Log in

View Full Version : Tablet Wars: The Battle for Second Place


Michael Knutson
09-22-2011, 08:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.cnet.com/8301-33200_3-20109277-290/the-ipad-challengers-a-status-report/' target='_blank'>http://news.cnet.com/8301-33200_3-2...-status-report/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"At first, it must have looked so easy. Within nanoseconds of Steve Jobs' January 2010 unveiling of the iPad, a gaggle of companies decided to get into the tablet business."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1316717250.usr17748.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>After one and three quarter years, there is still no real challenger to the iPad, although many have tried (and some have already failed and/or bailed), and many are still trying. The current status: Android, while a runaway success on phones, still isn't able to duplicate that success on tablets - maybe Ice Cream Sandwich will be a game changer; HP's WebOS, so long, we hardly knew ye; RIM's (PlayBook) QNX is battling to keep from ending-up last, despite the advantages of a solid OS without app support; Windows, with Windows 8 still pretty far away, is an unknown quantity at this point, but can't be overlooked. So, the iPad still rules the roost, at least in CNET's view. Anyone think that Amazon can be a serious competitor if they choose to enter the fray?</p>

Jason Dunn
09-22-2011, 09:14 PM
I absolutely think Amazon can challenge the iPad, but they'll do it in a different way - at a lower price point people will buy multiple Amazon tablets over the course of a few years...they'll be gateway devices to Amazon services. Apple will still command the premium space in tablets, but they'll be out-sold in volume by lower cost Android tablets...just like what's happening with phones. The Android tablet makers need to find the right mix of price/features - thus far they haven't really nailed it. I think Amazon stands a very good chance of being the first to do so.

Vincent Ferrari
09-23-2011, 02:10 PM
Amazon will be able to get the job done if they try to compete on more than price. Once your proposition becomes "I'm the cheaper one" or "I'm a commodity," people start treating you like one, just like every other phone out there. There isn't one phone outselling the iPhone 4. Why? Because people don't believe that it's all about price.

Amazon has a great stable of products and content that other manufacturers don't have, but if people don't perceive them as premium at a value price, they'll be just another slip of glass that no one buys.