What is Google thinking with these lazy product launches? - Nexus 10 General

So I love my nexus ten, but I do not understand what google is trying to pull here. They make it almost impossible first to track down one of these things down. Then they do little to no advertising so the only ppl that really know about the nexus line are tech geeks while the average consumer is bombarded with iPad ads on every street corner. Then on top of that they release not even one official accessory for it!! No case, no smart cover, nothing OEM, pathetic! Go to an apple store and see all the junk you can get for it. Also look at the nexus 7 dock..... so they are going to release it a year after the product drops and is obsolete by then? Its like Google is just like OK lets make an awesome tablet for fun but screw anyone actually trying to live or own one!!!

waltthizzney said:
So I love my nexus ten, but I do not understand what google is trying to pull here. They make it almost impossible first to track down one of these things down. Then they do little to no advertising so the only ppl that really know about the nexus line are tech geeks while the average consumer is bombarded with iPad ads on every street corner. Then on top of that they release not even one official accessory for it!! No case, no smart cover, nothing OEM, pathetic! Go to an apple store and see all the junk you can get for it. Also look at the nexus 7 dock..... so they are going to release it a year after the product drops and is obsolete by then? Its like Google is just like OK lets make an awesome tablet for fun but screw anyone actually trying to live or own one!!!
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You know there are plenty of cases for it on Amazon and Ebay.

waltthizzney said:
So I love my nexus ten, but I do not understand what google is trying to pull here. They make it almost impossible first to track down one of these things down. Then they do little to no advertising so the only ppl that really know about the nexus line are tech geeks while the average consumer is bombarded with iPad ads on every street corner. Then on top of that they release not even one official accessory for it!! No case, no smart cover, nothing OEM, pathetic! Go to an apple store and see all the junk you can get for it. Also look at the nexus 7 dock..... so they are going to release it a year after the product drops and is obsolete by then? Its like Google is just like OK lets make an awesome tablet for fun but screw anyone actually trying to live or own one!!!
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Click to collapse
I completely agree. I absolutely love my Nexus 10 tablet, and the more I use it and the more reviews I read the more I'm assured that it's just as good as the iPad 4. Yet no one other than tech geeks have even heard of it. Google ONLY makes it available on the Playstore, gives ZERO indication of what retail stores will be carrying it and when, displays NO advertising on TV or otherwise, and releases no accessories.
It's really disappointing. It has the specs to succeed. It has the OS to succeed. It has the screen to succeed. It has the name brand to succeed. All it needs is some proper marketing and to provide some availability and it will be a huge success. Judging by the fact that it's sold out on the Play Store, and that every time a few show up at a Wal Mart they're immediately picked up tells me that there's a very high demand and that people want it. Maybe Google is laying a bit low right now because they can't come anywhere close to having enough stock if the demand went up considerably right now? I don't know.

Valid statement.
digitalrelic said:
I completely agree. I absolutely love my Nexus 10 tablet, and the more I use it and the more reviews I read the more I'm assured that it's just as good as the iPad 4. Yet no one other than tech geeks have even heard of it. Google ONLY makes it available on the Playstore, gives ZERO indication of what retail stores will be carrying it and when, displays NO advertising on TV or otherwise, and releases no accessories.
It's really disappointing. It has the specs to succeed. It has the OS to succeed. It has the screen to succeed. It has the name brand to succeed. All it needs is some proper marketing and to provide some availability and it will be a huge success. Judging by the fact that it's sold out on the Play Store, and that every time a few show up at a Wal Mart they're immediately picked up tells me that there's a very high demand and that people want it. Maybe Google is laying a bit low right now because they can't come anywhere close to having enough stock if the demand went up considerably right now? I don't know.
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I think your final statement is quite valid. They needed to launch to take some attention from the launch of the ipad mini but weren't really in a position to do so, stock wise. I also wonder wether they are trying to avoid upsetting other OEM that use android that also want to sell tablets this christmas.

This is the first Nexus line that is actually this in demand and desirable to the masses. Previous Nexus launches has very little to offer to those wanting anything other than pure android experience. This time it is coming with top of the line spec and hardware and software to match that hardware and it exploded in the market.
Google didnt predict this, neither did lot of us. Lot of us did not expect that this product will be in such a demand that it will be hard to get one. Frankly the top of the line 32GB model has not been hard to get. I ordered 3 and got all 3 within a week of order even when they estimated anything from 2 to 4 weeks as waiting time.
Google will learn from this. And the success of this line actually gives google incentive to go all out on a big launch next time around. So overall, this is good for those who swear by nexus. Maybe it will be mainstream launch next time around thanks to the success of this lineup.

