Netbook Market Leader Acer Not Planning to Compete With iPad

[iRACK]

Where is everyone getting this 10 million number. I doubt 10 million iPads would be sold by the end of the year.

10 Mio is my personal estimation.

Just see the iPad is going to launch in a bunch of major markets arround the globe at once. So i think 10 Million is not to high.

I think it will be much more popular than most techies think here

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Apple didn't use it's influence to raise book prices. Publishers (or at least Macmillan) used Apple's influence to raise book prices. In other words, Macmillan said to Amazon, "hey we can make more money selling our books on the iPad...either let us raise our kindle prices or we're going to stop letting you sell our books...you wouldn't want Apple to have that over you, would you??"

So Apple fights for consumers getting low prices from the music industry, but doesn't join Amazon in the fight against higher e-book prices in the book industry. Apple is right for fighting for lower music prices, but not remotely to blame for (apparently) ignoring the very same kind of fight (allied with Amazon in this case) for books?

I know we all love Apple. I do too. But come on. How can we look at them and see every decision and every action as the right way forward, and the ONLY way forward?

The fact of the matter is that ebooks are going to be sold to us at a higher price. Persumably Apple in one way or another has something to do with this (INCREASE). We can blame it entirely on MacMillan so that we don't have to see Apple as remotely connected to us having to pay more for e-books, but, even if we do that, can't we at least find some- any- fault with Apple for not aligning with Amazon on our behalf? I mean, couldn't Apple have said: "no we won't support higher e-book prices, so if you want to sell your books in OUR store, you'll have to play ball"?

You know, just like they did with music?

 

[benpatient]

If Flash "causes most browser crashes" then why does Safari crash all the time on the iPhone?

It's sooooo confusing...I'm sure someone can explain it to me so that Apple sounds like a hero...

 

[Goona]

Extremely valid point...

Only things is - Apple thought about this...

SD SLOT: I knew Apple would not include an SD slot on such a small storage device. This is a common 'play' from Apple as they are moving away from "making" products for the user (best features in their best products). These days, Apple Inc. like most other firms in this down economy are geared towards sales, and Apple ultimately wants you to spend more than the introductory iPad at $500. The 16GB iPad model is purely for market saturation & "marketing" a price point in general.

CAMERA: I think not including a Camera is the biggest flaw in the iPad. I have very high hopes for the iPad in due time. When the iBooks market has been well saturated & 4G(LTE) rolls out in the next year or so - Everyone will have or want one!

FLASH: That is just a pissing match! Jobs & Adobe both have sides that I could take, but I think on the whole, Flash is not the future. I mean Jobs is correct, when he talks about Flash crashing web browsers. But in the present, it is widely used & Jobs should know that and have already implemented this into their OS for the iPhone, iPad, & iPod Touch.

No matter what, they missed out on marketing this as a portable device that is great for video chat. I still think the underlying reason is that this is a marketing/sales ploy to have you purchase all three platforms - iPhone, iPad, and a Mac.

I'm still getting the iPad over any Netbook out there. If I need a netbook when traveling I will bring my MacBook. But, for the most part, all I need now is...

The iPad!

Exactly, netbooks are garbage. I just bought one for my girl and after using it for a couple of days, I was shocked at why people were buying them. I would rather get a 13 inch macbook pro or a macbook than get a netbook. Netbooks have small keyboards and tiny screens. They also aren`t that fast. iPad is superior to it even though it has its drawback.

 

[iRACK]

If Flash "causes most browser crashes" then why does Safari crash all the time on the iPhone?

It's sooooo confusing...I'm sure someone can explain it to me so that Apple sounds like a hero...

I can not di that but i can say. Safari hardly ever crashes on my 3gS Iphone.

Maybe it is ur data service. ?

 

[*LTD*]

Apple devices and device accessories are sold at Wal-Mart. I can imagine the iPad being sold there as well.

We were talking about computers, not handhelds.

 

[Eidorian]

We were talking about computers, not handhelds.

They sell computers as well at Wal-Mart. What of it?

Exactly, netbooks are garbage. I just bought one for my girl and after using it for a couple of days, I was shocked at why people were buying them. I would rather get a 13 inch macbook pro or a macbook than get a netbook. Netbooks have small keyboards and tiny screens. They also aren`t that fast. iPad is superior to it even though it has its drawback.

