You're right. Nexus tablet will hurt Surface because they both suck and are going to go down together.
Surface and nexus 7 are in not even in the same category so i dont know why they think this is a 'threat' to the surface. the biggest threat to the surface is the surface itself.
nexus 7 is a threat to kindle fire (which amazon has already responded with the announcement of the metal clad 7" fire and a 10" too).
nexus 7 has potential to do very well if google markets it right. the product itself looks very good considering what you get for the price.
Make no mistake about it, the Fandroid crowd sees this as the long awaited iPad killer. It IS about Apple and always has been. The Nexus 7 and the Surface are both aimed directly at the iPad no matter what some analysts says. The entire tech universe is about dethroning Apple using whatever means necessary.
i don't think so. i think most android fans have moved past the 'this is the ipad killer' mentality. at this point the ipad really doesn't matter to us android fans.
at $200 and 7", the Nexus 7 is clearly aimed at the "mass low end" tablet market. semi-disposable products when you want something basic and cheap. and it's also clearly a "loss leader" product, like the Kindle Fire too, intended to recruit millions of buyers into the overall Google ecosystem instead of making any profit itself.
sure, Google probably hopes to eventually take on the iPad directly with a 10" version once it has built up a base of 10 million+ Nexus 7 users - like next year. but right now it wants first to push Amazon to the side - and the Nexus 7 is clearly superior in almost every way to last year's Fire. Amazon is going to have to come out with a much improved new model or fade quickly.
MS Windows 8 RT tablet is intended, tho, as competition to the iPad, yes. and it has more features than the Nexus 7. but it's problem is price. it has no chance to break into the market big time unless it is at least $100 cheaper than the corresponding iPad. will MS join the "loss leader" game? we'll see ... (never mind the MS Intel Surface, it's a DOA notebook competitor no one needs).
I agree with your assessment of the Intel version of the Surface tablet. Unless businesses buy it in droves, it's doomed. But I think consumers might like the ARM version. I'm certainly going to take a good look at it when it arrives.
If Apple was as stupid as Microsoft, instead of creating the iPad, they would have issued this :
Built from a unique enclosure conversion kit, the Modbook Pro incorporates and completely encases the original hardware of a new Apple® MacBook® Pro 13.3-inch base system. Its Wacom® digitizer delivers 512 levels of pen pressure sensitivity — more than any other tablet computer on the market. And its ForceGlass™ screen provides an etched, paper-emulating drawing surface.......
i don't think so. i think most android fans have moved past the 'this is the ipad killer' mentality. at this point the ipad really doesn't matter to us android fans.
If you've totally dismissed the iPad, then you're really no better than the Apple fanboys that dismiss everything non-Apple. You really need to consider all products. Forget the holy wars and buy the best product. Of course, "best" means different things to different people.
The Surface pro is a convertible laptop more than it is a tablet and it does therefore have a (detachable, bluetooth) keyboard. The way people keep describing this as (paraphrased) "finally a tablet with a keyboard!" is just crazy IMO in that the Surface Pro "has a keyboard" in exactly the same sense that the iPad "has a keyboard" or any other tablet "has a keyboard."
One can argue about inclusion in the box or price, but practically every tablet, and certainly every convertible laptop, "has a keyboard" in this same sense.
We don't know how good the Surface Pro's keyboard is (or even if it really exists in fact), and everything we know about it seems to indicate it will actually be one of the worst keyboards out there.
In that light, it's really extra-specially ironic that the keyboard is being touted as the central feature of this POS.
Microsoft is doubling down on their idea that what people really want is a laptop that can sometimes be used as a tablet.
- the keyboard can only be used in landscape (laptop) orientation
- the camera is tilted up 22 degrees so that it isn't pointing down to the table. Again, only in horizontal orientation. In vertical that means its pointed 22 degrees to the side.
- If you do want to use it as a tablet, then flipping the keyboard-case around the back means that you're fingers are holding on to the keyboard surface. And if you take the cover off, you have an unprotected tablet and now an unattached keyboard laying around. So the point of not just carrying a small bluetooth keyboard was... what again?
