Im buying the new transformer prime... but about 4 days ago i was heading out the door to buy an ipad 2 before a friend showed me this great device. So far in the last 4 days since i heard of this tablet ive told 20 different people about this and NO ONE knows about it, NO ONE!! not a soul, and who can blame them?
there's no commercials, there's almost no add campaign at all... there's not even a solid release date yet!!
im finding it hard to make an investment in this company.
I won't get into how much money Apple dunks into marketing their products. This all comes down to how much more they will gain by dumping millions on advertising it. Will they make 10x profit compared to the cost? If they can't get a good estimate, then most company chooses to just let online "press" and retailers advertise in their stead. See how it goes and promote it further. Most people learn about products on TV and the Internet, but what makes them want to buy a product is from knowing someone that owns it or have experienced it first hand. There's no reason for a corporation to invest in marketing a product if it is not a 100% sure hit. It has something to do with corporate decisions.
The EeePad Transformer was a pretty good device with AWESOME support. That is what Asus does. I can verify that is what Asus does best; slow at getting customers, but keeps them forever because they stay behind their products. If you ever purchase their video cards, or other hardware, you will find that Asus will treat you like family.
Apple may have good Customer Support but that lasts how long? 90 days without a warranty?
But also, this is a new product as its not just another Tablet. While current Transformer users love the product, it does seem a little unusual. The Transformer line-up will become a pretty big thing in the next few years I'm sure.
I was surprised that in a group of 20 people 2 recognised Asus Transformer for what it was and no one called it iPad. It was in Poland. I don't know if there were advertisements in TV for it or sth. It's in most big shops though, maybe people know it from their ad flyers (I don't know how it's called - ads for big stores that are left on your front door with information about new promotions).
Android tablets suffer from hardware-war. But the thing is that majority of consumers are mainly interested in CONTENT, not the device and its hardware. This is why Amazon Kindle jumped amazingly fast in sales even though their custom skin for Android and hardware of the device are relatively lacklustre.
Android makers mainly battle with their features and hardware. But that's not the way to make an impact.
I understand word of mouth is a great way to sell products, but since no one i know has ever heard of this thing, i got lucky that some random xbl friend happened to know about it. I find it hard to beleave that ASUS is a marketing geniuses that is using a unique marketing trick which is the opposite of what everyone else does.
Apple has everyone brain washed, including me a little while ago, and thats what ASUS should be striving for.. not hide in the shadows and let the fans do the selling.
blaziner18 said:
I understand word of mouth is a great way to sell products, but since no one i know has ever heard of this thing, i got lucky that some random xbl friend happened to know about it. I find it hard to beleave that ASUS is a marketing geniuses that is using a unique marketing trick which is the opposite of what everyone else does.
Apple has everyone brain washed, including me a little while ago, and thats what ASUS should be striving for.. not hide in the shadows and let the fans do the selling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think anyone's trying to argue that Asus is a marketing genius. But they don't have anywhere close to Apple's financial resources. So instead of a billion dollar ad campaign, they spend that money on developing and continuously supporting their products. Apple may have people brainwashed, but Asus doesn't need to resort to that, as their products speak for themselves.
And if you look at the release of the Transformer 1, which sold much faster than it could be produced initially (and it looks like the same might be the case for the TF2), you can see they must be doing something right.
Thank god I won't have to see a billion other people holding the same device as me. I want to throw up when I see everyone on the bus using the same iPhone.
xTRICKYxx said:
Apple may have good Customer Support but that lasts how long? 90 days without a warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to clarify that Apple products have a 1 year warranty included, and you can just drive to an Apple store to get it serviced, and not having to pay to RMA your products by mailing it and wait...
I've been thinking about this tablet, and it's release date wondering why it's not out yet.
All I can think of is
1) Want to get rid of inventory of TF101's
or
2) Really want to wait to get the ICS out with the tablet. Because it significantly increases the performance of the Tegra 3 quad core tablet. Maybe, if they release with Honeycomb, and the Quad core is slightly better performance than Dual core, they look overpriced, and low benchmarks get circulated around the web.
Both are pure speculation without but there has to be some reason it's not out yet.
farplaner said:
Just wanted to clarify that Apple products have a 1 year warranty included, and you can just drive to an Apple store to get it serviced, and not having to pay to RMA your products by mailing it and wait...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..and have to deal with an Apple Store Genius. I've seen many smarmy Apple users, but these "Geniuses" take it to a new level... No thanks.
They remind me of the "Santa's helper Elves" in A Christmas Story (yeah, the one with Ralphie).
They re definitly waiting for ICS to launch the Prime. And they are right to do so. don't ship an unfinished product, especialy when hopes and demands are so high about it.
nook-color said:
I've been thinking about this tablet, and it's release date wondering why it's not out yet.
All I can think of is
1) Want to get rid of inventory of TF101's
or
2) Really want to wait to get the ICS out with the tablet. Because it significantly increases the performance of the Tegra 3 quad core tablet. Maybe, if they release with Honeycomb, and the Quad core is slightly better performance than Dual core, they look overpriced, and low benchmarks get circulated around the web.
Both are pure speculation without but there has to be some reason it's not out yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or they want to be sure they have plenty of stock, and that stock it where it's supposed to go, before releasing it. I imagine there's a lot of demand, and more places than ever wanting to sell it. Logistically, it's a lot of work.
Smyc151 said:
Or they want to be sure they have plenty of stock, and that stock it where it's supposed to go, before releasing it. I imagine there's a lot of demand, and more places than ever wanting to sell it. Logistically, it's a lot of work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I'm thinking is the case. The first time around, the TF101 was back-ordered for weeks and the dock didn't launch for a month after the tablet. This is not a fun situation to be in for the company or consumers. I'm sure that not being able to meet demand takes a toll on potential sales.
That said, it is also possible that they are wanting to deliver what had been rumored, since it was within their abilities to do. The tech blogs were making a lot of noise at the end of last month, beginning of this month about the Prime as being the first Tegra 3 and first ICS tablet to market. It does not seem out of the question that Asus would try to live up to the rumors if possible, especially while trying to justify a higher price-point than the original.
well this is making me feel better about ASUS, but my last argument is more of a nuh-uhh then anything else. I still say, even if they lack the resources there should be some small add campaign, a release date, internet adds. I was extremely lucky to find this product.
farplaner said:
Just wanted to clarify that Apple products have a 1 year warranty included, and you can just drive to an Apple store to get it serviced, and not having to pay to RMA your products by mailing it and wait...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, Asus has service centers all over their home country Taiwan that are similar to Apple's genius bars.
I think it's just because Asus is based in Taiwan that we don't see much of their advertising and great service. They seem to focus most of their efforts in their home country. If you go look around there you'll see Asus ads everywhere.
Just because they don't advertise; makes it a bad product. Most people buy IOS devices because they simply aren't geekish and just want a device that works ,(Not counting the ever annoying and ignorant iSheep/iFanboys).
What i love about Asus, is that the products speak for themselves.
