Is that actually true, though? There appears to be at least somewhat of a market for cheap tablets, and for that 7" is simply a means to an end to keep production costs down. As far as there being any real enthusiasm for 7" specifically regardless of cost, I don't see that. Even at cut rate prices the 7" tablets haven't sold very well compared to the iPad.
Well, that certainly isn't true. Samsung et al make all kinds of modestly selling stuff that remains on the market for a while before being supplanted by the next gimmick. It's a "throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks" philosophy that's completely different from what Apple does.
I hear a lot of people asking for iPads. Numbers bear me out. And the "trend" is more of that throwing stuff at the wall thing, with something like the Galaxy Note approaching absurdity. I doubt Samsung will sell many of those and there's no reason on earth for Apple to waste its time with this kind of nonsense.
Apple will make the products that deliver the best user experience as they see it. They've never been about chasing after market share via product proliferation. If Apple thinks there's a good user experience to be had at 7", they'll do something about it. But they won't be remotely swayed by bogus claims of "what they must do", any more than they felt they needed to make a netbook or an xMac-- despite the many and fervent claims that Apple would be obliged to respond to competition in those markets or risk being left behind. Seems to have worked out pretty well for them.
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect? I hope you are not employed by Apple! This level of servility is appalling!
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect? I hope you are not employed by Apple! This level of servility is appalling!
Servility is irrelevant. The larger issue is not seeing what could be better. That may be due to a lack of imagination, which has no place at in an innovative company.
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect?
So far, they're damn-near perfect, and have been for several years. Apple has the "big picture" of tech advancement in the consumer sphere down to a science. And it looks like they'll maintain that record through 2012.
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect? I hope you are not employed by Apple! This level of servility is appalling!
Whatever Apple is doing to make them the number #1 most valuable, profitable and watched company is perfect. You can debate it all you want, its hard to take criticism from the side lines from anyone who can only dream right now of being in Apple shoes. Who is the teacher and who is the pupil? Apple created the smart phone and tablet market. Competitors and critics can go shove it.
Once Apple is no longer are in this position, then we can speculate what "in-perfect" decision made them fall from #1. From what I can see, that has not happened yet and in fact the gap is widening even further from a profitability point of view.
Why should Apple go chase a small numbers nitche market when they already own the mainstream?
Steve gave the following advice to many companies before: "your product line has some good stuff but also is full of crap, you need to pare it down and just focus on the good stuff". This what Apple does internally as well.
How many different smart phones and tablets does Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola make? I've lost track. Frankly, its all noise to me and admission of failure to gain any sustained long term following in the mainstream market. They have nothing to differentiate themselves from their other Android based competitors.. all they have is exploring nitches to try to stand apart. Desperate companies will do desperate things, like having 20 different phones and tablets. all never hitting the mainstream mark. Quite pathetic.
Whatever Apple is doing to make them the number #1 most valuable, profitable and watched company is perfect.
Not a good argument. It could have been used in the late 1960's to describe GM. Or the mid '70's to describe IBM. Or the late '90's to describe Cisco, or any number of other tech stocks. Pets.com, anyone?
Nothing in the text you quoted should have led you to that conclusion.
I don't understand the assumption that a 7" should be made targeting a low price. And I do react to the perception of Steve Jobs statement, which I believe have to be seen in the context of that time; a stampede to get the only usable product out there, and of course the current level of achievement . Still the world moves on and I firmly believe there is a market for a quality 7" unit, and I also believe people are willing to pay the price quality demands. The lack of a 7" in my opinion, and based on my perceived needs, leaves a void in the market that someone will fill. Samsung makes quality products HW-vise, hampered by the Android system, but they are a very serious threat, and the consevatiism I believe I see at this site, which i do not believe is shared by Apple, will deliver the market to them. Nokia degenerated from being the largest phone maker to making cheap phones where the great innovation was the color and interchangability of the shell, I doubt Apple will fall int the same trap, but it is not easy to stay on top for a long period of time, and conservatism is not what keeps you on top.
Whatever Apple is doing to make them the number #1 most valuable, profitable and watched company is perfect. You can debate it all you want, its hard to take criticism from the side lines from anyone who can only dream right now of being in Apple shoes. Who is the teacher and who is the pupil? Apple created the smart phone and tablet market. Competitors and critics can go shove it.
Once Apple is no longer are in this position, then we can speculate what "in-perfect" decision made them fall from #1. From what I can see, that has not happened yet and in fact the gap is widening even further from a profitability point of view.
