5:27 PM
Ahmed Abd ElkadeR
As previously mentioned, we’re fascinated by the tablet market and
the every changing landscape. Last month it was the HP TouchPad
cancellation and $99 blowout madness. Lately it’s been the big price
reduction of the BlackBerry PlayBook. This month? Without question the
real game changer is the Kindle Fire Amazon tablet. We touched on
previously how there may be a new tablet direction.
Face facts. The manufacturers have been scrambling ever since the
iPad tablet hit the market. There has been a massive collective effort
put forward by Samsung, Toshiba, Acer and others to make a dent in the
Apple iPad domination. At best, it’s been an uphill battle. There have
been casualties.
This issue now is the Kindle Fire and Nook Color. What we have here
is the Amazon answer to the Nook Color. The Nook Color if you didn’t
know has been doing rather well as one of the only “color ereaders”
which in a lot of ways is a stripped down tablet. So with the $199 price
tag on the Kindle Fire tablet, the other manufacturers have to be
asking themselves how they can charge or expect to charge $300 or more
for a 7-inch Android tablet. Heck, how can they even expect to sell
their 7-inch tablets for $250.
As others have said, the Kindle Fire is about the software and not
about the hardware. When you look at what’s happening now, you realize
that the other tablet makers simply don’t have a 7-inch tablet that can
compete price wise with the Kindle Fire and Nook Color. Did we mention
that a new Nook Color will be coming soon? That even makes this a
greater crisis for the competition.
So here is the crux. The competitors like Samsung, Acer and others
simply don’t have a tablet that can compete with the 7-inch Kindle Fire
from Amazon. The issue really is that their tablets simply cost too much
to manufacture. The fact is, a new category of tablet is happening
before our eyes. It’s going to become even clearer with the upcoming
announcement of the new Nook Color. If the Samsung’s of the world don’t
come out with a tablet that can compete with the $199 or under $250,
then they are going to be selling very few units.
So to summarize, it’s going to become clear that other manufacturers
will have to release a 7-inch tablet that can compete with the Nook
Color and Kindle Fire. That means no cameras, no big storage, fewer
expensive parts, and whatever else that can be removed to lower the
manufacturing costs.
The HP TouchPad proved one thing. If the price is low enough people
will buy tablets in big numbers. With the Nook Color and Kindle Fire,
people now have that option. I just don’t see people opting for a tablet
that is $100 more expensive just because it has slightly better
hardware or cameras. Call this new breed of 7-inch tablets glorified
ereaders, but it’s serious competition now. When thousands start buying
the Kindle Fire, what options do the competitors have left? They have to
join that market just like Amazon was forced to compete with the Nook
Color.
via[besttablet2012]
