Dell exec says Apple iPad will eventually fail

Executives from both Dell and Hewlett Packard have spoken out against Apple this week, with the Dell executive saying that the iPad will fail. The Hewlett Packard executive claims that Apple have less than ideal relationships with their partners.

Andy Lark, Dell's global head of marketing spoke to Lisa Banks of CIO Australia this week and said that Apple's iPad will eventually succumb to Dell's Android and Windows based tablets because of pressure from the open enterprise market.

Lark congratulated Apple on igniting the tablet market with the iPad, but said that the device will ultimately fail to more ‘open' competitors.

“I couldn’t be happier that Apple has created a market and built up enthusiasm but longer term, open, capable and affordable will win, not closed, high price and proprietary,” Lark said. “[Apple has] done a really nice job, they’ve got a great product, but the challenge they’ve got is that already Android is outpacing them.

“Apple is great if you’ve got a lot of money and live on an island. It’s not so great if you have to exist in a diverse, open, connected enterprise; simple things become quite complex,” Lark added.

Lark adds that the cost of additional expenses is what is making the iPad inaccessible. “An iPad with a keyboard, a mouse and a case [means] you’ll be at $1500 or $1600; that’s double of what you’re paying. That’s not feasible.”

He was keen to indicate that Dell's long term approach to tablets relies heavily on enterprise adoption. “We’ve taken a very considered approach to tablets, given that the vast majority of our business isn’t in the consumer space.” He added that they are covering all bases when it comes to operating systems.

“Our strategy is multi-OS, we will do Windows 7 coupled with Android Honeycomb, and we’re really excited. We think that giving people that choice is very important.”

They have a new 10 inch tablet which will compete with the iPad later this year.

KitGuru says: Dell tablet to replace the iPad as the worlds best seller?

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