Tablet Wars Ignite Name-Calling Frenzy of Top CEOs3 min read
As the holiday season inches closer, with less than a month remaining until Xmas officially commences, it’s a do-or-die run for consumers’ money between the gargantuan tablet makers. A war that’s been ongoing for several years, and that’s truly heating up just as the weather gets all prickly and cold outside. As things take shape, it’s looking to be one of the most intense technology battles ever—something that’s not been seen since the late 80s early 90s cola wars.
It all started, perhaps, with the nomenclature of the Apple vs. the world (Samsung) lawsuits that have spanned the globe. Making strides with wins in certain regions and losses in others, needless to say that Apple is peeved. Just when you thought that ongoing and billion dollar plus legal battle had finally concluded, Apple recently launched another one against Samsung for its Galaxy Note II and several other devices, and the frenzy has officially been reignited.
But that’s pennies for pickles compared to the tablet wars that we are seeing right now; however it is also certainly part of the warfare that Apple is waging between rivals, as the courts and intellectual properties and technologies licensing is indeed the secret weapon for Apple, Inc. Even though the iPad was the most used shopping device for Black Friday.
Tit for tat, Amazon entered the fray in late October, officially bashing the forthcoming iPad mini on its homepage, something to which Apple refrained from public rebuttal.
Yet, the dominating sales that Apple saw with backordered iPad minis within weeks of its launch was perhaps enough for the behemoth software maker to know that Amazon still sold fewer tablets of the Kindle Fire HD than its iPad mini did during the first weeks of its launch. Not that Amazon is bleeding all too much; 4-million sales are enough to staunch any real bleeding and fatten the pockets of chair members.
(Related: Tweener Tablet Revolution Begins: iPad Mini, New iPad Set Sales Benchmark with 3-million Units Sold)
In a related Reuters article that was also syndicated by HuffPO, “Apple CEO Tim Cook compared Microsoft’s Surface tablet to an over-engineered car that can fly and float.”
The article added, “And Microsoft went for the iPad, saying its Surface boasted twice its [iPad’s] storage.”
According to Michael Allenson, a strategic consulting director at Technology and Telecom Research Group at Maritz Research, it’s all about fighting for the growth sector. “The tablet space is where the growth is. That’s why they are all fighting over it. PC shipments are down and some tablet buyers may never buy another PC, which is dominated by tablets,” he said.
(RELATED: Studies, Trends Show Tablets to Become Primary Computer for Many by 2016 )
“Last holiday season, we saw a lot of buying of tablets in the $200 to $300 price range. This year, the iPad mini and Amazon’s Kindle Fires are targeted as large gifts. They are trying to ride that wave and win as much as they can,” Allenson concluded.
CEOS Take Jabs at One Another
So what’s the hoopla on the CEOs bashing one another… get your popcorn ready.
CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, had naughty words to say about the Surface tablet by Microsoft: “I haven’t personally played with the Surface yet, but what we’re reading about it, is that it’s a fairly compromised, confusing product. I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats, but I don’t think it would do all of those things very well.”
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt was quick to knock Apple for its shoddy map apps: “What Apple has learned is that maps are really hard. They really are hard,” he said. “Apple should have kept with our maps,” he said.
Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos also had some sour words for Apple: “Our approach is to work hard to charge less,” comparing the price difference between the iPad mini and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD.
When it comes down to it all, it’s all about what consumers want. So which tablet do you favor the most and why? After all, you will be the one who is using it.
