When the Apple iPad Air landed, many were surprised by how thin it was as
noted in my blog
article entitled “Apple
iPad Air, the World’s Lightest Tablet launched in Silver, Space Grey, White -
Christmas smartphone and Tablet Battle Royale as Winter is Coming”.
Many have now concluded that the name was quite fitting, with many
anticipating that Apple might make a Professional version of the Tablet suited
for more creative work as noted in “Apple's
new iPad Air the precursor to an 'iPad Pro'?”, published October 22, 2013
2:14 PM PDT by Josh Lowensohn, CNET News.
But could this new name that sounds like a take from the Apple Macbook
Air be a precursor to an Apple iPad 6 that would have a more powerful processor
and thus be suitable for creative works similar to a Laptop as per the
speculation Tiawanese Blog Digitimes in the article “iPad
6? New, bigger iPad 'planned for October'”, published Thu 2 Jan 2014 14:10,
First
Post's The Week?
Apple iPad Air – 7” Tablets are
the official Ladykillers of Handheld Gaming
The Apple iPad Air’s little brother, the Apple iPad Mini 2, is even a
great replacement for you Nintendo 3Ds or PlayStation Vita, a factor that may
be driving the popularity of the 7” Apple iPad Mini 2 as concluded in my Geezam blog article entitled “Apple
iPad Air’s the World Thinnest Tablet and Apple iPad Mini 2’s a 3DS and Vita
killer”.
News that Apple may be making a supersized Tablet to eventually rival the
Microsoft PixelSense as stated in “Apple
to unveil 12.9-inch iPad, claims report”, published November 19, 2013 9:46
AM PST by Lance Whitney, CNET News isn’t
really new.
The original report by the Korean Times as stated in “Apple
plans to unveil bigger iPad”, published 2013-11-19 16:15 By Kim Yoo-chul, Korean Times very little more than an
unnamed source close to Apple’s supply chain that decided to seek a little
publicity. But the idea has credence as Tablet are yet to prove themselves on
the same level of reparability and ability to get actual work done among
Generation X (age 29 to 45).
Tablets for the most part are great for content consumption, their main
attraction and the reason for their gradual adoption by even Jamaicans as
opined in my blog
article entitled “Jamaicans
falls in love with Digicel's DL600 and DL700 during Christmas 2013 - Sub-US$100
smartphones driving rapid smartphone adoption in Jamaica as Manufacturing is
Possible”.
Handheld Gaming is going to be the first casualty of Tablets as noted in
my Geezam blog article entitled “How
the Apple iPad killed Ultrabooks, Printing and the Mouse as the World
Rediscovers Tablets”. Their lack of
Wireless Internet connectivity and multi-functionality makes them easy targets for
the coming deluge of 7” Tablets as noted in my Geezam
blog article entitled “The
Two Towers of Tablets, 7” Amazon Kindle Fire and 7.9” Apple iPad are the Global
Tablet size of Choice”.
But all is not well in Apple’s Orchard!
Apple is facing competition
from White Label Tablets – Made to Order in China
It’s one of many floating rumours, making this story take on a life of
its own online and gradually, slowly, build its credibility and make it seem a
little more possible despite seeming silly at first.
Because Apple may be building it as a defense against the growing power
of Google Chromebooks and the Slow rising Tide of Microsoft Surface Tablets and
their rebranded Microsoft PixelSense. especially as they’re losing marketshare
against Generic White Label Tablets as predicted in my blog article
entitled “Android
Tablets Marketshare gain over the Apple iPad - Clear and Present Danger”.
They’ve been slowly losing marketshare to the gradual and slow rise of cheaper
US$50 7” White Label Tablets that are custom-made to order in China for
American clients as I’d predicted some time ago in my blog article
entitled “Apple
iPad vs Huawei MediaPad & HP TouchPad - Hackers say this is As Good as it
Gets” and “Asus
Transformer & Asian Tablets vs Apple iPad - Vybz Kartel's Straight Jeans
& Fitted Big Trouble in Little China”.
Albeit cheaper and with lower resolution screen, customizability and
their lower pricing point make them very attractive to many Americans who want
to try out a Tablet and who may not be yet sold o the idea of a Tablet
Google Chromebooks – PC’ makers
shun Windows 8 to make Google Chromebooks for Schools
Might Apple be seeing the same trend towards Touch among American
Citizens possibly among High Schoolers as noted in “Will
The Large Screen iPad Pro Be Apple's First In A Line Of Desktop Touch Devices?”,
published 12/29/2013 @ 12:48AM by Anthony Wing Kosner, Forbes News?