In light of that, this magnetic keyboard ends up being the worst of all worlds because its going to be sub-par, and its going to be badly attached and resulting in a multi-component device.
If I wanted a laptop, I'd just get an Air or one of the Windows Air clones.
MS just doesn't get that a tablet is a separate kind of device. (One, incidentally, that I've come to use far more than I do my Mac.)
FACT: Upon release, the MS Surface RT WILL compete in the exact same market as Apple's iPad.
FACT: Apple (currently) has absolutely nothing remotely in the same category as either the MS Surface Pro nor the Google Nexus 7.
Quote:
Originally Posted by island hermit
FACT: Neither the MS Surface RT nor the MS Surface Pro exist in the marketplace today.
Perhaps you missed the "Upon release" bit of his statement? Not that your own statement doesn't raise questions about the Surface tablets. Microsoft has given very few details about these devices - especially price and release date. Perhaps you could have talked about that instead of just taking a dig at DaHarder.
Perhaps you missed the "Upon release" bit of his statement? Not that your own statement doesn't raise questions about the Surface tablets. Microsoft has given very few details about these devices - especially price and release date. Perhaps you could have talked about that instead of just taking a dig at DaHarder.
Who gives a rat's ass about his statement. I was just pointing out another fact... or do you know otherwise.
A dig at DaHarder? Do you see his name in my statement? Defending DaHarder... how cute.
If you've totally dismissed the iPad, then you're really no better than the Apple fanboys that dismiss everything non-Apple. You really need to consider all products. Forget the holy wars and buy the best product. Of course, "best" means different things to different people.
well if you want to throw away app purchases and all the things you have setup just to move to one or the other because its 'better' then more power to you. i am not dismissing the ipad, just that android has reached a point (4.x) where it and the hardware options are satisfactory and fun. Apple has great hardware designs but lousy cloud options. google has great cloud options and decent hardware now.
FACT: Upon release, the MS Surface RT WILL compete in the exact same market as Apple's iPad.
FACT: Apple (currently) has absolutely nothing remotely in the same category as either the MS Surface Pro nor the Google Nexus 7.
Very true. The WinRT model is the iPad competitor.
The Pro model is better than the iPad in many significant respects. Better enough that it is a different product altogether. It is not a product that uses a cell phone OS, but instead, a product that uses a regular computer OS.
...which is precisely why they don't really want to make a lot of them, or invest particularly heavily in them. If MS uses them to kick-start the market and OEMs, they sell more licenses. If Google kick-starts the Android Tablet market, they aren't completely stuck with competitors that squeeze out their margins-- Amazon with ~everything, and Apple potentially with iAd.
I never thought I would say this... but Microsoft's strategy makes more sense than Google's!
Yes, because they have more to lose... this isn't about 'tablets' - its about EULA's for 'Windows' and 'Office' being signed and paid for. Google can play every market. Microsoft's strategy is to get every computer maker to ship windows for $50 and Office preinstalled for $80... and then MS makes about 80 total on that. You can't make that up in Bing ad impressions, so they need to establish a competitor to get to the high ground of the high growth market... consumer portable computing devices. (formerly cheap laptops, now... iPads).
Microsoft must succeed... Google only has to 'try' hard;-)
Apple on the other hand... really isn't in the equation... if in 7 years they get 25% market share (oh... let's say that at 30% margin of EVERY PHONE, LAPTOP, TABLET, and TV(!?!?!?!?)... sold in the world...my back of the spreadsheet calculation is about 132Billion a year in profits;-)... For just a quarter of the market.... for just hardware Toss in a bit for the iCloud/AppStore/iTunes... Oh and AppleCare... Apple could be a $150Billion a year profit company by 2020 (at current P/E... that's 2020 stock price) ... and NOT be the market leader in any category.
what everyone is missing so far is how the Nexus 7 competes, not with the iPad, but with the iPod Touch (Apple's true "mini-tablet"). the $200 price for the 8G model of each is exactly the same. and crucially, both are fully integrated into their respective ecosystems.
what the Nexus 7 offers of course is a bigger screen, while the much smaller iPod Touch has a retina display. one fits in your pocket, the other doesn't. but otherwise, the most notably difference is the iPod touch has a decent camera for casual photo/video use, while the Nexus 7 has no such camera, just a basic video chat camera, which both have.
which would your kid want for Xmas? i think the camera would be the deciding factor.
