Cheap Tablets are Soon to Be a Big Hit
The technological gap between a device such as an Samsung Exhibit 4G Android phone and the iPad 2 is getting smaller and smaller by the day. It’s this space between smartphones and mainstream tablets that some technology leaders are seeing an opportunity to turn a profit. Starting with the Amazon Fire Kindle, companies are increasingly finding niches in the mobile tech market that are mostly dug out as a result of economical consumers, cheap hardware, and open source software.
Rumors that Apple is considering coming out with an “iPad mini” only cement suspicions that the market is going to soon be headed toward the gray area between phone and mainstream tablet.
Consider, for example, the fact that the Indian government has managed to manufacture a $50 tablet that they will sell to low-income students and families for $25-$35. Upon demonstration, it’s clear that this $50 tablet is no iPad or even a Fire Kindle. But it’s shockingly close considering the low ball price tag. Add an extra $100 worth of improved hardware and more sophisticated software, and you could conceivably manufacture a worthy competitor of anything on the market today for $50 cheaper than what the cheapest tablet is currently going for.
Companies such as Kobo are paying attention to the issue of size. While the iPad promotes itself as the ideal form of mobile computing, in reality the size of high-end tablets keeps them from being truly mobile. You can’t throw an iPad 2 into your average purse, for example. You have to carry it around in a folio, which isn’t suitable for everyone who otherwise find themselves attracted to the idea of a tablet. Creating tablets that sit in a sweet spot of size between the current iPad and the iPhone 4S, is a good framework for capturing an untapped market of tablet buyers.
With that said, cheapness will rely in part on access to economic platforms such as Android. In exchange for the inexpensive software, customers won’t have the optimized-to-the-max experience they’d otherwise be getting if they purchased an iPad. Instead, users of these discount tablets will have to settle for a more homelier interface and lowered expectations in terms of revolutionary capability.
But if makers of these new mini-tablets can manage to provide the basics: web-surfing, emailing, video watching, gameplay, and personal finance, then there’s no doubt they’ll have folks ready to buy their products
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