Why Rival Tablet Makers Are Failing

[ConnorTurnbull]

I published the following post on tumblr today, and I wanted to open it up to discussion. What do you think is the main reason tablet makers are not seeing the same success as Apple?

This is a serious discussion as i'm interested in seeing your responses.

If you didn’t know already, the iPad is a huge hit. Over 15 million were sold at the start of this month (before iPad 2) and the massive US demand for it’s second-generation suggests that figure could have went up one, or even two.

I’m not sure if you saw the crazy-long lines in front of Apple’s US retail locations last Friday, but they were long! What about when the Motorola Xoom came out? Surely, that’s a better spec tablet so their must have been… say… 2x the lines? Of course not! Because Apple don’t have market monopolisation, they have a brand.

Continued: http://connorturnbull.tumblr.com/post/3928909052/why-rival-tablet-makers-are-failing

 

[vincenz]

In less words, they're missing the secret sauce.

 

[joltaxt]

For me:

- Customer service
- Design
- Price
- Lack of information/marketing
- Not sure if this is true, but don't you have to pay monthly for the xoom regardless of model? Regardless, again this falls under lack of information.

 

[joesegh]

price and apps (though "ecosystem" seems to be the word of choice these days), mainly.

 

[KittyKatta]

I published the following post on tumblr today, and I wanted to open it up to discussion. What do you think is the main reason tablet makers are not seeing the same success as Apple?

They arent failing. They simply are a generation behind and if Apple gets too confident and iOS3/iPad3 aren't groundbreaking then it's very possible they can be challenged by several real contenders.

I believe in the iPad more than I do any other tablet but if we look at the Playbook, Touchpad, Honeycomb Tablets (and even the non-existant Courrier) then there definitely is a ton of territory that Apple has yet to cover.

 

[2 Owls]

Computers are for geeks, Apple is cool though, which it why the trendy set have embraced the iPad from day 1, fandroid and all the other stuff the pretenders produce will never be able to replicate that, if you have to explain why its good or a genuine alternative to Apple people will have already decided your a geek and stopped listening to you.

 

[Carouser]

They arent failing. They simply are a generation behind and if Apple gets too confident and iOS3/iPad3 aren't groundbreaking then it's very possible they can be challenged by several real contenders.

They aren't failing? They're getting demolished. It's irrelevant what generation they are - am I supposed to take pity on them? Either they are successful or not. But yes, in a hypothetical future world where everything becomes topsy-turvy and that oh-so-arrogant Apple gets its comeuppance people are bizarrely slavering for, then things could be otherwise. Big deal, I can make up possible futures too.

I believe in the iPad more than I do any other tablet but if we look at the Playbook, Touchpad, Honeycomb Tablets (and even the non-existant Courrier) then there definitely is a ton of territory that Apple has yet to cover.

What territory do they have yet to cover? Sounds like a bunch of hand-waving to me.

 

[baummer]

I think the problem comes down to two areas: marketing and size. Marketing is pretty self-explanatory in that Apple has one of the best marketing machines that combine talent and design are generally make the product more inviting than their competitors. By size I am referring to company size. HP, Motorola, etc. are both very large corporations who make multiple products across a variety of industries. Apple doesn't necessarily have this problem. Their product lines are much more focused to the everyday consumer, and with their Apple Store model, they are able to change the buying experience of computers, MP3 players, etc. There is something that feels very corporate about HP, Motorola, etc., whereas that feeling doesn't seem to describe Apple very well. A lot of it does have to do with the product aesthetics I will grant you, but ultimately I think Apple has found a winning strategy that no one has been able to answer within the past 10 years. To quote Charlie Sheen, Apple is "winning".

 

[Stealthipad]

I published the following post on tumblr today, and I wanted to open it up to discussion. What do you think is the main reason tablet makers are not seeing the same success as Apple?

This is a serious discussion as i'm interested in seeing your responses.

You are funny.

The other tablet makers have just begun while Apple has had a couple of years head start!

For the first time Apple WILL have real competition. Hopefully it will force Apple to allow the iPad be what it really COULD be and cut the umbilical cord from iTunes. Apple restricts the iPad from being way more just so they can hold something back for that next incremental update! LOL!

 

[Jason Beck]

=
What territory do they have yet to cover? Sounds like a bunch of hand-waving to me.

How about having their desktop OS on the tablet in full form and functionallity.

Some people don't want to have to install apps for things that should be included in the OS. Or have to jailbreak to do some of them.

