Advertisement: Protect your iPad with the invisibleSHIELD.
“Though Samsung, LG Electronics, Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Asus, Research In Motion, and Dell have announced or hinted at touchscreen tablets that will arrive between now and March 2011, they’re way late to the party,” Ogg reports. “Since the iPad’s debut in April, Apple has built a huge lead in this category–in terms of actual devices sold but also in many consumers’ minds.”
“The category is new–a large touch-screen device bigger than a smartphone and running a lightweight operating system wasn’t widely available to consumers prior to the iPad’s introduction–but Apple got out of the gate and hasn’t looked back,” Ogg reports. “The company is selling about 1 million iPads per month and has not noticeably slackened its pace since.”
Ogg reports, “Six months from now, just after the yearly Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the tablet landscape is going to look a lot different than today–expect to hear many iPad wannabes announced at the show. But for all of the new products introduced, there are a few key things that need to happen if they’re going to make a dent in Apple’s lead: find a tablet-oriented operating system, pull together great hardware and get app developers on their side.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock…
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
As far as apple’s production capabilities, they have about a month and a half left to build up capacity and then product for the xmas season. If they aren’t able to churn out 3 million machines a month from mid September to mid december then apple will exit the Xmas season having literally let a billion or two dollars in sales escape out the door. That what november and december offer.
DLMeyer: “Did anyone else see the red-clad iPad (the “victim’s”) on Rizzoli and Isles last night? The color threw me for maybe a second, then I flashed “cover”.”
Yes I did. Beautiful wedding picture of the legal lesbian couple in Massachusetts. Great the way they made no big deal it was on an iPad as if iPads have been around for years. Hip Boston crowd.
The biggest problem for would be iPad killers is they only know where the puck was. They have no clue where it’s going to be.
Futuremedia: oh, good, being old I sometimes imagine things. Or think I do.
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Mr. Reeee; didn’t MDN run a story not long back that said the iPad was being developed when someone said “that would make a great phone” and the priorities shifted. Not that such a nit matters … really. The technology does indeed go back several years and I’m sure they are ready to launch v.2 even as I type. So, why not? Two reasons: a) they can still recover more of their R&D money this way and b) they don’t want the “iPad Killers” targeting the latest/greatest so much as last year’s model.
@ G4Dualie,
“Apple’s competitors’ greatest disadvantage is still the button and what it represents. Without the benefit of a virtual interface layer between the user and their data, they’re stuck with the button. “
Just looked at my iPad, found 2 buttons. Without them the iPad wouldn’t work.
Seems to me that everyone, including Apple, still needs the button.
Al:
How smart.
@ C1
Can you use “Wikipanion for iPad” for your OGG files? It does play OGG content from Wikipedia.
@AI
Yours only has two, huh? Wow, two less than mine.
Mine has four buttons; Instant On, Volume, Home, and Screen-Orientation Lock.
These buttons are minimalist by design and I grant you, provide functionality unavailable from the software, and the iPad wouldn’t work as well without them, but to Apple’s credit and advantage they were able to throw out a dozen or more.
I was of course referring to the keyboard, and the nav-ring on some models. Maybe next time I won’t be so philosophical so as to avoid losing you. You are AI, after all.
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Apple did a fine job in “predicting demand.” I don’t think they lost too many iPad sales because there were not enough to go around initially. After all, it’s not as if the customer wanting an iPad was going to go out and buy an alternative. In April, there were no alternatives (except ugly heavy “convertible” tablets running Windows with a stylus). A customer wanting an iPad put their name on a waiting list. So however many iPads they did not sell initially, they sold eventually.
Today, more than four months later, there still are no significant alternatives. AND Apple has mostly managed to catch up to demand. Most stores have inventory of at least some configs, and the online Apple Store is currently showing “Ships: 3-5 business days” for all iPad configs. If they keep increasing production as the Holidays approach, and they’ll be in great shape, at least for iPad.
iPhone 4 supply versus demand… now that’s a different story.
The iPad’s high price will give the competition all the time it needs to catch up.
Think about this, HP, Microsoft, Intel and OfficeMax can make a profit on selling $260 Atom powered netbooks that have a built in monitor stand, a keyboard, trackpad and more ports than a iPad that costs either 2x or 3x more.
What happens when the PC industry cranks out a iPad clone?
It would sell for $260 and make even more profit than a netbook!!
And because there are many many more people that can afford $260 then $500, the PC iPad clone will sell more in volume to make more overall profits than Apple will with the iPad.
If Apple wants to snuff the competition now, the iPad needs to be sold for $300, that will do them in before they have a chance to start.
The Android abomination which rips the Java gravy train is stuck somewhere in La La land.
annoymous coward, I don’t think you “get” it.
OK. Sure. The iPad’s price gives the competition some time to catch up.
Your list of suggestions is mostly out of sync, though. A built-in stand? Maybe. A keyboard? Already available. Trackpad? Already available. More ports than an iPad? As I said … I don’t think you “get” it.
The class is meant to be handheld, typically, or flat on a table. Attached externally via wireless, mostly, or via a limited-access “power” port – like the iPods (THE power in the MP3-Player market) sport. Ports cost in terms of weight, if nothing else. Weight is the enemy of this product class.
Thank you for NOT including Dell in your list of wanna-bes.