“According to Digitimes, already ‘2-3 notebook brand vendors’ plan to ‘postpone their tablet PC model’s launch schedule until after they redesign the specifications and reduce the related costs’ of their iPad competitors. To compete with the iPad, manufacturers feel they need to get prices below $399, and Digitimes’ inside sources say “none of the current Wintel or ARM/Android” platforms can achieve such a goal while maintaining profitability on the devices,” Kit Eaton writes for Fast Company.
“Apple did pretty much invent the new tablet PC paradigm, and has moved swiftly to consolidate its position. Particularly noteworthy is the imminent launch of iPad 2 in 26 nations–much faster than expected, and significantly swifter than the prolonged roll-out of the original device,” Eaton writes. “Any moves Apple makes have the potential to distort the entire tablet market.”
Eaton writes, “Since sales of the MacBooks have skyrocketed (some figures place sales of the new 11-inch MacBook Air alone at over 1.1 million in its first quarter), and unlike generic PC manufacturers Apple controls hardware and software strictly, a change in its supplier lineup may heavily impact the industry… Apple’s dominance as a manufacturer suggests that its merest whim can make waves in the rest of the computing industry. Heck, even stubborn Adobe is kinda bending to Steve Jobs’ decisions.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
Just you wait, Apple lovers. Your moment of dark Xoom Doom is coming.
Yaaaaaaaay! Welcome to the new, improved Xoom Tang(r)
Our very own Steven Colbert providing us with the truthiness that we deserve!
REALLY?? Don’t copy from the master… Zune Tang is one and only!!
Quality read the reviews on the Zoom its crap mate. Unfinished being a statement makes me laugh that you like the android os the UI looks like it was designed by kids its a cross between symbian and teletext.
Oh what you gonna do when an app you downloaded off the android store contains a virus or malware and steals your personal details.
Punctuate much?
hey Zune tang i thought you were a Window Licker!!!! why have you defected to Android may a virus infect you ass mate
Fantastic to see how Apple carefully and painstakingly crawled back from near-obscurity in the mid-to late-nineties to the point where it is now. Jobs and company clearly learned their lessons along the road, and are very calculating in their efforts to dominate mobile computing, be it hand-held or tablet sized or laptops. Good times.
aka Christian,
Get your timeline straight. What lesson did Jobs learn along the road? Apple bought Next in 1996 and Jobs ousted Gilbert Amelio in 1998 to take back and lead Apple again.
What was learned is simplicity and scaleability. Apple sought to maintain quality control in hardware and software. Niether Microsoft or the OEMs can do that, they either manage hardware or software, not both. Apple delivers in goodness for the time being(?).
Jerome – What I think they’ve learned is that sometimes it IS important to flood the market with a quality but, shall we say “cost conscious,” device which is ubiquitously available so that you can gain enough mindshare that the competition can’t catch up. In his younger years, Steve Jobs believed that simply having a better product would mean everyone would buy it. Historically, that’s clearly not true. Hope that clarifies.
Now Android is the new threat. Copying Apple iOS heavily and given away for free to saturate the market.
Android still appears to be a poor business model. I honestly don’t see how a model such as Android can be sustained. I’m curious how much revenue Android brings in for Google. I believe it’s going to run into a wall with the Nokia/Microsoft alliance if WP7 is any good at all. I honestly don’t think that Android is a threat to Apple but merely limits iOS growth to some degree. Apple as one company can’t build smartphones fast enough to supply global demand, so even now it’s limited by build capacity and not necessarily Android, per se.
One of the benefits of having Android is that it further detracts attention from Microsoft products. Apple and Android are now both perceived as bigger players (of which one’s importance, Android, is partly based on hype, partly on the mistaken view that all androids are created equal — they’re not, because they differ in operator-supplied additons, which makes them “totally” different for the average user; under the hood they are too:):):))
Xoom Doom?? I’m sorry, but is that a new action game for RIM’s double-CEO, it’s-coming-soon-someday-maybe PlayBook?
Plaything? “Playground” too.
> manufacturers feel they need to get prices below $399
And when (if) they manage to do it with a reasonably competent product that doesn’t look/feel like the Yugo tablet, Apple will drop the low-end price to $399. Apple selling the remaining stock of the first gen iPad for $399 indicates to me that they could offer “last year’s model” for $399 as an ongoing practice. Right now, there is no need to do so because the competition can’t even match $499; Apple would only be hurting itself by having an ongoing $399 model.
