Apple Buys Up Touch Panels Delaying RIM's Tablet Release

[marksman]

Yes, the war just started and things are heating up. I would think the next few years will result in a tablet OS distribution that looks like this:

iOS - 35%
Android - 40%
WebOS - 20%
RIM - 5%

Apple - 35%
HP - 20%
RIM - 5%
Samsung - 15%
Moto - 10%
LG - 10%
HTC - 5%

Maybe Microsoft will wedge their way in, maybe the percentages will be shifted around a little. But the growth of the tablet market will stabilize or at least stop growing at the rapid pace that it currently enjoys.

The point I'm making is that the hot market only seems to be lasting 4 to 5 years. 10 years ago, MP3 players was the hot market. 5 years ago, smartphones was the hot market. This year, it's tablets. 5 years from now ... who knows, but it won't be tablets.

Don't apply the phone dynamic to Tablets. Android is not likely to take a lead in tablet market share for a long time if forever.

Every single time a customer goes to buy a tablet they will have the choice to buy an iPad. The only way that changes is if the wireless companies are able to give away cheap android tablets with data plan contracts. Otherwise, it is going to be very difficult for the commodity android market to overtake Apple.

Every store they go to, an iPad will be there next to it, and since Apple took such an aggressive price stance from the beginning, it is going to be hard for anyone to take that position away from them, especially a mish mash of opposing companies relying on a free OS by another party.

 

[roocka]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

I wonder if apple said, we have $60 billion dollars. We will buy every tablet you can make for the next 3 years. If you build new factories or production lines, we'll take those too, including those of your affIliate companies..

 

[gkarris]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

I wonder if apple said, we have $60 billion dollars. We will buy every tablet you can make for the next 3 years. If you build new factories or production lines, we'll take those too, including those of your affIliate companies..

And then Apple will go on to buy up all the LED computer displays, hard drives, and Intel Processors.

The Computer Industry can KEEP their Blu-ray drives...

(Oops, did I just say that?)

 

[johnnyturbouk]

This gives RIM time to rethink their tablet.

lol

is it me, or does the RIM look pretty lame in comparison to other tablets

 

[SandynJosh]

I'd rather have Apple ( or ANY company for that matter ) compete rather than having it throttle its competition.

Do you really want Apple to have no competition? Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if this starts affecting a lot of Apple's competitors, for a prolonged period of time - various countries would start to look at Apple regarding its competition laws.

Apple didn't buy up the production to throttle the competition. They had the balls to bet on the iPad being a run-away winner. Think about it. Months into marketing a brand new product category, Apple acted to secure future capacity at levels no one else anticipated. Had Apple been wrong, it would have hurt them terribly. As it is now, Apple is barely meeting sales demand levels.

Apple's competitors want a piece of the market but don't have the confidence in their product to put their money down in advance. RIM had their chance to buy production ahead, they didn't.

 

[paul4339]

Yes, the war just started and things are heating up. ...
Maybe Microsoft will wedge their way in,...

I absolutely expect MS to wedge their way in, they just have to come up with an adequate OS (it doesn't have to be the 'best' OS). They have tons of cash, distribution channels, developer communities, and 00's million of desktops install that they can leverage. Look at how much money they 'blew' on Bing, Zune, Xbox to gain a tiny foothold.

P.

 

[LagunaSol]

Apple is anticompetitive and should be shut down. By producing products customers want when others in the industry can't, they are forcing the competition out of business.

Thanks for the feedback, comrade.

All Apple did was created a premium brand. Technology was cheap and affordable in the MP3 market. You could pick up an MP3 player for under a $100 bucks until Apple came into the market with its $300 dollar iPod.

Bear in mind that the original iPod was the only one with the combination of capacity (5GB) and physical size (pocketable) that made it attractive to the general market. The Creative Nomad of the time looked like my old portable Sony CD player.

So it's not that Apple created a market for devices at a particular price point - they created the devices people wanted to buy. At the right price. There was nothing "premium" about the original iPod when you saw what you got for the money. The equivalent 2.5" hard drive of that capacity at the time was selling for as much as the iPod.

 

[gnasher729]

I absolutely expect MS to wedge their way in, they just have to come up with an adequate OS (it doesn't have to be the 'best' OS). They have tons of cash, distribution channels, developer communities, and 00's million of desktops install that they can leverage. Look at how much money they 'blew' on Bing, Zune, Xbox to gain a tiny foothold.

What Microsoft has doesn't transfer to the tablet market. Ok, they have cash. They have enough money to give away 80 million tablets. If they do that, over the next three years, the cash is gone, and Apple + Android will still sell more units

Distribution channel? What distribution channel does Microsoft have for hardware? They don't. Zune was a failure. XBox and tablets are two completely different markets.

The developers are writing iPhone / iPad apps.

And how would Microsoft go about "leveraging the desktop"? People throw out computers and buy an iPad. People don't say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy a Microsoft tablet to go with it". They say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy an iPad so I can get rid of that old PC".

