Once again Market share doesn't make a product better... I'm not interested in how many of my friends mothers are buying whatever product. I want to buy the best product available on the matrix of price and quality. When looking at that matrix the iPad dominates... period. It's a much better product.
Inevitably people will buy some Android tablets... mostly because they don't know the difference and want to save a buck.
In my mind the market breaks down to 3 basic segments.
1. Your mom... the average Joe user who doesn't really know anything and is driven primarily by marketing and prices. iPad's marketing is absolutely stellar, and their prices are highly competitive. Android gains some marketshare here because plenty of Joes walk into the Verizon store and are told the Android tablet is just like an iPad and costs $50 less...
However if you were advising Joe HONESTLY about which device they should purchase... the iPad is the better product and price point 90%+ of the time.
2. The loyalist... these guys will buy x brands product even if it's really ground up monkey turds. The Apple loyalists will buy iPads and the Android loyalists will buy Androids. Doesn't matter which product is superior here. I think Apple is carrying a bigger following still... but Android is gaining ground. iPad is still the superior product here whether we Android fans admit it or not.
3. The geek... these are the guys who evaluate the detailed technical pros and cons of each device and try to pick the superior product. From this point of view iPad is clearly the superior product, Android does win brownie points for it's customization capability, and it's lively hacking/developing community. But again when you really look at it technically... iPad is a superior product. Android Tablets will always have some market share here as they're fun to Tinker with.
But at the end of the day iPad still dominates, and will continue to dominate as long as it's
1. the superior platform
2. competitive price
3. brilliant aggressive marketing.
Sure Android will sell some tablets... just like some people drive Suzuki cars... but really who are we kidding?
I see some numbers listed here like 38% market share by Android... get real. Do those numbers include e-Readers? I bet they do. Take a walk around any public place and count 100 tablets being used... how many of them are iPads vs Android? It's not even close.
Samsung, Asus, Sony, Motorola... these guys need to get their crap together and offer something compelling, and I just don't see anything on the roadmap in the same ballgame as what the iPad3 looks like it'll be.
yep
18 months ago i was going to buy a hyundai because it had a few more features than a CR-V, but ended up with a honda
at this point Apple is honda/toyota and everyone else is brand x