Now with the iPad, the competition are trying the same strategies but falls short in matching the iPad in price. Many of them will be bleeding in red and will have give up in despair.
I personally don't think that will happen. Unlike Apple, some of the competitors arriving over the next few weeks actually build their own product, keeping the profit from production as well as sales. And it would seem there's less expense in building a tablet than a comparable notebook computer isn't there? Yet notebooks cost less. I think there's a pretty big profit margin in tablets, allowing for some price adjustments as the market progresses. Asus is a prime example, with their Transformer coming in $100 under Apple's least expensive iPad2, but with equivalent or better hardware. The optional keyboard design is more like something we would have expected from Apple imagineering. Integrated additional battery, HDMI and USB ports . . . Pretty creative IMHO. Apple will continue to lead the tablet market for some time, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that projections of them taking 70-80% of the market thru next year may be a little too optimistic. The competition is adjusting faster than many expected.
I think for me personally, at lot will depend on what we see in iOS 5. An iPad won't replace having Mac, but can it replace having a mobile Mac? The biggest obstacles for the iPad to meet my mobile needs are file exchange and better photo handling. Sure, there are various workarounds and such, but if iOS 5 can make progress in those areas then an iPad would win out vs a MacBook Air for my next purchase. And then that would influence the MacBook Pro vs iMac decision for my next Mac. So a lot is riding on iOS 5 features.
We are cursed with having too many choices. Remember not so long ago when Steve Jobs represented Apple's entire lineup in a 4-square slide? A pro and consumer desktop, and a pro and consumer laptop. Ah, the simple days of the past.
Just my 2 cents- a very large percentage of people buy PCs just for email, web, pics and the occasionally letter... Apple nailed it with the iPad (well almost, printing is not that easy and the iPad still needs a pc or Mac... So far, lets see what June brings). I keep debating if I really want to upgrade my old T-40 or just use it as the iPad/iPhone host. That said, what do you think about iOS in a macbookair form factor? Hmmmm?
Oh and first...
My first thought is that whenever the screen is touched, the laptop would rock backwards and the screen itself would not be rigid. I suppose this could be corrected, but you then run into the problem most people mention...holding your hands above a screen is infinitely more tiring than resting them on a keyboard. I think, too, something like this would end up being a hybrid with detachable keyboard, implemented in some way similar to the magnetic cover. But that doesn't seem Apple-ish. It'd be interesting to see a "cover" case that uses the magnets, but with the inside of one end being a low profile physical keyboard. The case itself would house the keyboard, sandwiching the ipad, the keys on the underside until you roll it up...or something or other. I imagine they could pull this off. I also imagine in greater detail them not remotely considering anything like this. But a keyboard integrated into a sleek cover with a stand solution similar to the new cover? I like it.
Don'cha just love forecasts? The only thing they show is someone's somewhat educated guess about what might happen. What I'm waiting to see are real-world sales figures, so we can see what the "crushing demand" and "blockbuster start" for the iPad2 has actually produced. As Steve Jobs said, if a product is selling that well, wouldn't you want to tell everyone?
I see these estimates as being correct in nature, though the actual numbers may be different.
Look at the last quarter we have real numbers for, which is the holiday season.
Worldwide computer sales came well below estimates at a 3.3% increase in sales (Mac sales were up 24%). in the USA, computer sales were DOWN 6.6% (Mac sales were up 18%).
During that time, Apple sold 7.3 million iPads, and the supply was still below demand, so that they could have sold more.
With a lot of people saying they're putting off buying a new computer, and instead buying a tablet, most all iPads, the trend is pretty clear.
Good point and you could be right. The problem I have is all the glowing reports of "crushing demand" doesn't answer the question whether it's due to a comparatively small number of iPad2's actually produced so far, or Apple caught by surprise and already sold out of the 8-10 million that they could have anticipated by now according to some analysts. The demand would be highest at launch. As the weeks go by, more competitors enter the fray, increasing the possibility (don't misread that as probability) that some Ipad sales go to other devices instead. There's some appealing products hitting the shelves now and over the next month or so. The Asus Ee Pad Transformer is particularly noteworthy.
None of these other products are noteworthy. At best, they are ok. What we're seeing right now, is that other tablets are going to be hard pressed to come close to the iPad's performance, even though Apple is trying to diminish the importance of performance. Later in the year, some will catch up, as Nvidia and other chip makers hurry out newer designs they thought they wouldn't need until the end of the year at the earliest.
