Nice baiting, esoxmagnum. You sure know how to keep FreeRepublic classy.
The obvious reason Apple's share of the market fell is that someone, anyone, introduced some competition. Until then, any "percentage" figures were, more or less, stupid, whether it's Apple or anyone else. I have 100% of the FreeRepublic market in users called "dayglored". Duh.
The marketplace will determine the values of the various tablets. I don't have one, as I don't particularly need one at this time. So I figure I'll have lots to choose from by the time I get around to it.
In the meantime, since growing from, say, 1% of the market to 10% of the market is a OMG 1000% growth OMG!, why not celebrate something more useful like the strength of a Free Market economy where innovation (like Apple's) can be met with reasonable competition (like Android's) to the betterment of all and greater consumer choices?
I look forward to Microsoft throwing their contribution in at some point, hopefully not too late.
Percentages in a brand new market are just Stupid Sales Tricks until you have let it settle out a little bit. Regardless of who you're rooting for.
And it took how many companies mimicking Apple using a free OS to get up to half of Apple’s share of a market it started?
To be honest, we do see that with some segments of Apple as well; for example, the recent report that Apple broached 3% of the worldwide PC market was heralded not for the 0.4% change in actual worldwide market share, but a stunning 15% growth.
“You sure know how to keep FreeRepublic classy.”
I’m sorry, you may have confused me for Johnny McCain. I have no interest in supporting those companies or people who are actively working towards liberal, leftists, homosexual interests. I will not extend an olive branch to such groups. Never. I will not reach across the isle to “be classy”. There are enough Republicans who have corner on that market, and I am not one of them.
I am a conservative first, and I personally think that this nation is at the brink. I have no use for those who think that shaking hands with the enemy, in “bi-partisan” support is good for this country.
We are beyond that.
Apple, and those who run Apple, represent much of what is wrong with this country. I do believe in capitalism, and everyone has the right to purchase and invest in whatever they want. But, that is a two-edged sword. I also have the right to discuss why people should not invest in Apple.
I grow tired of those posters who gloss over Apples liberal history, their strong-arm tactics AGAINST free-market, their use of foreign labor (while claiming to be All-American Apple Pie), their board of directors (who incidentally include the #1 liberal in the US, imo), Jobs financial backing of dems all over the US (particularly here in Chicago), and the list goes on.
Because I am a capitalist, I believe that consumers can have an impact on corporate policy. If folks think that a company is behaving badly, then they have every right to note that behavior, and try and convince others to take their money elsewhere. Apple falls into that category.
There are many leftists companies, who have decent earnings, I do my best to avoid them. There is more to life than profits. I have made enough money in my life to know that putting money above such things as God, Family, and country is the wrong way to go about it. At least for me, and for most of those who hang out on Free Republic.
FreeRepublic, as I understand it, is a conservative site. Not a tech site, so those posts made here, will fall under the eye of conservatives, and those companies who are pimped here, should and will fall under the scrutiny of the conservative looking glass.
If one wants to talk only about the technical aspects of something, there are many boards to do such a thing, and on those boards, you will have a much better audience with which to argue technical merits. As it stands, we have a poster, who promotes Apple as being a conservative company, in hopes of increasing Apple stock, or in hopes of selling the product. It is misleading.
There are many folks here who do not know much about computing, and are influenced by those they perceive to be both technically savvy, and conservative. Many here will make buying decisions based on whether or not a company promotes family values, and some posters wish to flat out lie for personal gain about Apples role in the conservative arena. I won’t sit idly by and allow that to happen.
Now, if that classifies me as “unclassy”, I am guilty as charged.
I will leave the “classy” to the “reach across the isle” types. I am not one of them.
Percentages matter, up to a point. You need a certain percentage in order to keep up developer interest to make apps people want and ship enough volume to keep prices competitive.
But anyone who didn’t see this coming was an idiot. There is no way in a free market that one manufacturer can keep 90%+ marketshare for long. It may take a year or more, but eventually the copycats will come along and eat away at that with something resembling serious competition.
Even in these days of ultra-fast Chinese to-market times, it still takes a while to ramp up the copiers. Turns out in this case the hardware wasn’t really the hard part, but the software. That’s a lot harder to copy and not get busted.