Apple has lost it's innovation

[JStrike]

The point is moot. There will always be uber fanbois and haters. For the rest of us normal folk the point is this -

Apple had a relatively late start to the phone market, but they managed to catch up and get to the top. Not necessarily the best, but a big dog none the less. They make superb phones, whether you like Apple or iOS or not.

Now on to tablets. They ipad 1 was cutting edge, popularising effectively a whole new category of device. The question is, where are the other players, why aren't they catching up? They've had more than enough time. Had a great blueprint to improve on. It's clear that users want tablets. Manufacturers are announcing a new ipad killer literally almost everyday, yet somehow they're just not there. What's holding them back?

I think where the other manufacturers are struggling is price. They can't seem to make an equally good device at a lower price point. Apple have very good supply management that allows this. Arstechnica wrote a very good article about this when investigating why there haven't been any MacBook Air competitors in the same price range.
And they are struggling to create an operating system that provides as good an experience. Although QNX seems to be coming along nicely

 

[JStrike]

Deja Vu ...this is typical response everytime :/

That doesn't address the point I raised...

 

[Dolby]

The point is moot. There will always be uber fanbois and haters. For the rest of us normal folk the point is this -

Apple had a relatively late start to the phone market, but they managed to catch up and get to the top. Not necessarily the best, but a big dog none the less. They make superb phones, whether you like Apple or iOS or not.

Now on to tablets. They ipad 1 was cutting edge, popularising effectively a whole new category of device. The question is, where are the other players, why aren't they catching up? They've had more than enough time. Had a great blueprint to improve on. It's clear that users want tablets. Manufacturers are announcing a new ipad killer literally almost everyday, yet somehow they're just not there. What's holding them back?

I'm not a hater - I enjoyed the features announced yesterday and like I said at the start, they can't do much on hardware anyhow. Software is were it's at.

But seriously, anyone that see's NO flaws in ANY Apple product to date ... and defends even their errors, fits into a certain category with me. I know what they're going to say before they say it (ie above ... who cares? don't need! never missed! dead technology etc)

 

[bwana]

It is not meant to be a major upgrade, they are paving the way for retina with the new iPad, it's not called the iPad 3 since that will come later.

If I was putting money on anything it would be that the new name is paving the way for a smaller device.

Besides. This is the naming convention that Apple uses for it's computers. The MacBook Pro refers to the latest model, so does the iMac, so does Apple TV.

 

[JStrike]

I'm not a hater - I enjoyed the features announced yesterday and like I said at the start, they can't do much on hardware anyhow. Software is were it's at.

But seriously, anyone that see's NO flaws in ANY Apple product to date ... and defends even their errors, fits into a certain category with me. I know what they're going to say before they say it (ie above ... who cares? don't need! never missed! dead technology etc)

I think most people can easily see flaws in many Apple products. And if you are claiming that about me, then you are misrepresenting me completely. I just don't think the issues you picked on as flaws. There are many other flaws in Apple's products over the years that I will happily agree to

 

[surfs-up]

I guess what I'm leading towards is that Apple should be innovating above and beyond what they've seemed to settle for. They're in a position to leverage off their skills to create a device to uplift those who would have never had the opportunity otherwise. And if you talk revenue, I'm sure the business case guru's could come up with a feasible and highly profitable scenario. If I'm correct, Nokia still makes truckloads of money from the sales of their lower-end (dumb) phones. So perhaps there is a commercially viable case, and perhaps not. I'm not sure, but I'm sure that award winning innovators and trend setters could figure this out...

Sorry, no matter how you word it, I don't buy your argument with reference to the cheap junk that India is making. Listen up, Apple is in a different market to the cheap Indian junk. Apple are targeting the upper market, and it is working for them......look at their balance sheets. Why should they suddenly make cheap crap ? There is already someone doing that. Why also risk company reputation ? Very silly. Apple as a company, has an obligation to its investors.....and that is too make money for them, period. They are making more money than any other tech company, so why change it ?

Your argument is like trashing Merc, and saying that they should also make Ford Ka's. They have no interest there, it is not their business model

 

[undesign]

Not really that spectacular. Compare the newewestest ipad to the Huawei MediaPad that was announced at MWC2012 and it doesn't seem all that great.

