The Middle
So, the technology world is abuzz about an unconfirmed Apple event scheduled (supposedly) for January 26. During this event, it is expected that Apple will reveal the mythical tablet computer the world has expected them to build for years.
I, for one, hope they do not.
I’m not going to get in to hypothetical discussions about hardware that hasn’t been announced. There’s no point to that. However, I will examine Apple’s current hardware and price points, and share my opinions about a potential new product that might fill a spot in what I like to call “the middle”.
“The middle” is the price point between the high end and the low end. Apple would probably argue that the middle of their product map currently is the 13″ Macbook Pro. At $1299/$1599, it very well may be the absolute middle, price wise. But operating on the assumption that we are talking about consumer devices, I think it is safe to remove the Mac Pro from the equation (at $2500), and look at the high end consumer device being a $1700-$2000 iMac. The low end of Apple’s consumer offerings are their iPod Touch models. That puts “the middle” at a price point of $700 – $1000.
And here’s where things get sticky.
That price point is currently occupied by the polycarbonate Macbook. While it retails for $999, Education customers can get the white plastic Mac for $899, and in some schools, a bit lower.
Can Apple really introduce what is essentially a larger iPod touch, at a price point that is at or near a Macbook Pro? Is there an audience for such a device? Obviously, it would have to have a few more features than an iPod Touch. A web cam would be a nice addition. Being a somewhat mobile device, one could also imagine that it would have 3G capability (of course, with the wedding to a wireless provider). Most of the speculation though hinges on what OS it would run – Mac OS X, or OS X Touch. Being a tablet, it is probably safe to assume it would use the latter. OS X Touch was built for touch screen devices. And while that gets Apple a tablet computer with over 100,000 apps, it also makes for a pricey machine with reduced functionality.
I’m sure Apple would love to move more of their user base off of Mac OS X and on to OS X Touch devices. After all, Apple controls the experience of OS X Touch to a higher degree than they do with Mac OS X. And here is where my enthusiasm for the Apple tablet dies.
Simply put, everything I dislike about the iPhone is wrapped up in the control Apple exerts on approving 3rd party applications. When Apple created the iPhone application approval process, the argument for exerting total control over the approval process was pitched as a necessary evil, because a rogue 3rd party app could “bring down an entire phone network1“. A tablet device that doesn’t offer telephony features has no chance of causing this, but yet I doubt Apple will change the App Store for one OS X Touch device.
Then there’s the cannibalization question. Would a $700-$1000 tablet device cannibalize sales of the Macbook? In this economy, I would have to give that question a resounding yes. However, if you are Apple, would you rather sell a $1000 device like the Macbook, or a $800 device like the tablet, where you earn 30% off of every app sold for it? Granted, it takes a lot of app sales to bridge that $200 difference, but I would bet in Apple’s eyes, it’s a wash. The tablet would give them greater control over the entire user experience, right down to the app level, and I’m sure to Apple, this is very appealing.
But for me as a user, it is not.
I’ll reserve judgement, of course, until I see if this mythical device does anything I couldn’t do with a Macbook (apart from navigate it with my fingers touching the glass). Apple obviously has a way of making ordinary products seem extraordinary, so anything is possible.
But count me as one of the people who aren’t excited at the prospects of a $1000 OS X Touch device occupying Apple’s product line up.
1: OK, Jobs made the comments “You don’t want your phone to be an open platform. You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.” back in 2007 before the App Store. But you see where I’m coming from.
Category: Opinion