IMO, Apple's smart move would be to add a new 5.5" model of the iPod touch this Fall for $250. with the same resolution on a bigger screen, it would no longer be retina quality, but iPhone apps would still look good and work well, even as a camera. and it would still be pocket size. just right size for games too. kids would love it. (it would also kill the Sony Vita and Nintendo 3DS, btw).
OTOH, i think it would be a bad mistake for Apple to come out with a smaller 8" "me too" smaller iPad, as rumored often. iPad apps would not look good nor work well on it.
The Pro model is better than the iPad in many significant respects.
And worse in many others.
Frankly the only ways Windows RT is marginally 'better' are in ways that I no longer care about... i.e. munging spreadsheets, building databases from scratch and coding.
The ways that the iPad is better are ways that I really use. Location, portability, touch, photo, orientation, instant access, convenience, etc.
I bow to no one in my identification as a 'power user', and frankly have left desktops and laptops behind for 99% of my use.
what everyone is missing so far is how the Nexus 7 competes, not with the iPad, but with the iPod Touch (Apple's true "mini-tablet"). the $200 price for the 8G model of each is exactly the same. and crucially, both are fully integrated into their respective ecosystems.
Most often a product only competes against a similarly marketed item. If Apple started to market the iPod Touch as the iPad Mini (or somesuch) then people would view the Touch as a tablet and compare the Nexus to the iPad Mini. Presently I don't think anyone even thinks of the iPod Touch as a device in the tablet market.
Microsoft is doubling down on their idea that what people really want is a laptop that can sometimes be used as a tablet.
- the keyboard can only be used in landscape (laptop) orientation
- the camera is tilted up 22 degrees so that it isn't pointing down to the table. Again, only in horizontal orientation. In vertical that means its pointed 22 degrees to the side.
- If you do want to use it as a tablet, then flipping the keyboard-case around the back means that you're fingers are holding on to the keyboard surface. And if you take the cover off, you have an unprotected tablet and now an unattached keyboard laying around. So the point of not just carrying a small bluetooth keyboard was... what again?
In light of that, this magnetic keyboard ends up being the worst of all worlds because its going to be sub-par, and its going to be badly attached and resulting in a multi-component device.
If I wanted a laptop, I'd just get an Air or one of the Windows Air clones.
MS just doesn't get that a tablet is a separate kind of device. (One, incidentally, that I've come to use far more than I do my Mac.)
I mentioned before that Apple probably also looked at a keyboard cover... but FAIL was written all over it.
I've also said that Microsoft wants to drag us kicking and screaming into the past.
Google at least understands the tablet space. Whether they actually understand their core business is becoming more questionable every day.
I think Apple could make things very interesting with the introduction of iPad 4th generation in 1Q2013.
Should we expect iPad 2 at USD $299 with iPad 3rd generation at USD $399 and iPad 4th generation at USD $499?
For that matter what will the specifications of the iPad 4th generation be?
Better CPU? Apple A6 dual-core CPU (ARM Cortex A15) 32 nm process? This is arguably the best thing Apple could do to improve the new iPad.
Better GPU? PowerVR G6200? Quad-core? The Rogue series is said to approach the 1 T FLOP range.
Better Display? Not likely.
Better Camera? Possible. Maybe probable but this isn't the best form factor for a high end camera?
NFC for use as a POS terminal? Seems possible. Perhaps a very strategic move to give NFC the kick-in-the-pants needed.
HDMI? Never.
MicroSD? Never.
802.11ac? Possible. Maybe probable.
