If you're offered a Lamborghini Gallardo or a Honda Accord, and they both cost the same, which would you choose?
Intriguing question right? Read on and you'll see where I'm going.
I got the original iPad a few months after it came out, and then when they released the iPad 2, I upgraded to that. I then bought a second one with 64 GB and gave my previous iPad 2 to my wife. I've had that since, about 18 months now and through two upgrades to the iPad 3 and then the "new" iPad.
Ever since the iPad became a sensation, the competition has been playing catch-up. We've had numerous attempts at it.
Here are the biggest competitors, not in any particular order.
Google Nexus 10
Amazon Kindle Fire HD
Blackberry Playbook (no, really)
Samsung Galaxy Note
Microsoft Surface
Now, I know that there are many others, but in my opinion, these are the biggest players so far.
If Google, Blackberry, Samsung, or Microsoft (not Amazon) want my free advice on how to make their product more popular, here it is. PRICING!
Let me say that again, one more time, but louder. PRICING!
All of these priced their tablets, with the exception of the Kindle, at or within $100 of, the same price as the iPad, starting out at $499 which is the base price for a 16 GB model of the iPad. Big mistake. Let me tell you why.
Now, let me ask you my first question again. If you're offered a Lamborghini Gallardo or a Honda Accord, and they both cost the same, which would you choose?
This, to me, seems to be a no-brainer. You'd go with the Lamborghini any day of the week, right? This is the comparison, and until Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and others figure that out, the iPad will continue to run circles around them. Its all about the user experience and the ecosystem with iTunes which is incredibly powerful.
I've seen all of the other tablets, some I've played with, some I haven't... And none can hold a candle to the iPad.
HP had a TouchPad which was a complete and utter flop, so they discontinued it. As a result, Best Buy then cut the price of it down to $99, and they flew off the shelves. You can see the story here. This shows that if priced below the iPad, people will buy it. But when shown two different products at the same price, people will buy the better one every day of the week. Until they figure that out, the iPad will continue to sell extremely well. Especially now that they've come out with the iPad mini which moves the entry price down to $329 from $499.
Look at the Blackberry Playbook. They priced it initially at $499, which I was surprised at. I saw the release, and saw the features, (or rather, lack thereof) and knew it would flop. And it did. They ended up cutting the pricing to $199, but it was so roundly criticized that I seriously doubt they sold many of them. They sold as many in a year that Apple sells of the iPad in a month. If Blackberry had sold this initially at $199, they might have had a chance.
Amazon has a very good product. The Kindle has revolutionized reading e-books for years to come. They expanded it with the Fire, which I thought was fairly decent. They're smart, they're selling it at a break-even price to get it into as many hands as they can, but the app store which greatly enhances the functionality and usage of any given tablet, seems somewhat limited compared to Apple's App store. As long as they keep pricing well under the iPad, they should continue to sell well.
The market is fragmented. However the iPad and iPad mini will still continue to sell well until a competitor undercuts their prices. They will not win on the features. Whether you have an USB slot or a SD slot or this or that is not gonna matter. It's all about pricing.
Do you want a Lamborghini or a Honda?
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