But it doesn't really matter. Apple is right, features and performance aren't as important as usability, attractiveness, and the breath of apps and third party accessories available.
There are also reports that Honeycomb, while it appeals to the tech writer, and propeller heads, is a bit too complex for most people, who want a simple interface. One major advantage the iPad has, is that if you're coming from another iOS product, as a lot of purchasers are, it's instantly accessible. You don't have to learn another UI. People don't want to learn another UI.
That's a reason why WebOS, and now WP7 are doing so poorly, despite good to great reviews. The products are either not better, just different, or actually confusing to use for most. Honeycomb, from what I've read, and now seen for myself, falls into both of these categories. More complex, and offers little that's truly better, other than some minor things which most people don't seem to have much of a problem with, though there's so much negative written about it, such as notifications. That seems to be the biggest advantage so far for other mobile OS's, if it really is an advantage for most people, whom I suspect, don't care that much about it either way.
Melgross, that would necessarily assume that Apple had 7 or 8 million iPad2's to sell the in the first 8 weeks or so. I haven't seen anyone confirm that they had that level of stock available. It's completely possible that some of the rumors that Apple didn't have sufficient stock of some components prior to the actual release were true to some extent. Without any sales guidance it's all guessing isn't it?
It was just a bit or sarcasm on my part and a dig at the iPad 2, a "magical" device from 2011 that needs an external computer before you can use it
Considering that you need to be connected in some way these days in order to use a computer the way we all do, having an old and cheap model around for backup and updates is hardly meaningful. Buying a backup device is going to cost money as well, and with more people spending $500 or so on network backup devices, a cheap PC or used Mac Mini would be even more useful in that regard.
As long as the newest version of iTunes will run on your old computer, a new one won't be required. As long as it's connected to your network and printer, it's good for years to come. So instead of buying a new one every three years to four years, as most people do, you won't need to buy another for five to seven years. Maybe longer.
That lowers the sales of PC's significantly over time.
Why won't they be able to use their old PC? They'll just need a newer version of iTunes on their Windows XP computers to activate their iPad 2s. How about them merely buying a Mac along with their iPad 2 instead of some PoC Windows PC?
Wouldn't be ironic if Apple actually built iTunes for Linux? Sort of a kick in the teeth for the Android people.
Install that on your ageing Windows PC and extend it's life a few more years as an iPad etc., host and backup device for the whole family. It could also operate as a print server once Apple is ready to roll out printing to any connected printer.
Some people just aren't ready to switch over to a Mac, but they might let go of Windows for an Ubuntu box.
I personally don't think that will happen. Unlike Apple, some of the competitors arriving over the next few weeks actually build their own product, keeping the profit from production as well as sales. And it would seem there's less expense in building a tablet than a comparable notebook computer isn't there? Yet notebooks cost less. I think there's a pretty big profit margin in tablets, allowing for some price adjustments as the market progresses. Asus is a prime example, with their Transformer coming in $100 under Apple's least expensive iPad2, but with equivalent or better hardware. The optional keyboard design is more like something we would have expected from Apple imagineering. Integrated additional battery, HDMI and USB ports . . . Pretty creative IMHO. Apple will continue to lead the tablet market for some time, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that projections of them taking 70-80% of the market thru next year may be a little too optimistic. The competition is adjusting faster than many expected.
It actually costs more to build a tablet. Remember that those numbers you see about parts pricing is just a part of the costs. Notebook parts costs are even lower, that is, for the cheaper models. And Apple is taking lower margins on iPads to keep the pricing low, which it is. You can be sure that cheaper tablets will be just that, cheaper. Apple's real competitors are having a hard time just meeting Apple's prices. It's very likely that the only reason why the WiFi only Xoom meets Apple's price is because Motorola learned their lesson with the first model, and is taking little if no profit on its sales to keep the price down.
And you can look to other manufacturers who are pricing their 7" models the same as Apple's 10" models. They have no choice if they're going to have a completive product hardware wise in quality without a much higher price. Even then, other tablet screens are of lower quality, and the processors are slower.
