The Ipad is a most efficient tablet

THE FRUIT THEMED Ipad beats its rivals to be a most efficient product, according to a teardown analysis performed by IHS Isuppli.

In fact other tablet makers might take note. Apple's halo device is so efficient because Jobs' Mob controls both the operating system and the hardware design of its Ipad.

"Since Apple controls both the operating system and hardware design of the iPad, it is able to attain design efficiencies that other tablet manufacturers cannot," according to Wayne Lam, analyst at IHS. "These efficiencies become obvious in areas like the memory and the battery, where Apple maintains advantages in cost, space savings and performance compared with every competitor in the business."

This contrasts with the methods used by other tablet makers such as those that build devices that run the Android OS. You might think this would mean that an Android tablet could leave your pocket lighter, or that you might get less for your money, but Apple's notoriously high markups mean that those outcomes are not in any real danger of being the case.

Apple takes a "vertically integrated" approach to its products, from the operating system through the user interface to the hardware design, down to the selection of individual parts used in the device, according to Lam.

Apple's control over the operating system allows it to reduce costs by limiting the quantity of memory in the Ipad.

The current generation Ipad 2 has only 512MB of SDRAM, half that of the 1GB used in competitive designs.

This memory reduction results in a nearly $14 cost reduction in the Bill Of Materials (BOM) of the Ipad 2 compared to other tablets. Likewise, the original Ipad contained half as much SDRAM as comparable competitive devices with single-core applications processors.

Also, Apple's tight management of its product design, software integration and component selection allow the Ipad's battery to be thinner than all competing tablet designs while still having the largest capacity.

Ever the trend setter, Apple is setting the pace in the tablet market in the areas of pricing and display size, with the Ipad's 9.7-inch screen becoming the default standard in the market.

The IHS Isuppli teardown analysis also illustrates the trend toward multi-core processors in tablet designs. And this trend is set to continue with the introduction of tablets featuring quad-core processors for even more enhanced performance. µ