I remember when the HTC Evo 4G had been announced but not yet released... and everyone was clamoring and *****ing, wondering why HTC & Sprint didn't bother with any pre-release advertising and hype. And look, it went to become one of the more popular Android offerings in recent history.
Don't sweat it...
Guys here in the US the Prime is 100% sold out on Amazon, has been since 48 hours from being made available. Doesn't matter if it has commercials or not, it's already making money and isn't even on shelves.
kristovaher said:
Android tablets suffer from hardware-war. But the thing is that majority of consumers are mainly interested in CONTENT, not the device and its hardware. This is why Amazon Kindle jumped amazingly fast in sales even though their custom skin for Android and hardware of the device are relatively lacklustre.
Android makers mainly battle with their features and hardware. But that's not the way to make an impact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tegra 3 is better than the A5 Chip.
The GPU in Tegra 3 is actually better than the SGX543, but its 2 GPU not one which is why its benchmark is higher, if you half the score in GLBenchmark for iPad 2 you see that Tegra 3 is btter. So hardware Android isnt far behind.
Related
I have a strong feeling that there are some Apple employees or contractors spreading negative info about the Prime here at XDA. Wouldn't be hard for them to do and nearly impossible for us to detect. Just saying.
I think if the few main points they are pointing out turn out to be minor or overly exaggerated, (ie. Sound sucking, battery dying fast, price to high for the market, etc.), then it will be an iPad killer or come very close.
Note: Hate to use the "iKiller" phrase because apple has a place and a market regardless, but I digress.
Then I guess they're doing a bad job 'cause I'm still buying one!
It's not Apple employees. It's just Apple fanbois and zealots. It's more religion than anything for some of this deranged folks who don't feel right until they have everyone "converted". Facts and rational arguments don't matter, because it's a sin to like Android. "Think Different" is really "Think Apple, Amen".
I have no problem with Apple, as Ghandi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.".
SwissyChief said:
Then I guess they're doing a bad job 'cause I'm still buying one!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That about says it all.
Up until the past few days everything put out about the Prime was PR from Asus. That and a few specific demos of games. As hands-on tests are released there's bound to be some negatives uncovered. It's not natural if there weren't. One could say that the fanboys aren't those seeking real-time feedback even if it's not positive but those that are blindly defending a product that's not even in the hands of conumers yet. And like someone said in another thread, there can be big differences from one review to another. The Galaxy Nexus was hailed as the second coming of Christ. Now that it's out it's clearly not perfect compared to the anticipation and PR. I for one want to get feedback from owners after they've used the Prime for a while. That's what XDA does best.
It was Steve Jobs himself .. He was here ... Look at your back ... There! There he is!
TalynOne said:
It's not Apple employees. It's just Apple fanbois and zealots. It's more religion than anything for some of this deranged folks who don't feel right until they have everyone "converted". Facts and rational arguments don't matter, because it's a sin to like Android. "Think Different" is really "Think Apple, Amen".
I have no problem with Apple, as Ghandi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BarryH_GEG said:
Up until the past few days everything put out about the Prime was PR from Asus. That and a few specific demos of games. As hands-on tests are released there's bound to be some negatives uncovered. It's not natural if there weren't. One could say that the fanboys aren't those seeking real-time feedback even if it's not positive but those that are blindly defending a product that's not even in the hands of conumers yet. And like someone said in another thread, there can be big differences from one review to another. The Galaxy Nexus was hailed as the second coming of Christ. Now that it's out it's clearly not perfect compared to the anticipation and PR. I for one want to get feedback from owners after they've used the Prime for a while. That's what XDA does best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree more. I have been slightly disappointed to hear some of the negatives about the Prime; especially in the Anandtech review when compared to the ipad2. That doesn't mean that I'm not really excited about this product. I don't need it to be a Jesus-tablet. I would just like it to be a really nice high end Android device that i will enjoy using for a long time (relatively of course). So, I for one haven't cancelled my order. I also haven't seen any Apple fanboys on these threads yet. Of course, I did remove my tin foil helmet some time ago so that could have something to do with it too.
I'm no apple fanboy infact the opposite, I think most of the apple crowd are sheep.
I am thinking of getting a prime for my wife. However the point that I find off putting is that the prime can only barely beat the IPAD2 in most tests and in some tests it fails compared to the Ipad2.
The Ipad2 is about a year old and the latest device and chipset that Nvidia and Asus can muster can only equal or barely beat it?.
really with the 11 month lead time the Prime should be kicking the Ipads ass, but it isn't.
I can only therefore gather that the Ipad3 whenever it is released would make the prime look like yesterdays tech just like the prime should have done but failed to do to the Ipad2.
I would love to be told that I am wrong and that infact the prime does indeed stomp all over the Ipad2?
zoro25 said:
I'm no apple fanboy infact the opposite, I think most of the apple crowd are sheep.
I am thinking of getting a prime for my wife. However the point that I find off putting is that the prime can only barely beat the IPAD2 in most tests and in some tests it fails compared to the Ipad2.
The Ipad2 is about a year old and the latest device and chipset that Nvidia and Asus can muster can only equal or barely beat it?.
really with the 11 month lead time the Prime should be kicking the Ipads ass, but it isn't.
I can only therefore gather that the Ipad3 whenever it is released would make the prime look like yesterdays tech just like the prime should have done but failed to do to the Ipad2.
I would love to be told that I am wrong and that infact the prime does indeed stomp all over the Ipad2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which tests are you talking about exactly?
i would say most issues aside from hardware design issues stem from honeycomb and how crappy that version of android is as far as optimization and design goes.
hopefully ICS will fix a lot of the really big issues that HC has yet to even address.
zoro25 said:
I'm no apple fanboy infact the opposite, I think most of the apple crowd are sheep.
I am thinking of getting a prime for my wife. However the point that I find off putting is that the prime can only barely beat the IPAD2 in most tests and in some tests it fails compared to the Ipad2.
The Ipad2 is about a year old and the latest device and chipset that Nvidia and Asus can muster can only equal or barely beat it?.
really with the 11 month lead time the Prime should be kicking the Ipads ass, but it isn't.
I can only therefore gather that the Ipad3 whenever it is released would make the prime look like yesterdays tech just like the prime should have done but failed to do to the Ipad2.
I would love to be told that I am wrong and that infact the prime does indeed stomp all over the Ipad2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMHO, the point of the Transformer Prime is all about the *convenience*. For example, no one buys a MBA for its speed; even a $600 laptop would be faster.
The Transformer doesn't have to be better than the iPad or an ultrabook/MBA. But when you're on the road or wherever, carrying the Transformer will be heckuva lot more convenient than carrying both the iPad and MBA.
The whole is more than the some of its part. That's why the original Transformer has won awards such as tablet of the year, laptop of the year and device of the year!
zoro25 said:
I'm no apple fanboy infact the opposite, I think most of the apple crowd are sheep.
I am thinking of getting a prime for my wife. However the point that I find off putting is that the prime can only barely beat the IPAD2 in most tests and in some tests it fails compared to the Ipad2.
