Apple 'less innovative' at laptops than Lenovo
But beats the pants off rivals when it comes to selling them
Asus and Lenovo both offer more innovative Ultrabook-style laptops than Apple, though the Mac maker has the pair of them licked when it comes to implementing that innovation.
So says market watcher ABI Research, which reckons Apple “outscores its rivals significantly in implementation” if not in innovation. For proof, look no further than the MacBook Air’s “dominant market share”.
According to the research firm, even if Apple’s skinny laptops are not the most ground-breaking, the company “will ship almost three times as many ultraportables by end of 2012 as its nearest competitors”, among them Lenovo and Samsung, placed second and third in ABI’s list of Ultrabook vendors.
Apple came top with a score of 84.7 out of 100. Lenovo and Samsung scored, respectively, 77.5 and 74.4, ABI said. Its scores factor in assessment of a vendor’s ability to deliver innovative technology to users, and the new developments it introduces to the platform.
Behind the top three to round out ABI’s top ten Ultrabook makers are, in order, Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, LG and Sony. ABI didn’t present these vendors’ scores, or break out the leading suppliers’ separate innovation and implementation marks. You’ll have to buy an expensive report for that. ®
COMMENTS
Re: Pretty obvious really
Was it Apple that developed the screen, or the screen supplier? I presume it went like this.
Apple : We want a higher res screen at same thickness
Supplier: Er, OK, we can do the dev work on that for you, and then you buy loads - M'Kay?
Apple: ..but don't sell them to anyone else, M'Kay...
Supplier; M'Kay.
Apple : We also need a faster GPU to run the higher res screen
Supplier2 (Imagination Tech) : M'kay, we'll do the dev work on that then you buy loads, M'kay
Apple : M'kay.
So suppliers do the R&D and building, Apple, really, just gave them a spec, which I don't really regard as innovation.
Absolutely right
Asus doesn't meet the Macbook Air display specs. At 1920x1080 for the Zenbook Prime, it demolishes them.
Lifestyle choices are not innovation...
Making the machine less maintainable so that it can be prettier is not "innovation". It's a lifestyle choice and being a slave to fashion.
Apple just makes more noise about doing it. They are great at marketing and they have a willing cabal of astroturfers.
Apple-hating folk are as irrational as the sheeplike masses.
Apple's products are very good. They're less exciting than they were, but still very good.
I use Macs because I like Mac OS. I use Macs because they tend to irritate me less than Windows. I knowingly and willingly pay a premium for this.
I use iPhone because I like iOS. I use an iPhone because it tends to irritate me less than Android phones do. I knowingly and willingly pay a premium for this.
I use an iPad because I like it. I still think iOS has the edge as a tablet operating system. It has the best catalogue of tablet apps.
But...
I don't think people who choose other devices, be they Windows, Android, or whatever else, are stupid or have made the wrong choice. As long as people have thought about the device they buy in a rational way, taken some advice (not necessarily from me, before you ask), confirmed that the device will do what they want in a way that suits them, then that's all good and well.
And yes, one valid reason might be that they might be able to get pretty much the same functionality as I've just admitted to having above for the thick end of a grand less than I paid.
A pint because quite a lot of people should probably chill out a bit, preferably with ale.