I personally don't think that will happen. Unlike Apple, some of the competitors arriving over the next few weeks actually build their own product, keeping the profit from production as well as sales. And it would seem there's less expense in building a tablet than a comparable notebook computer isn't there? Yet notebooks cost less. I think there's a pretty big profit margin in tablets, allowing for some price adjustments as the market progresses. Asus is a prime example, with their Transformer coming in $100 under Apple's least expensive iPad2, but with equivalent or better hardware. The optional keyboard design is more like something we would have expected from Apple imagineering. Integrated additional battery, HDMI and USB ports . . . Pretty creative IMHO. Apple will continue to lead the tablet market for some time, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that projections of them taking 70-80% of the market thru next year may be a little too optimistic. The competition is adjusting faster than many expected.
The Asus tablet is crap. The Viewsonic tablet is crap. So are all the other cheaper models coming out. The anti Apple techies will buy these tablets, and they're a very small portion of the buying public. I suspect that the only tablets to catch on will be the real cheapies, such as those selling for $300 or less. Those people won't be expecting high performance, so they won't be disappointed. And the almost nonexistent apps for Honeycomb will still be a problem, assuming most of these cheap tablets will be running it. As is pretty clear. google's way of presenting phone apps on tablets running 2.2 and 2.3 is bad. The apps auto adjust to the different resolutions and screen ratios so that they look bad, are difficult to use, or don't work at all.
Apple's way, they may look soft, but all the phone apps not requiring cell services work well, even better in many cases.
Would it hurt to have an professional copy editor go through and edit these articles before hand? I know these guys are trying to beat everyone to the punch and all but sometimes you need someone to go through even if it's after the fact and edit these articles.
By the way, you guys are privy to more Apple info that most people. Have you seen any indications of the actual sales numbers put up by the iPad2 yet?
First of all, this isn't much of a review. Other than taking it out of the box, turning it on, and playing with the UI for a few minutes, they didn't review it at all. There are many defects with Honeycomb tablets. So far it seems from the real reviews that have cropped up with the Xoom, which is the only real Honeycomb tablet out so far.
Considering that this uses the same internal hardware, pretty much, all of those problems will be in this one as well. It's interesting that except for using cheap plastic, they copied the iPad1's case style.
Why is it crap? Because Honeycomb is very buggy, the hardware is slow. Flash, a big selling point, isn't available for any Honeycomb tablet yet, and where we've seen demo's, it works poorly. Adobe's been promising it for so long that we don't know when it will actually come out. We do know that Flash on Android phones works poorly, when it's available, which it isn't for most of them.
It's also crap because there are almost no apps to use with it. Even if this was a magnificent design, what good would it be with a couple of dozen apps?
No, we don't know actual iPad2 sales, which is surprising for Apple. But considering that it's been sold out everywhere around the world, including Apple's website, we can be certain it's selling very well. Unlike some other companies, Apple doesn't produce a few tens of thousands and then proclaim it's sold out everywhere. Apple's producers always seem to have ramp up times that are slower than hoped for, and Apple has been underestimating demand for its products since the 1980’s, when it took 6 weeks to get my 950. Estimates for iPad sales this past quarter are running from 5.25 to 8.8 million. Take your pick, we'll find out on the 20th.
As a dedicated iOS user, that's probably a fair assessment you've given Android's Honeycomb version. There's a significant difference in the way the two OS's are approached and neither would be the best match for everyone. But otherwise you thought the Asus tablet hardware itself was good in the time you used it? To me it's impressive that they could come in 25% less than Apple yet use the same size/type of screen and equivalent hardware. That would appear to be evidence that there's hefty margins in tablets if they can price it so low. Gives hope that perhaps we'll see a sub-$400 tablet from Apple in the next release.
As a dedicated iOS user, that's probably a fair assessment you've given Android's Honeycomb version. There's a significant difference in the way the two OS's are approached and neither would be the best match for everyone. But otherwise you thought the Asus tablet hardware itself was good in the time you used it? To me it's impressive that they could come in 25% less than Apple yet use the same size/type of screen and equivalent hardware. That would appear to be evidence that there's hefty margins in tablets if they can price it so low. Gives hope that perhaps we'll see a sub-$400 tablet from Apple in the next release.
I don't see why Apple would go out of their way and reduce the price any more. They have been sold out everywhere that I have looked (we got real lucky and a Walmart had 1 left). As for numbers, you can make some reasonable guesses (number of stores [7,000 roughly between Apple, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and others] * average number of iPads in stock per day [My guess, is about 25] * number of days * [25] = 4.375 Million in the U.S. alone) of worldwide sales being around 7 million is my guess.
