Starting to lose interest in iPad 2.

[Blackbelt]

You could buy a Motorola Xoom. They are only $1200.00!

lol .. no thanks.

For my uses, the iPad is just fine. Unfortunately many (most?) of the educational sites my daughter has to use for school have some sort of Flash built in, so I have been hoping for something better than our netbook for those uses, and seeing her use the iPad makes me wish there was a tablet that would work. For $1200 though I would probably just buy a notebook and a second iPad!

Have you tried using Skyfire? It converts flash to HTML5 and can render most webpages.

Trust me on this , skyfire is a waste of money. Does not work, Trust me.

 

[dougrogers]

More precise? Skyfire converts Flash video just fine for me. It does not do sites, games, chat... or Flash anything other than video. If this is what you want, trust me, Skyfire works just fine.

 

[Superbike81]

Regardless of what alternative tablets come out, the iPad isn't going anywhere, just like the iPhone isn't going anywhere. It's good that we have high-end alternatives now though.

 

[Seadog]

For those who think that Android tablets will destroy the iPad, a recent report shows that apple controls 60% of the touchpad production for at least the next year. Most of the other 40% of capcity is taken by RIM, Motorola, and HP. That means that all the 'second' tier manufacturers are dead in the water, without the touchpads they need to make a product. Also remember that Apple has secured all the top rated touchpad manufacturers, which means that they have the top tier production to theirselves. It will take years for the other manufacturers to increase their production and quality to catch up.

 

[donka]

For those who think that Android tablets will destroy the iPad, a recent report shows that apple controls 60% of the touchpad production for at least the next year. Most of the other 40% of capcity is taken by RIM, Motorola, and HP. That means that all the 'second' tier manufacturers are dead in the water, without the touchpads they need to make a product. Also remember that Apple has secured all the top rated touchpad manufacturers, which means that they have the top tier production to theirselves. It will take years for the other manufacturers to increase their production and quality to catch up.

Well if the Honeycomb tablets are a marked improvement on the iPad 2 then you can be sure that I'll happily wait for stock instead of opting for the inferior iPad 2!

 

[Thphilli]

What Apple people don't realize about pricing is that Android tablets might LAUNCH at $600 for a wifi version, but within a couple months they will be selling for $450 or less. Apple maintains its price point for a year. No Android manufacturer does that.

 

[Superbike81]

True, prices will drop shortly after release, just as they have in the past.

That's the good thing about competition, forces manufacturers to compete with each other. Apple knows it has enough loyal followers so they don't concern themselves with adjusting prices based on the market.

 

[tzimisce]

Apple have had pretty much the touch-tablet market for a whole year to themselves, and already shipped a bazillion units of product worldwide.

Any contender coming into the market and going up against that market share is like going into a game of soccer already six goals down, notwithstanding how their product price and features stack up against the iPad. They can offer alternative products and try to carve out what's left of the market - but that iPad user base who are already invested, financially and emotionally, aren't going to just abandon it that easily.

 

[Superbike81]

Just give it time. Just like Android phones have been chipping away at the iPhone's market share, tablets will do the same. No single tablet will outsell iPad outright, not with the huge lead the iPad has established.

Its not like every single person who desires a tablet computer already has an iPad. It's a huge market, and it's nowhere near saturated yet.

 

[Thphilli]

Apple have had pretty much the touch-tablet market for a whole year to themselves, and already shipped a bazillion units of product worldwide.

Any contender coming into the market and going up against that market share is like going into a game of soccer already six goals down, notwithstanding how their product price and features stack up against the iPad. They can offer alternative products and try to carve out what's left of the market - but that iPad user base who are already invested, financially and emotionally, aren't going to just abandon it that easily.

They won't abandon it easily. There will be pressure on power users though when Android tablets are quad core monsters by holiday season 2011 and the iPad 2 is either a fast single core or slow dual core with a refresh 7-8 months away. And there will be pressure when there are relatively adequate $200 Android tablets selling at best buy.

 

[tzimisce]

Just give it time. Just like Android phones have been chipping away at the iPhone's market share, tablets will do the same. No single tablet will outsell iPad outright, not with the huge lead the iPad has established.

Time will not work to the advantage of its competitors, I think, given the massive head start which Apple has. Alternative products will take away some of the market share, sure, but I just can't see them relinquishing that lead. Apple has a first-mover advantage in a product niche which it essentially created for itself, plus there's the halo effect of their brand name on top of that.

Furthermore, the diversity of alternative products will only dilute their respective market share, e.g. let's say three competing Android tablets enter the market at about the same time. They are not just going up against Apple, but each other as well - it's a really tough market to breach.

Just to illustrate quickly, I'm taking a look at Amazon's top ten bestselling MP3 players, which is a mature market as the iPod was first launched in 2001. Only two products in that list are non-Apple products, in sixth and tenth place respectively (80% market share to Apple); more importantly, the top five bestsellers are Apple.

If you expand that list to the top twenty, you get eight non-Apple products (60% market share) - but four of them are dead last in the 17-20th place. And we look at the top thirty products, ten are non-Apple, so their market share goes up to 67%. That size of market share in any business is amazing, and ten years on, Apple's competitors still have not been able to dislodge the iPod in that space. I suspect they may be facing a similar challenge in the tablet space as well.

 

[Superbike81]

People said Android phones would never catch up to the iPhone, but they have, just needed time.

You have your predictions and I have mine, only time will tell which one turns out to be correct.

 

[Thphilli]

Just give it time. Just like Android phones have been chipping away at the iPhone's market share, tablets will do the same. No single tablet will outsell iPad outright, not with the huge lead the iPad has established.

Time will not work to the advantage of its competitors, I think, given the massive head start which Apple has. Alternative products will take away some of the market share, sure, but I just can't see them relinquishing that lead. Apple has a first-mover advantage in a product niche which it essentially created for itself, plus there's the halo effect of their brand name on top of that.

Furthermore, the diversity of alternative products will only dilute their respective market share, e.g. let's say three competing Android tablets enter the market at about the same time. They are not just going up against Apple, but each other as well - it's a really tough market to breach.

Just to illustrate quickly, I'm taking a look at Amazon's top ten bestselling MP3 players, which is a mature market as the iPod was first launched in 2001. Only two products in that list are non-Apple products, in sixth and tenth place respectively (80% market share to Apple); more importantly, the top five bestsellers are Apple.

If you expand that list to the top twenty, you get eight non-Apple products (60% market share) - but four of them are dead last in the 17-20th place. And we look at the top thirty products, ten are non-Apple, so their market share goes up to 67%. That size of market share in any business is amazing, and ten years on, Apple's competitors still have not been able to dislodge the iPod in that space. I suspect they may be facing a similar challenge in the tablet space as well.

What are you talking about? Every single thing that you said could also have been said about the iPhone and the 200 Android phones that have been released. And look at how Android has FLEW past the Iphone.

 

[Technician99]

How can I lose interest in product that has not been released and is just rumor?

 

[Seadog]

There is an opinion by an expert that the other manufacturers will never be competitive with the iPad. Apple has too much in-house control of the process. It keeps everything coordinated and focused. The other manufacturers depend on outside vendors for the software, product designs, and accessories. For example, Apple used the ARM processor, which they own. The others buy the ARM, Intel, or other processors. Apple gets the best, first and without markup. Apple owns the iOS, which means they control what features, when they come out, and can make the OS work more efficiently with their processor. The others have to wait for MS and Google to make changes to a generic OS, and then modify which features they are using. His argument has merit. It doesn't mean that others won't match the iPad's pricing, but that for the same money, you get a lesser product. So those who are into Android may have to pay more for the privilege.