Posted on 02/04/2011 11:59:21 PM PST by Swordmaker
Don’t count out the iPad competitors
According to Adam Ostrow at CNN, we should not be counting out the iPad competitors. On some level, I agree. It’s good to have competitors, otherwise things would get boring. However, let’s put things into a little perspective, shall we?
To quote Adam:
Fast forward to today and Android smartphones are outselling iPhones, thanks to the multitude of manufacturers now offering devices at a variety of price points — all the way down to free.
If Android outsells, it’s only because it does many BOGO promotions (buy one, get one), or they offer very cheap models that run yesterday’s Android (1.x – < 2.2) – with no ability to upgrade the OS.
The same option does not exist in the Apple world. You can get an iPhone 4 starting at $199 or you can get the 3Gs model for $49. The 3Gs is still a highly capable model, with a halfway decent camera and multi-tasking without stuttering.
So, all that said, why am I counting out the competitors? Let’s list them, shall we?
So far, all true tablet-capable (Honeycomb) Android tablets are non-existent in the market.
Android is great for techies and tinkerers.
iPhone is great for REGULAR people, techies, and tinkerers.
I’m not saying some of the competitors won’t do well. I am wondering what the compelling features will be. Android is not as refined as iOS. Sure, it’s “open.” It’s open in the same sense as a bad neighborhood in a city is open. You can put anything you want in that part of the city. Strip clubs, pawn shops, check cashing places. You won’t find those types of things in the better part (or neighboring) of town. iOS is the same way. You have a town watch. Occasionally things get in, but you get rid of those bad elements quickly. Pawn shops are not allowed. That’s just that. We don’t want those stores here.
Rant aside. Let’s see how everything plays out. Adam could be right, but if the Verizon pre-sales and market research study are any indication, people couldn’t wait to get rid of their GoBots (Androids and Blackberries) and get Transformers (iPhone).
Posted on February 1, 2011 by Take To Task
This post is a continuation of analysts posting incorrect info and completely ignoring facts. Welcome the latest analyst being Taken to Task™.
Weekly Web Watch: Apple Loses its Grip By Carol Kopp
This uninformed analyst said the following TODAY:
Apple’s iPad is still the best-selling tablet device on the market, and nobody weeps over a 75% worldwide market share — unless it was 95% in the previous quarter. That’s what happened to Apple as sales of Google Android tablets went from 100,000 units shipped in the third quarter of 2010 to 2.1 million in the fourth quarter.Android now holds about 22% of the tablet market, according to the report by research firm Strategic Analytics, reported by BusinessWeek.
Most of those Android devices are presumably Samsung Galaxy tablets. It was the breakout hit for Android’s tablet software, and the Korean manufacturer announced weeks ago that it had sold two million of the devices by early December.
It has already been admitted by Samsung – yesterday – that Samsung’s 2,000,000 tablets were merely shipments to stores to stock shelves, not sales to customers, which they admitted was still pretty low. And, if that’s not enough of some pie-in-your-face to Samsung, today we see the following article: Galaxy Tab a dim bulb…
The Galaxy Tab, Samsung’s answer to the iPad, might better be called the boomerang as one Wall Street firm has found that an eye-popping 15 percent of those sold are being returned.The Galaxy Tab is a slow-seller, as well, according to analysts.
The 15 percent return rate, which covers sales from its November debut through Jan. 16, compares to a 2 percent return rate for Apple’s iPad.
“Consumers aren’t in love with the device,” said Tony Berkman, a consumer tech analyst with ITG…
Thanks, Carol. Apparently, you continue to ignore the facts that were brought to light. I guess you are the epitome of American journalism these days.
Posted on January 31, 2011 by Take To Task
If you do a little searching, you’ll see headlines like:
… and more.
Thankfully, you’ll also see the one who actually did research – Android grabs 22% tablet share – not!
Nothing worse than an analyst who gets paid to – paid to do what, exactly? Nobody actually analyzed anything. All these people get paid to parrot each other. The big thing analysts are touting is how the Android tablet market share went up to 22%, thanks to the sheer volume of tablets moved by Samsung. One analyst did some homework and and found out the following:
Pressed by an analyst at an investment bank, the Samsung executive, Lee Young-hee, acknowledged that sales to consumers were “quite small,” though she didn’t give a specific number.In her comments, she used the terms “sell-in” to reflect Samsung’s sales to distributors and “sell-out” to reflect the distributors’ sales to consumers.