As a test, I used the Xoom, and was sorely unimpressed. It wasn't responsive, and seemed almost kludgy. Then again, I am biased (no matter how hard I try not to be). One thing that I have noticed is that all of the other tablets (and other PC manufacturers as well) tend to focus on hardware features. People don't care about that, they just care that it works, and this is why Apple is in such a dominant place right now.
Apple's been fortunate so far not to have much in the way of competition in the tablet space. That looks like it's going to change this year. Given the choice between lower priced tablets that look the same, offer thousands of apps, and have nice displays, many buyers may opt for the lower priced option if there's no compelling reason they know of to chose otherwise. I'd wager most potential buyers have heard of both Apple and Android, but the finer points of difference are lost on them. Thus a sub-$400 Apple tablet may make market sense.
They forecast a reduction in the expected sales of "PC"s but from everything I've seen the expected sales of Macs continue to climb. So I assume when they say "PC" they mean "PC", not Macs.
Look again; they didn't forecast a reduction in sales, the forecast a reduction in sales growth.
Following a blockbuster start to sales for Apple's iPad 2, sources in the Far East PC supply chain have reportedly indicated that PC sales have seen "weak demand" to start 2011. [...]
Microsoft made a big deal about how rapidly users were buying Windows 7 pee cees. Of course, we all knew that was unsustainable. Corporate customers who were suckered into buying Vista were more than happy to dump Vista. Consumers who avoided Vista because of horrendous reviews finally upgraded from XP to Windows 7. After what, 6 or 7 years?
Users ran to Windows 7 for the same reason they run out of a burning building. Anything was better than the status quo. Just find the nearest exit and get out. So of course that sales bump ended. Now Windows pee cee sales growth is linked directly to the economy, just like most other capital expenditures.
Then Apple hit Microsoft with iPad. Crushed Tablet PC (or UMPC or whatever name they gave it after the previous name got old.) That hit Microsoft where it hurt: in an area of massive growth and profitability where Microsoft literally had zero defense. Over the last decade, Microsoft had proven to themselves that the "tablet" market was a niche not worth spending any R&D money on. They just changed the name of their tablet project and hacked a little stylus support into whatever version of Windows they were selling at the time.
Now it's too late for Microsoft to respond. They're trying, of course. But just with press-release engineering. With just barely enough effort to fool their shareholders into thinking that they have heaved themselves forward into the 21st century. But Microsoft's real focus is milking corporate customers for all they can with Windows + Office. On legacy desktop pee cees.
Apple's been fortunate so far not to have much in the way of competition in the tablet space. That looks like it's going to change this year. Given the choice between lower priced tablets that look the same, offer thousands of apps, and have nice displays, many buyers may opt for the lower priced option if there's no compelling reason they know of to chose otherwise. I'd wager most potential buyers have heard of both Apple and Android, but the finer points of difference are lost on them. Thus a sub-$400 Apple tablet may make market sense.
It might, however nobody is beating them on price with capacitive screens at the same size, and specs.
Comments
Now with the iPad, the competition are trying the same strategies but falls short in matching the iPad in price. Many of them will be bleeding in red and will have give up in despair.
I personally don't think that will happen. Unlike Apple, some of the competitors arriving over the next few weeks actually build their own product, keeping the profit from production as well as sales. And it would seem there's less expense in building a tablet than a comparable notebook computer isn't there? Yet notebooks cost less. I think there's a pretty big profit margin in tablets, allowing for some price adjustments as the market progresses. Asus is a prime example, with their Transformer coming in $100 under Apple's least expensive iPad2, but with equivalent or better hardware. The optional keyboard design is more like something we would have expected from Apple imagineering. Integrated additional battery, HDMI and USB ports . . . Pretty creative IMHO. Apple will continue to lead the tablet market for some time, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that projections of them taking 70-80% of the market thru next year may be a little too optimistic. The competition is adjusting faster than many expected.
We are cursed with having too many choices. Remember not so long ago when Steve Jobs represented Apple's entire lineup in a 4-square slide? A pro and consumer desktop, and a pro and consumer laptop. Ah, the simple days of the past.
Just my 2 cents- a very large percentage of people buy PCs just for email, web, pics and the occasionally letter... Apple nailed it with the iPad (well almost, printing is not that easy and the iPad still needs a pc or Mac... So far, lets see what June brings). I keep debating if I really want to upgrade my old T-40 or just use it as the iPad/iPhone host. That said, what do you think about iOS in a macbookair form factor? Hmmmm?
