Assignment: For this case study, review the current state of tablet and mobile devices. Write a report about the major players in the industry, and make a prediction on what devices, operating systems, and file formats will be dominating the industry in the next 10 years.
The rest of the assignment is after the jump break.
The rest of the assignment is after the jump break.
Mobile Devices
For mobile devices, iPhone and Android phones are the top players. The iPhone is the most likely to still be around for years in the future. Apple owns the hardware and software for their phones. As long as Apple keeps improving their own product and making the updated operating systems compatible with older models of their phones, people will not feel their phones are obsolete.
This is a big reason why Android users get new Android phones so often. Some Android phones do not have the capability to update to the newest operating system software. Several are even between one and three versions of the android operating system behind when they are released. The Motorola Cliq XT, Motorola Backflip, and the Samsung Behold II were all released two versions behind, never getting an update to a current version of Android.
Android phones updates depend on both the carrier and the manufacturer. Google is hoping to fix the issue of phones being obsolete within a year of release with the Android Update Alliance. Google has made an agreement with several manufacturers (Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony Ericsson, Motorola) and carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone). Google, the carriers, and the manufacturers have agreed to update phones for 18 months after release. If this becomes an official contract, Android phones will continue to release best-selling phones for years to come.
Something else to take into account is which carriers have the best data packages. Sense almost all Android phones require some data package, potential buyers may choose to switch carriers depending on who offers unlimited data plans.
Tablets
The Apple iPad is always safe in the tablet market. It is almost as if iPad is synonymous with tablet. Most average consumers only associate tablets with the iPad. However, those who take the time to look into the world of Android tablets, will find several on the market, including the Samsung Galaxy, Asus Transformer, Amazon Kindle Fire, Motorola Zoom, and the HTC Flier.
Samsung is probably Apple’s biggest competitor. Among the best-selling is the Samsung Galaxy, which was one of the first on the market. The Galaxy has been the target of a large portion of Apple’s lawsuits, which could hurt their business if they lose the rights to use any of the features that Apple is claiming violates their patents.
On the recreational tablet side, Gamestop plans to start selling a select few tablets (Acer Iconia Tab A100, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1) based on their gaming capabilities. On the other hand, there is also the business-friendly Blackberry Playbook, which instead of gaming capabilities, boast top notch Powerpoint viewing and security, helpful for keeping data secure.
HP’s Web OS Touchpad looked like sales were decreasing, and HP decided to discontinue the Touchpad. They consequently dropped the price to $100, less than one fourth of the original cost, and sales increased greatly. The day this price drop occurred, most small retailers and almost all major online retailers sold out within ours. As of December 28, 2011, HP announced that they had officially gotten rid of every Touchpad in their inventory.
So now that the Touchpad is out of the spotlight, it’s up to other manufacturers to come up with a tablet that sells as well as these did. Unfortunately, most manufacturers are not willing to sell their product for this cheap, and if they are, the quality is usually lower.
This is true in the case of the Aakash tablet. This table was designed to be used in the Indian educational system. Similar to the “One Laptop Per Child” project by LeapFrog, the Aakash is cheaply made and government subsidized with the intention of improving impoverished children’s education. At only $35 subsidized/$60 retail, the operating system is out of date and the response to touch does lag. However, this could be the start of a trend, and eventually it could be a standard for all schools to have tablets for their students, whether they are the Aakash, or some top of the line tablet that has yet to be created.
One potential competitor for Apple is the Fusion Garage Grid10. This is only the company’s second tablet (the first was the unsuccessful JooJoo), but they seem to have completely rethought the way a person interacts with a tablet, right down to the innovative volume controls. The one thing that sets this above the other non-Android or Apple tablets is that the Grid operating system is Android based, and has access to the Amazon Appstore. Appstore access is the key to success for all tablets that are not the iPad. Thousands of apps means thousands of potential uses for the tablet. When there are endless possibilities, people are more likely to find something that draws them to buy a tablet, and a lot less likely to get bored with what they already have or keep buying updated models of what they have.
Conclusion
People always know that Apple products are of high quality. However, Android products can be hit or miss, and people have to do some research to learn which phone or tablet is the most cost effective, highest quality, and has the best reviews. As long as nothing changes for the worse, Apple mobile devices and tablets will still be going strong years in the future, as will Android powered products. Android powered products would probably sell even better if they were advertised better and reviewed more. If the Grid10 tablet lives up to its hype, with its innovative new operating system and access to the Appstore, it could prove to be a major player. It’s hard to say which devices, operating systems, and file formats will dominate the industry ten years down the road because new devices and operating systems are continuously being developed, and 10 years down the road, new file formats may need to be created to support what these devices can do. From what we can see now, though, the standard file formats are still the most common (.jpg, .mp3, .mp4, .pdf), and these standards have remained fairly consistent over the last few years. With new updates and new models always being released, file formats are the one thing that do not seem to be changing much.
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