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I called Amazon's tablet a fail earlier because of it's 7" screen. But I think you may be right about 7" being a sweet spot for eReaders. Perhaps Amazon's goal is to have a really badass Kindle, that can do some decent tablet functions on the side. The only sucky thing for Amazon is that they killed the only advantage that Kindle had: eInk.

Your capacity to view the future is astounding. The Amazon tablet (aka Kindle 4) hasn't been introduced yet.
 
1-Apple will not go into the 7" market, no need to.
2-At this point nothing comes close to the iPad.
3-As for sales of iPad competitors, look around you, see what people are using, Ipads!
4-those sales numbers may not be 100% accurate, but I would bet they are real close.
5-the amazon thing may do well, buy nowhere near iPad sales
 
3-As for sales of iPad competitors, look around you, see what people are using, Ipads!

I've been doing a lot of traveling lately. I always sit at the front of the plane, and make that long walk to the back for the toilet. I always look to see what people are using. Recently, it's been about half iPads, half laptops. I've never seen a "competitor" tablet device on a plane. The one device I saw that was funny was one of those old DVD player LCD screen things that fold in half.
 
I've been doing a lot of traveling lately. I always sit at the front of the plane, and make that long walk to the back for the toilet. I always look to see what people are using. Recently, it's been about half iPads, half laptops. I've never seen a "competitor" tablet device on a plane. The one device I saw that was funny was one of those old DVD player LCD screen things that fold in half.

I travel too, I honestly have never seen another tablet being used either.
on a plane
in a Starbucks
at a couple of colleges I visited with my daughter
nowhere
 
FTA -
A rival has claimed that the Samsung Galaxy Tab sold just 20,000 out of 1m units shipped

Schadenfreude might be OK at sad places like some online forums but at least read the first line of whatever you are basing it on ;)
 
Did you not see this?

http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/

It's first hand information from a source that has seen it and used it.

(No need to apologize for the snide comment you made to me.)

In fact, I hadn't seen it, but after reading it I'd say that while it might be accurate it is hardly a definitive statement about the features of the device, nor even whether the Kindle 4 and the Amazon Tablet are the same device.

Full of "I believe..", "From what I saw...," "Not in production yet...," "My understanding is..", "I only played with it for an hour...", etc.

As with the many questions about the article that began this thread, a critical reading of this breathless bit of "insider" information suggests that there may well be significant differences between what is reported here and what ends up being sold to the public.

Not saying it's incorrect. Just noting that there are often big differences even between a device shown at a consumer electronics show and what is actually sold to consumers, much less the impressions of a writer who looked at a "design verification testing unit" "for an hour."

As far as e-ink is concerned, I'm not surprised that it poses a large development challenge and Amazon may well have decided to forego it in the interest of having the device available for the 2011 holiday season. I'm not convinced, though, that it's as big a deal for most consumers as it is for tech writers.

Clearly, e-ink displays have two big advantages over backlit displays. The battery life is phenomenal and reading in sunlight is far easier. The "easy on the eyes" advantage, though, is debatable and highly individual, I think.

Ten hours of battery life seems to be the hurdle that most consumers want to see. And the advantage of reading outside is balanced by the weakness of reading in bed without external lighting. While the absence of an e-ink display will turn off some dedicated e-reader readers, I suspect that it won't be a deal breaker, especially at a price half that of an iPad from a well respected brand like Amazon.

And all of that, of course, assumes the writer is unfailingly accurate in his report. Like the story you posted to begin the thread, that's hardly a safe assumption.
 
Perhaps you didn't see who created this thread :p

I didn't but even after seeing who did, images of "Gruber" "Preaching over Radio" etc. kept popping up in my mind. May be I am wrong about it - not too good at subtlety :D
 
for the ipad to be good, all others must be bad. at least, that is often how the fanboy thinking seems to go. sort of like putting down others on the playground in order to make yourself feel better.

regarding ipad competitors, i think it's a good idea to step back and admit that the other is just different sometimes and let it go. i'll enjoy the ipad. other people can enjoy their samsung galaxy tab.

as for proof of current market conditions, the op seems to be insinuating that he's offered it while i have not. personally, i'll take the shipping figures of tablet manufacturers and the analyses of experts over the ramblings of an unknown executive at a rival company. only 20,000? maybe. but, i doubt it.
 
