iPad Has already Won the 'Tablet Wars'

[Piggie]

The "tablet wars" will be decided on the OS, not the hardware. That is because that platform will win that has the most and best content to offer.

If Android becomes the largest OS platform on tablets then that is the OS that will have the most and best content. If this is the case then customers will buy Android tablets.

The example of the iPhone shows that android phones gained 50% market share in a short time frame. So the "smart phone war" is far from over and apple is under immense pressure to keep its lead.

For tablets it's the same. Apple has to make sure to become and stay the dominant platform. Otherwise app developers, magazines, books, video platforms will first cater to the android market and therefore make the Ipad less attractive. So like in the iPhone market the "tablet war" is far from over.

Agree with you

Others will blast past Apple on the hardware specs front (if not construction materials) very quickly if Apple sits on it's backside and thinks it's won for too long.

I don't agree there has to be one winner.

One could say the PC won the home computer war, but some people like the (one could say) simpler way a Mac has been made to use.

As in the console war, there would easy be 3 or 4 very good formats that go one for a long time, with smaller background ones as well.

Some people will always want the benefits a full OS will give them and will hate being limited to what something like iOS can offer them.

Others are happy to have something that's cut down and more easy to use on the move, and only do their serious creative work when they can back to their computer.

 

[blackNBUK]

If by tablet, you mean a iPad like device for people to use to browse the Internet while sitting on their ass watching T.V then sure, iPad has won it.

For the future of tablet devices for other real world applications, I think we still have to wait and see.

I agree that their will be more competition when tablets start being used for more complex tasks however I also think that the iPad will be a really strong contender in this market too. If we take the example of writing a letter the iPad already has the software(Pages, DocsToGo) and the hardware(good software keyboard, two options for hardware keyboards); the one area that is currently missing is direct printing and that is coming in 4.2.

I think that Windows tablets have a lot more things that need fixing before they are viable for real applications on touch tablets. Microsoft need to create a truly touch friendly UI and they need to convince people to actually write applications for it. Plus they need to optimise the hardware and software so that they get both good performance and battery life in a similar form-factor to the iPad. Atom performance with 4 hours of battery life is a deal breaker for me.

 

[ciaran00]

I think I'm beginning to see this "step at a time" approach that Apple has. The iPad as it is isn't very good for business, but:

• It makes more headway than a Mac because it's treated as a mobile device (at least at my job), and so work email is instantly available on it. Email is a good chunk of my work so the iPad is where I do it almost exclusively. The fact that I'm jailbroken assists in my workflow. Since I can tweak powerpoints on it I can also leave my laptop at work (since I won't be doing any lab work at home or during the commute anyway).
• The initial filesystem restrictions that were there have eased up a little with Dropbox/Droplr type solutions. Adding mobileme to it has made it a smarter overall sync solution.
• Once multitasking comes in I think we'll see the real power of the tablet. I hadn't been using my phone as much until we got official multitasking. After that, I can hardly get enough battery life out of it. I have actually been keeping in touch with people.
• Apple still has a LOT of restrictions on the iPad that makes it frustrating for a lot of workflows. But what they've done is opened themselves up to MONTHS of market research in advance. This gives them the jump like nothing else.
• Video games were almost gone from my life before iPad. Seriously.. this thing is such a (wonderful) waste of time.

Step at a time. Do what works, release it, some people will be unhappy. Improve, move on. Instead of trying to do a lot of things badly, just do a few things well.

 

[dukeblue91]

The "tablet wars" will be decided on the OS, not the hardware. That is because that platform will win that has the most and best content to offer.

If Android becomes the largest OS platform on tablets then that is the OS that will have the most and best content. If this is the case then customers will buy Android tablets.

The example of the iPhone shows that android phones gained 50% market share in a short time frame. So the "smart phone war" is far from over and apple is under immense pressure to keep its lead.

For tablets it's the same. Apple has to make sure to become and stay the dominant platform. Otherwise app developers, magazines, books, video platforms will first cater to the android market and therefore make the Ipad less attractive. So like in the iPhone market the "tablet war" is far from over.

