The Tablet Computer Market: Demand, Structure, and Competition

This graph is specific to an oligopoly and shows the change in quantity demanded in relation to the change in price for both elastic and inelastic goods. Total Revenues will be increased, if the firm decreases their price but increase their quantity. Due to the fact that the costs remain the same, the revenue line on the graph can be seen to be steeper than the costs meaning that the profit is higher. The graph therefore also indicates the point where the firm is able to make the most amount of profit, in relation to the price they set and the quantity they produce.

Elasticity of demand is the relationship between the demands for a product with respect to its price. Generally, when the demand for a product is high, the price of the product decreases. When demand decreases, prices tend to climb. Products that exhibit the characteristics of elasticity of demand are usually cars, appliances and other luxury items. Items such as clothing, medicine and food are considered to be necessities. Essential items usually possess inelasticity of demand. When this occurs prices do not change significantly.

Income elasticity of demand is used to measure how consumers respond to changes to their income and their buying power or demand of a product. To better understand how changes of income affect consumers decisions to either buy less of a specific product or more of a specific product we use the income elasticity formula. The income elasticity formula is to divide the percentage change of the quantity of a particular product demanded over the percentage of change in a person’s income. The answer will result in either a positive or negative coefficient with a threshold of zero. If the results are a positive coefficient then that specific product is considered a normal/superior good; if the results are a negative coefficient that product is considered an inferior good.

According to Motley Fool, Apple’s share of tablet market only has 20.3% in the third quarter of 2015. It has dropped substantially. It was nearly 90% in 2010.

Price elasticity that relates to demand is determined by many factors. Price elasticity is measured by the change in price and the response from consumer demand. The demand of a good or service will vary the price in the item. The most important factor to determine the price elasticity of demand is necessity. If a good is a necessity, the demand will seldom change and the price is able to be adjusted. The demand is the most important due to the freedom it provides for price adjustment and inventory control. With necessity comes an inelastic price. Other factors such as the

According to Elmer-DeWitt (2012), a survey was conducted that shows 49% of consumers are interested in a release of an Apple TV. This represents a forecasted demand. However, the predicted consumer price for a 42 inch Apple TV is approximately $1500. When the same sample population were asked about paying $1500 for a 42 inch Apple TV, the demand numbers plummeted, representing the relationship between price and demand (or price elasticity of demand). The new numbers revealed that only 12% of the surveyed consumers were still interested at the $1500 price

Elasticity of demand is measured as the percentage change in quantity demand divided by the percentage change in price .

Abstract—Recent works have indicated that the price of computers is a key factor in explaining the growth of computer spending. However, it remains unclear whether the price elasticity of the demand for computers is constant over time. Findings on the pattern of price elasticity will have important implications in the study of information technology (IT) innovation diffusion. To test the hypothesis of dynamic price elasticity, we extend existing growth models to include a price factor with different elasticity specifications. Nested specifications of three growth models were

Understanding the fundamental concepts of economics allows us to analyze laws that have a direct bearing on the economy. These laws and theories are essentially the backbone of how economics is used and studied. The law of demand can be expressed by stating that as long as all other factors remain constant, as prices rise, the quantity of demand for that product falls. Conversely, as the price falls, the quantity of demand for that product rises (Colander, 2006, p 91). Price is the tool used that controls how much consumers want based on how much they demand. At any given price a certain quantity of a product is demanded by consumers. As the price decreases, the quantity of the products demanded will increase. This indicates that more individuals demand the good or service as the price is lowered. This can be illustrated using the demand curve. The demand curve is a downward sloping line that illustrates the inversely related relationship of price and quantity demanded.

demand of the product.The Kindle line has shown wild success, Bezos will once again try to

Price elasticity of demand is an economic measure that is used to measure the degree of responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to change in its price, when all other influences on buyers remain the same.

Elasticity of demand represented as “Ed” is defined as a “measure of the response of a consumer to a change in price on the quantity demanded of a good” (McConnell, 2012). Determinants for elasticity of demand would include the substitutability of a good, proportion of a consumer 's income spent on a good, the nature of the necessity of a good and the time a purchase is under consideration by the consumer. Furthermore, elasticity of demand is calculated with this formula:

The following graph demonstrate the demand curve of how many items of a product or service a consumer would like to purchase at different prices. Now by having the product at a lower price, the more a consumer is likely to buy. For that same reason it can be concluded that the price is one major factor of the product demand.

Recall that the elasticity of demand, which measures the responsiveness of demand to price, is given by

Price had never been this low where a desktop costs only $499, whereas laptops are hovering around $1100. Yet do not forget the $500 Apple mini sub compact laptop or the Apple iBook laptop that sells for $650, and the stripped down $400 after rebate laptops companies like Gateway and eMachine are flooding the market with to make money on volume of sales instead of a high price margin. The problem is even if the price of PCs plummets the effect is not felt immediately, because people do not rush to change their PC despite the fact they are getting it cheaper, which means the PC turnover rate is low like most durable goods. That might be what is contributing to the declining of prices, as the assumption of the manufacturers might be that if the price goes low enough people might want to change their computer to avail themselves the latest add-ons. Even the add-ons themselves seem to have reached their zenith some time ago and the latest most alluring gadget that came into existence was CD/DVD RW and every reasonably priced desktop or laptop is equipped with it. However, it does not mean the makers of PCs are not coming up with new functionality, add-ons, and price reductions to woo buyers. The other recent addition was Wi Fi that got boost from the introduction of Intel 's Centrino mobile technology chip and it had added a lot to the mobility of laptops, which can access the Internet wherever hot spots are available. Other than that, the overall performance of PCs despite