Tablet Wars

 

By the end of 2012 it’s predicted 4 in 10 Aussie households will have a tablet device*. With those kinds of stats, it’s easy to forget that at the start of 2010 the tablet didn’t even exist. In 2½ short years the tablet continues to rapidly re-define the way we receive and consume media and entertainment – both on the go and in the home.

Last week things got even more interesting in the tablet space with the highly anticipated launch of two new devices – the Windows Surface tablet and Apple’s new Mini iPad. (Cheekily, Apple also launched a new version of the existing iPad, but we’ll save that discussion for another day).

Regardless of the short term impact, most pundits agree that we'll look back on last week as a monumental moment in terms of impact on the digital future. With that in mind, it’s worth spending a bit of time on each.

Windows Surface tablet

 

The launch of this device heralds Microsoft’s first foray into the hardware space. Previously content to deliver software and leave hardware development to others, Microsoft has followed Apple’s lead in an effort to own the end-to-end user experience. On the surface (pardon the pun) it appears to be a worthy competitor to iPad. Similar in dimensions to the iPad, the Surface tablet is slightly wider and thinner, to provide a better movie viewing experience. It comes with a cover on the higher end models, similar to the iPad magnetic cover, that doubles as a keypad, and has a useful stand.

The most noteworthy news however is that it comes with the all-new Windows 8 operating system.

Gone is the familiar ‘Desktop’ environment replaced by a highly intuitive and fluid gesture driven home screen. The screen is populated by dynamic live tiles that bring to life the users’ interests, apps and programs. Similar to content aggregator apps such as Flipboard, the home screen pulls in the users’ social feeds, favourite sites, apps and programs, essentially meaning the social and content world is coming to them.

The layout is highly engaging and easy to use and content appears much visually richer in this new environment. This is the biggest nod to the future and shows that the way we will all be interacting and engaging with our content - whether it be social, news, email, sports, entertainment etc – is reaching a tipping point.

Oh, and of course it’s worth mentioning that unlike the iPad, the Surface comes with Microsoft Office.  Reading the reviews it seems there is a consensus that there are some real positives and some things Microsoft need to sort out, but once they do they’ll have a game changer on their hands. Particularly when you consider the potential Windows audience - since the launch of Windows 7 in 2009 there have been approximately 500M Windows 7 licenses sold vs 247M Apple IOS licenses.

It is now available from the Microsoft online store from $559 (32Gb) to $789 (64Gb).

Find out more at http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-AU/surface-with-windows-rt/home or check out the review below by Engadget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmxqm8Qii-E

Learnings: A whole new range of ad types have and are being created allowing us to reach users within this environment however ads will effectively look like the content it sits next to. There will also be greater possibility to develop Custom ads.  
As advertisers, we are going to have to ensure our content is contextually  relevant, rich and engaging in order to get noticed as we’ll be appearing next to content that has been curated by and for the user based on their personal preferences,  interests, and behaviours. We’ll also need a lot of it as ‘bite-sized’ consumption will continue to rise and deliver the full experience, including transacting, within that environment – gone are the days of trying to get people to click back through to our site. We need to ‘seal the deal’ while we’ve got their attention.

iPad Mini

 

Launched last week, this new tablet from Apple is everything the name suggests, a mini version of the iPad, a 7-inch tablet that sits between the iPhone and iPad in size. It seems Apple themselves aren’t 100% certain who’ll use the iPad mini, launching the device perhaps to take on competitors such as the Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus, and make it clear that they own the complete tablet space.

Apple claims it sits comfortably in one hand therefore making it easier to use. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, meaning it can hold more content than its competitors who have a 4:3 aspect. It comes without the Retina display of the latest iPad and has a slightly less powerful processor.   

It will arrive in Australia on November 2^nd and come in at $369, significantly higher than its competitors. It’s yet to be seen who the audience for this new tablet will be, although perhaps kids are the perfect audience. It's cheaper than the iPad, easier for them to handle, and the lower res screen and slower performance are likely to be less of an issue. Time will tell but it appears to be another well designed and built device from Apple.

Find our more at http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/overview/ or check out the review below.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL0UlqpfuQc

Learnings: Of most interest will be how mini iPad is taken up, by whom, and the role it plays in their armoury of devices. In a relatively short space of time we’ve seen the smartphone, iPad, and laptop carve out their own niche with consumers in terms of the functions they use them for and the types of content that are consumed across each. Will the iPad mini create a fourth niche? And will it become another must have piece in the Apple armoury, or will users chose between it and the iPad? As an avid Apple man, I know I want one!

* Based on various sources where predictions vary from 25-45% take up by end of 2012.