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for the ipad to be good, all others must be bad. at least, that is often how the fanboy thinking seems to go. sort of like putting down others on the playground in order to make yourself fell better.

regarding ipad competitors, i think it's a good idea to step back and admit that the other is just different sometimes and let it go. i'll enjoy the ipad. other people can enjoy their samsung galaxy tab.

as for proof of current market conditions, the op seems to be insinuating that he's offered it while i have not. personally, i'll take the shipping figures of tablet manufacturers and the analyses of experts over the ramblings of an unknown executive at a rival company. only 20,000? maybe. but, i doubt it.

^ This.

The general attitude of some die-hard Apple fans is anything Apple is good and anything non-Apple is not good. I find it funny to see people call iPad "post-pc era" and "magical" while its just a goddamn electronic gadget...
 
I've been doing a lot of traveling lately. I always sit at the front of the plane, and make that long walk to the back for the toilet. I always look to see what people are using. Recently, it's been about half iPads, half laptops. I've never seen a "competitor" tablet device on a plane. The one device I saw that was funny was one of those old DVD player LCD screen things that fold in half.

Based on the above logic, the Toshiba Thrive is the best selling tablet ever produced. Android tablets, specifically the Thrive and to a lesser extent TouchPads outnumbered iPads on the six flights I took in August, so it must be so.:rolleyes:

I always sit in an exit row, but I'm not sure what bearing that has on the situation.
 
EDIT: erased. now i am just being snarky. anyhow, good luck to the competitors. as a consumer, i hope that toshiba and other competitors bringing their "a" game this christmas season. i like what i see out there so far.
 
^ This.

The general attitude of some die-hard Apple fans is anything Apple is good and anything non-Apple is not good.

The evidence supporting this view keeps piling up. Don't blame Apple fans that simply call attention to it. Blame Apple's incompetent rivals. They just don't get it. Looks like you don't, either.
 
for the ipad to be good, all others must be bad. at least, that is often how the fanboy thinking seems to go. sort of like putting down others on the playground in order to make yourself feel better.

regarding ipad competitors, i think it's a good idea to step back and admit that the other is just different sometimes and let it go. i'll enjoy the ipad. other people can enjoy their samsung galaxy tab.

as for proof of current market conditions, the op seems to be insinuating that he's offered it while i have not. personally, i'll take the shipping figures of tablet manufacturers and the analyses of experts over the ramblings of an unknown executive at a rival company. only 20,000? maybe. but, i doubt it.

It's not about whether a competitor is good or bad. It's about whether or not they are gaining any significant market share in the world of tablets.

Everybody loves to make posts with what they consider to be witty comments, or insulting fanboys, or saying how they obviously know more than a top exec at a major tech company, but nobody here seems to talk about the facts.

Fact: No tablet is gaining any significant market share against the iPad. No tablet out there is considered a "threat" or a "major competitor" to the iPad.

Fact: The vast majority of tablet manufacturers are not in any way getting the quantity of sales they predicted. In fact, many tablet manufacturers have had to decrease the price of their tablets or give them away for free to move inventory.

Fact: The only tablet that has had great success is the iPad.

It's a simple as that. I challenge anyone to refute these facts with any hard data.


The evidence supporting this view keeps piling up. Don't blame Apple fans that simply call attention to it. Blame Apple's incompetent rivals. They just don't get it. Looks like you don't, either.

I 100% agree. This message board is incredibly hostile. It's an Apple message board, and when you post facts about Apple's success in the tablet market you get called a fanboy and all sorts of other names, and you have people making insulting posts towards you, etc. It's really ridiculous.
 
IMHO, I think it is awesome news that the iPad rivals are selling horribly. This makes it a higher chance of another quick firesafe, similar to the HP TouchPad, happen in the future. If one can afford a $500+ tablet, just buy an iPad & ignore all other competitor offerings, if one cannot afford it, just be patient & wait till the competitors got overly desperate & clear out their inventory with a quick firesafe. I think it is definitely a win-win situation for consumers. :D
 
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It's not about whether a competitor is good or bad. It's about whether or not they are gaining any significant market share in the world of tablets.