I think it is going to be VERY difficult for the competition beat (or even match) Apple on price. There is only one tech company that would be willing to stomach huge losses to make a profit somewhere “down that indefinite road.” Microsoft. But after their Zune and Kin experiences, I don’t think even Microsoft will try a self-branded loss-leader “Zune Tab.” They already have a new initiative that pays their “partners” $1B a pop to license Windows Phone 7.
I will throw my hat in the Windows Mobile 7 ring for 1 billion. They can call it the “JaxTab”.
Even with a free OS, they still can’t match the price. When you’re in that position, what can you do?
@ AKA Christian
I don’t think they are trying to dominate the market per se, it’s that they want to make great products that provide a wonderful user experience, at a price that justifies their effort and place them into as many hands as possible. Yeah, what you said!
A 7″ Coby tablet was just purchased by a friend of mine lol! It has Android 2.1 on it and it cost $150. She said she wanted to purchase this device before paying $500 for an iPad to see if she likes this concept.. I told her not to perceive this Coby tablet as her final decision on whether she likes tablets since Apple’s iPad is a much better experience, but I’m not sure my input will really matter no matter how true my comments are.
Goes to show that a $399 iPad Gen 1 tablet wouldn’t be such a bad idea to keep around.
Your evidence is anecdotal, and does nothing to indicate a broader trend.
It’s based on an actual real life purchase and common sense stranger, (not anecdotal).
Specs for this Coby tablet:
7″ screen, Wifi Internet, Web, E-mail, YouTube, Integrated Flash memory, 4GB internal memory, microSD card slot (upgrade up to 16GB), Connect and enjoy Full 1080p on HDTV via a HDMI cable, Apps, Full size USB connection enables keyboard capability, USB 2.0 and a rechargeable battery.
ALL FOR $150! Price conscious consumers are going to see this and think buying 3 of em is cheaper than purchasing one iPad 2…
Once again, a $399 iPad 1 isn’t such a bad idea to have around.
(I understand that the iPad 2 is much better than this item my friend purchased, but to most average consumers who aren’t “techheads” this Coby tablet may be perceived as the better deal.)
I personally can’t wait to purchase an iPad 2 when I can afford it (gonna be relatively soon, hehehe)
There will always be people who buy the latest “Yugo” rather than a Lexus. The experience will be similar to the Xoom vs. iPad – it may get you to your destination, but the journey will be vastly different.
Coby is a funny company. They make cheap things that are often decent for the price you pay. Before there was an iPod shuffle or nano, I had a small (clip-on) AM/FM radio from Coby to use when I go running; I don’t remember what I paid, but it was less than $20. Worked fine for that purpose.
They makes these ultra-cheap “in-ear” earbuds that are quite nice sounding (and look good too). Currently $5.54 at Amazon “Coby CVE92 Isolation Stereo Earphones.” I use them with my old white iPod shuffle when I go running (and I don’t care if they get sweaty – it cost me five bucks). I keep a few spares on hand.
That Coby tablet is no iPad, but I’ll bet it’s a decent value for $150. $150 is probably the most expensive thing they sell.
Correctu, you have hit the nail on the head. There are lots of people out there that have little tech expertise and see $500 as lots of money (which it is… by the way).
A friend of my bought one of those locally assembled PCs for $350. The USB port on the front fell apart within in 6 months. (the spacer fell out and with out it, you cannot use it without bending pins and crashing the motherboard.)
After it being in the shop for 3-4 times for software related UI issues (cannot email, cannot read DVDs, cannot write CDs etc) she said that next time she would buy a Mac,,,, if she can afford it.
The problem is that people think VERY short term. I have an iBook that is still in use. (do you know how old an ibook is??? LOL)
Just a thought,
en
A cat toying with a ball of yarn! Next big cat to have it’s go… LION!
I don’t see how already cheap (ie: poor quality), chintzy tablets can be made less expensive and not be total pieces of s41t.
Luckily for other manufacturers, there will always be a certain percentage of consumers who don’t know what a total piece of sh|t looks like.
@ Xoom Tang. I know Zune Tang, and you sir, are no Zune Tang.
Coby will always have shelf space in the local Five & Dime and the corner 24-hour munchie haven. During a trip to Maine I picked up a Coby alarm clock at (a great store, BTW) Renys for 3.95. It’s still working. But there is something toy-like about all their stuff, which forces no commitment- if it breaks, if I lose it, no bother. The kind of product that I’d replace instead of putting in new batteries. 😉