U.S. Tablet Sales Led by iPad in 2013 as Chromebooks Overtake MacBooks

[Michael Scrip]

Market share is very important for investors as it's usually a sign of platform dominance.

So investors are troubled because Apple doesn't have the dominant platform. Android does.

On the other hand... investors can't put money into "Android" because it's not a company. It's a bunch of separate companies who only have one thing in common... Google's Android operating system.

Maybe they should buy shares of Google. But that's not really the same thing... Google's software doesn't do much without other companies' hardware (save for the couple Nexus devices)

Meanwhile... Apple makes the hardware and the software and puts it in a nice little package. That's a platform

Furthermore platform dominance attracts developers.

I'm sure you're aware that there are some developers who only make apps for the iPhone… and that there are plenty of accessory manufacturers who base their entire companies on Apple products (cases, audio interfaces, etc)

And all that... when the iPhone has just 12% of the market. (in other words... the non-dominant share)

Why? It's because Apple is easy to make stuff for. They only make one or two phones a year. They're all the same size and shape. They've all had the connector in the same place.

If you were a case manufacturer... would you make cases to fit the 3 current iPhones.... or the hundreds of Android phones that make up their colossal 80% market share?

There are plenty of cases for the handful of top-end Android phones... but that's nowhere close to the entirety of Android market share. So in that case (pun intended) market share isn't worth a lot.

As for developers... I think they're already attracted to Apple's platform. It has proven itself by now.

If you were a developer who was asleep for the last 7 years and woke up to Android's 80% vs Apple's 12%... your first thought would be to develop for Android. Bigger is better, right?

Or is it?

and the same will happen to the smartphone market, where the iPhone and the iPad are too expensive (which isn't that bad, as the overall price is affordable for many).

Exactly... enough people can afford iPhones (more than enough actually). Apple has no trouble selling iPhones.

Why does Apple need to have products across ALL price ranges?

 

[silentbob007]

I can assure you - students in universities does not represent even 1% of population. You are part of pretty much nothing - a drop in the ocean.

First, I mentioned students and faculty. Secondly, and most importantly, I made no reference to my observation in regards to anything else other than what I've seen and what someone else has reported at their university. I stated or implied absolutely nothing beyond a very select sample and did not attempt to generalize any theory towards the Mac population ... so if you want to say I'm a part of nothing, then at least wait for me to try to extrapolate my claim.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Chromebooks are essentially WebTV 2.0. Nothing more, nothing less. You get it because you don't know any better.

I disagree, because at least with a Chromebook, you're using a modern web browser. The web browser in the old WebTV units didn't show web pages anything like what the web designer intended.

By the way, you can get an 11.6" Chromebook for US$200 from Amazon--that's cheap for such a device.

 

[carmenodie]

Chrome book is a marketing gimmick and a Google tax for their search engine.
Marketing BS: Making a tablet look like a traditional pc but without the performance. How many suckers found out the hard way that they couldn't play COD on that POS. LOL!!!!!
Google tax: You are paying for their search engine which is added to the cost of the chrome book.
So why the ******** would I buy a chrome book when I already have Google's search engine on my Macbook Air and iPad mini?
There is no freaking reason to buy that crap. NO EFFING REASON!!!!!!!!!!!
The pc industry has finally driven the last few nail into there coffin. They had a good 30 something year run. Now iPad is poised to bury them.
If that 12.1 inch or so Ultra HD iPad does drop next year all hell is going to break loose up in da house!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Eric E. Schmidt]

You know that the iPad was not the first tablet ? It was just better done and came at a time when the required technology to build and use these devices was available.

It's the same with those netbooks from the 2000s and the Chrome. Wireless and 3G/4G is a commodity now, but it wasn't 8 years ago (availability, price, bandwidth).

hardware was never the real issue, it's software, as has been common knowledge in these circles since '84.

 

[brdeveloper]

It is getting harder to recommend people a low end $1000 easy to use Mac when all they do is browse the web/check their e-mail. Chromebooks are likely doing well because the majority of people simply use their web browser. Personally I need a full OS but it's clear that a lot of the public simply doesn't.

