Floobydust about iPads and Tablets

Floobydust is a term I got from a National Semiconductor book. It relates to miscellaneous pieces of information. So here goes.

1. Intel takes seriously the rumor(s) that Apple is considering switching from Intel chips to their own A-series of chips. At least for the MacBooks.

2. As I have written before, Apple has probably tested every chip they could find in a prototype MacBook/MacBook Air. It’s a long process, though, from building a prototype with wires sticking out to a sleek model ready for production and the Apple Store.

3. If you hear rumors that Apple wants to license or acquire software to enable OS X software written for the Intel chips to run on the A-series chips; then you should pay more attention to the rumors of a shift in hardware.

4. And if this shift in hardware does take place, remember this time to upgrade your software during the 2 to 3 years after Apple introduces the new chip.

5. Now on to the iPad and those other wanna-bes. Yang Yuanquing, CEO of Lenovo the Chinese PC maker, thinks his company has a chance in the tablet market. After all, Apple only goes after the $499 and up price points. He would like to go after the sub-$499 price point. Lenovo plans to bring to market Windows and Android tablets.

6. Now I assume that Mr. Yang knows how much it costs for Apple to build an iPad 2. He knows how much of a profit margin Apple gets per iPad 2. He knows that Apple’s iPad strength not only depends on the iPad’s software, the iOS that underlies it and the plethora of apps that you can get for it at the online App Store. He also knows that Lenovo would need to get the intellectual property you can get on the iPad, such as copyrighted books, music, movies and video. And games, too!

7. So…we will see how Lenovo does against the iPad. Go ahead, put up a pallet of LePads against a pallet of iPads and see which one sells faster at Wal-Mart.