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Tablet Manufacturers Reevaluating Pricing Options in Light of iPad Announcement?
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You have that right! Those that bitch in forums like this and have vicarious social lives by spending too much time on line has no significance whatsoever to the Apple marketing machine. If anything, these types are being used as free PR.
Those that matter, have social lives, families, attend churches and have more social presense than living in an apartment chuck full of tech junk that scares of any hottie that dare step into their place. Worst, these guys still live with their parents, attend fandom conventions, work retail and have limited sexual experience. That describes about 80% of those who post here.
As I quoted before, "You scoffed it. You laughed at it. You will buy it!" and no private parties in Woodside for you!
Yes, but *I* dont need a laptop when im away from home. I've lived without one for a long time, my cell phone and mp3 player are enough for me, and both fit into my pocket. I had a netbook for a total of 4 months last year when I went away on vacation. The netbooks physical size, battery life, weight and price made it an amazing choice. I wouldnt mind buying one, however I dont have a real need for it. Its a very nice accessory at a very VERY reasonable price: $300 vs the ipads $500 accompanied by all its limitations.
iStrategy
I was discussing this with someone yesterday. See, this is where apple shines in terms of marketing strategy. They don't go by traditional "markets" - like "gamers" or "students" or "medicine" which might make it seem like they have no market.
But they do. Their market is anyone who appreciates an easy to use system. From developers to consumers to the distribution channel that ties them together, it's easier than anything else. If you create a "gaming device" you'll only sell to gamers. If you create an "e-book reader" you'll only sell to people who want to read e-books. If you create a graphics tablet, you'll only sell to artists and designers.
If you create a product that is easy to make games for, easy to put e-books on, easy to put medical apps on, and easy to buy all these things on.... Then what's your market now?
What's the iPhone market? I know teenagers who have them and grandpas who have them. Why? Because it's a blank canvas of sorts. It's whatever you need it to be. That's Apple's "market".
I was discussing this with someone yesterday. See, this is where apple shines in terms of marketing strategy. They don't go by traditional "markets" - like "gamers" or "students" or "medicine" which might make it seem like they have no market.
But they do. Their market is anyone who appreciates an easy to use system. From developers to consumers to the distribution channel that ties them together, it's easier than anything else. If you create a "gaming device" you'll only sell to gamers. If you create an "e-book reader" you'll only sell to people who want to read e-books. If you create a graphics tablet, you'll only sell to artists and designers.
If you create a product that is easy to make games for, easy to put e-books on, easy to put medical apps on, and easy to buy all these things on.... Then what's your market now?
What's the iPhone market? I know teenagers who have them and grandpas who have them. Why? Because it's a blank canvas of sorts. It's whatever you need it to be. That's Apple's "market".
Actually the iPad brings Apple into a market segment they never wanted to take the Macintosh. I have no desire to own a laptop again, but I would consider buying an iPad. And I have a feeling that there are many others out there who feel the same way. For those people, they never had an option from Apple. Now they do and Apple will sell millions of them. I also don't believe they'll cannibalize Apple's laptop sales either. People who need more than just a casual computing device will still want to buy and use a window based operating system. These new ARM based mobile devices from Apple aren't meant to replace that. Due to the screen sizes, they are designed to be single-task devices. They aren't meant for heavy work loads, they are designed to be on-the-go devices that you can whip out just about anywhere and get a few things done.
I can't think of anything I would want to plug into this thing if it had a USB port? Seriously guys why do you want USB ports on this thing? Why on earth would you buy a tablet computer to leave it hooked up to a tv? so again, why do you want a HDMI port? Why do you want expandable memory? How many movies could you possible watch between the ability to swap data on the device. I have 2 terabytes of digital movies and tv shows sitting on a hdd attached to my television. You can't possibly tell me that anyone had expected a tablet computer that can hold everything? Most people have more MP3's then 64gb.
I think a lot of you are trying to make this thing a laptop.
I want this thing so that I can sit on the couch and surf the internet. A laptop is not really a portable computer, its just a computer you can pick up and put down somewhere else to use. A device like this takes all of the everyday tasks and lets you do them while walking around the house or sitting in the car.
When I look at everything that I do on computers (I am a professional photographer by trade), most of those things I don't want to be sitting at a separate desk to do. If someone sends me an email, I want to hold that email in my hand and reply to it, like a letter. I don't want to walk into another room, sit down at a desk and type away one a keyboard.
