I will be looking at another tablet to compliment my iPad 1 & 2. Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what Samsung comes out with. I hope Samsung learned it's lessons well, with that last fiasco.
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Samsung 10.1 the last hope for android
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It's almost inevitable that Android will overrun iOS some time in the future - distant future perhaps
I agree. This is hardly their last hope. It is just the start. Even is Apple pitches a perfect game with it's next release, android will still make gains.
I wouldn't be sure about that.
With the iPhone vs. Android phone...yes that was bound to happen with carrier subsidies for phones, heavy discounting that cell phone carriers will eat just to get the monthly revenue from a paying customer.
The iPad tablet vs. Android tablet is a completely different ballgame. Since most people do not want to be tied into another forced data plan and thus carriers can't lure customers by discounting Android tablets on contract.
It will likely more like Apple's iPod vs. their competitors. The iPod still holds the majority of the MP3 market (although Apple's iPod division doesn't even generate more than 5% of it's revenue anymore).
Look at it this way, if Apple's competitors wanted to draw market share from for their tablets, they would severely undercut Apple's pricing but to date, only Acer's tablet (which sells for $450) is priced lower than Apple's.
But Apple's iPad is considered "value priced". The $499 price point Apple created as an entry is very hard to beat for their competitors.
I cannot see the current pricing levels of tablets staying where they are, they must come down.
It's funny how the iPad is currently seen as cheap by some, when in actual fact, for what you are getting it's very expensive.
All these things need time to prove themselves, production to get sorted out and the technologies involved to be perfected.
You can buy a full laptop, not netbook, with 15" screen, keyboard, proper intel chipset, speakers, trackpad, a nice amount of memory and a good sized hard drive running windows for less than an iPad.
The Laptop gives you far far more hardware for your money.
The only real thing it's lacking is the touch screen.
There can be no reason why in time Tablets don't come down quite a way in price. Once we get over the current evolution phase and things start to settle down.
It's funny how the iPad is currently seen as cheap by some, when in actual fact, for what you are getting it's very expensive.
All these things need time to prove themselves, production to get sorted out and the technologies involved to be perfected.
You can buy a full laptop, not netbook, with 15" screen, keyboard, proper intel chipset, speakers, trackpad, a nice amount of memory and a good sized hard drive running windows for less than an iPad.
The Laptop gives you far far more hardware for your money.
The only real thing it's lacking is the touch screen.
There can be no reason why in time Tablets don't come down quite a way in price. Once we get over the current evolution phase and things start to settle down.
I see a time when tablets are far more common. Each house will have 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6), with seperate user accounts for all house occupants on each so it won't matter which one you pick up. Log in with your own ID (or simply touch it for DNA identification) and the one you're holding will have all your apps and accounts. They will be durable, scratch-proof, and ultra-light. You'll literally toss them around with no fear of breaking them. Cars will come with a dock for one or more, where they'll serve navigation info as well as entertainment/media to car occupants.
Each will come with a lifetime energy strategy. They will come with all the energy they'll need for at least 5 years. When they are close to running out of power they'll self-order their own "new model" replacements. The new model will arrive within 24 hours of the old one's demise, and already have your accounts and apps installed.
Apple is working on this right now.
Each will come with a lifetime energy strategy. They will come with all the energy they'll need for at least 5 years. When they are close to running out of power they'll self-order their own "new model" replacements. The new model will arrive within 24 hours of the old one's demise, and already have your accounts and apps installed.
Apple is working on this right now.
Well yes and no on pricing.
While I agree with you that as we advance in technology prices will decline. But you get to a certain price point (read profit margin) where manufactures cannot afford to cheapen their product so much where they risk actually losing money on their products.
That's why full function laptops (that I actually consider usable). Those low end price points start around $500-600.
Netbooks price points are around $300 because they can't afford to cannibalize their low end full function laptops.
What manufacturers will start to do is just adding more "features' while keeping the price point with their comfortable profit margin.
Look at the original iPod. It sold for $399 for 5GB 10 years ago. Now the top of the line ipod touch 64GB still costs $399 but it offers so much in features (web browsing, touch screen, facetime etc).
So do I think tablets will get cheaper? Yes. Maybe we will start seeing Android tablets (not those clunky 2.2) but Android 3.0 and up tablets selling for $399 next year. But by that time, Apple may decide to keep a generation older model to sell for that same $399 price.
But I just don't see full functioning tablets dropping below $399 (without subsidies) in the foreseeable future.
It costs Apple around an estimated $230-270 just to manufacture the entry level $499 16BB ipad. And it costs around $300 to manufacturer an iPad 2. That's just for supplies and doesn't take into effect labor and advertising.
That's why Apple's gross profits for iPads are much less than their iPhones. It costs them $200 to make an iPhone which they in turn sell to cell phone carriers for an estimated $600.
If you already have two 10" tablets, why not get a 7" to complement the others.
Personally, I'm looking forward to getting the 7" HTC Flyer with its active stylus. I'm always collecting ideas during the day, and it sounds like being able to do that and store them in Evernote, will actually be fun with it.
Well, I want to find a tablet that runs Android AND is worth a crap. I won't spend a dime on one until I see this happen. I'm open to the 8.9 and the 10.1, anything smaller and you might as well stay with a phone IMO. After using the iPads, Steve was right. 7" would just be too cramped.
And if HP makes a 10", I'll look at it. I really hope someone can make a quality Android based tablet with good hardware and smooth, slick interface. I love my iPads, but I don't want the tablet sector to just be Apple.