But, I am ordering an iPad2 tomorrow. So I am not a hater. The day they have the desktop and mobile devices run the same programs, same basic systems (instead of one being more or less "dummied" down), is the day that they conquer the tablet realm. Hopefully soon, because I would tend to agree with the above poster. The Windows 7 tabs are just getting better and better.

If the W7 tablets were as smooth with OS function as an iPad, and had the same quality screen, then I would have bought one/would buy one. What made me go Apple with my tablet needs was simply the display is top notch, OS smoothness (browsing and general os responsiveness) is great, and there were apps for some functionallity I needed.

When the W7 tablet manufacturers up there game even more, I think we will see some really awesome devices.

 

[Cha]

I think one of the biggest barriers of entry is price. Once these Androids tablets begin to undercut themselves, you'll see a nice bump in the Android tablet share... but the margins will be hurt a lot. Just like how eReaders were 5+ years ago. Not many people jumped on the Sony or iRex readers back then.

Android needs to fix the updates and DRM mess. Imagine when Netflix finally does come to the Android platform, but then explaining how certain hardware chip sets can run Netflix while others cannot because of the DRM.

 

[thunderclap]

Not sure if this is true, but don't you have to pay monthly for the xoom regardless of model? Regardless, again this falls under lack of information.

Not true. http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/17/motorola-xoom-wifi-now-available-for-pre-order/

 

[gus6464]

The problem is that all these new tablets are trying to compete with the iPad 1. You cannot beat Apple by imitating but by being one step ahead. Next year iOS is going to become a powerhouse in portable gaming with Unreal Engine 3, CryEngine3, and ID Tech5 being ported over. Apple's strategy for iOS will be shifting towards gaming while the other companies will just be trying to get something decent out there.

The HP Touchpad gaming performance looks very weak with their Adreno GPU and Playbook might be in the same boat. The iPad already has the productivity and average consumer experience down and now they are shifting towards gaming by beefing up the specs. I can see the iPad 3 coming with a quad Cortex A9 and PowerVR SGX543MP4 to match the Sony NGP specs along with the higher res screen. If this happens it's game over for everyone else. Apple will control the majority of the tablet market and it will be the iPod all over again.

 

[Carouser]

How about having their desktop OS on the tablet in full form and functionallity.

Maybe that's not the goal anyway (even if Jason Beck wants it to be), so it's not really territory that Apple's failed to cover.

Some people don't want to have to install apps for things that should be included in the OS. Or have to jailbreak to do some of them.

'Things which the iPad might do in the future' != 'obvious shortcomings of the iPad which other tablets do better and which constitute a long list of things Apple better get on top of'

The day they have the desktop and mobile devices run the same programs, same basic systems (instead of one being more or less "dummied" down), is the day that they conquer the tablet realm.

They haven't conquered the tablet realm? What you called 'dummied down' others call 'optimized for a touch/tablet interface'.

 

[MrWillie]

I published the following post on tumblr today, and I wanted to open it up to discussion. What do you think is the main reason tablet makers are not seeing the same success as Apple?

This is a serious discussion as i'm interested in seeing your responses.

You mentioned Xoom has better hardware, how's that ? They have the essintially the same CPU. Xoom has a gig of ram and a broken S/D card slot. But the iPad's screen is better, and iPad's GPU embarrasses the Xoom. I am still trying to find out if Xoom does hardware encryption as every iOS device since the 3GS does.

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/12/ipad-2-gpu-benchmarked-with-impressive-gain

You are funny.

The other tablet makers have just begun while Apple has had a couple of years head start!

For the first time Apple WILL have real competition. Hopefully it will force Apple to allow the iPad be what it really COULD be and cut the umbilical cord from iTunes. Apple restricts the iPad from being way more just so they can hold something back for that next incremental update! LOL!

Couple of years ? Please explain.

 

[hcho3]

Apple has

App store, iBook store and iTunes store.

They have strongest 3 rd party supports with 65000 apps and growing so fast.

They also maintained enough panels for their iPads, and competitions will have hard time finding parts for themselves.

They have apple store that offers great customer experience. They can educate their customers and show them how to use it. This is one of the most important things for me.

They have a very aggressive pricing. Their iPad starts at 499 dollars, but they have a refurbished iPad that you can buy for 349 dollars. That's a real deal.

Competition doesn't stand a chance for now unless they undercut the price and offer great apps.