Why buying a Chromebook when you can do more with a tablet while getting a great battery life and bigger versatility (like GPS, front and rear cameras, higher resolutions and so on)? If you want a Chromebook you'd better buying a Galaxy Note 10" or an iPad.

 

[ZOZO]

Sorry but that is absolute rubbish. If you know what you are doing, shell scripting under OS X or Linux can be immensely more powerful and flexible that Apple script.

Obviously you have no clue what you're talking about, because you can shell script with ease under AppleScript. It's simple to combine the two languages. I do it routinely. Whatever AppleScript can't do, shell scripting can. Look up the "do shell script" command.

 

[cgsnipinva]

Wow this thread has a whole melange of opinions and emotions. However, I do not understand the hate. The fact is - not since the early 1980's has the computer/IT/software industry excited me more. We have more options addressing multiple consumer and industry needs than at any time in the past 20 years. We can discuss trends today - but the past 30 years have shown us that the market can change on a dime. Today's laggers could be tomorrow's winners and vice versa.

I think the Chromebook type platform will mature into something interesting and value added. Will it replace the traditional computing model - probably not - because it does not address all consumer and business needs. But neither do the Mac OS X, Windows or Android platforms. They all have their place. That just means more toys to play with - and at my stage of life - that is just fine.

We all should be happy that we have this choice and there are multiple companies beating the crap out of each other to get our dollars by offering something new and different.

It was not all too long ago that everything was really just Wintel and nothing else.

These are the salad days my friends.

 

[malexandria]

PC Laptops

If I didn't need Macs for App development (and I didn't HATE Win 8) I'd go with a Windows Laptop over a MBP. There is just something mentally tough about spending $2k on a Laptop when you can get a good Windows Laptop for $800. I hate that I spent $1k on a 128 GB iPad Air. I would be tempted to get a Chromebook to travel with, but I don't trust any device that requires an always on internet connection when WiFi availability is so spotty.

 

[rizzo41999]

Don't kid yourself, Chromebooks are just cheaper and that's why they're selling.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Obviously you have no clue what you're talking about, because you can shell script with ease under AppleScript. It's simple to combine the two languages. I do it routinely. Whatever AppleScript can't do, shell scripting can. Look up the "do shell script" command.

Wait a second...whats that sound? Is that the sound of you back-pedalling? This is what you previously said about Applescript:

It is hands-down the best platform for automation, and no third party software could ever hack Windows or Linux up enough to emulate it.

You weren't talking about calls to shell scripts, you were talking purely about Applescript. So how about you provide me with some examples of what you can do with Applescript that can't be closely approximated under Linux using BASH?

 

[the8thark]

It is really sad that there isn't a single PC OEM that can figure out the 5-6 simple rules used by Apple to build a good computer, and scale that down to $300-$800 territory. It is easily doable, but nobody is doing it.
No nonsensical touchscreen, just a good trackpad, good keyboard, decent screen, generous battery and pure SSD. It should be easy to build a $400 laptop with these rules, less powerful hardware than the Macbook Air but still plenty powerful for the common user.
But no, nobody understands it. So the PC industry deserves this.

If it was so easy to do and make a profit off it, you think people would be doing it? i think so, they'd do it en mass. i think the others are not doing it because it's simply not that easy to copy the Apple build design and quality within a $400 netbook. Even Apple went tablets instead of netbooks because it's near impossible to make a good netbook in the $400 range.

----------

Did Apple notebooks overall make more profit than the chrome netbooks?
That is the important question here.

 

[Tiger8]

His point was... Windows laptops in the $300-800 range are NOT good enough. And he listed a bunch of reasons why. (poor screens, poor trackpads, etc)

Yes... crappy Windows laptops sell a ton.

But if you want a "good" one... it's slim pickins. That's what he was talking about.

Again I have problems with that statement; good windows laptops are plenty in that price range, just check different ultrabook offerings from Asus, Dell, Lenovo, HP, and many others.

I am the biggest Apple fan, but let's not get into generalization unless we do our research first.

 

[osofast240sx]

Chromebooks are tablets with keyboards not laptops. Chrome books are useless.