I 100% agree. This message board is incredibly hostile. It's an Apple message board, and when you post facts about Apple's success in the tablet market you get called a fanboy and all sorts of other names, and you have people making insulting posts towards you, etc. It's really ridiculous.

So, please take this constructively - I enjoy reading your posts for the sheer amount of hysteria they bring to the boards, because they're really, really good at getting people stirred up, which is fairly entertaining to watch unfold.

Everyone knows the iPad has ridiculous amount of the tablet market share - depending on who's reporting, it's anywhere from 76% - 98%. All you're doing is stating the obvious. I can see how people get spun up about it and start attacking; there's always a segment of the population that hates the "smart guy", and having the choices they made shoved in their faces that perhaps they didn't make the popular or wisest choice with their hard earned dollars, or over extended credit lines.

Personally, I don't give a rip who the market leader is. I have an iPad which is my primary tablet. I also have a Galaxy Tab 10.1 which is fairly underwhelming, but I'm holding out hope for ICS. I also have a TouchPad, which is a love/hate thing. Hate the hardware, love WebOS, and despise HP management.
 
In fact, I hadn't seen it, but after reading it I'd say that while it might be accurate it is hardly a definitive statement about the features of the device, nor even whether the Kindle 4 and the Amazon Tablet are the same device.

Full of "I believe..", "From what I saw...," "Not in production yet...," "My understanding is..", "I only played with it for an hour...", etc.
...
And all of that, of course, assumes the writer is unfailingly accurate in his report. Like the story you posted to begin the thread, that's hardly a safe assumption.

Nice. After attacking someone personally because you didn't know about the article, instead of apologizing you're desperately trying to justify your adhominem attack while questioning the validity of the well-known source. (seriously, are you saying Amazon will change the form factor at this point of the developement??) For someone who consistently keeps attacking people here for not being logical or being biased, you certainly cannot accept your own failings in the very areas that you're critical of.

As for the topic of this thread, I doubt Galaxy Tab 7 sold that badly. However there has been a number of reports out of Korea that the sales through indeed has been disappointing but nowhere near Lenovo's claim. They have been pretty aggressive selling it at low price through the domestic market in Korea though.

This goes back to the whole "quite smooth" thing. Why would they use the word "smooth" to describe the sales through rate if they were selling well? That there was no natural disaster stopping the sales of the product?
 
Nice. After attacking someone personally because you didn't know about the article, instead of apologizing you're desperately trying to justify your adhominem attack while questioning the validity of the well-known source. (seriously, are you saying Amazon will change the form factor at this point of the developement??) For someone who consistently keeps attacking people here for not being logical or being biased, you certainly cannot accept your own failings in the very areas that you're critical of.

As for the topic of this thread, I doubt Galaxy Tab 7 sold that badly. However there has been a number of reports out of Korea that the sales through indeed has been disappointing but nowhere near Lenovo's claim. They have been pretty aggressive selling it at low price through the domestic market in Korea though.

This goes back to the whole "quite smooth" thing. Why would they use the word "smooth" to describe the sales through rate if they were selling well? That there was no natural disaster stopping the sales of the product?

Attack? I don't think you know the meaning of the word. I simply pointed out that drawing conclusions about a product that hasn't yet even been introduced, much less released, should be at best qualified, not stated as hard fact, especially by someone who is citing claims by someone else whose exposure to a pre-introduction, pre-release "development verification" unit amounted to "about an hour."

Am I questioning the form factor? Nope. I'll wait to see what Amazon introduces and until then I'll qualify speculation as precisely that. I've already gone on record as guessing that the Kindle 4 will be about the size of the B&N Nook, about 6-7 inches.

As for the use of the term "smooth," it's difficult to determine exactly what that means from an out of context quotation from a third party but having worked for a multinational whose executives spoke English as a second (or fourth) language, I wouldn't be surprised to find that the term was either badly translated or that the executive's English was imprecise.
 
