I have no idea. It also makes me wonder who keeps buying out all those crummy Android tablets from the local Big Lots.
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How Apple Uses its Supply Chain as a Strategic Weapon
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Well the generic Aveeno I get from there works just fine. A ~$70 tablet just does not do it for me after looking at the hardware specifications. I talked with the cashier and they keep selling out. Hell, they sold the last few while I was there!
Good points. I think that beyond cost is where the ecosystem, the form factor, the ease-of-use, and the slick marketing all come into play.
Just a bit of anecdotal evidence. My wife got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 from her Apple-hating brother. She's never owned a tablet but has used my iPad 2 with no problem. However, she couldn't get past the steep learning curve on how to use Honeycomb on the Galaxy Tab. It just wasn't user friendly to her.
Apple seems to want to erase technology from between the user and the device so it's not a hurdle preventing quick and seamless use. Paraphrasing something Steve Jobs once said: "Simple is hard." To make the interface easy for anyone to use isn't easy, but it's worth it to make your customers and would-be customers happy that they can use the technology without an instruction manual or a tutor.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 got returned and the money put toward a treadmill, by the way.
A treadmill is priceless compared to any tablet. I am lucky to get 30 minutes of entrainment out of a tablet.
To be fair, Apple's competitors have to see what they are competing against, before they can place orders for their "innovative" products. 
Some folks are desperate for an iPad.
To some people, iPad is like Kleenex. The word is used to describe the entire class of product, rather than the actual individual product.
Some folks maybe thought they could fool others into thinking they had an iPad. I used to work as a phlebotomist in a plasma donation center, and had a donor who owned a small black netbook. After the first iPad was released, he put one of those white Apple stickers you get if you buy an Apple product right over the computer manufacturers logo on the top of the netbook.
I asked him why he did that and he said because "everyone has an Apple and my friends don't know the difference." I thought he was an ignorant @$$hole at first, but after a while, I started thinking he may be right.
Much of the general public is ill-informed about what is and what isn't an Apple product. My co-worker just called her Boost Mobile Android-powered phone an iPhone last weekend.
I have no idea if that adds anything to our discussion, since I've lost the point I was trying to get at and I'll be damned if I delete all this just because I can't remember.
I need sleep lol.
Really? The only time I'm not using my iPad 2 is when I'm using my iPhone 4S. I don't even use my far-too-expensive Windows 7 laptop anymore.
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So railroad companies in the 1800s innovated, thought ahead, and purchased the parts they'd need before their competitors had a chance to look at their designs and try to buy the same parts? Sweet!
But seriously, how is anything they're doing anti-competitive? It's not like they're out buying stock they don't need in amounts they won't be using right away.
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People around here believe my Samsung is an iPhone.
They are just as amazed that I know how to use my phone.Spending my money on an ill-informed purchase is just grating to my very being. I fail to see the need to spend my money when I can put it to work for me in investment or savings.Much of the general public is ill-informed about what is and what isn't an Apple product. My co-worker just called her Boost Mobile Android-powered phone an iPhone last weekend.
I have no idea if that adds anything to our discussion, since I've lost the point I was trying to get at and I'll be damned if I delete all this just because I can't remember.
I need sleep lol.
I have plenty of money right now to spend on computer hardware or that personal treadmill I keep neglecting. (Swimming, biking, and walking are just so cheap!) I just find computer hardware to be incredibly boring right now. I am still waiting for 28nm video cards and AMD Trinity.
I remember when I was much younger and could not afford these things. I wanted them so much. Now that I have everything, it is just boring.
Looking at the latest mobile web browser statistics, it appears that the average treadmill will probably get more use than a non-iPad tablet.
You have chosen wisely.
This is why Apple CAN'T do stock dividends or buybacks!! Please do not change that Tim. The 50 million air purchase for the iMac a great example screening Compaq. As well as the displays for iPad and iPhone vs HTC
You can make an argument that the exact thing that allowed Microsoft to passed Apple years ago is what makes Apple so strong in today's market: controlling both the hardware and software. Part of this change may be the more affordable products and building available overseas.
