As a tech geek and content creator I feel there are limitations to how efficiently I can create when traveling solely with my iPad but I appreciate how light and easy it is to bring along on trips compared to the behemoth laptop our family currently uses- a 17 inch Toshiba Satellite. The Toshiba Satellite has served us well as a living room couch internet device/editing tool but by todays lighter laptop standards it is like lugging around an elephant.
With a ridiculous number of tablets coming out and an equally ridiculous number of powerful lightweight laptops coming out on a weekly basis I question what the majority number of today’s users will buy.
My guess is that for 85% of computer users a lightweight tablet is adequate for 99% of their daily computing needs. The vast majority of computer users simply consume content and bang around on their social media websites but only a small percentage of computer users need more than what they can get out of a lightweight tablet like the iPad. Sure there are many computer geeks like me and content creators that are far better served by a laptop but it seems that those people are becoming the minority.
The iPad really really is a marvel for consuming content and taking along with you on a daily basis. With the latest technology super lightweight ultrabooks and macbook airs are just a tab bit heavier but they have FAR greater storage capacity and computing power. But because so few people need that power and storage capacity they’ll opt for the more convenient to carry and cheaper tablet (iPad, android tablet).
This rush by the majority of the population to purchase tablets instead of laptops or PC’s has made these fantastically powerful and lightweight laptops very affordable.
To me as a power user who pushes my computer daily with video editing, photo editing and blogging the ultrabook is a no-brainer. For a couple hundred dollars more than a tablet I can create about 3-4 times more efficiently than I can on an iPad. That’s not a knock on the iPad. It’s super light and thin and portable and slick. It just lacks a physical keyboard and mouse and the processing power to create content like you can on a machine with more RAM and processing power. Yes there are bluetooth keyboards and mice you can use with a tablet but at hat point you could have just bought yourself a macbook air or a windows based ultrabook and have a far more powerful machine.
As fantastic as these ultrabook and macbook airs are the number of tablets that are selling is blowing them out of the water. The reason/s? They are cheaper and most people just don’t demand that much from their computing devices.
Exciting times for laptop buyers, exciting times for tablet users.
The iPad mini is coming out which will be a smaller version of the iPad. Some pundits have come out and said there won’t be much demand for it. I wholeheartedly disagree. This mini isn’t going to be aimed at adults who already own an iPad. They are aiming straight for the people who bought much less expensive Kindles and Nooks. Last year when I endorsed the Kindle Fire at $200 I believed it was a tremendous value, but if Apple comes out with a similar product but running the Apple ecosystem as opposed to Amazon’s android system it’s gonna be lights out Amazon.
If Apple prices their iPad mini at $250 or less they are going to absolutely own Christmas presents for young adults. It will come at the expense of Kindle sales, Android tablets, Nook sales and their own iPod Touch. It’s gonna be the Christmas present for young adults to receive and that is the price point that will make it happen.
Good Morning Gloucester 