Funkym0nkey said:
This is the first Nexus line that is actually this in demand and desirable to the masses. Previous Nexus launches has very little to offer to those wanting anything other than pure android experience. This time it is coming with top of the line spec and hardware and software to match that hardware and it exploded in the market.
Google didnt predict this, neither did lot of us. Lot of us did not expect that this product will be in such a demand that it will be hard to get one. Frankly the top of the line 32GB model has not been hard to get. I ordered 3 and got all 3 within a week of order even when they estimated anything from 2 to 4 weeks as waiting time.
Google will learn from this. And the success of this line actually gives google incentive to go all out on a big launch next time around. So overall, this is good for those who swear by nexus. Maybe it will be mainstream launch next time around thanks to the success of this lineup.
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I think the main aim of the Nexus 10 was to get an excellent next-gen 10 inch tablet into the hands of developers to create and update apps. They didn't push hard on the marketing because many average customers might have been disappointed by the app selection (eg Facebook, Twitter and Spotify are all borked at the moment). Apparently Key Lime Pie is focussing heavily on tablets (with all kinds of rumours around multiple apps and Chrome OS integration flying round) and with its release Google might push the Nexus 10 harder. I think the Note 10.1 II, with a Nexus 10 screen + digitiser/s-pen + expandable storage will go gangbusters and the rest of the 10 Android market will follow.

I don't think Google intended for this to be anything more than a developer reference tablet and a toy for loyal Android geeks. They're trying to gently establish a new footing in the way of optimised apps for ten inch tablets. There are hardly any apps that have been optimised for the kind of screen resolution that Android tablets will need to veer towards in order to take on the iPad. There are hardly any 10 inch tablet UIs either. You can get away with normal Android apps on the Nexus 7 but not on a ten inch tablet. Google probably didn't think the Nexus 10 was ready for a mainstream heavily marketed push, but felt that the ground work needed to be initiated in this manner. We are the guinea pigs they needed!
Once that's been achieved, Google will probably push the next Nexus 10 like they pushed the Nexus 7.

Doesn't really explain then why they would choose to offer it at Walmart, king of the mass retail chains. I agree, this launch was half-assed.

aimfire72 said:
Doesn't really explain then why they would choose to offer it at Walmart, king of the mass retail chains. I agree, this launch was half-assed.
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Because they decided they didn't want availability restricted to online stores?
Google have pumped money into marketing Gmail, Google+, Chrome, the Chromebook and the Nexus 7. If Google felt it was currently worthwhile to push the Nexus 10 to that extent, they would have done. Maybe when the Android platform has a more respectable 10 inch ecosystem their strategy will evolve.
One thing I've noticed about sites like XDA and Android fan sites is that these communities mistakenly think their interests represent anything more than the whispering voice of an extreme minority.

I mean, why sell a developer reference device at Walmart of all places, lol.. Frys or Microcenter would be a better choice for that. By selling at Walmart, they must be going for the general public, at least somewhat. I think they are still testing the waters in terms of how to market the device.

In my country (Germany) you can't even buy a N10, mo matter which size.
So if you have a N10, calm down, buy a non-OEM case and be happy

The launch, doesnt matter for developers or not, was a complete fail. You cant hype up and then release a batch of lets say 5000 devices in a 100 million population country. In Germany, the tablet was sold out in 15 minutes. I really wanted to order it, but all im getting is frustration and anger with the Play Store. Since i wanted to have a tablet for christmas, i guess ill settle with something else (maybe even the ipad, although im an android fan), what Google is doing is just a f-in miserable failure of marketing, sales and customer service.
This would be a dev device if it wouldve costed 600 bucks, promicing cheaper versions coming up in the next 2-3 months. But releasing such a device for 400 bucks and expecting very low interest is just idiotic... Im so disappointed with Google that i cant even describe it.

I agree, i wouldn't have known about the nexus 10 if my friend didn't tell me about it (he is very big into android) as to me, i'm really new to android and this will be the first android device i will own. I used iPhones, iPads but i got to bored with there interface. (you can only do so much even with a jailbroken device) I wanted to try something different and always wanted an android, so this tablet was a wake up call to switch over. Now im currently waiting the arrival of my nexus 10, I already love it from everything i read and cant wait to get it in my hands!!

