With iPad 2 out, some are wondering whether or not a decent competitor will emerge to challenge Apple’s crown for king of the tablet devices.
Although Motorola’s Xoom is barely surviving the tablet wars, it doesn’t appear that they (or any future Android tablet) will be able to compete against iPad 2 in the near future due to 3 simple blunders.
The Price Isn’t Right
It doesn’t matter how many bells and whistles your tablet has, if you can not compete on Apple with price, then you should not be surprised if your tablet collects dust in the store.
Apple is currently selling a WiFi iPad 2 for $499 as well as a 3G model for $629 without a contract.
Unfortunately many Android tablets are $100 more expensive or require a 2 year contract which won’t appeal to users already in a contract via their smartphone.
Android manufactures need to find a way to match Apple’s price (without a contract) if they want to gain the attention of consumers.
If You Show Them, They Will Buy It
Instead of creating fancy video stories about the Android tablet, manufactures need to instead highlight what users can do with the tablet (which is ironically what Apple does with iPad 2).
Samsung has recently done this with their Galaxy Tab 10.1 (as seen in the lengthy video below).
While the music needs some work, showing consumers how they can use the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in real life can help convince people why they need to buy a tablet for over $500 USD.
Premium Placement
Ever notice how iPad 2 always gets preferential treatment at Apple, Apple or even within a wireless carrier’s store?
This is probably because Apple demands that their products receive prominent displays or (at the very least) be show cased by themselves and not next to rivals.
Why most (if not every) manufacture has not requested the same treatment is perplexing, as customers can’t buy what they can not easily see.
Companies like Samsung, Motorola, etc. need to start requesting the same treatment in order to boost visibility, instead of letting carriers, store managers, etc. dictate where and how the Android tablet is presented.
Any Other Tips?
While it would be wise for manufactures to release mature products to the market (note: no more beta software), doing these could help boost Android’s market share, preventing Apple from gaining a monopoly upon not only the market, but the developer ecosystem as well.
What other tips would you recommend Android OEM’s follow in order to thwart iPad 2’s rise? Feel free to list ideas in the comment section below!
Image Credit: Android Community
Originally posted on March 14, 2011 @ 2:19 pm
Well in theory, but if this would happen it would destroy what little remains of Wikipedias credibility, making the site completely irrelevant.
I think that the top two are really the most important players of this war. I, for the longest time, have been wanting an Android Tablet. Right now, the only one that MIGHT look into getting is the Asus Transformer. Why? It’s the only one that gives great bang for the buck. That’s first and foremost. I like the Motorola Xoom, but it’s just so dang expensive. I don’t really worry about internet access since I root my phone and use it as a wireless hot spot without paying extra fees. (Why pay for a radio in my car and then tell me I have to pay Ford or Toyota an extra monthly fee to have the radio be able to receive signal?!)
Moving right along, I think #2 is just as correct. When “window shopping” for a tablet, I always read the user/customer comments about what it can do. I personally think that Android tablet commercials ASSUME that everyone will think that it will work similar to an iPad, and think buyers just want Android as an alternative to Apple. This thinking fails for a number of reasons. #1. Android has many capabilities that Apple doesn’t. For one, flash support. #2. Android functionality is way different than iOS, and has better flexibility in what it can do. #3. It fails to underscore the uniqueness of the Android OS — especially as something different from Apple.
The third point is true as well. But I also think that there is a rush to monopolize on the booming Android wave, that the Android software is not keeping up fast enough. Undoubtedly, Honeycomb is a huge step up versus HTC Sense on a EVO or Flyer. But with some of the quirks not quite as polished and ironed out as iOS, it leaves me waiting for Android tablets to get better in software, and better in price.
Supposedly, the Asus Transformer 3 is due out the end of this year with a quad-core? processor. If that happens, I may take the opportunity to pick up an older model of the transformer, and THEN I will be a really happy camper. But despite the lack regarding Android Tablets, “Go Android!”