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iPad Will Beat Netbooks With "Magic"
entirely_fluffy writes "In a talk intended to woo investors, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said the iPad will win over potential netbook buyers, but not because of specs or features. No, Cook said, the iPad's magical properties will seal the deal. 'The netbook is not an experience people are going to continue wanting to have,' Cook said, according to Macworld. 'When they play with the iPad and experience the magic of using it ... I have a hard time believing they're going to go for a netbook.'" Another thing that would help would be a camera and a $100 discount, but hey Magic is cool too, provided they have enough mana.
Everyone was estimating $999 based upon the foolish assumption that it would actually be a useful piece of gear as opposed to a glorified e-reader.
How much magic is left in the Apple Lisa?
I wouldn't depend on *that* for long.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
apple only beat estimations versus itself. In reality, you can get significantly more functionality for less if you compare it to any other company that exists.
So yes, if you look through rose tinted glasses, the situation looks rosy. who would have known?
So many people treat computers like a black box that I wouldn't be surprised if this does give netbooks a run for their money. It's doubtful that it will take hold in the more technically oriented community (closed as it is,) but in the "I don't care I just want it to work" arena it may do quite well.
As for what the hell the magic is, above and beyond being a giant iPod/iPhone, I do not know.
Or, in business terms, "we could sell poop in a box and people would buy it because of their trust in Apple, also know as brand equity, which we will burn in exchange for cash with this product."
This is reflected in the framing here as well. The ipad can beat netbooks? Well, for the money I can get something better than a netbook. But that comparison wont be as flattering so the bar is pushed lower.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
You missed the most important thing: a netbook will run any application I want it to run. I do not need someone's permission to run the programs I want to run. No app stores, no being denied software, no being treated like an imbecile.
Palm trees and 8
The iPhone offered new things in a phone, things the average consumer didn't realize were possible. The iPad offers... what? I just don't see it. The only significant difference between the iPad and an iTouch is the screen size. Yes, that will give developers more that they can do, but only up to a certain point, especially if all apps are suposed to be compatible with the iPhone. It can't even be used as a proper web browsing machine given that amount of sites that are to a greater or lesser extent powered by flash.
The article doesn't really add anything new, it's just spouting the general opinion that's been floating around since the launch.
I would say Apple's own logo and buzz will make people want it. We have to keep in mind it isn't the geeks that make these gadgets popular, it's when the soccer moms are buying them for themselves and their husbands, or the middle-age blue-collar worker who can have all his Steven King novels with him where ever he may be. These are the people that make up the sales, they're the middle-class. It doesn't matter to them if you can 'alt-tab' to an already running program. Camera or not, it's still a great device that is priced to sell to a large audience. I would have never though of buying a Kindle after seeing one, E-Ink doesn't offer enough for the price. Now there's a easy-to-use E-Reader/Netbook that would fit a lot of people, it's as simple as that.
Then again maybe I should just blog my opinion and put it somewhere where I can make revenue for ads like this site.
[J]
And where can I buy that? All I keep seeing is references to a "Design Reference."
Of course every company has a few "well this is what we 'could' do." Apple could have shown demos of the iPad a year ago.
I'm still waiting on my ARM laptop that is 'just around the corner'.
Apple reallllllly need to stop mentioning netbooks.
The cheap, gimped, version of the iPad is twice as expensive as a netbook. Every time they say netbook it reminds people that there's a perfectly adequate device that is in many ways more capable than their device for far less money. Everyone was initially amazed that Apple had produced a tablet computer for $500, their amazement waned when they realised Apple hadn't produced a computer.
Puzzle Daze is now my job
This is such crap.
I'm sure the iPad will find an audience and will sell by the truckload, but come on...are they really claiming that people won't pay for a netbook, but they will pay the same price for something with half the functionality and none of the openness, just because it's pretty?
"The netbook is not an experience people are going to continue wanting to have," Cook said, according to Macworld. "When they play with the iPad and experience the magic of using it... I have a hard time believing they're going to go for a netbook."
This is as close as we will ever get to Apple admitting their cult of personality is the primary (but not only) driver of their sales, not their products.
Living With a Nerd
Well Apple is calling it "MAGICAL."
I'd say glorified is an apt description.