The Ipad2 is about a year old and the latest device and chipset that Nvidia and Asus can muster can only equal or barely beat it?.
really with the 11 month lead time the Prime should be kicking the Ipads ass, but it isn't.
I can only therefore gather that the Ipad3 whenever it is released would make the prime look like yesterdays tech just like the prime should have done but failed to do to the Ipad2.
I would love to be told that I am wrong and that infact the prime does indeed stomp all over the Ipad2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
these are my thoughts as well, it makes me really uneasy about buying this thing.
which at first i thought blew ipad2 out of the water.
blaziner18 said:
these are my thoughts as well, it makes me really uneasy about buying this thing.
which at first i thought blew ipad2 out of the water.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm usually first in line for new and shiny tech. For a second-gen tablet, I'm going to wait a bit. Here's my thinking: 1) I want to see what people's real experiences are with Teg 3, 2) I want to see what the performance difference is with ICS irrespective of h/w, and 3) Acer, Lenovo, and HTC have all announced quad-cores with more RAM (2GB) and higher res (1920 x 1152) displays which are probably going to become the new standard for high-end tablets. Qualcomm, TI, and Samsung are all working on next-gen chipsets too. For those with short memory, Nvidia was the worst of the dual-cores (except for gaming) and unless something's changed it probably pays to wait and see what the other chip makers come up with. Also getting a tablet launched with and optimized for ICS is preferable to a future update.
If you need a tablet right away, and don't currently have one, it makes sense to go with the Prime. If you have a first-gen tablet more choices are going to be available by Q1. And after reading the Amazon cancellation thread and some of the problems being reported by reviewers it seems that Asus is really rushing this puppy out in order to be first to market. Historically, that's never been good.
BarryH_GEG said:
I'm usually first in line for new and shiny tech. For a second-gen tablet, I'm going to wait a bit. Here's my thinking: 1) I want to see what people's real experiences are with Teg 3, 2) I want to see what the performance difference is with ICS irrespective of h/w, and 3) Acer, Lenovo, and HTC have all announced quad-cores with more RAM (2GB) and higher res (1920 x 1152) displays which are probably going to become the new standard for high-end tablets. Qualcomm, TI, and Samsung are all working on next-gen chipsets too. For those with short memory, Nvidia was the worst of the dual-cores (except for gaming) and unless something's changed it probably pays to wait and see what the other chip makers come up with. Also getting a tablet launched with and optimized for ICS is preferable to a future update.
If you need a tablet right away, and don't currently have one, it makes sense to go with the Prime. If you have a first-gen tablet more choices are going to be available by Q1. And after reading the Amazon cancellation thread and some of the problems being reported by reviewers it seems that Asus is really rushing this puppy out in order to be first to market. Historically, that's never been good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that is an astute observation. i don't have a tablet yet and now is the right time to buy for me. If I could find the original TF at a deeply discounted price I think I would probably go that route for now. As is, I guess I will stick with the prime. It is after-all a beautiful device with a lot of upsides at least.
skeptikal said:
I think that is an astute observation. i don't have a tablet yet and now is the right time to buy for me. If I could find the original TF at a deeply discounted price I think I would probably go that route for now. As is, I guess I will stick with the prime. It is after-all a beautiful device with a lot of upsides at least.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watch this site: http://slickdeals.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9
Transformers, Iconias, Thrives, and K1s have popped up for as low as $250 NIB for the holidays. If you get one, it would be a great transitional tablet until you have more choices for second-gen tablets available. You could probably turn around and sell it for close to what you paid via eBay or Craigslist after using it for a few months. But I totally agree that if you're paying retail the Prime is the best of what's out now.
Stupidity? Good Marketing? Lack of supply? WHY!?! X-mas is around the corner!
also, when do you think it will be released.. or at least when will they announce the release date?
1. Lack of supply
2. Mid january for us, end of february for europe (my guess)
Go back and look at the situation (posts) surrounding the release of the original TF. It is actually good marketing. People are looking to buy tablets for the holidays, the Prime is not ready for prime time ( pun intended) but you don't want potential customers to buy something else or they will not buy your Prime when it is ready. What to do. Announce it without a firm ship date in hopes of keeping as many potential customers as possible from buying a competitors model in hopes of a timely release. It's working as many people have one or more pre-orders and are anxiously waiting and hoping.
*crickets*
Most GameStop preorders date the release for in store pick ups Dec. 19th. I'm pretty confident in it as people all over the u.s. Here, that preordered from GameStop, was given the same date. Some stores actually have them in stock now and building up the supply numbers for preorders. All stock will go to preorders first, then any left will go to people who walk in. All supplies after that will be for walk ins.
They better have my ish on the 19th
I think Asus has mastered the manufactured supply shortage rollout strategy to create buzz for their product before it hits the shelf.
Works on me, I want one
nook-color said:
I think Asus has mastered the manufactured supply shortage rollout strategy to create buzz for their product before it hits the shelf.
Works on me, I want one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think so also. Using the same strategy apple uses with iPhone/iPad. They know they have more than enough but act like they don't to stir the masses n media.
Wouldn't they have made much much MORE money, if they released it in quantity mid-November with ICS. All the glowing reviews and availability would make it THE tablet of the 2011 Holiday Season. By missing the boat on Christmas they are crippling the potential sales on this device. By the time they have stock and it's readily available, news of other quad-core tablets and the iPad 3 will be coming out and stealing their buzz. I think ASUS really missed out on a cash cow this holiday season.
I have it on order at gamestop. I was told the the 19th. Played with it in store. So I believe them
Sent through my Black market i9250
ModestMuse23 said:
Wouldn't they have made much much MORE money, if they released it in quantity mid-November with ICS. All the glowing reviews and availability would make it THE tablet of the 2011 Holiday Season. By missing the boat on Christmas they are crippling the potential sales on this device. By the time they have stock and it's readily available, news of other quad-core tablets and the iPad 3 will be coming out and stealing their buzz. I think ASUS really missed out on a cash cow this holiday season.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this. All the theories about how ASUS is trying to game the system are really quite ridiculous. Just like there aren't evil masterminds putting death-ray satellites in space and extorting the world's governments, companies like ASUS don't really sit around thinking up highly unlikely scenarios by which they can manipulate people using dubious and highly unreliable tactics.
Not only is everything said above true about the holiday season, but ASUS _must_ know the value in being the first Tegra 3 tablet on the market and the imminence of some pretty stiff competition. If they had Primes for us to buy, they'd sell them to us.
demandarin said:
I think so also. Using the same strategy apple uses with iPhone/iPad. They know they have more than enough but act like they don't to stir the masses n media.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except Apple manages enough channel volume to generally meet demand.
ASUS is doing nothing more than shooting themselves in the foot. Buzz is caused by shortage, no company in there right mind would cause a shortage to create buzz.
No date because us tech nerds are so gullible we will believe anything and follow anyones word to the end of time....
Sad but so true..