Oh and first...
My first thought is that whenever the screen is touched, the laptop would rock backwards and the screen itself would not be rigid. I suppose this could be corrected, but you then run into the problem most people mention...holding your hands above a screen is infinitely more tiring than resting them on a keyboard. I think, too, something like this would end up being a hybrid with detachable keyboard, implemented in some way similar to the magnetic cover. But that doesn't seem Apple-ish. It'd be interesting to see a "cover" case that uses the magnets, but with the inside of one end being a low profile physical keyboard. The case itself would house the keyboard, sandwiching the ipad, the keys on the underside until you roll it up...or something or other. I imagine they could pull this off. I also imagine in greater detail them not remotely considering anything like this. But a keyboard integrated into a sleek cover with a stand solution similar to the new cover? I like it.
Don'cha just love forecasts? The only thing they show is someone's somewhat educated guess about what might happen. What I'm waiting to see are real-world sales figures, so we can see what the "crushing demand" and "blockbuster start" for the iPad2 has actually produced. As Steve Jobs said, if a product is selling that well, wouldn't you want to tell everyone?
I see these estimates as being correct in nature, though the actual numbers may be different.
Look at the last quarter we have real numbers for, which is the holiday season.
Worldwide computer sales came well below estimates at a 3.3% increase in sales (Mac sales were up 24%). in the USA, computer sales were DOWN 6.6% (Mac sales were up 18%).
During that time, Apple sold 7.3 million iPads, and the supply was still below demand, so that they could have sold more.
With a lot of people saying they're putting off buying a new computer, and instead buying a tablet, most all iPads, the trend is pretty clear.
I second the motion.
Good point and you could be right. The problem I have is all the glowing reports of "crushing demand" doesn't answer the question whether it's due to a comparatively small number of iPad2's actually produced so far, or Apple caught by surprise and already sold out of the 8-10 million that they could have anticipated by now according to some analysts. The demand would be highest at launch. As the weeks go by, more competitors enter the fray, increasing the possibility (don't misread that as probability) that some Ipad sales go to other devices instead. There's some appealing products hitting the shelves now and over the next month or so. The Asus Ee Pad Transformer is particularly noteworthy.
None of these other products are noteworthy. At best, they are ok. What we're seeing right now, is that other tablets are going to be hard pressed to come close to the iPad's performance, even though Apple is trying to diminish the importance of performance. Later in the year, some will catch up, as Nvidia and other chip makers hurry out newer designs they thought they wouldn't need until the end of the year at the earliest.
But it doesn't really matter. Apple is right, features and performance aren't as important as usability, attractiveness, and the breath of apps and third party accessories available.
There are also reports that Honeycomb, while it appeals to the tech writer, and propeller heads, is a bit too complex for most people, who want a simple interface. One major advantage the iPad has, is that if you're coming from another iOS product, as a lot of purchasers are, it's instantly accessible. You don't have to learn another UI. People don't want to learn another UI.
That's a reason why WebOS, and now WP7 are doing so poorly, despite good to great reviews. The products are either not better, just different, or actually confusing to use for most. Honeycomb, from what I've read, and now seen for myself, falls into both of these categories. More complex, and offers little that's truly better, other than some minor things which most people don't seem to have much of a problem with, though there's so much negative written about it, such as notifications. That seems to be the biggest advantage so far for other mobile OS's, if it really is an advantage for most people, whom I suspect, don't care that much about it either way.
It was just a bit or sarcasm on my part and a dig at the iPad 2, a "magical" device from 2011 that needs an external computer before you can use it
Considering that you need to be connected in some way these days in order to use a computer the way we all do, having an old and cheap model around for backup and updates is hardly meaningful. Buying a backup device is going to cost money as well, and with more people spending $500 or so on network backup devices, a cheap PC or used Mac Mini would be even more useful in that regard.
As long as the newest version of iTunes will run on your old computer, a new one won't be required. As long as it's connected to your network and printer, it's good for years to come. So instead of buying a new one every three years to four years, as most people do, you won't need to buy another for five to seven years. Maybe longer.
That lowers the sales of PC's significantly over time.
Why won't they be able to use their old PC? They'll just need a newer version of iTunes on their Windows XP computers to activate their iPad 2s. How about them merely buying a Mac along with their iPad 2 instead of some PoC Windows PC?
