Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
How Can Apple Lose the Tablet Wars When Competitors Produce Products Like Sony
- Thread starter LaWally
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I wasn't aware that there even was a tablet war. Apple has the dominant share in mobile tablet devices due to the iPad and it's pricing strategy. Android tablet manufacturers or should I say designers since everything is produced in cheap labor countries anyways nowadays, make an army of tablet devices to scare and confuse consumers with specs and pretty much just junk. Only 10% of Android users use ICS which is really where Android fails. ICS is the only version of the OS that counters iOS in functionality but most people can't update because "manufacturers" have not made custom ROM packages for the update. Android OTA updates don't really work because they don't really update the system... what's that about? Most people are stuck in Android 2.x right now and it just doesn't work that well. As a consumer device, Android tablets are just a little too fragmented and a little too complicated to work out-of-the-box. Android Market is also fragmented which causes the tablets to have even less impact than the phones. It just doesn't add up. If Google ever manages to fix these issues, Android could be successful but right now, it's a mess.
Well then, if you do not mind I will still look forward to Win 8. This is NOT the same old stuff they have been pushing in the past.
You shall see. And it could bomb, but I am betting it will be a serious contender for both Apple AND Android!
Honeycomb is actually a decent OS and not far from iOS 5.1. The real problem with tablet Android is the lack of apps designed for those screens. ICS is going to take over in the Android tablet space this year I think, even some new super low end tablets are starting to ship with it. As for Android 2.x, well having used a Nexus S running 2.3 Gingerbread (I now have ICS on it) after owning an iPhone 4 I can honestly say that it does work that well. No lag and I never felt like I was lacking apps or features. iOS and Android (2.3+) on phone are on the same level to me. iOS totally destroys Android on tablet, though. That's why I ditched my Transformer and waited for the new iPad, they are not comparable. iOS is on its own pedestal in the tablet space.
I get the impression that none of these companies really want to be in the tablet space at all. I feel like they're there, purely because Apple is making such a killing, that they feel like they're missing out, but they really just want to concentrate on ultrabooks.
Only Amazon has a cohesive, thought-out strategy, whereas everyone else's seems to be reactionary.
Only Amazon has a cohesive, thought-out strategy, whereas everyone else's seems to be reactionary.
Well then, if you do not mind I will still look forward to Win 8. This is NOT the same old stuff they have been pushing in the past.
You shall see. And it could bomb, but I am betting it will be a serious contender for both Apple AND Android!
You are most welcome to look forward to it. Just as I warned, don't get your hopes up too high. They always say "this time is different"...except that it is not. Its the same old turd repackaged in a shiny box.
I am more interested in the Windows 8 tablets to be introduced later this year.
If Apple has anything to worry about, it will be talbets that run WIndows software and be free of the Apple restrictions and FRE from iTunes
And free from viruses ?
I'm also interested to see how Windows OS will evolve in mobile devices but looking at the past, I'd not expect too much.
I'm curious about this also. The Metro UI looks great on Windows 8, but the fact is that once you switch it off, unless I'm mistaken, it just becomes any version of Windows that you've used for the past 10 years.
I don't see the innovation in putting a nice skin over Windows 7.
companies still don't understand that it's all about user experience, not necessarily price etc. Most of them think they can just throw together a tablet and people will start buying it. Yes apple products in general are overpriced, but for $499 for the iPad that is definitely a good buy for what you get. Apple has it all figured out that simple and easy are really what consumers want.
Why would someone pay the same or more than an iPad and get some cheap crappy looking thing like this Sony P? The overall quality of the products are on a totally different level than the other companies. Combine that with it's ease of use....and it can't be matched or beaten. For a company to put one up on apple....the price has to be way below apple and be a better built machine than an iPad...all of which i don't see happening.
----------
amazon is only relying on users making them money on their apps and content and they may possibly be losing money on the devices. Just thinking of the average consumer who may not have much knowledge or be tech savvy to download movies or appls etc. they may just buy the kindle fire for email/web surfing on the go. Where does amazon make money on those people? It's also a device that is somewhat difficult to navigate and can't be used as your main computer like an iPad could. It's basically just used as a tool to get to amazon content.
Why would someone pay the same or more than an iPad and get some cheap crappy looking thing like this Sony P? The overall quality of the products are on a totally different level than the other companies. Combine that with it's ease of use....and it can't be matched or beaten. For a company to put one up on apple....the price has to be way below apple and be a better built machine than an iPad...all of which i don't see happening.
