back to article iPad spanks Galaxy Tab in its own backyard

There was some welcome news for Apple in Asia this week after new figures revealed that the iPad is absolutely trouncing its rivals in the South Korean market, notably local hero Samsung and its Galaxy Tab device. The Korea Herald reported that Apple had sold an estimated one million of its shiny tablets in the country since …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Hardly suprising.

    The iPad is a fashion statement, nothing more, and SE Asia is an emerging market, where the "haves" want to show the "have nots" that they have made it. What better way to do so that sport the latest fashion accessory?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Massive geography FAIL

      Korea is SOUTH EAST Asia now?

    2. Peter Storm

      I think it's more likely to be

      because the Galaxy Tab is just plain bad.

      1. Sceptic Tank Silver badge
        Unhappy

        I wouldn't call the Tab "just plain bad". But the one I got "for free" with my data contract needs a lot of work. For example (and there may be a trick to doing this, I don't know): I sent an email to someone. A copy of the email is sitting in the Sent folder. How can I add the person to whom I sent that email to my contacts? And how's about adding some cursor control keys? That stupid blue barnacle is impossible to control.

        Etc., etc.

        1. BXL

          How to solve your problems on Android...

          1. Install a different email client.

          2. Install a different keyboard.

          Try doing those actions on an iPad.

          1. Jim Coleman
            Meh

            @BXL:

            I suspect iPad users wouldn't want to, their email client and keyboard might be usable as-is. Certainly I don't have those problems on WP7.

            But I think your response is fairy typical of Android users.

            "This bit of Android is shit!"

            "That's OK, you can replace that bit with another bit, Android is so cool"

            "Wait - why should I have to?"

            "You don't have to! Android is so cool"

            "But if I don't, then I have a shit phone! So I DO have to!"

            "Android is so cool"

            1. L1feless

              @Jim Coleman

              the iPAD touch keyboard is just to damn small for me to type comfortably. I have several friends of mine who are Apple crazy and they have sold off their Tablets due to that same fact.

              I am also not a huge fan of being told what I can and cannot do with devices I own. If i'd like to select a different mail client then great, if not then I am left suffering with the often bland defaults. Alternatively if I wish to build or have built a custom app for my business I'd rather do it for an open platform which does not pick and chose what they feel is appropriate from a content perspective. I see it as a completely different matter if infected content is pulled (viruses, trojans etc.).

              1. Jim Coleman
                Meh

                @L1feless:

                "the iPAD touch keyboard is just to damn small for me to type comfortably."

                How on Earth would you manage with a phone then?

            2. Philip Lewis
              Linux

              Fork

              Don't worry, there'll be a fork soon that will addres this issue ... rotfl.

            3. Steve Knox
              Thumb Down

              @Jim Coleman

              As opposed to conversations with the WP7 fanboy, which generally degenerate to:

              "I need on-device encryption for me to use this as a business phone."

              "The next version will have that." (originally Mango, now WP8 - we'll see...)

              "But I also would like to have [insert one of the many other features that Android and iPhone (and even Windows Mobile, FFS) already have]."

              "Coming up in the next version. See all the awards we won! Every poll we rigged say we're the best, and any day now the app developers and users will be flocking to our ecosystem!"

            4. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              @Jimbo

              Oh, it would be so much better to have a phone that you can't change to your liking, of course - like a windows phone perhaps.

              "If I don't change the {100,} things on my phone it will be crap"

              Change them then

              "I can't"

              Well buy from another manufacturer, for a slightly different experience that addresses your problems

              "Microsoft won't let them differentiate, they're all the same"

              Well you've gotta live with your crap phone then, but don't worry, stick in there, they'll get there in Windows 23

    3. Andy Watt
      Mushroom

      Bitter much?

      Wow, how's the view out of your dusty, condensation-streaked window, as you type with your fingerless gloves on, licking your lips at another chance to snipe into the void?

      That's one sad post. Come back to the living and smile a little.

    4. Giles Jones Gold badge

      Korea is an emerging market? they've had broadband for years, are massively into online gaming and are very well known for like gadgets with a million features.

      We're the slime that crawled out of the sea compared to them.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        People who have never travelled

        People who have never travelled do not realise how far ahead of "the West" Asia is in just so many ways ... and yes you septics, I am addressing you now.

  2. Dazed and Confused

    Fashion

    If Jimmy Choo brought out a tablet it would immediately take 50% of the market there.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yet..

      LG's Prada phone hasn't really captured any sort of significant marketshare.

      Explain?

  3. M7S

    around 2/3 of South Koreans favour the Wi-Fi only models

    Is that (and this is a question about coverage, not a dig) because they have essentially ubiquitous wi-fi cover, perhaps at least in urban/suburban areas? I know they're all supposed to have fantastic fixed broadband, maybe people have put in fon type access out of public spiritedness, being able to spare plenty of mbps.

    If so perhaps the 3g are more for rural users or those wanting a backup

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Not Fon...

      Hardly anyone has open wifi spots. I think it may actually be against the law.

      But you can get free wifi at many places, like Starbucks , Caffe Benne etc. Also at many hotels and dormitories.

      I imagine most people would use it at home and work anyway.

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Standards

      Isn't Korea on non CDMA for UMTS? And I think the LTE rollout is pretty impressive. Lots of sense to invest in a "MiFi" or a handset that does tethering than adding unnecessarily to the price of the pad.

