Tablet Wars
iPAD TO DOMINATE THROUGH 2014
Gartner
LISTEN To The Daily Numbers Podcast.
Apple’s iPad will account for 73.4% of tablet sales worldwide this year.
That’s down from 83% in 2010.
But the company will continue to have more than 50% of the tablet market until 2014.
THOUGHT: Not much of a war, huh?
The iPad certainly is the tablet right now. The Android tablets I’ve tried don’t really compare when it comes to size and user experience but the advantage the iPad has, far and away, is the app ecosystem. There’s just way more of them for the iPad than in the Android universe.
The wildcard in the tablet race, though, is Amazon.
The company has invited select media to a press conference next Wednesday and it’s a good bet the news they’ll announce is the release of their much-anticipated entry into the tablet market with a $250 touchscreen color Kindle.
At that price point, it will compete directly with Barnes & Noble’s Nook eReader but will also compete with the iPad. I suspect there’s a sizable market of people for whom the idea of a tablet is appealing but who do not want to pay $499 for the bottom-shelf iPad (which, after taxes and some accessories is about six hundred bucks).
I’m betting the Kindle tablet will spur widespread adoption of these middle devices between a smart phone and your laptop and greatly hasten the transition from books to eBooks in the process.
For marketers, then, I’d take a serious look at self-publishing your content in book form. Food industry folks should start thinking about recipe books, manufacturers should look at converting their manuals, consultants are already publishing eBooks as thought-leadership marketing.
Vanity press is considered vain no longer.
WATCH: eBook Trends.
WATCH: Amazon Kindle Tablet.
FOLLOW FRIDAY: Julio Ojeda-Zapata, tech columnist for the Pioneer Press and author of iPad Means Business.
Thank you for Frank Miller.
GET THESE INSIGHTS DELIVERED DAILY TO YOUR INBOX:
The e-Strategy Academy covers all aspects of digital marketing including search optimization & marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, video marketing, mobile marketing & public relations.