Nexus isn't your typical retail ware. It's a collaboration between Google and the OEM, but because the pricing is lower than the OEM's own products, the OEM isn't pushing it. No promotion, and no accessories. It's up to Goog to do promotion and distribution, but Goog isn't putting much effort into either. I've seen ads for N7, but none for N10 or N4.
Distribution is mostly limited to Goog Play for N10. The handfuls of $499 SKU that make it into Walmart aren't competitive against iPads (Walmart is selling iPad3 for $399). In short, N10 and N4 are mainly reference devices, and for hardcore Android fans. They're not mass-market wares.
This may be intentional, since may be the intent is for OEMs to follow-up with comparable retail products, once they see how successful the reference devices are. N7 was a hit, and I'm pretty sure we'll see Asus & Co follow-up with similar 7" at similar pricing this year. Likewise, lower-tier vendors may see demand for N4 as a template to do similar handsets.
N10 (more generally, 10" tabs) will be a harder sell for OEMs to bite on. I doubt it will have any impact at all on overall Android tablet sales. It would've been better had Goog followed the KFHD/Nook model and came out with a $300 1080p tablet. On the bright side, at least it didn't bomb like the Nexus Q-ball.
iPad Mini will be the runaway hit this Christmas, eclipsing the iPad. It has the right blend of size, portability, and price. And it's perfect for kids and those with small hands. Its 4:3 screen allows for a much more usable display than the N7, which sucked for portrait. I'm hoping OEMs will pick up that cue as well and market some Mini-clone, at least in form factor.
The one good news for Android tablets is that Windows tablets/hybrids have bombed so spectacularly. Hopefully this will get major vendors to give Android tabs a second try, after the 2011 fiasco.

e.mote said:
Nexus isn't your typical retail ware. It's a collaboration between Google and the OEM, but because the pricing is lower than the OEM's own products, the OEM isn't pushing it. No promotion, and no accessories. It's up to Goog to do promotion and distribution, but Goog isn't putting much effort into either. I've seen ads for N7, but none for N10 or N4.
Distribution is mostly limited to Goog Play for N10. The handfuls of $499 SKU that make it into Walmart aren't competitive against iPads (Walmart is selling iPad3 for $399). In short, N10 and N4 are mainly reference devices, and for hardcore Android fans. They're not mass-market wares.
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I finally saw a commerical ad for the N10 along with N4! It was about a week or so ago but that was it.
Edit: Here is the commercial I saw on TV. YouTube had it.
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Related

[DISCUSSION] Why did the Touchpad fail?

