When the original iPad was introduced by Apple a few years ago, there were a few technology experts who claimed that the tablet would just be a mere compliment to the laptop or desktop computer. The development of this mobile device by Apple would be strictly designated as a niche product. But obviously they have gone absolute mainstream, so much so that it has now carved out their own industry segment.
So to heat up the already sizzling market even more, Apple has recently introduced their newest and greatest version as the trend setting device with the iPad 3. The latest version features a variety of new upgrades including the following:
• Quicker response with the Quad-core A5X processor, increasing and enhancing its speed and power where performance may of lagged in the past versions
• A higher definition screen, an astonishing 2048-by-1536 pixel resolution on the same 9.7-inch LED-backlit Widescreen, Multi-Touch display featuring IPS technology
• A 5-megapixel digital camera which is also capable of recording video
• Quicker 4G LTE Internet connectivity, the iPad3 being the first Apple device to be completely upgraded from 3G
• A built in microphone allowing for voice dictation
The cost for the brand new Apple iPad3 begins at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version and then increases appropriately.
Can You Say Goodbye To The Laptop?
The majority of the casual online users are slowly but surely transitioning their dependency from the power consuming clunkier laptop computer as well as bidding farewell to the desktop computer, and replacing them with the much user friendly tablets.
Alterations For Websites
What each and every online marketer and mobile retailers are now required to do is begin altering their current site designs to tailor them for the improved display standards and the design styles of the tablets. This also includes offering better functionality and image detail. This in the attempts to keep up with the quickly evolving innovations which the tablets are demanding.
The very introduction of the new and improved iPad 3 can be a potential game changer once again when it comes to tablets. Apple has always been on the leading edge when it comes to innovation and functionality in technology. This newest tablet at the very least will most likely send its competition scrambling yet again in their attempts to catch up.
The Growth Of The iPad Tablet
There are now over 200,000+ approved apps which are specific for the iPad and its larger screen, which now has corrected its lag issues. Mobile experts are expecting that the iPad 3 will further increase Apple’s position in this industry segment which they’ve originally developed.
Apple has stated that they’ve sold over 15 million iPads in the last quarter of 2011, and have sold over 47 million iPads in 2011 worldwide. In comparison, the other various manufacturers in the tablet market combined for just 11 million tablets sold, this lead by Google and their Android operating system.
Other tablets using various OS’s accounted for 6 million of tablet sales during the same time period. This means Apple and their iPad has an absolute stranglehold with close to 75% percent of the entire worldwide tablet market, but the gap is expected and is quickly closing in.
Tablets For Internet Access
When it comes to Internet traffic from tablets, the iPad accounted for over 90% of all traffic. Android driven tablets generated 9% percent, while the others accounted for just 1% percent.
One reason why the iPad remains so dominant in the tablet market may be because that the same Apple tablet owners may be purchasing other “non-Apple” tablets on the market which offers different functions and purposes.
For instance, these tablet junkies are most likely also purchasing Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet, which is tailored for the purpose of reading Amazon specific ebooks and other proprietary services.
iPad 3 Opportunities For Marketers And Retailers
The iPad 3 and their new features can potentially open new windows of opportunity for online merchants and marketers. This because of the much quicker A5X processor for instance, which can now load and translate sites a lot quicker, this depending of course on how the network connectivity behaves.
The quicker processor also results in faster app transmission as the majority of their functionalities are stored on the device itself rather than relying on the Internet.
The biggest improvement and opportunity however for mobile site developers may be the better screen resolution. The iPad 3 is bumped up from the previous 1024-by-768 pixel display to an eye popping 2048-by-1536 pixel resolution on the same 9.7in diagonal screen.
So the new screen now contains 31 million pixels. What this higher resolution display equates to is that it allows online merchants to offer an extremely slick and richer detailed environment capable of displaying vivid colors and textures in the products that they display.
So the previous visuals and the fuzzy blurred images will no longer be accepted by these new tablet owning consumers. The end result may be that they’ll just move on to the next site, most likely a competitor, if their site displays better.
Did Apple Hit Another Home Run With The iPad 3
Initially, the iPad 3 appears to be poised as another ultra successful Apple product. But does it really guaranteed that Apple will continue to hold its dominating market share and web traffic. There are some who are pointing towards the massive strides which are being made by Android and the other tablets who are quickly closing the gap.
The potential Apple challengers are expected to be Google and Microsoft, as both are providing their OS software platform solutions to the various hardware manufacturers. This in the hopes to compete with Apple’s iOS and their proprietary hardware.
Google has now internally narrowed the gap between the smartphones and the tablets with the release of Android 4.0. What this means is it offers developers a single unified platform for them to work with for the two devices. This should ultimately result in an increase in the number of apps made available for the Android tablet, which are lifelines for these devices. Also, Microsoft is ready to launch Windows 8, an OS platform which is designed to target tablet devices.
But what Apple is saying is… what me worry? It’s expected that it will still take significant time for the Android 4.0 OS and Windows 8 platforms to be fully developed for market consumption. So because of this, Apple is expected to continue their dominance in the foreseeable future.