Wouldn't be ironic if Apple actually built iTunes for Linux? Sort of a kick in the teeth for the Android people.
Install that on your ageing Windows PC and extend it's life a few more years as an iPad etc., host and backup device for the whole family. It could also operate as a print server once Apple is ready to roll out printing to any connected printer.
Some people just aren't ready to switch over to a Mac, but they might let go of Windows for an Ubuntu box.
Here's hoping.
FL
I personally don't think that will happen. Unlike Apple, some of the competitors arriving over the next few weeks actually build their own product, keeping the profit from production as well as sales. And it would seem there's less expense in building a tablet than a comparable notebook computer isn't there? Yet notebooks cost less. I think there's a pretty big profit margin in tablets, allowing for some price adjustments as the market progresses. Asus is a prime example, with their Transformer coming in $100 under Apple's least expensive iPad2, but with equivalent or better hardware. The optional keyboard design is more like something we would have expected from Apple imagineering. Integrated additional battery, HDMI and USB ports . . . Pretty creative IMHO. Apple will continue to lead the tablet market for some time, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that projections of them taking 70-80% of the market thru next year may be a little too optimistic. The competition is adjusting faster than many expected.
It actually costs more to build a tablet. Remember that those numbers you see about parts pricing is just a part of the costs. Notebook parts costs are even lower, that is, for the cheaper models. And Apple is taking lower margins on iPads to keep the pricing low, which it is. You can be sure that cheaper tablets will be just that, cheaper. Apple's real competitors are having a hard time just meeting Apple's prices. It's very likely that the only reason why the WiFi only Xoom meets Apple's price is because Motorola learned their lesson with the first model, and is taking little if no profit on its sales to keep the price down.
And you can look to other manufacturers who are pricing their 7" models the same as Apple's 10" models. They have no choice if they're going to have a completive product hardware wise in quality without a much higher price. Even then, other tablet screens are of lower quality, and the processors are slower.
I personally don't think that will happen. Unlike Apple, some of the competitors arriving over the next few weeks actually build their own product, keeping the profit from production as well as sales. And it would seem there's less expense in building a tablet than a comparable notebook computer isn't there? Yet notebooks cost less. I think there's a pretty big profit margin in tablets, allowing for some price adjustments as the market progresses. Asus is a prime example, with their Transformer coming in $100 under Apple's least expensive iPad2, but with equivalent or better hardware. The optional keyboard design is more like something we would have expected from Apple imagineering. Integrated additional battery, HDMI and USB ports . . . Pretty creative IMHO. Apple will continue to lead the tablet market for some time, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that projections of them taking 70-80% of the market thru next year may be a little too optimistic. The competition is adjusting faster than many expected.
The Asus tablet is crap. The Viewsonic tablet is crap. So are all the other cheaper models coming out. The anti Apple techies will buy these tablets, and they're a very small portion of the buying public. I suspect that the only tablets to catch on will be the real cheapies, such as those selling for $300 or less. Those people won't be expecting high performance, so they won't be disappointed. And the almost nonexistent apps for Honeycomb will still be a problem, assuming most of these cheap tablets will be running it. As is pretty clear. google's way of presenting phone apps on tablets running 2.2 and 2.3 is bad. The apps auto adjust to the different resolutions and screen ratios so that they look bad, are difficult to use, or don't work at all.
Apple's way, they may look soft, but all the phone apps not requiring cell services work well, even better in many cases.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptop...-On-Preview/p1 seems to be a fair review of it.
By the way, you guys are privy to more Apple info that most people. Have you seen any indications of the actual sales numbers put up by the iPad2 yet?
Wow. I hadn't seen anyone else opine that the Asus tablet was crap. What didn't you like about it?
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptop...-On-Preview/p1 seems to be a fair review of it.
By the way, you guys are privy to more Apple info that most people. Have you seen any indications of the actual sales numbers put up by the iPad2 yet?
First of all, this isn't much of a review. Other than taking it out of the box, turning it on, and playing with the UI for a few minutes, they didn't review it at all. There are many defects with Honeycomb tablets. So far it seems from the real reviews that have cropped up with the Xoom, which is the only real Honeycomb tablet out so far.
Considering that this uses the same internal hardware, pretty much, all of those problems will be in this one as well. It's interesting that except for using cheap plastic, they copied the iPad1's case style.
