Comment by cletus | Hacker News Reader

Comment by cletus | Hacker News Reader

This is what I don't understand. Based on published sales figures the iPad is ~85% of tablets, which I simply don't believe. There can be no explanation for this other than the non-iPad manufacturers are basically lying, which typically means "in channel == sold". It may also mean they don't count returns.

The iPad having 97% of tablet Web traffic is intuitively a far more accurate number. Just think about how many tablets you see in the wild and how many of them are iPads.

As for why: I think the answer comes down to the ecosystem being far more important on tablets than on phones. Any smartphone can send and receive calls, send and receive text messages, send and receive emails and use some variety of maps. IMHO that covers the vast majority of most people's usage.

But on tablets? Games matter. Apps matter. Far more than on phones (IMHO), hence Apple's unrelenting dominance of the space (so far) and also why people expecting a repeat of Android's rapid growth in the phone space just don't seem to understand the difference. But I guess that's the danger of analogies.

Android's Kindle Fire is (IMHO) the first serious iPad competitor to emerge and the first non-iPad that will get remotely serious (>1M units) marketshare.

"I think the answer comes down to the ecosystem being far more important on tablets than on phones."

from what i've seen in my friends and customers usage (and my own experience) you couldn't be more wrong. on a phone, a mobile app often provides significant usability improvements over a website. on a tablet, all anybody cares about is having the web. games are nice, but ultimately not that big of a deal, and the iPad doesn't have a significantly better ecosystem as far as games go. the app advantage on iPad is apps that are clones of a website.

the reason that android tablets are failing is because they are an inferior product to the iPad in terms of style functionality and raw specs, and yet they cost the same or more than the market leader.

I'll just add a second, conflicting, anecdote. Most of the iPad owners I know use them heavily for games. If you took away the games I have no doubt the my girlfriend, for example, would sell her iPad instantly.

Also the difference in the quality of games between the iPad and Android is huge, probably far bigger than any other app categories. Lost of big name studios like EA and 2K games and getting behind the iPad and producing games of a quality you don't even approach on Android.

Now I'll admit I have no idea how important games are, really. But if I was to go purely on personal observations I'd say it's highly significant.

There is a large (and growing) number of people using the iPad to play and record music. It's a great alternative to expensive and specific hardware instruments and controllers for many purposes.

>> basically lying, which typically means "in channel == sold".

That's exactly what they're doing -- and have been doing this entire time. Apple is the only one that reports # of tables sold.

Not true. Apple reports in channel, it is just that Apple is selling nearly every one they make.

Apple actually generally reports channel numbers as well, as far as I know (except for their own retail operation, which is substantial). For tablets, these numbers are likely to be closer to real sales simply because the iPad tends to sell quickly. If this wasn't the case, we'd see dropping-off of iPad 'sales' numbers as the channel backed up.

The difference is iPads in Apple's channels will almost certainly be purchased.

In the language of sales reporting, 'in channel == sold' is not strictly a lie, usually. We can get an idea from http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-ve... - 1.8% of Android devices accessing the marketplace are Android 3.x.

It may be somewhere in between if there's a difference in how much users of iPads vs. non-iPad devices use the internet.

There are probably some people who buy Android tablets and just don't use them much but don't end up returning them (e.g. they don't want to admit to themselves that they wasted their money, or they just buy a lot of gadgets and don't use them).

I m using the galaxy tab 10.1, together with 5 friend I know, widgets are cool, ipad is too heavy, lack widgets etc, the driver and the secretary of our company bought ipad, which makes me think they are in search of prestige rather than use. I see them show off everywhere, however the tech savvy and upper management use android.

According to the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 [1] and the iPad 2 [2] the Tab weighs in at 565g and the iPad 2 is 601g. Are you seriously trying to tell me that an extra 36g (being just over an ounce) was a major motivation in deciding what to purchase?

There may be reasons you bought the Tab but (IMHO) 36g wasn't an important consideration (or even a consideration at all).

You and five friends own them? How many of you purchased them as opposed to, say, getting them for free from Google IO this year?

[1]: http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxytab/10.1/spec....

[2]: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

SGS 8.9 is better in this regard, 36 grams help a bit though to hold it in my left hand. Ipad lacks widgets, and requires too many user unfriendly button touches. my dad enjoys seeing the emails, twitter and weather all open at once on galaxy tab.

My point is; good androids alternatives came mainly in last few weeks. I suggest you all ipad lovers take a look at objectively to new tablets from sony, samsung...

I have to ask - what is your issue? You are all over this thread, bashing Apple and talking about the G10.1 like it is the best thing since sliced bread. However, you have not given any evidence of this anywhere. You are arguing against respected names (both the OP to your comments and the poster) who have experience and data backing them up.For instance, if I went up to someone on the street, and told them that a tech journalist and analyst says the iPad is amazing, and hold 97% of the web browsing share, and then showed them your story, who would they believe?

Please, back up your posts. Your anecdotes do not really hold water against even the weakest of data. For instance, I am tech savvy, have spent time in management, and love my iPad, as do TONS of people I know. However, most of my friends who have used Android tablets hate them - especially if they have spent time with an iPad. I did not buy my iPad for prestige - I bought it because it is the best tablet on the market, bar none. Bashing Apple and having no proof is not something that goes over well on HN (as far as I can see)

if you are serious just read all type of baseless arguments written in this post and in similar "I love my I-whatever" posts. All I said is correct but most of the sibling threads contain vague, baseless guesses stemming from emotional connection to some gadget. That pollutes a sane discussion.

Just an example is your claim your friends hate their androids, and love their ipad. No my friends, which I now count as 6 love their android tablets.

You see your claim is weak, and my -same type of weak argument- falsified it.

Looks like this is his shtick here on HN. http://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=alperakgun

I kind of doubt the iPad being 97% of tablet traffic. I doubt that figure includes my gf's Dell Inspiron Duo.

Seriously, would they only count it when it is in tablet mode? Doubtful. Does someone maintain a list of all tablets ever released and filter user-agents based on that? Doubtful.

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