The tablet wars are certainly hotting up this year, as all the technology big boys want a slice of the tablet pie. But will there really be a contender to knock Apple of its top spot? Currently Apple has around 68% market share, with the only real challenger thought to be in the mix previously being the Amazon Kindle Fire.
However, despite an initial rush, sales soon dropped for Amazon’s tablet and they currently have around 35% of the tablet market share. Now though, we have the announcements that both Microsoft and Google are to bring out their own tablets, and you would think that the capital that these tech giants have behind them are enough to pose a serious threat.
Of course, that depends what their target market is and if they are actually looking to knock Apple of their dominant perch; let’s take a quick look at what each device has to offer.
Image Source : WinSource
The new iPad:
Screen resolution on the new iPad nobody is even attempting to beat; with the best resolution on the market at 2048 x 1536p at 264 pixels per inch, the new screen is unbeatable. This means that those who consume a lot of media such as streaming video and app games will be more inclined to go for the iPad. Another factor that may swing consumers is the App Store, notorious for being more secure than both Windows and the Android platform, this may keep them on top.
Microsoft’s Surface:
Windows remains the most popular OS in the world and this may be enough for many; add to this the fact that Surface has USB capability and that may be the deciding factor. For many iPad users, this has been bemoaned in every version that comes onto the market, although it’s likely they will add this capability in the future in order to compete. Initial rumors suggest that Surface will be favored more by the enterprise market than consumer, as many workplaces use Windows-based infrastructures anyway. The only thing Surface is missing is access to a similar amount of apps as the other two, which is bound to put consumers off somewhat.
Google Nexus 7:
The pricing on Google’s answer to the tablet makes it more of a worry for the guys at Amazon, rather than the above two tablets. There are plenty of Android-based, cheaper tablets on the market already, but Google’s reputation precedes them and so people are more likely to buy one of these than the other Android tablets. Again, the Android platform has a huge amount of apps to choose from via Google Play and whilst it might not be as secure as the App Store, it doesn’t seem to have put off consumers as it remains the most popular mobile OS in the world.
Interesting Read : Google Nexus 7 Review: The Best Tablet With A Smart Price
All in all, the only real threat to the iPad is Surface; Nexus 7 appears to be attempting to compete with Kindle Fire, rather than the other two and has a price tag of around $200, just like Fire. The new iPad starts at about $399 and Surface will come out at about the same for the basic model.
The only thing that might compete with this is the introduction of Project Glass to go with the Nexus, Google’s augmented reality specs, but this will push the price up to around $1500 and won’t be introduced until sometime later on in 2013.
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