tablet - Tag Archive

Why do we stick by Google and Apple but not Microsoft?

13 Replies Christopher Roberts

Apple’s Ads

I image that you have probably seen the Apple ads which are based around the two characters: Mac man and PC man. They have been released in various different countries with different actors playing PC and Mac.

The campaign which was known as the ‘Get a Mac campaign‘ was broadcast in North-America, the UK and in Japan, as well as on the web. In the USA Mac was played by Justin Long, whilst PC was played by John Hodgman. In the UK, comedy duo David Mitchell (PC) and Robert Webb (Mac) took the role.

Not sure what I am on about? Check out the video below:

If you enjoyed that you can find a whole host of similar ads in this Get A Mac Ad Campaign Collection YouTube video.

The UK Get a Mac campaign

Robert Webb and David Mitchell as Mac and PC

Apple have now removed the ads from their site, but they can still be found all over the internet. If you do a YouTube search for ‘Get A Mac’ or ‘Mac vs PC’ you get hundreds of results.

The interesting thing is, Mac only own about 7% of the computing market at the moment, that’s only around 2% up on four years ago.

Windows however owns more than 90% of the computing market, meaning that most of us have a Microsoft PC.

So why is is then that if you scroll down past almost any of the Mac vs PC ads on YouTube you see that the ratio of likes to dislikes is usually around 5:1. This means that if 1,000 people like the ad, just 200 dislike it. So despite most of us choosing to use a PC, we seem to support Apple, rather than Microsoft.

The Battle of the Giants

The computing industry was once dominated by the Apple-Microsoft rivalry, however in the last 5 years, Google has become a serious contender, making it a three way battle. Google is not only a more viable contender because of its new chrome operating system, but also because its search and other services are so popular.

Google has the most websites within the top 100 most visited online of any company in the world. Google.com, Google.co.in, Google.de, Google.com.hk, Google.co.jp and Google.co.uk all ranking among the top 25 most visited sites on the net. Google hold 6 of the 25 most visited sites, whilst Microsoft have just one (MSN.com) and Apple don’t have any.

Microsoft’s Ads

Microsoft have recently tried to mimic Apple’s hugely successful ads, but in order to attack Google. Google is one of Microsoft’s biggest competitors, if not its biggest, so after being ‘slagged off’ in Apple’s ads, it would appear that Microsoft hoped to produce the same effect, but this time with Google in the loosing position.

Below I have included one of their ads, entitled Googlighting.

UPDATE: Seems like Microsoft realised the ad didn’t quite work… it’s been taken down from their official YouTube channel, however there are a few others still hosting it if you search around.

Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like that ad. I think it looks like more of a pathetic dig at Google, rather than a cleverly designed way to boost one companies brand, whilst demoting the competitions – as Apple’s ads did.

It turns out I am not the only one who didn’t find that ad all that amusing, the ad is published on Microsoft’s own YouTube Channel, and yet has received just 5,117 likes, but a staggering 12,734 dislikes. That is a 5:13 ratio against Microsoft’s ad.

So we will stand by Apple when they attack Microsoft, but when Microsoft try to attack Google, we stand by Google. Why? Is it because we see Apple and Google as two trendy, current companies, and Microsoft as an outdated one, which we are loyal to out of convenience not choice? I like Windows 7, but I don’t like Bing, Google has to win for me. iPad vs a Windows tablet, iPhone vs Windows phone, I think I would prefer the iDevice.

Google’s Ads

I thought I should give Google’s ads a mention too. Google hasn’t yet (to the best of my knowledge) made any ads aimed at attacking the competition. Google show very few ads on television, and largely rely on their online dominance to help them promote their products.

Something I have found about both Google and Apple’s ads is that they often appear to be very well thought out, and the more modern ones are often extremely well recorded/directed and are very clean. Microsoft’s ads aren’t quite so chic, so is that where their downfall lies?

Who Do You Stick By?

Personally, I would rather say that I am a Googlite, or loyal to Apple, than say I am loyal to Microsoft.

UPDATE: I’m not so sure that I am loyal to Google or Apple anymore – and haven’t developed any more a loyalty to any other competitor either. Use the service which provides the best solution to your needs at the time.

Even though I am annoyed at Google, as it hit Technology Bloggers in the Penguin update quite badly, and as far as I am aware (and I have asked in the Webmaster Central forums) we, as a blog have done nothing wrong. In fact we have been doing what Google want, creating great, original content, look at some of the articles Jonny is producing to see awesome, original content, all our writers do, but he is really outstanding at the moment.

“We want people doing white hat search engine optimization (or even no search engine optimization at all) to be free to focus on creating amazing, compelling web sites.” – Google Webmasters Central Blog

I am sure we will soon recover, and will continue to strive to be an outstanding blog. Despite being (unfairly) hit, I am still loyal to Google, I believe that in the most part it is a very good, ethical company.

UPDATE: I am not quite so loyal to Google anymore, and am less convinced that it is all that ethical. A new philosophy: choose the best device/search engine/browser etc. for the time, loyalty doesn’t seem to pay dividends in the world of technology.

What about you though? Who do you stick by? Anyone, or everyone?

What makes the new iPad different?

6 Replies Christopher Roberts

The launch of Apple’s latest third generation iPad, the interestingly named ‘The new iPad’, sees more revolutionary technological developments, as Apple updates its iconic tablet. In this article I am going to explore some of the exciting and innovative new features, which make the new iPad stand out from the crowd.