well, my order of 4 from cpw came today, and I was going to get rid of spares and keep one if I thought they were no good (compared to all the tablets I have (Ipads,galaxy tabs, transformer, wierd brands etc) for dev purposes btw). But, omg, webOs so far is quite nice, the device aint too bad either. So going to give 3 to friends and family and keep 1 to play with. Downloading SDK as I type and had a quick read.
So, after not minding the hardware at all, and thinking that as a 1st pass young tablet webos is probably better than androids attempt, add to the fact that the SDK from reading (not use) looks to be even better than android......
Some1 remind me again, why did this thing fail? Just price? if thats the case, £299 would have made this and ensuing development a killer? Or am I missing some big point here?
Cheers
Cost, immature software, lack of features, small developer ecosphere, late to market, tons of competition...
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phobos512 said:
Cost, immature software, lack of features, small developer ecosphere, late to market, tons of competition...
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Click to collapse
baring the last two, that true of any os that has just come to market
Shame me thinks
It fails because it is one of the most expensive, heaviest, thickest, and has the least features (no back camera, not way to connect USB/SD memory card...) and least tablet apps. Coming late in the game HP should have done a better job...no excuse. HP designed the tablet poorly...consumers are not stupid like them...very disappointed in in HP. Whoever design/engineer/market the Touchpad should be fired....such a waste of resources. Guess it's worth $99, at least they priced it correctly now.
phobos512 said:
Cost, immature software, lack of features, small developer ecosphere, late to market, tons of competition...
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Click to collapse
It the nail right on the head, but I think it's mainly because of the price. Apple has some one figured out a way of brain washing people to buy everything they put out at any price. Other companies haven't figured it out so until they do they need to figure out how to get the cost down on tablets. Could imagine the frenzy over the Galaxy 10.1 if it would have been priced 199 or 299?
The HP tab fire sale proves there is a market for the Tab but just not at the price they are bouncing around.
deanwray said:
baring the last two, that true of any os that has just come to market
Shame me thinks
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Granted, but webOS didn't come to market with the Touchpad - it's been out for several years. It was a very buggy platform from all the reading I've done, and there was still a fair number of issues even after the last patch was released (just go look at PreCentral).
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wondercoolguy said:
It the nail right on the head, but I think it's mainly because of the price. Apple has some one figured out a way of brain washing people to buy everything they put out at any price. Other companies haven't figured it out so until they do they need to figure out how to get the cost down on tablets. Could imagine the frenzy over the Galaxy 10.1 if it would have been priced 199 or 299?
The HP tab fire sale proves there is a market for the Tab but just not at the price they are bouncing around.
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Click to collapse
Price was probably the biggest factor. It was more expensive than most any other tablet for less capability and less compatibility. For example, licking it down to print only to HP printers or tether to HP/Palm phones? Ridiculous.
It's sort of amazing the position Apple is in now given how bad off they were in the late 80s and 90s. Really sucked being a Mac user back then (haven't been a Mac user since then though).
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phobos512 said:
Price was probably the biggest factor. It was more expensive than most any other tablet for less capability and less compatibility. For example, licking it down to print only to HP printers or tether to HP/Palm phones? Ridiculous.
It's sort of amazing the position Apple is in now given how bad off they were in the late 80s and 90s. Really sucked being a Mac user back then (haven't been a Mac user since then though).
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well, I agree (Being a 3D artist myself) that the design is a little off, but I do like the form factor of these (and obviously my iPad) and that factor suits my development plans for tablets more than my transformer or indeed any of my 10inch tablets.
I would be in heaven even with the weight and cribb design if this was an android unit with the same UI features etc at a £250 price point.
I personally think this device and OS had great potential for a tablet, but like you say, if the palm devices showed lots of buggs, maybe hp could have never sorted it with the team they had. Still say shame though
Pretty much failed because the general populations definition of a tablet is the iPad. Like others said, price and too many competitors. After a couple of days with my Touchpad, and some tweaking, I like it. I am impressed with webOS.
But I feel bad for the poor souls who bought this thing from the get-go for 500 bucks because performance wise it has it's hiccups for no reason. Notice some lag sometimes for no reason and delays when trying to do simple things. I feel like the auto rotate is too sensitive as well.
dtblair24 said:
Pretty much failed because the general populations definition of a tablet is the iPad. Like others said, price and too many competitors. After a couple of days with my Touchpad, and some tweaking, I like it. I am impressed with webOS.
But I feel bad for the poor souls who bought this thing from the get-go for 500 bucks because performance wise it has it's hiccups for no reason. Notice some lag sometimes for no reason and delays when trying to do simple things. I feel like the auto rotate is too sensitive as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you installed preware and in turn the log diable stuff, speed stuff and the OMG it's now way too loud sound mod!
what.....I'm deff!
deanwray said:
well, my order of 4 from cpw came today, and I was going to get rid of spares and keep one if I thought they were no good (compared to all the tablets I have (Ipads,galaxy tabs, transformer, wierd brands etc) for dev purposes btw). But, omg, webOs so far is quite nice, the device aint too bad either. So going to give 3 to friends and family and keep 1 to play with. Downloading SDK as I type and had a quick read.
So, after not minding the hardware at all, and thinking that as a 1st pass young tablet webos is probably better than androids attempt, add to the fact that the SDK from reading (not use) looks to be even better than android......