People saying that its useless because it doesn't run adobe creative suite are fools who obviously never actually use it. How on earth could you expect good results with a touch screen? It takes a high precision mouse or a wacom tablet to use photoshop properly. When every pixel of distance matters, a touch screen tablet will never suffice.
This device was created for people like me. I own a laptop, a desktop and an iphone. The desktop is for serious work. The laptop is for serious work on the go. I use the iphone for enjoyment, it is a fantastic internet browsing device however the small screen has always bugged me. Until now I have always had to keep email and real internet browsing on the laptop. I can kiss that good bye since now the iPad will give me a better way of enjoying simple computing tasks.
I just cannot believe how cheap it is.
I think a lot of you are trying to make this thing a laptop.
I want this thing so that I can sit on the couch and surf the internet. A laptop is not really a portable computer, its just a computer you can pick up and put down somewhere else to use. A device like this takes all of the everyday tasks and lets you do them while walking around the house or sitting in the car.
When I look at everything that I do on computers (I am a professional photographer by trade), most of those things I don't want to be sitting at a separate desk to do. If someone sends me an email, I want to hold that email in my hand and reply to it, like a letter. I don't want to walk into another room, sit down at a desk and type away one a keyboard.
People saying that its useless because it doesn't run adobe creative suite are fools who obviously never actually use it. How on earth could you expect good results with a touch screen? It takes a high precision mouse or a wacom tablet to use photoshop properly. When every pixel of distance matters, a touch screen tablet will never suffice.
This device was created for people like me. I own a laptop, a desktop and an iphone. The desktop is for serious work. The laptop is for serious work on the go. I use the iphone for enjoyment, it is a fantastic internet browsing device however the small screen has always bugged me. Until now I have always had to keep email and real internet browsing on the laptop. I can kiss that good bye since now the iPad will give me a better way of enjoying simple computing tasks.
I just cannot believe how cheap it is.
If Apple can sell an iPod Touch for 399, it seems to me like a slam dunk that the iPad will sell just fine. I'd rather have an iPad than the $300 Netbook I bought a couple months ago, even after I installed OSX on it. The functionality of my iPhone is just fine for my needs, the bigger screen on the iPad would make it great for using at work in meetings, etc.
Another USE:
The low end macbook was one that appealed to students due to price. This is the prefect replacement for that market. Most of these users listen to music, surf the net at college, use facebook, Twitter & use a word processor to write papers. This is an ideal market. Add the Dock accessory w/keyboard for use on the desk in the students room and you have your word processor. Pull it out and bring it to class or library for textbooks, lecture etc.
The low end macbook was one that appealed to students due to price. This is the prefect replacement for that market. Most of these users listen to music, surf the net at college, use facebook, Twitter & use a word processor to write papers. This is an ideal market. Add the Dock accessory w/keyboard for use on the desk in the students room and you have your word processor. Pull it out and bring it to class or library for textbooks, lecture etc.
Talking about cost, I just did a little calculation (I posted this as a comment on a blog, so apologies if you read it twice). This is less than perfect (particularly because I do not know how much the iPad will cost in the UK) but given the results I'm fairly confident with the decision it points towards.
I currently make £15.63 an hour doing development work on my current project. I tend to ramble about cafes and pubs when doing research as I like a social environment for reading and notetaking, therefore I want something that I can take with me easily to those places. I do not drive (medical reasons) and so being lightweight is important to me. I am probably going to replace my ageing laptop this year. I need a heavy-lifting machine for my data analysis (my work involved developing techniques for machine learning and visualisation of inferred information) and something which I can use for reading journal articles and making notes.
I have RSD so I find it uncomfortable to read for long periods sitting at a table or in a single pose. I estimate I lose about an hour to two hours worth of useful work a day because laptops (and netbooks) lead to me needing to get up and stretch to stop cramps setting in. The question underlying the rationality of the go/no-go decision then is, how many days do I need to own an iPad for before it pays for itself?
Let's assume that a $300 netbook would be sufficient for my needs except for the aforementioned posture problems. Let us also assume that the smallest spec iPad that suits me is the largest $829 one. That means I need to cover $529 in extra productivity.
$529/(£15.63 per hour) = 21.2 hours
At an hour per day lost (the low end of my estimate), I would only need to use the iPad for 22 days before it had more than paid for itself.