Apple is rapidly approaching a saturation point for features and functions in both the iPad and iPhone product lines.
A flooded market favors the product with the most brand recognition and brand capital as well as the greatest number of retail outlets. We know who has the most brand recognition and brand capital.
I agree with much of what you say, except: "Apple is rapidly approaching a saturation point for features and functions in both the iPad and iPhone product lines.".
Especially, for the large form factor of the iPad. I was just playing around with the Taposé app which allows two apps to run in side-by-side windows -- quite useful for many situations, like dragging and dropping from one app to another. I think the iPad 3 may have enough power to run apps like FCP X. There are problems that need to be addressed and I suspect some new UI paradigms need to be developed.
However, I believe that Apple has barely scratched the surface of iPad possibilities [pun intended].
Most often a product only competes against a similarly marketed item. If Apple started to market the iPod Touch as the iPad Mini (or somesuch) then people would view the Touch as a tablet and compare the Nexus to the iPad Mini. Presently I don't think anyone even thinks of the iPod Touch as a device in the tablet market.
right. Apple never calls the Touch a tablet because it wanted to capitalize on - and extend - the iPod's success.
but you didn't answer my crucial question: which will your kid want for Xmas? that's where the markets collide.
and Apple can't permanently give away every kind of market there is for any kind of tablet-like device between 3.5" and 10".
Very true. The WinRT model is the iPad competitor.
The Pro model is better than the iPad in many significant respects. Better enough that it is a different product altogether. It is not a product that uses a cell phone OS, but instead, a product that uses a regular computer OS.
i think it is kinda hard to swallow a microsoft 'tablet-top' where you pay 400 or 500 dollars for the entire thing and then plop down 300 or so for MS Office pro. don't see why people keep insisting on using that overpriced sumo-wrestler office product.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by logandigges
You're right. Nexus tablet will hurt Surface because they both suck and are going to go down together.
Surface and nexus 7 are in not even in the same category so i dont know why they think this is a 'threat' to the surface. the biggest threat to the surface is the surface itself.
nexus 7 is a threat to kindle fire (which amazon has already responded with the announcement of the metal clad 7" fire and a 10" too).
nexus 7 has potential to do very well if google markets it right. the product itself looks very good considering what you get for the price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkrupp
Make no mistake about it, the Fandroid crowd sees this as the long awaited iPad killer. It IS about Apple and always has been. The Nexus 7 and the Surface are both aimed directly at the iPad no matter what some analysts says. The entire tech universe is about dethroning Apple using whatever means necessary.
i don't think so. i think most android fans have moved past the 'this is the ipad killer' mentality. at this point the ipad really doesn't matter to us android fans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfiejr
in a word, no.
at $200 and 7", the Nexus 7 is clearly aimed at the "mass low end" tablet market. semi-disposable products when you want something basic and cheap. and it's also clearly a "loss leader" product, like the Kindle Fire too, intended to recruit millions of buyers into the overall Google ecosystem instead of making any profit itself.
sure, Google probably hopes to eventually take on the iPad directly with a 10" version once it has built up a base of 10 million+ Nexus 7 users - like next year. but right now it wants first to push Amazon to the side - and the Nexus 7 is clearly superior in almost every way to last year's Fire. Amazon is going to have to come out with a much improved new model or fade quickly.
MS Windows 8 RT tablet is intended, tho, as competition to the iPad, yes. and it has more features than the Nexus 7. but it's problem is price. it has no chance to break into the market big time unless it is at least $100 cheaper than the corresponding iPad. will MS join the "loss leader" game? we'll see ... (never mind the MS Intel Surface, it's a DOA notebook competitor no one needs).
I agree with your assessment of the Intel version of the Surface tablet. Unless businesses buy it in droves, it's doomed. But I think consumers might like the ARM version. I'm certainly going to take a good look at it when it arrives.