It doesn't help that a lot of people here have made multiple pre-orders from different venders. This type of thing I frown upon.
infinitemethod said:
It doesn't help that a lot of people here have made multiple pre-orders from different venders. This type of thing I frown upon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the way this product launch has gone, can you really blame them?
infinitemethod said:
It doesn't help that a lot of people here have made multiple pre-orders from different venders. This type of thing I frown upon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a problem with that in this situation. If you want the item, you apparently have to chase the stock.
tdrussell said:
Except Apple manages enough channel volume to generally meet demand.
ASUS is doing nothing more than shooting themselves in the foot. Buzz is caused by shortage, no company in there right mind would cause a shortage to create buzz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, not really. Apple has built their launches with exclusivity, you never see new iPad or iPhone in all the stores at once. There are barely few who have the items for sale and unless you preorder very early, getting it is quite tough during release.
Now Asus is not Apple. They cannot manufacture at the same speed and they have a large number of product lines. Their 'future' is not all put behind Transformer Prime, it is not an 'event' the way iPhone or iPad is an event for Apple. It's a tablet market furiously dominated by iPads and they come there with an Android tablet. Going all out with a Prime is just stupid.
Now, we see it only from the perspective of people who will definitely buy it. Most of us have pre-orders up somewhere. Of course it is very important for us. But for tech world, tablet world and for Asus, this is just another device. This doesn't revolutionize tablets any more than the original Transformer did and as a complete device is not really above iPad 2, so it is not as important as we try to make it sound.
Let's just chill.
irriadin said:
With the way this product launch has gone, can you really blame them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tdrussell said:
I don't have a problem with that in this situation. If you want the item, you apparently have to chase the stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you plan on actually purchasing several, pre-ordering more than what you need is silly to me. It takes away from others and makes things extremely confusing/frustrating for the venders.
Now, this is just my personal opinion and I can see why people would do it. I am just not one of them.
infinitemethod said:
Unless you plan on actually purchasing several, pre-ordering more than what you need is silly to me. It takes away from others and makes things extremely confusing/frustrating for the venders.
Now, this is just my personal opinion and I can see why people would do it. I am just not one of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If we were provided with a concrete release date and they didn't pull preorders then we won't have to have multiple preorders. For example, if I only preordered from Amazon I would be getting it Feb 2 now.
ModestMuse23 said:
Wouldn't they have made much much MORE money, if they released it in quantity mid-November with ICS. All the glowing reviews and availability would make it THE tablet of the 2011 Holiday Season. By missing the boat on Christmas they are crippling the potential sales on this device. By the time they have stock and it's readily available, news of other quad-core tablets and the iPad 3 will be coming out and stealing their buzz. I think ASUS really missed out on a cash cow this holiday season.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At this price point, not everyone can afford to give it as a gift for Christmas. But the better potential buyer might be those who received lets say $100-200 dollars in cash for Christmas and are willing to spend the difference out of their own pocket. I would assuming anything priced over 300 dollars aren't given out as gifts very often.
So those willing to buy it, may be those who are shopping after Christmas with their extra pocket cash and not those giving it as gifts.
I would guess sales of the Kindle Fire will explode as a gift for Christmas for its price point, which most tablets don't fall into.
An example would be when the Xbox360 vs PS3 initial sales for the holidays. When they first came out the Xbox360 was much more attractive as a gift because of its price point.
Asus may not feel it is necessary to make the Holiday season before Christmas, and hitting shelves by early Jan might not cripple sales, but instead promotes hype.
Pfft...If I don't get it before January I'm not buying one....until after January.
Interested in knowing what ASUS is up to for the rest of the year when it comes to the subject of tablets? You’re in luck because at a press event in Taipei today, Samson Hu, the Vice President and General Manager of the Eee Systems Business Unit revealed the company’s tablet roadmap for 2012.
The Transformer Prime will also be getting a 3G version sometime this March and it will pack a more powerful GPS module. At CES, ASUS will be unveiling a 7″ tablet (rumored to be the ASUS Memo) and a 10″ with a high resolution display (could be a completely new tablet or the upgraded Transformer Prime with 3G and better GPS). There are also two more 10″ tablets slated for the second half of 2012.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/01/asus-tablet-roadmap-2012-revealed/
the fact that Asus is basically doubling it android division to like 400 or more employees and Windows 8 division will only have 150 employees doesn't look too good for Windows 8 at the moment. Clearly shows their focus is mainly on Android. Either way once Windows 8 releases, we will be able to load it up on Prime or dual boot. I'd rather be able to do that vs. a single OS device only. We already got Backtrack5(Hacker Linux) running on Prime so outlook looks good.
I feel like this is the bait and switch. They put out the Prime, it sells like hot cakes but disappoints some users. Then they learn from their mistakes at the cost of the consumer and introduce new products to correct the mistakes.
I'm really trying to be positive about this whole thing, but this really makes it difficult. This is where competition really bites the consumer in the ass.
adampdx said:
I feel like this is the bait and switch. They put out the Prime, it sells like hot cakes but disappoints some users. Then they learn from their mistakes at the cost of the consumer and introduce new products to correct the mistakes.
I'm really trying to be positive about this whole thing, but this really makes it difficult. This is where competition really bites the consumer in the ass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is this bait and switch? Would you prefer that the next product they come out with still have the same problems some have complained about? I'm glad they're learning and are willing to put that knowledge to use on the next product. If companies didn't do that, we'd all be driving Model A cars.
soulctcher said:
How is this bait and switch? Would you prefer that the next product they come out with still have the same problems some have complained about? I'm glad they're learning and are willing to put that knowledge to use on the next product. If companies didn't do that, we'd all be driving Model A cars.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on that, even if I realize I'm lucky being Italian, which means that I had the chance to see various reactions and enough time to decide whether going for the Prime or not. Obviously, if Asus will announce the Prime 3G at CES, I'll wait for it since I have an Acer Iconia A500 in the meanwhile.
adampdx said:
I feel like this is the bait and switch. They put out the Prime, it sells like hot cakes but disappoints some users. Then they learn from their mistakes at the cost of the consumer and introduce new products to correct the mistakes.
I'm really trying to be positive about this whole thing, but this really makes it difficult. This is where competition really bites the consumer in the ass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wasn't "bait and switch", unless the ONLY reason you bought a TFP was for the GPS. If you did, that's just sad...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
soulctcher said:
How is this bait and switch? Would you prefer that the next product they come out with still have the same problems some have complained about? I'm glad they're learning and are willing to put that knowledge to use on the next product. If companies didn't do that, we'd all be driving Model A cars.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true. But what if they released the Model A, and then six months later released an updated Model A with more features? The people who bought the first Model A might feel burned. OK, I'm done being negative. I agree with your point of view, and I believe that progress is good. Sorry, super tired and still struggling with all of the buggers in the General forum that are trying really hard to make people not enjoy this super awesome tablet. I wish there was a "View Positive Posts Only" option in the XDA.
one will be called the transformer light! tf201x and tf201xg (found this info in the honeycomb system files!)
I am thinking they might go with maybe a 10.1 inch, higher than 1080p screen made of superlight plastic along with a super IPS++ display! Kinda like how you had a DS lite! along with 2gb of ram...... Hopefully it will be able to be used with the same dock as the tf201!