      As for the figures: Korea and Japan are notoriously fast and fickle of the latest and greatest. Certainly impressive figures for Apple as elsewhere in the world - and why shouldn't the be? Apple did a great job in 2011 in staying ahead of the competition on technical and marketing merits but the recent slew of court actions is indicative of someone constantly looking over their shoulder.

      When are those larger OLED devices coming from Samsung?

  4. Nanners
    Meh

    Duh

    Better apps. I'm not going to shell out 500+ to check email. I do amazing things on my pad.

    1. Dante

      I'm intrigued

      by what these "amazing" things could be.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Ummm

        Many of the clinical and medical imaging (FDA approved) apps fit my definition of "amazing". Add the rumoured retina display and suddently you'll get a very serious, go anywhere, diagnostics tool.

        Research papers neatly organised and available on the go via the Papers app as well.

        That and plugging my guitar into Garageband on the weekend. That one never gets old.

        1. Philip Lewis
          Thumb Up

          Medical

          Personally, I expect to see an iPad in every medical proffessionals hand within the forseeable future. Medical + iPad plus fabulous custom medical recording and diagnostic apps is a slam dunk.

          1. Chris Parsons
            Headmaster

            Probably best to get something with a spell-checker...'professional'

      2. Nanners
        Flame

        Do I really need to

        List through all 50 gazillion semi professional apps available that are now cheap and portable, and doing everything from art and design, to education, to engineering, to saving lives in the medical field...or on the battlefield? Not to mention what little is available for android looks like it was put together by a high schooler...it's irritating to even look at some of those apps, much less use.

        1. JEDIDIAH
          Mushroom

          Yes you need to.

          If you don't actually call it out by name then the rest of us have no reason to believe it exists at all.

          Otherwise, we have no reason to believe that you have a single favorite app. Never mind dozens.

          Stuff that's just littering the app store that you have no really knowledge of really doesn't count though.

  5. From the basement of the science building

    arch foe Apple

    I don't think so. Samsung profits no matter what. Apple devices all include major components made by Samsung. It's possible that Samsung may make a higher profit by selling it's own devices but I don't see how Apple can be called "Arch Foe".

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Samsung profits no matter what. Apple devices all include major components made by Samsung."

    For now... but if you were Apple would you want a supplier like Samsung?? I'm sure there are plenty of other manufacturers queueing up to supply Apple.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Samsung profits no matter what."

    I'm sure they make some money (at the moment until Apple pulls the plug) but probably not that much - Apple can pick and choose suppliers who offer the best price / performance / technology.

    I'd rather be Apple in this equation than Samsung as their supplier.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Apple's business practices at the moment make Microsoft of the 90s look like Oxfam.

    When they come down, and they will, it will be with a nasty bump. But it may take a while.

  9. Paul Bruneau

    Long term iPad 3g contracts!?

    Here is the states, it's only month-by-month for 3g on iPads. Is it different over there? Also, it could suggest that they don't want to shell out the extra money for 3g?

    >Interestingly, around two-thirds of South Koreans favour the Wi-Fi only models, suggesting they would rather not get sucked into long-term carrier contracts when purchasing the devices.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well I guess we now know why Samsung so slavishly copied the iPad.

  11. jelloir

    Magpies

    "Magpies like shiny shiny. Dumb animals!", Magpies are among the most intelligent animals. Sheep however...

  12. ZenCoder

    The iPad is actually worth the price.

    The first Apple product I purchased was an iPod touch. I played with my friends for a bit, and he was just as happy with it after owning it for several months, so I bought one. I've used it daily every since.

    Pretty much the same story with the iPad. I knew people who owned one, and still felt good about the purchase months latter when the newness factor wore off.

    I didn't buy either product to be fashionable or because I am an Apple fan. I bought them because I thought they would provide good value for the money, and I was not wrong.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Android is winning.

  14. popper

    i like Samsung but they did this to themselves this time putting out such a weak ARM SOC and slow ram interface for a pad on there at something like LPDDR2 DRAM (which is approximately 3.2GB/s) or less.

    its not like Samsung dont have the best and fastest low power and up to date ram available today for use in all their current ARM kit ,The new wide I/O mobile DRAM that runs up to 12.8GB/s

    http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/memory/display/20110222201121_Samsung_Develops_Mobile_Memory_with_Wide_I_O_Interface_Extreme_Bandwidth.html

    ""The new 1Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM can transmit data at 12.8GB/s, which increases the bandwidth of mobile DDR DRAM (1.6GB/s) eightfold, while reducing power consumption by approximately 87%."

    they make it themselves in fact, so use it if Not the the fastest available then at least use some 2-channel DDR3 @532 MHz with a Higher bandwidth memory interface with up to 8.5 GB/s in your lower entry kit

  15. D2G
    Angel

    Fanboy heaven or

    ifanboys love to hang out on the register dont they :P always amusing to listen to them blindly spout crap about android that they have never used or know anything about..

    So how many of these iPads were turned around and just sold on ebay or other markets :P taking advantage of all those blind fad loving fanboys/girls that will buy anything Phone Jesus (aka. steve jobs) tells em is NEW, or like it will resurrect him.

  16. Sirius Lee

    What are the SI units?

    "the best price to experience ratio from a user perspective"

    Anybody know what units 'experience' comes in?

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