The iPad age is over: The time of the iPad Mini and phablet is upon us The age of the iPad is over, as tablets like the iPad Mini that sport screens of eight-and-a-half or fewer inches will out-sell their larger brethren and come to represent the largest population of in-use fondleslabs around the world. So says global consultancy Deloitte in its annual Technology, Media and Telecommunications …
FTA:
"Deloitte says the low price of smaller tablets is the reason for their surge"
"Deloitte says refresh cycles are slowing as punters hang on to their gadgets for longer, a reflection of their increasing price"
Deloitte says tablets are getting cheaper and more expensive at the same time. Why should we listen to them?
I suspect it should read, "Deloitte says the lower price of smaller tablets is the reason for their surge [in market share compared to their larger equivalents]."
"Deloitte says refresh cycles are slowing as punters hang on to their gadgets for longer, a reflection of their [realisation that the new ones don't do anything new.]"
A tablet's main attributes are instant-on and portability. The day-to-day perception of the quality of the hardware is based around screen quality, so people are paying more to get a good screen.
The cpu and storage internals don't matter that much and are unlikely to contribute that much to cost anyway.
More innovation is required. How about gesture control to move particular apps' display to different screens? Use Wii-like "sensor-bar" so the device can orient itself relative to the TV. Include it with WiDi STBs to make dumb displays tablet-capable. Of course, I'm used to the old HP webos with multiple windows open in a stack (complete with stretchy rubberband and angry-birds weEEEEeee sound effects when you flick them off the screen) - I'm not sure if ios/android have that sort of capability.
Even if you have to have a docking station for bandwidth, that sort of feature might be great for presentations and marketing.
People always hold on to their Apple kit for a long time - I see plenty of original iPads, iPad 2 and older iPhones (3GS etc.) still in daily use. And it's not just the newer stuff - plenty of older MacBooks still in use - many actually qualify for the free 'Maverics' update.
Apple are aware of this and Apple also know most of those users get good support / are happy and will buy next time. Android and it's manufacturers are very short term in comparison - it's all about selling a device today but next time...? I can see why people may have bought a Galaxy S3 but when the contract is up you would probably buy something like the Moto (aka Lenovo now) G at a lot less money.
"Smart glasses, it was suggested, will be the subject of serious scrutiny by business"
OK, team here's a box of presents for you..... your new google glasses, so we can email urgent messages directly to your eyeballs and let you into the office with an app installed on them : to gain access just walk up to the door wearing them and say "open sesame".
We will of course have access to the video camera and microphone on all of them so we can monitor exactly what you are doing and saying at any point during the day, and this will only be stored on our servers for a period of 10 years.
Wearing your glasses is mandatory at all times on company premises, and not doing so without my permission will be considered gross misconduct.
We will not at present require you to wear your glasses outside the office, unless you are on call or travelling for work. Thank you for your co-operation, now who wants their fun new toy first?
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