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
It's amazing how dense the majority of the Slashdot audience is.
For the wide majority of people, the functionality of an iPad and a netbook are exactly the same.
Can you browse the web?
Can you email?
Those two questions make up a huge percentage of most netbook users experience.
Factor in the app store and it is no contest.
Cult of Personality? Puhleaze. The "magic" he is talking about is the same "magic" that most users see when comparing a command line interface to a well designed GUI.
Oh, look, someone who doesn't get it.
The iPad is not a computer. If you want a computer, buy a computer. You obviously want a computer, based on your list. Don't buy an iPad - it's not the product that's right for you. You'd do about as well buying a dishwasher - it's not the product you want. The iPad is, however, the product that a lot of people will want - people who aren't looking for a computer because the iPad is not a computer.
WahahahahHAHAHAHAHA! But seriously, I'll buy one...when the price drops to $300 or less.
What I like about a netbook:
* Linux
* Windows
* Openoffice
* Microsoft Office
* Photoshop
* Ivona voice reader
* Keepass
* Paint Shop Pro
* Qimage
* Mplayer
* Media Player Classic
* Handbrake
* FFdshow
* Goldwave
* Imgburn
* SmartDraw
* VNC
* Remote desktop
* Firefox
* Opera
* Fallout 1
* MAME
* Virtual PC
* VMware
* Flash games
* C64 Emulator
* Amiga Emulator
* Spectrum Emulator
* Qt
* USB devices
* Ultraedit
* PSpad
iPad doesn't support flash, which means no redtube, youporn, etc.
My call is for the netbook. ;-)
Living With a Nerd
You guys bashing don't get it. Your Netbooks will do more. That's the point. Apple is all about giving you the 50% of functions you need, and polishing the hell out of it.
My grandmother won't get a netbook. She will get an iPad. She's not encroaching on your geek demographic.
For you logic types, iPad potential customer base > Netbook targeted customer base.
It will win because it does less.
Until you understand that concept, stay in your sheltered Netbook world. Oh, and update your virus definitions. And defrag your disk. Be sure to reboot today. Oh, update those drivers, too.
One year ago - Slashdotters complaining about Flash on websites.
Now - Slashdotters complaining that Apple doesn't support Flash on products they'll never buy.
All this confusion! Which side do I root for? Apple or Flash? It's enough to make my head explode!
On the one hand, I want to criticize Apple's products for lacking features, and because of all those snobby hipsters wearing turtle necks. Heh heh heh, so smug with their cappucinos and art galleries!
On the other hand, its lack of features will help destroy my arch nemesis (Flash) and move the web toward standard ways of delivering video and interactive experiences.
It's enough to tear my Asperger's/semi-autistic mind in half!
Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.
Yep. That's why Apple TV is such a success. My local stores can't keep 'em in stock.
Oh, wait.
Back on topic, why would anyone buy a netbook? I'd say 95% of netbook buyers fit into one of two categories. The first just wanted to buy the cheapest computer looking thing possible, the rest just want a cheap device to surf on.
The people who want the cheapest computer possible won't be satisfied with the iPad. This seems to be the /. crowd. "I can't install Linux". "But it won't play Borderlands." "I need Eclipse, Putty, and a keyboard at all times." The iPad doesn't cut it for these uses, it's not designed to be a normal computer. Of course, many people who buy netbooks just because they are so cheap get mad when the little 1 GHz Atom processor can't edit 1080p video or play complex games. Netbooks are not full laptops at $400 off, they're a different category.
If you just want a device to surf on, read your email, and maybe play a few games, the iPad seems to really fit the bill. I know of a couple of my relatives (not young) who this thing would be PERFECT for. No complicated filesystem. No confusing "where'd my program go" 30 window multitasking. The web works, email works, you can type up little things to email people either on screen or with the keyboard dock.
The thing really sounds like what most people want for a computer. If I didn't keep my laptop next to my couch for surfing, I'd buy one of these and it use it for that use. That alone would be enough to get me to buy it. Since it looks so different, Apple won't have the "this computer is way underpowered" problem, because I don't think anyone will see it as a MacBook Jr.
