Low cost tablets, do people really want tablets? Written on August 22, 2011, by Scott.
The Tablet industry is a buzz with the cancellation of HP’s WebOS TouchPad tablet weeks after releasing it early July. Some are heralding this as validation of Apple’s business model of vertical integration. Others are pointing to the Google/Motorola merger as the only way to go and that Microsoft will need to snap up Nokia or RIM to compete in the Tablet/Mobile space. What is more interesting is the interest in the HP TouchPad now that retailers are clearing out stocks of the discontinued product. As per Computerworld’s article the Tablet is selling our at the fire sale price of $99 for the 16GB model and $150 for the 32GB one. Is this an indication of consumer appetite for cheaper tablet devices? Or is this just too cheap a deal to pass even if the device will have questionable support going forward? Reading the articles on this topic the HP TouchPad will make a great web browser with it’s built in Flash support and it is $200-250 dollars cheaper than current back to school sales of the EEE transformer.
There are even attempts to port Android to the TouchPad as seen here. Given the bargain basement price of $99 the number of Android developers looking to do a port will guarantee some traction. The similarity to an HTC Sensation Android phone with a dual-core Qualcomm processor give hope that drivers will be able to be ported over given enough time and effort. Having experienced first hand the porting of Android to a device with minimal manufacturer support (Tmobile Vibrant) I wouldn’t hold my breath on progress. Either this will go fast if the drivers can be copied from existing sources or it will be a partial to spotty port for a long time to come.
Given that the HP pricing is a bit of an anomally, what can we expect for the future of tablets. I clearly see analogies between the early PC market and today’s mobile/tablet space, with the primary difference that we are talking companion devices since PCs are still well entrenced in the home and office space as content creation and consumption devices. Apple will continue to lead as an early pioneer and though leader. It remains to be seen if they can continue to dominate against an industry focused on a PC like model where hardware becomes a commodity and people’s investment in a particular OS and applications becomes the driving force for selection of what to buy. Here are a couple of interesting trends to monitor going forward:
- Low-cost tablets from China and India. The article Indian tablet market abuzz with low-priced entrants starting at $99 shows a strong push from India to out bid China’s dominance in low-cost hardware. It also highlights the need for solutions in developing countries that are not just hand-me-down technology designs. On the flip side you only need to look at eBay for Android tablets starting as low as $60. Also keep an eye on China’s custom ROM MIUI which started as a custom ROM and now is becoming integrated in China retail phones. Are these comparible to an iPad 2, of course not but it does show that there is a market for these devices especially for people who can’t afford an iPad. This is where Google’s Android is showing its strength by gaining more users and building an infrastructure in developing nations. A market where Apple can at best compete by giving away tablets to educational instututions are catering to the world elite with a well marketed high-end tablet. While US companies will struggle to make a buck in the above space, it is a big boost for the Android ecosystem.
- Amazon tablet in October? Will Amazon be able to take a piece of Apple’s tablet pie by discounting hardware to make the money back in the long run on content sales? While the article clearly points out the difficulties of manufacturing a cheaper tablet than Apple and make money on it, Amazon has demonstrated with their Amazon App Store that they are agressively pursuing a longer term strategy to position themselves against both Apple and Google. Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color at $250 is another example demand for a low-cost Tablet for specific uses, e.g. eBook reader and being able to generate sales by leveraging existing book and media channels. It also helps that the device can be converted to run full Android by copying a boot image to a microSD card.
- Let’s not forget Asus, Acer, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, LG and who will continue to drive cost and high-end features for the Android ecosystem.
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