Intel or AMD?

 

[nelmat]

You might be right on the hardware front. However, Amazon has already made iTunes drop DRM, lower prices, and up the music quality. Amazon again has made Apple keep the price of the iPad low enough that it can compete against the kindle.

What is this reality distortion - DRM was imposed on Apple by the producers of content, jobs fought long and hard to have it removed. DRM is not imposed by apple on movies and music, it is imposed by the producers of this content. Music quality was improved (and will continue to be improved) as improved telecoms infrastructures increase average speeds of net communication. A 4 - 8 meg audio track in the early days of the iTunes store would have taken many people 10 - 15 minutes to download. I suspect this is the same reason for a lack of 1080 HD movie content - it will come when the majority of the network infrastructure can handle it.

The iPad is not competing against the kindle, it is a different device in a different sector, with one function in common. How is the Kindles colour screen and music/web browsing capability, or App store, or iWork equivalent?

Kindle DX - $489, iPad - $499.

No one forces Apple to set their prices anywhere.

 

[Goona]

That's only for McMillan - not all publishers. Amazon even temporarily pulled all their stuff to fight them. This could end up being a total fail for McMillan also. Just because it's sold there doesn't mean people will buy it for that price.



You might be right on the hardware front. However, Amazon has already made iTunes drop DRM, lower prices, and up the music quality. Amazon again has made Apple keep the price of the iPad low enough that it can compete against the kindle.



LMAO. 99% of all apps I download get deleted within 5 minutes because they're ***** and don't work on the device they were designed for. I really wish there was a way to get a refund.

I see the iPad having little or no threat to netbook sales - however I see this forcing other companies to produce better tablets.

itunes had drm free tracks from EMI before Amazon mp3 was conceived. So how did it make itunes drop drm. The only reason why the majority of the tracks on Amazon mp3 were drm free and itunes wasn`t was because of the labels. I also doubt it was Amazon that made itunes lower prices or up the music quality. In some cases music prices on itunes have gone up. Amazon on the other hand doesn`t have a history of developing amazing software like Apple.

 

[bretm]

A Google like product would be relatively simple technologically for elppa, but the closed nature of Google's search/ad-words ecosystem, makes it difficult for elppa to replicate.

The easy/hard bit is really annoying me. They are only thinking about the hardware, not the software and services. They just expect the software and services to be given to them.

SONY is after years and years, is now taking software VERY seriously. I'd suggest Acer would be wise to follow suit.

Well, what software would they make? The core to the iPad is the OS. ACER is NOT an OS manufacturer. They rely on Windows. The minute windows comes up with a tablet OS, then Acer will be able to compete. I find the guy's honesty to be dead on. And he's quite right about the success with the ecosystem of iTunes and the marriage of hardware and software. He needs to rethink the competition, though. All of us here know Apple users that have bought a CHEAP netbook to hack for OSX or just use as is for email just because Apple didn't have a product. Now they do. And it fits that bill perfectly, plus does a bit more. So I no longer look at the cheap Acer's in the Sam's and Costco as I wander though. If nothing else, Apple filled a hole in their product line that was leaking a few users over to the dark side.

 

[nelmat]

So Apple fights for consumers getting low prices from the music industry, but doesn't join Amazon in the fight against higher e-book prices in the book industry. Apple is right for fighting for lower music prices, but not remotely to blame for (apparently) ignoring the very same kind of fight (allied with Amazon in this case) for books?

I know we all love Apple. I do too. But come on. How can we look at them and see every decision and every action as the right way forward, and the ONLY way forward?

The fact of the matter is that ebooks are going to be sold to us at a higher price. Persumably Apple in one way or another has something to do with this (INCREASE). We can blame it entirely on MacMillan so that we don't have to see Apple as remotely connected to us having to pay more for e-books, but, even if we do that, can't we at least find some- any- fault with Apple for not aligning with Amazon on our behalf? I mean, couldn't Apple have said: "no we won't support higher e-book prices, so if you want to sell your books in OUR store, you'll have to play ball"?

You know, just like they did with music?

I'm sorry - do Apple run Macmillan, or do they somehow manage Amazon's pricing policy? What does this have to do with Apple. They don't control pricing of all media world wide, in case you hadn't noticed.

