Apple has remarked before that other companies have had difficultly breaking into the tablet computer market and compete with the iPad. Now that HP has decided to shutter its TouchPad weeks after launch, Apple’s position in the driver’s seat of the tablet market seems more secure.
“Apple created the tablet castle and various competitors have tried to storm the walls, but nobody has made much of a dent,” said Forrester analyst Charles Golvin.
HP decided to push out a high profile ad campaign with the TouchPad, featuring teen idol Miranda Cosgrove and Glee star Lea Michele. Still, many thought that the device couldn’t be fixed by marketing, and clashes were reported between HP and Palm employees for the product development and marketing of the TouchPad.
Apple said they shipped 28.7 million iPads from launch in April 2010 through May 2011. With estimates that sales of tablets will get up to 44 million in 2015, others like Samsung, LG and RIM aren’t going to surrender as easily.
“HP was late to the tablet game as well as the smartphone market,” said Golvin. “Even if their tablet had been more successful, they still would have been shut out of the smartphone space and would have had to face that mountain.”
Source: AdAge