After all Chromebooks have been so popular I’ve done an article on their
latest trend; Low-cost Touchscreen Chromebooks such as HP’s (Hewlett-Packard)
re-entry into the PC world in the form of the US$279 HP Chromebook 11 as
reported in my Geezam blog article
entitled “US$279 HP
Chromebook 11 is a great Christmas present for Millennials” .
More recently, there’s been the US$299 Acer Chromebook C720P as reported
in my blog
article entitled “US$299
Acer Chromebook C720P launched as the Second Touchscreen Chromebook -
Affordable Google Pixel Chromebook clone that’s sure to please this Christmas”.
Both are squarely priced for High Schoolers and College students who can
easily adapt to a Laptop that NOT quite a Laptop as its stores it’s files in
the Cloud. Effectively it’s a NC (Network Computer), a New Trend that slowly
catching on thanks to Google launch of Chrome OS on the first Cr-48 Chromebooks
some four (4) years ago as chronicled in my blog article entitled “Google
Chrome OS and Open Source - Star Wars A New Hope”.
Microsoft Surface and Windows 8
– Barbarians after Bill Gates Rising Tide against Apple Macbook Air
Meanwhile the Microsoft Surface Table Top computer that Microsoft
rebranded after the launch of the Microsoft Surface as reported in my blog article
entitled “Microsoft
debuts Windows 8 with new Surface Tablets - PixelSense rebranding as the Dark
Knight Rises to defeat PC World” is starting to show promise.
I’ve practically ignored the Microsoft Surface Tablets Computers mainly
because of the failings of Windows 8 and the un-fixability of the product as
declared by Teardown specialist iFixit in their listing in “iFixit
outs tablet repairability list; Surface Pro in last place”, published
February 28, 2013 9:26 AM PST by Don Reisinger, CNET
News.
Good to note the Microsoft Surface isn’t alone; most of these newer
Tablets and Ultrabooks are not friendly to DIY (Do It Yourself) Fixing at all,
being designed as either being disposable or having to be brought back to the
manufacturer to be repaired like a smartphone as noted in “Tablets,
Ultrabooks: The future is unfixable”, published February 19, 2013 -- 13:00
GMT (05:00 PST) By Jason Perlow, ZdNet.
Even here in Jamaica I’m yet to come across a Microsoft Surface Tablet,
as they are also a bit overpriced for such low-end specs, something I’d
predicted would have blunted sales of an otherwise excellent and well built
Tablet. However, I’ve come across Windows 8, forcing me to make a copy of the
Operating System a Jamaicans are steadily purchasing the Ultrabooks and
upgrading computers with TouchScreen monitors to run Windows 8.
Yet this Christmas a lot of Americans began feeling the Microsoft Surface.
Analyst Chikita reporting a miniscule but significant 0.5% increase in Traffic
due mainly to an increase in usage of just-purchase Microsoft Surface Tablets
over the Christmas of 2013 as stated in “Microsoft’s
Surface Tablet May Have Been Saved by Christmas”, published 01.02.14 2:53
PM By Marcus Wohlsen, Wired.
Since then Microsoft Surface Pro has stealthily upgraded the CPU’s from
an Intel 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U processor to a 1.9GHz Core i5 4300 as reported in
“Microsoft's
Surface Pro 2 gets stealth silicon upgrade”, published January 2, 2014 7:05
PM PST by Brooke Crothers, CNET News. So
expect great things from the Microsoft Surface Pro and a possible resurgence
for the Microsoft Pixelsense!
Apple Beware – Laptop sized
Tablet with a Built in Keyboard in the skunkworks
With the Google Chromebooks gaining Traction and the Microsoft Surface
showing signs of Life, I may yet have to write more articles about their
gradual inroads into the High School and College Market. Apple iPads and
MacBook Air’s and Pro’s are clearly the Targets of these efforts.
When they bear fruit, the Post-PC World wouldn’t have killed off PC.
Rather, they’d have hatched Hybrid Laptop Tablet Devices capable of doing the
work of bigger, noisier and
energy-inefficient PC, with the Apple
iPads and MacBook Air’s and Pro’s relegated mainly to a Professional Graphics
and Creative Arts Crowd.
In summary Apple, as was with the case with the Apple iPad Mini, may
really have no choice but to build a TouchScreen Tablet that the same size as a
Laptop and packing a Case that’s a keyboard in response to this coming threat. But
we’ll see in the coming months whether my prediction bears fruit as we Take a
Bite of the Apple!
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