AppleInsider brings to light a recent Goldman Sachs report that suggests the iPad, like the iPhone, will dominate its corresponding market with a well curated App ecosystem, vibrant developer community, and technological superiority in a number of areas.
Sachs points out that despite having only 3% of the world’s mobile phones in the market, Apple has managed to rake in the most profit (and continues to do so) despite the recent recession which cut competitor’s profits in half. Apple could manage to nearly double the profits of what RIM, Motorola, Nokia, HTC, and Sony Ericson generated, combined by the end of 2011.
Apple’s iPad could have the same effect on the notebook market as the iPhone has on the mobile market.
… iPad offers a strong market for software that attracts consumers while also creating a vibrant market for developers, the report notes. That’s something no other smartphone platform has done well, not even Google’s Android Market, where … there’s no real oversight governing quality, malware or production values, and there’s not even a paid software business model outside of a few countries.
… the “instant on” functionality and all day battery life of iPad … make it more attractive to businesses than notebooks. “This is in sharp contrast to existing PCs,” Goldman wrote, “which typically take 15-60 seconds to resume from a standby or sleep state.”
When the firm asked 90 hedge fund chief technology officers about their plans to replace notebooks with tablets, nearly a third replied that they expected to ditch more than 25% of their notebooks over the next two years and adopt tablets…
Microsoft, Intel, and Micron are reported to be the biggest losers.
The research note also identified a series of companies aversely affected by the boom in tablets currently being eaten up by Apple’s iPad. First on the list is Microsoft, “given the impact of lost Windows sales and its lack of a competitive tablet response.” Intel and AMD are also cited as losing out as ARM-based mobile devices replace conventional x86 PC-based notebooks and netbooks.
Other losers in the tablet market included RAM maker Micron (as tablets require less memory) …
The iPad is the definitive mobile computer. Some regard it as a toy, but as owners will discover, it’s a can do-it-all well-oiled machine that can be used for entertainment, production, business, and provides customers with a polished user interface and mobile experience that most netbooks can’t deliver with standard desktop operating systems. PC makers should take a close look at what makes the iPad popular, because it’s not just the brand: it’s the experience delivered that makes it so attractive. And Goldman thinks that this device will overtake a portion of the PC market just like the iPhone has captivated the mobile market. I would agree.
[via AppleInsider]