 

[lilcosco08]

They should've left the bleeding screens to RIM

 

[vvswarup]

9/10 Apple fans think Apple can do no wrong. Regardless of their shortcomings, most seem blind and too eager to hand their money over the Apple without regard to the true value of Apple's offerings. The other side of that is, if you buy into the walled garden, you have to generally suck it up. Apple has always done it there way, and will probably continue to do it their way regardless if it benefits the consumer. I've found most of the time what they do only benefits their coffers. They could easily make changes up front, but feel it's best for their pockets if they stagger features over years at a time knowing people will buy each and ever "upgrade" Apple delivers.

Related to the subject line, if it were any other company, like Microsoft, Dell or whomever pre-ordering and buying whole supply lines knowing their competitors would be strangled, there would be an antitrust/monopoly case launched immediately. The simple fact that Apple is a media and government darling precludes them from any serious thought by officials that would choose to stop this monopoly from continuing. Just as above, I know 9/10 fans here will blast me for stating the honest truth, but.. true story bro. Apple can do no wrong and their fan base is living proof of that.

I own Apple products and I like them. That may make me a fan, but I will hold my head up high and tell you that in looking at Apple's business practices, I don't give Apple a free pass. There is nothing wrong with what Apple did. If Microsoft or Dell had done the same thing, i.e. buying up whole supply lines, I would say the same thing: It's business.

Apple built up a massive cash reserve. In the past, Apple faced issues with supply constraints. Wanting to avoid supply constraints, Apple decided to use its massive cash reserves to pre-order as much supply as possible to ensure availability for launch. The touchscreen manufacturers can only produce so much supply of touchscreens. It's not like those touchscreen manufacturers signed an exclusivity deal with Apple saying that they would make touchscreens for Apple alone. Apple simply bought most of the supply that those manufacturers would be able to produce. How is that anti-competitive?

As for Apple being a "media and government darling," I call complete BS on that. In case you haven't heard, Apple's stock is a constant target for market manipulation. Every business decision that Apple makes is called underhanded, never mind that it's a perfectly legitimate business move and everybody else does it or would do it too. Also, Apple has been investigated quite a few times by the government. Taking these two things together, it's safe to say that Apple is no media or government darling. Quite the opposite, in fact.

 

[ehoui]

Yes, the war just started and things are heating up. I would think the next few years will result in a tablet OS distribution that looks like this:

iOS - 35%
Android - 40%
WebOS - 20%
RIM - 5%

Apple - 35%
HP - 20%
RIM - 5%
Samsung - 15%
Moto - 10%
LG - 10%
HTC - 5%

Maybe Microsoft will wedge their way in, maybe the percentages will be shifted around a little. But the growth of the tablet market will stabilize or at least stop growing at the rapid pace that it currently enjoys.

This is the interesting point and I agree largely with your sentiment: the real losers here are not iOS and Android (via their competition with each other). It's the other vendors. WebOS has a chance to participate as a key alternative (with the right execution from HP), but Microsoft is in real jeopardy here of missing the boat (again). I'm not rooting for MS' demise -- far from it. But MS better get on the ball quickly.

 

[X2468]

Apple has competition, Apple. RIM, Google and Microsoft are not factors.

Ah, the voice of tunnel vision.

RIM, Google, and Microsoft are companies you can read about if you ever get out into the mainstream.

 

[LagunaSol]

I'm not rooting for MS' demise -- far from it.

I am. Microsoft was the biggest barrier to technological innovation over the past couple of decades. I would be happy to see them absent from the new mobile computing OS world. Let them make apps.

 

[ohbrilliance]

As a consumer I'm hoping that the Playbook (and others) are a success, so I have a choice between viable products.

Being glad that RIM can't get into the market is like hoping your team wins because the other didn't turn up to the match.

 

[paul4339]

What Microsoft has doesn't transfer to the tablet market. Ok, they have cash. They have enough money to give away 80 million tablets. If they do that, over the next three years, the cash is gone, and Apple + Android will still sell more units

Distribution channel? What distribution channel does Microsoft have for hardware? They don't. Zune was a failure. XBox and tablets are two completely different markets.

The developers are writing iPhone / iPad apps.

And how would Microsoft go about "leveraging the desktop"? People throw out computers and buy an iPad. People don't say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy a Microsoft tablet to go with it". They say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy an iPad so I can get rid of that old PC".

>Ok, they have cash.
They have enough buy RIM, Motorola, and HTC if they really wanted to.

> Distribution channel?
MS has probably one of the widest distribution channels on the consumer and enterprise markets...BTW, Im not saying they should make MS hardware, just the OS. They have contacts with almost ALL the manufacturers and resellers. One thing I learned was never to underestimate Microsoft. (I agree that their hardware products are mostly failures)

> The developers are writing iPhone / iPad apps.
I agree... that's why they have to leverage their existing developer communities.

> And how would Microsoft go about "leveraging the desktop"? People throw out computers and buy an iPad. People don't say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy a Microsoft tablet to go with it". They say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy an iPad so I can get rid of that old PC"

Not true. People go with what they know - and Apple/Google are quickly setting the new OS standard for tablets; But do not ignore that's LOTs of people that are familiar with Windows (over 1 billion window users. Are they going to throw that away or find a way to leverage?).

