Today, Apple released new iPad in 25 more countries, bringing the total to 35 plus one US territory since sales started one week ago. What a week, too.
Sales over the three-day launch weekend reached 3 million units. After initially positive reviews, the knocks started in droves. Consumer Reports' tests found new iPad to be quite hot, as much as 116 degrees F, setting off a web maelstrom of blogs, news stories and social media posts. CR plans to release a more formal, and final, examination as early as today. Other complaints claim the supplied charger is inadequate for new iPad's giant battery. BetaNews hasn't found the tablet to be too hot or to charge too slowly. But tongues will wag.
New iPad is now also available in: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The tablet launched in these 10 plus territory: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdon, United States and the US Virgin Islands.
Distribution is key to success in the global economy, and one of the fundamental reasons iPad has sold so well since its launch nearly two years ago. Apple leveraged logistical operations established for iPod and iPhone. So far, only Amazon and Samsung have shown similar manufacturing and distribution wherewithal to compete with iPad, which is global media tablet leader, followed by Kindle Fire and Galaxy Tab.
BetaNews readers aren't exactly excited about Apple's tablet. According to our poll, which has an unusually low 848 responses, 47.17 percent of you won't buy new iPad. Meanwhile, little more than 31 percent have ordered (and most likely received) the tablet, while another 15.21 percent plan to get it within 3 months.
Based on your comments, and others around the web, new iPad's high resolution display -- 2048 x 1536 -- is the major, appealing feature. Every platform needs a killer app/feature to succeed, and the better-than-HD display is it for new iPad.
DisplayMate president Raymond Soneira finds after exhaustive, comparative testing: "The display on the new iPad decisively beats (blows away) all of the tablets we have previously tested, including the iPad 2...the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet, and the Amazon Kindle Fire at the back of the pack".
But price and size matter, too. ABI Research predicts the media tablet market will dramatically change within five years. Today, Apple is market leader in the two major segments -- tablets priced above $400 and those with displays larger than 9 inches. These "wide-aspect" tablets accounted for 75 percent of tablet volumes last year -- the majority iPad 2. By 2016, sub-$400, 7-to-9-inch tablets will account for 60 percent of tablet market share, ABI predicts. Sales to emerging markets like India and Russia will open the way for lower-cost, smaller tablets -- and that's good for Android.
Frequent BetaNews commenter "woe" sizes up tablet competition by perhaps the most important metric:
1. iPad (ecosystem)
2. Kindle Fire (ecosystem)
3. Everything else (no ecosystem, no one cares)
Amazon and Apple device ecosystems are built in part on curation, offering an end-to-end hardware, software and services stack, which includes sync, apps and digital content.
Only Amazon has done any meaningful Android customization on tablets, making its curated experience similar to Apple's. ASUS has carved out a niche for Eee Pad Transformer, but nothing really reaching beyond Android enthusiasts and gamers. Amazon's continued success is good for driving up Android shipments against iPad, but it's bad broadly. Kindle Fire benefits Amazon's ecosystem and its customers willing to buy into the curated experience but not the expanse of third-party developers or larger Android ecosystem.
Will media tablet competition come down to iPad and Kindle Fire a year from now? I wonder.