The message Apple sends the world with the iPad 2 is this: Ha-Ha suckers who bought the original iPad! You over-paid for our beta version. Thanks for all your cash. Now you won’t look so cool carrying that clunky thing around. Just toss it out and give us more money for the iPad 2.
Yeah, I exaggerate, but I’m close.
I know the feeling because I was one of the suckers who paid $600 for the original iPhone. You know: The phone that’s no longer supported by Apple and is utterly incompatible with the newer operating system iOS whatever.
Anyone who’s ever been on the Apple upgrade cycle knows the joke well: You buy a cool new gizmo, one that’s much better than anything else out there. Then WHAM! You get hit with the updated version that’s O-so-very-much better and costs less. Thus, the iPad 2.
Of course, no one was surprised by the iPad 2. The rumors pretty much matched up with the final device. There’s a front-facing camera, there’s the lightweight, there’s yadda-yadda. I mean, who really cares?
The Tablet Wars are on!
Apple can continue to modify and tweak the iPad, and they’ll probably dominate the market through 2012. And then . . . Android Tablets will take over.
The reason is simple, and I’m not the only one to see it: The Android system is open. It follows a long tradition in the computer world of well-documented sources and open architecture. That system allows for more brisk software development and more opportunities for small businesses to succeed and prosper. It’s what built up the Windows empire, with DOS before it.
I also believe that the Android tablets won’t offer the Apple surprise that new iPads will: Face it, the Android tablets aren’t sexy. They’re utilitarian. But you can rest assured that the next generation will be just as ugly. So there won’t be any pending disappointment, for example, when the Galaxy Tab 2 comes out. It will just be a newer, faster tablet. People will love it nonetheless.
Now, that’s my guess. But with Apple’s products becoming more common, I’m not sure that the general public will appreciate the steep prices, the constant betrayal with the newer version, and the “walled garden” of apps that will prove limiting in the future.
Then again, who knows? The whole Tablet thing still has to be sorted out. Mankind must determine why it needs a Tablet, let alone an iPad 2, and then everyone can move forward from there.
It seems to me that tables have an extremely short lifespan as you said it is just one year since the first ipad a year! Are you just meant to sell your old one and buy the brand new one straight away, I mean at least a laptop will last a few years if you are lucky, it may not be the best specifications but it will still run most new programs and the latest OS.
Comment by chiefnoobie — March 7, 2011 @ 2:31 am
Agree, Chief. I think the tablet “investment” will most likely be 2 years max, which is coincidentally the length of a cell phone contract. At some point, however, the hardware has to max out, as has on laptops and desktops. I mean, how much technology does a tablet need?
Comment by admin — March 7, 2011 @ 6:29 am
yes There is talk of dual core mobile phones, why would you need this unless you are playing high end games. Which again poses the question what do you need a tablet for. If you want to play games get a PSP or a Nintendo DS not a Tablet. Saying that I’m sure the DS is capable of doing similar things as a Tablet
Comment by chiefnoobie — March 7, 2011 @ 2:03 pm
Tablets and hand-held game systems will merge. It’s inevitable.
Comment by admin — March 7, 2011 @ 3:14 pm
When Apple has a gizmo they want to improve, they do one or more of the following things.
1. Make it thinner.
2. Give it a camera.
3. Give it a touch screen.
And then every once in a while they’ll update it’s OS.
Am I wrong?
Comment by gamerguy473 — March 7, 2011 @ 7:01 pm
4. Give it a white case.
5. Give it a color case!
6. Ensure that there is some method to extract funds from the user in the form of a ____ Store.
Comment by admin — March 7, 2011 @ 7:07 pm
7. After a year or two, end all support for the previous generation of hardware, requiring you to buy a new iDevice if you want to update to the latest iOS.
Comment by linuxlove — March 8, 2011 @ 6:07 am