Why is it crap? Because Honeycomb is very buggy, the hardware is slow. Flash, a big selling point, isn't available for any Honeycomb tablet yet, and where we've seen demo's, it works poorly. Adobe's been promising it for so long that we don't know when it will actually come out. We do know that Flash on Android phones works poorly, when it's available, which it isn't for most of them.
It's also crap because there are almost no apps to use with it. Even if this was a magnificent design, what good would it be with a couple of dozen apps?
No, we don't know actual iPad2 sales, which is surprising for Apple. But considering that it's been sold out everywhere around the world, including Apple's website, we can be certain it's selling very well. Unlike some other companies, Apple doesn't produce a few tens of thousands and then proclaim it's sold out everywhere. Apple's producers always seem to have ramp up times that are slower than hoped for, and Apple has been underestimating demand for its products since the 1980’s, when it took 6 weeks to get my 950. Estimates for iPad sales this past quarter are running from 5.25 to 8.8 million. Take your pick, we'll find out on the 20th.
As a dedicated iOS user, that's probably a fair assessment you've given Android's Honeycomb version. There's a significant difference in the way the two OS's are approached and neither would be the best match for everyone. But otherwise you thought the Asus tablet hardware itself was good in the time you used it? To me it's impressive that they could come in 25% less than Apple yet use the same size/type of screen and equivalent hardware. That would appear to be evidence that there's hefty margins in tablets if they can price it so low. Gives hope that perhaps we'll see a sub-$400 tablet from Apple in the next release.
I don't see why Apple would go out of their way and reduce the price any more. They have been sold out everywhere that I have looked (we got real lucky and a Walmart had 1 left). As for numbers, you can make some reasonable guesses (number of stores [7,000 roughly between Apple, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and others] * average number of iPads in stock per day [My guess, is about 25] * number of days * [25] = 4.375 Million in the U.S. alone) of worldwide sales being around 7 million is my guess.
As a test, I used the Xoom, and was sorely unimpressed. It wasn't responsive, and seemed almost kludgy. Then again, I am biased (no matter how hard I try not to be). One thing that I have noticed is that all of the other tablets (and other PC manufacturers as well) tend to focus on hardware features. People don't care about that, they just care that it works, and this is why Apple is in such a dominant place right now.
They forecast a reduction in the expected sales of "PC"s but from everything I've seen the expected sales of Macs continue to climb. So I assume when they say "PC" they mean "PC", not Macs.
Look again; they didn't forecast a reduction in sales, the forecast a reduction in sales growth.
Not the same thing.
Following a blockbuster start to sales for Apple's iPad 2, sources in the Far East PC supply chain have reportedly indicated that PC sales have seen "weak demand" to start 2011. [...]
Microsoft made a big deal about how rapidly users were buying Windows 7 pee cees. Of course, we all knew that was unsustainable. Corporate customers who were suckered into buying Vista were more than happy to dump Vista. Consumers who avoided Vista because of horrendous reviews finally upgraded from XP to Windows 7. After what, 6 or 7 years?
Users ran to Windows 7 for the same reason they run out of a burning building. Anything was better than the status quo. Just find the nearest exit and get out. So of course that sales bump ended. Now Windows pee cee sales growth is linked directly to the economy, just like most other capital expenditures.
Then Apple hit Microsoft with iPad. Crushed Tablet PC (or UMPC or whatever name they gave it after the previous name got old.) That hit Microsoft where it hurt: in an area of massive growth and profitability where Microsoft literally had zero defense. Over the last decade, Microsoft had proven to themselves that the "tablet" market was a niche not worth spending any R&D money on. They just changed the name of their tablet project and hacked a little stylus support into whatever version of Windows they were selling at the time.
Now it's too late for Microsoft to respond. They're trying, of course. But just with press-release engineering. With just barely enough effort to fool their shareholders into thinking that they have heaved themselves forward into the 21st century. But Microsoft's real focus is milking corporate customers for all they can with Windows + Office. On legacy desktop pee cees.
Apple's been fortunate so far not to have much in the way of competition in the tablet space. That looks like it's going to change this year. Given the choice between lower priced tablets that look the same, offer thousands of apps, and have nice displays, many buyers may opt for the lower priced option if there's no compelling reason they know of to chose otherwise. I'd wager most potential buyers have heard of both Apple and Android, but the finer points of difference are lost on them. Thus a sub-$400 Apple tablet may make market sense.
It might, however nobody is beating them on price with capacitive screens at the same size, and specs.