It's been a long and exasperating wait
but we finally know the detailed specifications of Apple's brand new tablet,
the iPad HD. On March 7th, the company unveiled what many had come to expect,
an upgraded iPad device that looked almost physically identical to its predecessors.
However, many critics and fans were shocked to find out just how far Apple had
gone and I don't think anyone was really prepared to absorb how
"upgraded" Apple's technology really was. Unfortunately for them,
that hasn't stopped the onslaught of competition the company is receiving. The
world of tablet PCs has become a pseudo battleground, pitting similar tablets
against one another for supremacy of the market. But does Apple really have any
specific tablet to worry about, and will the marketplace see an "iPad
killer"? We aim to answer that question with a breakdown outlining what
seems to be the iPad's most immediate threats.
First and foremost, let's take a look
at just what the iPad HD has to offer:
iPad HD
Anyone who has owned an iPad 2 knows that
those specifications are a massive step upward. Not to mention that the resolution
packed into that 9.7 inch screen is almost unheard of in any other mobile
device. Apple did an amazing job in taking a tablet that was already beloved
world-wide and boosting it into the future. But is this massive jump in hardware
enough to really separate the iPad HD from the rest of the pack?
To answer that, we need to take a look
at what the other "hot" tablets have to offer.
Kindle Fire
The only "real competition"
that the iPad would face right now comes in the form of a smaller, compact, but
low priced tablet: The Kindle Fire. Amazon has seen a massive amount of success
so far with its creation and is almost leading the 7-inch tablet pack. It may
not seem like much of a contender when you look at the impressive stats on the iPad
HD, but let's take a look at what the Kindle Fire has going for it:
The Kindle Fire isn't going to blow
your mind. It has a much lower resolution than that of the iPad HD, a smaller
screen, and it doesn't have near the storage capacity. But its price point is
so low that it appeals to individuals who cannot afford the Apple device and is
actually gaining a lot of ground in the tablet marketplace. It does have capability
for cloud storage, and it does have great things going for it like a Gorilla
Glass touch screen and a good amount of battery life. However, it lacks any
mobile support, making it a "Wi-Fi only" tablet. It probably won't
hurt the iPad in the long run, but it is doing exceptionally well in the
smaller PC world, and could take a few sales here and there away from Apple.
There are also a couple of tablets
that the world is focused on, that haven't yet hit the market.
Asus Transformer Prime (TF700T)
One of these contenders is the Asus Transformer
Prime (TF700T). Asus isn't necessarily the first name that comes to mind when
you hear the word "tablet," but this isn't the first device the
company has produced. Asus is responsible for the Eee Pad line of tablets. The developer
may have built its reputation in personal computers and laptops, but it is
gaining notoriety in this new field. Here is a look at what the TF700T has
under the hood:
The TF700T has some impressive stats,
and it is bigger and lighter than the iPad HD, but I still don't think it's
going to outright destroy Apple's sales. For one, its resolution still fails to
hit the massively high point set by the new iPad and it's still 150,000 applications
short of iOS's App Store. It also has a "standard lithium" battery,
which isn't promising when you consider the 10 hours of battery life that the iPad
HD boasts. The Transformer Prime does have extra storage space though and that
would be beneficial to someone who stores a lot of movies and applications. Perhaps
the biggest downfall though is the lack of mobile support for the TF700T.
Without it, this is a "stay at home tablet" and ruins its portability.
The other main issue is the fact that a price hasn't been announced yet. Unless
it can undercut the iPad HD by a considerable amount, I don't see this tablet
really competing.
Galaxy Note 10.1
One of the more prominent devices
coming to the market is the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Samsung is a powerhouse
developer focusing on a multitude of consumer electronics like: smartphones,
televisions, laptops, and most recently, tablets. The Galaxy Note isn't the
first touch PC that the company has produced either, and they do have a fair
amount of experience in the field. Here is a look at what the Galaxy Note 10.1
will have to offer: Even though these two tablets appear to have similar stats,
there are some distinct differences. For one, the Galaxy Note 10.1 is slightly
larger and a little lighter than the iPad HD. The device also supports external
storage space, meaning you can add an additional 32 gigabytes of space via an SD
card. This gives you a considerable amount of extra space over the storage
space offered by the iPad HD. However, that's pretty much all the Galaxy Note has
to offer over Apple's device. The iPad HD has a much better resolution, more
applications, a nice amount of battery life, and a Retina display. There hasn't
been a solid "price tag" placed on the Galaxy Note 10.1 yet, but
unless it manages to undercut the iPad HD by at least 100.00 USD, I don't see people
flocking to this device over Apple's creation.
Apple has set the bar again for Tablet
PCs and has set that bar high. The resolution on the iPad HD is incredible and no
other tablet currently on or coming to the market has similar numbers. Its
"low" price point, paired with all of the applications available in
the App Store makes it that much more appealing. But the one thing that the iPad
HD has that no other company has been able to match is Apple's ease-of-use. The
company has perfected the user experience and the iPad HD appeals to almost
anyone, of any technological background. The iOS interface is unmatched in its
simplicity and that helps to make the iPad HD the tablet to beat. I don't foresee
anything in the "near" future really competing or killing what Apple has
created. The company is once again leading the field in innovation and unless
other companies can catch up, Apple will remain king.
