Recently Apple has announced that they are actively working on a new version of IPad . The company is promising that the new device will be thinner, lighter, have a more powerful processor, increased memory, and a built-in camera. In general the Ipad product line has been a very strong source of revenues for the company, resulting in 17% of Apple's revenue in the December quarter. Further the production of an updated device shows that the company is actively striving to capitalize on this new market, despite their setback related to Jobs' health.
In reading this news article I was specifically considering how the VRIO strategy model applies to this situation. The Value of the VRIO model is evident in this case by the tremendous consumer response to the release of the original IPad. Initially there were several critics that suggested that IPad is just a fancy toy that adds no value to a laptop or a smartphone user. On the contrary the IPad has proven to reinvent the way consumers browse the Web and perform other computing tasks.
The Rarity aspect of VRIO is something that will continue to change dramatically throughout this year. Apple was the first main player that decided to explore the tablet market. Additionally a tablet device is still somewhat of a rarity among the consumers. In terms of resources and capabilities, Apple currently holds an advantage over their competitors by providing unique technology and the "original" tablet look. The aspect of Imitation is especially interesting here. As a first-mover, Apple currently has a clear advantage in the tablet market. But recently we can see an increasing number of imitators appearing, with Samsung's Galaxy Tab being actively sold in the market and Dell and HP in the process of releasing their own products. The experts are projecting an overall increase in Apple's sales of IPad in the next year, but a decline in overall market share to less than 50% by 2013. In terms of Organization of VRIO model, there is probably no better company than Apple who could effectively exploit this new market arena. The company definitely has the needed capability and resources to be the market leader. In large part such positioning was achieved through the success of the IPod and IPhone. The dominance of an IPad just seems like the next natural step.
The following is the link where the original articles was found:
