Tag Archives: iPad rivals

Bill Gates Says iPad Users Are Frustrated Because They Can’t Type, Create Documents, Use Office

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Gates on Frustrated iPad users

Bill Gates has shared some thoughts on the iPad again, during a CNBC interview – this time claiming that lots of iPad users are frustrated at their lack of ability to do things like type or create documents.

At about the 7:45 mark of this video clip at 9to5Mac, Gates talks about how with Windows 8 Microsoft is trying to gain share in a market that’s been dominated by the ‘iPad type device’ and says:

… but a lot of those users are frustrated. They can’t type, they can’t create documents, they don’t have Office there. So we’re providing them with something with the benefits they’ve seen that have made that a big category without giving up what they expect in a PC.

Really? People used to talk a lot about Steve Jobs and a  ‘reality distortion field’ – I’d say that the Delusion Bubble that Gates and Microsoft seem to live in is just as powerful. iPad users can’t type, can’t create documents – has he ever been near an iPad?

For me, this is a bit like Tim Tebow talking about how many Denver Broncos fans are frustrated with that Peyton Manning guy. Microsoft might want to show that they can make a tablet that shows any sign of appealing to users before they dish out their thoughts on the supposed frustrations of iPad users.

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Survey Says: iPad Still the Runaway Leader in Tablet Usage

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March 13 Tablet Usage

The latest report from the Chitika online advertising group shows that the iPad is till the runaway leader in tablet usage share. The report is based on web traffic share – and the iPad’s lead actually increased during March – to 81.9% of US and Canadian tablet web traffic.

Just to repeat, that’s 81.9% for all iPads, and less than 20% for all other tablets. The closest rival? Amazon’s Kindle Fire at below 8%, followed by Samsung tablets at less than 5%.

The worst news on here is for Microsoft. Just months after the launches of their Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets, and the enormous promotional spend on them, their share is well below 1%. They’re running neck and neck with the Motorola Xoom, which was a major flop and was axed years ago.

Impressive numbers for the iPad.

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My Newest Tablet: Not an iPad

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Tablets

My newest tablet, just acquired today, is not an iPad. It’s the brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 –s shown above right between my Nexus 7 and the iPad mini.

I’ve become quite a fan of the 7-8 inch tablet and I saw some very good early reviews of the Galaxy Note 8 and decided to try one out. I’ve had the Nexus 7 for months and been thoroughly underwhelmed by it thus far – so it’s a good time to try out another small tablet. I went to a Microsoft store recently and wanted to see if I liked a Surface RT enough to give it a go – but it didn’t grab me at all.

I’ve had the Galaxy Note 8 for only a little over two hours – just enough time to get to know it a tiny bit and stick it on a charger really. So no deep thoughts on it yet of course – but just as a super quick early impression, I like it. I think I already like it better than the Nexus 7 and I’m very keen to get to know it better.

I’m not ‘switching sides’ here by any means. I sill love the iPad and particularly the iPad mini. I have always been fascinated with mobile devices and I try to keep up a bit with other tablets that seem interesting. I’ve previously owned and spent time with an HP Touchpad, an original Kindle Fire, a Kindle Fire HD, and the Nexus 7.

As I get to know it and use it more I’ll likely write quite a bit more about the Galaxy Note 8 at my other fledgling tablets site – 247 Tablets.

Have any of you used any of the Galaxy Note devices? If so, please share your thoughts and recommendations on them in the comments.

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Surface Sales Estimates Are Bleak, Microsoft Thinks Better Marketing Will Save the Day

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Microsoft Surface TV ads

Predictions and estimates offered last week for the early sales numbers for Microsoft’s Surface tablet line don’t paint a very pretty picture. They’re pretty bleak in fact – especially considering how heavily hyped and marketed the Surface RT and Surface Pro have been.

Here’s some details from a Bloomberg story on this:

Microsoft has sold little more than a million of the Surface RT version and about 400,000 Surface Pros since their debuts, according to three people, who asked not to be named because sales haven’t yet been made public. The company had ordered about 3 million Surface RTs, they said. Brent Thill, an analyst at UBS AG, had initially expected Microsoft to sell 2 million Surface RT devices in the December quarter alone.

Based on Apple’s last reported quarterly results it looks like more iPads are sold every week than the total number of Surface devices sold in four and half months (the Surface RT launched in late October of 2012 and the Surface Pro in early February of this year). If Bloomberg’s numbers are anywhere near accurate, then Surface is really not making much of a dent in the tablet arena at all.

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The New Surface Pro Ad: It’s the Funky Bad Dancing Tablet?

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Wow. I’ve watched this new ad for Microsoft’s Surface Pro a few times now, and I still find myself laughing and shaking my head at it. I guess I just don’t get what the strategy behind the Surface ads is. These are meant to be the tablets / tablet hybrids that ‘let you do real work’. The powerful, serious business devices. But their ads are all about people dancing around with them – and offer just about zero indication of anything very business-like yopu can do with them.

Anyone care to fill me in? What’s the message that these ads are trying to deliver?

 

 

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TechRepublic’s Half Assed Surface RT to iPad Comparison

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Image Source: writerdood.wordpress.com TechRepublic has a post up this week from Patrick Gray that is billed as a hands-on comparison of the Microsoft Surface RT and the iPad. It’s a half-assed piece that’s full of apples to watermelons style comparisons. For starters, when discussing the quality of the displays, Gray compares the Surface RT to [...]

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Flirting with the Dark Side

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I received my Nexus 7 32GB with Mobile Data last night. I think I was likely one of the last stops on the UPS route, as it hit my doorstep at around 7PM. I’m not actually flirting with the dark side or planning a switch to Android. But I do think the Nexus 7 looks [...]

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First TV Ad for Microsoft Surface: ‘Movement’

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Microsoft has started running their first TV ads for their upcoming new tablet/laptop device, Surface. The ad is called ‘Movement’ and I saw it several times last night during Monday Night Football. It shows off the ability to snap on it’s add-on keyboard and use its built-in stand. There are a lot of snapping and [...]

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I Ordered a Kindle Fire HD Today

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Like it says above, I just ordered a Kindle Fire HD a short while ago on the Amazon site. I’m not ‘switching sides’ all of a sudden, but I am interested in trying out some of the iPad’s most interesting rivals, and especially those in the smaller tablet bracket while I look forward to the [...]

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