Chance Furlong
2011-03-08 20:13:03 UTC
From Tech Night Owl:
http://tinyurl.com/4o2p3ce
APPLE CRITICS MAKE MORE INTO LESS
Apple Inc. has a nasty habit of screwing up the timing of the tech
industry. On the eve of the release of the highly anticipated iPad 2,
other companies are still struggling to figure out how to build their
first offerings. Some of the marketing plans are downright stupid, such
as Motorola’s decision to sell the Xoom tablet in 3G form, with 32GB
storage, for $70 more than a comparable iPad 2.
Does that make sense to you?
This state of affairs appears to turn the conventional wisdom that Apple
charges more for their iconic gadgets on its ear. But that pretty much
started when the first iPad was announced last year. The predictions had
it that the new tablet would sell for $799 to $999, perhaps higher. The
entry-level price of $499 was quite unexpected, and Apple has kept an
identical pricing structure in place for the iPad 2.
In order to reduce the impact of the second version of the iPad, some
industry critics have decided to use the bullet point approach. They
will look at the specs of a competing product, and point out where Apple
is, well, lacking. The number of megapixels of the built-in cameras are
certainly ripe for criticism, although it’s also true that you’re
probably not going to use a tablet computer to shoot pictures.
Certainly there’s not much room with which to criticize Apple’s A5
processor, with dual-cores, not to mention the promise of twice the
performance and nine times the graphics speed. So they look at the RAM
allotment, and there have, unfortunately, been two versions of the
configuration. There was a quote of 256MB, same as last year, which was
later denied. The guessing is that it’ll be 512MB, same as the iPhone 4,
but you won’t know for sure until someone tears down the iPad 2 and
catalogs the raw materials.
The other argument is whether Apple should have increased solid state
storage. But it’s also true that those chips remain quite costly, and a
128GB iPad 2 would cost quite a bit more than its 64GB brethren.
Remember that Apple was clearly constrained by the projected retail
price. Clearly, with more and more competitors arriving, or still on the
horizon, Apple had to keep the price the same as last year, while still
earning decent profits. Shareholders have to be satisfied too.
Also consider that the competition still can’t match Apple’s prices,
unless you opt for a service contract for 3G data. In the end, you wind
up paying more. Apple promised they’d be aggressive in the iPad’s cost,
and it’s clear to most observers they are doing just that. Billions of
dollars are being invested in component purchases, which leaves, in
essence, just the bread crumbs for the rest of the tablet builders.
More to the point, as iPad sales increase, the cost of assembling them
is less. That’s the sort of economy of scale no competitor can match,
unless they want to pull Microsoft’s usual stunt, which is to take a
loss on each unit sold, hoping to make it back elsewhere. Maybe software
sales?
But that isn’t guaranteed. There are very few apps available for Android
OS tablets, and none for products that are, as yet, stillborn.
RIM certainly took a hit by announcing the Playbook tablet months before
the planned release, and the recent resignation of the company’s
marketing head, Keith Pardy, has to sting. Why would someone in that
position, shepherding the launch of a critical product for a company,
suddenly leave? Is it possible the whole campaign is falling apart at
the seams? Worse, can RIM find a replacement soon enough to avoid
serious collateral damage?
Just what sort of marketing scheme do they plan to use with the
Playbook? Will it also run Android apps? And, if so, what incentive is
there for developers to build apps for RIM’s own OS? Does any of this
make sense to you? I don’t claim to be a marketing guru by any means,
but it sure sounds inept to me.
The other question is what other companies are selling when they
advertise a tablet? The iPad, and any iOS gadget, is all about the apps.
Without apps, they are nothing but blank slates in need of a purpose.
That’s a huge reason why the iMovie update, and the arrival of
GarageBand on the iPad 2, are so significant. Suddenly a device
supposedly designed mostly for consumption becomes a powerful creative
tool. Maybe not as powerful as the apps you’ll find on a traditional Mac
or PC, but give it time.
That’s a problem Apple encountered long ago with the Mac. The common
complaint had it that there was no software for Macs, hence you had to
buy a PC. It doesn’t matter that this allegation was largely untrue —
except in the case of vertical apps that only came in Windows versions.
Once the claim spread, buttressed by the lack of Mac software at many
retail outlets, you just knew it had to be true.
With the iPad 2, there are over 65,000 apps optimized for the product.
Close to 400,000 iOS apps are at the App Store. Yes, they aren’t all
great, and the marketplace will decide how many survive and prosper. But
you have a huge repertoire of powerful apps that will allow you to
perform all sorts of tasks.
Gaming is a significant area. Where once upon a time, Macs were not too
good for gaming, suddenly the situation is improving, no doubt
influenced by the iOS and that legendary halo effect. With the addition
of HDMI on the iPad 2 (and the accessory cable works on the original
iPad, by the way, at 720p resolution rather than 1080p), gaming console
makers have to be scared to death. If you can buy great games from the
App Store for $5 to $10, a fraction of what you pay with traditional
gaming hardware, what will become of the PlayStation, Xbox, and all the
rest?
The iPad 2 is also going to move faster and faster into the business
world. Already there’s a published report that Best Buy plans to deploy
them to their in-store salespeople. Imagine someone who is looking for a
tablet computer, perhaps examining a Motorola Xoom, and the salesperson
comes over with iPad 2 in hand? The unkindest cut of all!
