Sandman
In article<jelamu$lse$1@dont-email.me>, Flint<agent1@section31.org> wrote:

Alan Baker
It is outselling every other tablet... ...combined.

flint
Aside to Alan:

Will this be sustainable? I seriously doubt it. Apple was first to market, and has enjoyed a two year lead on everyone else, granted. But they've hardly 'locked it up', especially since Windows 8 hasn't hit yet, and looks to become a more cohesive OS ecosystem strategy out of the gate than OS X/iOS. IOW, the real competition in tablet space hasn't even really begun yet.

Sandman
Which begs the question; why can't Android be a serious contender in this space?

flint
Meanwhile, Android tablet sales are increasing, with Asus' Transformer Prime a strong #2 in sales, and climbing - and the Win8 tablets haven't even hit yet.

-hh
Sorry for my confusion, but wasn't it just last week that the claim was something like that the #2 slot was held the Kindle Fire?

flint
In tablet space in general, perhaps. I haven't seen actual sales figures for the Kindle, have you? In 10" tablet space, Asus is easily #2, however. But if you're taking tablet space in toto, are you trying to say 7" = 10" now? Although I know a lot of guys would like their women to believe that, comparing Apple's iPad to a 7" tablet just makes as little sense as comparing notebooks to desktops.

Sandman
How so? Isn't the iMac 27" and the iMac 21" in the same market segment. Isn't the Macbook Pro 15" and the Macbook Pro 17" in the same market segment? Are you seriously dividing up the market by size?

flint
Apples -oranges :)

Sandman
So, the Kindle Fire is neither an iPad competitor nor an iPad killer? If not, then at what size difference does two products become two different market segments?

The Kindle Fire is 7", and the iPad is 38% larger. The Asus transformer is thus only 4% larger than the iPad. At which size difference does it make a new market segment?

flint
Besides, technically, it's the #1 tablet in the 7" tablet space (for the moment), but somehow I think Asus is going to upset that cart. Their track record so far in tablet space (in general) is pretty respectable.

Sandman
What are their sales figures? "respectable" is just another weasel word, you know.

flint
Until then, Apple has no entry in 7" tablet space ->that's< the significant factor, regardless of its current iPad sales.

Sandman
And the funny thing is that many trolls want to make it seem like Apple advocates invent silly metrics to put Apple in a good light. :-D

Either way. This way - Apple is owning the 3.5" tablet space with the iPod touch.

flint
In fact, I suspect, ultrabook sales might just have an impact on iPad sales just as iPads killed netbooks. If anything, i suspect 10" tablet sales are more likely to be impacted before 7" due to a marked dissimilarity in form factors/functionality. Apple would do well to provide something in the 6"-7" range, and do an ipod product line speciation redux in tablet space.

Sandman
Haha :) Yes, trolls in csma have a good track record of what suggestions that would be "good for Apple" :-D