Before its announcement, the iPad 2 was thought to ‘only’ be a minor update to the first generation iPad. But when Steve Jobs unfolded the device’s specifications during his keynote last Wednesday, the entire tablet community quickly realized that the device was by far one of the, if not the most powerful tablet ever built.
Best of all, despite a major boost in term of performance, the device retained its legendary battery life and its price points.
While most folks in the market for a new tablet are ecstatic, and cannot wait until next week to start playing with the device, the competition is everything but excited about the launch of the iPad 2, and is scrambling to adjust upcoming tablets specifications and/or prices, to better match Apple’s offering.
For instance, a Samsung representative recently admitted that the iPad 2 specifications are so advanced that his company is now forced to re-engineer several components of its next generation Galaxy Tab, now considered “inadequate.” In other words, Apple prompted its rivals to go back to the drawing board, as competing tablets such as the Galaxy Tab – current and upcoming versions – simply cannot compete with the new iPad, from design to specifications.
But the issue goes beyond hardware considerations, as the price of the iPad 2 will be extremely hard to beat. Samsung mentioned that it will have to reconsider the pricing of its next generation Galaxy Tab, now expected to be more in line with Apple’s. Motorola ‘coincidentally’ lowered the price of the WiFi-only Xoom the day after the iPad 2 announcement, as the Xoom can now be purchased for $539, instead of the original MSRP of $599.
Matching Apple’s pricing might eventually prove to be an ill-fated move though, as thanks to impressive sales figures, Apple can afford to keep the iPad 2 prices low, while competitors such as Motorola and Samsung do not currently sell enough tablet to enjoy the lower production costs enjoyed by Apple.
