And this is why Steve Jobs sees Android as a direct attack against Apple: these devices (which Apple would like to sell at a high margin) can be made really cheap in a world of commoditized hardware (thanks, Microsoft!) and free software (thanks, Google!).
Edit-reply: while Apple can try to split off a premium market as it did with PC's, this is going to be a lot harder (and the premium market will be lot smaller) when then OS provider isn't trying to make a profit.
What apple sell is not the device. They make money on the device but that is not what they really sell you.
What they sell is easy access to content and the experiences you can have with it.
Apple will never be the most sold product in the world and they don't and shouldn't care. They are and will continue to be on of the most profitable companies and that they both do and should care about.
No one cares about the tech specs. They care about the price.
Those who can afford it will buy one but most people wont be able to afford the iPad let alone willing to spend that kind of money on it but they will all dream of it.
And that is why Steve Jobs have nothing to worry about. Completely different market segments.
You're wrong. Apple does care and does want to sell the most products in the world. If it didn't, it wouldn't challenge technology that another company develops that's similar to their own; they'd let it go because they build the better product anyway.
From the specs, it's not multitouch (a significant feature). From the video, it was stuttering on just scrolling the application lists.
It may be a competitor to the iPad / iPod Touch, but it's not a serious competitor. Apple still has the "premium" edge on it, their market doesn't seem likely to be overly affected. An Android tablet definitely appeals to me more than an iPad, for software purposes, but I'm not one of the iPad's target consumers. Though I'm not interested if it doesn't have multitouch.
More than not multitouch, it's a resistive (rather than capacitive) touch screen, so you can only reliably use it with a stylus (which is included.)
Which is a bit of a downer, cos I was thinking of getting one to mount one in my car. Also, AFAIK, there isn't any good free handwriting recognition on Android yet, so you may be stuck tapping an on-screen keyboard with a stylus.
You are correct, it does not have multi-touch, and I think that the panel it is built around doesn't support that. The mobile network connectivity is handled through a dongle.
The price seems to have dropped from $189 two weeks ago to $155 now.
And you can bet that is not IPS matrix. I am amazed that so few mention this feature of iPad, especially that IPS matrix a hard to find even on high-end notebooks.
On the other hand, the absolute glut of really shitty iPad knock-offs flooding the market could cause a flight to quality.
I was playing with a co-worker's Nexus one today who is very Apple-skeptical and the thing was just... bleh. They can't even get scrolling to work right on their premiere phone?
I don't think a free operating system in the mainstream is going to make it any harder for Apple to keep their premium market. Yes, it allows manufacturers to cut their prices even lower, but, just like in the PC market, Apple isn't competing at the volume end.
It won't be hard for other manufacturers to enter the tablet space. Competing with the iPad's integration, build quality, and usability, though, will be.
Apple nearly went bankrupted, mostly because even if the hardware was good, their Mac OS was a piece of shit that started paling in comparison to Windows NT, OS/2 or even newcomers like BeOS, while Win 95 gave you approximately the same value but with increased compatibility with older / current apps.
They can't keep their premium market if you can get the same quality for a lower price and a lot more freedom to tinker. Google coupled with HTC/Motorola can deliver that quality.
Their only option is to keep innovating and keep infusing mass-media with Stevey-juice ... but that's not sustainable.
I don't get why they haven't learned anything from their past mistakes. Lock-down, patent threats (it was copyright in the old days) ... do they really think these will work?
"same quality" would be the key word there. Google has yet to show that they can deliver anywhere near the quality of the iPhone OS as far as user experience is concerned.
Yeah, but Google is not know for poor quality of its software. And as far as hardware quality goes ... there are mobile manufacturers that can deliver it (HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia).
Surely Apple has control of the full stack, but it's not like history isn't repeating itself :-)
Google isn't known for any quality of it's software. Google is known for their search engine. Yes, people on this site might tout the glories of Chrome, but to the average user, all they see is a search engine and email when they are on the web, and a slew of mobile devices that still aren't as clean and polished as the iPhone.
Very true. And yet we still have so many feature rich yet experience poor devices, programs, and services out there. It's almost as if most people don't get the idea of quality over quantity...
One reason why Android is beginning to scare Apple is because the cell-phone carriers that aren't AT&T are marketing their Android-based phones against the iPhone with the good-old feature checklist. The iPhone gets one check "can receive phone calls", while the Android phone gets checks for things like "can play Pandora streams while you browse the web" or whatever.
If Android is starting to scare Apple is because Google is doing ad revenue shares with carriers and device makers.
As for your example, first, it's requires too much qualification to really work on a feature matrix. Second, you really think that Apple can't/won't support app backgrounding or a more open app store if their current offering really starts hurting them?
Apple was quite successful in the late eighties / early nineties, when Jobs wasn't even on board. Notable product from that time is the Macintosh portable (a friend got a hold of one, and it's pretty sweet :)). Later, their strategy on licensing Mac OS to third parties was actually profitable, but it wasn't enough (too little, too late).
I know you love Steve, he was a part of the rebirth. But let's focus on facts, shall we? ... I see far fewer appraisals for the engineers behind their miracle ;)
Really, you consider the Portable a successful product? While it's a cute bit of nostalgia, the PowerBook 100 is a far better example of innovation in that time period.
