What If the Tablet is Just An Apple Phenomenon?

[Guest]

Have we ever considered the likelihood that plain iPad copies can't be successful and are doomed to fail, no matter how good they are?

What If the Tablet is Just An Apple Phenomenon? : Read more

 

[maestintaolius]

Personally, I'm holding out for ocular implant computing devices.

 

[cheeseborger]

I think the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer/slider could do well, i know im going to buy one.

 

[Gulli]

Of course Apple didn't come up with the idea of the iPad: similar devices have appeared in the Star Trek universe since 1987, they were even called PADDs.

I also believe that for Apple marketing and image are just as important, or even more so, than the actual features of a product. A company that really listens to the customer would include USB ports for example. Not including a USB port would kill off a product instantly unless it's made by Apple because Apple is a brand with an image.

 

[alidan]

this is a copy from another article, but what i wrote there is the as good here too, sorry if this is against he rules, but my point is valid in both articles.

tablets as they are now, over sized cellphones, WILL DIE.

when a real os, like windows or osx (sorry linux, you are good, but not for normal business world) and basicly function like a computer for when you arent at a computer, or better yet, a pc monitor that you dock into a keyboard, than take with you when you are done. when that happens, you will see a large segment of the pc market swich over.

for a total switch over though, the pc market needs to be so fast that even if the hardware is 8-16 times slower, you are only talking about second or two difference. it would be the difference between crysis at 300fps or 40fps, both framerates are VERY playable, but the 300 is nicer than the 40.

when pcs get that powerful, (they arent) i can see a vast majority caring more about style than function, or more along the lines of portability over function.

i can tell you if my pc was ultya portable like a tablet, it wouldnt leave my side.

 

[house70]

iPad copies are doomed to fail because they are trying to be just that - copies, nothing original or better about them. Of course they will fail; even if your hyundai looks like a mercedes, it's still a Hyundai. Same psychology applies here.
OTOH, tablets that are capitalizing on the iPad's failures will succeed, mainly because they are addressing the intelligent populace that is capable of looking beyond the emblem on the device and seeing it for what it is: a flawed/limited hardware with an even more limited OS. These devices will sell, albeit not as much as an ipad. The ratio will pretty much reflect the intelligence distribution/ratio in the average population (the majority average will pick the average ipad, the rest... see above).

 

[CTT]

The tablet was an invented market of Apple. I say invented, but I guess a closer term would be vaporware, basically a useless or very limited device that they market as a must have, and due to thier fan base, they sell a ton of them regardless of the limited functionality. A solid netbook does more even with its limited functionality, throw in a swivle screen, and you have a tablet on steroids.

Reminds me of the old Sony parady about people buy random electronics and have no idea what they do.

 

[Yoder54]

[citation][nom]alidan[/nom]ttablets as they are now, over sized cellphones, WILL DIE.[/citation]

I think you are wrong for the majority of the population. For us true geeks the desktop will be the only type of valid computing, but for the general consumer who only want iApp and Internet capabilities, the portable is all they need. They don't give a hoot about processor speed or fps, they just want their social network to be in place.

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Oh you mean is the "Tablet" just a fad that will go away in 2 years because you can buy laptops with more functionality and its cheaper?

 

[scuba dave]

[citation][nom]CTT[/nom]The tablet was an invented market of Apple. I say invented, but I guess a closer term would be vaporware, basically a useless or very limited device that they market as a must have, and due to thier fan base, they sell a ton of them regardless of the limited functionality. A solid netbook does more even with its limited functionality, throw in a swivle screen, and you have a tablet on steroids.Reminds me of the old Sony parady about people buy random electronics and have no idea what they do.[/citation]

For a techie.. Sure, the iPad could be considered limited.. However to the common population, the iPad is very robust in what it offers, and can do. And as such, it's apparent they are building the iPad, and structuring it, based on them, and not techies. Also, techies, in my experience, are unbelievably fickle, and penny pinching. It's always a battle to figure out what is more important to them.. Function or Price. And on top of that.. Alot of things they love.. are never accepted by the general population.. which is something I think Apple realizes extremely well. They realize the money is in the Masses.. Not a group of elitist techies.

Now me, personally, I consider myself more of a function-oriented techie.. as price means very little to me.. However, the iPad, offers everything that I wanted out of a tablet, and looks amazing.. So I bought it. Zero regrets, even if the Xoom, or any other tablet can do more.

