There Is No Tablet Market: Why Consumer Experiences Matter

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Ben Bajarin is the Director of Consumer Technology Analysis and Research at Creative Strategies, Inc, a technology industry analysis and market intelligence firm located in Silicon Valley.

Buried deep in the language on Apple’s website for the iPad 2 you’ll find this phrase: “It’s not a tablet, it’s iPad 2.” I would also challenge you to find Apple publically calling the iPad a tablet. The fact of the matter is they don’t, and there is a specific reason for that.

I don’t believe there is a tablet market because I don’t believe in the term “tablet.” We analysts, researchers and media people all gave these devices this term. We have this inherent need to categorize electronics. We called the iPad a tablet. Not one Apple executive has ever called it that.

(MORE: Apple Will Still Be Apple, Even Without Steve Jobs)

I fully believe in the category of a touch based computer. I just don’t believe in the term “tablet.” To prove my point, ask a non-techie consumer to explain a tablet without using the term “iPad.” It becomes a bit of a challenge. Consumers know what iPads are but they don’t understand tablets. The worst thing manufacturers can do right now is call their devices tablets.

I would also argue that Apple doesn’t create products—they create experiences. And I believe that consumers desire experiences, not products.
Disneyland, for example, is an experience, not a product. Disney products, however, help make Disneyland the experience that it is.

This is why every element of the Apple ecosystem—from the hardware to the software and services—is designed to be an experience. The look and feel of the hardware, the user interface, the look of the apps, the bright and high-resolution screen, the graphics and more all create the Apple experience.

This is why when the iPad is turned off, it’s just an elegant piece of hardware. But when you turn it on, that is when it becomes an iPad. That is when you get the Apple experience.

Companies making what we call tablets are not creating experiences. They are just creating products. This is what needs to change if they hope to compete with the iPad.

(MORE: Why Competing with Apple Is So Difficult)

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This may very well be what Amazon is up to. I don’t believe Amazon will call their device a tablet. At least, they would be wise not to.

Instead they will probably emphasize it as an e-reader, shopping companion or media book. My point is that they will use terminology other than “tablet” to explain and market the product. They also will focus on bringing the Amazon experience to a touch screen computer. Amazon has a vision for what they believe the Amazon experience is, and whatever they are working on will be an extension of the Amazon experience.

(MORE: Amazon Tablet Pricing: How Low Could It Go?)

HTC, I believe, also has a decent vision of what the HTC experience is. They call this “Sense”—it’s the user interface they put on their devices to not
just differentiate their products but to add value. I believe HTC thinks about experiences and not just products. They create many of their own apps, have a Sense cloud service, and they create new software experiences from a user interface perspective. They create the HTC experience. It just happens to manifest itself on smartphones and tablets.

We need the rest of the industry to think like this. The problem is that many companies don’t know what their “experience” is or should be.

Manufacturers need to take a lesson from the likes of Apple, HTC and possibly Amazon (if they do it right). Carefully draft a vision and an
identity for your brand’s experience. Then begin to design your devices around it, always keeping that experience in mind.

The result should translate into distinguishable value for consumers and an understanding of your experience as it compares to others. Creating experiences help you differentiate, and differentiation is what is needed in this new landscape for anyone who hopes to compete and be a major player.

LIST: Tablets: ‘Why Should Somebody Buy This Instead of an iPad?’

Ben Bajarin is the Director of Consumer Technology Analysis and Research at Creative Strategies, Inc, a technology industry analysis and market intelligence firm located in Silicon Valley.

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