back to article Tablet vendors 'quake in fear' over iPad 2

There are, alas, no direct comments from vendors to back up the claim, but computer manufacturers quiver in trepidation over what Apple may announce early next year. The cause of all their collective spinal shivers and hair-whitening? The iPad 2. According to Taiwanese newswire DigiTimes, the launch of the next iPad is " …

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  1. paul 97
    IT Angle

    No they are not.

    The tech companies like tosh , samsung and others are looking at the market and seeing if anyone buys their existing and upcoming tablets.

    iPad sales are very good.

    Cheap decent tablets at 1/2 the price could explode.

    Evidence - Advent Vega. £230 and better spec than ipad. Sold out within 2 hours.

    1. Funkstain
      Alert

      Better specs?

      I didn't know about this Vega before your post, so thanks for that. I've got a few comments though, relating to better spec assertion:

      1) Do we have any benchmarks for A4 vs Tegra 2 performance? I assume the Tegra 2 is more powerful given how much later it is coming to the market.

      2) Battery life appears to be significantly shorter than iPad (6hrs vs 10hrs). This is probably the single most important thing for a tablet, no?

      3) Screen quality - I know the iPad is hardly the best but is this device's screen much cop? Cheap things rarely have great screens. Would love to see this in action.

      4) On-board storage is pathetic (512MB) though expandable (4GB included, 32GB card is ~£50-70). However does this mean it will have the same problem as Android concerning remote storage of most applications? (ie: can't store most apps on external memory, meaning internal memory gets full too quickly).

      5) Android 2.2 is definitely unsuitable for tablets. C/F any number of reviews for Galaxy Tab. This cannot compete, really, until Android tablet OS goes live.

      6) Wifi is only up to G spec, personally annoying.

    2. Prag Fest
      Jobs Halo

      Advent vega

      Sold out in 2 hours, all returned for refund in 3.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Won't be revolutionary

    The revolutionary thing about the iPad is that it showed that there's a market for what amounts to a giant smartphone. Nobody was 100% sure it would be a commercial success until the first sales figures started rolling in. But now that the form factor, capabilities, and interface metaphors are established, any improvements the iPad 2 will have are going to be incremental and relatively uninteresting. Maybe thinner, longer battery life, faster CPU, higher res screen (although unlikely IMO), one or more cameras, etc. Not anything that would set it worlds apart from other tablet offerings.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Dead Vulture

    Yawn

    Oh yes. And you know what they afraid of even more? iPad 3. And then they're trembling of #4.

    1. Bear Features
      Thumb Up

      yes!

      and I've heard especially that the iPad #9, which will be released 1 week after #8, in September 2011, will be a real "game-changer".

    2. Annihilator
      Coat

      Indeed

      I'm excited by the prediction that the next one will be lighter, faster and cheaper. Where do these insights come from! :-)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Joke

        The iPad 3 will be SO MUCH lighter and cheaper

        that it'll only have like a 4" screen! How amazing's that?! An iPad with a 4" screen!? Can't wait to see what that looks like!

      2. Mike Flex

        @Annihilator

        > The next one will be lighter, faster and cheaper.

        I'll give you lighter and faster. I won't be holding my breath for cheaper.

  4. Paul_Murphy

    Size

    But it won't be smaller.

    Or if it is then I guess there will be lots of sniggering going on.

    Or maybe it will fold in half.

    hmm

    ttfn

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Sir Berners-Lee's right

    The Internet is going in reverse. All these so-called apps are just a way to lock people in proprietary technologies. And the thought-slavery industry, aka Big Media, cannot believe its luck and are peddling these so-called apps because they benefit from fragmentation (walls, pay walls or otherwise). In short, the iPad is the instrument of satan.

  6. Pat 11

    Cheaper, thinner and more functional?

    I might even buy one, but I'm really holding out for the version with the credit card slot on the side.

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Grenade

      "Credit card slot on the side"

      After the pasting your credit card took in buying the sodding thing, you'd have to be a right sucker for punishment to want one of those on it.

  7. SC Handle
    WTF?

    Yeah right

    And who is going to be worried? Microsoft created the market, Apple made it popular, everyone wins. It's like there is only one manufacturer who can make products work. You guys need to keep off the Apple kool-aid.