Why should Apple go chase a small numbers nitche market when they already own the mainstream?
Steve gave the following advice to many companies before: "your product line has some good stuff but also is full of crap, you need to pare it down and just focus on the good stuff". This what Apple does internally as well.
How many different smart phones and tablets does Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola make? I've lost track. Frankly, its all noise to me and admission of failure to gain any sustained long term following in the mainstream market. They have nothing to differentiate themselves from their other Android based competitors.. all they have is exploring nitches to try to stand apart. Desperate companies will do desperate things, like having 20 different phones and tablets. all never hitting the mainstream mark. Quite pathetic.
Samsung is in a pretty good shape, unlike the others you refer to, and if Apple takes this as lightly as you do, and are as happy as you are about Apple being mainstream, they are in deep trouble. Fortunately i do not think this is the case, I think they are much more realistic about their vulnerability than what we see their fans on this site are.
Flexibility would give a huge advantage over glass in shatter-resistance. But bending screens is only interesting in demos at trade shows.
I can think of exactly one use of flexible displays, but they wouldn't be used where you think they are. Augmented-reality Visor/Googles that wrap around the face. There has been some interesting stuff done on the Nokia N95 and Nintendo 3DS, but it's not yet at a stage where I'd say AR is at all useful.
As an example, you could unroll the flexible display over one eye, go to the grocery store and look at the labels on products and see things like nutrition, ingredients/materials, country of origin, wholesale price, prices from other stores, etc. Then roll the display back out of your way instead of having to take it off.
But as far as an iPod/iPhone/iPad display, not likely. I think it's more possible as a television if it was something that could be rolled up and out of the way since there is no battery to consider. Or maybe just to make it more portable and cost less to ship.
I don't understand the assumption that a 7" should be made targeting a low price. And I do react to the perception of Steve Jobs statement, which I believe have to be seen in the context of that time; a stampede to get the only usable product out there, and of course the current level of achievement . Still the world moves on and I firmly believe there is a market for a quality 7" unit, and I also believe people are willing to pay the price quality demands. The lack of a 7" in my opinion, and based on my perceived needs, leaves a void in the market that someone will fill. Samsung makes quality products HW-vise, hampered by the Android system, but they are a very serious threat, and the consevatiism I believe I see at this site, which i do not believe is shared by Apple, will deliver the market to them.
Note that Addabox stated "appears to be". He didn't state that a successful 7" device wasn't possible from Apple or anyone else. He even backed up his comment with evidence to support the current trend. The iPad is the most successful tablet on the market. There are plenty of other non-cheap 7" tablets that simply aren't making a dent.
The only tablet that is making any headway is the loss-leader Kindle Fire which is really a glorified eReader at this point.. Despite it's gain in the "tablet" market and it's retail price that is only 24 to 40% of an iPad it still sold well below the nearly year old iPad this past holiday quarter. I don't know of any supply issues that kept the sales of the Kindle Fire down.
Bottom line: So far there is no relevant tablet market, there is only an iPad market.
Quote:
Nokia degenerated from being the largest phone maker to making cheap phones where the great innovation was the color and interchangability of the shell, I doubt Apple will fall int the same trap, but it is not easy to stay on top for a long period of time, and conservatism is not what keeps you on top.
Nokia is a great example of thinking that creating an ostensibly complete product line that overs all HW needs is the way to ensure success.
PS: Also note the netbook market. Remember analysts saying that Apple needs to enter this market or risk losing what little market share they do have. They never touched it. They could have offered the best netbook on the planet but the didn't touch it. Where they smart to do so? I think so.
So is this a real concern for Samsung Securities or a weak attempt to get people's not to buy the 10" iPad in hopes of a 7" model coming soon?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum
My first reaction is that this is a planned leak by Samsung as an attempt to dampen sales of the iPad 3 -- some people will delay buying, thinking a new model is coming in 6-7 months.
LMAO !!!!!!!
Do you really think this news will make it out of sites like AI?
Is that actually true, though? There appears to be at least somewhat of a market for cheap tablets, and for that 7" is simply a means to an end to keep production costs down. As far as there being any real enthusiasm for 7" specifically regardless of cost, I don't see that. Even at cut rate prices the 7" tablets haven't sold very well compared to the iPad.
