The masses of Americans who have been busy playing with their iPad 2s may not have noticed, but BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion is set to release its PlayBook on April 19. The device is currently available for preorder, and tech pundits througout the U.S. began critiquing it earlier this week.
While most tech experts question the Playbook's lack of native email and BlackBerry's general dearth of applications – especially in comparison to tablets running Apple's iOS and Android's Honeycomb – some believe it will be a revelation within enterprise IT. Not surprisingly, RIM CEO Jim Balsillie responded to complaints with a number of rebuttals regarding the device – namely, the ability to sync BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook. Users can essentially operate both devices seamlessly without worrying about email support or reading, archiving or sending the same messages twices.
Consumers are still likely to invest in the iPad, but many have researched the PlayBook this week in preparation for its release. “BlackBerry PlayBook” ranked as one of the most frequently searched topics on both Twitter and Google Realtime throughout the week.
Balsillie is extremely confident in RIM's ability to gain a substantial market share with the PlayBook. However, it's proven to be almost impossible for any company to make any marked gains on Apple.
The iPad 2's share will only continue its growth in the final three quarters of 2011, based on research from RBC Capital Markets. The firm found consumer demand for the second generation Apple tablet is 40 percent greater than initial interest for its predecessor last year. Searches for “iPad 2” have maintained a steady pace since its release in early March.
RBC polled 2,000 American adults for its study. Twenty-eight percent noted they were “very likely or somewhat likely” to purchase the device. The same survey conducted following the release of the original iPad found just 20 percent of respondents planned to add the device to their technology arsenals. The availability of two cameras appears to be a major motivation for new users – especially those looking to use the iPad for videoconferencing at work or just catching up with friends and family.
The AT&T-Verizon battle has manifested itself in the iPad race as well. According to RBC, 46 percent of potential iPad users plan to buy Verizon plans, and 30 percent expect to use AT&T.
Whether they choose Verizon or AT&T, people are adopting tablets at a record pace – and the numbers aren't slowing. According to market research firm Gartner, the sale of tablets has negatively impacted the growth of the PC sales. Prior to the first quarter, Gartner expected PC sales to grow 3 percent compared to the same three-month period in 2010. However, the massive sales of tablets, namely the iPad, limited PC shipments. In fact, the market shrank 1.1 percent during the quarter, which was the first year-on-year decline in six quarters for the PC market.
Absent from the iPad and iPhone conversation is mobile service provider Sprint, which has a difficult couple months. Aside from being left out of the Apple mobility market, the company, which hoped to partner with T-Mobile earlier this year, has announced minimal new products. In fact, its primary saving grace at the moment is its unlimited everything plan for smartphones. However, the company announced a new app payment option for users that may strengthen Sprint's appeal. Rather than pay for apps with credit cards, users can now add the expense to their Sprint account. This will likely boost app sales to Sprint customers due to the convenience.
Beyond mobility, gaming console and software developers made a number of advancements this week. The most frequently discussed was Microsoft Kinect support for movie and video streaming service Netflix. Using Kinect's motion sensor technology, users can stop, start and pause streaming video with a simple flick of the wrist. According to Xbox Live general manager Pete Thompson, the pairing of Netflix and Kinect made sense for both companies due to the widespread use of Netflix on Xbox Live. As users look for ways to integrate their technology use further, “Netflix Kinect” quickly became a popular search term this week and remained among one of the most frequently discussed technology topics on Google Realtime.
When the PlayBook is released to customers on Monday, the tech world will have its first real view of the potential for competition between Apple and other tablet developers. Based on the reviews from pundits and the growing popularity of the iPad, don't expect too much.