Macmillan want to charge a variable rate for their content, why shouldn't they? Too much price control/fixing going on at the moment.

 

[Goona]

And he couldn't be more correct. Netbooks are popular only because people don't know what they want. They want the versatility of a notebook and the portability of a phone. Netbooks try to be everything a notebook is, but due to being underpowered, fail miserably. Anything that considers itself a "netbook" and is over $500 is just stupid.

Netbooks are only popular because of their price. They don`t offer anything else.

 

[NAG]

The thing for me, is how can the Ipad excel at browsing without support for Flash.

Don't get me wrong, I hate flash as much as the next man, but it is such an important thing for the many of the type of websites you are likely to want to browse with an Ipad. Very few sites are running Iphone friendly video options still.

I think that this lack of flash would seriously influence someone debating a netbook vs Ipad.

And why doesn't it include ActiveX? You can't do a lot of important things such as online banking without ActiveX. -circa IE6

 

[killerrobot]

If Flash "causes most browser crashes" then why does Safari crash all the time on the iPhone?

It's sooooo confusing...I'm sure someone can explain it to me so that Apple sounds like a hero...

All web-designers are lazy and aren't optimizing for Safari.
I swear, Apple should just pull access to the internet until all designers optimize all pages for Safari.

/sarcasm

itunes had drm free tracks from EMI before Amazon mp3 was conceived. So how did it make itunes drop drm. The only reason why the majority of the tracks on Amazon mp3 were drm free and itunes wasn`t was because of the labels. I also doubt it was Amazon that made itunes lower prices or up the music quality. In some cases music prices on itunes have gone up. Amazon on the other hand doesn`t have a history of developing amazing software like Apple.

While there's no "proof" that Apple has done anything because of Amazon (no one from Apple would ever admit it). I feel that Amazon is the only true competitor out there against iTunes and has kept Apple a little more honest in their dealings with music & movies and will do the same with ebooks.

And for a logical fail error - Why would Amazon have a history of developing amazing software like Apple? They're not a software company nor does software drive their music and dvd sales. For their ebooks, yes they have developed a decent software and a pretty good hardware - nothing is going to surpass the e-ink as far as reading goes for quite some time I think.

 

[*LTD*]

Kindle DX - $489, iPad - $499.

No one forces Apple to set their prices anywhere.

i never realized that Apple priced their iPad only $10 above the Kindle.

I guess the next place to get Kindles en masse would be eBay. LOL, stupid Amazon.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Dude why whould all ebooks cost 9.99. When you go to a bookstore do you see all books priced the same. With Cd`s and digital tracks it makes more sense because in real life most CD`s cost about albums cost around the same price these days.

OK dude, why does all music have fixed price points in the iTunes store? When you go to the music shelves in stores, do you see all songs priced the same?

OK dude, why does all movies have fixed price points in the iTunes store?

OK dude, why does all TV shows have fixed prices points in the iTunes store?

I find very wide ranges in CD, DVD, etc media- just like books. I also find many books in printed form priced well below $9.99. But it makes sense that books will be a special case this time?

From the publishers point of view, this is a definite win: getting to price their content as they see fit should be their right. But if we're going to back the seller's side, the same should apple to all the other iTunes content for sale in the iTunes store.

I can't believe that we have such a need for Apple to be right, that we would now flip classic, very long-standing arguments around in support of us- the consumers- paying more for iTunes content.

 

[csimmons]

It needs a camera! Most netbooks have a video camera for skype etc...
Also without flash I am not sure people will buy into the idea of a video player as well. Hulu! How do we watch netflix will we be able to use silverlight?

Hulu has no relevance whatsoever to web users outside of the US. Silverlight even less.

According to Apple last financial call, 60% of Apple's revenue came from international sales.

Figure it out.

 

[Goona]

They sell computers as well at Wal-Mart. What of it?

Intel or AMD?

MSI Wind with an Intel Atom

 

[PaulSorensen]

If Flash "causes most browser crashes" then why does Safari crash all the time on the iPhone?

It's sooooo confusing...I'm sure someone can explain it to me so that Apple sounds like a hero...

Have you got the current iPhone OS? My Mobile Safari hasn't crashed for a long time—and I use it heavily every day.

