👤shawndumas🕑14y🔼53🗨️63

(Replying to PARENT post)

Not everyone needs to be Apple, or to do things the Apple way. Apple makes big margins on their $500 hardware. Why can't HP or some other company be profitable by making small margins on $200 hardware, moving a lot of units, and taking a cut of app sales?
👤lotharbot🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

I also disagree with Arrington on the Touchpad, but Gruber and other Apple acolytes' disregard for high-volume low-margin markets seems misplaced. Yes, Apple makes a lot of money by tailoring devices for high profit margin markets. That's clearly a lucrative way to do things, if you can pull it off. But, obviously, not everyone can. Surely there's room in the market at large for both models? And surely it's good for everyone to see competition at all levels?
👤joebadmo🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

I see Amazon and B&N taking a big chunk out of the low-cost tablet market, and it will be hard for anyone else to compete.

They can sell direct to consumers and capture more revenue. They have a vested interest in locking customers into their ecosystem, so they can sell at cost. Finally, they are trusted brands and can use their online stores to promote product.

A company like HP and Samsung would make most of their profits on the sale of the device. $200 tablets will never be profitable on their own, so unless you have another revenue stream, it's not worth doing.

That leaves cheap clone systems probably running Android with crappy build quality and nonexistent engineering.

You can be sure that Amazon noticed the frenzy over $99 Touchpads and the strong sales of the Nook color.

👤steveb🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

I tried briefly to find actual numbers on the manufacturing run(s) of the Touchpad. I wonder how many of these are really out there. Is this just a blip on the chart compared to iPad numbers?

I'm a bit concerned about what this will do to the real Android tablet market numbers. How many Touchpad buyers would have otherwise bought a low-end Android tablet? That market is already fragile enough without HP blowing out tablets well below cost. (It's not that different than the Borders liquidations hurting Barnes and Noble's numbers when they're already struggling.)

Oh, and when does the RIM Playbook fire sale start?

👤ja27🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

I knew Mike Arrington was a dummy...didn’t think he was this big a dummy

I usually discount any argument that begins with name calling

👤bitsweet🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

This all goes back to the Jack Welch theory: either be number one or two in your industry, or find something else to do. What the heck did HP hope to gain by building a crappy version of the iPad and charging the same price for it? The lack of innovation at these companies is truly confounding. If I had any HP stock I would be dumping it with both hands.
👤dkrich🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

While I agree with Gruber on HW sales being very profitable must he really resort to "dummy"? Its one thing to see Jersey Shore say things like this, but Gruber?
👤jjm🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Your short rant, on the other hand, is so elaborate, so unique, so daring and so enlightening!
👤kirillzubovsky🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

The average iDevice has less than ~$20 of software on it. (Simple math on earnings call stats.) 30% of $20 is $6. That's, well, rat spit.
👤patio11🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

Can anyone point me to numbers regarding the app store revenue vs. hardware revenue?

I'm surprised that the app store revenue would be "just a drop in the bucket" compared to the hardware revenue.

👤endlessvoid94🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

$99 tablets would be quite a boon to consumers. Having a viable competitor to the iPad would be good for the market. I wanna believe.
👤Apocryphon🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

God tech bloggers are an insufferable bunch.
👤jgh🕑14y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

>"I knew Mike Arrington was a dummy"

huh, interested.

>(daringfireball.net)

Oh, nevermind.

👤cbs🕑14y🔼0🗨️0