In the coming months, we’ll see how exactly the iPad will impact the ‘gadget’ industry. Will it save publishing? Will it revolutionise gaming? Will it change lives? Will it kill laptops and netbooks?

Apple has priced the basic Wi-Fi-only version at $499. The highest-end 3G version goes up to $825. Pricing will play a significant role in whether the iPad gains widespread acceptance or remains a niche product that is reduced to being an expensive indulgence or a fanboy badge of honour. People respond to pricing based on perception-they will compare a product to what they consider alternatives in the same category. Since the iPad is technically creating a whole new category (at least according to Apple), consumers will start comparing it, to either other media players such as the iTouch, or netbooks and laptops. And herein lies the rub. Evaluated on its own as a standalone category, the iPad does seem like it’s reasonably priced. However, things get murkier when you start comparing it to media players or netbooks. Netbooks and laptops offer far greater functionality and much better value for money. Media players, notably Apple’s own iTouch, offer very acceptable experiences at much lower prices. And so, while many consumers will still buy the iPad simply for the quality of its experience, many will consider it and then opt for alternatives which, in their perception, offer better value for money.

However, the fact is that Apple are past-masters at manipulating perception, and convincing huge masses of people that the iPad is something they absolutely cannot do without shouldn’t be a major challenge. It is undeniable that they have delivered an impeccably engineered product that delivers an experience quite unlike any other. And all those complaints about the lack of features, functionality and the closed ecosystem really won’t matter, because the iPad user is looking for an experience, not functionality. Thanks to Apple’s flair for great design and supercharged brand management, it will only be a section of techies and sworn Apple-haters who will end up disappointed, and this is not something that will give Steve Jobs sleepless nights.

While the price of the device itself shouldn’t be a major worry, the price of content is going to play a more significant role. If the iPad is to seriously impact publishing and gaming, then it needs to offer a wide variety of affordable content. But a monthly subscription to the iPad version of the WSJ is $17.99, while an iPhone subscription to the same publication costs less than $10. Going by initial murmurings, books and games are also going to be costlier, on average, on the iPad than on other digital distribution platforms. How this impacts the acceptance of the device as a primary media consumption platform remains to be seen.

What Apple needs to watch closely, this time around, is the competition. While mobile handset manufacturers were caught napping by the iPhone’s revolutionary design, there is already talk of iPad-killing devices hitting markets soon. The iPhone had the advantage of completely upending the market because it changed the perception of what people want from a phone. With the iPad, Apple is the incumbent that is setting the standard-and the competition will look for ways to make their products ‘better than the iPad’. Since there really are no strong preconceived expectations from the consumer for the category, people will be more receptive to competing products this time around. In fact, lots of potential customers have already proclaimed that they are waiting for alternatives from companies such as HP, Asus and India’s own Notion Ink before they take a buying decision. It’s extremely likely that these products, with the benefit of hindsight, may offer comparable experiences with more flexible features and open standards that attack the iPad’s perceived weak areas. In the long-term game, Apple could find that how they respond to competition could make the difference between mainstream dominance and niche presence.

But hey, this is Apple. They have built up a fan following that borders on being a religion, based on their ‘less is more’ philosophy. They have shown that a lot of people value simplicity, aesthetics and quality of experience over features or flexibility or open standards. Will they prove it all over again with the iPad? I wouldn’t bet against it.

Resource:
Yahoo News

The last time we saw the Slate was in the hands of Steve Ballmer during a rather tepid presentation in Las Vegas, with Ballmer showing off the Kindle reader and struggling a bit as he tried to tee up a video. But HP has clearly stepped up its game, starting with this snazzy 30-second teaser video that makes a point of showing off all the features on the Slate that are missing on the iPad, such as a built-in camera, a USB port (a real one, not an adapter), and an SD card slot.

Just a few hours after the video was posted, Engadget managed to snag what appears to be an HP marketing sheet — titled, none too subtly, “HP Slate vs. iPad” — that specifically stacks up the Slate to the iPad, point for point. Now, before we dive into the details here, let’s just point out that HP has yet to officially cough up detailed specs for the Slate, much less a price tag or a release date (other than “this year,” that is). Still, if what we’re looking at here is real, it’s a pretty clear indication that HP is positioning the Slate as an iPad killer.

Looking at the (purported) spec sheet, the Slate appears to have a series of enticing features that are missing on the iPad. There’s the camera, of course, and we’re not just talking one but two: a 3MP lens in back and a front-facing VGA camera for video conferencing. We’ve also got a single USB 2.0 port, an SD card reader, a “conventional” SIM tray for 3G networking, and HDMI-out video capabilities (not to mention 1080p playback) via the Slate’s dock connector. (Each of these key points are highlighted on the leaked marketing sheet as an “HP advantage,” by the way.)

Pretty interesting, and here’s a few more details to boot (again, not official): an 8.9-inch, 1024-by-600-pixel display (slightly smaller and lower-res than the iPad), a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor under the hood, and 32 or 64GB of built-in flash storage (expandable via the SD card slot). The spec sheet doesn’t mention Flash support specifically, but HP has already made it pretty clear that yes, you will be able to view Flash videos on the Slate.

The leaked spec sheet describes the Slate as measuring 9.2 by 5.7 by 0.57 inches, making the Slate (potentially) a tad taller, narrower, and thicker than the iPad (9.56 by 7.47 by 0.5 inches), as well as a tiny bit lighter (1.49 pounds, vs. 1.5 pounds for the iPad).

The leaked marketing sheet also ticks off a few specs labeled as “HP threat” — in other words, areas in which the iPad would have a leg up over the Slate, at least for now. Among them: no support for 802.11n, the latest official Wi-Fi standard; just five hours of battery life, versus 10 hours for the iPad; and a slightly more expensive price tag for the 16GB model ($549, versus $499 for the 16GB iPad) — although, to be fair (and if the leaked specs are true), the $549 16GB Slate might come with a SIM tray, whereas the equivalent 3G-enabled iPad will set you back $629.

Of course, one of the biggest selling points for the Slate (and yes, this we know for certain) is Windows 7, a full-on, multitasking, desktop-caliber operating system. The iPad runs on a modified version of the iPhone OS, and among other things lacks third-party-app multitasking (although that may be changing soon). Then again, the iPad OS is specifically designed for touch and runs lightning-fast; Windows 7 is designed for a keyboard and mouse (HP is promising a “touch-optimized UI” to help with fingertip navigation). And it remains to be seen whether Slate’s 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor will be up to the task of making Windows 7 run smoothly on a 1.5-pound tablet.

Let’s just say one more time that the leaked marketing sheet obtained by Engadget isn’t official; and even if it is real, the listed specs are certainly subject to change; and again, we still don’t have an official price tag.

Still, if the Slate proves anything, it’s that the tablet wars won’t end with the iPad; indeed, they’re only beginning. If the iPad turns out to be a hit (and the jury’s still out), it’ll spur more competition in the tablet “space” (“Courier,” anyone?), and that’s a good thing.

Resource:
Yahoo News