Some1 remind me again, why did this thing fail? Just price? if thats the case, £299 would have made this and ensuing development a killer? Or am I missing some big point here?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so to say it just sucks is not what the op is looking for.
The unit itself is amazing. I have been a die hard android fan with my hd2 but the ui of this tablet is extremely functional. Having multiple frames for apps makes this an amazing item for me. The keyboard is very easy to use and the quality of the item is A+. Like many others I would like the android market but webOS. Two big things for me is the memory expansion and no hdmi out but I will live. If I were to release this product I would say 299 and 399 would be fair.
I think the price is the only reason it failed. From using the xoom and iPad I find this, minus the features listed above, to be the better unit. $99 is an amazing deal for this great piece of machinary.
Here's one reason:
"Rubinstein wasn't exactly thrilled about the timing of the TouchPad's release, saying CEO Leo Apotheker had failed to make good on a public promise to ship the tablet only when it was "perfect."
Source
I think a bigger issue deals with consumer education about a new OS. The transition from an android phone to an android tablet or an iphone to an iPad is seamless WebOS phones had a miniscule market share. WebOS came to market late in the game. It took an incredible price on the TP to get consumers to take the leap to a new platform. Now that they are here they may like what they see.
It failed for one simple reason. The OS and apps weren't ready and weren't polished. I think the hardware is amazing, save for the volume rocker and the super thin "home" button and maybe the screen which apparently generates its own fingerprints and smudges out of thin air. The OS on the other hand has so much potential but they completely screwed it. If I had purchased this at anything over 150, which is what I paid for the 32gb, I would return it or sell it.
Take this one example. The browser doesn't load pages in the background. If you load a new card like you would a tab and return to the original browser card, the new one just sits there and does . . . nothing. Doesn't load or render the webpage. It just sits there like a bookmark to the site you wanted to load. I mean seriously? This is like iPad1 crap, which was solved in like a couple weeks with third party browsers. With 4 times the ram, for some reason WebOS doesn't find it necessary even without a single other app loaded on a fresh boot to actually load the card in the background. The way I browse the web is to load a trillion tabs and then go through them and read. That would be absolutely excruciating on the Touchpad.
muyoso said:
It failed for one simple reason. The OS and apps weren't ready and weren't polished.
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Click to collapse
About the same as the 1st Galaxy Tab P1000 android version
The OS on the other hand has so much potential but they completely screwed it. If I had purchased this at anything over 150, which is what I paid for the 32gb, I would return it or sell it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
over 150 ? Bit harsh I think. From a development perspective, software is never finished, you just get to a point where you either HAVE to release or it's ACCEPTABLE to release.
Take this one example. The browser doesn't load pages in the background. If you load a new card like you would a tab and return to the original browser card, the new one just sits there and does . . . nothing. Doesn't load or render the webpage. It just sits there like a bookmark to the site you wanted to load. I mean seriously? This is like iPad1 crap, which was solved in like a couple weeks with third party browsers. With 4 times the ram, for some reason WebOS doesn't find it necessary even without a single other app loaded on a fresh boot to actually load the card in the background.
The way I browse the web is to load a trillion tabs and then go through them and read. That would be absolutely excruciating on the Touchpad.
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Click to collapse
I dont actually think thats a representation of the average user. I maybe open 7 tabs on a pc, I sure they would have put in background loading eventually.
dtblair24 said:
Pretty much failed because the general populations definition of a tablet is the iPad. Like others said, price and too many competitors. After a couple of days with my Touchpad, and some tweaking, I like it. I am impressed with webOS.
But I feel bad for the poor souls who bought this thing from the get-go for 500 bucks because performance wise it has it's hiccups for no reason. Notice some lag sometimes for no reason and delays when trying to do simple things. I feel like the auto rotate is too sensitive as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is exactly why it failed. Why do you have to tweak it for it to work smoothly. It should be like that out the box
imsuperjp said:
this is exactly why it failed. Why do you have to tweak it for it to work smoothly. It should be like that out the box
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Click to collapse
name a tablet product other than ipad (ios) that at release was like what you wanted, smooth out of the box, cause I cant think of one?
Honestly I don't think it failed because of the OS the majority of people out there are absolutely clueless as to what the difference android/ios and web OS brings when I recommend android phones to people nearly all of them haven't got a clue what I'm on about there more interested in if it can download apps. I personally think its more to do with marketing and more important price(why pay 399 for a unknown hp tablet when you can pay 399 for a apple ipad) people have to understand that the majority of consumers are near clueless about tech,ive gad so many people pick up android tabs asking if this is the ipad lol
I think you have to go way back to the palm pre for the answer. Great OS. Not a bad spec phone for the time. But Sprint was the exclusive carrier and didn't do jack to promote it. So everyone was seeing iPhone this and Droid that. No one was hearing about webOS until it was in the news that they were broke and hp was buying them. That's my opinion anyway. I have a palm pre(in a desk) have an evo (daily driver) and I hands down would take webOS on the evo hardware any day.
Everyone thinks this tablet has failed, if that's the case then why did a million people buy it? I know it's cheap compared to the iPad but with over a millions users this tablet should take off and be a big competitor with Apple. Maybe that was the intention all along, think how much HP saved on marketing, plus all the revenue they could get from some many users.
Give it a few months, Webos will be rocking the tablet world!

