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.
Tablet Manufacturers Reevaluating Pricing Options in Light of iPad Announcement?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Second that. Well thought argument that I have also posited many times the reason behind Apple choosing iPhone OS. Actually I always preferred it. It is quite clear that as technology changes, keyboard and mouse will be replaced/complemented by something else. It will likely be multitouch. And if you are starting to write an OS for it, why try a a big (bloated/old) fatty OS on it - be it Windows 7 or even Mac OS X. Why not start with something small and build it ground up, with every small thing in mind specifically suited for touch GUI? Why half hearted attempt to support few touch items here and there like Win7 does? After all, mouse and GUI made a humble starting in the 80's and look where we arrived. So even though todays iWork touch may look like 10% implementation of the desktop version, just imagine where it will go in the future, with each piece designed specifically touch-interface in mind. Now try supporting MS Office as is, on the touch interface. I bet you would fail and get frustrated with the GUI, and throw your tablet in the trash. So this is why windows tablets failed. All half-ass attempts to bring new GUI.
Let revolution begin with a humble start - iPhone first, iTouch second, and now iPad ...
My understanding is that by five years, Apple will had have an early start at this touch interface by building it from scratch. Windows on the other hand will try to fix/adapt its old wine into new bottles and fail. The only one that might come closer will be Android at that point. So the market is likely going to shift to iPhoneOS/Android in the future.
I'm assuming that Apple is looking at the Ipad as a way
to suck the money out of your pocket through Itunes and
the app store.
...the razor-blade/video-game/printer-ink model.
It dovetails nicely with Oppenheimer's comments about lower margins 6 months or so ago.
The $499 model likely had abysmal margins but the others are probably more in line with expectations.
The 3G margins are quite healthy, adding $130 for a $7 part.
As a shock to all AidenShaw pointed out that the 3G + GPS hardware over at Dell asks for $125 BTO. $130 from Apple isn't that shocking.It dovetails nicely with Oppenheimer's comments about lower margins 6 months or so ago.
The $499 model likely had abysmal margins but the others are probably more in line with expectations.
The 3G margins are quite healthy, adding $130 for a $7 part.
The cost to manufactuer is starting to poke up online as well.
Didn't I say it was a product of the application store somewhat like the AppleTV is a product of the iTunes store?
I'm not convinced by this given they're currently running that part of their business at only a little over break-even. It is possible that they're looking to alter that, by increasing the amount of 'premium' content for example, but I'm not sure there is any conclusive evidence so far.
It's a work in progress based on my limited observation and research. Still it sounds rather outrageous to propose it about Apple. I guess someone had to bring it up.
Apple isn't playing games with netbooks, even if they keep trying to pass off different products as netbooks or supeior to them, nor are they taking the CES tablet/slate rush lightly. These aren't the prices or Apple you are looking for.
well it will be hard for them to cut below apple's prices for the ipad. this should be interesting
For similar hardware, yes, given Apple's agreement with LG and their almost control of the NAND flash market.
Just as the slim-margin Xbox is a way to "suck the money out of your wallet" with games and media content.
Though I doubt you'd use that particular derogatory phrase about your beloved Microsoft.
Probably something more along the lines of "provide the Xbox owner a wealth of entertainment offerings," right? *grovel*
Just as the slim-margin Xbox is a way to "suck the money out of your wallet" with games and media content.
Though I doubt you'd use that particular derogatory phrase about your beloved Microsoft.
Using it for Apple is pretty dumb also. Just look at their financials, look at the hardware vs content numbers, and you quickly realise that the iTunes store is a hobby. The real income is on the hardware itself.
the $499 model is pretty much stripped down with no ports. Means no money on royalty payments and instead Apple is going to sell overpriced accessories to increase the ARPU.
The HP Slate is going to come with a USB port so you don't have to go through iTunes or wifi to load content on there
Oh please. Apple's Mac and iPhone sales continue to climb. They're reporting record earnings each quarter. The growth curve continues up, up, up. Yet they're trading at only 18 times earnings??? Around the same level as stagnant Dell? While Amazon is at 70 times earnings?
AAPL is undervalued and will continue to rise in value after the initial swarm of shortsighted "sell on news" investors have left the room.
Mark it.
Just as the slim-margin Xbox is a way to "suck the money out of your wallet" with games and media content.
Though I doubt you'd use that particular derogatory phrase about your beloved Microsoft.
Probably something more along the lines of "provide the Xbox owner a wealth of entertainment offerings," right? *grovel*
When Apple sells notebooks with extra features - he accuses Apple of forcing consumers to purchase laptops with features they neither want nor need.
When Apple offers a reasonably priced solution, he turns around and derides it as a "stripped down" model.
Apple charged $29 for what he called a "service pack," yet he dismisses the fact that the comparable W7 "service pack" was a whopping $320.
His grass is greener, so he wishes to portray.
I had read that they make $208 on the cheapest ($499) iPads. That is enough and it will lock up the market. Smart move, Steve!
I guess you read that on a blog by a blogger who doesn't have the slightest clue what's the difference between bill of materials, gross profit and net profit.
Total profit = profit per unit, times units sold. Profit increases when you sell so many items that your competitors have problems sourcing parts, especially long term. The $499 price point may very well be the price that maximises total profit.
In addition, Apple has a very smart offering: The customer is drawn to the store by a low price, but then finds out that he or she can get something better for just a little bit more. And again something better for just a little bit more. And again. And again.
