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I love it when people think competing with the iPad means having more bullet point features.
by allend 16y ago
I love it when people think competing with the iPad means having more bullet point features.
- david927 16y agoI love it when the faithful think that features and price are not competitive.
- mattmaroon 16y agoThey're really not. My dad knows what an iPad is. Unless this device lays golden eggs he'll probably never hear of it. Also, there are unmentioned features in the iPad's favor, most notably an App Store with 200k titles in it.
- sprout 16y agoSo your dad never browses Wal-mart, Target, Best Buy, or anywhere else? This is in the netbook range Best buy will throw next to the check-out aisle.
- theli0nheart 16y agoIf you're looking for a tablet you probably already know which one you're going to buy before you set foot in a physical store.
- Tichy 16y agoWhat if you are not looking for a tablet? Few people were looking for a tablet before the iPad launch.
- theli0nheart 16y agoTrue, but that's irrelevant. My point is that few people buy electronics on impulse, without research, before walking into a store.
- axod 16y agoWhere's the evidence for that? Perhaps if the price is $500+, but at $200 it can be an impulse buy.
- theli0nheart 16y agoWhy is the onus on me to prove it is one way or another? The information is available online. Do you really think people walk into Best Buys before they do their research? Perhaps if money is no object. But for most people, it is, and therefore research is pretty imperative.
- axod 16y agoDon't assume everyone is like you. I do most of my 'research' by browsing in shops. I often go into places like Best Buys, Frys, looking for 'stuff I probably want'. Also most people have credit cards. Most people often don't worry about money when purchasing things. They worry later when they're in debt. The threshold is different for everyone, but I would say that $200 is below the threshold it makes sense to bother researching all that much if it looks like it might be useful. No point spending a couple of hours, extra petrol etc to "save" a few $.
- lena 16y agoTotally agreed. When I was shopping for a netbook I often saw people in stores who wanted a netbook, asked the store employee what they should buy, and then bought one. The same goes for camera's. Why should this be different for tablets?
- elblanco 16y agoUnless it's an Apple product.
- dagw 16y agoI take it you've never worked at a major electronics retailer. People will drop several thousand dollars on impulse if a slick sales person does a catchy demo.
- rbanffy 16y agoOnly if you are looking for an iPad.
- mattmaroon 16y agoThe fact that you've heard of an iPad makes it significantly more likely you would choose it over the competitors even in a Best Buy. There have been mp3 players that were better than the iPod throughout pretty much it's entire existence, and they sat right next to the iPods at Best Buy and Wal-mart. They didn't put a dent in iPod sales at all. The only one that was wildly successful was the Sandisk Sansa, and the price/feature differential was such that saying it competes with the iPod is like saying Kia competes with Ferrari. It'll be the same with these two tablets. People may buy the $200 thing because it's cheaper. Some (maybe even myself) might buy it because it's hackable. But nobody who wants an iPad will buy this instead, therefore they don't really "compete" by any meaningful usage of the word.
- sirn 16y agoThe first thing my dad says when I bought an iPad into my house was "hey was that that Apple thing? Pad something?" It surprised me that he even heard of it, given we're living in Thailand.
- Tichy 16y agoWell I'll be getting a cheap Android tablet eventually for stuff that the iPad simply is too expensive for. For example to make a kind of dashboard out of it, or sticking it to the fridge. Not every tablet needs to compete on all the same aspects as the iPad.
- stcredzero 16y agoNot every tablet needs to even compete with the iPad. Apple clearly doesn't care about the home hobbyist crowd.
- mattmaroon 16y agoThis argument is getting lost in semantics. What does "compete" mean in this instance? Does Kia compete with Lexus? They both make cars, but I doubt anyone looking at an RX350 ever ended up in a Sportage. I'd argue "compete" should mean that someone looking for an iPad might end up buying the competing device instead.
- Tichy 16y agoThat definition of compete is really quite useless. Sure, if you define it like that, you win the argument, but we have learned nothing.
