“Apple’s iPad 2 will stay on top of the tablet market despite the influx of rivals because it will be able to lead the field on prices, apps and hardware specifications, according to analysis by the research company Gartner,” Charles Arthur reports for The Guardian.
“Its analysts, led by Carolina Milanesi, say key elements such as Apple’s economies of scale, keeping the price of the iPad down, and the power of the app and hardware ecosystem will help sales in the retail and the enterprise markets,” Arthur reports. “The threats from Android-based tablets, and the forthcoming RIM PlayBook and HP TouchPad will not prevent the iPad from dominating because of Apple’s ‘hardware excellent, focus on the entire user experience and go-to-market capabilities’ – the ability to reach consumers.”
“‘We believe some other tablet manufacturers are making a mistake by competing on hardware specifications,’ says Gartner’s team, in a report provided exclusively to the Guardian,” Arthur reports. “‘Tablets are about applications and what they empower users to do. Apple’s focus on putting hardware at the service of user behaviour shows it understands this fact.’ Following its launch in the US on 11 March, Apple is believed to have sold around 1m iPad 2s in its first weekend, with many stores running out. Waiting times for online orders has stretched to between four and six weeks.”
Arthur reports, “Gartner says the ‘intuitive’ user experience and the breadth of applications available on the iPad compared to rival tablets means it is already being used in enterprises – and the new features means ‘we see no reason why the iPad’s momentum in the enterprise should slow.'”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “DiegusMac” for the heads up.]
very off topic: has anyone heard of screen bleed on the white iPad when watching movies in dark?
oh yes:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2779476&tstart=15
And it’s not just the white ones. Doesn’t affect all of the new iPads – only a small subset.
My iPad 1 has backlight bleeding in darker environments. My friends iPads don’t have the same problem. I plan to get it swapped on warranty.
“We believe some other tablet manufacturers are making a mistake by competing on hardware specifications….”
The dork sector of consumers selects everything from toasters to cars and computers by looking at specs on paper. Often this is a mistake, especially so with digital devices. Having said that, it doesn’t appear the wannabes have any advantage with their specs either.
An iPad without the Apple ecosystem is like the emperor with no clothes.
Mr. Authur…
Thank you, Capt. Obvious.
Apple has been working on this for years…. welcome to the party, Mr. Johnny-come-lately.
To be fair, Mr Arthur has been reporting on Apple for years, earning himself a reputation as an Apple shill in the UK. Articles on Apple continue to be some of the most popular on that paper’s website though.
“We believe some other tablet manufacturers are making a mistake by competing on hardware specifications”
Unfortunately, a vast swath of the American public makes their decisions on the specs.
I went out to lunch with the guys in IT today. I drove. They were pretty impressed when I plugged my Zune into the car radio and blasted Foghat on the way to Arby’s. During lunch they got into a discussion about specs on the new Dell laptops, Exchange server upgrades and retrieving the SAP login password for the millionth time for Nancy in accounting. Fascinating stuff. Not once did they talk about namby-pamby sissy “user experience” crap. Nobody cares. Why MAC wastes time on touch-feely nonsense is beyond me.
More cores and more megahertz, that’s where the rubber meets the road. Take into account replaceable batteries, a multitude of ports, stylus options and Exchange connectivity and MAC is a distant also ran with their toy tablets. You’ll see.
Your choices of music player, musical group, and restaurant have told us just about all we need to know about you.
That is so funny.
Not to mention the the geek clique he hangs with.
LOL, Zune Tang, looks like you’ve hit your stride again.
Post-irony irony for the post-PC world. Great stuff!
Love you, Tang! (And I hate Tang!)
Question?
The on-going release of iPad2 is somewhat confusing.
It appears there is tremendous consumer interest in acquiring the device (continuing lineups), but in practice, iPad2 seems scarce.
Does anyone have any sales figures to quantify Apple’s success?