Display size - 10.1" vs 9.7"
Resolution - 1920*1200 vs 2048*1536
ppi - 224 vs 264
Processor - Quad core vs dual core
Rear camera - 8mp vs 5mp
Chassis depth - 8.8 vs 9.4

Sure looks great. Of course we'll have to see real life user feedback etc.

No price yet? Reminds me of the typical new tablet release though: Check this out, awesome ipad beating specs! Delivery? Hmm...sometime later this year. Price? Hmm...we'll let you know the price when we price them...sometime later this year. Expected sales? 5 million.

Then a few months later it is released, 50 000 sold and everyone is raving about the next ipad spec killer, this one long forgotten. It's almost as if they set themselves up for fail.

 

[Pavan]

There's a bigger picture that Apple seems to be missing. I wasn't trying to compare a cheap tablet to a premium one, I was just saying that therein lies the space for innovation. And as I mentioned, the business case will dictate the viability. Merc is not in a position to make a change in the world like Apple are. Knowledge is the greatest gift. And affording this to millions in essential.

 

[undesign]

I'm not a hater - I enjoyed the features announced yesterday and like I said at the start, they can't do much on hardware anyhow. Software is were it's at.

But seriously, anyone that see's NO flaws in ANY Apple product to date ... and defends even their errors, fits into a certain category with me. I know what they're going to say before they say it (ie above ... who cares? don't need! never missed! dead technology etc)

I didn't mean to say you're a hater. I just think you're focusing too much on the uber-fanboi minority.

 

[Sinbad]

Just for you, Pavan:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/07/astonishing_osx_devices_to_follow_ipad_3/

 

[Pavan]

lol

 

[Rainman]

Paragraphs are your friend.

Thanks I will try and keep it simple for you.

Are apple saying their A5x processor is 5x faster than the Nvidia Tegra3 or the A5?

It was mentioned as 4X faster in the presentation by Tim Cook. The 5X comes from a comment above.

Megaupload was shut down for piracy. Nothing to do with the cloud.

And just where do you think you're going to store all your music, movies etc for your iPAD with 16GB or 32GB or.... and exactly how much of that is legal from all the users. The legislation waiting in the wings in the US could potentially mean a service like iCloud can be shut down without notice just for allowing an infringment and for that matter any cloud based service. It just takes 1.

So much Apple hatred. Why? Can't afford their products? Whats this little rant really about? Were you one of Steve's bitches

No unskinnybob, I can. I wouldn't want one, as for stooping your level, forget it. You're not worth the time.

Why the rant, I am tired of the score people put on these mediocre devices, just because it's made by Apple. Their are tons of more innovative, feature rich devices on the market today and these get swept under the table because they're not made by Apple.

 

[GiZm0]

What Apple really need to develop is a basic black and white resolution tablet, much like an exam pad. This would serve well for the purposes of reading and writing, helping to touch the lives of many impoverished people and at the same time keep the tree huggers happy!

 

[undesign]

Why the rant, I am tired of the score people put on these mediocre devices, just because it's made by Apple. Their are tons of more innovative, feature rich devices on the market today and these get swept under the table because they're not made by Apple.

Huh

Why don't "the people" go out and buy these tech miracles you refer to? Or is Apple buying them all up and recycling them in Cupertino in the great tablet-competion-deceiving-conspiracy?

Apple sold, what 55m tablets. Where are the other 7.945 billion potential purchasers and why aren't they buying the "tons of more innovative, feature rich devices on the market today"?

 

[noxibox]

I was using the sub $50 price tag as a comparison to the Akash tablet from India. but yes you're right. Guys, all I'm trying to say is this - Apple is a massive corporate with money coming out of every possible orifice. They're a market leader, and looked up to all around the globe, from companies to communities. How about leveraging off this position to create something truly innovative and useful for those who can't afford a $500 tablet. Apple could do so much to empower schools, universities, small businesses etc in third world countries and struggling regions, yet they never care to innovate or assist in this space. Like most greedy corporates, they probably will say that they don't need to or see no point. And that's when you realise, Apple is just a greedy corporate...