Is ASUS Stupid?

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?
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.

[News] New Transformer Prime Announced

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.
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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.
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+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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

Rumor: Google to partner with Asus to create a Nexus Tablet?

http://androidandme.com/2012/03/opi...to-be-made-by-asus-include-quad-core-tegra-3/
Just a rumor. Makes you wonder if this rumor is true...
Just yesterday some Asus exec mentions about Jellybean
I can see 7 in. Tegra 3 (the one they announced at CES) turning into this Android Experience Tablet at $199..... but a 10 in. tablet for $299? Not only that but Transformer Pad 300 with Tegra 3 & 10 in. display will be $399....
Not only that but if we were to guess if those 2 devices are the one Asus exec mentioned about with Jellybean.. you also have to question what Google is thinking. ICS is slowly rolling out (heck, most won't see ICS til 2nd qtr or even after).. but if this is Jellybean launch tablet.. so much for ending Fragmentation (but it makes sense if Jellybean is 4.1 or 4.2.... instead of 5.0).
Either way, you have to wonder where "Prime" will fit in if all of these RUMORS or Asus's plans with Tablets are concerned....
I found quote interesting. " ASUS has a strong relationship with Google and I’ve been extremely impressed with the Transformer Prime, so I think this 7-inch Google Experience Device could sell very well. If Amazon shipped 5 million units of their $199 tablet in one quarter, then I predict that Google could move over 10 million units in the second-half of 2012."
I think also that the original Asus memo will be scrapped for this. if not then its direct competition to their own memo tablet. is say memo idea has evolved into this Google experience tablet. they joining forces to combat kindle fire since it uses a joke of an android OS.
one thing for sure, Asus is going to have their hands full with all these different tablets. this is great for nvidia though as their chip is now seemed to be used in majority of new tablets coming out. the price range prime is at, $499, still keeps it in the game. especially when you have people like the editor saying he was very impressed with prime. I think if Prime issue is as big as we thought, Google would've realized this and wouldn't of partnered with them. seems like Google has more faith in Asus than Motorola or any other tablet maker. that in itself says alot about the confidence a company as huge as Google has towards Asus. if rumor holds true then this will really increases their shares of android tablet market. rumor seems legit and very feasible especially since Google and Asus relationship is one of the strongest in the industry. that's why Asus leads all other manufacturers in update roll outs and having latest firmware. makes sense next Google nexus tablet is made by them as it will always have the latest firmware upgrades. plus Asus has one of the most vanilla stock firmware experiences. it doesn't slap bloatware UI like touchwize over the stock android experience.
demandarin said:
I found quote interesting. " ASUS has a strong relationship with Google and I’ve been extremely impressed with the Transformer Prime, so I think this 7-inch Google Experience Device could sell very well. If Amazon shipped 5 million units of their $199 tablet in one quarter, then I predict that Google could move over 10 million units in the second-half of 2012."
I think also that the original Asus memo will be scrapped for this. if not then its direct competition to their own memo tablet. is say memo idea has evolved into this Google experience tablet. they joining forces to combat kindle fire since it uses a joke of an android OS.
one thing for sure, Asus is going to have their hands full with all these different tablets. this is great for nvidia though as their chip is now seemed to be used in majority of new tablets coming out. the price range prime is at, $499, still keeps it in the game. especially when you have people like the editor saying he was very impressed with prime. I think if Prime issue is as big as we thought, Google would've realized this and wouldn't of partnered with them. seems like Google has more faith in Asus than Motorola or any other tablet maker. that in itself says alot about the confidence a company as huge as Google has towards Asus.
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Don't really care how "media" is portraying Prime. Majority of the "reviews" from the media are about the same as that author (honestly, it really is a nice device if you ignore the signal issues)...
Anyways, if Google does release a "Nexus" tablet with Asus.. it has to be "Jellybean" as "nexus" tablets are typically a "flagship/launch" device for Android. So, if Asus were to release 7 in. Tegra 3 Tablet and.. even the 10 in. Tablet this year.... you have to wonder how they will market Prime & even TF700 and Pad 300 as they are on ICS or will be launched with ICS. They could simply "upgrade" majority of their Tablets to "jellybean" if they are working closely with Google... but if true..
7 in. at $199, 10 in. at $299 & $399, Prime at $499 (with wifi/gps issues.. although, it could be solved), and TF 700 at $600+.....
So, unless Asus fixes or finds a solution to all of Prime's current issue... MOST Likely.. or the future of Prime looks bleak to me.
But yea, Nvidia should/will be happy if Asus is selected to create "nexus" tablet with Tegra 3 included. Btw, I don't think Google has more faith in Asus over other OEMs... they simply liked the "price" of 7in Memo that was presented at CES.
Aren't nexus devices fully unlocked? Doesn't Asus have a problem with that? Not if google tells them not to.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
i also recently saw an article that LG was ''in heavy talks with google about a nexus device". idk if that means phone, or tablet, or your new hair dryer, but im interested in seeing whats next
stretchwookie said:
i also recently saw an article that LG was ''in heavy talks with google about a nexus device". idk if that means phone, or tablet, or your new hair dryer, but im interested in seeing whats next
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saw an article on that also. supposedly its the new nexus phone.
some more details on this. first the name is rumored to be the GooglePlay. 1280x800 resolution. production starts in April and shipping date is in June.