Whilst cost is also a very important factor I genuinely mean lots of people (regular non techy people) ask me if Apple will ever produce a 7" because the iPad is too big for them. You can't really rely on current sales figures as any indication to be honest because the competition plain sucks. The iPad sells well because it's the best product on the market not necessarily because of the size. That plus Apple's brand awareness, brand loyalty due to good customer service, a focus on clean design, a great user experience etc etc...
I was trying to describe what this device could offer rather than analysing the competition because in all honesty they don't really compete.
Quote:
Well, that certainly isn't true. Samsung et al make all kinds of modestly selling stuff that remains on the market for a while before being supplanted by the next gimmick. It's a "throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks" philosophy that's completely different from what Apple does.
I absolutely agree with what you're saying in regards to Samsung (& most other manufacturers) throwing everything out there and seeing what sticks.
Quote:
I hear a lot of people asking for iPads. Numbers bear me out. And the "trend" is more of that throwing stuff at the wall thing, with something like the Galaxy Note approaching absurdity. I doubt Samsung will sell many of those and there's no reason on earth for Apple to waste its time with this kind of nonsense.
Again... the numbers bear out due to the quality of the iPad, the ecosystem, the brand etc..
Quote:
Apple will make the products that deliver the best user experience as they see it. They've never been about chasing after market share via product proliferation. If Apple thinks there's a good user experience to be had at 7", they'll do something about it. But they won't be remotely swayed by bogus claims of "what they must do", any more than they felt they needed to make a netbook or an xMac-- despite the many and fervent claims that Apple would be obliged to respond to competition in those markets or risk being left behind. Seems to have worked out pretty well for them.
Again, I firmly agree (in part). Netbooks are a shitty use case, they were created to be cheap not to fulfil a real need. Android manufacturers may be positioning their 7" devices in the market for cost reasons but it's the use cases I'm more interested in and I think there are real use cases for a smaller device as I mentioned.
Samsung is in a pretty good shape, unlike the others you refer to, and if Apple takes this as lightly as you do, and are as happy as you are about Apple being mainstream, they are in deep trouble. Fortunately i do not think this is the case, I think they are much more realistic about their vulnerability than what we see their fans on this site are.
I don't understand your point. Apple is vulnerable if the don't make a 7" iPad? Vulnerable to what? Only having the money but not the market share, or are you suggesting that Apple will lose 10" iPad sales to 7" tablets even though for two years that hasn't happened?
I guess we can say the same thing about Apple needing a $400 notebook and a $999 tower Mac, too.
You sound jealous that a company not Apple has a cool technology that Apple doesn't have.
Apple doesn't have this tech in their labs? Seems odd that could possibly know this and would post about it here.
As for the flexible displays if they do find a market don't expect the user to be able to manipulate it. It's more practical use would be in a rigid form with a curved or angled casing.
Still waiting for some reasonable real world applications...
Note that Addabox stated "appears to be". He didn't state that a successful 7" device wasn't possible from Apple or anyone else. He even backed up his comment with evidence to support the current trend. The iPad is the most successful tablet on the market. There are plenty of other non-cheap 7" tablets that simply aren't making a dent.
The only tablet that is making any headway is the loss-leader Kindle Fire which is really a glorified eReader at this point.. Despite it's gain in the "tablet" market and it's retail price that is only 24 to 40% of an iPad it still sold well below the nearly year old iPad this past holiday quarter. I don't know of any supply issues that kept the sales of the Kindle Fire down.
Bottom line: So far there is no relevant tablet market, there is only an iPad market.
Nokia is a great example of thinking that creating an ostensibly complete product line that overs all HW needs is the way to ensure success.
PS: Also note the netbook market. Remember analysts saying that Apple needs to enter this market or risk losing what little market share they do have. They never touched it. They could have offered the best netbook on the planet but the didn't touch it. Where they smart to do so? I think so.
I like your bottom line (Bottom line: So far there is no relevant tablet market, there is only an iPad market.) Still I believe that the reason for not having a 7" market is that there is no iPad there.
I dont't understand what you mean with your statement about Nokia, to me they are an example of where you end when you ask the consumer market what to do, instead of presenting the solution and being ahead.
About the netbook market, i totally agree, a quality supplier should never pursue a race to the bottom.
Comments
Is that actually true, though? There appears to be at least somewhat of a market for cheap tablets, and for that 7" is simply a means to an end to keep production costs down. As far as there being any real enthusiasm for 7" specifically regardless of cost, I don't see that. Even at cut rate prices the 7" tablets haven't sold very well compared to the iPad.
