I'm surprised that they sold half as many iPads as iPhones. I've read several predictions that the tablet thing would turn out to be a fad but it seems to have legs.
I think (and have thought since the iPad launch) that the tablet market will be bigger than PCs. They will take over roughly 90% of the laptop market (leaving behind the graphic designers and vintage geeks), and also add a whole class of users who don't currently have a computer of any kind, at least doubling the size of the "big screen computer" market.
It's a fascinating example of displacement at work. Apple was never going to get the PC world to start buying Mac laptops. So they're just going to displace that entire market with a new product category. Classic strategy from the Innovator's Dilemma playbook.
Average people have an incredible mental block against switching from PCs to Macs. I'm speculating here, but it seems to me like what market share they've acquired for the Mac in the last decade has come largely at the margins - geeks, artists, students, etc. For the average person, their computer is still a scary, complex, bewildering machine somewhat akin to an automobile that can only be comprehended by experts. They would no sooner switch to a Mac than trade in their Camry for a Lotus.
The iPad is a psychic do-over. By creating a new category firmly embedded in consumer electronics rather than computing they can displace the computer mindset as well as the PC as a physical product.
I still think text entry on tablets is a pretty big problem. I often find myself swapping out my iPad for my laptop when browsing because I wan't to add a comment to a thread somewhere or quickly copy & paste something to email to a friend. I'm 100x faster on a real keyboard. I also much prefer the quick multi-context browsing experience of a real multi-tabbed browser to anything available on the iPad, which for me is increasingly relegated to e-reader status. I may very well turn out to be in the minority though.
But as much as I disagree with a lot of Apple's recent business practices I do have to give them credit for having an uncanny knack for placing the right bets on new technology.
Now with $76bn cash/cash-like to hand. It'd be fun to see some big acquisitions but I wouldn't bet on it.. Perhaps a few million into the MacRuby project? ;-)
Sure, Apple has more than enough to acquire many small companies but they don’t even have to use their cash for that. It’s pretty much impossible (especially with the revenue and profit Apple is seeing) to chip away those billions with small acquisitions, no matter the number.
Apple would have to spend that money on a huge acquisition. Huge. And most of those seem to fail. Also, all the interesting targets I can think of (e.g. carriers) don’t seem like a particularly good match for Apple for various reason (regulatory, politically, competitively).
I'd think if Apple were to make an acquisition it would very likely be not a supplementary product (as Google likes to make) but more likely a significant piece of their manufacturing and supply chain. Especially considering their ongoing quarrels with Samsung (who's a major supplier of chipsets).
Think about this, what position would Apple be in if they purchased ARM? (after some research it would be more of a buyback)
What sorts of acquisitions do you think Apple would benefit from? My first thoughts are acquisitions at the lowest level and the highest level: chip engineering/manufacturing, and app or web service developers or designers. They're probably full up on the latter.
