An editorial on iPad sales and competition

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Is there a 12 step program for that?

I hope not. My productivity has gone up since joining the iOS bandwagon.

To (badly) quote a famous song lyric "If [this] is wrong, I don't want to be right".

[Conor]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Wouldn't you want to buy a tablet for $89 if you knew that you could immediately re-sell it for $300 on eBay? I don't think it had much to do with actually wanting to keep it for themselves.

I wanted to buy one to keep, and I doubt I was the only one. And many sellers on Ebay have/had several, which doesn't sound like individuals to me.

[molman]

Originally Posted by Skip Wyona

Or will Amazon abandon common sense and enter the overly saturated tablet market?

By what measure do you draw such a conclusion - that the tablet market (however you define it) is saturated?

Originally Posted by Skip Wyona

I am hoping for a better e-book reader.

What’s your criterion for better? I concur with Harry, there will likely be a new eInk and Android/Colour (maybe 2) Kindle's out soon. Beyond that the new SONY model recently leaked, and the iRiver Story HD and new Nook and Kobo Touch just all recently hit the market. So a lot is happening in the eReader market.

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

I hope not. My productivity has gone up since joining the iOS bandwagon.

As another iOS user, I do sometimes wonder if it really has improved our productivity. All I know is waiting at the bus stop is a lot less boring.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

People wanted something for nothing. Plain and simple.

This. Bigtime. I was in Best Buy yesterday with a phone issue, and there were a line of people waiting to get Zagg screen protectors put on their new HP Touchpads. I chatted with the rep about it, and he told me many of the people would come up to him with their new Touchpad and ask "So, what can I do with this thing?" Dead serious. He said many of them thought it ran Android.

"They just knew it was one of them tablets people have been talking about, and that it was $500 last week and now it's $99, so they stood in line to buy one."

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

I chatted with the rep about it, and he told me many of the people would come up to him with their new Touchpad and ask "So, what can I do with this thing?" Dead serious. He said many of them thought it ran Android.

"They just knew it was one of them tablets people have been talking about, and that it was $500 last week and now it's $99, so they stood in line to buy one."

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

This. Bigtime. I was in Best Buy yesterday with a phone issue, and there were a line of people waiting to get Zagg screen protectors put on their new HP Touchpads. I chatted with the rep about it, and he told me many of the people would come up to him with their new Touchpad and ask "So, what can I do with this thing?" Dead serious. He said many of them thought it ran Android.

"They just knew it was one of them tablets people have been talking about, and that it was $500 last week and now it's $99, so they stood in line to buy one."

Not surprised. These guys are going to be really pissed when they get home and try to find the missing Google Market icon.

[OtterBooks]

I would have bought one myself had I the opportunity. All I want a tablet for is for reading news articles, watching news video, online magazines (like a replacement for my morning paper). No games. That thing would have been a great bargain for my purposes. I can't justify $500 for what I would use it for, though. I think $300 is my limit, and I'm gonna wait to see what Amazon offers, assuming they do.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

I would have bought one myself had I the opportunity. All I want a tablet for is for reading news articles, watching news video, online magazines (like a replacement for my morning paper). No games. That thing would have been a great bargain for my purposes. I can't justify $500 for what I would use it for, though. I think $300 is my limit, and I'm gonna wait to see what Amazon offers, assuming they do.

Apple has been selling refurbished iPad 1's for $299. Apple refurbs come with the same warranty as a new device and to most people are indistinguishable from a new device. Both of my iPods have been refurbished, and the classic is still working 3-4 years later.

People also expect the $499 price to fall to $429 or even $399 soon.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

Apple has been selling refurbished iPad 1's for $299. Apple refurbs come with the same warranty as a new device and to most people are indistinguishable from a new device. Both of my iPods have been refurbished, and the classic is still working 3-4 years later.

People also expect the $499 price to fall to $429 or even $399 soon.

Disagree. I think the price point will remain the same, while processor power and screen display will improve. Apple is selling every iPad it can make at those price points.
They might increase storage capacity, too. I could see the bottom model go to 32 gigs and the top model go to 96 or even 128 gig.

[molman]

Personally not sure which way they will go price wise, there are a few scenarios I could see playing out.

If they take a iPhone approach, existing model drops in to an entry level price slot (below $500), and the new model slots in around the old price point.

There have also been some rumblings that they may segment between a high pixel density display model and the traditional display version ala Macbook/Macbook Pro. I suspect that it make come down to how expensive the ~9.7" panels are with relation to whatever margins they wish to keep, and as to what the competition is doing. At the moment however I don't really see a need for them to drop their prices.

Looking forward it's interesting that the Apple A6 (CPU) is looking to be a quadcore TSMC spun chip. Guess they are keen to get away from Samsung which makes sense with their current courtroom antics. http://hothardware.com/News/Apples-A...Later-in-2012/

[stonetools]

Those refurbished iPad 1s may look better to consumers than some untested Amazon tablets. After all, the ipad 1 may actually be superior performance wise to these cheaper Amazon tablets. Moreover, the tablet experience includes the ecosystem, and the Apple ecosystem still reigns supreme , nice as the Amazon system is.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Disagree. I think the price point will remain the same, while processor power and screen display will improve. Apple is selling every iPad it can make at those price points.
They might increase storage capacity, too. I could see the bottom model go to 32 gigs and the top model go to 96 or even 128 gig.

When they debuted the iPad, Apple said something to the effect of: we're willing to play with the price to stay on top in this market.

If the AmaPad looks like it is going to burst the sub-$300 gates opening, I can see a move to $399 to hold its spot as the not-too-pricey premium device in the market.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

Apple has been selling refurbished iPad 1's for $299. Apple refurbs come with the same warranty as a new device and to most people are indistinguishable from a new device. Both of my iPods have been refurbished, and the classic is still working 3-4 years later.

People also expect the $499 price to fall to $429 or even $399 soon.

$299? That peaks my interest. How is the iPad 1, though? Even though I wouldnt use it for demanding tasks, sometimes devices like this (especially first gen) begin to show their age quickly with regard to the entire experience/interface compared to newer, even cheaper devices.

I'm suspecting that Amazon's tab, just by virtue of it being recent gen, will offer more bang for the buck at around that price.

If I had $500 to blow, I'd get a new iPad. Just for news and video in bed. I've really been warming up to Apple's mobile stuff recently. It's a very polished, fun experience from what I've seen. $500 for bedtime entertainment is a bit much, though. Yes, any kind of bedtime entertainment.

[stonetools]

I just checked the Apple site. The only refurbished iPads in stock are the 64g ones, going for $499. Sorry OB.
An iPad 1 still does just about everything you would want it do, consumer wise. I'm pretty sure it will get the coming iOS 5 upgrade too.

[kartu]

"Best video experience hands down" right?

Spoiler:

http://i.imgur.com/huWri.jpg

The product from dead serious competitor with (arguably) superior hardware is delayed by wicked sick lawsuits. (isn't "patenting" rectangular device with rounded corners a brilliant idea? I want to see the face of the bright mind at patent office that accepted this...)

Wait a couple of years for these toys to become mainstream and we'll get smartphone situation: isomething hyphed a lot, yet having about 18% of the market, with Android dominating and single Android manufacturer having close to that market share.