www.droidgamers.com/index.php/table...ake-the-google-qnexus-tabletq-to-be-quad-core
Think it's a win win for everybody if Google can release a Nexus tablets with a decent price.
More tablets on the market = More people that can buy and want apps = More developers that now can put in some time to do good tablet friendly Apps/Games and know that it worth the time and effort.
The Verge and Andy Rubin about tablets
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/27/2...wn-on-android-tablets-in-2012-says-andy-rubin
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
stretchwookie said:
i also recently saw an article that LG was ''in heavy talks with google about a nexus device". idk if that means phone, or tablet, or your new hair dryer, but im interested in seeing whats next
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Click to collapse
HTC made the same comment as well...
Personally... I only see it as marketing ploy (including Asus's comment on Jellybean tablet). So, take all these rumors with a grain of salt...
I personally think Google is playing a dangerous game with "Android". Google "experience" alone creates a huge boost in profit to given OEM (and the device)... & Google constantly changing or giving "selective" boost will certainly annoy the non-selected OEMs.
Anyways, it really is the "price" factor that probably attracted Google to Asus. Not because they have "faith" in Asus.... Google "experience" alone will attract a lot of customers (think of all the Nexus phones) & the global image/reputation of Samsung & Sony (not to mention their ability to battle against Apple) is probably far more attractive & can put more "faith" in them when it comes to production.
shinzz said:
HTC made the same comment as well...
Personally... I only see it as marketing ploy (including Asus's comment on Jellybean tablet). So, take all these rumors with a grain of salt...
I personally think Google is playing a dangerous game with "Android". Google "experience" alone creates a huge boost in profit to given OEM (and the device)... & Google constantly changing or giving "selective" boost will certainly annoy the non-selected OEMs.
Anyways, it really is the "price" factor that probably attracted Google to Asus. Not because they have "faith" in Asus.... Google "experience" alone will attract a lot of customers (think of all the Nexus phones) & the global image/reputation of Samsung & Sony (not to mention their ability to battle against Apple) is probably far more attractive & can put more "faith" in them when it comes to production.
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Sony is a non factor in battle against apple right now. Sony already came out n said no plans for quad core or more powerful tablets to well into 2013. they just now released that clam shell Sony dual screen tablet after like a 7 month delay. the only ones who will make a difference and look attractive are the ones who are innovating and coming out with powerful devices at a good price. only Asus fits those shoes right now. only thing innovating Samsung releasing is that Pico projector phone, which is a niche market. plus Asus has closest relationship to Google than any other manufacturer. that's why they get latest updates the fastest. if Samsung finally decides to bring down cost of over priced devices then they will look more attractive. Asus is a world leader in PC manufacturing and parts. their notebooks and motherboards aren't regarded as the industry best and won several awards for nothing. so that alone makes them attractive to Google. along with their innovating line of Transformer pads. behind HTC with their new phone, Asus was seen as the best of MWC. Samsung was basically a no show or none of their devices really drew a crowd. with apple about to launch ipad3 this week, Android better figure out something. its about to be Ipad mania all over again. their advertising campaigns has no limits. sony cant compete with Ipad by still releasing tegra2 chip new tablets..lol
plus its clear no one Android manufacturer can compete with apple toe to toe. it will take combined effort of all android manufacturers to combat apple. Android as a whole and nothing less.
demandarin said:
Sony is a non factor in battle against apple right now. Sony already came out n said no plans for quad core or more powerful tablets to well into 2013. they just now released that clam shell Sony dual screen tablet after like a 7 month delay. the only ones who will make a difference and look attractive are the ones who are innovating and coming out with powerful devices at a good price. only Asus fits those shoes right now. only thing innovating Samsung releasing is that Pico projector phone, which is a niche market. plus Asus has closest relationship to Google than any other manufacturer. that's why they get latest updates the fastest. if Samsung finally decides to bring down cost of over priced devices then they will look more attractive. Asus is a world leader in PC manufacturing and parts. their notebooks and motherboards aren't regarded as the industry best and won several awards for nothing. so that alone makes them attractive to Google. along with their innovating line of Transformer pads. behind HTC with their new phone, Asus was seen as the best of MWC. Samsung was basically a no show or none of their devices really drew a crowd. with apple about to launch ipad3 this week, Android better figure out something. its about to be Ipad mania all over again. their advertising campaigns has no limits. sony cant compete with Ipad by still releasing tegra2 chip new tablets..lol
plus its clear no one Android manufacturer can compete with apple toe to toe. it will take combined effort of all android manufacturers to combat apple. Android as a whole and nothing less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is Sony a non-factor? Just because they don't plan on creating quad-core tablet (could be waiting for Qualcomm's Krait instead of jumping on to Tegra 3) doesn't mean they will be non-factor. Why does Google's Nexus tablet have to be quad-core? When it comes to BRAND/Image/Reputation... Sony is simply superior over Asus.
Samsung being a no show at MWC? Probably because they opted not to participate heavily at MWC since they plan on having their OWN Samsung EVENT (just like Apple). I think Galaxy Note was innovative.... & that's a product that's already launched & is successful. Also, Asus isn't the only OEM that has close relationship with Google.... Google will, or owns Motorola right now.. and Samsung did release first ICS Nexus phone just recently....