 

[cgsnipinva]

An interesting turn in this affair is Google's future plans for Chrome OS as they are adding features that make it far more than just a browser. It is no secret that Google is chaffing under the Java complaints from Oracle - would it be possible that they migrate their mobile offering from Android to Chrome OS and as part of that - merge the app stores? If so - the Chrome OS laptop/netbook/whatever - could become very interesting.

Unlike the fragmenting Android environment with the headaches related to Java and the competitive pressure from Samsung - Google controls all of Chrome OS. If this does happen - and I am not saying it will - but it would be a real interesting turn of events and I would be curious as all get out on what Google would do with it.

Thoughts?

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when a total POS SpyWare box like a Chromebook can sell more computers than Apple. They don't have software and they don't have a real operating system. They are spyware tools by Google to monitor everything you do and YET people are apparently buying them in droves. Are they giving them away or something? Frankly, I've barely heard of them and they are selling like hotcakes in a way that no Linux installation ever has in the history of mankind? Why? Just because it has the GOOGLE name on it and people think Google is out to save the world with juice bars and jungle gyms inside their workplace? Time for another Google Nap because this computer is a total SNOOZE.

Frankly, I just had to look again at these things to see what I missed. Yes, they practically ARE giving them away ($250 is even more dirt cheap than an already dirt cheap Windows notebook and so a pricey $1200 Macbook looks prety darn SAD price-wise and so it's not hard to understand why people aren't running out in droves to buy a Macbook. iPads, however, are HALF that and are selling like hotcakes. Coincidence? I think not. iOS spoon feeds people baby food the same way a Chromebook does it over a network and now that the Internet is available just about anywhere either by WiFi or Cell network, people don't CARE that it's an Internet spyware device.

I'm amazed that the lack of Microsoft Office and other traditional reasons why people wouldn't touch Linux with a ten-foot pole haven't hampered this device much. But on the other hand, there's a paradigm shift at work these days (ironically started by Apple with the iPhone) whereas kids today don't want to use a regular computer and they sure as hell don't want to use Microsoft Office or work a traditional job with long hours and hard work. They're the spoiled Generation "Z" (as in Zombie obsessed) and Google's image of taking naps and playing on a jungle gym appeals to the kid that refuses to grow up. Given the fact that most of them have Z as in Zero money as they don't want to work real jobs and live with their parents the rest of their lives (B as barnacle and B as in basement), a dirt cheap computer that subsidizes itself by spying on their twit-like social lives (if you can call telling everyone you're taking a dump a social life) really connects with them. They already have that Christmas present of an XBox One to play the game they will eventually get on their birthday from their parents with, they don't need to run anything but Twitter and Facebook anyway.

 

[Oletros]

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when a total POS SpyWare box like a Chromebook can sell more computers than Apple. They don't have software and they don't have a real operating system. They are spyware tools by Google to monitor everything you do and YET people are apparently buying them in droves. Are they giving them away or something? Frankly, I've barely heard of them and they are selling like hotcakes in a way that no Linux installation ever has in the history of mankind? Why? Just because it has the GOOGLE name on it and people think Google is out to save the world with juice bars and jungle gyms inside their workplace? Time for another Google Nap because this computer is a total SNOOZE.

Frankly, I just had to look again at these things to see what I missed. Yes, they practically ARE giving them away ($250 is even more dirt cheap than an already dirt cheap Windows notebook and so a pricey $1200 Macbook looks prety darn SAD price-wise and so it's not hard to understand why people aren't running out in droves to buy a Macbook. iPads, however, are HALF that and are selling like hotcakes. Coincidence? I think not. iOS spoon feeds people baby food the same way a Chromebook does it over a network and now that the Internet is available just about anywhere either by WiFi or Cell network, people don't CARE that it's an Internet spyware device.

I'm amazed that the lack of Microsoft Office and other traditional reasons why people wouldn't touch Linux with a ten-foot pole haven't hampered this device much. But on the other hand, there's a paradigm shift at work these days (ironically started by Apple with the iPhone) whereas kids today don't want to use a regular computer and they sure as hell don't want to use Microsoft Office or work a traditional job with long hours and hard work. They're the spoiled Generation "Z" (as in Zombie obsessed) and Google's image of taking naps and playing on a jungle gym appeals to the kid that refuses to grow up. Given the fact that most of them have Z as in Zero money as they don't want to work real jobs and live with their parents the rest of their lives (B as barnacle and B as in basement), a dirt cheap computer that subsidizes itself by spying on their twit-like social lives (if you can call telling everyone you're taking a dump a social life) really connects with them. They already have that Christmas present of an XBox One to play the game they will eventually get on their birthday from their parents with, they don't need to run anything but Twitter and Facebook anyway.