    Open your eyes a little and stop comparing everything to Apple and stop thinking that Apple make amazing hardware. In general they don't. They, usually, use outdated and proven technology rather than leading edge hw.

  8. Arnold Lieberman
    WTF?

    Eh?

    "Samsung and Toshiba have, of course, already got their tablets out of the door, and are undoubtedly hoping buoyant Christmas sales from anti-fans and anyone who thinks the current iPad is too expensive."

    Remind me how much the Samsung offering costs?

    1. ChrisInBelgium
      Thumb Down

      true

      I looked at the Galaxy Tab, and yes, it is a LOT more expensive than the iPad in Belgium! Over 780 euro the Samsung costs here!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @Eh?

      >Remind me how much the Samsung offering costs?

      Its still a win for Samsung even if you buy 'Apple' hardware.....hard to argue you product is superior when a rival tablet manufacturer is actually developing it for you.

      Any right-minded company would be trembling at the thought of launching a tablet given the incoming rush - at least Apple knows it will flog iPad2's to existing iPad owners, I wonder where are all the other 'new' users coming from?

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh...

    ...that'll be everyone replacing their iPads for a new version that has ... oh, the addition of a front facing camera?

    Please.

    If anyone does that, then they deserve to be parted with their money. The competition are already out-featuring iPad. This is just a repeat of what happened in the phone market.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Please...

      "The competition are already out-featuring iPad. " Well, sort of, and that is a result of hasty development *after* the initial release of the iPad, and fails on 3 significant point. 1. OS; Google have pointed out that Android isn't yet ready to be used on tablets. Clearly that's not to say it won't or it won't catch up, but it's a sizeable stumbling block. 2. Screen size; 7" is too small (55% smaller than an iPad) to be useful. 3. Battery life; so far the battery life of the iPad competitors has been laughable, truly pathetic. Oh, and most are made cheaply or are at least as expensive as the iPad. "out-featuring"? Keep telling yourself that love!

      "This is just a repeat of what happened in the phone market." No. No it isn't. You fandroids really are a delusional bunch!

  10. James Hughes 1

    What else is there to add

    Camera? Lightness (with excuses to C. Chapman)? Resolution? Flash (ha ha)? SD card slot? Price? All things that other makers already have.

    Same applies to phones nowadays - what can you add to the current crop of smart phones to distinguish yourself?

    Of course, if Apple do think of something new to add, good for them, bu t in the meantime, answers on a postcard please....

    1. Annihilator

      New features... "Facetime, now on iPad"

      Look forward to the keynote being along these lines:

      SJ: And now we can do Facetime, on the iPad"

      *Cue whooping from crowd*

  11. Chris Byers
    Jobs Horns

    Apple get cheaper?!!

    'The new model, then, will be lighter, cheaper and more functional.'

    Lighter, yes, more functional, for a second generation device I would hope so. But cheaper? This is the same Apple we are talking about isn't it?

    Unless they really slash prices I think that the Android tablets are going to more than fulfil users’ needs once you ignore the poseurs market. Even if you acknowledge that the iPad is a fantastically designed and implemented device (and it is) more people would rather look at the price vs. feature point than an expensive locked in device.

  12. Liam Thom
    Stop

    I am moist...

    ... with expectation.

  13. Alex Gollner
    Alert

    The reason why there was no front-facing camera this year

    ...is that the spec was designed to be maintained on the new price for the iPad 1 when the next version comes out.

    For the first few generations of Apple products, the previous generation remains on sale, just cheaper, sometimes with more memory.

    That means the new model will probably not be cheaper, but will have a few more functions and be a little lighter. For long-term but not so rabid Apple fans, that will be the signal to buy.

  14. P. Lee

    why apple succeeds

    No-one else does any work. In a tablet, battery life wins over most things. Everyone else is just doing what they don't have to invest in - standard componants and off-the-shelf software.

    I'll bet lots of people are holding off for the camera and faster cpu, so sales will go up, if apple can keep the battery life high.

  15. Goat Jam
    Paris Hilton

    "and anyone who thinks the current iPad is too expensive"

    Say what?

    Isn't he SGT almost the same price as the Ipad? Or is there some serious high street discounting going on?

    If so, that should tell us something about where the SGT sits versus the ipad in the eyes of consumers / retailers too.

    Know nothing about the Toshiba, but I have trouble believing that their tablet would be

    a) Good

    b) Cheap

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