Retina Display

One enhancement that is currently getting a lot of attention is the innovation that is the new ‘Retina display’ technology.

The Retina display focuses on the increased clarity of large format display visuals. The new iPad features a sharply improved image capability which now has a 2048×1536 resolution screen and 44% improved colour saturation, with a superior 3.1 million pixels, within in its 9.7 (24.6com) display. Pretty impressive for a tablet PC.

The third generation of the iPadThis technology means that from normal viewing distance, the naked human eye cannot detect any pixelation, as the screen produced images with outstanding sharpness, colour detail and quality.

The improved display really enhances the viewing experience, and I think that it has set Apple ahead of its competitors, in terms of the quality of screen, at least for the time being.

The tablet is designed to show HD media, and with its new awesome screen quality, the viewing of text, photo and video is to the next level!

5MP iSight Camera

Aside from the Retina update, another key improvement is the 5-megapixel iSight camera – Apple are very creative with their names! The new camera features enhanced optics, auto white balance and a face detection features, turning your tablet into an outstanding digital camera. These updates have significantly improved the  picture and video capture performance. Match that with the new Retina display, and it means that you can capture and play media in outstanding quality.

Wi-Fi and 4G

In the latest model of the iPad, Apple have inbuilt Wif-Fi + 4G technology. This technology helps ensure the tablet is able to get a fast network connection, so you can get a seamless uninterrupted stream. Streaming online video is smoother than ever, and VoIP becomes a more viable method of communication.

Battery Life

Despite the outstanding screen display, the high quality camera, and the improved connectivity, something which many critics believe has let the new iPad down is its battery life. Like its predecessors, the new iPad can only handle 10 hours of media before it runs out of juice. The new features have been designed to be more efficient, however the battery life remains pretty much the same as before. Disappointing, or to be expected?

This latest release of the iPad has given techies a lot to be excited about, which is probably why many people queued for hours to get their hands on one, as soon as they were released.

How and why has the tablet industry grown so rapidly?

18 Replies Christopher Roberts

In 2011, it is estimated that 65 million tablet computers were sold globally. The population of the United Kingdom is currently around 62/63 million strong, meaning that last year alone, more tablets were sold than there are people in the UK. That is a pretty big figure!

Incredible growth

The tablet industry is a technology phenomenon, with regard to its growth rate. The concept for tablet PC’s has been around for a while now, however they have only been seriously released on the market, in force, in the last two years. Apple’s iPad launched in early 2010 (April in the USA, and May internationally) and since then the market has quite literally exploded.

Okay, there were tablets before the iPad, and concepts have been around since the 1950’s, however the tablet industry really ignited two years ago tomorrow, (the 3rd of April 2010) and it is a technology that already has over 60 million users! To put those numbers into perspective, it took Radio 38 years to get 50 million users, television 13 years, and the internet 4. Tablets reached 50 million users in just over a year. See what I mean about rapid growth?

After the initial launch of major tablets, hundreds of firms started to produce their own tablet, submitting their creation to the global market. Why? Well, future trends predict that we are likely to move away from our desktops and laptops and use evermore our tablets and smartphones.


The technology research firm Gartner Inc., predict industry sales to grow to more than 300 million by 2015. 300 million tablets means huge amounts of money being spent by consumers on tablet, and for big firms like Sony, Microsoft, Apple and Samsung, that means huge profits. The industry is now so big, and with such immense growth forecasts, that it is a no-brainer for most tech firms, to enter this lucrative market.

Why tablets?

But why do people prefer tablets to desktops? Well there are a number of reasons. I like bullet points, so here we go 😉One of the many tablets on the market

  • Tablets are very portable – you can take them almost anywhere, and with the likes of Wi-Fi, cloud computing and advances in wireless charging, there will soon be no need to have a permanent workstation
  • Tablets can do so much! – Most tablets have the ability to do what most PCs can do, so why do we need our PCs any more?
  • Apps – one thing tablets have that your regular computer doesn’t is apps. Apps are revolutionary and are changing the way we live our lives, as there does seem to be an app for just about everything!
  • Price – for what they can do, and the speed they can do it at, tablets are extremely competitively priced, especially compared to their PC counterparts, and with tablets, their is no monitor, mouse, keyboard etc. it is all built in
  • Convenience – tablets often run faster than computers, and can be accessed almost anywhere, making them one of the most convenient devices around, probably why they are becoming a massive hit with businesses around the world
  • Choice – there are so many firms with a tablet released, you really are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing!
  • Social media on the go – tablets and smartphones can provide you with access to social media when you are out and about, and given that most of us use social media, this is a huge positive

The future

Personally, in the future, I believe the device most of us will move to is the phablet. Phablet, what is that? Phone-Tablet. Smartphones revolutionised the way we communicate when out and about, as did tablets. In the future I think we are more likely to see the two come together. Basically tablets getting a little smaller, and smartphones getting a little more advanced.

Why do I think this? Well the smartphone industry and the tablet industry are two tech which are seeing major growth. Everyone wants a tablet, everyone wants a smartphone. In essence, most tablets and smartphones do very similar things, just in different ways. In the future I believe that the two will come together, share their features, and create the phablet!

Your thoughts

What about you though? What do you think about the tablet industry and its growth? Is is sustainable, or just a fad? Will we move away from our high tech craze, or does the future lie with phablets?