3 ms·

I think that the author is completely right about the iPad (the names still makes me grimace) being an appliance. As are all of Apple's products, more or less.

I think that the author is completely right about the iPad (the names still makes me grimace) being an appliance. As are all of Apple's products, more or less. Microsoft is a little off the mark on this one, but it IS their job to criticize their competitors. I look forward to seeing their technological rebuttal since they sound so cock-sure. They better act fast.

pwhelan 17y ago
Well... Microsoft has had tablets around that can do all of those things for a while. They can do more, actually. No, they do not look as sleek nor are they as targeted. However, all it takes is one hardware vendor to put together something solid together and MS has a strong competitor to the iPad that doesn't tie one down and could provide a much richer applications world.
- MrSartorial 17y ago
  I don't disagree. As we've discussed in previous threads on the iPad, many are opposed to it's closed-system. Everyone is touting open-system as the better approach, and I definitely support that as the way to go, but few are discussing the best way to meld an open-system with turn-key simplicity. Microsoft products lack the industrial design that Apple is famous for as well. So I agree with you when you say that a well-designed, open-system product with turn-key activation and networking with other devices will certainly subvert Apple's domination of this market.
- garyrichardson 17y ago
  I don't think that's true. Apple are excellent designers. They've designed a pretty solid interface that is very specifically not OSX. MS tablets run Windows. I believe that's the difference between the two and why Microsoft will never have a successful product in this space. That's the same reason Apple ate Palm and Windows Mobile's lunches: Windows Mobile is trying to be Windows on a small screen. I'm sure Bill and Steve B sat in board room meetings patting each other on the back for making Windows run on a cell phone. Everyone knows the Windows UI so it can't fail! Think of all the enterprise customers! Microsoft and other companies focus on protecting their empires. Apple focuses on making more usable products. A hardware manufacturer isn't going to be able to fix Windows/PCs enough to compete with the iPad.
- dasil003 17y ago
  This attitude is why so few companies even come close to replicating the Apple experience. It's not about "what the device can do", it's about elegance and design from end to end. No one will ever make a Win tablet that can compare to the iPad because the applications will not target that specific device, they will always have a watered down UX.
  - pwhelan 17y ago
    Maybe I just don't get it, but if the opportunity is there, then what stops an established company or a startup from making a tablet that does exactly this but is more flexible? Probably easier with a linux variant? My point is that this device could likely easily be replicated with a ux that treats the owner like an owner. By restricting everything so much, Apple has seriously limited its options -- especially in enterprise computing. I don't know if the tablet market will progress the same way as the smart phone os market has, but I doubt Apple has hit a home run here. I look for a "Symbian tablet" or RIM-like product to take the majority of the market share and profits.
potatolicious 17y ago
> "but it IS their job to criticize their competitors" I disagree - both Google and Apple in the past have been very polite about their competitors' products. MS (particularly Ballmer) has a long and colorful track record of badmouthing competitors, only to have to eat their words later. Some of what MS has done for competing platforms/products has really bordered on smear campaigning, which IMHO is something that is far from standard procedure in our industry.

pwhelan 17y ago

Well... Microsoft has had tablets around that can do all of those things for a while. They can do more, actually. No, they do not look as sleek nor are they as targeted. However, all it takes is one hardware vendor to put together something solid together and MS has a strong competitor to the iPad that doesn't tie one down and could provide a much richer applications world.

MrSartorial 17y ago
I don't disagree. As we've discussed in previous threads on the iPad, many are opposed to it's closed-system. Everyone is touting open-system as the better approach, and I definitely support that as the way to go, but few are discussing the best way to meld an open-system with turn-key simplicity. Microsoft products lack the industrial design that Apple is famous for as well. So I agree with you when you say that a well-designed, open-system product with turn-key activation and networking with other devices will certainly subvert Apple's domination of this market.
garyrichardson 17y ago
I don't think that's true. Apple are excellent designers. They've designed a pretty solid interface that is very specifically not OSX. MS tablets run Windows. I believe that's the difference between the two and why Microsoft will never have a successful product in this space. That's the same reason Apple ate Palm and Windows Mobile's lunches: Windows Mobile is trying to be Windows on a small screen. I'm sure Bill and Steve B sat in board room meetings patting each other on the back for making Windows run on a cell phone. Everyone knows the Windows UI so it can't fail! Think of all the enterprise customers! Microsoft and other companies focus on protecting their empires. Apple focuses on making more usable products. A hardware manufacturer isn't going to be able to fix Windows/PCs enough to compete with the iPad.
dasil003 17y ago
This attitude is why so few companies even come close to replicating the Apple experience. It's not about "what the device can do", it's about elegance and design from end to end. No one will ever make a Win tablet that can compare to the iPad because the applications will not target that specific device, they will always have a watered down UX.
- pwhelan 17y ago
  Maybe I just don't get it, but if the opportunity is there, then what stops an established company or a startup from making a tablet that does exactly this but is more flexible? Probably easier with a linux variant? My point is that this device could likely easily be replicated with a ux that treats the owner like an owner. By restricting everything so much, Apple has seriously limited its options -- especially in enterprise computing. I don't know if the tablet market will progress the same way as the smart phone os market has, but I doubt Apple has hit a home run here. I look for a "Symbian tablet" or RIM-like product to take the majority of the market share and profits.

potatolicious 17y ago

> "but it IS their job to criticize their competitors" I disagree - both Google and Apple in the past have been very polite about their competitors' products. MS (particularly Ballmer) has a long and colorful track record of badmouthing competitors, only to have to eat their words later. Some of what MS has done for competing platforms/products has really bordered on smear campaigning, which IMHO is something that is far from standard procedure in our industry.