Tablets: Apple iPad and Beyond
Apple launched the iPad on 3rd April and sold out 3 million units in its first 80 days. Apple now has 11000 iPad specific applications.
Huawei has announced Smakit S7 tablet, featuring Android 2.1, a 7” 800 * 480 pixel display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 768 MHz microprocessor, 3G HSDPA, 256 MB RAM, Wi-Fi, Micro SD slot and 2MP Camera.
Intel and Nokia been in the fray with Mobile Internet Devices and Linux based Internet tablets as also other manufacturers with smart-books or e-book readers (Amazon Kindle: a Case in point)
Apple: Changing the Trend yet again
The second half of 2010 will see a profusion of tablets from a wide range of developers. While Tablets have been on the horizon for a while now, it is 2010 when Apple iPad captured the imagination of consumers. The Tablets are positioned to be occupying the “no man’s land” between smartphones and notebooks and has become synonymous with niche products aimed at technology enthusiasts and niche markets such as healthcare. The onset of tablets had suffered a blow in 2007 with the advent of the iPhone. Ironically, it was Apple with its iPad which provided Tablets the impetus to mainstream. The iPad sales have humbled even the most optimistic forecasts on the iPad. The iPad’s success emphasize the power of Apple’s integrated device, content and service offering across multiple products multiple products and its exceptionally strong brand.
Tablets beyond Apple
The tablet market beyond Apple is likely to remain niche in 2010 despite the traffic in the second half of the year. Manufacturers striving to sell “me too” software offering standard features such as a browser, photo viewer, music and video are merely offering the bare minimum expected by users. They will struggle to convince potential buyers that they need a device that sits between a smartphone and a PC. Moderate success may come from offering a “poor man’s iPad” for consumers aspiring to but unable to afford Apple’s flagship device, but the user experience will be weak and the rewards for any OEM pursuing will be meagre.
H2,2010 would see more than 20 tablets, most of them Android powered.
[...] Apple’s head start has insured that elements such as design, components, browsing and applications will now become an Apple led benchmark where others will be compared against the iPad. More or less, these elements will become the “hygiene factors” notable only in absence. The Android platform has proven to be the 2nd best user experience platform on smartphones and Android has been a fast learner (unlike the Symbian’s of this world). Although Android offers an increasingly assured experience, it will find it hard to rival Apple’s service and transaction led model. The introduction of iAd has further extended Apple’s lead in this space by broadening the appeal of its platform to more content developers and publishers. Not only does the iPad open up different avenues to online advertisements, it also affords a far richer experience for readers, with interactive features and advertisements. In the medium term, Apple would be able to integrate iAd and iTunes to enable one-touch purchasing directly from an Advertisement. An example is a reader could view a film trailer and go straight to relevant local listings and buy a ticket through the iTunes store. [...]
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