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Apple's Ipad 2 is just a refresh
WITH 93 PER CENT of the market according to one marketing survey it could be said that the sales figures and market share are what are magical about the Apple Ipad and not its specifications.
The same could be said for the Ipad 2, which has a not very magical set of specifications, as rather than push Apple out ahead of the competition the new tablet is really only making sure it is not overtaken for now.
An Ipad 3 is unlikely for another year or eighteen months, so for now the Ipad 2 only has to beat the newcomers that have been announced over the last few months and are set to tip up by the third quarter.
The tablet much touted as the anti-Ipad is Motorola's Xoom with its Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system. The Xoom tablet has a 1GHz dual-core processor and so does the Ipad 2 with its A5 chip. But the Xoom supports Adobe Flash and Air while the Ipad doesn't, and the Xoom has a better display. It is larger at 10.1-inches and its resolution is better at 1280x800. Apple's Ipad 2 display has only 1024x768 resolution.
The Ipad 2 has HDMI out but we already knew that the Xoom has that. Then there are the front and rear facing video cameras. Jobs claimed other companies had copied Apple and in launching their own tablets he's right, but Jobs' Mob has in turn jumped on their rear and front facing video camera bandwagon. The Xoom has a 5MP rear-facing camera for HD 720p video capture and a 2MP front-facing camera for video calls. The Ipad 2 has only a VGA front-facing camera and no megapixel number is given for its rear-facing camera. Apple only says that it can capture HD 720p video.
Apple highlighted the 10-hour battery life of the Ipad 2 but the Xoom also has that. Jobs made great play on the fact that the Ipad 2 has a gyroscope but so has the Xoom. The Xoom also has a barometer, an e-compass and an accelerometer. The Ipad 2 also has an e-compass. What it doesn't have are two features that are likely to count against it in the runup against all the tablets coming onto the market this year - USB ports and support for Flash. Previous polls and The INQUIRER's Ipad 2 poll have shown continuing demand for USB ports and Flash on tablets.
But what features there are, are packed into a form that is 601g for the Ipad 2 while the Xoom is heavier at 725g. Jobs made big deal about how much thinner and lighter Ipad 2 is. It is true that it is lighter, and thinner at 8.8mm compared to the Xoom's 12.7mm, but the Ipad wasn't exactly a hefty device in the first place, so we question how much value its new size has for the user.
ABI Research came up with the 93 per cent market share figure for the Ipad. That sort of brand awareness for the tablet market can only guarantee the Ipad 2 good sales, but on the other hand that market share can only go down from here. The Ipad 2 will be shipping in the UK from 25 March, and Apple told The INQUIRER that UK prices will be published "closer to launch".
From April a range of Android Honeycomb tablets will be arriving and their vendors all know what the Ipad 2 has and what its price point is or is likely to be. This week Motorola revealed that the Xoom's UK price will be £450 and that buyers can now place pre-orders. That will make the Xoom very competitive with the Ipad 2. And with the huge brand recognition that Google has for its operating system that can only be a plus for the Xoom.
At the Apple store the option of getting your Ipad engraved is available. The INQUIRER's suggestion is it should read, "not quite enough". µ
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Well at £499 for a Xoom I personally would still buy the iPad 2 if I was in the market for a tablet that is. One reason being its not first-generation like the xoom so the OS and hardware are more likely to fit the purpose. Secondly the name is even more ridiculous than Ipad - and that takes some doing. Third and finally I will just get light laptop.
All the hands on videos for the Xoom that I've seen always exposes flaws in the OS, programs don't launch, icons appear over other graphics, & reboots in mid demos.
Also, Apple's application support is years ahead of the competition.
I feel more comfortable investing in the Ipad as opposes to any other venders (at the moment) because there's such a broad scope of possible usability,e.g., creativity, social or productivity.
As far as Flash is concerned - days go by before i come across a Flash based site. It just means less annoying ad pop ups.
Pity it took you 2 days.
You miss the point entirely - it is not about having few more pixels. It is all about usability and user experience.
As it stands iPad is the best.