If Apple was as stupid as Microsoft, instead of creating the iPad, they would have issued this :
Built from a unique enclosure conversion kit, the Modbook Pro incorporates and completely encases the original hardware of a new Apple® MacBook® Pro 13.3-inch base system. Its Wacom® digitizer delivers 512 levels of pen pressure sensitivity — more than any other tablet computer on the market. And its ForceGlass™ screen provides an etched, paper-emulating drawing surface.......
Quote:
Originally Posted by screamingfist
i don't think so. i think most android fans have moved past the 'this is the ipad killer' mentality. at this point the ipad really doesn't matter to us android fans.
If you've totally dismissed the iPad, then you're really no better than the Apple fanboys that dismiss everything non-Apple. You really need to consider all products. Forget the holy wars and buy the best product. Of course, "best" means different things to different people.
FACT: Neither the MS Surface RT nor the MS Surface Pro exist in the marketplace today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
The Surface pro is a convertible laptop more than it is a tablet and it does therefore have a (detachable, bluetooth) keyboard. The way people keep describing this as (paraphrased) "finally a tablet with a keyboard!" is just crazy IMO in that the Surface Pro "has a keyboard" in exactly the same sense that the iPad "has a keyboard" or any other tablet "has a keyboard."
One can argue about inclusion in the box or price, but practically every tablet, and certainly every convertible laptop, "has a keyboard" in this same sense.
We don't know how good the Surface Pro's keyboard is (or even if it really exists in fact), and everything we know about it seems to indicate it will actually be one of the worst keyboards out there.
In that light, it's really extra-specially ironic that the keyboard is being touted as the central feature of this POS.
Microsoft is doubling down on their idea that what people really want is a laptop that can sometimes be used as a tablet.
- the keyboard can only be used in landscape (laptop) orientation
- the camera is tilted up 22 degrees so that it isn't pointing down to the table. Again, only in horizontal orientation. In vertical that means its pointed 22 degrees to the side.
- If you do want to use it as a tablet, then flipping the keyboard-case around the back means that you're fingers are holding on to the keyboard surface. And if you take the cover off, you have an unprotected tablet and now an unattached keyboard laying around. So the point of not just carrying a small bluetooth keyboard was... what again?
In light of that, this magnetic keyboard ends up being the worst of all worlds because its going to be sub-par, and its going to be badly attached and resulting in a multi-component device.
If I wanted a laptop, I'd just get an Air or one of the Windows Air clones.
MS just doesn't get that a tablet is a separate kind of device. (One, incidentally, that I've come to use far more than I do my Mac.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaHarder
FACT: Upon release, the MS Surface RT WILL compete in the exact same market as Apple's iPad.
FACT: Apple (currently) has absolutely nothing remotely in the same category as either the MS Surface Pro nor the Google Nexus 7.
Quote:
Originally Posted by island hermit
FACT: Neither the MS Surface RT nor the MS Surface Pro exist in the marketplace today.
Perhaps you missed the "Upon release" bit of his statement? Not that your own statement doesn't raise questions about the Surface tablets. Microsoft has given very few details about these devices - especially price and release date. Perhaps you could have talked about that instead of just taking a dig at DaHarder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curmudgeon
Perhaps you missed the "Upon release" bit of his statement? Not that your own statement doesn't raise questions about the Surface tablets. Microsoft has given very few details about these devices - especially price and release date. Perhaps you could have talked about that instead of just taking a dig at DaHarder.
Who gives a rat's ass about his statement. I was just pointing out another fact... or do you know otherwise.
A dig at DaHarder? Do you see his name in my statement? Defending DaHarder... how cute.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curmudgeon
If you've totally dismissed the iPad, then you're really no better than the Apple fanboys that dismiss everything non-Apple. You really need to consider all products. Forget the holy wars and buy the best product. Of course, "best" means different things to different people.
well if you want to throw away app purchases and all the things you have setup just to move to one or the other because its 'better' then more power to you. i am not dismissing the ipad, just that android has reached a point (4.x) where it and the hardware options are satisfactory and fun. Apple has great hardware designs but lousy cloud options. google has great cloud options and decent hardware now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaHarder
FACT: Upon release, the MS Surface RT WILL compete in the exact same market as Apple's iPad.
