by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Intel, Microsoft, and the curious case of the iPad
[Via CNET News.com]
“That tablet thing? Yeah, we’ll get back to you on that.” That’s a crude but fairly accurate encapsulation of the attitude Microsoft, Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices have toward the iPad and the tablet market in general.
Why the cavalier attitude? Before I defer to the opinion of an IDC analyst I interviewed (below), here’s one pretty obvious reason I’ll put forward. All three companies look at their revenue streams–traditional PC hardware and software on laptops, desktops, and servers–and come to the conclusion that the tablet is a marginal market. A deceptively accurate conclusion, because at this point in time–and even 12 months out–the tablet is marginal compared with the gargantuan laptop, desktop, and server markets.
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The more cavalier their attitude, the longer Apple gets the market to themselves. The sales of Apple’s own computers has increased, possibly due to all the iOS devices, such as the iPad. More importantly, there are thousands of developers who are providing apps for Apple’s stuff and not for MS.
The custom silicon Apple uses provides the iPad with some impressive properties that may have been overlooked by Intel. They did not seem to have anything ready to compete and won’t for many more months.
The problem, I think, is that a really functional tablet requires an OS , low power, fast silicon for daily usage without dying and a company to put them together in a stylish implementation. Apple has done that because it controls all three. MS and Intel look like they were caught flat-footed with the success of the iPad. They did not have the right tools to provide competitive devices. They are dependent on others to create such a device. MS may have an operating system out on the market soon that will work well on a tablet and Intel is planning on having Oaktrail out next year. So perhaps another 6-12 months before any serious competition. That means almost 2 years from when Apple announced the iPad. Two years in the high tech industry is a lifetime.
Meanwhile, Apple may be consolidating all its hardware under a single OS in ways that may very well permit developers to easily move between devices – after all, underneath OSX and iOS are very similar. In contrast, developing something for the tablet, the phone, the laptop and the desktop requires several different operating systems.
Give Apple two years and you may never catch up.
