Better screen
Faster
Same price as last model
Buy it now*
*or, don’t. It genuinely doesn’t define what sort of person you are either way.
How Long Before Android Tablets Do, Um, Anything?
So far the iPad is selling like bejesus and then there’s the Kindle Fire, which is apparently, though not officially selling by the bucket load too. Samsung seem to be selling some tablets too, but not in similar numbers. The rest of the Android tablets are, by comparison, selling sweet FA.
How long then will the current crop of manufacturers trying to sell Android based tablets continue to do so? If sales numbers are so low then surely at some point the CFO has to say “Phones yes. Tablets GTFO.” or similar, they might use more flowery language than I.
Stands to reason that when companies are on their 5th or 6th iteration of a tablet that does’t sell as well as even a Samsung that people will think “ah, balls Apple has this sewn up, let’s move on” Perhaps they won’t and they’ll keep plugging away at it until it works.
The IDC prediction that Android tablets will take over from iOS in just three short years seems laughable to me, but then I’ve been wrong before.
However, I’m suspicious of those numbers not just because they seem to require Apple to do nothing for three years and let Android tablets catch up in a seemingly implausible way, but also because it’s a gross oversimplification of where we stand now Windows (despite my reservations) could still make the tablet market a three-legged horse race.
Also, those numbers surely require Android tablet manufacturers to make more tablets that don’t sell at all well until they do sell well, in three years time, with an incredibly rich, incredibly agile and incredibly entrenched in the public psyche market leader.
I have put a tentative appointment in my diary for 2015. My personal feeling is that Amazon is the only competitor of note in the tablet market. I’d be more inclined to suggest that come 2015 the split will be 49/49 Apple/Amazon and 2 for the rest.
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Screenshots on Windows Phone coming soon, maybe, potentially, sort of, I think.
A few days ago I wrote about how Windows Phone 7 phone phones don’t let you take screenshots (at the consumer end) and how that I thought it was a bad thing.
I decided to ask Microsoft why and so through the deep throat backchannel medium of an email to their PR, I did. Here’s what I got back:
“We are aware of the interest in having screen shot support in Windows Phone and it is something that we are considering”.
We’ll, there’s a thing. They know people want it and are considering adding it. That’s about as much as you can hep for really.
I was very tempted to add EXCLUSIVE to the title of this post, but resisted. Think yourself lucky.
Posted in Windows Phone 7, WP7
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Apple TV Home Sharing and AirPlay not working
Got an Apple TV 2 and updated it to 5.0 and lost your AirPlay and Home Sharing?
Make sure that your wireless router is using:
WPA2-PSK [AES]
You can use it on an open network if you really, really want to.
Posted in Apple
2 Comments
Tablets tablets everywhere and only one that sells
I read this How Windows 8 Tablets Could Seriously Challenge the iPad and it left me with one question. Why? Why will people buy Windows 8 tablets?
Those were the four I could pick off the top of my head, you may have another that I’ve not thought of. Do feel free to let me know.
It’s clear that consumers are currently very, very happy with the iPad, it’s selling in huge numbers and with the new lower priced iPad 2 I can’t see those numbers slowing in any major way.
Significantly, for Apple, price isn’t going to be much of a differentiating factor either. Yes, you can always get yourself a ‘proper PC’ for £399 from PC World, but then you can now and it’s not really holding back the tide of iPad success. Yes, those new PCs will run Windows 8, but how will they compare to an iPad? More favourably than the iPad, don’t think they will for a lot of consumers.
So, to my list. It’s Microsoft Windows is a big pull and shouldn’t be underestimated. However, I think for tablets the damage is already done. People see tablet and think iPad not Windows. In exactly the same way they look at PCs and think Windows.
It’s not the iPad hasn’t pushed mega sales of Android tablets, so Microsoft has it’s not the iPad or Android going for it I suppose. In reality, though, those truly invested in not having Apple because it’s Apple can’t be that big a market.
As for device options, this point is undeniable. The iPad and at a push the iPod touch are the sole options for your iOS tablet experience. Window 8 will run on crapola loads of tablet devices. If people really demand this choice remains to be seen of course.
A lack of these has not stopped the iPad from selling well. Windows 8 tablets will, no doubt, add all these options and more, but then so do many Android tablets and thus far the competition isn’t exactly something to write home about.
The elephant in the corner, of course, is that Windows 8 will sell like crack cocaine at an Oscars after party, because, well, it’s Windows and there are billions of PCs out there that will be upgraded or will be replaced with new machines running the spanky new OS. Some of those, inevitably, will be tablets.
