Analyst: iPad Apple’s Lone Defense Against Netbooks

@Gizmodo

Yesterday’s news of updated MacBooks indicates Apple has placed a wager, putting its new iPad device up against a growing pack of low-cost PC netbooks. But will the Cupertino, Calif. company win this bet?

“Apple is betting [the] iPad’s form factor, engineering, design and rich interactive content experience, with Apple’s brand, can create and lead a new portable computing metaphor where Apple has first mover advantage (product, install base, content/apps momentum,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky told investors Wednesday.

Abramsky’s comment was spurred by the lack of any price changes in Apple’s updated MacBooks. While the analyst has some company (Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty), Abramsky is concerned the iPad could cannibalize the MacBook and iPod touch market, as well. The iPad’s upper price of $829 comes dangerously close to the $999 price tag for an entry-level Macbook, Abramsky said. At $499, the entry-priced iPad invades the territory of a $499 netbook.

If Apple upgrades the iPad, adding a camera and other features, the tablet device could improve its “allure and competititive differentiation,’ the analyst said. The Cupertino, Calif. company could also position the iPad as an alternative to the home PC, opening the door to a 150 million unit annual market.

[via AppleInsider]

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