Attack? I don't think you know the meaning of the word.

Fair enough, let's say it's a snide sarcasm then.

I simply pointed out that drawing conclusions about a product that hasn't yet even been introduced

What Radiogoober said was mostly related to the choice of screen (LCD) and the form factor (7"). We have a fairly well known writer (Siegler) from one of best known tech sites (Techcrunch) who has actually used the product, not something on hearsay. At this point it's not really a speculation on the form factor and the choice of the display. Just when it'll get released and what will be the status of the final software along with pricing,etc.

It seems to me that the main reason you're clinging to discredit MG Siegler's scoop is because you made a snide sarcasm on Radiogoober without knowing the information. If Apple fans are clinging to their fantasies even after a well known techwriter comes up with a scoop that's against the fantasies, you'll be all over the them for being in denial. I think you just made an unwarranted snide comment on someone and trying to avoid say that you were wrong.


As for the use of the term "smooth," it's difficult to determine exactly what that means from an out of context quotation from a third party

You've pointed exactly why she picked the term "smooth." She said the word precisely because it's hard to determine the exact meaning of the term. She didn't want to give out the number outright (for obvious reasons) and couldn't lie in front of investors, so she sidestepped the problem by using a vague language.

It's not an out of context quotation. You can listen to the whole conference call here: http://aod.teletogether.com/sec/20110128/eng.asp and will see that it's not taken out of context at all. She just didn't want to answer the question directly when pressed to tell how well Galaxy Tab sold to the consumers.

Although her English is a bit rigid and strong in accent, she is evidently a very capable speaker of the language. Yet somehow, just at that one point she becomes incapable of finding the right word. :p

Funny thing is, I've had this exact same conversation with another member here who's also usually critical of Apple fans for being biased and non-objective. Instead of thinking that the Samsung exec. simply couldn't answer the question directly due to the disappointing sales, the said member tried to reason that it must have had something to do with mistranslation, bad English, etc.
 
As for the use of the term "smooth," it's difficult to determine exactly what that means from an out of context quotation from a third party

I'll tell you exactly what it means:

It's the kind of BS you use when you want your channel-stuffing to seem like legit sales.

And that's really an encapsulation of Samsung's tablet journey up to this point: No plan, no roadmap, and various experiments in size, appearing to be totally random.
 
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I keep an eye out for different devices on the train. I see a fair number of Android tablets but it is at least 20 to 1 in favor of Apple.
 
...
And that's really an encapsulation of Samsung's tablet journey up to this point: No plan, no roadmap, and various experiments in size, appearing to be totally random.

I'm sure they have a road map but it's just an extension of their usual business strategy. Please allow me to quote myself from another thread:

- Pick a market explored by an innovator/market leader
- Make products intentionally similar to the market leaders', one might call this copying
- The first iteration of the products is crappy but functional and cheap and similar enough to the market leader's
- Spend heavy on R&D to make the products that eventually outperform the innovator
- Make products faster and cheaper
- Diversify product line and flood the market.
- ???
- PROFIT

It's actually surprising that people are surprised that Samsung is copying the market leader. This is their usual tactic and Samsung is often even proud of the fact that they can take over the market leader by using the "fast follower" strategy. It has been said Samsung is the biggest KIRF maker in the world, and it has some merit. Now I don't want to chastise Samsung, as they are from a different culture where "end justifies means" often is everything and they aren't found to be doing illegal stuff. (Except the fact their CEO was found guilty of a huge tax evasion and there was a whistle blower who wrote a tell-all book on Samsung. But that's relevant to this discussion)
 
I'm sure they have a road map but it's just an extension of their usual business strategy. Please allow me to quote myself from another thread:

- Pick a market explored by an innovator/market leader
- Make products intentionally similar to the market leaders', one might call this copying
- The first iteration of the products is crappy but functional and cheap and similar enough to the market leader's
- Spend heavy on R&D to make the products that eventually outperform the innovator
- Make products faster and cheaper
- Diversify product line and flood the market.
- ???
- PROFIT

There are a couple niggles with that Master Plan.
 
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