‘Why Should Somebody Buy This Instead of an iPad?’

Harry McCracken:

As a lover of competition, though, I’m itching to see other tablets arrive that deserve to do well, too. So that question — “Why would somebody buy this instead of an iPad?” — is stuck in my head. I’ve been trying to figure out how an Apple rival can come up with a tablet that pretty much answers that question for itself. And I’ve come up with thirteen ways it could happen.

Great analysis. Nothing particularly original, but a comprehensive look at the entire iPad competitive landscape. Lay it all out like McCracken has and you see just how strong a position the iPad is in.

One quibble, though:

But there are people who take their Flash so seriously that they won’t buy a tablet that doesn’t support it.

Really? Who? I think the people who are Flash-die-hards aren’t buying tablets, period. They’re sticking with their Windows PC laptops.

★ Monday, 20 June 2011