Edit-reply: while Apple can try to split off a premium market as it did with PC's, this is going to be a lot harder (and the premium market will be lot smaller) when then OS provider isn't trying to make a profit.
What apple sell is not the device. They make money on the device but that is not what they really sell you.
What they sell is easy access to content and the experiences you can have with it.
Apple will never be the most sold product in the world and they don't and shouldn't care. They are and will continue to be on of the most profitable companies and that they both do and should care about.
No one cares about the tech specs. They care about the price.
Those who can afford it will buy one but most people wont be able to afford the iPad let alone willing to spend that kind of money on it but they will all dream of it.
And that is why Steve Jobs have nothing to worry about. Completely different market segments.
Challenging competitors is among some of the things companies do. That doesn't mean they fear them.
It may be a competitor to the iPad / iPod Touch, but it's not a serious competitor. Apple still has the "premium" edge on it, their market doesn't seem likely to be overly affected. An Android tablet definitely appeals to me more than an iPad, for software purposes, but I'm not one of the iPad's target consumers. Though I'm not interested if it doesn't have multitouch.
The price seems to have dropped from $189 two weeks ago to $155 now.
Which is a bit of a downer, cos I was thinking of getting one to mount one in my car. Also, AFAIK, there isn't any good free handwriting recognition on Android yet, so you may be stuck tapping an on-screen keyboard with a stylus.
I was playing with a co-worker's Nexus one today who is very Apple-skeptical and the thing was just... bleh. They can't even get scrolling to work right on their premiere phone?
http://www.androidtablets.net/
Not a week goes by without another announcement.
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/android-tablet-news/65-1...
http://hott.net.cn/EN/Channels/Products/showDetail.asp?objID...
video of the device:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXmWFn2m4Rk
(bad video, but it still gives a good idea of what it can do)
That's $92 without flash, import duty and so on, so the price will go up considerably by the time you have one in your hands.
Anything beyond that and you'll have to find a way to graft on a keyboard. Usb or bluetooth ?
For real coding I'd do it with a cross development kit, which is how most phone software development is done.
It won't be hard for other manufacturers to enter the tablet space. Competing with the iPad's integration, build quality, and usability, though, will be.
Apple nearly went bankrupted, mostly because even if the hardware was good, their Mac OS was a piece of shit that started paling in comparison to Windows NT, OS/2 or even newcomers like BeOS, while Win 95 gave you approximately the same value but with increased compatibility with older / current apps.
They can't keep their premium market if you can get the same quality for a lower price and a lot more freedom to tinker. Google coupled with HTC/Motorola can deliver that quality.
Their only option is to keep innovating and keep infusing mass-media with Stevey-juice ... but that's not sustainable.
I don't get why they haven't learned anything from their past mistakes. Lock-down, patent threats (it was copyright in the old days) ... do they really think these will work?
Surely Apple has control of the full stack, but it's not like history isn't repeating itself :-)
People paying money for things like features.
As for your example, first, it's requires too much qualification to really work on a feature matrix. Second, you really think that Apple can't/won't support app backgrounding or a more open app store if their current offering really starts hurting them?
Apple nearly went bankrupt until Steve Jobs came on board again.
Yes Steve Jobs will eventually quit and yes that might be a challenge that might even lead to their demise.
But Steve Jobs will be leaving something very valuable behind.
A rock solid digital ecosystem that is only starting to show it's strength.
Apple was quite successful in the late eighties / early nineties, when Jobs wasn't even on board. Notable product from that time is the Macintosh portable (a friend got a hold of one, and it's pretty sweet :)). Later, their strategy on licensing Mac OS to third parties was actually profitable, but it wasn't enough (too little, too late).
I know you love Steve, he was a part of the rebirth. But let's focus on facts, shall we? ... I see far fewer appraisals for the engineers behind their miracle ;)
They have also 26b in retained earnings. Do their shareholders get enough return on capital gain? (to answer myself: if you bought it 1 year ago, then yes; 2 years ago - no).