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
adampdx said:
That's true. But what if they released the Model A, and then six months later released an updated Model A with more features? The people who bought the first Model A might feel burned. OK, I'm done being negative. I agree with your point of view, and I believe that progress is good. Sorry, super tired and still struggling with all of the buggers in the General forum that are trying really hard to make people not enjoy this super awesome tablet. I wish there was a "View Positive Posts Only" option in the XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get what you're saying.
(I do want to point out though that it was almost the exact scenario between the first Model A and the first Model B...it was about 6 months between their releases back in 1903/1904.)
You just have to bite the bullet on technology purchases in general; find yourself something you want to buy, then realize that just after you unboxed it, it's no longer the top dog anymore.
I think what Adam is trying to say is it sucks doing research and sinking hard earned money into something that 6 months later will be yesterdays news. I know that's the way it goes but still kind of disappointing. I'm looking for that complete product. Gets expensive ebaying the old and sinking several hundred into another new product.
On another front for those RMA'ing the Prime for GPS issues and ASUS saying they will fix, could they be putting in a Beefier GPS like what's in the upcoming ones? Just a thought.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
That is kind of weird, I would expect them to put more people on windows instead of android. I love android for what it is but I feel like windows is just a much more complete platform. I mean its a little early to judge how well windows 8 is going to run on ARM systems, if its anything close to the windows 8 I installed on my eee slate (ULV i5), then I think it's going be incredible.
sdelliott31 said:
Gets expensive ebaying the old and sinking several hundred into another new product.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The unfortunate cost of surfing the front wave of technology, right?
i plan on waiting for CES then if something cooler with way better specs comes out I will RMA my dock and tablet plus case to amazon (will only lose about 100 bucks...)
But they catch is it needs to be out within a few weeks after CES!
But anyways we all know we will have tegra4 this summer! kael+ so yeah technology is always moving forward! they never stop and try to squeeze all they life out of it like Game consoles have (ps3 and xbox now 5 years old!)
You just gotta get something stick with your purchase and be happy! then in a year to a year and a half sell it and buy something new!
I plan on buying the Galaxy Nexus when it is released on sprint! even though the next nexus will probaly be out 8 months later!
But i badly need the replacement i cant stand my evo 4g that wont charge unless you hold down the cord! its a pain in the but!
Plus i know the galaxy nexus software will be supported for atleast 20 months long enough to get me to my next upgrade!!
So if you want it buy it basically you cant stop better stuff from coming out!
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Those in the U.S., unless offered by a carrier, a 3G Prime will do you absolutely no good. HTC, LG, Sony, Acer, Archos, Samsung, and Motorola all already offer carrier-free 3G tablets, none of which are available in the U.S. You can import a 3G Prime from overseas but it'll cost you $700ish. If you get a carrier version, you'll either pay $700ish or have to commit to a two year data plan to get a subsidized price. So unless Asus does something that they nor any manufacturer have never done before, bring a 3G device to the U.S. without carrier support, the 3G announcement doesn't mean a whole lot here. And the iPad's not a relevant comparison. Apple dictates what the carriers do, not vice versa. Asus isn't Apple.
As for a higher spec 10" tablet that makes all the sense in the world. With the Lenovo and Acer already announced with higher-res displays, more RAM, and faster processors, Asus should offer a more premium tablet priced higher than the Prime to compete. Display resolution (whether it matters or not) is going to be the hot topic in tablets in 2012. Venturing a guess, I'd say the premium tablet won't have a keyboard dock still leaving that as the Prime's biggest singular feature.
In spite of all issues I am still buying prime. Why? I don't care about gps - i didn't intend to use it as gps-turn-by-turn device anyway, I love its performance, I love the fact, that we will get unlock tool, I hope we as xda-community will be able to run Win8 and Ubuntu on it.
In regard to other announced primes:
- 3g version - I have good internet plan on my mobile, even now I am just ad-hoc connected from my eee 1000he, i dont plan to sign any other contract for mobile carriers. They are literary robbing me every month anyway .
- HD version in H2. If it is announced for H2, it will be avalible in the week before Christmas in Q4, not a day sooner. I need tablet earlier.
HD screen? Why would you need it? -For movies? -For Christ sake it's a tablet, go to your living room and watch a move on 47'' LCD! If you are away from home - 720p should suffice.
can't wait for windows 8 tablets I will be first in line to get one I really have a lot of games and programs that will only run on windows that I would love to have on tablet.
jdbaker82 said:
can't wait for windows 8 tablets I will be first in line to get one I really have a lot of games and programs that will only run on windows that I would love to have on tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Programs that currently run on Windows under x86/x64 technology won't run under the ARM version of Windows unless someone compiles a version specifically for ARM processors. In fact most information out there states that the classic desktop interface won't be available on the ARM devices, only the metro interface.
Its pretty screwey for a company to release improved versions of a tablet (in less than 6 months).
A lot of Primes have major defects (GPS is broken on all primes but GPS isnt the only defect some primes have), i was lucky and finally got one that seems perfect so far but I had to order two, first one was crap (bad wifi,bad bluetooth,slow performance,long bootup time,screen bleed and a lot of FCs in apps).
Even apple gives people at least a year before they drop on a new and improved product. To me it def sounds like bait and switch sales tactics...
Oh well, my prime now is working well (i don't need gps) and i don't see a reason to upgrade for at least a year.
jdbaker82 said:
can't wait for windows 8 tablets I will be first in line to get one I really have a lot of games and programs that will only run on windows that I would love to have on tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See this is why windows 8 tablet edition is doomed.
The majority of people honestly believe they'll be getting the same windows they'd be getting on a desktop or laptop.
Windows 8 tablet is ARM, not x86. Meaning that you will only be able to run things developed or ported for ARM. You will NOT be able to just run any windows program.
It's yet another OS that needs things written for it specifically trying to play catch up with android and apples app market. I can't see it being useful at all for at least 6 months unless it's incredibly easy to port apps over, and I'm guessing it won't be considering you're looking at different APIs between OSes.
The only leg up this thing has over RIM, HP, and anyone else running something non ios/android is windows has name recognition and large market share in the x86 world. I imagine a lot of folks will be pissed to discover their exes won't just work on a tablet win8 though since I see folks constantly getting this wrong.
One of the things I like about the Prime is the price: $499 is still an industry-leading price for a leading-edge tablet with 32GB storage. I'm guessing that any sort of uber-Prime (HD screen, 2GB RAM, etc.) will be considerably more expensive.
I'm willing to go $650 for the Prime+keyboard dock. Anything more than that and I'd just bite the bullet and step up to an ultrabook and Kindle Fire combo.
Apple released their damn ipad3 to like 20 countries worldwide! Readily available by anyone who wants one.
Then there is everyone else. Just sending out notices and pictures of new devices but never coming to reality.
Should be coming soon. June / July for the New Asus TF700 etc. I know Acer announced their Acer IconiaTab A510 for preorder few days ago.
However, I haven't seen a preorder site yet.