Given I don't imagine only using the device for 22 days, for me it seems rational to buy one even though I have biased the calculation heavily against that decision.
I realise this only makes sense relative to my (very particular) situation and I won't make a firm decision until I can try the iPad for myself; the point I'm trying to make is that TCO is about more than just the upfront price. A netbook may look cheaper, and seem (in 'spec') like it does more; but how well the device works within your workflow can significantly alter the rationality of a given decision.
I currently make £15.63 an hour doing development work on my current project. I tend to ramble about cafes and pubs when doing research as I like a social environment for reading and notetaking, therefore I want something that I can take with me easily to those places. I do not drive (medical reasons) and so being lightweight is important to me. I am probably going to replace my ageing laptop this year. I need a heavy-lifting machine for my data analysis (my work involved developing techniques for machine learning and visualisation of inferred information) and something which I can use for reading journal articles and making notes.
I have RSD so I find it uncomfortable to read for long periods sitting at a table or in a single pose. I estimate I lose about an hour to two hours worth of useful work a day because laptops (and netbooks) lead to me needing to get up and stretch to stop cramps setting in. The question underlying the rationality of the go/no-go decision then is, how many days do I need to own an iPad for before it pays for itself?
Let's assume that a $300 netbook would be sufficient for my needs except for the aforementioned posture problems. Let us also assume that the smallest spec iPad that suits me is the largest $829 one. That means I need to cover $529 in extra productivity.
$529/(£15.63 per hour) = 21.2 hours
At an hour per day lost (the low end of my estimate), I would only need to use the iPad for 22 days before it had more than paid for itself.
Given I don't imagine only using the device for 22 days, for me it seems rational to buy one even though I have biased the calculation heavily against that decision.
I realise this only makes sense relative to my (very particular) situation and I won't make a firm decision until I can try the iPad for myself; the point I'm trying to make is that TCO is about more than just the upfront price. A netbook may look cheaper, and seem (in 'spec') like it does more; but how well the device works within your workflow can significantly alter the rationality of a given decision.
lol so full of win. One camp of noobs say that the iPad has no purpose. Yet Tablet AND netbook manufacturers are acting like chickens with their heads cut off.
I guess razor thin margins don't work out in the end.
I guess razor thin margins don't work out in the end.
Don't forget to factor in resale value. That can bring the TCO or gains per year substantially higher.
Part of me is wondering if Apple isn't selling the $499 iPad at a loss.
iPad pricing for 3G models 'ridiculous,' says hardware guru
Another part of me is wondering why a device with seemingly fewer features costs more than a $300 netbook.
iPad pricing for 3G models 'ridiculous,' says hardware guru
Another part of me is wondering why a device with seemingly fewer features costs more than a $300 netbook.
This is only a very rough, back of the envelope calculation. I've also ignored other potential time savings with reading PDFs on a large multitouch device rather than a laptop/desktop with trackpad/mouse and keyboard as I cannot reliably estimate them until I use the iPad for myself. As I said, I'm just pointing out that TCO is more complex than upfront cost, and capability is more complex than specification and features.
This tablet was made for cloud computing. Period. Everything streamed to you for a cost. You don't need ports because they don't want you to hook up to anything. You stream it. This is just the beginning and the iPad is the 1st step.
What I don't understand is why people keep comparing the Kindle to the ipad. They are not in the same class. The Kindle was never marketed to be able to browse the internet or watch movies or listen to music. It is and was markted as an ebook, meaning it has one single purpose and that is for the owners of it to be able to read books on it. That is all. The ipad is neither a ebook nor is it a netbook. It is a larger ipod touch, plain and simple. Can you read on it yes but that does not mean it is in the same class as the Kindle. It is a MID (multimedia internet device) The sooner people understand that the better. I am getting tired of people comparing it to ebook readers and netbooks/notebooks.
I'd love for you to continue updating us on your experiences. You have my interest.
The original topic was about Apple's pricing forcing others to re-think their pricing strategies.
Basically, these others were expecting to price their devices between $700 and $800 to undercut Apple, but they must also have been rubbing their hands in glee expecting much higher margins than they have been able to realise on their netbooks and laptops.
Suddenly, we're talking $350 to $400 for these other devices, and they're probably browning their pants because their margins are again going to be razor-thin, with no guarantees that they will outsell the iPad.
