The best part of the report is that iPad sales are plunging. It's a victory for general purpose computing that that segment of the walled garden is in decline. Let's hope that open systems can gain a toehold in phones sometime too.
Whenever I wanted to do something in an "open system", it usually turned into a giant pain-in-the-ass or I got preached/yelled at by everyone. "oh, sorry, you don't have a driver for that yet. Maybe write one yourself and put it on github? Oh sorry, this system doesn't support that format because that format is bad and it kills baby seals and blah blah blah. Oh, don't use _that_ distribution because _that_ Linux distro spies on you and they're in bed with Amazon and they're literally Hitler. Oh, want to run this piece of software? Sorry, that's not available on this "open system", but here's a hacked-together piece of crap that's just as powerful...so I hear..."
I'm old and tired and just want to sit down to something that works. Is that asking too much?
I couldn't imagine the same things I get out of the walled garden Apple provides as helping me in my career as web engineer. On a gnu/linux server I love being able to have absolute control to change everything as well as leverage the hard work others have contributed to the ecosystem. I just prefer to ssh to that server via my macbook.
But you're right about many of those statements on open systems. I think the fact that stuff is only half-finished is the one that really annoyed me when I wanted to get stuff done. I could have written more and contributed but I had finite time and didn't want to have to do more stuff in order to do the stuff I wanted to do in the first place.
Plus, the endless CADT model of development in Linux land ("I'm NEW AROUND HERE. Let's bin this old nonsense that I've not used for long and START AGAIN! It'll be MUCH better than the old stuff. I will be because I SAID SO, plus I'm NEW AROUND HERE") got wearisome.
The 3 though have been out for nearly 3 years and is still fine. Whereas someone who bought a phone at the same time may have already upgraded.
If they release a new version with some really big new feature like real stylus support for drawing they might get me, but as it is my iPad 3 works very well and I see no actual need to upgrade.
But then, this is HN - we're not typical of the rest of the world. Much as many folk seem to enjoy keeping up with the latest and greatest phones, I only reluctantly moved from a well-used iPhone 3G to a 5s. (A great improvement in internal tech, absolutely, but I miss that smaller screen, where everything was reachable with the thumb, in one hand - even the 5s' tall screen means having to shift its position for some applications, even aside from the current series. So it goes)
Yeah, iPad sales are shrinking but more than 20 million devices in one quarter is still a pretty impressive number.
Lenovo (largest PC manufacturer) sold only 16 million "general purpose computers" in the same period.
Secondly, the slowing of iPad sales has absolutely zero to do with any open systems.
It has everything to do with open systems. Walled gardens is a threat to them, it's a very important battle for everybody who cares about freedom.
iPads will succeed or fail based on utility. Those who love them have found great utility, and I think they'll be increasingly important in corporate markets, but it hasn't proved out yet. It's still young.
Hyperbole much?
How does NOT buying an iPad make any impact on freedom? Inaction by me doesn't suddenly cause action elsewhere.