Erusman said:
However, I haven't seen a preorder site yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-A510-10s...TWKA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332643694&sr=8-1
April 6th is supposed to be the release date.
BarryH_GEG said:
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-A510-10s...TWKA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332643694&sr=8-1
April 6th is supposed to be the release date.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you sir. Was looking for it.
Kal - El Series Devices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra#Tegra_3_.28Kal-El.29_series
opentoe said:
Apple released their damn ipad3 to like 20 countries worldwide! Readily available by anyone who wants one.
Then there is everyone else. Just sending out notices and pictures of new devices but never coming to reality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny how the ipad is readily available, while the TF201 to this date is still hard to find..
junrider said:
Funny how the ipad is readily available, while the TF201 to this date is still hard to find..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apple "owns" Foxconn they get production priority over everyone else.
geech72 said:
Apple "owns" Foxconn they get production priority over everyone else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Foxconn is big enough to support multiple companies. Do they even manufacture the prime?
Cozmo85 said:
Foxconn is big enough to support multiple companies. Do they even manufacture the prime?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. It's built by Pegatron which was formerly owned by Asus. Pegatron was pressured by Apple to stop building the Asus Zenbook, not the Prime.
http://9to5mac.com/2012/02/13/repor...-choose-sides-give-up-asustek-zenbook-orders/
Foxconn, Pegatron, and Quanta (Kindle Fire) are the three biggest outsourced manufacturers.
N
BarryH_GEG said:
No. It's built by Pegatron which was formerly owned by Asus. Pegatron was pressured by Apple to stop building the Asus Zenbook, not the Prime.
Foxconn, Pegatron, and Quanta (Kindle Fire) are the three biggest outsourced manufacturers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Irrespective of which plant produces the prime, the point is that apple exerts more influence in china than anyone else, I believe this article illustrates that point
Also, you can bet that apple had a finished units just being built and stockpiled for weeks / months before release. When i worked retail we would get new gadgets like a week or so before release date, meaning our warehouse got them aprox a month ahead of release date, meaning manufacturers had them being produced months in advance so they could be shipped and released.
TLDR: Apple has their **** in order, planned for huge release date, made hype, made sure that stock was there EVERYWHERE.
Asus, take note. This is what you should do for the TF700.
geech72 said:
N
Irrespective of which plant produces the prime, the point is that apple exerts more influence in china than anyone else, I believe this article illustrates that point
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gee, dictatorships getting along. Who'd 'a thunk it?
I work for Apple and yes it's definitely true that their proprietary business practices and mainstream successes has given them significant cash flow to heavily influence the productions levels in manufacturing and service outsourced businesses.
But I wouldn't ever attribute Apple's demand to another company's inability to meet their supply, especially not ASUS. Manufacturers are given enough notice for a project that they can forecast the necessary workforce to meet the demand for multiple major projects. The Chinese are gods at workforce management. Combine that with their highly concentrated urban population and the underlying cost of that workforce and that's why they are so successful in the electronics industry.
If I had to guess, ASUS is either working with Google on a highly prioritized device... or is probably just putting more time into engineering and testing like they should've done with the Prime.
So you build a new product from the ground up or you just change the screen resolution and GPU. Which one takes more time? Hence the reason the TF700 will be out soon. Not much change between the TF201 and the TF700 execpt resolution. Not much change between the new iPad and the iPad 2 execpt resolution.
Also to mention when you have 2 versions of the same product to make once every 2 years or so, it's a lot easier to mass produce.
theandies said:
So you build a new product from the ground up or you just change the screen resolution and GPU. Which one takes more time? Hence the reason the TF700 will be out soon. Not much change between the TF201 and the TF700 execpt resolution. Not much change between the new iPad and the iPad 2 execpt resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, if you look at the button placement the TF700 is using a different PCB which means it's a different device. The TF300's PCB appears to be the same as the Prime's.
There is this brand new Samsung device... called Ipad 3.... Processor by Samsung and Screen by Samsung.
When they have finished producing this, Samsung will produce something similar for Android.
A Samsung A15 with a Samsung 1080p screen.
And when your local shop will finally have some Tegra 3 devices, nvidia will announce Tegra 4.
GuenChan said:
There is this brand new Samsung device... called Ipad 3.... Processor by Samsung and Screen by Samsung.
When they have finished producing this, Samsung will produce something similar for Android.
A Samsung A15 with a Samsung 1080p screen.
And when your local shop will finally have some Tegra 3 devices, nvidia will announce Tegra 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, basically..lol
one thing ill give Samsung credit for, they are the real contributors to apples success and its a shame. they basically produce the whole tablet and Ipad is such a success. yet they can't even replicate this into their own tablet with their brand name on it. yes they are making lots of money off of apple. Bit I think its holding Samsung back in the long run. they busy fueling the success of the enemy tablet and no real chance to focus on themselves. Samsung is big enough to where they don't need apple money. I'd say Samsung should cut them off completely. Then leave Apple to drown. Samsung has one of the best manufacturing processes. that's why Samsung was main maker of the new display. their factory was the only one equipped to make that display. Apple is getting all the credit for Samsung hard work manufacturing all of Apples main components. I believe Samsung will dig their own grave continuing to be apples slave. then you have apple trying to sue Samsung over patents and stopping the sales of tablets in other countries. When will Samsung wake up and Smell the coffee? look at how ungrateful apple has acted towards them.
I actually like Samsung. Alot of my posts seem against them but that's only because people try to compare them to my current tablet I own, Asus Transformer Prime. even before prime, I had my eyes on the Samsung tablet 7.7in. I loved the new specs and processor it would bring. it took too long to materialize so I moved on to the prime. I still plan on getting a Galaxy Note Phablet. would be perfect for me. That Asus Padfone that's 3-1 looks very tempting though. that's the most revolutionary idea yet. A phone, tablet, notebook all in one. love it
Samsung needs to cut Apple loose and focus on themselves. Apple is purposely trying to hold them back. without Samsung, apple wouldn't be able to mass produce their new high Res. display in large quantities. plus I didn't like at first how Samsung tried tl be like apple by not having any SD card slot. seems like now they catching on and one of their newer tabs. has an SD card slot now.
I can't wait for Tegra4 to be announced. its going to be Sick, spec wise. it will surpass anything out now and coming out, before its released. I have a dedicated tegra4 thread in here. it will be resurrected once newer info released on it. I know since December it was already sent out to all major manufacturers to test out. so it Right be here sooner than we think.
