People all over are excited about the possibilities that Apple’s new tablet is expected to open up. People have already heralded the device as the iKiller of all iKillers. The gadget of all gadgets. The one gadget to rule them all. Pretty lofty expectations for a device that Apple hasn’t even publicly acknowledged.
For years people have told me that Apple is more of a marketing company than anything else. Really? Well let’s take a look at the marketing budgets of several leading software and consumer electronics companies. Both RIM and Microsoft spend almost 2-3x more marketing dollars as a percentage of revenue than Apple does. The difference? Apple is just great at the marketing game. Most of the others aren’t. However, to be successful, a company must have products to back up their marketing efforts. If Apple has cool, hip marketing ads, they need to have cool, hip products to back up that claim. Often, other people overlook the fact that Apple has some of the highest levels of customer satisfaction when compared to any industry. Are they perfect? Far from it. However, their ability to deliver complex technology in easy-to-use interfaces backed by quality built hardware has been firmly established.
Most recent fiscal year. Source: Company reports
Back to Apple’s most recent hyped product. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held earlier this month in Las Vegas. Some of the biggest players in the industry attend this event to showcase new and soon-to-be-released products. Nokia, HP, LG, Panasonic, Microsoft and others were there but noticeably absent was Apple. The big news coming from the event? Skype-integrated HD television sets and a plethora of tablet computers. The most talked about product at CES? The rumored Apple tablet computer. Wow.
Apple uses secrecy and suspense to build hype but let’s all keep in mind that you have to substantiate the hype you generate with a great product. It should be no secret not that Apple has muddied the waters by trademarking names such as “iPad” and “iSlate” to confuse and mislead people. Apple purposefully plants information to not only mislead potential soothsayers but also to manage expectations.
Should a tablet device emerge at the January 27th event this month, it’s technical specifications may not equal other devices on the market. Still, there will be no mistake that this device will be at least 2 years beyond any hopeful contenders. Here’s why:
1. The device will run over 134,000 apps from the iTunes app store. This is the biggest game changer and will immediately catapult the Apple tablet device years ahead of any competition.
2. Apple brought mass adoption to multi-touch interfacing so users are already well versed in using the Apple-styled inputs and navigation controls.
3. Ability to leverage iTunes: music, movies, TV, videos, apps, photos. Many people already have purchased content from iTunes. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to purchase a new product, sync the device and not have to re-purchase content or spend time locating and moving content to the device?
Isn’t it great knowing what my wife purchases for her iPhone can be used on my kids’ iPod touch, my iPhone, my computer or my AppleTV? In other words, I spend the same on content but now it works on more of my family’s devices.
4. While $1,000 is the cost that is bandied about, I expect pricing to come in at $499 and $599 for two models respectively. Apple’s iPhone is priced at $99, $199 and $299. The $1,000 cost will be subsidized by carriers. Apple wisely has planted the $1,000 price to manage pricing expectations. Even though I may be right on pricing, Apple could sell the units for $799 and $899 and still beat consumer expectations.
5. iWork (Apple’s compatible answer to Microsoft Office) will be released in touch screen format. People can create, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from, or through, the new device. I’ll emphasize that I believe sharing will be using the iWork.com online technology. While you will be able to edit offline, I feel strongly that Apple will leverage the cloud for their mobile office suite. This will be one of the big three announcements at the January 27th event.
6. Last and by far the most important and most revolutionary announcement at the event will be iTunes Cloud. Why? Well, trusted reader, read on!
Apple has built a billion dollar data center in Virginia and I believe it was specifically built to support iTunes Cloud. The cloud is simply a central repository where you can save and retrieve data from anywhere with an Internet connection. So what makes this announcement so special? Here are a few key takeaways:
1. A central repository for your media (music, photos, documents, eBooks, apps, movies, TV shows etc.) means that you can access that content from any desktop or laptop running iTunes, from your iPhone, from AppleTV, from your wifi iPod, or from your Apple tablet. You buy it on one device and it is available to all.
You can access your TV shows on the move. You have your latest eMagazines at your disposal. You can listen to the latest Hannah Montana album that your daughter just purchased 2,000 miles away. Ok maybe not that. But you could.
2. Apple gains the ability to stream content to devices in a centralized, controlled way. Hmmm. Boring. That’s been around for years. I agree. So what is special about streaming to different devices? Well, Apple now has the ability to manage live streaming of news, sports, weather, special events - live TV such as the Golden Globes. All realtime. All live. Cool you say? Why is this so important? Well, it has been poorly executed on the web and you can bet your left tooth that Apple will execute near perfectly. Still yawning? Couple this with point number 3 below and the dots will magically connect.
3. TV subscriptions. Huh? Still yawning? Let’s review.
For an estimated $30 per month, you get the following: The ability to consume as much TV content per month as you wish. It’s stored on the cloud and you can watch it on your computer, your phone, your tablet or your TV when and where you want. You don’t have to remember to record it. You don’t have to schedule dual recording 2 HD shows while you watch a sporting event. It’s available when you want it where you want it. For anyone in your household. (see #1 above).
Sounds great but I can’t get live events. I’m not going to give up my cable subscription until I can watch news, sports and live events, well, live. Enter point #2 above. Apple can now deliver live streaming of events. No more cable company. No more inflexibility between devices. I want to watch that football game but I am attending a conference in Hanover, Germany. No problem. As long as I have a wifi connection I can watch the game on the conference floor. Want to rent a movie? Go for it.
And hey, your wife can watch the same rental while residing a continent or two away. All for the same rental fee.
This is the revolutionary announcement coming January 27th. I predict that the accelerated demise of cable broadcasting has finally arrived. This is a game changer.
Couple iTunes Cloud with a mobile tablet that has a great interface, access to all your media, run over 134,000 apps, and can create, edit and share office apps, let alone power a HD screen or projector and you have the makings for an event that will change the way we use and consume technology for the next few years.
People discredit the iPhone from being the first touch screen phone. They say other phones have better specs. True. But that little device has changed not only the cell and smartphone industries but it has changed the gaming industry as well. It is still the easiest to use and most functional device on the market today. With over 120 million itunes accounts and 30+ million iPhones and iPod Touch devices, Apple will once again have a huge impact on several industries. January 27th can’t come soon enough.
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