I agree with your article completely. The problem everybody is facing is their pricing. When your products are the same price or more as the Ipad, most people would pick the Ipad. My wife and I were lucky to pick up a 32g Touchpad for $149 on Sunday. Had we not been out on the town being social Friday night and all of Saturday we would have snatched one up the minute price reductions hit.
The funny thing is about a week to two weeks ago you could pick up a Touchpad for $250 using special offers and coupons. Peaked our interest, but the sale was for 1 day only. We were looking for another alternative to take with us while out of the house to take care of work emails and anything else that popped up without taking our laptop or using our Smartphone. The tablet was a perfect fit, just not for $500.
If competitors were to reevaluate their pricing and what options they have, many can stay strong in sales and we don't need to see another large sell off.
@Hawk, you're right, it's possible for Apple to be beaten.How? Well until an electronics high tech industry come forward with a unique strategy, that is completely different from that of Apple's. Price slashing alone has not and will not affect Apple's leading position.
1.Totally new and awesome Human Interface – entries and projections of data, settings and ease of use to be top priority, simplicity and functionality
2.Information device independent
3.Integrated system with all business and entertainment needs satisfied under minimum number of clicks or gestures (including external devices e.g. HDTV)
4.Topnotch industrial styling
It would be good to rely on Google’s hiring scheme — out of the box thinking, innovative approach and simplicity across software and hardware. Top management has to have very strong vision of the product overall integration, goals and its future evolution. Top management needs to constantly review competition and market trends and understand user feedback. Known improvements would have to be implemented in a very new way.
I could give more thought about, but here it is for fun only.
It is hard to beat a standard, particularly across so many fronts. Apple's done a marvelous job of making itself too big to be attacked effectively; a proven tactic.
@Parser, I enjoy the discussion and appreciate your view. Humor me, though. If you were charged with coming up with a strategy to beat Apple, what would be the components of such a plan. (I know, we all wish we could come up with such a strategy. Just imagine the payoff.) Apple is certainly in a class by itself and I agree, I don't see anyone beating the company simply by slashing tablet prices. It has to be part of a broader plan. But back to my question: What will it take to beat Apple?
@Hawk, I see it quite differently. No one will beat the Apple using coppycat products. Apple is selling true innovation and integration and to beat them one has to innovate and integrate and do it differently. Cost cutting on hardware will not do anything unless it is going out of business sale.
Parser, you miss the big point here. Apple is only part of the issue; the strategy of the entire industry is under discussion here not Apple's invincibility. Yes, the company can be beaten. Definitely, folks are beating the bush now to figure out how and they will come up with the right formula. I believe the point of the article is clear and (in my opinion) it is this: Apple's rivals have to compete harder and must acknowledge its overwhelming headstart.
It's pointless to simply roll out products that match Apple's and not be ready for a margin haircut. It's the only way they can begin to dent its armor. You can scrape off the Apple logo off an iPad, put Motorola Xoom on it and it will still not sell as well as the original, if you don't do something different -- such as cut the price or whatever to clinch the sale.
I think Apple can be beaten if all other companies which compete with them would go out of business and had 70 percent sales. At that period of sales, Apple would encounter tremendous losses. After that, they will only be the only player on the market if they survived. Otherwise, this claim to beat Apple with obsolete product liquidations is unfair. No software updates, no bugs fixed, it becomes a child's toy.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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