As for the iPad, this product has been in the pipeline for many years: a lot of the hardware/software combo that came out of Apple's R&D Labs for a tablet device was diverted to — and market-tested on — the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple were probably not prepared for the success of these devices and had to add further functionality to the tablet, hence iBooks and iWork.
iWork on the iPad is compatible with iWork on OSX, so you will be able to both import and export from/to MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The iPad is able to output 720 video and Apple already has a cable available for connecting this thing to your TV. The USB Adapter will allow direct connection of cameras and the SD Reader Adapter will read your SD cards, so importing photos will be easy. We don't yet know what else the USB/SD Adapters will be capable of, but some genius somewhere is going to eventually find a jailbreak solution and the iPad will really take-off.
The beauty of the iPhone/iPod Touch is that you don't need to upgrade the hardware that often, because these are designed to add functionality through software upgrades, and the iPad will enjoy the same upgradeability.
I had intended to just get the cheapest one and persevere for 2 years before upgrading the hardware, but I can't see Apple adding much else other than a faster processor. I'm going to get one: hopefully, it will be the 3G+64GB version. Even though I already have an iPhone 3GS and a Sony PRS-505 (the Sony will get passed down or sold on), I know exactly how I'm going to use the iPad.
My only worry about getting the iPad: that my wife is going to want to use it for watching movies in bed (which she does on a portable-DVD player at the moment, and it only plays proper DVDs and she hates having to set it up each time) just when I'm halfway through a book I can't put down!
As for netbooks?
1. A lot of netbooks have been bought by people wanting to run OSX on them.
2. I know loads of people who have bought one and then not used them after a week or two because the user experience is rubbish. Some have successfully installed OSX on their netbooks, but again, the user experience isn't quite the same as running OSX on a larger screen.
Basically, these others were expecting to price their devices between $700 and $800 to undercut Apple, but they must also have been rubbing their hands in glee expecting much higher margins than they have been able to realise on their netbooks and laptops.
Suddenly, we're talking $350 to $400 for these other devices, and they're probably browning their pants because their margins are again going to be razor-thin, with no guarantees that they will outsell the iPad.
As for the iPad, this product has been in the pipeline for many years: a lot of the hardware/software combo that came out of Apple's R&D Labs for a tablet device was diverted to — and market-tested on — the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple were probably not prepared for the success of these devices and had to add further functionality to the tablet, hence iBooks and iWork.
iWork on the iPad is compatible with iWork on OSX, so you will be able to both import and export from/to MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The iPad is able to output 720 video and Apple already has a cable available for connecting this thing to your TV. The USB Adapter will allow direct connection of cameras and the SD Reader Adapter will read your SD cards, so importing photos will be easy. We don't yet know what else the USB/SD Adapters will be capable of, but some genius somewhere is going to eventually find a jailbreak solution and the iPad will really take-off.
The beauty of the iPhone/iPod Touch is that you don't need to upgrade the hardware that often, because these are designed to add functionality through software upgrades, and the iPad will enjoy the same upgradeability.
I had intended to just get the cheapest one and persevere for 2 years before upgrading the hardware, but I can't see Apple adding much else other than a faster processor. I'm going to get one: hopefully, it will be the 3G+64GB version. Even though I already have an iPhone 3GS and a Sony PRS-505 (the Sony will get passed down or sold on), I know exactly how I'm going to use the iPad.
My only worry about getting the iPad: that my wife is going to want to use it for watching movies in bed (which she does on a portable-DVD player at the moment, and it only plays proper DVDs and she hates having to set it up each time) just when I'm halfway through a book I can't put down!
As for netbooks?
1. A lot of netbooks have been bought by people wanting to run OSX on them.
2. I know loads of people who have bought one and then not used them after a week or two because the user experience is rubbish. Some have successfully installed OSX on their netbooks, but again, the user experience isn't quite the same as running OSX on a larger screen.
Did you watch the keynote????Jobs named the things it does better than either a phone or laptop.
As others have said,in the end the users will determine it's"focus".That's the beauty it of it.I adapts to you not vice versa.I think it will do well.
Looking forward to Kindle DX+
I think the Kindle DX could be be serious competition IF they allowed for at the least web browsing...
I think the Kindle DX could be be serious competition IF they allowed for at the least web browsing...