If a combative, yet dismissive, attitude is part of the test, Tim Cook may be ready to take over Apple after all. During one of his first days as active caretaker of Apple during Steve Jobs’s medical absence, Cook lobbed some heavy shots at all of the tablets announced at CES 2011. Below are some of his more fiery comments from Apple’s record $6 billion profit earnings conference call. His words are almost as targeted and mean as a typical Jobs verbal attack.
For a full rundown of all the new tablets at CES, check out our CES 2011 Tablet Roundup.
On Windows 7 tablets
When asked about tablets, Cook began his attack on Windows 7 tablet PCs, which he views as relics of the past, already rejected by the market.
Cook: “If you look at what’s shipping today, there’s not much out there as you know. Generally speaking, there’s two kinds of groups today at best on the market today. Ones using a Windows tablet PC, are fairly big and heavy and expensive. They have weak battery life, they require a stylus, and from our point of view and what’s we’ve seen customers are just not interested in them.”
On current Android tablets
After hitting Windows, Cook moved onto Android, but concentrated on current Android 2.2 tablets like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.
Cook: “Then you have the Android tablet, and the variety are out shipping today, the operating system really wasn’t designed for a tablet. Google has said this, so this is not just an Apple view by any means. And so you wind up having a size of a tablet that is less than what we believe is reasonable, or one that we provide what we feel is the real tablet experience. So basically, you end up with a sort of scaled-up smartphone, which is a bizarre product, in our view. Then you’ve got a third group–those are the two that are shipping today–and frankly speaking it’s hard for me to understand if somebody does a side-by-side with an iPad, and some enormous percentage of people are going to select an iPad there–those are not [products] that we have any concern on.”
On future Android tablets
Finally, he moved on to future Android tablets like the Motorola Xoom, calling them vaporware.
Cook: “The next generation of Android tablets, which is what you discussed primarily at CES – there’s nothing shipping yet, and so I don’t know. Generally they lack performance specs; they lack prices; they lack timing; and so today they are vapor. We’ll assess them as they come out, wherever, but we’re not sitting still, and we have a huge first mover advantage. And we have an incredible user experience from iTunes to the App Store and an enormous number of apps and a hugee ecosystem. So we’re very very confident.”
$3.9 billion supply contract
As an aside, Cook was asked about a $3.9 billion supply component contract Apple recently signed. He refused to give any detail about it, saying that it’s “something I don’t want our competition knowing,” but said that it was a strategic buy, similar to something like flash memory, reports ZDNet. What could it be?
diversity is good…Cook comment is just a gimmick to focus on Apple products…Android are great substitute of other OS…each person have their own preferences.
diversity is good…Cook comment is just a gimmick to focus on Apple products…Android are great substitute of other OS…each person have their own preferences.
Must be jealous.
Tim Cook is a knob. He just realized that Apple’s dominance over the market is screwed.
Just me, but the iPad/iPad2 still isn't what I want either. I want it to be at least a thin version of what a netbook can do. The upcoming tablets for around $ 500 are closer than the iPad2. So keep on developing and selling them to fund the next generations. I basically want an iPad sized unit that can administer a server or database remotely. Maybe even do database development too. I'm not greedy, just know it can be done. And put thunderbolt technology on it also !
A maxi-android?? What is the current I-Pad if not a maxi-I-pod Touch? How soon we/they forget.
A lot of people say that the ipad is a maxed out ipod touch. That's not true. I have both the ipod touch and the ipad, and each experience is very unique. Tons of differences. Also unique apps made specifically for each one. And besides, he referred to the android tablets as big phones. The ipod touch isn't a phone, in case you haven't noticed, so Apple separates itself from the competition in that aspect.
Why doesn't Microsoft introduce a tablet running the Windows Phone 7 OS? Why does it have to be a full-blown Windows 7 version?
I'll agree on Windows 7 and current Android tablets, but that's a pretty weak response to Android 3.0 tablets. "They're, uh, not here yet, so uh, that's all I have to say about that!"