Expect to see a vibrant and competitive tablet PC market over the next 12 months as Apple sell 2 million iPads globally in less than 60 days.
Apple certainly knows how to get the media and public excited about their latest creation, the iPad. Everyone is talking about the iPad and tablet PCs and this is not just tech press but also mainstream news bulletins. Apple is extremely proficient at sparking people’s imagination around all the creative ways their products, iPhone and iPad, can be used. Apple’s famous strapline for the iPhone was “there’s an app for that” which creates a powerful perception that anything is possible, and the same applies on the iPad.
Whilst Apple have created an enormous buzz around tablet PCs and educated the market as to all the potential uses, competitors will be launching rival products to compete with Apple’s iPad. In the next 12 months we’ll see a plethora of tablet PCs launched from a number of different manufacturers, running a number of different operating systems, from Microsoft Windows to various open source based platforms such as Android and MeeGo (Intel and Nokia joint venture).
The tablet PC market will be a place where laptop manufacturers and smartphone providers really start to compete head to head. At the smartphone end of the market expect to see Nokia, Blackberry and HP (running newly acquired Palm OS) launch alternatives to the iPad. At the PC end of the market the first entrant will be the Dell Streak which will quickly follow the iPad launch in mid June. Asus and Lenovo also have tablet PCs in the pipeline, which will most likely be based on Windows 7. Google won’t be left behind and will launch either an Android or even a Chrome OS based tablet during the course of the year.
With all the different tablet PCs, consumers will be spoilt for choice. Looking at the main three operating systems, Apple mobile OS, Windows 7 and Android/Chrome OS, each company will take a slightly different approach which will add great variety for consumers. For example, Google will be pushing for more of a cloud-based solution, Apple will be heavily app and services based while Microsoft will be evolving their traditional Windows based platform that everyone is familiar with.
As tablet PCs become more popular the netbook market will take a further nosedive. In July 2009 the netbook market grew an astonishing 641% but in April 2010 it grew only 5%, a remarkable fall from grace.
So if netbooks fall victim to tablet PCs, who will benefit?
Well, the iPad was launched in the UK last Friday and today Apple announced that they have sold more than 2 million units globally. According to GfK NOP Technology research Apple are expected to sell up to 2 million 1st generation iPads in the UK if they can meet high levels of early demand. The pricing of the iPad varies and is available as Wi-Fi only models as well as 3G devices from the major UK operators. Apple will almost certainly occupy the more premium end of the market, with competitor tablets likely to be more cost effective. However, price is not the only determining factor for success. The provider who can package up content and services that make tablets easy to use and relevant to the consumer will be the ones who come out on top.
Apple has proven credentials when it comes to delivering multi-media services and apps to their users. They’re not standing still either as Apple launched the iBookstore on the iPad which has already sold 1.5 million ebooks in the US. But even in the services market, competition is strong. Expect to see compelling service offerings from Google, Nokia, RIM (Blackberry) and HP Palm, all of which produce excellent hardware and are quickly improving their services and access to vibrant market places for 3rd party apps.
If competitor tablets can get their service offerings right we can expect to see a very competitive and exciting tablet market in the next 12 months.
FURTHER READING
Apple struggling to cope with demand
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article7134564.ece
Operator tariff prices
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/may/10/o2-reveals-ipad-data-plans
2 million iPads sold globally
http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/31/apple-sold-2-million-ipads-in-59-days/
RESEARCH NOTES
GfK NOP Technology conducted a survey among 1279 UK adults between 16th and 21st April 2010. The interviews were conducted online and are representative on UK adults who have access to the internet.
IMAGE SOURCE
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jliba/
