Yet another article on why Apple’s not-yet-announced tablet device may not be a hit. Or, it might be. Or, maybe not. David Goldman from CNN Money.com:
Tablet computers are hardly a new concept. In fact, Apple already brought a tablet device to the market in 1993 in the form of the Newton MessagePad. Despite a ton of hype, Apple only sold a few hundred thousand Newtons in the five short years it was on the market.
That was then. This is now. Apple’s position in the marketplace is wholly different and the stage is set with a vibrant, robust ecosystem for handheld devices. Can you say iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone App Store?
Though Apple hasn’t released any details about its tablet, analysts who have been briefed on the device say it will run apps like the iPhone and iPod Touch do, but the tablet will be better suited for watching movies and reading.
Briefed by whom? Apple? I don’t think so. Chris Collins of the Yankee Group (highly paid prognosticators who are more often wrong than right):
The Apple tablet will have a beautiful user interface, it will have a pleasing aesthetic and will be marketed well. But at the end of the day, we’re still talking about a smart phone with a bigger screen.
All muck raking articles that portend to pry into the future need to have their prognostications go in many different directions at the same time. Laura DiDio, analyst at ITIC:
They have to trump themselves. That will be difficult, but the tablet shouldn’t only be an iPhone with a bigger screen. It’s going to have to bring something new to the table to be successful.
She goes on to point out the obvious. Apple’s device must have WiFi or 3G, a video camera, stunning graphics (like a big iPhone, huh?). Remember, there were computers before the Mac. Apple revolutionized computing. There were portable music players before the iPod. Apple revolutionized the industry. There were smart phones before the iPhone. Apple disrupted the entire industry.
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