Michael Janzen

The proof will be in the pudding and price, but from these official Google mockups you might begin to see why I think Apple is going to have trouble making a major impact on the tablet market segment. If Google can keep the price comparable to netbooks they are going to easily be on their way to becoming personal computing hardware and software giant. See and read about this future tablet computer from Google. Image credit to The Chromium Project.

In these days following Apple’s iPad announcement many people have pointed out the flaws in the iPad. Gizmodo and Lifehacker both have good lists of glaring flaws with the device that will definitely impact it’s adoption and usefulness.

Announcing all the details 60 days before they have a shipping product gives Apple the opportunity to make some quick changes to the design and price point based on public reaction but it also gives competitors an opportunity to catch up faster, and there seems like a lot of folks are moving in the low cost tablet direction.

My money is still on Google. Apple has left the door wide open for Google to swoop in and steal this new market segment Apple just defined.  It also looks like I’m not the only one who agree’s with this theory, see what the Android Guys say. But only time will tell if Google thinks it’s a smart move and has willing partners, for example it looks like HTC is ditching the idea of a tablet and refocusing on Android phones. Now that they know what the iPad will feature, will they get re-interested or back-off? It will be fun to watch.

Here’s the line up of potential competitors. Photo credit Gizmodo.

Today Apple announced the iPad, which is essentially a cross between a tablet computer and an iPhone. It appears to have a super easy-to-use interface and the expected sexy wrapper. It is most certainly a new class of device and should be a success; but it’s NOT the Amazon Kindle or netbook killer it was expected to be simply due to the price.

iPad Price

The price will range from $499 to $829. Kindles cost $259 and netbooks typically range in price from $300 to $500. Had Apple found a way to offer a version in the sub-$400 range I think they could have dominated this market.

Defending Apple’s Price Point

The iPad will be a far more capable device than any ebook reader or netbook for at least a year or two. So I can understand their reasoning for pricing it between low cost Macs and netbooks. My guess is that they are hoping buyers will agree that the added value justifies the added cost… but I’ll stick to my guns in saying that they could have cornered the market on this segment with a slightly lower price.

The other major competitor for them will be Google Chrome based tablets, (more here). In fact Google seems to be quickly becoming Apple’s and Microsoft’s biggest competitor on multiple fronts from hardware, to operating systems, to mobile devices.

In the end my money is on Google, not because they have a superior product, but because they have a superior business model and approach. They also seem to get that quality + low price will always beat top quality + premium pricing. Sad but true.

For those of you salivating over the prospect of owning a new Apple iPad you’ll need to get a sponge and mop up your keyboard because it will be some time before it hits store shelves.

It looks like Google is quickly charging into many realms outside internet technology. The Google Nexus One is well positioned to move the mighty iPhone out of the way and now Google is getting into the Energy game too with the start-up of a green utility company. Their operating system Google Chrome must be sending shivers up the spines of the executives at Microsoft. What’s next… a bank?

In the mean time take a look at their phone.

Apple is rumored to be announcing their new tablet device on January 26, 2010, but have you noticed all the buzz about the tablet market heating up. For example, Google has been rumored to be working with HTC on the hardware for a Google Chrome based tablet and Freelance Semiconductor will reveal their new tablet any time now.

When the iPhone was launched it took competitors 1-2 years to catch up with viable competitors. Today the market is filled with great smart phones but the lead Apple gained early on will keep them in a strong position in that segment for quite some time.

But the tablet market appears to be a different animal. Unless Apple has something truly mind-blowing and low-cost to show the world on the 26th I suspect it’s not going to make the impact the iPhone did just three years ago today when it was initially announced.

Will the Apple tablet be another leapfrog like the iPhone or will Apple get lapped by the strong competition making their new tablet a relative failure like the Apple TV? I guess we’ll have to see… but in any event I would highly recommend avoiding limited devices like the Kindle since we’re about to see the emergence of a large number of low-cost tablet based computers.

As our technological world races faster and faster we see a common trend emerging. Innovation and meeting people’s needs always will always beat the competition in the long run.

Google appears to be at war with Microsoft as far as I can tell. Visit Google with Internet Explorer and in the top right of the page you’ll be strongly encouraged to switch to Google Chrome. I’ve been using Chrome on my Mac since they released it and I’m simply stunned at the stability and speed.

I’m not exactly your average computer user either and have years of experience managing teams of online application designs and web usability researchers. Not bragging just saying I’ve seen a lot of good and bad software and Google Chrome is amazing… an Internet Explorer Killer.

Apple has been rumored for months to have a breakthrough tablet in the works. Having watched Apple leapfrog the industry for a couple of decades now I suspect this new device will have the potential to stomp all over mono-function devices like Kindle and the print industry, just like it’s doing to the music industry. Apple could be positioned to steal more market share in print and recorded media markets.

Both of these examples illustrate the how the old-school digital and print world is loosing customers everyday because someone else from another industry is entering their information distribution world and stealing it away… simple because the newcomers aren’t bogged down in old-school thinking.

Survival of the fittest, and the fittest adapt and innovate.