Ms. Lee’s response to the analyst:
“Well, your question was on sell-in and sell-out. As you heard, our sell-in was quite aggressive and this first quarterly result was quite, you know, fourth-quarter unit [figure] was around two million. Then, in terms of sell-out, we also believe it was quite small. We believe, as the introduction of new device, it was required to have consumers invest in the device. So therefore, even though sell-out wasn’t as fast as we expected, we still believe sell-out was quite OK.”
To explain, Samsung was merely quoting how many tablets were sold to stores to stock their shelves, not how many were sold to customers. To really drive this point home, imagine magazine companies boasting about how many magazines they sold to 7-11 to put on their racks. Rather than admit to two customers actually buying the magazines, they tell shareholders they sold 1,000,000 magazines (and conveniently forget to mention that it was sold to the stores)
So, analysts, or should I call you lazy, shoddy writers who get paid to post poorly-formed opinions. This is only the beginning. From now on, expect me to Take You To Task ™!!
When I was a senior in high school, 1956, a classmate had a Volkswagon “Bug”. His father was in the military and had bought it for him in Germany. I was surprised how peppy that thing was. Of course, that was before we were so safety conscious about seat belts, air bags, etc., and it being dangerous because it was small never crossed our minds.
Also that year, two attractive twin blonds had transferred from California to our school in Jackson, MS . They drove to school each morning in their new red Corvette. We called them (what else?) the Corvette Twins.
Yep, that Oldsmobile would have been super! My running mate had, or at least his family had, a 1956 Rocket 88. It would out run everything in town except a big old 1955 Packard. We would run from dead stop to around 105 until we ran out of room and the Packard was always about one foot ahead of us.Years later, when I remembered that narrow two lane asphalt road we raced on I shuddered. There was about 6” between cars and to the edge of the road on each side with 18 year old kids doing 105.
1. The fuel line deteriorated from engine heat in about three years. If you didn't replace it, it would crack and drip gas onto the magnesium block engine, causing a fire.
2. The battery was under the back seat. If you used the back seat much, the springs would wear through the rubber mat that covered the top terminal battery and short out, causing a fire.
3. The heater used forced fan ventilation coiled around the exhaust. You had to replace the heat exchanger about every three years, or it would rust through and the heater would pump pure carbon monoxide exhaust into the passenger compartment. We used to joke about driving down the road in thirty degree weather with the heater full blast, the windows open with our heads hanging out so we could breathe.
4. The only thing between you and oncoming traffic was the gas tank. (course, for years, all pickups had the gas tank in the passenger compartment, so it didn't seem nearly as crazy for the gas tank to be right in front of the fire wall then.)
5. An eighteen wheeler coming the other direction would cause you to move about a foot and a half without turning the steering wheel.
6. The bolts that held the seats to the floorboard were too small and would shear in a wreck. This left the occupant free floating in a completely detached seat. Custom vans had the same problem, as they often just used sheet metal screws to attach the tables and stuff. They become free flying objects in a wreck.
Despite all those safety issues, as you said, it was built with excellent craftsmanship and surprisingly peppy for the small engine.
There's not much sexier than a hot chick in a Corvette, although here in Texas, a hot chick in a pickup ain't bad.
The Rocket 88 you mentioned used the same base engine as Earl's F88, although Earl did some stuff to up the horsepower from IIRC, about 180 to 250. Also consider that the F88 weighed about half of what the Rocket 88 weighed.
Dittos on the "can't believe I survived because of the way I drove" comment. My "racing car" was a 1963 Chevy pickup with a 3 on the tree and a 327 from a wrecked Camaro in it. Didn't have any top end, but it would leave a lot of cars in the dust for the first quarter mile.
Did we just hijack a thread?
You’re looking for another kind or article. If you Google, I’m sure you will find what you are looking for.
No, the one who started it just picked the wrong subject.
I was going to say more about cars I have owned (like a 1957 Ford Fairlane Convertible with an Interceptor engine and a 1963 Chevy with a 360 engine) or friends have owned (a Fordillac composed of a 1949 Ford with a 1955 Cadillac engine that was so souped it loped in idle and would do 90 in low gear)) but since you have brought me back to reality I guess I won't.
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