I just can’t see a deeper reason why Windows 8 will be a major challenge to the iPad. By the time it’s out Microsoft will be 100 million iPads behind the curve. Manufacturers will have to come up with some pretty compelling devices to claw that lead back and thus far they’ve failed to do that. I’m not sure a slightly different OS, even one from Microsoft is the answer.
So, why will people buy Windows 8 tablets?
**UPDATE**
This:
@allpointsnorth Until it arrives on iOS the advantage is Microsoft Office. That is unless it arrives on iOS first.
— Andy Lancaster (@Marwood) March 13, 2012
Wisdom I have
Posted in Stuff
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People already queuing for a new new iPad
We should resist the temptation to mock and judge these people. After all they probably are perfectly nice human beings once they’ve taken all their medication and spoken to their councillor. </mean>
Posted in iPad
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According to Strategy Analytics
Apple led the applications processor market with 59 percent shipment share in 2011 on the strength of strong global demand for its iPad 2 product. Apple faced strong competition from chip suppliers to Android-based tablets, particularly in the second half of 2011.
Texas Instuments 35% and Nvidia 34% shared the main chunk of the remaining 41%
According to the info:
Apple, Texas Instruments (TI), NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Samsung featured in our top-five tablet apps processor market share rankings.
So at a wild guess those are roughly in order, though I’d swap Samsung and Qualcomm for the last two positions given that the brief synopsis from Strategy Analytics added:
The smartphone processor market leader Qualcomm and the PC processor market leader Intel both missed the tablet boat in 2011
You can read the full report for yourself if you have $7000 spare. Or just expense it, natch.
Posted in iPad, Strategy Analytics
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Apple and child labour
I’ve seen quite a lot of people saying that Apple actively uses children to make iPads. It’s just not true. Problem is, with my background and who I tend to write for it’s assumed I’m a lay down and take it up the reality distortion field kind of guy. I’m not, but there’s no way I can convince some people of that.
You can, of course, believe what you want, but I’ve spent the last few months researching Apple’s social responsibility record for a recent issue of MacUser. Sadly, that feature will never go online and print being the old beast that it is the issue is already off sale. You can still get it for the iPad and through Zinio mind you.
What I found about child labour in Apple’s supply chain was not a seedy nod nod wink wink acceptance of the inevitable, but a genuinely proactive and worthy attempt to deal with the issue. It wasn’t just Apple that told me that either, one independent charity told me:
Apple deals with child labour in its supply chain faster and more compassionately than any other company.
Naturally, I thought I’d seek some not so independent opinion too and spoke to SACOM. They’ve been very critical of Apple, incredibly critical in fact. The title of one report they published is iSlave behind the iPhone: Foxconn workers in central China. If you think the title is ugly you should read the report itself. Even they told me:
SACOM has not met child labour at Foxconn plants in Chengdu and Zhengzhou. A researcher has heard of some marginal cases, student workers turning 16 worked at Foxconn in Chengdu. However, we haven’t met the child labour concerned and could not confirm. And I think the use of child labour at Foxconn is very unlikely.
When Apple does find any underage workers, here’s what happens; they are sent to school, fees paid and, this is the best bit, get paid the wage they would have been getting had they been working. The families are involved in the process at every step too.
So, next time someone tells you that Apple hires kids to make its stuff put on your black turtle neck fire up the reality straightening tool and tell them in as snooty and smug an Apple fanboy tone you can manage ‘actually you’re wrong there. Apple is, in fact, really quite good at not letting kids make their stuff’
Social responsibility is a much bigger story than just child labour, naturally, but in this one area at least Apple is doing it for the kids.
Posted in Apple
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Once you go fanboy
Here’s a thing…
Only Apple fanboys that don’t really care about money or understand technology buy Apple kit, right? See, they love to be out on the town with their latest bit of iJewellery showing off to all and sundry just how amazing they are. Sorry, I meant pretentious not amazing. They prance about with their latest iPhone or iPad making out they are something more than us. They are the ones the bolster Apple’s enormous profits because as well all know only the fanboys buy Apple.
Which sort of makes me wonder, if that’s genuinely the case, how on earth is Apple going to sell any more iPads or iPhones having used a design that makes the new new iPad and the new new iPhone virtually indistinguishable from the last old new version. Or, is everyone who buys Apple now a de facto fanboy.
Perhaps, just perhaps it’s not only fanboys buying Apple anymore…