----------
amazon is only relying on users making them money on their apps and content and they may possibly be losing money on the devices. Just thinking of the average consumer who may not have much knowledge or be tech savvy to download movies or appls etc. they may just buy the kindle fire for email/web surfing on the go. Where does amazon make money on those people? It's also a device that is somewhat difficult to navigate and can't be used as your main computer like an iPad could. It's basically just used as a tool to get to amazon content.
The kicker here is that on top of that thing looking like a model spaceship and having a massive gap in the middle of the screen at the hinge, it only comes with 4GB of internal storage.
Welcome to 2007, Sony.
Welcome to 2007, Sony.
Well then, if you do not mind I will still look forward to Win 8. This is NOT the same old stuff they have been pushing in the past.
You shall see. And it could bomb, but I am betting it will be a serious contender for both Apple AND Android!
I've downloaded the Consumer Preview. I hate it. And this coming from a guy who thought Windows Me was alright!
They seem to alternate good/bad. People loved 98, hated ME, loved XP, hated Vista, love 7. I can't stand the Metro interface. The Tablet-like interface should only be the default for tablets.
what amazes me is there are people getting paid the big bucks to come up with an idea like that? I'm sure at home they use an iPad....they can't copy up an idea? lol
I'm not exactly sure if you're saying this - that at some point all the other manufacturers will drown out Apple's iPad, because there are so many against one? That might make simple sense, but if we look at the iPad in the same light as the iPod, it makes more sense to think that Apple will simply dominate the market, regardless of the volume of manufacturers trying to compete.
What's more extraordinary is that Apple didn't create the music player, in the same way they created the iPad. What they did with the iPod is create both the consumption device and the ecosystem to feed the consumption. The iPad is just another consumption device (albeit new and revolutionary) that taps into the ecosystem they already have.
They're doing the same thing with Apple TV and if they go forward with an Apple Television, they're again just allowing people to feed off of the ecosystem they created long ago. It's a brilliant business model and one that is going to be difficult to crack for other manufacturers. Google is trying - but they're trying lots of things, which means they're not so singularly focused like Apple. Same thing with Amazon, although they really are just a store that sells everything and if you've ever been on the selling side, you'll know that having an almost unlimited number of choices for products to sell can be more of a hindrance than a help.
I would never pay once for Netflix.
I did have it for awhile and thought the selection was too limited. Plus I have a WDTV Live Hub for streaming it and pretty much anything else I want.
It costs amazon about $203 to manufacture a kindle fire and they sell it for $199. There trying to get you to sub. To their prime service which costs $80 a year.
right and what happens when someone just wants it to surf the web/email? they aren't making any money
What does that matter if you can use software to protect?
Do you go out in the flue season or just stay indoors.
Apple is not immune any more, either. Wait and soon you will see.
----------
Reminds me of the iPhone 4S
I actually made a mistake. The estimate is that it costs them about $150-$200 to make one so they do probably make a small amount by just selling the device.
You answered your own question.
my point is for the ones that don't use it for the content...just surf the web and email.
I am more interested in the Windows 8 tablets to be introduced later this year.
If Apple has anything to worry about, it will be talbets that run WIndows software and be free of the Apple restrictions and FRE from iTunes
Windows 8 is a mistake, IMO. I've tried both the Developer and Consumer Previews, and I cannot use it for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. The "classic desktop" is nothing more than a full screen emulator running on top of Metro with a crippled (and worthless) Start Menu. The interface is crap on a desktop/notebook, even if your hardware (i.e trackpad) support multitouch gestures. I've run it on a Lenovo laptop as well as on my MBP via Parallels, and the user experience is broken for lack of a better word. I tried to install some 3rd party software, and most if it either wouldn't run or was missing features in W8. And Minecraft crashed the OS every single time I tried to launch it. That doesn't bode well for general release.
While I respect your opinion, I will wait till it is finished and try it out. It does not mean I will be getting rid of what I got now it mean I will buy it and play with it to see it full potential. I would not expect your version of W8 to run MUCH of the software out today.
Apple hardware is to restricted for me. I want to carry my Office files on my device into the field. No way with Apple. While I love my iPad it is more for entertainment and not a serious business tool!
if only Apple made something other than the iPad, something Office-compatible
maybe someday Stealthipad, maybe someday
If they would give me the ability to set up a file system and MS would give us the Office Suite for iPad, I would never look at another device.
Something tells me I will be looking for a long time.
What kind of office files? I find that the iPad does about 95% of what I need it to do in the field. I work with iWork, docs, xmls, and powerpoint on the move. Granted, I can't get complicated formulas to work via iPad but other than that, it covers most of the documents. If you can't do it with iWork and Quickoffice, it's most likely not feasible to do it on a tablet anyways.