Mohan- Writing Sample 1

The purpose of this assignment was to write a memo that gathered competitive intelligence on the iPad and how it fares against major competitors in the marketplace. Some of the topics that could be included in the memo were:

1. Sales and success results to date of the iPad.

2. What the iPad offers, its features – what makes it so attractive to customers. 3. Competitive strengths and weaknesses of the iPad.

4. Features and price for any competitors, current or past. Highlight other competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, and how they have fared in the marketplace.

5. How and where is the iPad sold. 6. Price and price history, and predictions for future pricing.

7. Any possible info on the market for iPads -- is there any distinctive part of the population that is especially attracted to it, e.g college students, young professionals, old people.

Mohan- Writing Sample 1

February 20, 2013

MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Akerson FROM: Maureen Mohan SUBJECT: Analysis of the iPad

Tablet users can do around 80% of their work on a tablet, making them more important and prevalent than ever before. However, tablets do not need to be replaced every 12-24 months like cell phones, and tablets purchased now will still be functional in three years. The competition for what tablet will be in a consumers hands for the next three years is increasing, there are many tablets from a variety of manufacturers available and it is unclear if a new “standard” tablet will appear. So far Apple has been dominating the market and as of Q4 2012, they made up 43.6% of the tablet market selling 23 million tablets (iPad and iPad mini). 91% of tablet web traffic was generated by iPads and 94% of Fortune 500 companies use iPad in an official capacity. A tablet marketshare breakdown for the top 5 tablets can be seen in the table below.

Mohan- Writing Sample 1

The table shows that there is a lot of ground to be made up for tablets looking to compete with Apple and Apple has started to complete with itself with the iPad and the iPad Mini. Reuters reports that Sharp, the maker of Apple tablet screens, cut back production on the iPad sized screens in Q4 which suggests that the iPad Mini may have cannibalized the iPad. The iPad Mini is the most competitive Apple tablet on the market. The three main tablets in competition with each other are the iPad Mini, the Kindle Fire HD, and the Nexus 7 (Samsung considers some of its smartphones in the marketshare and is not used for this analysis). The iPad Mini is lighter and thinner than the other two but with a lower screen resolution. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD both have a front-facing camera but are not in HD and they do not have a rear camera, the iPad Mini has a rear camera and a front camera capable of HD quality. The apps available for all three make a big difference to many users, the iPad Mini supports 275,000 apps in the Apple app store while the Nexus 7 has a few thousand tablet apps and the Kindle Fire HD offers its own app store with basic productivity and game apps; this is probably Amazon’s biggest weakness. The iPad can be fully integrated with iTunes and other Apple products, the Kindle Fire is fully integrated with Amazon Prime accounts and the Nexus 7 integrates with Google accounts much like Apple. Apple and Amazon offer the largest content selection for TV shows, books and music, leaving Nexus behind in that aspect. In regards to size and price, the iPad has the most features on a 7.9-inch (Mini) or 9.7-inch screen, but is generally the highest priced of the three at $329.00 -$659.00. The iPad Mini was introduced in an attempt to compete with the Kindle Fire, which at the time was a 7 inch screen, but the price tag still placed it above the Fire. Now Amazon offers a Fire HD in a 7-inch screen, 8.9-inch screen and a 8.9-inch screen with 4G LTE priced at $199, $299 and $499 respectively. The variety of sizes and prices has allowed Amazon to out-option the iPad line in terms of both price and size selections. The Nexus has a 7-inch priced from $199.00- $299.00 and 10-inch screen priced from $399.00-$499.00. Over the past couple years many other companies have tried to compete with the iPad, Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7, the most notable of which are the Barnes & Noble Nook HD and the Windows Surface. The Nook HD has lost ground in the tablet battle because it is competing with Amazon as a more functional e-reader and a lite tablet, while Amazon is looking to compete with the iPad as a fully functional tablet. Consumers who are looking for an e-reader with features will most likely go with a Nook but otherwise will go with a different option. The Windows Surface is the largest and most expensive at 10.6 inches and $899.00 makes the surface more competitive with laptops as opposed to any of the tablets available. While Windows has pushed its functionality as a tablet and that it comes with a handy keyboard, it has also had to contend with the lack of apps available in the Windows Apps store. Recently Windows has partnered with BlueStacks App Player to bring the 700,000+ apps available for Androids to the Windows Surface. This may help the Surface but it will still need to compete with the size and pricing of other tablets.

Mohan- Writing Sample 1

All of these options are available either online or in big box stores such as Target, Walmart or Best Buy and in the end, the deciding factor for many people choosing a tablet is their purpose for purchasing (i.e. entertainment, productivity, something for their kids) and whether they are Apple product users, Amazon Prime users or Google users. The Fire HD appeals to non-tech savvy people who are interested in e-reading and video streaming, the Nexus 7 primarily appeals to the tech-savvy or computer geeks who prefer Google Play apps because they are open-source and offer more for the hands-on tech geek. The iPad Mini is the best-designed, most portable and has good camera quality and features with the largest app library and appeals to Apple users and a broad audience, including professionals and students looking for entertainment and productivity tools.