 

[lunarworks]

Why do people buy Acer? (Other than price, of course.)

Why do people keep buying Acer? I know someone who has had an Acer laptop die, and Acer TV die, and an Acer computer die. I, myself, have had an Acer monitor die three times ("repaired" twice), and told her it's a lousy brand. Yet, for Christmas, she bought her daughter an Acer netbook.

People are gluttons for punishment, I swear.

 

[Eidorian]

MSI Wind with an Intel Atom

Atom has the battery life but the performance is lacking. AMD really needs to catch up in the mobile market but that doesn't look possible until 2011. The updated Neo processors are better and supposedly in 45nm.

You'd get a K8L/K10 core with an AMD IGP over the Intel garbage. Unless you go for an HP Mini 311 with ION LE. You're still limited by Atom there.

 

[csimmons]

OK dude, why does all music have fixed price points in the iTunes store? When you go to the music shelves in stores, do you see all songs priced the same?

OK dude, why does all movies have fixed price points in the iTunes store?

OK dude, why does all TV shows have fixed prices points in the iTunes store?

I find very wide ranges in CD, DVD, etc media- just like books. I also find many books in printed form priced well below $9.99. But it makes sense that books will be a special case this time?

From the publishers point of view, this is a definite win: getting to price their content as they see fit should be their right. But if we're going to back the seller's side, the same should apple to all the other iTunes content for sale in the iTunes store.

I can't believe that we have such a need for Apple to be right, that we would now flip classic, very long-standing arguments around in support of us- the consumers- paying more for iTunes content.

Hate to break it to you, but iTunes has had variable pricing for at least 2 years now, even though it's only been "official" since the beginning of 2009.

 

[nelmat]

Extremely valid point...

Only things is - Apple thought about this...

SD SLOT: I knew Apple would not include an SD slot on such a small storage device. This is a common 'play' from Apple as they are moving away from "making" products for the user (best features in their best products). These days, Apple Inc. like most other firms in this down economy are geared towards sales, and Apple ultimately wants you to spend more than the introductory iPad at $500. The 16GB iPad model is purely for market saturation & "marketing" a price point in general.

CAMERA: I think not including a Camera is the biggest flaw in the iPad. I have very high hopes for the iPad in due time. When the iBooks market has been well saturated & 4G(LTE) rolls out in the next year or so - Everyone will have or want one!

FLASH: That is just a pissing match! Jobs & Adobe both have sides that I could take, but I think on the whole, Flash is not the future. I mean Jobs is correct, when he talks about Flash crashing web browsers. But in the present, it is widely used & Jobs should know that and have already implemented this into their OS for the iPhone, iPad, & iPod Touch.

No matter what, they missed out on marketing this as a portable device that is great for video chat. I still think the underlying reason is that this is a marketing/sales ploy to have you purchase all three platforms - iPhone, iPad, and a Mac.

I'm still getting the iPad over any Netbook out there. If I need a netbook when traveling I will bring my MacBook. But, for the most part, all I need now is...

The iPad!

There is an SD and USB adapter for the device. At least read the official product places.

Care to name a cell phone or device at this level which runs a full version of flash successfully?

I have the nexus - flash doesn't work on it. There is a flash lite plug in, but most of the time the browser hangs/crashes and most flash content doesn't display or function properly. (I can't run farmville for instance)

I had the HTC hero - said it ran flash, but nothing worked

My samsung netbook with windows - same story.

See the common link here? It's not Apple.

 

[Kar98]

So Acer will not compete because it can't. Basically.

No, because they are in a different market. My Aspire One was $351, comes with a 160 GB hard drive and a slot for high capacity memory card. It also has a keyboard, it can multi-task, has a battery life of 6 hours and I can install any operating system I want on it. Or pick any software from any source and it will run with Acer's or Microsoft's approval. Also, it does Flash and it has a camera and microphone
The iPad is an oversized iPod Touch with all its pros and cons.

 

[kdarling]

A future with lots of non-interchangeable digital media is going to suck badly.

Question:

Has Apple stated which eBook format they'll be using on the iPad?

Will their DRM allow us to buy an eBook from iTunes and also use the same eBook file on another reader?

Or are we headed down the path of yet more proprietary downloads?