FACT: Apple (currently) has absolutely nothing remotely in the same category as either the MS Surface Pro nor the Google Nexus 7.
Very true. The WinRT model is the iPad competitor.
The Pro model is better than the iPad in many significant respects. Better enough that it is a different product altogether. It is not a product that uses a cell phone OS, but instead, a product that uses a regular computer OS.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaarrrgggh
...which is precisely why they don't really want to make a lot of them, or invest particularly heavily in them. If MS uses them to kick-start the market and OEMs, they sell more licenses. If Google kick-starts the Android Tablet market, they aren't completely stuck with competitors that squeeze out their margins-- Amazon with ~everything, and Apple potentially with iAd.
I never thought I would say this... but Microsoft's strategy makes more sense than Google's!
Yes, because they have more to lose... this isn't about 'tablets' - its about EULA's for 'Windows' and 'Office' being signed and paid for. Google can play every market. Microsoft's strategy is to get every computer maker to ship windows for $50 and Office preinstalled for $80... and then MS makes about 80 total on that. You can't make that up in Bing ad impressions, so they need to establish a competitor to get to the high ground of the high growth market... consumer portable computing devices. (formerly cheap laptops, now... iPads).
Microsoft must succeed... Google only has to 'try' hard;-)
Apple on the other hand... really isn't in the equation... if in 7 years they get 25% market share (oh... let's say that at 30% margin of EVERY PHONE, LAPTOP, TABLET, and TV(!?!?!?!?)... sold in the world...my back of the spreadsheet calculation is about 132Billion a year in profits;-)... For just a quarter of the market.... for just hardware Toss in a bit for the iCloud/AppStore/iTunes... Oh and AppleCare... Apple could be a $150Billion a year profit company by 2020 (at current P/E... that's 2020 stock price) ... and NOT be the market leader in any category.
what everyone is missing so far is how the Nexus 7 competes, not with the iPad, but with the iPod Touch (Apple's true "mini-tablet"). the $200 price for the 8G model of each is exactly the same. and crucially, both are fully integrated into their respective ecosystems.
what the Nexus 7 offers of course is a bigger screen, while the much smaller iPod Touch has a retina display. one fits in your pocket, the other doesn't. but otherwise, the most notably difference is the iPod touch has a decent camera for casual photo/video use, while the Nexus 7 has no such camera, just a basic video chat camera, which both have.
which would your kid want for Xmas? i think the camera would be the deciding factor.
IMO, Apple's smart move would be to add a new 5.5" model of the iPod touch this Fall for $250. with the same resolution on a bigger screen, it would no longer be retina quality, but iPhone apps would still look good and work well, even as a camera. and it would still be pocket size. just right size for games too. kids would love it. (it would also kill the Sony Vita and Nintendo 3DS, btw).
OTOH, i think it would be a bad mistake for Apple to come out with a smaller 8" "me too" smaller iPad, as rumored often. iPad apps would not look good nor work well on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerrySwitched26
V
The Pro model is better than the iPad in many significant respects.
And worse in many others.
Frankly the only ways Windows RT is marginally 'better' are in ways that I no longer care about... i.e. munging spreadsheets, building databases from scratch and coding.
The ways that the iPad is better are ways that I really use. Location, portability, touch, photo, orientation, instant access, convenience, etc.
I bow to no one in my identification as a 'power user', and frankly have left desktops and laptops behind for 99% of my use.
And I create LOTS of content.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfiejr
what everyone is missing so far is how the Nexus 7 competes, not with the iPad, but with the iPod Touch (Apple's true "mini-tablet"). the $200 price for the 8G model of each is exactly the same. and crucially, both are fully integrated into their respective ecosystems.