 

[Guest]

Where do they get these writers? this is the biggest pile of drivel i've read on Toms yet. The ipad is not the Ark of the Covenant it can and will successfully be copied at a much lower price point and THAT is where all the other companies shine, by providing a good product at a much lower price point. I myself will be purchasing one once they get at or below the $249 price point which is an inevitability.

 

[back_by_demand]

Give me a tablet with a real OS, not a dumbed down speak & spell, and I will buy it.

Once a video is running full screen it is doing it's job, but I want to be able to do actual computing on it as well.

 

[slycraft]

BEST ARTICLE YET....

Wolfgang Gruener I applaud you with such a realistic thought process to this whole Ipad Tablet mania. I completely agree with you that this rush to the market with tablet copies is something that will in my opinion either bankrupt companies or severely hinder them. The Ipad, Iphone, & Ipod all have been innovative and offer a great deal of product integration between all their offerings. These tablet clones just cant offer the same end user experience as the Ipad has shown to offer.

Mark my words, this trend will go the way of the dinosaurs and be something that is no longer in the spotlight in a few years. Companies trying to dive into this market will realize they just dove into the shallow end of the pool.

 

[Guest]

I think the article has some good points.

On the other hand, Apple-critical comments like vaporware, fan base, flawed, etc. ... let's get real; Apple hit the ball out of the park when no one else could even pick up a bat !!!

 

[Guest]

CTT is very wrong about "a solid netbook does more". The fault of a netbook is that it's trying to run a full mainstream OS. That alone makes is very slow and inefficient, but on top of that throw in a tiny screen and a tiny keyboard and you have youself a product that apeals to a very small market. Think of tablet latptops from Toshiba and such. How much of a success did they have.
What iPad offers is vastly different. It offers easy of use to people with zero computer knowledge. Think your grandma checking out your latest vacation pictures that you posted on the internet.
Think of your grandma sending you a letter, except with a device as intuitive to use by a non geek a an iPad, she can actually send you an email!

What iPad does is takes the task that most of the people do on the internet (surf, email, IM) and made them super easy on a lightweight device that's effortless to carry around (if you must).

One could argue that you could setup a cheap PC at home for your granny and tell her to double click here and there to do this and that. That will eventually fail. The computer will get bogged down with udpates, malware, viruses, wrong clicks, etc.
iPad in contast is ready to use out of the box and has a predictable UI that if you must you can walk a person through. Remember that if you say that you can walk your granny through opening a web browser or starting up an email client, you might be actually at least an intermediate computer user and know your way around.

In a nut shell, iPad captured the market that was always there: computer experience to those that find a full blown OS a drag to learn

 

[Guest]

Wow, you must really be an Apple lover. I am confused how you can say that the Xoom is dead when has not even been launched in many areas yet, and the $799 price that you suggest is about $150 high. My research has the Xoom coming in at the same price as an iPad2. iPad may have multiple versions but that is partialy because they do not have a memory card option - Xoom does. A primary reason that Apple has line ups is the way that they release their product. They control the supply so you havve to line up to get it. It is no different then the lastest Xbox game, control the supply and you will get line ups. I believe that there is a real strong market for tablets and as soon as the Xoom is in my area I will be heading out to get one. Not lining up mind you just picking one up.

 

[Guest]

WOW...

The FANDROIDS have come out in full force today!

Back... Back to your parents basement. Back away from society you dirty FANDROID

 

[may1]

Every women needs an iPad (ooooohhh

 

[Guest]

The place to beat Apple is on price. And apple can totally be smaked on price, I don't know why Samsung chose not to.

Example, the Color Nook from B and N. They've sold 3 M units since November - not shabby - and they cost half what the Ipad costs. No cell contract, and convertible into a respectable Eclair or Froyo tab.

Excellent build quality, fullscreen touch, IPS display, and if B and N decides to actually support them with a staffed helpdesk, they really could be a very nice dominator of the 7" tablet space.

 

[jon_doe_x]

Yeah, these Toms Guide articles don't seem as focused on technology anymore. In fact Tomshardware has successfully transformed itself into a Google/Android stooge, complete with a whole host of angry Droidtards raging against every successful iProduct currently on the market.

Tablets are dying. Yeah, thats why every major hardware manufacturer is preparing to launch the next iPad killer. So now this ridiculous Tom's Guide article reports the demise of the tablet. Wow, way to reach. I guess you didn't get the IDF memo that predicts explosive growth in the tablet market in the next year.

How about this. Perhaps Android just isn't as functional, stable, secure, or open as people think it to be? Perhaps Android simply sucks as an operating system...