I agree it will be about the OS and the content but as far as Android making such a splash, well the iPhone was only available on one network in the US and if you wanted anything close to it from another network you had to get a Android OS phone.
But believe me as soon as At&t is done with the lock on the iPhone and you can get it from more then one service provider things will change fast.

As or the iPad if Apple does what it did with the iPhone and update every year and build the heck out of iOS like before it will stay the standard that it is now and everything else will have to overcome this.

People keep also forgetting how much of a accessory difference there is and has been with the iPhone and now with the iPad and this is something the other companies will have a heck of a time to overcome.
Just take any model of a Android running phone and compare it to any model iPhone in regards to accessories and other aftermarket goodies " Made for iPhone, iPod or iPad"
That is a huge reason why iOS products are so far ahead.

 

[dukeblue91]

You'll note that quite a few of these were on sale during the time period the iPhone was / is.

Honestly I didn't go through the whole list to see how many were smart phones, cause that's what I was referring to when I answered the other post.

 

[mazdatree]

Other 'real tablets' will come out soon, then it'll be the start of the war. I say 'real tablets' because cheap iPad knockoffs from China came after the iPad was released (wiipad, flatpad - which I had and it sucked, etc). All Apple has done is restarted the tablet craze which, like other people said, came earlier but it had a pour execution.

 

[Bernard SG]

If by tablet, you mean a iPad like device for people to use to browse the Internet while sitting on their ass watching T.V then sure, iPad has won it.

For the future of tablet devices for other real world applications, I think we still have to wait and see.

The key-word here is "applications". The iPad having this head-start is an indication that, currently, anyone who's looking into deploying tablets in enterprise are looking at the iPad. The longer it takes for competitors to come up with some decent alternative, the more business-oriented apps will be developed for iPad and the harder it will become for alternatives to compete.
AFAIK, SAP themselves have deployed iPads in their own organization. That's quite a tribute.

 

[Nausicaa]

I agree that their will be more competition when tablets start being used for more complex tasks however I also think that the iPad will be a really strong contender in this market too. If we take the example of writing a letter the iPad already has the software(Pages, DocsToGo) and the hardware(good software keyboard, two options for hardware keyboards); the one area that is currently missing is direct printing and that is coming in 4.2.

I think that Windows tablets have a lot more things that need fixing before they are viable for real applications on touch tablets. Microsoft need to create a truly touch friendly UI and they need to convince people to actually write applications for it. Plus they need to optimise the hardware and software so that they get both good performance and battery life in a similar form-factor to the iPad. Atom performance with 4 hours of battery life is a deal breaker for me.

Agreed. The fact is, when people talk about 'real world' applications they basically mean the ability to run desktop class software. But the fact is none of these desktop applications are designed for a touch interface. And it will be a while before the UIs of these generally complex applications are properly updated for touch control. And this won't really happen until the hardware itself has enough users to warrent the time and cost.

So really, it is out of Apple's hands at this point. They were smart to just use iOS so developers are forced to create new apps specifically for a touch interface. The problem with so many tablets that have come before is the software was just better and faster to use on a regular computer or laptop. This means that we don't always get the functionality we desire, but the user experience is almost always superior. In time, desktop class software will come to tablets, regardless of the OS. But it has to happen this way. Not enough people will ever buy tablets running a desktop OS to encourage developers to modify their mostly desktop-bound software.

This is ultimately why I am perplexed by people who don't like iOS on the iPad. Mac OSX in tablet form would have been a disaster and nothing would work as well as you're used to. People would think, "why am I buying a tablet when everything I can do on it is faster and easier on a laptop?"

 

[andiwm2003]

Agreed. The fact is, when people talk about 'real world' applications they basically mean the ability to run desktop class software. ..............................

I'm not sure if people really expect desktop class software. Just a bit more productive software and OS.
Why do I need to dive through several menues to change font color in pages?
Why is there no file system?
Why can't I upload files via USB from any machine but have to sync?

Just look at all the work arounds that are available and popular. They wouldn't exist if there was no need.
Other maunfacturers could fill that gap by using Android. The hardware will catch up with Apples superior iPad soon.