Most often a product only competes against a similarly marketed item. If Apple started to market the iPod Touch as the iPad Mini (or somesuch) then people would view the Touch as a tablet and compare the Nexus to the iPad Mini. Presently I don't think anyone even thinks of the iPod Touch as a device in the tablet market.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GQB
Microsoft is doubling down on their idea that what people really want is a laptop that can sometimes be used as a tablet.
- the keyboard can only be used in landscape (laptop) orientation
- the camera is tilted up 22 degrees so that it isn't pointing down to the table. Again, only in horizontal orientation. In vertical that means its pointed 22 degrees to the side.
- If you do want to use it as a tablet, then flipping the keyboard-case around the back means that you're fingers are holding on to the keyboard surface. And if you take the cover off, you have an unprotected tablet and now an unattached keyboard laying around. So the point of not just carrying a small bluetooth keyboard was... what again?
In light of that, this magnetic keyboard ends up being the worst of all worlds because its going to be sub-par, and its going to be badly attached and resulting in a multi-component device.
If I wanted a laptop, I'd just get an Air or one of the Windows Air clones.
MS just doesn't get that a tablet is a separate kind of device. (One, incidentally, that I've come to use far more than I do my Mac.)
I mentioned before that Apple probably also looked at a keyboard cover... but FAIL was written all over it.
I've also said that Microsoft wants to drag us kicking and screaming into the past.
Google at least understands the tablet space. Whether they actually understand their core business is becoming more questionable every day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacBook Pro
I think Apple could make things very interesting with the introduction of iPad 4th generation in 1Q2013.
Should we expect iPad 2 at USD $299 with iPad 3rd generation at USD $399 and iPad 4th generation at USD $499?
For that matter what will the specifications of the iPad 4th generation be?
Better CPU? Apple A6 dual-core CPU (ARM Cortex A15) 32 nm process? This is arguably the best thing Apple could do to improve the new iPad.
Better GPU? PowerVR G6200? Quad-core? The Rogue series is said to approach the 1 T FLOP range.
Better Display? Not likely.
Better Camera? Possible. Maybe probable but this isn't the best form factor for a high end camera?
NFC for use as a POS terminal? Seems possible. Perhaps a very strategic move to give NFC the kick-in-the-pants needed.
HDMI? Never.
MicroSD? Never.
802.11ac? Possible. Maybe probable.
Apple is rapidly approaching a saturation point for features and functions in both the iPad and iPhone product lines.
A flooded market favors the product with the most brand recognition and brand capital as well as the greatest number of retail outlets. We know who has the most brand recognition and brand capital.
I agree with much of what you say, except: "Apple is rapidly approaching a saturation point for features and functions in both the iPad and iPhone product lines.".
Especially, for the large form factor of the iPad. I was just playing around with the Taposé app which allows two apps to run in side-by-side windows -- quite useful for many situations, like dragging and dropping from one app to another. I think the iPad 3 may have enough power to run apps like FCP X. There are problems that need to be addressed and I suspect some new UI paradigms need to be developed.
However, I believe that Apple has barely scratched the surface of iPad possibilities [pun intended].
Quote:
Originally Posted by island hermit
Most often a product only competes against a similarly marketed item. If Apple started to market the iPod Touch as the iPad Mini (or somesuch) then people would view the Touch as a tablet and compare the Nexus to the iPad Mini. Presently I don't think anyone even thinks of the iPod Touch as a device in the tablet market.
right. Apple never calls the Touch a tablet because it wanted to capitalize on - and extend - the iPod's success.
but you didn't answer my crucial question: which will your kid want for Xmas? that's where the markets collide.
and Apple can't permanently give away every kind of market there is for any kind of tablet-like device between 3.5" and 10".
Very true. The WinRT model is the iPad competitor.
The Pro model is better than the iPad in many significant respects. Better enough that it is a different product altogether. It is not a product that uses a cell phone OS, but instead, a product that uses a regular computer OS.
i think it is kinda hard to swallow a microsoft 'tablet-top' where you pay 400 or 500 dollars for the entire thing and then plop down 300 or so for MS Office pro. don't see why people keep insisting on using that overpriced sumo-wrestler office product.