Michael Janzen

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.

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.

Well here it is, the new 13″ MacBook Pro. We ordered a normal MacBook for Julia the other day not realizing Apple was about to release this new MacBook Pro. A few days after ordering it they sent us a note saying they were sending this instead. We’re definitely happy campers; more computer for less money is always a deal. We’ve always been happy Apple customers and now we’re even happier

It’s really amazing how much power they can pack into so little space too. This little laptop has 4GB of RAM, 250GB storage, and plenty of speed for her photo and video play. We also bought a 500GB Time Capsule to backup all those precious photos and videos of Katie.

Julia’s MacBook finally crapped out on her and it’s loaded with photos and videos of Katie. I backed it up and tried to fix it but it seems to need a complete wipe. So I ordered new MacBook for her.

Last night I got an email from Apple saying that a new MacBook Pro was just released and instead of getting the computer we ordered we’re getting a new 13-inch MacBook Pro for less money instead. It’s a lot more computer for less money and it shipped this morning.

Had I been paying any attention to Apple news I probably would have suspected a new MacBook was just around the corner and held off until the announcement but the truth is I had no intention of buying a new computer until we needed one. I guess we’re just the recipients of some dumb luck, good timing, and what should be a great new computer.

I’d also like to point out how smart Apple was to hold off a couple days and send us the upgrade instead of yesterdays news. More companies should adopt customer centric practices like that.

Well not literally I just got tired of paying for it so I canceled my wife’s phone (which was out of contract), moved my SIM card to her phone, and downgraded to the cheapest monthly plan. I keep my iphone on airplane mode and use it around the house and on any open Wi-Fi. The only thing I can’t do is make a phone call or text message… but I rarely do that and now I get to spend the money I save on debt reduction. Just think of the money and time we’d all save if we were able to have one phone number and one email address.