to match Apple’s prices — and Apple had industry-leading profit margins.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

If you read the OP you'll see exactly who it is that's buying iPads. No need to guess.

Is he saying that it's being sold to a steady crowd of consumers carried over from previous generations of Apple loyalty? Sorry, I skimmed it and I'm not too bright to begin with.

I will say that after being a new smartphone owner (as of a week ago), I am starting to like reading news and magazine content on the phone so much that I can see having a tablet just for reading/watching my morning news in bed. The text is so sharp and the navigation so fluid. Probably not gonna happen unless Amazon releases something on the low end that still is nice.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

I can see having a tablet just for reading/watching my morning news in bed. The text is so sharp and the navigation so fluid. Probably not gonna happen unless Amazon releases something on the low end that still is nice.

You can pick up 1st gen iPads at attractive prices these days. Might be worth a look.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

Probably not gonna happen unless Amazon releases something on the low end that still is nice.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Amazon's upcoming tablet (at least one of them) will be something on the low end, and still nice

[GlennD]

I see the iPad as being somewhat similar to the Nintendo Wii. When the Wii was released all of the hard-core gamers and gaming magazines said it would fail because it wasn't HD and was a lower powered system than the XBox 360 and PS3. But, it was so accessible that it sold like gangbusters. Grandparents who would look at an XBox controller and not know which way to hold it were able to play Wii games with the grandkids.

The iPad is similar (although it's not lacking in power compared with other tablets). It's very accessible to non-techs, the App Store is a very consistent experience (despite all of the complaints about Apple controlling everything) and it "just works". More advanced users can jailbreak if they want to, but for Average Joe User it's fine the way it is.

I do wonder about some of the sales estimates for Android tablets. I have yet to see one "in the wild". At church I'll see 8 or 10 people pull out iPads during Sunday School, because they have ecopies of scriptures - but there's not a single Android device in the room. Not a scientific measure of sales by any means, and highly localized - but it makes me wonder who is buying them.