It’s iPad 2 launch day, so there’s a lot of really derpy analysis floating around about how the iPad will dominate tablets, etc.
Makes sense, right?
One exception was this brief from Forrester, citing Amazon as Apple’s only real competition. Maybe I liked it because it makes a similar point to my own about the failure of retail channels to market the Xoom. That, and there’s actually some analysis and complex thought evident.
Aside from a dedicated and established channel, i.e. one that doesn’t also sell the competition’s tablets, Amazon brings more than a decade of trust and possibly more actual credit card accounts than iTunes to the table.
Plus, they’re already making and selling a successful tablet, i.e. Kindle, and bonus, they’re soon to launch a branded Android app store, which would go a long way toward calming fears about the Android Market’s recent, erm, hiccups.
Until recently, iPad has had very little competition, but there’s demand for tablets and eReaders out there. My modest survey says that 43% of you are in the market for one and looking to buy.
So, riddle me this:
- Now that iPad 2 is out and given the competition, will you buy a tablet or wait and if so, which one wins?
- Would you even consider anything other than iPad, and if so, why not?
- What’s the killer feature you want to get from a tablet?
- Do you think your work could be done from a tablet, and if so, will IT move that way?
I’m not buying the Andrdoid-has-no-apps or the iPad-is-cheaper arguments. Why not? Android apps look fine in large format whereas iPhone apps do not, and after you factor in an apples-apples comparison and add the $30-100 you’ll spend on HD iPad apps out of the gate, there’s very little price difference.
Interested to hear your answers, find the comments.
Hi.
Price: If I did not have an iPad already, I would consider the iPad 2. I don’t think you can underestimate the price point to casual buyers. Most don’t factor in, or care about additional costs when they are making their initial purchase. You certainly don’t expect to pay more for a product that is “considered” inferior to an iPad 2 from a marketing standpoint. I don’t think I would consider anything other than an iPad 2 in the current climate. I’m sure Android 3.0 will gather pace, but at the momentum and price are certainly in Apple’s favor. If apple are serious about not releasing iPad 3 this year, then the Kal-El Chipset could hurt them badly. If a bunch of tablets are released in Q3-Q4 that have double the resolution of the iPad 2, that could swing things drastically.
Killer App: It’s all about the screen for me. I spend the majority of my time on the iPad in a browser. The screen size is the limiting factor for me. Apps etc are of less importance to me. Although I’ve complained about web-apps before, I find myself using the full blow websites on the iPad, in preference to mobile apps.
PC Replacement: I can’t see producers ever being happy with a tablet. It’s just too fiddly to create content in it. Most users are primarily consumers though, so I think many households or execs who are mostly consumers of information can easily cope with just an iPad. Anyone coding (tools permitting) or producing content will not be happy about trading their keyboard and mouse for a touchscreen. It just doesn’t cut it.
The serious PC gamers market could not be satisfied with a tablet either. PC games are so in advance of the consoles, and consoles beat the hell out of an iPad 2. The fact all the consoles are so long in the tooth at the moment can only help PC gaming, which will affect some people’s tablet/PC decision.
Cheers
Tim…
Hi 🙂
Excellent point about price, lowest wins, no contest. Same point applies to Android phones over iPhones, which is why Apple will build a low-end iPhone. I’m left wondering why Motorola didn’t price lower to compete on even footing with the base iPad.
So, you’d pony up for a tablet with a better resolution? That will definitely up the cost. Interesting metadata about your usage patterns though. I wonder how common that is.
NB, if you spend a lot of time in a browser on the tablet, Android’s browser is miles ahead. Just saying. One problem, as with iPad, is user agent detection forces mobile versions too often.
> Now that iPad 2 is out and given the competition, will you buy a tablet or wait and if so, which one wins?
I’m definitely interested in a tablet, and was planning on picking up an iPad2 when they came out. The existence of the Xoom has me waffling, though. My curiosity about the Android platform is warring with my overall satisfaction/comfort with the Apple ecosystem.
I’m currently in wait-and-see mode; budget constraints have me questioning the use cases I’ve been touting as validation for a tablet purchase. That’s this week, anyway. I may just get impatient and shell out for the iPad2 next week. I’m like that sometimes.
> Would you even consider anything other than iPad, and if so, why not?
I’d consider a Xoom, though the base-model price tag is a bummer compared to the iPad’s. I know it’s not apples-to-apples in terms of spec, but 100 bucks is 100 bucks, and I think I could be happy w/ Apple’s baseline model.
>What’s the killer feature you want to get from a tablet?
Maybe I lack imagination, but I’m mostly interested in it as a content-consumption platform; an e-reader/video-viewer/web-surfer thingy. In that sense, I guess I’m the target market.
>Do you think your work could be done from a tablet, and if so, will IT move that way?
I doubt it. My work requires too much keyboard-tickling, and even with a terminal client, I think I’d go bonkers trying to do my work from a tablet.
Please delete this comment if you can. Double post. 🙁
Hi.
Not sure if I would pay more for the higher res screen. I’m just saying the screen is the most important thing about a tablet. Having the option of a screen that is twice the res of the iPad 2 could be a pivotal factor for some uses. I know that goes against my price point argument, but different people have different requirements. 🙂
I take your point about the Android browser, and I am annoyed about the agent detection on iPad forcing you to mobile app when the regular app is more suitable, but the iPad browser is good enough in most cases. So we come back to price point again. Do I want to pay more for a mildly more effective browser compared to a perfectly adequate one for less. Factor in the marketing hype telling me that God wants me to own an Apple product and the answer is no. 🙂
Cheers
Tim…
Pretty well in line with my own views, including the wait-and-see approach which ended in a birthday iPad.
While we know the Xoom will have a wifi only version that probably has a competitive price tag, it will probably lose comparisons to the iPad 2 that it would have won again OG iPad.
Sad really.
A tablet makes a nice family device that’s convenient and easy. For me that saves my laptop and allows me to avoid climbing the stairs to my office.
I use iCab Mobile on the iPad, which has a setting for user agent. So, you can browse sites that automatically show the mobile version without any option.
Worth the tiny asking price.