I find the iPad really interesting. It may take off like a rocket and change the industry (like the iPhone and iPod) or it could be and interesting thing that sits around but doesn't make a huge impact (like the Apple TV, although that wasn't nearly as groundbreaking, or MS's tablets, which survive but haven't really made a big difference for most people). Either way, this should be fun to watch.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Doesn't hatin' on your own customers kind of put you in a similar moral position as those business owners who catered to the gay community in California but then turned around and voted against their equality? 'We'll take your money, but secretly we think you're pathetic...' No wonder you're posting as AC... ;-p
Don't get me wrong, I agree with you completely, it just seems disingenuous.
I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
What makes you think that once Youtube, Vimeo and other sites are comfy with HTML5 the pr0n industry won't follow?
You forgot about Flash Based Porn
This is hilarious.
When it was first announced, everybody and their dog figured Apple would charge closer to $1000 for the base model, and now it's hundreds of dollars overpriced at $499.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
what I don't like about a netbook:
keyboard too small for real typing
not much cheaper than an introductory laptop
lousy processing and ram compared to same introductory laptop
made of same low quality parts as same introductory laptop
windows sucks on small screens
What I don't like about the iPad:
No keyboard.
Not much cheaper than... a netbook (actually, more expensive than most).
Lousy processing and RAM compared to... a netbook.
Made of the same low quality parts as... well, all consumer electronics.
Crippled OS is hardly an OS, on any size screen.
So... what makes it better than a netbook, again, Apple?
Whatever it is, it's notablog.
What the hell is all that crap? I just want to browse the web and update my facebook status from the couch without looking like a nerd.
Apple does not produce computing devices for nerds. They produce computing appliances for people.
For every action your normal joe wants to do, there is a relatively stable, secure, and predictable application to do it, which integrates well across the entire Apple platform. They deliver a candy coated information experience, not a platform for geeking out. I despise some parts of their business model, but it does seem to work out well for them.
Oh, look, someone who doesn't get it. The iPad is not a computer. If you want a computer, buy a computer. You obviously want a computer, based on your list. Don't buy an iPad - it's not the product that's right for you. You'd do about as well buying a dishwasher - it's not the product you want. The iPad is, however, the product that a lot of people will want - people who aren't looking for a computer because the iPad is not a computer.
Did you even read the summary? If the Ipad is not a competitor to netbooks, how is it going to beat them? If the Ipad is a competitor to netbooks, how is the OPs comment evidence of not getting it? Netbooks are computers, Tim Cook said that the Ipad was going to beat them. That means that Tim Cook apparently thinks that the Ipad is a computer.
I agree that the Ipad is not a computer. Therefore it is not a competitor to netbooks. It is, also, not cheap, which means once again it is not a competitor for netbooks. But the article we are discussing is talking about the Ipad competing with netbooks, so comments talking about things that netbooks have that the Ipad doesn't are valid.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
No, that was before it was officially announced, with prices and details. Everyone figured it'll be closer to $1000 based on rumors of such device coming from Apple. It was still when everyone thought it would actually have a good hardware, open, as in more closer to OSX than iPhone, OS and good features.
It wasn't anything like that, but useless device, which is overpriced for what it has actually has or does.
If someone is so incapable of using a computer without fucking it up, they don't need a "locked down appliance", they just need to be kept the hell away from computers period.
Rather than comparing inept computer users to incompetent drivers, you should compare them to drivers who don't remember to get their oil changed or other maintenance done.
Should those drivers be criticized because they want a digital odometer that says "service needed" every 3,000 miles, and then take it to a mechanic who does the oil and filter work at a higher cost than doing it oneself? Of course not. Not everyone wants to be a mechanic just because they need to drive somewhere.
Apple wants to sell the iPad to people who don't like upgrading their software, installing from DVDs, or properly connecting a wi-fi router. These skills should not be considered mandatory learning for someone who just wants to email and surf.
If someone is so incapable of using a computer without fucking it up, they don't need a "locked down appliance", they just need to be kept the hell away from computers period.
To make a car analogy: if someone is so incapable of using a car that they can't shift gears without fucking it up, they don't need a car mechanic, they need to be kept the hell away from cars period.
You utterly, totally fail to understand how the vast majority of the population views computers and computing: as a tool to do something, while getting out of the way of doing said something. And since the vast majority of the population votes, you will never, ever get your idea to pass. Not unless you're the nation's benevolent dictator, in which case you need to watch out for someone else becoming benevolent dictator by offing your ass.