And yes - I would love to see the credible competition, but there is none at the moment. Motorola could have been if it was priced at £200-250. Nobody is going to pay iPad price for a knock-off.
As usual tech sites have no comprehension of business and how the consumer market works.
When you have an entrenched position and are first in the market (like say 93% market share); your updated products do not need to beat the competition... the competition needs to beat your updated product. Once you have a brand established, your refreshes simply need to be competitive with other products.
And as usual by the time the competition delivers a product SIGNIFICANTLY better (both HW and usability), the market will likely have been saturated and Apple will have moved on.
It's a brilliant business strategy if you can figure out the niches 6-12 months ahead of everyone. I don't care for Apple products generally, but I don't get the hatred some have for them.
Have you seen the Engadget hands on video. http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/02/ipad-2-first-hands-on/
This iPad is the first functioning tablet, with that I mean the response to touch is instantaneous, no lag. This is the only tablet that "works" so far.
I want a tablet but as I have said before, no stylus no tablet. I wonder how Jobs have got this so wrong. I will bet with anyone that within two years there will not be a Tablet/Pad without a pointed stylus.
I expect to buy mySpark 200$-350$ with a pointed stylus. http://mysparktech.com/
Android - for those who like Apple's ideas but either hate Apple or think three lefts are way cooler than one right.
HP webOS - for fetishists who demand their abandonware run only on worthless, unreliable hardware.
Microsoft - for people who hate people who hate Microsoft (sorry, no Pads for you this year).
Apple - for fanbois and just-want-something-that-is-supported-beyond-the-next-model's-introduction-so-maybe-I-can hand-it-down-someday-bois.
Blackberry - for when you have more than 100 to support.
Sad times come for all Apple h8rs...
All the iPad killaz, appeared to be poor equipped Android devices, sentenced to BUGGED Android Marketplace :
Pfsssshhh!!! HAHAHA A VGA camera!!! It has a front facing *VGA* camera!!! That's 640x480, 0.3MP!! Srsly, this is 2011.
I have an iPad (well, my gf has) and it's an ok device, but you can't argue that ipad2 is a tiny refresh, not worth upgrading if you have one and not worth buying if you are waiting for a real hardware update.
If you are looking for a complete ecosystem, well, android is shaping up real good. And has/will have better machines this year.
Oh, @bojennett:
If SJ were announcing an ipad2 with just "an USB port or slightly more pixels", surely you would be the first dolt in line to buy it!
Mac fanboys are so much fun! ^_^
...our Android overlords!!!
I agree totally, Ipad should have had quad core i7 built in. 100 hour battery life. 100 gbs of RAM, 1000 tbs of storage. It should be able to grant you unlimited wishes and turn into a plane and fly you anywhere you want. And most important turn into a GF for Rob Coppinger, so that he can get laid.
Flash for Xoom is in beta. Every owner will have it.
Larger screen, better resolution and the all important USB make the xoom a better device.
Also the xoom uses an open operating system and much more open hardware. Apple's hardware is loked down while xoom can be serviced by the owner. Some people opened up the xoom and declared it the best serviceable device on the market. You can easily change the battery, the LCD glass separately from the LCD, and the LCD itself very easily. For most of us in the habit of dropping stuff, this is important.
Look, we already know the Inquirer hates everything Apple and only thinks the iPad is a big iPhone. But couldn't you have pooped all over the iPad yesterday with an article like this? Didn't you have one all ready to go and just needed to fill in the blanks with the specs? If you truly think the Xoom is a better tablet, you are smoking primo stuff.
Oh, and the Xoom DOES NOT have flash. Yet.
Repeat after me: It is not about speeds and feeds. It is not about speeds and feeds. It is not about speeds and feeds. Anybody who buys a Xoom instead of an iPad because of a USB port or slightly more pixels is a dolt. And 2008 called, they want their flash argument back. Not having flash has done absolutely nothing to dent the iPad or iPhone's sales.
Give it up already. We know you don't like the iPad or anything Apple. Here's a lollipop. Would you please go away and let an adult write about the iPad?