New iPad is a Win. Tablets Will NOT Replace PCs!

Apple announced its new third-generation iPad, which packs a new high-resolution Retina display. “Until you see it you can’t understand how amazing it is”, said CEO Tim Cook.

• Features and Prices.  Apple’s new iPad has a 264PPI Retina display, A5X with quad-core graphics, iSight, 5MP camera, 4G LTE.  The new iPad is priced at $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. And $629, $729, and $829 for 4G. It will be available on March 16th in the US and from March 23 for 32 other countries. The iPad 2 will continue to be sold for $399 in a 16GB flavor and $529 for a WiFi + 3G 16GB model.
• Display Technologies.  The display has four times as many pixels as the iPad 2 display. Apple promotes the new display at length on its iPad Features page.  “When you squeeze four times the pixels into the same space, signals can get crossed, colors become distorted and images get fuzzy. To solve this we had to elevate the pixels onto a different plane and separate from the signals.”  Apple is referring to SHA (Super High Aperture) pixel designs. SHA is a method of increasing aperture ratio by applying approximately a 3 µm thick photo-definable acrylic resin layer to planarize the device and increase the vertical gap between the ITO pixel electrodes and signal lines. This reduces unwanted capacitive coupling and enables the electrode to be extended over the gate and data lines without causing cross talk or affecting image quality. SHA technology was pioneered years ago but adoption was slow due to process complexity and costs. However, as the needs for super high resolution displays for mobile applications have increased, SHA has now become a critical technology.  More than 25% of LCDs have adopted SHA technology and that is likely to grow.
• Business Model.  Apple's business model with the iPad is also a success.  Following a strategy that worked with the iPod, Apple begins by releasing a novel, category-defining product. Then, as rivals scramble for some way to respond, Apple continues to put out slightly better versions every year, each time remaining just out of reach of the competition. Meanwhile it lowers its prices and expands its product lineup, making its devices more accessible to a wider audience. Then, to finish, it finds a way to boost its position through network effects and customer lock-in.  As a result, the iPod maintains a whopping 78 percent dominance of the market share in music players.  Apple is making a tidy profit on iPad tablets while competitors sell at a loss in an attempt to compete (Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook).  Apple owns the hardware, software, service, and a gets a cut of all Apps sold through its App Store.  
• Are we in a Post-PC World?  Apple’s Tim Cook spoke about the company’s role in a ‘post-PC’ world.   “We’re talking about a world where the PC is no longer the center of your digital world,” he said, “but is just another device. The devices you use the most are more portable, more personal, and dramatically easier to use than any PC has ever been. The iPad is reinventing personal computing.”  Last year alone, Apple sold some 172 million of these post-PC devices, including the iPad, iPhone and iPod. 62M of them in the final quarter alone. If you count the iPad as a PC, it outsold every other major manufacturer last quarter with 15.4M units.
• Will Tablets/iPads Replace PC's? - Many are saying that the PC will die and tablets will rein supreme.  This would be a mistake.  PCs are the ubiquitous power work station for business settings and power home use.  Will tablets complement them?  Absolutely.  Even during recent conversations with my technoid friends, it was clear that you still need a PC and that the iPad is a terrific supplemental mobile device that complements your PC.  More and more you will find that the PC sits at the heart as your server system for major processing, storage, and more.  Will there come a time when the tablets will be powerful enough to replace PCs?  Possibly.  At some point, if we feel comfortable enough, we may use the network cloud as our server and storage.  But the input methods and adjunct device for tablets would need to be expanded.   
• Flawed Rationale.  Tablets require expensive prefab design components and wholesale replacement whenever hardware upgrades or maintenance is needed. Locking integrated PC-like components into a tight tablet-like case forces you into custom integrated circuit boards that require wholesale replacement when upgrades or repair is needed. This is a design promoted by manufacturers to increase profits.  
• Advantages of Flexible Ubiquitous PC.  For most of us, it is better to have the advantage that a ubiquitous flexible PC tower provides. Here you can select from among the BEST components at competitive prices for repair, upgrade, replacement, or even to build the best system from scratch. Yes you need to learn a little more about the technology -- but its worth it!   Because (1) you benefit from such learnings in our increasingly high-tech hyper-connected world, and (2) it saves you money!  You can easily upgrade and add new computer capabilities as technology evolves.   We built my system from scratch, researching the best components, buying from NewEgg, ASUS motherboard, Intel Core Duo, Western Digital drives, high reliability, WIFI, and dual O/S booting with vmware. Much more powerful server-like features... at a cheaper cost than a Dell.

Bottom line.  Choose the ubiquitous flexible PC tower as your powerhouse system. There is a place for the miniaturization integration technology of tablets, laptops, and iPhones for mobility computing, but not as your main system.  (Sources:  Apple, Slate, CNET, and more)