Tablet Rivals May Face a Smaller Apple iPad
Barry Levine, Mobile Tech Today, 8/17/2010
Apple is reportedly planning a smaller seven-inch iPad 2 even as its rivals scramble to introduce their own tablet computers. Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad is a hot seller with no competition at the moment, but Samsung, Hewlett-Packard, ASUS and others plan to grab a share of a growing market. ASUS has reported iPads cutting into its netbook sales.
Apple’s iPad may have the tablet field to itself at the moment, but a variety of competitors are lacing up their shoes. Within the next few months, tablets are expected from Samsung, Hewlett-Packard, ASUS, LG Electronics, Research In Motion, Dell and others. But they better move fast, since there are reports that Apple is planning a smaller seven-inch iPad 2 for release as early as Christmas.
The competition certainly has its work cut out. The 9.7-inch iPad is currently selling about a million units per month, and in the minds of many consumers it is the tablet category. But it’s a growing category. One industry projection, from IDC, estimated 12 million units will be sold by the end of this year, and twice that number next year.
Android, webOS, BlackBerry OS
Many of the new tablets will be built on Google‘s open-source Android operating system, including Samsung’s Galaxy, the Dell Streak, and ASUS’ Eee Pad. Google is expected to release a more tablet-optimized version of Android in the fall. HP originally was going to release a tablet based on Microsoft’s Windows 7, but has canceled that and is expected to use the webOS it acquired when it bought Palm. RIM is expected to use an updated version of its BlackBerry OS.
Aside from mindshare, a key problem competitors must solve is that the OS must be tablet- and touch-optimized. HP apparently decided that Windows 7 wasn’t. Another essential factor is the number of third-party applications, given that Apple has more than 225,000 apps for its mobile devices.
A third key issue is differentiation. Apple has opened one of those doors by refusing to allow the popular Flash multimedia technology on its devices, and its rivals are all too happy to offer it on their tablets. Price could obviously be a differentiator, but it’s not yet clear how price-sensitive this market is.
ASUS Reducing Netbook Estimates
ASUS, which has been successful in the growing category of netbooks, is expected to release an Android-based tablet with a 10-inch screen in March 2011 for a price south of $400, well below the iPad’s starting price of $499. ASUS has also indicated it will release a Windows 7-based, 12-inch tablet, possibly by this December, priced at about $1,000.
Because of its position in netbooks, many industry observers have been expecting ASUS to step up as a key iPad competitor, which is now becoming an urgent move. Last Friday, the company indicated to investors that it was reducing the shipment estimates for its netbooks for the summer quarter because of competition from the iPad. Some observers have suggested that tablets could replace the netbook category completely.
Apple, meanwhile, isn’t exactly standing around and waiting for the new guys to catch up. A recent report in China’s Economic Daily News, which accurately predicted the original iPad, said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company will be releasing a seven-inch iPad that might be named the iPad 2 and could be released as early as December. The smaller size could be directed at the upcoming tablets, several of which expect to be smaller and thus easier to hold in one hand.
Related posts:
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- Truphone for iPad Turns Your Tablet Into a TabletPhone John Biggs, TechCrunch, 4/5/2010 Just when you thought side-talking was dead, Truphone has release Truphone for iPad, an iPad-ready of...
- AT&T sees soaring use of Wi-Fi — just in time for an Apple tablet Matt Hamblen, Computerworld, 1/26/2010 Wi-Fi use quadrupled in 2009, mostly via smartphones, the carrier says Wi-Fi connections via AT&T more...
In: Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Mobile Technology, WinPhone · Tagged with: HP, Samsung
on August 21, 2010 at 5:28 pm
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Tablet Rivals May Face a Smaller Apple iPad http://bt.io/FrGo
on August 21, 2010 at 5:49 pm
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RT @mobileinternets: Tablet Rivals May Face a Smaller Apple iPad http://bt.io/FrGo