The iPad's (and Steve Jobs's) second coming

Tablet computers

The iPad's (and Steve Jobs's) second coming

Mar 2nd 2011, 21:01 by The Economist online | SAN FRANCISCO

 

 

 

WHEN the iPad was launched last year, it was dubbed “the Jesus tablet” because of the quasi-religious fervour with which it was greeted by consumers worldwide, who have since snapped up more than 15m of them. Now Apple wants to create even more converts. on March 2nd Steve Jobs, its boss, returned briefly from sick leave to introduce the iPad 2, a revamped version that will compete with a host of rivals now coming to market.

 

Among these are devices such as Motorola’s Xoom that are based on a new version of Google’s Android operating system designed specifically for tablets. Android-based smartphones have rapidly eroded the market share of Apple’s popular iPhone. But when it comes to tablets, the iPad’s lead should prove more durable. 

 

For a start, Apple has had the tablet field to itself for a year, allowing it to refine its offering and raise the bar for rivals. The iPad 2 is considerably thinner, lighter and faster than its predecessor and offers videoconferencing and other capabilities whose absence in the first iPad were widely criticised.

 

Another reason to bet Apple will maintain its lead is that rivals with similar capabilities have turned out more expensive, whereas the new iPad, despite its extra features, will cost the same as the old one. In America the Xoom costs $800 without a wireless contract and $600 with a two-year one from Verizon. The cheapest iPad 2 will cost $499 without a contract. Sarah Rotman Epps of Forrester, a research firm, reckons high prices will prove fatal for these rivals. Apple has other advantages too, such as an online store full of software programmes, or apps, designed for iPads, as well as content that can be downloaded to them.

 

Yet the closed nature of such stores also makes some people hesitate to buy tablets. In a recent survey by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), more than 80% of American respondents said being able to access content from anywhere would be an important factor in their choice of e-reader or tablet. John Rose of BCG reckons Apple’s iTunes music store succeeded because it had to strike deals with only the handful of firms that dominate the record business; it will be far harder to reach exclusive agreements with the diverse owners of the many other types of content tablet users might buy.

 

That is unlikely to stop Apple from trying, though. Mr Jobs is a notorious control freak. He is also a tech visionary whose notion of tablet computing has delivered yet another smash hit for Apple. The father of the Jesus tablet is no doubt already planning his next miracle.

 

 

http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/03/tablet_computers