Well, that certainly isn't true. Samsung et al make all kinds of modestly selling stuff that remains on the market for a while before being supplanted by the next gimmick. It's a "throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks" philosophy that's completely different from what Apple does.
I hear a lot of people asking for iPads. Numbers bear me out. And the "trend" is more of that throwing stuff at the wall thing, with something like the Galaxy Note approaching absurdity. I doubt Samsung will sell many of those and there's no reason on earth for Apple to waste its time with this kind of nonsense.
Apple will make the products that deliver the best user experience as they see it. They've never been about chasing after market share via product proliferation. If Apple thinks there's a good user experience to be had at 7", they'll do something about it. But they won't be remotely swayed by bogus claims of "what they must do", any more than they felt they needed to make a netbook or an xMac-- despite the many and fervent claims that Apple would be obliged to respond to competition in those markets or risk being left behind. Seems to have worked out pretty well for them.
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect? I hope you are not employed by Apple! This level of servility is appalling!
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect? I hope you are not employed by Apple! This level of servility is appalling!
I think his last paragraph is the important one there.
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect? I hope you are not employed by Apple! This level of servility is appalling!
Nothing in the text you quoted should have led you to that conclusion.
The word is the Note is actually selling quite well for all its absurdity.
Absurd is an opinion. Sales numbers are a fact.
What should one do when one's opinion does not correspond to the facts?
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect? I hope you are not employed by Apple! This level of servility is appalling!
Servility is irrelevant. The larger issue is not seeing what could be better. That may be due to a lack of imagination, which has no place at in an innovative company.
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect?
So far, they're damn-near perfect, and have been for several years. Apple has the "big picture" of tech advancement in the consumer sphere down to a science. And it looks like they'll maintain that record through 2012.
So to you, whatever Apple is doing right now, and anytime, is perfect? I hope you are not employed by Apple! This level of servility is appalling!
Whatever Apple is doing to make them the number #1 most valuable, profitable and watched company is perfect. You can debate it all you want, its hard to take criticism from the side lines from anyone who can only dream right now of being in Apple shoes. Who is the teacher and who is the pupil? Apple created the smart phone and tablet market. Competitors and critics can go shove it.
Once Apple is no longer are in this position, then we can speculate what "in-perfect" decision made them fall from #1. From what I can see, that has not happened yet and in fact the gap is widening even further from a profitability point of view.
Why should Apple go chase a small numbers nitche market when they already own the mainstream?
Steve gave the following advice to many companies before: "your product line has some good stuff but also is full of crap, you need to pare it down and just focus on the good stuff". This what Apple does internally as well.
How many different smart phones and tablets does Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola make? I've lost track. Frankly, its all noise to me and admission of failure to gain any sustained long term following in the mainstream market. They have nothing to differentiate themselves from their other Android based competitors.. all they have is exploring nitches to try to stand apart. Desperate companies will do desperate things, like having 20 different phones and tablets. all never hitting the mainstream mark. Quite pathetic.
Whatever Apple is doing to make them the number #1 most valuable, profitable and watched company is perfect.
Not a good argument. It could have been used in the late 1960's to describe GM. Or the mid '70's to describe IBM. Or the late '90's to describe Cisco, or any number of other tech stocks. Pets.com, anyone?
Nothing in the text you quoted should have led you to that conclusion.
I don't understand the assumption that a 7" should be made targeting a low price. And I do react to the perception of Steve Jobs statement, which I believe have to be seen in the context of that time; a stampede to get the only usable product out there, and of course the current level of achievement . Still the world moves on and I firmly believe there is a market for a quality 7" unit, and I also believe people are willing to pay the price quality demands. The lack of a 7" in my opinion, and based on my perceived needs, leaves a void in the market that someone will fill. Samsung makes quality products HW-vise, hampered by the Android system, but they are a very serious threat, and the consevatiism I believe I see at this site, which i do not believe is shared by Apple, will deliver the market to them. Nokia degenerated from being the largest phone maker to making cheap phones where the great innovation was the color and interchangability of the shell, I doubt Apple will fall int the same trap, but it is not easy to stay on top for a long period of time, and conservatism is not what keeps you on top.
And those flexible panels are no way ready for prime time use.
Whatever Apple is doing to make them the number #1 most valuable, profitable and watched company is perfect. You can debate it all you want, its hard to take criticism from the side lines from anyone who can only dream right now of being in Apple shoes. Who is the teacher and who is the pupil? Apple created the smart phone and tablet market. Competitors and critics can go shove it.