I like parodies like yours, because this is a parody, isn't?

 

[szw-mapple fan]

As a side note - a quarter or so of our faculty really like the Surface. iPads and Android tablets are neck in neck, but both are definitely in second place.

So... 25% prefer the Surface, 37.5% each for iPad and Android, which are both in 2nd place. hmm...

 

[anubis72]

Not surprising. Macbooks = $999+ and Chromebooks = $299+. How about a survey of how many of those people are still using the Chromebook after a year.

 

[gnasher729]

I will never understand why people make claims like yours, do you have to bash anything that it is not Apple?

And not taking into account that you can´t be more wrong. But you know that

Read Magnus' post. Whatever you think of him, the guy is clever, and nobody suspects him of bashing anything because it isn't made by Apple. And you say I couldn't be more wrong in my post. I said people by Chromebooks because they are small, cheap, and not the failure called "netbooks". Which of these is wrong? Are Chromebooks big? Are they expensive? Are they netbooks?

 

[szw-mapple fan]

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when a total POS SpyWare box like a Chromebook can sell more computers than Apple. They don't have software and they don't have a real operating system. .... Twitter and Facebook anyway.

uh... What was that?

----------

Read Magnus' post. Whatever you think of him, the guy is clever, and nobody suspects him of bashing anything because it isn't made by Apple. And you say I couldn't be more wrong in my post. I said people by Chromebooks because they are small, cheap, and not the failure called "netbooks". Which of these is wrong? Are Chromebooks big? Are they expensive? Are they netbooks?

Isn't ChromeBooks in the most literal sense netbooks as it can only used for the internet and online services?

 

[tbrinkma]

The article should remind us that most models of Chromebooks cost $199, which is more than 5 times cheaper than the cheapest MacBook Air ($999).

No, no, no.

5x cheaper = 500% less expensive.
100% less expensive = FREE.
500% less expensive = They pay *you* 400% to take it.

The phrase you were looking for was "less than 1/5 the price".

----------

That's mathematically impossible!

No, it's actually not.

Let's go with the only number they give, and assign 25% (1/4) to the Microsoft tablet.

Microsoft = 25%

Now, we assume that iPads and Android tablets are 'neck and neck, and tied, but at a lower share than the Microsoft tablets.

iPad = 24%
Android = 24%

We've still got 27% to split between all other tablets. Kindles, etc.

Certainly not 'mathematically impossible'.

 

[redhawk87]

The bag lasts about 20 years for me with two replacement zippers at $29 per.

Ok, that is an exception and is not really the point. There is merit to spending more money on something for durability. You might argue that MacBooks are more durable. Yes, MacBooks are more durable than some other brands (like Dell), but there are tons of people I know who have windows laptops that last 5+ years. I had a 15 inch MacBook Pro and it lasted 5 years. So, I dont think one can justify spending more money on it because it will last longer.

Also, I have never heard of someone wearing the same bag for 20 years! I think that is a good thing. Wish my wife would do the same. I almost bought her a $400 MK bag she really wanted back in October for xmas until I was reinformed it was BROWN and can only be worn in fall and maybe winter. She would of used it for 2 months then bought another one... to me that is the same as throwing away $400.

 

[nia820]

i honestly don't understand the point of a chromebook. it still doesn't have half of the functionality of a windows laptop or a macbook. you are better off buying an android tablet.

 

[LordVic]

i honestly don't understand the point of a chromebook. it still doesn't have half of the functionality of a windows laptop or a macbook. you are better off buying an android tablet.

its the "netbook v2.0"

really cheap throwaway computer with terrible specs that is just enough so that granny can get on facebook and play candy crush saga, but still have a "computer" experience.

Tablets aren't the be all end all of "low end consumption". they dont work for everyone. Some people really enjoy using a real physical keyboard the feel of a "real" operating system.