- mattmaroon 16y agoThat's how Apple would define it. Lexus doesn't care what Kia's building, they care what BMW is.
- mistermann 16y agoTrue enough, but not everyone needs (pr wants, considering price) a Lexus, some people only need and want a Kia, as long as it meets certain requirements. However, in the market today, for all practical purposes, almost all you can get in the tablet space is the Lexus (iPad), when a lot of people actually want a Kia (in this case the Pandigital Novel). So as time goes on, this is definitely relevant to Apple. I wouldn't classify it as a "threat" quite yet, but over time products like this will at the very least remove a great deal of their pricing power.
- what 16y agoI think that just goes to show you the power of Apple's marketing machine. Just because your dad won't know about it, doesn't mean that features and price aren't competitive.
- slantyyz 16y agoI would bet his dad asks him what device to buy instead of buying a random/cheap device in a store. My dad would.
- borism 16y agoApp Store with 200k titles is a plus? Are you serious? How will your dad be able to find anything useful there?
- CrazedGeek 16y agoThe search box?
- slantyyz 16y agoYou're right, the App store is a real problem. Because of the low signal-to-noise ratio, discoverability is less than optimal, even using search. The only way I find out about good apps right now is through word-of-mouth and through reviews on trusted sites. Apple needs to fix this.
- jodrellblank 16y agoI'll just call further attention to this - it's highly unhelpful that the reviews can be sorted by best/worst/newest. Best is always "WOW I CAN SEE MY COMPUTER" style and worst is always "IT DOES NOT WORK GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK". Actually helpful app reviews would be a massive improvement.
- grinich 16y agoI bet a lot of other companies wish they had this problem.
- jsz0 16y agoLooking at the top free/paid apps is a pretty good strategy, search, or word of mouth. The App Store promotes exploration by having good descriptions/screenshots, categorizations, colorful icons, clean text, etc. It's almost automatic for me to pop into the App Store to see what's new almost every time I pickup my iPad.
- netcan 16y agoHe might know it as fake ipad. Knockoffs can be competitors.
- slantyyz 16y agoUm dude, I recommend that you take a marketing course. Just because they are in the same larger market doesn't mean that two products are "real" or "direct" competition. Do you think BMW considers a person who buys a Corolla (and can't otherwise afford a 3-series) a lost customer?
- Symmetry 16y agoIf BMW was the only car brand out there, then yes the emergence of the Corolla would actually represent new competition.
- slantyyz 16y agoWhile they may be the most successful to date, but Apple isn't the first or only company to release a tablet style of device. That's not counting the pre-announced devices from every one else.
- Anon84 16y agoOn features and price, a truck beats a Ferrari anytime. People (who can afford them) still prefer Ferrari.
- wvenable 16y agoWhen you need to haul something a truck is infinitely more useful than a Ferrari.
- Anon84 16y agoTrue. And indeed those are the cases where you buy a truck. In the 90% of other cases, you get a Ferrari. Most people that need a car, not a truck. Features that you don't need/use are not relevant and most people will prefer design/style/etc... to those extra features. IMHO this is what Apple's success is based on. Quality and style over Feature lists.
- rbanffy 16y ago> People (who can afford them) still prefer Ferrari. It really depends on whether I need to carry stuff from one place to another. Or whether I want to use a road to do it.
- slantyyz 16y agoA more apt comparison might be between a Mustang and a Ferrari.
- smackfu 16y agoThere's a lot of people who look at the Ferrari and then buy something affordable. Apple is always susceptible to that.
- thought_alarm 16y ago> I love it when the faithful think that features and price are not competitive. A great many things are a ripoff at any price.
- dieterrams 16y ago> I love it when the faithful think that features and price are not competitive. I don't love it when jerks deride Apple fans as "the faithful". We're a pretty damn discriminating and thoughtful bunch of folks.
- lkozma 16y agoI think this one has less bullet point features and it's cheaper. Tough crowd.