Once Apple is no longer are in this position, then we can speculate what "in-perfect" decision made them fall from #1. From what I can see, that has not happened yet and in fact the gap is widening even further from a profitability point of view.
Why should Apple go chase a small numbers nitche market when they already own the mainstream?
Steve gave the following advice to many companies before: "your product line has some good stuff but also is full of crap, you need to pare it down and just focus on the good stuff". This what Apple does internally as well.
How many different smart phones and tablets does Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola make? I've lost track. Frankly, its all noise to me and admission of failure to gain any sustained long term following in the mainstream market. They have nothing to differentiate themselves from their other Android based competitors.. all they have is exploring nitches to try to stand apart. Desperate companies will do desperate things, like having 20 different phones and tablets. all never hitting the mainstream mark. Quite pathetic.
Samsung is in a pretty good shape, unlike the others you refer to, and if Apple takes this as lightly as you do, and are as happy as you are about Apple being mainstream, they are in deep trouble. Fortunately i do not think this is the case, I think they are much more realistic about their vulnerability than what we see their fans on this site are.
Flexibility would give a huge advantage over glass in shatter-resistance. But bending screens is only interesting in demos at trade shows.
I can think of exactly one use of flexible displays, but they wouldn't be used where you think they are. Augmented-reality Visor/Googles that wrap around the face. There has been some interesting stuff done on the Nokia N95 and Nintendo 3DS, but it's not yet at a stage where I'd say AR is at all useful.
As an example, you could unroll the flexible display over one eye, go to the grocery store and look at the labels on products and see things like nutrition, ingredients/materials, country of origin, wholesale price, prices from other stores, etc. Then roll the display back out of your way instead of having to take it off.
But as far as an iPod/iPhone/iPad display, not likely. I think it's more possible as a television if it was something that could be rolled up and out of the way since there is no battery to consider. Or maybe just to make it more portable and cost less to ship.
I don't understand the assumption that a 7" should be made targeting a low price. And I do react to the perception of Steve Jobs statement, which I believe have to be seen in the context of that time; a stampede to get the only usable product out there, and of course the current level of achievement . Still the world moves on and I firmly believe there is a market for a quality 7" unit, and I also believe people are willing to pay the price quality demands. The lack of a 7" in my opinion, and based on my perceived needs, leaves a void in the market that someone will fill. Samsung makes quality products HW-vise, hampered by the Android system, but they are a very serious threat, and the consevatiism I believe I see at this site, which i do not believe is shared by Apple, will deliver the market to them.
Note that Addabox stated "appears to be". He didn't state that a successful 7" device wasn't possible from Apple or anyone else. He even backed up his comment with evidence to support the current trend. The iPad is the most successful tablet on the market. There are plenty of other non-cheap 7" tablets that simply aren't making a dent.
The only tablet that is making any headway is the loss-leader Kindle Fire which is really a glorified eReader at this point.. Despite it's gain in the "tablet" market and it's retail price that is only 24 to 40% of an iPad it still sold well below the nearly year old iPad this past holiday quarter. I don't know of any supply issues that kept the sales of the Kindle Fire down.
Bottom line: So far there is no relevant tablet market, there is only an iPad market.
Nokia degenerated from being the largest phone maker to making cheap phones where the great innovation was the color and interchangability of the shell, I doubt Apple will fall int the same trap, but it is not easy to stay on top for a long period of time, and conservatism is not what keeps you on top.
Nokia is a great example of thinking that creating an ostensibly complete product line that overs all HW needs is the way to ensure success.
PS: Also note the netbook market. Remember analysts saying that Apple needs to enter this market or risk losing what little market share they do have. They never touched it. They could have offered the best netbook on the planet but the didn't touch it. Where they smart to do so? I think so.
So is this a real concern for Samsung Securities or a weak attempt to get people's not to buy the 10" iPad in hopes of a 7" model coming soon?
My first reaction is that this is a planned leak by Samsung as an attempt to dampen sales of the iPad 3 -- some people will delay buying, thinking a new model is coming in 6-7 months.
LMAO !!!!!!!
Do you really think this news will make it out of sites like AI?
You're either jealous, delusional or both.
Is that actually true, though? There appears to be at least somewhat of a market for cheap tablets, and for that 7" is simply a means to an end to keep production costs down. As far as there being any real enthusiasm for 7" specifically regardless of cost, I don't see that. Even at cut rate prices the 7" tablets haven't sold very well compared to the iPad.