 

[seashellz]

Ha ha! Way to go Apple!!!! Kill the competition any way you can!!

Apple is doing everyone a favor saving them from the mistake of getting a RIM tablet.

thats why i love capitalism

the stupid, (RIM) by failing to plan, are planning to fail and get left behind...

 

[koruki]

I think the thing to note here is that, yes Apple has the power and money to hold down the main supply of the worlds touchscreen panels but we shouldn't go and believe they are doing it JUST to be anti-competative, they are hardly getting enough for themselves. Its not their fault everyone wants an iPad (blame the competition lol) , so at least the panels are getting used

 

[wdelton]

Ha!!

 

[Ugg]

> And how would Microsoft go about "leveraging the desktop"? People throw out computers and buy an iPad. People don't say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy a Microsoft tablet to go with it". They say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy an iPad so I can get rid of that old PC"

Not true. People go with what they know - and Apple/Google are quickly setting the new OS standard for tablets; But do not ignore that's LOTs of people that are familiar with Windows (over 1 billion window users. Are they going to throw that away or find a way to leverage?).

I think for the first time, computing is morphing into pro and consumer lines. There will always be a need for powerful desktop machines for PhotoShop, making movies, engineering, architecture, etc. They need big monitors, monitors that at this point at least are largely terrestrial. Then there is the mobile business market. The coders, the salespeople, etc. They don't need a massive screen or massive computing power. A laptop works just fine for them. Finally, there's the consumer market. Tablets do almost everything they need. The cloud and mobile broadband provide them all the computing power and storage they need.

Where does Microsoft fit into this? Their licensing fees are truly exorbitant and there's been a study flow of customers away from MS. No surprise there. They're always playing catchup in regards to Apple and Google. Where is their relevance in today's computing world? I'm having a hard time seeing it outside of a few specialized applications. MS has become IBM.

I think the thing to note here is that, yes Apple has the power and money to hold down the main supply of the worlds touchscreen panels but we shouldn't go and believe they are doing it JUST to be anti-competative, they are hardly getting enough for themselves. Its not their fault everyone wants an iPad (blame the competition lol) , so at least the panels are getting used

It is ironic that Apple created this market and now is being thrashed because the iPad is selling like gangbusters and so there's simply no extra capacity available to anyone else.

When the iPad debuted with such low prices, I was convinced that Apple was determined to corner the tablet market. I'm now more convinced than ever, that is Apple's intention. They'd be stupid not to buy up all the component capacity. The iPad is a major hit.

 

[sockdoggy]

I don't know if I buy this whole shortage thing.

If there is such a big shortage, why aren't people/businesses creating more production plants and capitalizing on the demand (which is only getting started from the looks of it). Where there is serious demand there is serious $$$ to be made!

It seems like basic economics to me but I've been wrong before...

 

[paul4339]

.... They're always playing catchup in regards to Apple and Google. Where is their relevance in today's computing world? I'm having a hard time seeing it outside of a few specialized applications. MS has become IBM. ....

yes... i see where you coming from and agree ... In the consumer market can MS transition from a 'post-PC era' to services & consumer electronics?

One thing for sure, it's refreshing _not_ to have MS in the race for once (just my opinion) - or at least have a few more major players bringing in some balance.

 

[coder12]

You should bring your iPad.

Both of them, and facetime with yourself.

 

[SandynJosh]

And how would Microsoft go about "leveraging the desktop"? People throw out computers and buy an iPad. People don't say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy a Microsoft tablet to go with it". They say "well, I have a Windows PC, I will buy an iPad so I can get rid of that old PC".

You ask a very good question iin that first sentence. MS must have wrestled with that very same question and came up with the horrible solution carefully reiterated in the following wordy advertising.

The Windows tablet/slate expects everyone to keep their PC nearby in order to enjoy the utility of their slablet. There is also an awful short video advertisement on YouTube for the Asus slablet.

 

[SandynJosh]

I don't know if I buy this whole shortage thing.

If there is such a big shortage, why aren't people/businesses creating more production plants and capitalizing on the demand (which is only getting started from the looks of it). Where there is serious demand there is serious $$$ to be made!

You don't build these components in a garage and hire your workforce off the docks. The equipment that it takes to build touch screens are not ordered out of catalogs and shipped overnight.

The companies that make the touch screens are also acutely aware of the problem of overproduction capability such as what occurred not long ago with memory chips.

Money is made when you have properly anticipated, years ahead, what the future capacity of various components might be, and steered your production in that direction.

Apple projected their needs in critical components, such as the touch screen, and spent billions of dollars to partner with manufacturers to guarantee that "when you build it, we will come."

 

[marksman]

I don't know if I buy this whole shortage thing.

If there is such a big shortage, why aren't people/businesses creating more production plants and capitalizing on the demand (which is only getting started from the looks of it). Where there is serious demand there is serious $$$ to be made!

It seems like basic economics to me but I've been wrong before...

There was no production of these screens two years ago. The demand has far outrstripped any expectations anyone would have had 3 years ago. It takes time to get new plants online.

I suspect Apple's long-term contracts with suppliers include future factories and production being brought online to help boost their ability to provide screens. It takes time though.