They need to

1. Do exactly what they did with Android phones. Offer a lot of tablets.

2. Give people 7 inch, 8 inch, 9 inch and 10 inch.

3. Under cut the price.

4. Focus on User experience.

5. Offer better customer service. Stop depending on Best buy, Walmart and others. Don't even believe for a second that these vendors will offer a good experience. They won't.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

iTunes begot the iTunes Music Store, which then added video, then apps. It's a juggernaut now but it wasn't grown over night and Apple never sat on its laurels and never went along w/ music or movie studios or TV networks just to get along. It fought to keep the prices compelling and then to dump DRM in music. It kept progressing and keeps on, always in tiny steps but large enough to keep it interesting.

The only way for rival's to win is to beat Apple at it's own game and produce something unique. Remember Apple did not invent the MP3 player they just made one that was different and more accessible than what existed in the market. And they didn't try to compete on price but quality and usability. (Hard to believe that the first 5GB iPod cost nearly as much as the 16GB iPad, and when you account for inflation it did cost as much -- and it just played music).

 

[Kwill]

They aren't iPads

Unsuccessful tablets from various manufacturers (usually running Windows OS) existed before the iPad. Apple introduced a new device built around input gestures previously perfected on its popular iPhone.

Most new competitors end up selling tablets (remember that unsuccessful hardware) or modified phones with eye-candy added to make people think they are as good as an iPad.

Though their products will not ship until June, HP is the only (almost) competitor that controls both hardware and OS. They are nicely integrated but their press conference felt like they were running through a checklist of iPad features +one. HP has ambitious plans to ship/sell 100 million units this year. We'll see.

Simply put, competitors' tablets are not successful because they aren't iPads.

http://clnpstr.com/dRiPad

 

[v66jack]

In my view Apple is doing so well because:

- app store
- price
- quality
- branding

They are a few things, which competitors can't match in a single product.

 

[lilcosco08]

In my view Apple is doing so well because:

- app store
- price
- quality
- branding

They are a few things, which competitors can't match in a single product.

^this

 

[falconeight]

Its the ecosystem. With Ipad if I want to watch a movie I rent it, netflix it, or buy it. With android there is nothing.

 

[PCClone]

They arent failing. They simply are a generation behind and if Apple gets too confident and iOS3/iPad3 aren't groundbreaking then it's very possible they can be challenged by several real contenders.

I believe in the iPad more than I do any other tablet but if we look at the Playbook, Touchpad, Honeycomb Tablets (and even the non-existant Courrier) then there definitely is a ton of territory that Apple has yet to cover.

I don't expect iOS 3 to add anything to the current 4.3. Get the facts right or fail!

 

[Penooker]

I feel like I'm one of the few people in this forum who has used Android and iOS devices for a while.

To me, the problem is that Android is always about power, and not about user experience. Android devices are beefier, and the API is more powerful (for example, true background apps / updates). But Android always feels slow, jittery, and bare. Whereas when I use and iOS, I know I'll be pleased with the experience even if it can't do what I want it to do.

Apple's drawback is that they always seem to deliberately cripple their devices so they can sell another iteration in a year -- cameras and more RAM were common place in devices (even iOS devices) before the iPad 1 came out, but they didn't include it. This strategy annoys me, so I'm always hoping to buy a non-Apple product.

I would consider getting an Android tablet, if Google releases their own tablet, because Google is very good about releasing updates for their own devices; or if the Xoom drops > $100 in price.

 

[TheWheelMan]

The iPad has done the same for the tablet market as the iPod did with the mp3 market and the Kindle did with the ereader market. They didn't invent the market, but they perfected it and therefore made it (and their particular product) a household want/need. As long as everyone is trying to emulate Apple, Apple will continue to prevail. If anyone ever attempts to truly innovate, or in this case, renovate the tablet, then they may have a shot at eventually challenging them. Will be hard though since Apple has, I presume, far more resources than most companies accept maybe Microsoft and Google. And I think Apple's ability to reach the geek market as well as the casual consumer is unmatched by anyone.

The only way I see Apple losing their dominance in this market is if they themselves loosen their grip on it. And the release of the iPad 2 suggests they have no intention of doing that.

 

[Ava's Meeshee]

It's simply because there's no market for tablets, there's a market for iPads. The launch was a year ago, everyone should remember the skepticism when the iPad was announced. There's nothing immediately obvious about a tablet computer's desirability - they've existed for ten years without catching on. Apple opened up the market for themselves; every tablet after it is by definition an iPad knockoff, as no one even wanted a tablet before it. The only thing a knockoff can ever compete on is price.

GAP & Ralph Lauren trying to get in on the "robe/blanket market" per the Snuggie would be an equally misguided endeavor.