iPad 2 Scrutinized By Dell

Mar 30, 2011, 17:42 by Sarah Long

The iPad 2, released in March, is facing negative feedback from Dell.

The company, which has a major stake in Microsoft Windows and the desktop PC market, says that the iPad will ultimately fail in sales due to its high price and lack of adherence to business needs.

"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," Dell's global head of marketing for large enterprises and public organizations, Andy Lark, said to CIO Australia. "[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."

Lark's words hold a grain of truth. Nielsen reported earlier this month that Android sales pulled ahead of Apple and Blackberry in the U.S. between November and January, staking out 29 percent of total market share compared with Apple and RIM's 27 percent each.

"We've taken a very considered approach to tablets, given that the vast majority of our business isn't in the consumer space," Lark adds. "[A company] like Samsung has to aggressively go after their business, but we've got a far more diversified footprint than some of these players."

While Android sales are high, Lark's comments clash with Forrester Research CEO George Colony's prediction that Apple would become a $200 billion revenue giant by the end of 2012, making the company bigger than either HP or IBM, or "the largest technology company in the world."

iPad sales during its first weekend eclipsed projections and bettered the sales for the original iPad. Not only have shortages been reported in numerous countries, but people have been scalping the devices in New York City. Just last week, the tablet was released in 25 more countries around the world.