Agreed. They got to where they are by holding on to their cash and using it for smart purchases. It may not be the warm and fuzzy thing to do, but it's damn good business.
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I may be wrong, but I don't believe Microsoft controlled/manufactured the hardware back in the day.
$499 is a lot of money to just browse the internet. Paying to consume content is a big joke to me when I can get the majority of it for free.
It is somewhat perplexing how much use a tablet gets while watching television. Otherwise amuse me as I have no imagination.
What is most interesting for me:
When I bought my iPhone it was directly send from the factory in ShenZhen, China to my address via FeDEX - and not from a local warehouse.
The FeDEX cost (I guess around US$10 per item) is probably high compare to bulk airfreight ($1-2), but Apple can save on repacking and does not need a distribution center. FeDEX also handles all customs issues.
Smart move!
When I bought my iPhone it was directly send from the factory in ShenZhen, China to my address via FeDEX - and not from a local warehouse.
The FeDEX cost (I guess around US$10 per item) is probably high compare to bulk airfreight ($1-2), but Apple can save on repacking and does not need a distribution center. FeDEX also handles all customs issues.
Smart move!
First there's always a surge of demand right after a product release, and a limited number of suppliers that can even reliably feed such a large demand. After that they're very conservative on ordering and this is intentional. People always want things that sell out anyway. Also buying up extra solely to deny their competition is dumb especially for a company that is all about design.
It's only an anti competitive move if they buy up capacity that they don't intend to use.
They've built the brand awareness up quite well. Just to mention this on your example though, a $25 mp3 player must carry a razor thin margin if it's made reliably. Then again my luck with ipod longevity hasn't been so great either
I guess if that's all you were going to use it for, I totally understand.
I read books, magazines, surf the web, watch movies and sports, listen to the radio and MP3s, play games, write and read emails, post on websites like this one, dabble in novel-writing (one of the main things I used to use my Windows 7 laptop for--and no, I'm not very good at writing, no matter what the device), check stocks, buy stocks, sells stocks, and do my banking on my iPad 2.
For me, it's more than paid for itself.
Some folks are desperate for an iPad.
To some people, iPad is like Kleenex. The word is used to describe the entire class of product, rather than the actual individual product.
Some folks maybe thought they could fool others into thinking they had an iPad. I used to work as a phlebotomist in a plasma donation center, and had a donor who owned a small black netbook. After the first iPad was released, he put one of those white Apple stickers you get if you buy an Apple product right over the computer manufacturers logo on the top of the netbook.
I asked him why he did that and he said because "everyone has an Apple and my friends don't know the difference." I thought he was an ignorant @$$hole at first, but after a while, I started thinking he may be right.
Much of the general public is ill-informed about what is and what isn't an Apple product. My co-worker just called her Boost Mobile Android-powered phone an iPhone last weekend.
I have no idea if that adds anything to our discussion, since I've lost the point I was trying to get at and I'll be damned if I delete all this just because I can't remember.
I need sleep lol.
Hahaha!!!
I was so interested in that story, but I see where it went. No where. lol.
Lol like I said, sorry about that.
I need some sleep!Edit: I'm at work, so I can't.
swingerofbirch
macrumors 68040
When I was a kid I used to dial into BBSes and on one in particular I would play some kind of turn-based strategy game against other people. One friend and I got particularly competitive and I came up with an evil plan: the rule was that if you failed to log into this game for longer than 7 days, your player was considered abandoned. This particular BBS was just one modem on one phone line, so I hatched a plan to dial in every day and keep the line busy during all the times my friend was likely to try to get on. If I could just crowd him out for long enough, I'd win by default...
Sadly I never got the chance to execute my plan, but I felt pretty conniving when I came up with it
Sadly I never got the chance to execute my plan, but I felt pretty conniving when I came up with it
Sounds a little like intentional abuse of capitol and market position in order to participate in anti-competitive behavior. I'm not surprised Apple would try to do this per se; I'm just surprised so many Americans would cheer them on with this much gusto.
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