This is why I've said it's just the opening in a longer conflict. After having a few days to think about it the long road ahead is becoming more visible but we're just not used to Apple putting out a product this "revolutionary" that gets this kind of response.
A lack of knowledge on computer hardware for the majority of people doesn't hurt either.
The iPad is not a full computer. The HP Windows tablets are full computers.
HUGE DIFFERENCE!
The Windows tablets are MUCH more powerful than the iPad and SHOULD cost more. How much does a full laptop computer cost today? $499 ? Add a touchscreen and R&D to make it a tablet, and it goes above $499. Say, $599. Although, I think it should be more like $649 because it is a premium product compared to a normal computer.
What is an iPad ? It's basically an iPod Touch that has a bigger screen and can do a little more. For those of us that have an iPod Touch or iPhone (pretty much all of us on this forum), think of what you can do on your computer versus your iPod or iPhone. That is a HUGE difference!
HUGE DIFFERENCE!
The Windows tablets are MUCH more powerful than the iPad and SHOULD cost more. How much does a full laptop computer cost today? $499 ? Add a touchscreen and R&D to make it a tablet, and it goes above $499. Say, $599. Although, I think it should be more like $649 because it is a premium product compared to a normal computer.
What is an iPad ? It's basically an iPod Touch that has a bigger screen and can do a little more. For those of us that have an iPod Touch or iPhone (pretty much all of us on this forum), think of what you can do on your computer versus your iPod or iPhone. That is a HUGE difference!
Apple has always tried to downplay their profit from iTunes, but it's not exactly chump change...
"Apple (AAPL) includes iTunes revenue in a category called “other music related products and services.” It also includes iPod services and accessories, but it’s generally thought to be dominated by iTunes. This “other music” category brought in $4 billion for all of 2009. That’s 11 percent of total revenue last year. Not insignificant." Source
The media has covered this issue for a while now. This article, The iTunes Store: Profit Machine, is from 2008.
True, well, depending on your definition.
Now that the iPad will be out in 60-90 days, developers are free to create and develop apps for the platform. This opens up a whole new era of app design.
A year from now, their will be many desktop like applications available for thei iPad.
I believe this statement is becoming invalid. We as a people have now been using computers in business and at home for something around 30-35 years, 40 years for some of us, not counting those who used terminals tied to a mainframe prior to the desktop revolution. That being said, people under 30 years old have been using computers regularly for most of their lives (discounting more rural areas) while people under 60 are at least familiar with them, if not competent enough to know exactly what they're looking at. In other words, the only people now who have a serious lack of knowledge are those who, for whatever reason, have had little to no exposure to computers, which means the more senior members of society in general here in the US.
On the other hand, as is patently obvious by many of the comments in this discussion, those same people who have grown up using Windows all their lives apparently have little understanding as to how doing something differently could possibly be beneficial or even useful, much less better than what they're used to. This 'conservative' viewpoint is one reason why our technology seems to stagnate unless a military or theological conflict forces a change of perception and new advances in technologies and understanding.
Apple, however, under Steve Jobs, has almost always been at the forefront of making new technologies useful and desirable, even if they haven't necessarily been 'cutting edge.' Just making a CPU or GPU faster isn't advancing technology; making them do things they weren't originally designed to do, is.
Most people are too lazy to do research, look at benchmarks, or sadly just lack the knowledge. They end up asking a "wizard" like me to help. This ranges from some of my recent graduate friends to grandmothers.
Using the operating system does go a long way but there's some still some magic in the hardware that people have a hard time grasping. Hardware vendors still play on this with high clocked processors, lots of RAM, and big hard drives. Of course you'll give it the lowest end graphics card or even in integrated graphics processor. You're just never all around machines and people still end up asking me why some application doesn't run.
Apple is just going the route of making a toaster and hoping people will be upsold from the base model. Which is standard Apple procedure. The only thing going for the iPad is only capacity though. Are there any differences between the 16 GB and 64 GB models short of how much memory is soldered onto the board and the density of it?
The iPad is Apple's ultimate trolling tool. They get to play Dell for race to the bottom on tablet hardware and they get to back Adobe even further into a corner.
Personally, I disagree with every point you make.
1.) The only reason RIM is moving more Blackberry phones is because (A. They're available on every cellular provider and (B. Those same providers are offering them as 'Buy 1 Get 1 Free' promotions for $100. If, as some rumors suggested before the iPad announcement, the iPhone gets unlocked and offered to the other networks, the Blackberry won't stand a chance and Apple's production wouldn't be able to keep up with demand for years. I think the iPod's success demonstrates that fact.
2.) While I will grant that the mouse/touchpad/cursor is far more efficient that the old command-line interface, a touch-based interface is more efficient than either, depending on how the data is presented in the GUI in the first place. Taking your hands away from the keyboard to grab a mouse, move it to your starting point, click, drag, release, right-click, etc..., is hardly efficient. The iPhone has demonstrated that a full touch interface can not only be more efficient, it can also be significantly easier than the mouse/keyboard interface.
The touchpad, however, is simply an undersized touch surface used as a mouse. Even as it is currently used on the MBP, it's still only an alternative to a mouse and not a true touch interface as demonstrated on the iPhone/iPad devices. True, they still use a virtual keyboard on each of them, but they are not critical to the operation of the device as they are critical to inputting data into the applications. At some point, it may be possible to touch a field on the screen to activate it and speak the data you wish to enter there. Obviously we're not to that point yet, but we're not that far away from it, either.