The magic in Apple's iPhone and iPad is that they get that. They get that people actually want an appliance to do specific stuff, not a general computing device. And that's why they keep making money hand over fist, to the general surprise of a lot of self-proclaimed computer experts.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
If Apple starts to allow multiple third party apps to run at the same time then they are going to lose their "it just works" image. They will have to admit that their OS isn't really better than the other guy's OS because when you get right down it, you can have the best OS in the world, but if a third party developer doesn't follow your programming recommendations, it can lead to a "poor user experience".
I bought an OSX box a couple of years ago to see what the hype was all about. If you're running only Apple products, it runs fine. As soon as you start running a few other programs that aren't from Apple, it's just another computer. The latest headache I had to help sort out for a friend was the tangled mess that is Apple "Sync Services", Microsoft Entourage, and the Blackberry Desktop software. At least with Windows problems, or Linux problems, you can search for a solution. With Apple problems, often times the "answer" seems to be, "If you were using an iPhone instead of a Blackberry, and Mail instead of Entourage..."
OT but...
I don't see any logical incongruity with having a business that caters to the GLT community AND voting against equality. Under the law a business is a distinct entity, as is a private citizen. So it would be perfectly compatible to have a business catering to a demographic that you PERSONALLY do not approve of.
"Trailing edge"?
Apple led the charge of SCSI, USB, FireWire, Bluetooth, integrated webcams, multitouch, WiFi, sudden motion sensors, new battery technologies, unibody construction, DVD burners...
TO start with, USB was developed by Microsoft amongst other company's according to Wikipedia, ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus ) so I'm not believing that they led the charge of it. FireWire is made by Apple ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewire ), yet isn't the standard option with iPods, iPhones or other major Apple products, USB is. And if a company won't stand by it's own standards with its highest standing products, I wouldn't call that leading the charge. As for your other 'facts', they would take a lot of effort to figure out the truth, and with you blunt mis-understanding of USB alone makes me lean towards you talking whatever you feel without wanting/needing facts.
Current Macs all have Core2Duo or better. That is by *no* reckoning "trailing edge".
Since the Core2Duo was made in 2007, and most PC makers use the i3/5/7 chips that are new and faster... that would be considered trailing edge ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#Core_2_Duo )
Backlit keyboards, mini displayport, magsafe--these, or similar features, are by no means even *remotely* common.
Mini DisplayPort are Apple tech, so thats more of a 'force upon' then leading edge ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Display_Port ) Similar to how a lot of Sony products use a Memory Stick. Its not forward thinking, its forward 'pushing'.
As for a premium, that's absurd. Macs cost similar, and often cheaper, than equivalently specced PCs.
I always do love this one. Total BS because all Apple users pray to god no one will check. So lets check. I'll compare the best 15 inch MacBook Pro to a Dell Alienware laptop of as similar spec's as I can: (and before I hear the 'Apple makes top quality hardware claims, this PDF comparing laptop hareware: http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf )
Apple MacBook Pro: 15 inch ( http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB985LL/A?mco=MTM3NDczMDg )
CPU: 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (only option)
RAM: 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
HD: 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
Display: 1440-by-900-pixel LED-backlit display
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB
Alienware 15.6 inch laptop: ( http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DKCWFW1&s=dhs )
CPU (best I could match, Dell doesn't use the older Core 2 Duo): Intel® Core i7-620M 2.66GHz (3.33Ghz Turbo Mode, 4M cache)
RAM: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
HD: 500GB SATAII 7,200RPM
Display: WideHD+ 1600x900
Graphics card: 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 240M (new gen card)
Apple doesn't state it's battery size, so assumed 9 cell, the best
Both have wi-fi cards (Apple doesn;t say with one), backlit keyboards.
Now the Apple, with a smaller screen (pixel size), slower CPU, slower/older graphics card, older gen HD will set you back $2,749.00. The Faster Alienware with a faster CPU, newer graphics card, new gen HD, larger (pixel count) screen will set you back $2,024. Saving more then $700 for a faster laptop over the Apple... I don't see how your last claim works... But pl
Attention... all grammer nazi"s! Is they're anything; wrong with: my post,