That's mostly because of market saturation. When electronics reach a certain saturation point, prices drop to entice people to get a second device, or to upgrade to a newer device. I suspect the same will be true of tablets. When tablet devices become more the norm, the prices will drop. iPad will drop less, if at all, because as long as the brand itself remains strong, people will pay a premium for it.
Last hope?
There are bunches of Honeycomb tablets just launching, or soon to be launching. It's only Tegra 2 stuff at the moment, so I imagine once Google gets things settled, we'll see Honeycomb on more.
That being said, is it guaranteed to have the same success as in the phone market? Probably not, because they don't really have carriers pushing it as hard.
We'll also not likely see the iPod market all over again, because at the very least, Google is a known and successful brand.
This whole idea that this is the last hope, is ridiculous. The tablet market is barely a year old, and the "real" market is just now starting. (real as in, multiple competitors with actual tablet OSes)
There are bunches of Honeycomb tablets just launching, or soon to be launching. It's only Tegra 2 stuff at the moment, so I imagine once Google gets things settled, we'll see Honeycomb on more.
That being said, is it guaranteed to have the same success as in the phone market? Probably not, because they don't really have carriers pushing it as hard.
We'll also not likely see the iPod market all over again, because at the very least, Google is a known and successful brand.
This whole idea that this is the last hope, is ridiculous. The tablet market is barely a year old, and the "real" market is just now starting. (real as in, multiple competitors with actual tablet OSes)
Ummmm, I dont think so.
I've been a avid iPad 1 user since it launched. I've been using a Xoom since it launched, and just last week got my iPad 2. Based on my extended use of the Xoom (not playing with it for 5 minutes at Best Buy) I can tell you Android is off to a good start, and I expect it to continue gaining ground on iOS. Honeycomb has a lot of advantages over iOS in terms of customizability, multi-tasking, notifications, browsing performance, and control over your interface. iOS rules as far as apps goes, but that 11 month head start the iPad has is only going to last so long.
I've been a avid iPad 1 user since it launched. I've been using a Xoom since it launched, and just last week got my iPad 2. Based on my extended use of the Xoom (not playing with it for 5 minutes at Best Buy) I can tell you Android is off to a good start, and I expect it to continue gaining ground on iOS. Honeycomb has a lot of advantages over iOS in terms of customizability, multi-tasking, notifications, browsing performance, and control over your interface. iOS rules as far as apps goes, but that 11 month head start the iPad has is only going to last so long.
It has NO, ZERO chance to outsell the iPad2. I have a better chance of Brooklyn Decker calling me than the Samsung outselling the iPad.
"We'll also not likely see the iPod market all over again, because at the very least, Google is a known and successful brand."
Google does not make a tablet. They make Android.
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I said last hope, because if these Android based tablets continue to fade into mediocrity, less and less people will want to buy them. People just can't see forking over $500 for less than stellar tablets, when they know they can get an iPad that works and works well.
In reality, Samsung and HP are the only two big name tablets running Honeycomb set to hit the market this year. If both are flops (like the Xoom), it's highly doubtful people will continue to maintain interest.
I want to like an Android tablet, I really do, and I want there to be some competition against the iPad. But I'll be damned if I am going to give any money to anyone other than Apple, until someone comes out with a quality tablet running Android. And the longer time goes on without one, the less inclined I am to want one. Keeping my fingers crossed for Samsung.
Not sure what "overrun" means. Several tech analysts have made the point that more than one can play at the game, meaning that Apple and Google can both play successfully at the tablet and smartphone market. Take a look at Apple Macs. You can hardly call them unsuccessful even though it does not hold a majority of the PC market. At the same time, many PC companies have done well in the past selling their Windows PC.
I don't know why so many like to either say Android is "going to win" or iOS is "going to win". It's like we're back in nursery school where the only concept of success a child can hold is if one person wins.
Do you really believe that Android phones get more subsidies from carriers than iPhone? I am sure i's the reverse. So we are bound to have cheaper Android tablets (unsubsidized) than iPads.
Maybe not in the U.S. Think Global. If this thing can outsell the iPad globally you better believe it'll trickle down to the United States.
I couldn't disagree more. As a consumer I don't give 2 shakes about all those "better" specs. Let me tell you some facts about that usability of those specs. First off, all that hardware will have to run some incredibly heavy OS (compared to iOS or Android) -- most likely Windows 7. Every laptop I've used in the $500 range is a slow pig running Win 7. My iPad will literally smoke them in most tasks. For a consumer device oriented to consuming content, which is what 80%+ of the world does, the iPad is a much better option than a traditional laptop -- including those made by Apple. By comparison the iPad is:
- Much more portable
- 5x typical $500 laptop battery life
- Much easier to learn to use
- Faster (not specs, in actual use)
- Has many, many more entertainment oriented software options
- Which are general priced at 1/10 of traditional desktop software
- Is much lower maintenance
- And doesn't suffer from malware
All for the same price. No the current crop of iPads are only "overpriced" for people that either:
- Value specs over results
- Fall into the 20% that actually need functionality beyond the consumption model provided by the iPad (and all tablets for that matter)
I will add that most of the Honeycomb based tablets to date could potentially also maintain these same advantages. The hole in the Honeycomb story is tablet optimized apps. They have a real chicken and egg problem there. But if they were to figure that out I think it's quite likely Android would make significant gains. The other part of the Honeycomb problem, which is purely temporary - is that is still not fully baked. Clearly it was rushed to market. But that will be fixed with time, talent, and money - three thing Google has plenty of. That category of apps though - that's the big one.