Whilst cost is also a very important factor I genuinely mean lots of people (regular non techy people) ask me if Apple will ever produce a 7" because the iPad is too big for them. You can't really rely on current sales figures as any indication to be honest because the competition plain sucks. The iPad sells well because it's the best product on the market not necessarily because of the size. That plus Apple's brand awareness, brand loyalty due to good customer service, a focus on clean design, a great user experience etc etc...
I was trying to describe what this device could offer rather than analysing the competition because in all honesty they don't really compete.
Well, that certainly isn't true. Samsung et al make all kinds of modestly selling stuff that remains on the market for a while before being supplanted by the next gimmick. It's a "throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks" philosophy that's completely different from what Apple does.
I absolutely agree with what you're saying in regards to Samsung (& most other manufacturers) throwing everything out there and seeing what sticks.
I hear a lot of people asking for iPads. Numbers bear me out. And the "trend" is more of that throwing stuff at the wall thing, with something like the Galaxy Note approaching absurdity. I doubt Samsung will sell many of those and there's no reason on earth for Apple to waste its time with this kind of nonsense.
Again... the numbers bear out due to the quality of the iPad, the ecosystem, the brand etc..
Apple will make the products that deliver the best user experience as they see it. They've never been about chasing after market share via product proliferation. If Apple thinks there's a good user experience to be had at 7", they'll do something about it. But they won't be remotely swayed by bogus claims of "what they must do", any more than they felt they needed to make a netbook or an xMac-- despite the many and fervent claims that Apple would be obliged to respond to competition in those markets or risk being left behind. Seems to have worked out pretty well for them.
Again, I firmly agree (in part). Netbooks are a shitty use case, they were created to be cheap not to fulfil a real need. Android manufacturers may be positioning their 7" devices in the market for cost reasons but it's the use cases I'm more interested in and I think there are real use cases for a smaller device as I mentioned.
Samsung is just gaming their own stock. This type of sh$$ is said all the time.
And those flexible panels are no way ready for prime time use.
It's coming in the near future.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyols...eens-for-2012/
Samsung is in a pretty good shape, unlike the others you refer to, and if Apple takes this as lightly as you do, and are as happy as you are about Apple being mainstream, they are in deep trouble. Fortunately i do not think this is the case, I think they are much more realistic about their vulnerability than what we see their fans on this site are.
I don't understand your point. Apple is vulnerable if the don't make a 7" iPad? Vulnerable to what? Only having the money but not the market share, or are you suggesting that Apple will lose 10" iPad sales to 7" tablets even though for two years that hasn't happened?
I guess we can say the same thing about Apple needing a $400 notebook and a $999 tower Mac, too.
You sound jealous that a company not Apple has a cool technology that Apple doesn't have.
Apple doesn't have this tech in their labs? Seems odd that could possibly know this and would post about it here.
As for the flexible displays if they do find a market don't expect the user to be able to manipulate it. It's more practical use would be in a rigid form with a curved or angled casing.
Still waiting for some reasonable real world applications...
Note that Addabox stated "appears to be". He didn't state that a successful 7" device wasn't possible from Apple or anyone else. He even backed up his comment with evidence to support the current trend. The iPad is the most successful tablet on the market. There are plenty of other non-cheap 7" tablets that simply aren't making a dent.
The only tablet that is making any headway is the loss-leader Kindle Fire which is really a glorified eReader at this point.. Despite it's gain in the "tablet" market and it's retail price that is only 24 to 40% of an iPad it still sold well below the nearly year old iPad this past holiday quarter. I don't know of any supply issues that kept the sales of the Kindle Fire down.
Bottom line: So far there is no relevant tablet market, there is only an iPad market.
Nokia is a great example of thinking that creating an ostensibly complete product line that overs all HW needs is the way to ensure success.
PS: Also note the netbook market. Remember analysts saying that Apple needs to enter this market or risk losing what little market share they do have. They never touched it. They could have offered the best netbook on the planet but the didn't touch it. Where they smart to do so? I think so.
I like your bottom line (Bottom line: So far there is no relevant tablet market, there is only an iPad market.) Still I believe that the reason for not having a 7" market is that there is no iPad there.
I dont't understand what you mean with your statement about Nokia, to me they are an example of where you end when you ask the consumer market what to do, instead of presenting the solution and being ahead.
About the netbook market, i totally agree, a quality supplier should never pursue a race to the bottom.