And as for empowering schools and such they do offer big discounts typically. It is admittedly a bit ridiculous that you have to be in a wealthy first world country to get those discounts. Here in South Africa we get a pitiful 5% off.

Of course they're a greedy corporate and they'll pillage as much money as they can for as long as they can get away with it. They have so much money because they make products with a huge mark-up. They've got no reason to give that up just yet. Nor do they have any reason not to stick to their narrow proven product range.

Tablet PCs... smartPhones? Those haven't been around that long. They go a long way beyond evolution of something previously existing.

Both were an evolution of existing products.

Not one other company can compete with the storage space the iPod Classic offers. I would've thought by now there would be some competing products.

Most have moved to flash storage. Initially I thought that was silly, but I've frankly only ever used 40Gb on my iPod, and that's thousands of songs. I've only ever used it for video under extreme circumstances, so there's never been a need to keep any on there.

when the iPhone came out, what was its direct rival? I cant remember that far back

All I do recall at the time was that it was fairly weak on the technology side.

 

[JStrike]

Why the rant, I am tired of the score people put on these mediocre devices, just because it's made by Apple. Their are tons of more innovative, feature rich devices on the market today and these get swept under the table because they're not made by Apple.

Try think of it not just as a spec sheet, but also comprising user experience. And while Apple devices might not match what you want in terms of specs, the devices you like fall short for others in terms of user experience.
One device will not be all things to all people

 

[Crowley]

Steve Jobs personally tested every size and every ratio screen. Nothing matches 9.7" for the comfort of holding the device in your hands. Any bigger and it becomes cumbersome - but smaller and it's tough to read

Not sure if trolololol...

 

[Rainman]

Huh

Why don't "the people" go out and buy these tech miracles you refer to? Or is Apple buying them all up and recycling them in Cupertino in the great tablet-competion-deceiving-conspiracy?

Apple sold, what 55m tablets. Where are the other 7.945 billion potential purchasers and why aren't they buying the "tons of more innovative, feature rich devices on the market today"?

$100 Billion and MARKETING. I can spell it out for you if you want.

Also Apple might have sold 55m tablets since inception but those figures include rebuys, people upgrading from iPad to iPad2. The same cycle will occur when the 'new' iPad is released and Apple once again gets stellar sales and everyone goes woohoo.

FYI, Global shipments accounted for 62M tablets worldwide last year. In the 4th quarter last year Apples share of that dropped to 58% of all tablets shipped, which means people are finding choice.

BTW, I don't believe it's a conspiracy, again most people on these discussion get so defensive, I'm just tired of hearing the word Apple all the time and how great they are. Like I said in my first post ... the wood for the trees.

 

[undesign]

$100 Billion and MARKETING. I can spell it out for you if you want.

Also Apple might have sold 55m tablets since inception but those figures include rebuys, people upgrading from iPad to iPad2. The same cycle will occur when the 'new' iPad is released and Apple once again gets stellar sales and everyone goes woohoo.

FYI, Global shipments accounted for 62M tablets worldwide last year. In the 4th quarter last year Apples share of that dropped to 58% of all tablets shipped, which means people are finding choice.

BTW, I don't believe it's a conspiracy, again most people on these discussion get so defensive, I'm just tired of hearing the word Apple all the time and how great they are. Like I said in my first post ... the wood for the trees.

I just get the feeling that people forget Apple is a corporation trying to maximise it's bottom dollar. Just like EVERYBODY ELSE. Samsung can also blow the same amount of marketing, no? Apple doesn't do well because they have a cash pile of $100 Billion, they have a cash pile of $100 Billion because they do well. The fact is their user experience seems to match want people want or like. It seems they take a lot of flak simply because they are so successful.

 

[eltherza]

iPad could have done with one of the following additions:

usb port
memory slot
stronger cover [seriously]
HDMI out

Biggest drawback is that it's difficult to share content to/from the ipads. I dont want to plug my camera into my PC, upload to PC - then connect my ipad to PC to sync the pictures to the ipad.

Heaven forbid I want to play my holiday movies stored on the ipad on the tv...