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How will the unveiling of iPad 2 affect the tablet industry, specifically for Motorola & Dell?
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- Recommended by:
- Brian Phelps,
- Lauren Harper,
- Roger Tung
Neither Dell nor Motorola can hope to touch, let alone match, Apple's ability to create "pull" demand among at least some percentage of users -- witness the iPhone and iPad Gen 1. And initial reports indicate that the Gen 2 iPad will add features that should only increase Apple's ability to create such demand.
Dell (and perhaps HP) can build upon sizable communities of business computing users and buyers and extensive business experience. But none of that will matter if their devices, feature sets and online application markets are seen as falling short of the standards Apple has set. And those standards as expressed by the Gen2 iPad will likely expand Apple's ecosystem of developers and the popularity of iPads among business users and buyers.
Regarding Motorola, it's frankly not at all clear whether Motorola has gained sufficient traction with its Droid smartphones to take a similar tack, in consumer or business markets. Nor is it clear that the Atrix LapDock will overcome the potentially significant challenge of basically requiring each user to abandon their current cell phone AND perhaps their current netbook or laptop. This could prove to be more heavy lifting than business buyers or users may want to do.
Thanks for the great question, Lauren -- can't wait to see other answers!
- Recommended by:
- Chad Massaker,
- Roger Tung
Sometimes speed to market is a blessing. Other times it's a curse. In the case of the Xoom, it is my opinion that the decision to beat the iPad2 to market was a mistake. Instead of shining, the device is taking shots from all angles about buggy software and a lack of support for third-party apps.
While there will undoubtedly be updates to the device (hardware via LTE and software via improvements to Honeycomb and third-party Honeycomb-optimized apps), first impressions make or break consumer electronics.
When Walt Mossberg comes out and says (paraphrasing), "It's good, but don't buy one" the world listens. The fallout of that comment alone will cause serious concern over a non-discretionary purchase decision.
- Recommended by:
- Roger Tung
Right now Apple owns the Tablet market and they could effectively lock it up with a solid second generation launch. Xoom reviews haven't gone well and nothing else appears to be trending.
- Recommended by:
- Roger Tung
Dell has never been known as an innovator, so, as it relates to Apple, it's almost not worth asking.
Regarding Motorola, and other Android tablet creators, *shrug* who knows. If it anywhere near as successful as the Android phones, I'd say Motorola et al are headed the right direction. When it comes to Android tablets, however, I'm looking more at Samsung than Moto.
Chris Selland and self-described "iPad freak" Robert Scoble motivated an addendum to my original answer, which omitted mention of Motorola's Xoom. I agree with what Chris says about Android, Motorola and Dell.I also agree with Robert Scoble, who loves the Xoom but despairs over the lack of apps so far. (You can read Scoble's Xoom review online at http://dortchon.it/ScobleOnXoom.)
However, even if Xoom and thousands of apps for it were available today, I still wonder and worry a bit about Motorola's long-term viability as a lead dog in the tablet race. But it WILL be fun!
My review was not as glowing. The Xoom isn't done, key features aren't installed and the iPad 2 should quickly eclipse it. http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/motorola-xoom-preview-hands-on-first-impr...
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iPad 2 will cause a lot of used iPad 1's to wind up on eBay as Apple loyalists trade in. I have no doubt it will be a terrific product, but will be interesting to see whether it's incrementally better than the first iPad or a whole new experience. I suspect the former.
However, there's definitely an opening for Android tablets once Honeycomb (i.e. a true tablet OS) ships - and if Apple continues down the path of extortionate licensing terms, that will only help Google. The iPad is primarily a media consumption device - and if the media providers go elsewhere, so will many of the customers. Google and Amazon are natural allies and I expect them to get much, much closer as the year progresses.
The iPad won't 'kill' Android or vice versa - it will be a 2 horse race going forward - with RIM and HP (Palm) as the wild cards. Microsoft seems to be missing in action. But competition is good for consumers, and competition we will get.
As for Motorola and Dell, as with Android phones, there will be many hardware providers and they will struggle to differentiate themselves. Eventually it will boil down to features and pricing - so the tablet market will certainly provide an additional and incremental revenue stream, but will be quickly commoditized from a margins perspective.