Take that, iPad! (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Take THAT, 7" Android Tablet dudes!

http://www.macworld.com/article/154980/2010/10/jobs_transcript.html

 

[DaveF]

Planning to buy one or two iPads next year, and from playing at the store, I agree. Even 9.7" is on the edge of being too small. A 7" tablet doesn't make much sense; though I've not played with one.

I am curious to see if these larger 4" phones become popular enough that Apple increases the iPhone size. Keeping with the Retina Display, a 1280x720 4" screen would be amazing.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

BTW, I got some email the other day from Verizon Wireless trying drum up interest and sell me some sort of iPad "MiFi" package when they start carrying them in the near future.


Anyway, as I mentioned before/elsewhere, I agree that 7" for a touchscreen tablet is probably in no-man's land between all the smartphones and the iPad (and anything bigger).


_Man_

 

[Sam Posten]

I don't see a dedicated Galaxy Tab thread so I'll put my "Good luck with that" here....

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/20/verizon-to-sell-galaxy-tab-starting-november-11-for-600-world/

 

[DaveF]

Isn't that a pretty good price? iPad 16GB with 3G is $630. So the 3G-capable Tab is $30 cheaper than the cheapest 3G iPad option.

 

[Sam Posten]

It's 2/3rds the size of the iPad. They were supposed to be cheap to build.

 

[DaveF]

Maybe that's the manufacturing goal, but to the consumer it's about whether it meets my needs and my wallet. As such, it's cheaper than the cheapest equivalent iPad, has similar hardware specs, and a 7" instead of 10" screen. It looks quite competitive.


Put another way: the iPod Touch is about 10% the screen size of the iPad, yet 80% of the price. Screen size is not the sole factor in people's purchase decisions

 

[mattCR]

I think the Galaxy has fail written all over it.

Here's the thing, if you're going to try and break into the market I think you have to do something different then what apple is doing. I think if you spend all your time trying to do what they are doing, you lose, because in that comparison they have a stronger ecosystem because it's already been established.


I'm not so confident on WindowsPhone7, but at least Microsoft got the key point, and instead of trying to ape apple's idea, they are saying "Let's try to hoist our own, and bring the platform support of the XBOX into this". I don't know if it will work, but it's a different idea.


I think the problem with the Galaxy is that there isn't anything here so stand out as "different" that it will be compared point blank on basic functionality (browse the web, show video, etc.) with the ipad, and there it's hard to contend your so different that it matters. If a video plays, it plays.. and thus comes in brand name inertia.


Samsung has to think that Google will have some inertia to get adopters.. and it will. But google fans are more pragmatists and less fanboi then Apple fans (sorry!) and whereas Apple fans would line up to buy the latest swag, google fans won't take quite that approach.


I think someone has to come out with a pad that is seriously different.. in some way. Something that stands out as a "this is a unique feature".


Right now there are about 5 companies in the world who really have the ability to potentially do that, but none of them seem all that keen on doing it.

I honestly think, while a completely different market, if Microsoft or Sony were to make ones that were basically a pad with PS2 / OriginalXBOX level functionality and supports for connection to their consoles.. it'd definitely be more popular then PSPGo, etc. and it's fill that void for Microsoft in the mobile market. Or, Microsoft could bring the surface digital scanner technology and heve a pad that can scan (that won't happen)


But I don't see either of them doing that.


IBM could roll out a pad using it's business guidance pads now, which do one thing insanely well: handwriting recognition. Bring that thing to a different model and just say: "for when you need to write" or something.


Cisco could probably do it, using an LTE device.



But I think to get over, to build a following, you have to do somethings significantly different to Apple. Say "this is a different idea". And you have to either be very different and something people desperately want, or you have to have something different and cheaper.


Kind of different, same idea but near the same price won't work.


The best example for what does work in this market is something very different from Apple.. and that's the Kindle. The Kindle is now $140. By PRODUCTION figures, the estimate is around 5M sold this year at end, probably more next year. The price point makes it attractive.

Now, Amazon is in a weird ballgame. They really -can't- start announcing how many Kindle units are out there, because they pitch book publishers on the fact that there are tens of millions of Kindle Readers out there (and they are right, there is a Kindle reader app for tons of things beyond Kindle) and most Publishers will require them to not start announcing installed bases without renegotiating. So, I doubt you'll ever see amazon start throwing out it's sale through numbers... but, based on PRODUCTION numbers, they are doing quite well.