Many people don't understand how samsung works, samsung isn't one big company it's dozens, each doing a different thing, and each of these companies has to buy components from each other, and the way it rolls is that it would take too much out of samsung's profit margin if they used their own screens because they can't pay to have it produced, assembled, or pay for millions at a time like apple can but if samsung would combine all their companies on one products and make on really good tablet they may actually have a mythical "iPad killer"
cordell507 said:
Many people don't understand how samsung works, samsung isn't one big company it's dozens, each doing a different thing, and each of these companies has to buy components from each other, and the way it rolls is that it would take too much out of samsung's profit margin if they used their own screens because they can't pay to have it produced, assembled, or pay for millions at a time like apple can but if samsung would combine all their companies on one products and make on really good tablet they may actually have a mythical "iPad killer"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good point. ran out of thanks for the day.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email...12043639469540-lMyQjAxMTAyMDIwOTEyNDkyWj.html
good find. I can only see this as being positive for Android. plus Google store will likely be stocked up. some tablets won't be hard to find anymore. I'm sure Google would keep their online supplies stocked up. then this will also tie into Google wallet accounts. purchases made easy on Google online store through Google wallet.
Assuming this comes true, it confirms the obvious, that the laissez faire vendor adoption method has failed. Google needed to be more hands-on. Hopefully it'll be the first step in a process, as by itself, it isn't enough to win market share.
Much as I would like to get a decent $199 tab, selling widgets at a loss (or break-even) is not a winning strategy. Goog will have to cook up some magic jelly beans, then grow a beanstalk and climb out of the low-rent district. Apple the Jolly Giant is waiting at the top.
Exciting times!
dec. esryse
Ya im not disappointed by this
e.mote said:
Much as I would like to get a decent $199 tab, selling widgets at a loss (or break-even) is not a winning strategy. Goog will have to cook up some magic jelly beans, then grow a beanstalk and climb out of the low-rent district. Apple the Jolly Giant is waiting at the top.
Exciting times!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can you say it's not a winning strategy? Razor blade manufacturers have been doing it for years--sell the razor at a loss, make it back big-time with the razors. Amazon is doing it with the Kindle, and I think Google could benefit significantly from doing it as well. They want to sell ads on mobile devices, and I'm sure they recognize that Apple would like to take this business away from them on iOS devices. And that's not to mention selling content via Google Play.
I think a subsidized tablet could help kick-start the Android tablet market in general. At the very least, it could convince developers that they should be investing in tablet-optimized apps, which is the one thing that's missing from the equation.
While this is good news and all, Google REALLY need to start trying to get developers into making good Android Tablet apps, we are getting close to an even keel on phone apps, but Android Tablet apps lag so far behind iPad it isnt even funny!
e.mote said:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303404704577312043639469540.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google bought Motorola Mobility and would NEVER rely or use Asus to throw it's own name on their tablets. Google knows Asus tablets aren't up to par with quality and could never compete with Apple on quality. I'll buy a Google branded Moto tablet instantly cause it will be of high quality and defect free. I've used 3 ipad3's already and not one had ANY light bleed at all. Strangely every Asus tablet I've touched or used had some kind of light bleed. People do see the inferior products being used.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/29/nvidia-ceo-suggests-199-tegra-3-tablets-in-the-summer/
He's been saying that since last year... however, I also find it to be annoying.
Anyways, if Tegra 3 devices do hit $199 price, I can only imagine how crippled other aspects in the system specifications will look like.
Btw, this notion that if more "android tablets" are in the wild.. you will see more 3rd parties developing dedicated tablet apps due to the increased potential in profit/revenue.
However, if you look into smartphone market, it's not exactly true. You certainly see growth compared to when Android Market started, but if you compared to iOS app store... it's nothing to boast about considering that Android Smartphone (as a whole) leads the share in smartphone market over iPhone.
Simply put, Android users do not spend money on apps as much as iOS users. Until this TREND changes... you won't see 3rd parties developing unique tablets apps for Android. Btw, Google's approach with unified "app" between tablet & smartphone doesn't help either.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/android-vs-iphone-economics-apps-160608285.html
>How can you say it's not a winning strategy? Razor blade manufacturers have been doing it for years...Amazon is doing it with the Kindle, and I think Google could benefit significantly from doing it as well. They want to sell ads on mobile devices
It's not a winning strategy because the razor-blade model is not yet proven on tablets. I haven't seen Amazon break out the champagne for the loads of profit from selling things through the Fire. Amazon is in a much better position to monetize from its tablet because a) it has more stuff to sell, not just ads, and b) the Fire is intentionally limited to get all its contents exclusively from Amazon. A Goog tablet won't have the same luxury, not if it were to be "open" as prior Nexus devices.
Fundamentally, it's not a winning strategy because you can't base a platform around the idea of pushing ads/wares into the user's face. Amazon is selling a portable kiosk. Google is trying to sell an entire mobile platform, and the platform has to succeed on its own merit, ie have an intrinsic worth. The rumored $199 tablet can only be a barebone, stripped down unit. It cannot compete with the incumbent iPad, nor with the more functional Win8 tablets when those appear.
I'd agree that it's a necessary stop-gap action. Goog needs to get enough devices out there so devs would develop for it. It's the same as what RIM is doing with Playbook. A $199 tab is also needed not to compete with Amazon, but prevent it from hijacking the Android platform.
The only winning strategy has to be based on the user experience, which in turn depends on the OS. Simply put, HC wasn't good enough. Based on what I've seen here of the Prime's update travails, ICS is still a beta. Fully 5 months after launch, the main improvements in 4.0.4 changelog still have the words "faster" and "more stable" and "fixes" in them. Fine for enthusiasts, not so fine for Joe Blow.
You can make it good, or you can make it cheap. Android failed on the first, so it needed to resort to the second. But the long-term solution is still to make it good.
The more tablets they spew out, the more work it takes for devs to port/update apps for that specific tablet. When the TFP came out a bunch of games didn't work (Dead Space, Gameloft, etc) and they had to take time to port it. How big of the market share do you think the TFP represents 1%? Then tmw some ABCD tablet is gonna come out and they will have to port for that again. I read somewhere that interest for Android tab delopment is actually declining unlike the smartphone market. They better get their stuff together before W8 hits.
^^^
Same thing goes for accessories...
Modded by MBOK
What Google could hopefully do is to subsidize them a bit. While we pay our 400-700€ for a tablet most of the "normal" consumer won't and most people I also won't recommend such an expensive device for the few things they would do with it.
Tablet market in general is still very small and even Apple has just a little tiny piece of it. To get it attractive for the "normal" users they have to be around 200€/$ max and Google hopefully can do that.
MysteriousDiary said:
What Google could hopefully do is to subsidize them a bit. While we pay our 400-700€ for a tablet most of the "normal" consumer won't and most people I also won't recommend such an expensive device for the few things they would do with it.
Tablet market in general is still very small and even Apple has just a little tiny piece of it. To get it attractive for the "normal" users they have to be around 200€/$ max and Google hopefully can do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think pricing them cheaper is gonna do a whole lot anymore. You have the iPad 2 setting the upper bar at 400 and the iPad 3 setting the absolute highest at 500 then you have the Fire setting the low bar at 200. All other tablets are stuck in the 300 area or is forced to compete with the iPad head on. And you bet 99% of consumers are gonna ask why they would want to pay more for an Android tab when they can get an iPad for cheaper.
The problem is that they need more devs on Android. How many times do we have to wait for iOS apps to hopefully be ported over. When does it ever happen the other way around?