It is not 9, but 7,5. And it is not in the bank, it is cash & equivalent (if they have it in the bank, the shareholders should be unhappy - the company does not know what to do with the money).
They have also 26b in retained earnings. Do their shareholders get enough return on capital gain? (to answer myself: if you bought it 1 year ago, then yes; 2 years ago - no).
Or it could be another Linux on the desktop situation which is an interesting parallel since it enjoys the same set of advantages/disadvantages against the competition.
I don't see anything overtly wrong in that thread. If anything I see HN readers behaving badly by taking advantage of someone whose English isn't that great. For the most part the things people were attacking him for are things that almost every manufacturer does in China (copying web sites for example).
I don't see anything that indicates he's dishonest (and even if I did I'm not sure it would detract given the price)
The most important thing I learned is that it's not his device. He's just re-branding a device that other people made. It's also clear he doesn't understand the technology he's selling. It also seems to be true that he was taking paid orders before he actually had a device.
I've been impressed with the Smit and excited someone's selling them, rebranded or no. I'll probably give this guy a shot when my birthday rolls around and report back.
Agreed, my identity is not exactly a secret. I haven't heard from his lawyers yet though, maybe it's still in the mail somewhere.
It's sad though, I think he may have something there but he's going about it completely wrong.
He wouldn't even have to rebrand the thing, just sell it as it is, save a bunch of $. After all it's not like smit is going to give him an exclusive deal.
And I'm still not sure what the status is on importing that thing with a 3G dongle in to Europe or the US without the required 'seal of approval'. I'm pretty sure that the local variety FCC wants to know that your device has passed inspection, and that operating a device that has not passed inspection is tricky at best and illegal in most places.
FCC approval is actually quite easy and affordable (less than 10k), as long as your equipment passes first time.
The best way out is to buy a dongle or module from a 3rd party who has already got approval for it. If the RF module has approval then you don't have an issue. You still need a different kind of approval for your electronic device, but they are just reselling a 3rd party device so no issue there either.
I haven't made a mobile phone - instead I have worked on other RF devices. Perhaps there are issues I am not aware of (a public mobile network probably has a lot of checks and balances that are much more expensive)
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you posted it. I think a big part of me is just thinking "If he's a total crook and I lose the $155 completely it's really not that big of a deal". I mean, he takes Paypal so I don't even have to give my CCard number.
But yeah, if the price were higher or if I needed the money more I could see being more weary of this.
The fact that for you $155 is not a lot of money is immaterial, there are people here that might be suckered in for who $155 is a lot of dough.
Until the guy comes clean and shows that he's able to ship (which means he has at least the funds to buy a number of them, most companies in the far east have a minimum order volume, typical 100 or 200 pieces for devices like these, at some fixed discount, and has a written guarantee that they will be delivered at a certain date) he has no business taking any money at all. And even then, given the history of these threads (there was at least one other one) I'd like some more proof. If you start of by fibbing about your ability to deliver then you will need to overcome that later.
Selling fake watches on ebay is one thing, selling hardware like this is a completely different thing.
So far, I'm not aware that he did what he said he would do, which is to ship units to blogs for review. I think that would be a major first milestone on the way to large volume shipping.
Sending out a couple of review units is peanuts when you do something like this.
Not to call you out or anything but I am constantly reminded the fact that we live like kings unheard. So many people around the world would get physically emotional over $155. It's definitely not something I, or my bank account, agree with, but I'm sure you aren't alone. Amazing.
Apple products are about experience, that's what they really sell. Hardware and software are perfectly tailored to works seamlessly with each other. And for sure it isn't a free OS that let other companies undercut Apple's price.
> Upgrades to Android 2.x will be available within 1 month to our customer on their private section for simple downloading and upgrading. Easy instructions will be provided.
God I'm sick of all these tablets that don't provide proper reading/writing functionality. MEMS/Mirasol, Pixel Qi or the original OLPC screen. C'mon.
I feel the closest thing at the moment is NotionInk's Adam... throw in a proper Wacom stylus system and I'd buy two...
It really feels like most of the companies don't have a goal, just throwing random stuff at the wall and hoping something will stick... and to be all "me too".
Maybe I should just design my own proper UI for these things and pull a Microsoft :|
Some thoughts:
* I'm in the target market for this: some cheap slab that I can carry around and surf the internet.
* I know what's on the top of my x-mas list
* The barrier to entry for development on a mobile device just went down
I think you're being a little unfair. It's screen is bigger than the iPod Touch and it's cheaper. If you, for example, were a developer who wanted to build an open platform iPod competitor this would be a good starting point.
And let me just say I don't work for/with/or in any way with this company. I just believe in both openness and the portable market and can see how a device like this is a good thing.
Does anyone know what type of issues this device will have due to the resistive touchscreen and third party apps? Especially for games or any other apps that are designed more specifically for capacitive touchscreens?
Nope, still nothing around that even vaguely competes with the iPod touch. 3,427 announcements of amazing freakin' devices sure to be released any day now!
The only market with more vaporware is alternative-fuel vehicles.
Edit-reply: while Apple can try to split off a premium market as it did with PC's, this is going to be a lot harder (and the premium market will be lot smaller) when then OS provider isn't trying to make a profit.