惠普：TouchPad將超越iPad和Android平板電腦
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????惠普(Hewlett-Packard)一位高管日前表示，公司即將推出的TouchPad平板電腦將擊敗iPad，成為市場(chǎng)上“冠軍中的冠軍”。這項(xiàng)大膽的宣稱已不僅僅是自我吹捧。如此具體的比較可能會(huì)讓惠普聲譽(yù)受損，即便惠普的平板電腦確實(shí)優(yōu)于iPad，但如果銷售不如iPad的話——這是很可能出現(xiàn)的情況，畢竟目前蘋果(Apple)的iPad市場(chǎng)份額超過80%。 ????據(jù)《每日電訊報(bào)》(The Telegraph)上周末報(bào)道，惠普歐洲區(qū)負(fù)責(zé)人艾瑞克?卡多在戛納的一次新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上宣稱，“在平板電腦世界里，我們將超越第一名。”第一名顯然是指iPad。但基于惠普WebOS操作系統(tǒng)的TouchPad同時(shí)還必須擊敗強(qiáng)勁的第二名——谷歌(Google)的Android操作系統(tǒng)；和iPad一樣，Android一經(jīng)上市也大受歡迎。目前，這兩個(gè)平臺(tái)都有數(shù)千位軟件開發(fā)者為其編寫應(yīng)用程序。相比之下，WebOS的簽約開發(fā)者仍屈指可數(shù)。惠普自稱其優(yōu)勢(shì)在于許多為Web編寫的應(yīng)用程序只需略做修改，就可以在WebOS上運(yùn)行。 ????沒錯(cuò)，但即便只是略作修改，也必須要讓開發(fā)者相信花這些時(shí)間是值得的。如果研究機(jī)構(gòu)高德納公司（Gartner Group）的預(yù)言者值得信賴，那么惠普即使是要成為平板電腦市場(chǎng)上的重要一員，希望也很小，更別提趕超大踏步前進(jìn)的蘋果了。高德納認(rèn)為TouchPad的市場(chǎng)份額永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)超過4%。正如TechCrunch的馬特?伯恩斯寫道，“惠普生產(chǎn)的硬件不賴。結(jié)實(shí)，可靠，制作精良。但這還不夠。”事實(shí)可能最終證明WebOS的出現(xiàn)太晚了。 ????TouchPad將于今夏上市，據(jù)報(bào)道32G版售價(jià)599美元。這樣的價(jià)格定位可能說明惠普并不打算在消費(fèi)者購(gòu)買決策時(shí)考慮的第一個(gè)數(shù)據(jù)(即價(jià)格)上展開競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。 |
????A Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) executive said the company's forthcoming TouchPad tablet computer will be the "number one plus" product on the market, besting the iPad. It's a bold claim, one that goes beyond mere puffery. By being so explicit, the company risks some reputational damage even if the tablet really is better than the iPad, but doesn't sell as well -- the most likely scenario, given that the Apple (AAPL) iPad now owns more than 80% of the market. ????The Telegraph reported over the weekend that Eric Cador, HP's European chief, made the claims during a press conference in Cannes. "In the tablet world we're going to become better than number one." That's clearly a reference to the iPad. But the TouchPad, based on the company's WebOS operating system, will also have to beat a strong No. 2 -- Google's (GOOG) Android OS, which, like the iPad itelf, has a huge head start. Thousand of app developers are writing for both platforms. Only a handful have signed on with WebOS so far. HP says it has an advantage there -- many applications written for the Web need be rejiggered only slightly to work on WebOS. ????True, but even a little rejiggering must be viewed by developers as a worthwhile use of their time. If the prognosticators at the research outfit Gartner Group are to be believed, HP has little hope of even becoming a major player in the tablet market, much less of leapfrogging Apple. The firm says the TouchPad will never grow past a 4% market share. As TechCrunch's Matt Burns writes, "HP doesn't make bad hardware. It will likely be solid, reliable and well built. That's not good enough, though." WebOS might prove to be, if not too little, simply too late. ????The TouchPad will debut this summer, with the 32GB version selling for a reported $599. That's already a sign that HP is probably choosing not to compete on the one figure that all consumers immediately think of when buying, well, anything: price. |