They are doing so because they went a completely different direction. They aren't even trying to compete with ipad. They are just saying "we are something totally different". I think if you want to chase down Apple, you have to not play their game, and you have to do something different. Either better or worse, but you cannot fight them at "oh, this is basically the same idea" because you'll lose.

 

[Sam Posten]

Engadget has backed off their pricing slam:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/20/editorial-why-the-galaxy-tabs-price-makes-sense/


I still don't buy it. Why would someone buy this over an iPad other than pure Apple hatred?

 

[DaveF]

Who would buy it? Anyone with an Android phone that wants a tablet. And allegedly there are millions of those people.


I have no idea if the Tab will be successful. I especially don't know how it will do when Google's official stance is: Don't make a Tablet until Android 3.0 comes out.


Undoubtedly Android tablets will come out and sell and be popular. People with Android phones may be more comfortable buying an Android Tablet. If you've got an Android phone, obviously you're better off in terms of apps getting an Android tablet: you can reuse many of them, not have to spend money rebuying equivalent apps, and not have to learn two different systems for the same thing. And there are those that simply hate Apple, or don't like the brand image, or still think of Apple as "too expensive". And the tablets will have features the iPad lack, like expandable memory via SDHC cards, or USB ports, or HDMI video out, or integrate pico-projector or whatever doohickey gets integrated into a $599 tablets in the coming year.


Android phones are selling like gangbusters. That will have a halo effect and help sell Android Tablets.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hopefully, the dust will settle wrt the Shakespearean tragedy that's being played out between Verizon and Apple by the time I'm ready to commit to iOS or Android next spring or early summer. And since my son lost the iPod Touch 2G I gave to him, there's one less reason for us to wait for the iPhone (or switch service provider, not that I'd seriously consider that just to get the iPhone). I'm fine w/ waiting some as it's not exactly top priority (and I wouldn't buy iPad 1G anyway), but would prefer to get this over w/ already...


_Man_

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong


(or switch service provider, not that I'd seriously consider that just to get the iPhone).


_Man_

It's well worth considering...for the iPhone..come, join the dark side... (I switched from V to AT&T solely for an iPhone 4)

 

[Sam Posten]

OK dave but there are no Tablet Apps and their likely won't be much interesting there for another year or so, is there?


What developers are excited about Android Tablet Apps?

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten

OK dave but there are no Tablet Apps and their likely won't be much interesting there for another year or so, is there?


What developers are excited about Android Tablet Apps?

That's hard to be sure of. In fact, I'd be fairly sure that's wrong. When Google Started Android, they also had no apps. And now, somewhere around 120,000 of them. Apple also started with no apps.. everyone has to lure 3rd party developers. I'm sure Google will have some launch partners with options from the get go.


That still doesn't upend my point that I just think they are wrong to come out with "this is the design" and compete with Apple on their own turf; that's a losing proposition (IMHO), but I'd bet there are plenty of developers excited about Android Apps.. if it can make them $$$.

 

[DaveF]

So point taken, and that's where Samsung's strategy is wholly opaque.


The real question is: who wants a 7" Android Phone? Because that's what Samsung made, to get around Google's Marketplace rules. The apps are the current apps. Samsung is trying to leapfrog the entire Android tablet industry by violating Google's guidance / rules and building a non-3.0 OS tablet. Will this oddity sell? Some, for sure. People bought the original AppleTV; people will buy anything

 

[Hanson]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten fits the bill. $275 for the 8GB internal flash or $350 for the 250GB internal HDD model. There's no official marketplace, but it's not very difficult to get it working.


Or you can just wait for Google to release 3.0 and not have to dicker around with the Marketplace.

 

[DaveF]

What tablets are coming out for $300 that having anything like the performance or specs of the Galaxy Tab or iPad?

 

[Hanson]

Did you not click on the Archos 70 link?

 

[DaveF]

I'm surprised by how much it's got for $350, but it really sacrificed on the screen.

 

[Hanson]

But a 7" 800 X 480 capacitive multi-touch screen is the same spec as the Galaxy Tab. And no, the Galaxy Tab is not SAMOLED either.


There's also a 10" model with 1024 X 600 resolution.