Can the iPad Maintain its Lead Over Other Tablets?
The uncontested champion in the tablet market for virtually its entire existence has been Apple's iPad and iPad 2. By combining ease-of-access, a sleek design and a cult-like following, Apple has managed to define the essence of what it means to be a tablet. But what if someday down the road, other tablet manufacturers manage to outwit Apple and design a more popular form? In order for another device to compete with the iPad, it must first beat the iPad in three different categories.
The first aspect that a rival tablet would need to beat Apple at is its pricing. This is perhaps the easiest part of unseating the iPad, as iPads are quite expensive when compared to several other tablets. Yet price alone will not make Apple fans flock in droves to a different alternative as Apple's tablet is functionally beautiful and surpasses many of its already less expensive competitors when it comes to screen quality, responsiveness and overall build design.
Secondly, a rival tablet must include the vast majority of basic abilities and convenience features when compared to the iPad. When a tablet costs half of what an iPad does but does everything you need it for just as well, there is no incentive for the customer to select the iPad. For example, if you surf the web using wireless and 3G, check e-mail and play games, then the fact that the iPad has a higher quality camera does not make a difference, especially if it costs twice as much.
The final straw for the iPad will be seen throughout the tablet market in the coming years: a massive decrease in processor costs. The iPad is a tried and true, perfected piece of machinery. Apple has a heads-up on other competitors in terms of the amount of tablets manufactured and the amount of time they have been manufacturing them, which leads to very predictable costs and demand cycles. Other manufacturers are at a greater disadvantage, but once processing components become even cheaper, it will be much easier for competing manufacturers to build inexpensive, powerful tablets that will compete with the iPad. Fifteen years out, a tablet will most likely be 1,000 times more powerful than today and cost ten times less.
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