Form?
"Kuo has form on Apple predictions, having forecast the arrival of a Retina iMac this year and the demise of the 17" iMac "
I think you're getting your Macs confused.
A well known Apple soothsayer has predicted that the fruity firm is cooking up a cheaper iMac, a new size of Macbook and a fondleslab armed with higher-resolution display. However, KGI Securities anaylst Ming-Chi Kuo dismissed industry talk of the arrival of a chunkier sixth generation iPad, which might be too big and clumsy …
But who is the dog and who is the caravan?
Seems that Android is the caravan - 1.5 million devices activated per day, 80% smartphone share, 67% tablet share, 900+ million total activated devices.
Apple's loss of market share over the past year is eerily similar to what Blackberry experienced three years ago...
Not really similar to BlackBerry, in that Apple are still selling significant numbers of devices at a much higher margin that everyone else. I predict a PC-esque smartphone market where Apple = Apple (~10% market share, but at the high price end) and Android = Windows (the other ~90%, everything from dirt cheap upwards), with anomalies in countries with high number of contract / subsidised "free" phones where people don't realise or care (as it's such a small fraction of the cost of the network service, e.g. USA) how much they're paying for the Apple kit. Apple may never hit the peaks they've previously seen, but they'll be making lots of money for the foreseeable future.
@AC 18:59 - "Android = Windows (the other ~90%, everything from dirt cheap downwards)"
And yet, many of the bestselling Android toys cost as much or more than the iToys. A new Galaxy Note 3 will set you back about $800 off contract. I wish I could get a Note 3 for "dirt cheap".
And yet, many of the bestselling Android toys cost as much or more than the iToys. A new Galaxy Note 3 will set you back about $800 off contract. I wish I could get a Note 3 for "dirt cheap".
Maybe he could have worded it better but it is a good analogy. In general, Apple will be known for selling high quality phones. There will always be exceptions. And frankly, let Apple have that damn 10% market share. Even as a Mac user, I would rather have an Android rather than an iPhone due to increased competition by manufacturers and it being an open platform.
Apple marketshare in Q2 2012 was 18.8%, with 28.9m shipments. As of Q2 2013 share had dropped to 14.2%, but shipments were up to 31.9m. Source: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2573415
So, Apple: marketshare down 25%; shipments up 10%.
Between Q2 2010 and Q2 2011, RIM's shipments increased from 11.6m to 12.7m. Share dropped from 18.7% to 11.7%. Source: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/1764714
So, BlackBerry: marketshare down 37%; shipments up 4%.
I couldn't find Q3 2013 figures, but the quarter ended less than half a month ago. I picked the quarter in which RIM performed best.
By Q4 RIM were, year on year, at 40% marketshare decline and an 11% decline in shipments. So if your comparison is correct then Apple's fortunes should decline very quickly.
However by using Q3 numbers, I have completely overlooked any effect the iPhone 5S/C may have on Apple's fortunes. So I'd suggest that Apple's decline isn't going to mirror BlackBerry's. Q3 and Q4 will probably show significant shipment increases if reports so far about the 5S are correct; the question is how deeply sales will dip in the middle of next year when the bump of a new product launch fades again.
Please Apple, could you consider as laptop with:
A bigger 16:10 screen, say 17", with at least 1200 lines resolution.
A proper Ethernet connector.
A price in the ~£1k range (or less, but lets not ask for Unicorns here).
A keyboard the gets rid of "Caps Lock"
A touch pad that is off to the side of the keyboard, so folk don't graze it with palms while typing.
Thanks...
Smaller tablets are selling better than bigger ones, a 13" tablet would be a tiny niche product because it would compromise the portability versus a laptop that is the reason many tablet owners bought one in the first place.
Making the iPad screen denser seems unlikely to me, though if they come out with a tablet that has "40% more pixels" a bigger one is far more likely than a denser one of the same size. Hate quote a meme, but "2048x1536 ought to be enough for anyone" (in a 10" tablet) Yeah iPhone has higher dpi but you tend to hold it closer to your face. Apple tends to prefer doubling dimensions when they increase resolution, and 4096x3072 would be just ridiculous and pointless, and would waste a lot of the GPU's power dealing with that many pixels when most already can't see the pixels on the iPad (non-Mini) during normal use.
Asus, Dell and Lenovo are about to release new "netbook 2.0" style convertibles at a low low price. It is very exciting.
The Transformer T100 is especially cool.
I am saying this just to be clear. Apple will not have not "invented" the new netbook or something similar.
ok.. I am off to go ogle my next computer. mmm..... netbook 2.0
This post has been deleted by its author