Yes, the critics and Apple’s competition will do all they can to bring
the iPad 2 down to their level. But it doesn’t seem they have a ghost of
a chance of succeeding.
http://tinyurl.com/4o2p3ce
APPLE CRITICS MAKE MORE INTO LESS
Apple Inc. has a nasty habit of screwing up the timing of the tech
industry. On the eve of the release of the highly anticipated iPad 2,
other companies are still struggling to figure out how to build their
first offerings. Some of the marketing plans are downright stupid, such
as Motorola’s decision to sell the Xoom tablet in 3G form, with 32GB
storage, for $70 more than a comparable iPad 2.
Does that make sense to you?
This state of affairs appears to turn the conventional wisdom that Apple
charges more for their iconic gadgets on its ear. But that pretty much
started when the first iPad was announced last year. The predictions had
it that the new tablet would sell for $799 to $999, perhaps higher. The
entry-level price of $499 was quite unexpected, and Apple has kept an
identical pricing structure in place for the iPad 2.
In order to reduce the impact of the second version of the iPad, some
industry critics have decided to use the bullet point approach. They
will look at the specs of a competing product, and point out where Apple
is, well, lacking. The number of megapixels of the built-in cameras are
certainly ripe for criticism, although it’s also true that you’re
probably not going to use a tablet computer to shoot pictures.
Certainly there’s not much room with which to criticize Apple’s A5
processor, with dual-cores, not to mention the promise of twice the
performance and nine times the graphics speed. So they look at the RAM
allotment, and there have, unfortunately, been two versions of the
configuration. There was a quote of 256MB, same as last year, which was
later denied. The guessing is that it’ll be 512MB, same as the iPhone 4,
but you won’t know for sure until someone tears down the iPad 2 and
catalogs the raw materials.
The other argument is whether Apple should have increased solid state
storage. But it’s also true that those chips remain quite costly, and a
128GB iPad 2 would cost quite a bit more than its 64GB brethren.
Remember that Apple was clearly constrained by the projected retail
price. Clearly, with more and more competitors arriving, or still on the
horizon, Apple had to keep the price the same as last year, while still
earning decent profits. Shareholders have to be satisfied too.
Also consider that the competition still can’t match Apple’s prices,
unless you opt for a service contract for 3G data. In the end, you wind
up paying more. Apple promised they’d be aggressive in the iPad’s cost,
and it’s clear to most observers they are doing just that. Billions of
dollars are being invested in component purchases, which leaves, in
essence, just the bread crumbs for the rest of the tablet builders.
More to the point, as iPad sales increase, the cost of assembling them
is less. That’s the sort of economy of scale no competitor can match,
unless they want to pull Microsoft’s usual stunt, which is to take a
loss on each unit sold, hoping to make it back elsewhere. Maybe software
sales?
But that isn’t guaranteed. There are very few apps available for Android
OS tablets, and none for products that are, as yet, stillborn.
RIM certainly took a hit by announcing the Playbook tablet months before
the planned release, and the recent resignation of the company’s
marketing head, Keith Pardy, has to sting. Why would someone in that
position, shepherding the launch of a critical product for a company,
suddenly leave? Is it possible the whole campaign is falling apart at
the seams? Worse, can RIM find a replacement soon enough to avoid
serious collateral damage?
Just what sort of marketing scheme do they plan to use with the
Playbook? Will it also run Android apps? And, if so, what incentive is
there for developers to build apps for RIM’s own OS? Does any of this
make sense to you? I don’t claim to be a marketing guru by any means,
but it sure sounds inept to me.
The other question is what other companies are selling when they
advertise a tablet? The iPad, and any iOS gadget, is all about the apps.
Without apps, they are nothing but blank slates in need of a purpose.
That’s a huge reason why the iMovie update, and the arrival of
GarageBand on the iPad 2, are so significant. Suddenly a device
supposedly designed mostly for consumption becomes a powerful creative
tool. Maybe not as powerful as the apps you’ll find on a traditional Mac
or PC, but give it time.
That’s a problem Apple encountered long ago with the Mac. The common
complaint had it that there was no software for Macs, hence you had to
buy a PC. It doesn’t matter that this allegation was largely untrue —
except in the case of vertical apps that only came in Windows versions.
Once the claim spread, buttressed by the lack of Mac software at many
retail outlets, you just knew it had to be true.
With the iPad 2, there are over 65,000 apps optimized for the product.
Close to 400,000 iOS apps are at the App Store. Yes, they aren’t all
great, and the marketplace will decide how many survive and prosper. But
you have a huge repertoire of powerful apps that will allow you to
perform all sorts of tasks.
Gaming is a significant area. Where once upon a time, Macs were not too
good for gaming, suddenly the situation is improving, no doubt
influenced by the iOS and that legendary halo effect. With the addition
of HDMI on the iPad 2 (and the accessory cable works on the original
iPad, by the way, at 720p resolution rather than 1080p), gaming console
makers have to be scared to death. If you can buy great games from the
App Store for $5 to $10, a fraction of what you pay with traditional
gaming hardware, what will become of the PlayStation, Xbox, and all the
rest?
The iPad 2 is also going to move faster and faster into the business
world. Already there’s a published report that Best Buy plans to deploy
them to their in-store salespeople. Imagine someone who is looking for a
tablet computer, perhaps examining a Motorola Xoom, and the salesperson
comes over with iPad 2 in hand? The unkindest cut of all!
Yes, the critics and Apple’s competition will do all they can to bring
the iPad 2 down to their level. But it doesn’t seem they have a ghost of
a chance of succeeding.