Oh… by the way… television is next to go. Early adopters, like me, have already given up on that dreadful box and get our information and entertainment far more efficiently online. As Telcos speed up the internet more users will go online for their TV fix.

Now hardware builders like Dell are publishing notes for installing Google Chrome on their low cost netbooks. This little puppy runs Ubuntu Linux and while the install is still for geeks I suspect it’s only a matter of time before the open source community creates a installer for newbies. This will be followed by official pre-installed Google Chrome releases from the hardware makers themselves.

The key to all of this is user adoption of course and if Google has really build a no-nonsense operating system and the hardware costs stay low Google will stomp all over Microsoft in the personal computing market segment. Read my first post on Google Chrome to hear how I think Microsoft can survive Google Chrome.

I just watched these two videos produced by Google that demonstrate Google Chrome OS. Basically Google has taken the Pareto principle and applied it to an operating system providing more than 80% of what average users need their computer to do. I suspect Linux, Apple will survive Chrome but Microsoft will need to shift its focus.

• Linux will probably take the smallest hit because most geeks that use Linux will continue to do so and if anything dual boot Chrome. Linux also has the advantage of being an open source community and not a corporation.
• Apple has a diverse collection of strong footings like iTunes, iPhone, iPod, in addition to supplying a hardware/software package that is way ahead of the competition in terms of usability.
• Microsoft will be hit hard by Google Chrome because their Windows foundation will be weakened as common end-users begin to adopt this easy to use option. Apple has already shown that usability is the giant’s Achilles’ heel. Like most giants Microsoft has multiple strong footings like Apple but the demand for Windows will begin to shift away from home users. If Microsoft fails to see this unavoidable truth and doesn’t start to shift resources to their core strengths they are sure to fail.

I realize this is an outlandish prediction but it’s based on a simple idea. When someone (including a corporation) focuses on their core strength they succeed. Google has always seemed to do this extremely well. They are also masters of innovation and seem to still be growing fast and exploring new areas… which could actually be thought of as a core strength in itself.

Microsoft appears to be at a stage in it’s life were some serious change needs to happen. I suspect it’s because they are clinging to past successes instead of embracing the future of open source code and fulfilling user needs. To compete for mass user adoption one must keep up with what users want.

For example… Apple helped move the cellular phone industry ahead in one huge leap forward with the introduction of the iPhone. Google is about to do that to home computers. Those that aren’t well positioned and exercising their own strengths will figure out the hard way that old-school models are a recipe for failure.

From my perspective Microsoft’s core strength is it’s ability to provide enterprise scale solutions. Google tends to scare corporations because of their blackbox systems and unlimited thirst for data. So it makes much more sense to me for Microsoft to move more of its resources to enterprise solutions and away from home users. If they want to compete with Google in the home computing space quickly come up with a revolutionary simple new tool like Google has… otherwise don’t waste any more time in battle with someone who has you beat.

I’m sure these words have been uttered before but now they might actually have the gonads to back their words up. Nice going congress… way to stick a big fat bulls eye on the back of the American flag.

“The crisis in Gaza and the genocide of defenseless Palestinians is being carried out with the approval and assistance of world powers.” – Iran’s Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki (read article here)

This of course comes on heals of the UN Security Council passing a resolution Thursday calling for an “immediate and durable” ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the region. (see article) A vote mind you that the US abstained from voting on. Oh yeah and don’t forget that the US Congress passed a resolution the other day, 390 to 5, that said:

“Recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Whereas Hamas was founded with the stated goal of destroying the State of Israel;

Whereas Hamas has been designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization;”

oh yeah there’s more…

OK maybe Hamas is a terrorist organization… and maybe Iranian government is filled with extremists… but that’s not exactly the point. A peace process only works if you push for peace. Killing large numbers of people only creates martyrs and make their battle cry louder. Why in the world would anyone in our congress vote for backing more war? Haven’t we had enough of that? Don’t they remember what a few guys with automatic weapons and backpacks full of ammo can do in a public place? Who are these people we elected!!!???

P.S. I searched high and low for more in the media on the story in the Iranian news network and could find almost nothing. I found it as a top story in Google World News. At first I wondered if this story was true and then it occurred to me that it didn’t matter if terrorism is our concern. The people Iran wants to hear this message are the terrorists they are trying to rally. Yikes. No wonder the main stream media isn’t mentioning it. Is that paranoid?

You may have noticed that Apple lowered the price of the iPhone $200 (from $599 to $399). This comes just a few months after the initial release and seems to have pissed off iPhone owners. I’m not too pissed, just surprised any company would have missed the target in initial pricing.

Steve Jobs seems to agree and will be splitting the difference with all us existing iPhone owners by giving us an Apple Store credit of $100. A little self serving on Steve’s part (Apple Store Credit as opposed to Cash) but still very appreciated by this very happy iPhone owner.

On a side note I’m very happy to see Apple charging ahead on pushing the iPhone out to more users. Great product and I always like to see Apple succeed. Yes yes… I’m a little biased.

Read the Apple Announcement