Well there are great Android Apps who are not available for iOS. I'm always wondering why people look at iOS apps and want the exact same instead of looking what Android has to get the same job done. It's about getting the things done people want to do on their tablet - doesn't matter if the app is called a or b. Especially since ICS more and more Apps also have a native Tablet UI - thanks to the fragments. On the other side iOS still is like a stretched phone OS with it's 4x4(5) grid - even on a big tablet.
The new iPad doesn't sell well too. The sells of it are much worser than Apple seems to have expected and the workers in Foxconn got already "just" 4 day weeks and holiday because of the reduced iPad production. They also switched some production lines to other products because of the less demand in new iPads. Even the chinese sellers in blackmarket are sitting on their new iPads and can barely sell them.
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1102&MainCatID&id=20120328000090
And while maybe about 50% of people have a SmartPhone it's maybe less than 10% or 5% for tablets. We're still far away from a bit tablet boom. For most usecases the current ones were just too expensive - those are tablets for us...the geeks. Kindle Fire is just available in the US and not all want a tablet where you barely can see and feel the Android underneath it.
I still believe in a big success of a good 199$ Tablet from Google/ASUS. It's also the perfect price range for birthday gifts.
>http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1102&MainCatID&id=20120328000090
Good anecdotal piece. It's a bit too soon to determine iPad sales, but there are caution flags out (also anecdote-based).
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtrader...s-avoid-shares-till-fyq2-ipad-sales-play-out/
>I still believe in a big success of a good 199$ Tablet from Google/ASUS.
Assuming a bit better specs than Fire, it should be a best-seller. By itself, it may well jump-start Android tab adoption/development, especially as iPad & Win8 won't be in this price range. Then again, Apple may well release the rumored $300 miniPad in 2H to put a choke hold on Android.
In that same vein, Acer & Co, masters of the cheap netbooks, may want to repeat their fortune with cheap Win8 tabs. The sticking point here is Win8's 1366x768 min res, which would preclude Win8 from cheap 7" units.
Going down the line, I can't imagine Amazon will sit still for Google to eat its lunch. We may well see a $149 Fire yet.
How low can they go?
MysteriousDiary said:
Well there are great Android Apps who are not available for iOS. I'm always wondering why people look at iOS apps and want the exact same instead of looking what Android has to get the same job done. It's about getting the things done people want to do on their tablet - doesn't matter if the app is called a or b. Especially since ICS more and more Apps also have a native Tablet UI - thanks to the fragments. On the other side iOS still is like a stretched phone OS with it's 4x4(5) grid - even on a big tablet.
The new iPad doesn't sell well too. The sells of it are much worser than Apple seems to have expected and the workers in Foxconn got already "just" 4 day weeks and holiday because of the reduced iPad production. They also switched some production lines to other products because of the less demand in new iPads. Even the chinese sellers in blackmarket are sitting on their new iPads and can barely sell them.
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1102&MainCatID&id=20120328000090
And while maybe about 50% of people have a SmartPhone it's maybe less than 10% or 5% for tablets. We're still far away from a bit tablet boom. For most usecases the current ones were just too expensive - those are tablets for us...the geeks. Kindle Fire is just available in the US and not all want a tablet where you barely can see and feel the Android underneath it.
I still believe in a big success of a good 199$ Tablet from Google/ASUS. It's also the perfect price range for birthday gifts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the shocking revelation, to me, on current Ipad sales. I love it..lol. seems like all the current issues with it and not really being an upgrade from ipad2 is hurting sales dramatically. Steve is rolling over in his grave over this latest Ipad. I hope this is the beginning of the downfall of apple. All that national
ITS LIKE THEY SAY, WHAT GOES UP, MUST COME DOWN. Apple has no where else to go but down. Seems like people realizing there are more choices in tablets other than Ipad.
MysteriousDiary said:
The new iPad doesn't sell well too. The sells of it are much worser than Apple seems to have expected and the workers in Foxconn got already "just" 4 day weeks and holiday because of the reduced iPad production. They also switched some production lines to other products because of the less demand in new iPads. Even the chinese sellers in blackmarket are sitting on their new iPads and can barely sell them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the iPad 3 isn't selling well then Android is selling at all. Because Apple sold 25% of the tablets Android ever sold in just 3 days. The lower workload and blackmarket sellers not being able to resell iPads could just be because Apple was better prepared compared to their iPad 2 launch (ie having preorders for the 3). Apple learned unlike ASUS did going from OG TF to the TFP.
You know news sites love to make controversies and because people will read anything related to Apple. Take the heat problem for example, there was all the controversy but then they found out that its not even that much hotter to other tablets.
xGary said:
If the iPad 3 isn't selling well then Android is selling at all. Because Apple sold 25% of the tablets Android ever sold in just 3 days. The lower workload and blackmarket sellers not being able to resell iPads could just be because Apple was better prepared compared to their iPad 2 launch (ie having preorders for the 3). Apple learned unlike ASUS did going from OG TF to the TFP.
You know news sites love to make controversies and because people will read anything related to Apple. Take the heat problem for example, there was all the controversy but then they found out that its not even that much hotter to other tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so the tens of thousands of ipads throwing up Shutting down due to overheating is controversy? especially since its well documented on apple forums and ipadforums.net, which is the largest Ipad forums. it wasn't controversies, that's a real issue with the new Ipad which got national television coverage on it in less than a week of its launch. that's one of the main reasons Ipad sales have halted. along with ipad2 users seeing no real benefits into upgrading. everyone totes it not as a real upgrade. more comparable to b.s. iPhone in-between builds. next Ipad to release will be the true upgrade to ipad2. current latest release is more like the ipad2S.
demandarin said:
so the tens of thousands of ipads throwing up Shutting down due to overheating is controversy? especially since its well documented on apple forums and ipadforums.net, which is the largest Ipad forums. it wasn't controversies, that's a real issue with the new Ipad which got national television coverage on it in less than a week of its launch. that's one of the main reasons Ipad sales have halted. along with ipad2 users seeing no real benefits into upgrading. everyone totes it not as a real upgrade. more comparable to b.s. iPhone in-between builds. next Ipad to release will be the true upgrade to ipad2. current latest release is more like the ipad2S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not see where tens of thousands of iPads shutting down due to overheating happen. Look on the iPad 3 section on the iPadForums right now. How many threads do you see with people complaining about heat? I looked through 4 pages and the only thread I saw about heat was someone asking if there was indeed a heat problem and people replying that it does get a little warmer but nothing crazy. It is an electronic, it gets warm. My TFP got hot when I played an hour of Dungeon Defender. Does the iPad get hotter? Probably. Do I notice it? No.
And Apple is set to release once a year. It is their schedule that they will stick to. People can't expect Apple to make a major breakthrough like the iPhone and iPad every year. They will make huge breakthroughs but just not every year. A lot of Android devices get crappy upgrades between versions and no one cries about it. Maybe for once there could be a huge breakthrough from Android and Apple will follow that. Why must it always be the other way around?
Interesting article on Why the Google store selling tablets online would succeed.
http://www.extremetech.com/electron...iled&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews