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iPad Expected to Maintain Position as Tablet Market Leader

DakotaGuy said:
Thanks a lot for calling me stupid. I bought into the hype thinking it could replace my laptop, but in the end it doesn't. That is the reason why sometimes I wonder why I bought it. With that said I do enjoy using it more then my iPod Touch and I like the bigger screen when I use it as a remote for iTunes.

Whether or not the iPad is an actual computer depends on your definition of a computer. A 1970's large LED calculator could be a computer. A stand alone Blu-ray player could be a computer... anything with any sort of processor could be a computer. I think the difference is if the iPad is considered to be in the same class as other traditional "Personal Computers" like Macs or PC's. I don't think it is.
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These people don't get it. When we say computer, we don't mean it as literal, we mean it as existential.
 
infowarfare said:
SO wrong in SO many ways... actually, Joe Consumer DOES consider it a computer because it does everything they need it do to (they don't need a full blown desktop just to answer emails, surf the web and youtube and update their Facebook which is what the majority of "Joe Consumers" use their computers for.)

Someday you will learn that no matter how much you try to spin it, your made delusional hypothesis of what "various definitions" of computing is wrong! There is only one definition:

an electronic device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program.

Period. The iPad is a computer, get over it. Again, as I stated to the other troll; I can create documents, slide shows and data charts on the iPad, I can edit my photos with a wide variety of photo apps, as well as my videos, I can create music with a wide variety of music apps, I can even program now using the new Processing app HiperPad, all of this is way more than I could do with my first several computers from the 1980s to 1990s, so how exactly is the iPad not a computer?
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What's funny is that while you're insisting over and over it's a computer, the original argument was about market share and whether the iPad and Windows Tablets should even be grouped in the same market.

Funny how a thread evolves
 
This whole discussion about what a computer is or what an iPad is is ridiculous.

What separates iPads from, what I am assuming to be the "traditional" sense of the word, computer? A physical keyboard? A physical, indirect input device? Because iPad has everything else a computer does: A processor, internal storage, RAM, an operating system, internet access, applications/programs, audio output, video output.

What Apple did before iPad was blur the line between computers and cellphones. This was done with the iPhone. Another poster suggested that by labeling the iPad as a computer you are also labeling the iPhone and iPod Touch a computer as well. What is wrong with this? Nothing. The iPhone and iPod Touches are computers. But more so, they are multifunctional mobile devices.

What everyone else is arguing about is the distinction between a tablet computer and a desktop computer. Both are computers in different, yet very similar, forms. You can transform an iPad into a more "traditional" computer with bluetooth keyboards and docking gadgets.

As for the original discussion on market shares. I don't see how Windows based swivel touchscreen laptops can be considered tablets. They are laptops with with a touchscreen that swivels and uses a stylus.
 
firewood said:
The PalmPilot wiped pen tablets from Casio, Radio Shack, even the Apple Newton, completely off the charts.
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It was just coincidence the Palm Pilot was introduced the same year that Jobs killed the Newton Messagepad off. The disappearance of the Newton in a sense boosted the Palm Pilot to pre-eminence without serious competition. The Newton was actually a (the only?) profitable division of Apple at the time so the decision wasn't a competitive or fiscal one. It just didn't fit into Jobs' plans for the company.

It does now though.. the iPad! :D
 
Salacion said:
Before you accuse someone of being a "troll", why not take a look at your knack for relinquishing vitriol. It's very formidable.

Next, what it isn't can be easily told. Primarily, it does not function as a standalone device. It requires an actual computer to transfer media and so forth. The interface is based not on OS x, but on iOS. By your logic, we can label the iPhone and iPod Touch as computers too, no? So what if you can edit photos on the iPad? You can't upload photos straight form you camera, edit them, nor convert them from RAW to JPEG. You can't research for an essay online while typing your composition out, viewing both apps simultaneously. You can't burn discs, you can't watch DVDs and you can't listen to CDs. I can go on...
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Wow, so you didn't actually comprehend what I had wrote, you are just making up your own definition of what a computer is. Yes, technically, the iPhone and iPod Touch are computers as well, but keeping focus on the iPad, all those things you listed that the iPad can't do (which you are partially wrong about, you can get photos from your camera to the iPad, and the other things the iPad could do if an app were written for it, in other words, it has the computing power to do so) all those things, from converting RAW to JPG, to "multitasking" to burning discs and watching DVDs (which, why would you need to if you can download or stream the exact same media) all of those things you couldn't do with the Apple IIe, or the first several Macintoshs, or the PCs from Dos to the original initial version of Windows and I can go on and on... so are those not computers either? The massive room sized Computer that launched the Apollo rocket into space in the late 1960s can't even come close to doing what the iPad can do, so was that not a computer either? My first Silicon Graphics computer running UNIX couldn't do many things the iPad can do, was that not a computer?

The processor speed, amount of ram, storage space as well as abilities far exceed what most computers could do all throughout the 1970s thru early 1990s as I was using computers, you may be too young to remember computing from those days or purposely being a douche (more likely) but the iPad by ANY definition is most definitely a computer.
 
cvaldes said:
Actually, for Joe Consumer, it's not a computer.

There are different definitions of the word computer. You're using one very technical definition.

In a way, it's like describing a tomato as a fruit or vegetable. From a botanical nomenclature standpoint, the tomato is a fruit. However to the layperson (and from a culinary standpoint), the tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit.

Some day you will learn that there are valid definitions to words that widely accepted by the general public, not just esoteric definitions that are espoused by geeks.

Apple Inc. does not consider an iPad a computer. It is categorized separately in the marketing materials. Note that it is not referred to as a computer in their SEC filings nor their technical support documentation.

Thus, the iPad is not a computer to the three groups of people to whom it matters the most: the company who produces it, their shareholders, and their customers.

Of course, if the SEC and FCC's definitions on what a "computing device" is, it wouldn't be the first time that the government can't make up its mind.

;)
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So, what you are trying to say is, Apple users are all fruits while Windows users are all vegetables?
 
awmazz said:
The Newton was actually a (the only?) profitable division of Apple at the time so the decision wasn't a competitive or fiscal one. It just didn't fit into Jobs' plans for the company.
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Sculley thought it up. :p
 
hwhalers said:
I can almost understand missing DVD playback (I haven't bought a DVD in a few years, but that's mostly through Netflix. Since they put a lot of stuff online I haven't had anything out in months), but CDs? Seriously? :p
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It's just an example bud.

Look, when you don't need to connect your iPad to your computer before you use it, I'll consider calling it a computer.
 
firewood said:
That's mainly for marketing reasons.



Joe Consumer knows nothing about computer science, information technology or engineering, and rarely has a clue about how many computers are actually around them.
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So since my car has microprocessors in it should I now also refer to it as a computer and not a car?:confused:
 
Precisely

Laird Knox said:
I can't say I'm terribly impressed with my Android tablet. It does what I wanted it to do but it is clunky to use.
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And that is, of course, the real heart of an Apple product .. the user experience both in the hardware and software. Sure, they don't always get it right but they try very hard and that why it is usually a pleasure to use an Apple product.

I love my iPhone 3GS .. had it for a year and almost had a heart attack when I dropped its non-cased form on tarmac and it now has a couple of small dents in the plastic back .. for me "the first scratch is always the deepest" .. could be an excuse to upgrade to iPhone 4 .. however I'm waiting to see what the 4a rev looks like :cool:

My MacBook Pro is simply the loveliest piece of tech I've every owned (so far!) .. my iPad 3G comes a very close second though and my iPod touch a 3rd .. ooh and my "Classic" iPod a 4th.

My 2009 Mac Mini sits beautifully under my HDTV and combined with 3 EyeTV tuners (EyeTV viewing on the iPad is great), VLC, Front Row and now AirVideo server (for fantastic iPad video streaming) is a great media centre. [I'd love a 2010 Mac Mini but the 2009 version is just so close to it that its not worth an upgrade although the latest version does look nicer]

I'd love to change my G5 iMac for a i7 iMac but even after so long in use it still "just works" for me and is still fun to use.

I have lots of non-Apple tech and gadgets but I find they get pushed to the back of the draw because they are not engaging enough .. even the cute Acer Aspire One netbook does not get the usage it deserves since the iPad came along! Fired it up today (it runs Ubuntu netbook remix and has run an EFI-based commercial OS before) and updated it and now its somewhat knackered (giving various errors and now the wifi has stopped working) .. so it needs a reinstall, sigh, so it will have to just go back in the cupboard until I have a spare day or so to fix it! Maybe Android 3 might be a good choice for it .. no only kidding, Darwin would be better :cool:
 
Salacion said:
It's just an example bud.

Look, when you don't need to connect your iPad to your computer before you use it, I'll consider calling it a computer.
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You only need to connect it to a computer once. Now, can we agree that the iPad is a computer after the first time you connect it to another computer?
 
Salacion said:
It's just an example bud.
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It's actually pretty apt. People who cling to the concept of physical media and "needing" a general purpose computer will probably keep buying them for the next ten to twenty years, even though they're archaic and mostly obsolete. There's always people who get dragged kicking and screaming into modern things.

By your definition, when an iPad can be activated OTA, it's a computer? Or will the amount of local storage still irk you, even though it's likely that within a few years, most media will be streamed or at least cloud-based?

This whole argument is kinda off, in my mind. The iPad is not a general purpose computer. That's one of its finest selling points, IMO.
 
Liquorpuki said:
What's funny is that while you're insisting over and over it's a computer, the original argument was about market share and whether the iPad and Windows Tablets should even be grouped in the same market.
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Depends on why you're grouping them.

Group by purchasing goal?

I happen to know of businesses that are buying a less PC's, and buying iPads instead, to run RDP to virtual desktop instances on a server, where access to the companies data can be better controlled. You can connect an iPad to a monitor and a Bluetooth keyboard, and bring up a Windows 7 desktop (or VMWare or Citrix app). Just like a dedicated thin-client PC (is that a computer?).
 
firewood said:
Mercede's actually advertised one of their models as a mobile computer network. Over 300 CPUs.
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That strikes me as silly. I do not like the idea of 300 potential fail points. Now if one can take over for another when the first fails, that would not be as bad.

My view of car design is, cut out every ounce of mass you can, then put in as big of an engine as you can fit without reducing your ability to corner.
 
RalfTheDog said:
So, what you are trying to say is, Apple users are all fruits while Windows users are all vegetables?
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I didn't mean to imply that, but now that you mention it, I will give it some consideration.

I may need to run some computations. Which device should I use for the analysis? Hmmm...
 
RalfTheDog said:
That strikes me as silly. I do not like the idea of 300 potential fail points.
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Compare the safety record of an expensive Mercedes model (advertised with 300+ CPUs) with the market average for other sedans. The Mercedes moving computer platform is statistically a lot safer than my father's old Chevy, which had zero electronics more complicated than the starter solenoid or AM radio.
 
hwhalers said:
It's actually pretty apt. People who cling to the concept of physical media and "needing" a general purpose computer will probably keep buying them for the next ten to twenty years, even though they're archaic and mostly obsolete. There's always people who get dragged kicking and screaming into modern things.

By your definition, when an iPad can be activated OTA, it's a computer? Or will the amount of local storage still irk you, even though it's likely that within a few years, most media will be streamed or at least cloud-based?

This whole argument is kinda off, in my mind. The iPad is not a general purpose computer. That's one of its finest selling points, IMO.
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When it comes down to it, the iPad can replace your computer for basic things.

If it's a computer or if it's not doesn't really matter anyways..
 
firewood said:
Compare the safety record of an expensive Mercedes model (advertised with 300+ CPUs) with the market average for other sedans. The Mercedes moving computer platform is statistically a lot safer than my father's old Chevy, which had zero electronics more complicated than the starter solenoid or AM radio.
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Compare it's repair cost. More importantly, compare it's 0 to 180 time as well as it's cornering speed.

Honestly, neither car meets my standards.
 
firewood said:
Depends on why you're grouping them.

Group by purchasing goal?

I happen to know of businesses that are buying a less PC's, and buying iPads instead, to run RDP to virtual desktop instances on a server, where access to the companies data can be better controlled. You can connect an iPad to a monitor and a Bluetooth keyboard, and bring up a Windows 7 desktop (or VMWare or Citrix app). Just like a dedicated thin-client PC (is that a computer?).
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How about group them by their actual market, which is what the analysts in the article were doing?

Somehow the debate morphed into whether or not the iPad is a computer, which is stupid because "computer" is an umbrella term that's as loose as you want it to be. By its loosest definition, a computer doesn't even need electricity. You guys will be debating until next week
 
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