Comments on: Apple and Intel – Birds and stones

By: All shook up at Apple » Real Box Score

All shook up at Apple » Real Box Score — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:57:38 +0000

[…] I believe that the choice Apple execs have been making their minds on is closer to whether to merge iOS and OSX for the next paradigm of computing than whether the visual style of notes app should mimick real […]

By: windsorr

windsorr — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 07:33:48 +0000

totally agree…I am hopeful but getting the consumers to swallow it is another kettle of fish

By: David

David — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:04:35 +0000

The vision of a no compromise device is obvious. But there are still a lot of IF’s that have yet to be resolved on an executed product. My point is whether Windows 8 can achieve this is not in the history books yet.

By: windsorr

windsorr — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:18:22 +0000

The trade off that the device makes is entorely down to the limitations of Windows RT in its current form. There is scope as ARM comes up the performance curve for Windows RT to be exactly the same as Windows 8 on Intel. Then there is no compromise. As long as the Surface Pro and like devices are not heavy, ugly and overpriced bricks then the segment can fly

By: David Knepprath

David Knepprath — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:38:17 +0000

“Windows 8 looks to have achieved that which Apple has not: a hybrid tablet / laptop that functions without compromise in either orientation.”

What product are you referring to? I cringed when I read this line because every review I have read seems to imply their is indeed plenty of compromise. Most point hopefully to Surface Pro for a full Windows 8 experience, but this will come at even more tradeoff to the tablet side of the equation (weight, battery, cost).

By: windsorr

windsorr — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:02:07 +0000

Google is indeed seems to be killing its partners both in tablets and in phones by hanging onto Motorola. Breaking Wintel offers them the opportunity to move beyond the reaches of Google and Intel although they will still be slaves to Microsoft…better one slave master than two I suppose

By: windsorr

windsorr — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 09:59:57 +0000

Indeed. As a result I think Apple is toying with the idea and getting porepared just in case Windows 8 /hybrdi devices are a runaway success and it needs to do something quick.

By: tatilsever

tatilsever — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 08:21:28 +0000

“Second, as a device maker you get to break the WinTel stranglehold that has killed your margins for the last 15 years.”

MS and Intel may have eaten most of the margins, but at least they were not actively trying to drive hardware people out of business. Google is breaking the back of its hardware partners by pricing its flagship Nexus 7 at $200, below the level Asus was targeting in markets where Google is not selling them. After licensing, transportation, marketing, customer support, warranty claims and retailing costs, there is not any money left for OEMs in Android tablets. This stage of rock bottom prices are not supposed to happen before a product category becomes a mature market. Google and Amazon has accelerated this process in a destructive game of chicken, where the most popular device means the biggest financial hit. Google has its advertising cash cow to finance this endeavor and Amazon shareholders are apparently fine with being part of a non-profit organization, but OEMs do not have such luxury. I suspect they are reminiscing about the good old days of Wintel monopoly, rather than celebrating its demise.

By: Juha-Pekka Sipponen

Juha-Pekka Sipponen — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 07:29:51 +0000

Good stuff. Making all this even harder, it will be quite hard to get conclusive evidence whether the dual functionality is the next dominant design. The chasm between those who’ll try anything shiny and the mass market who just want to get day-to-day computing done is big. In my opinion, the hybrid isn’t ergonomically as obvious of a concept for creation-oriented devices like replacing the physical button with the virtual buttons was for playback-oriented devices. Long lead times + unreliable consumer data – that highlights even more your point about the strategic and opinionated nature of this decision (or non-decision.)