Microsoft vs. Apple in the tablet wars: Who will win ?
03/06/10 06:35 AM
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As you can see from the above video the new Microsoft Tablet has some awesome features and compared to the iPad it seems it is more user friendly for business as it does not require a keyboard. The key question thus becomes can Microsoft compete against the hype and Apple zealots ? To be sure Microsoft has been the butt of jokes with the trashing of Windows Vista and their Zune audio player but can they overcome this negative past to regain some momentum ?
Well let's look at some facts: Windows is still the dominant operating system within the work place and Explorer is the dominant browser even though it has lost some share to Firefox & Google's Chrome. In addition MS Office is still used by over 80% of businesses for everything from preparing presentations to spreadsheet analysis. I use MS Office for the Mac and even though I am an Apple person my belief is that MS Office for the Mac is better than iWork (Apple's office suite) which is once again in need of some serious updating.
What is success in the tablet market ?
So what is success going to be for the new Apple iPad ? Two million units sold? Hell they are going to sell that just to early adapters and the Apple people who love to lay down their money for anything with an Apple logo on it. Success will be determined by the number of people using the product especially 2-3 years from now. I could see someone going into a meeting with the MS tablet and taking notes but not with the iPad which requires a keyboard.
We also should not discount other suppliers efforts which are due to come out this year. Sony is rumored to be getting ready to introduce a tablet and now that know what feature the Apple iPad is going to have they can ensure that their product has more usability.
Apple Jumping The Shark
A good friend that I follow on Twitter (brandexpert) recently said on his BLOG that Apple jumped the shark when they decided to sue a company for infringing on some of their patents for the iPhone. I would argue that other things have caused Apple to jump the shark including:
-the continued denial that new iMac's had issues with their screens and then last week finally admitting that they had "fixed" the issue.
-reallocation of resources from OS X development to mobile applications for the iPad and iPhone. OS X is a very stable and reliable system but it is in desperate need of update especially applications like Mail and Safari which are losing their luster everyday.
So which product will become the leader? You and I will decide which format and brand becomes the market winner and it won't be because of a logo it will be because the product meets the user needs. Apple does not do any usability studies because "they know what we want" but if they have indeed jumped the shark then what we could be seeing is the first missteps by Apple a brand that had the spotlight for a long time.