Winning awards at MWC or CES also means nothing. If they aren't priced accordingly, or if they aren't simple to avg. user (think of Padfone.. innovative but the market on that will be small with all the "transformation" & Galaxy Note simply provides everything that Padfone hopes to provide except the battery.. *which is only found through constant transformation*)... it'll tank. Motorola XOOM won awards at MWC & at CES.. and look at how that tanked.
Asus is world leader in PC manufacturing and parts? You can say exactly the same about SONY and Samsung. For the longest time, SONY VAIO brand was regarded as one of the highest quality.. and many of the current SAMSUNG PC lines are considered one of the finest in quality and performance.
Finally, ASUS simply cannot match Sony & Samsung when it comes to world-wide production.
Throwing in my 3 cents...
Sure, it sounds reasonable. Android tabs are foundering, and Goog needs to make a major move before Win8 ate its lunch (and dinner..and breakfast..). Goog's Rubin dude said as much himself at MWC.
Win8 preview has issues with integrating the WIMP UI. Mouse/keyboard frankly sucks on it, but it excels with its touch UI. It will do well against iPad, since it targets a different market. Being a full-fledged OS, it will power primary computing devices, whereas iOS/Android can only power secondary devices. Apple itself has no worry. The iPad has established a solid ecosystem, with good hardware, good adoption rates in both business and consumer, and large software base. It has the lead. Android has none of these advantages. It's not catching on outside of phones.
There are two ways to make people buy your wares: Make it good, or make it cheap.
Make it good: Goog can't improve Android to be a full OS overnight to compete with Win8. Similary, it can't conjure a large base of tablet-specific apps overnight. The geek set aside, hardware specs isn't that important for normal buyers. In short, the "premium" option is out.
Make it cheap: HP Touchpad and Amazon Fire have shown that cheap tabs will sell. It's a reasonable option to take a page from Amazon and launch a dirt-cheap, barebone device to jumpstart adoption rate, which will in turn get devs to start making tablet-specific apps. If Amazon and B&N can be successful in making cheap tabs, Google can too.
The point isn't to make money per device. It's to ensure Android's relevance outside of phones. That's worth spending money over.
Why Asus for its "Nexus tab"? Because most other vendors have bailed. Asus is the only one left that's actually still making new Android tabs for the mainstream market. And whereas most other vendors are still on the "iPad-parity" pricing, Asus has the angle on the cheap-but-good pricing, with the MeMo 370T. If Goog wants to go with a "cheap but good" device, Asus is the natural choice.
BTW, the $300 10" tab will come sooner than you think. Both Amazon and B&N are expected to launch successors to their 7" tabs this spring. Given that the main appeal for tabs is video watching, it's a safe bet that those will be 10" size, since watching vids on a 7" is pretty crappy. Both the Acer A200 and Moto Xoom Family are already selling for $350, and a barebone 10" should sell for less--ergo $300. Spring = 2-3 months away.
Of more immediate interest is the iPad 3 launch. If the latest rumor bears out, that iPad 3 will keep same pricing, then it means the TP700 will have the same $500 base price, as it can't sell for higher than the iPad 3 w/ QXGA res. If so, then Prime will disappear. TP300 will take up the lower $400 slot, and TP700 will replace Prime. We'll know in two days.
Q&A:
>Why is Sony a non-factor?
Because it was never a factor in the tablet market. Sony's MO is premium-but-proprietary, and cheap tabs just ain't its thing.
>Samsung being a no show at MWC?
Showing wares at trade shows doesn't translate to wares on the retail shelf. A Samsung exec is on record as admitting that its tablets aren't selling well. Samsung, like Sony, is still on the "premium" strategy. 2011 should be definitive proof that you can't compete with iPad on a price-parity strategy. All of the announced Samsung wares are premium-priced, some even more than the iPad.
e.mote said:
Throwing in my 3 cents...
Sure, it sounds reasonable. Android tabs are foundering, and Goog needs to make a major move before Win8 ate its lunch (and dinner..and breakfast..). Goog's Rubin dude said as much himself at MWC.
Win8 preview has issues with integrating the WIMP UI. Mouse/keyboard frankly sucks on it, but it excels with its touch UI. It will do well against iPad, since it targets a different market. Being a full-fledged OS, it will power primary computing devices, whereas iOS/Android can only power secondary devices. Apple itself has no worry. The iPad has established a solid ecosystem, with good hardware, good adoption rates in both business and consumer, and large software base. It has the lead.
There are two ways to make people buy your wares: Make it good, or make it cheap.
Make it good: Goog can't improve Android to be a full OS overnight to compete with Win8. Similary, it can't conjure a large base of tablet-specific apps overnight. The geek set aside, hardware specs isn't that important for normal buyers. In short, the "premium" option is out.
Make it cheap: HP Touchpad and Amazon Fire have shown that cheap tabs will sell. It's a reasonable option to take a page from Amazon and launch a dirt-cheap, barebone device to jumpstart adoption rate, which will in turn get devs to start making tablet-specific apps. If Amazon and B&N can be successful in making cheap tabs, Google can too.
The point isn't to make money per device. It's to ensure Android's relevance outside of phones. That's worth spending money over.
Why Asus for its "Nexus tab"? Because most other vendors have bailed. Asus is the only one left that's actually still making new Android tabs for the mainstream market. And whereas most other vendors are still on the "iPad-parity" pricing, Asus has the angle on the cheap-but-good pricing, with the MeMo 370T. If Goog wants to go with a "cheap but good" device, Asus is the natural choice.
BTW, the $300 10" tab will come sooner than you think. Both Amazon and B&N are expected to launch successors to their 7" tabs this spring. Given that the main appeal for tabs is video watching, it's a safe bet that those will be 10" size, since watching vids on a 7" is pretty crappy. Both the Acer A200 and Moto Xoom Family are already selling for $350, and a barebone 10" should sell for less--ergo $300. Spring = 2-3 months away.
Of more immediate interest is the iPad 3 launch. If the latest rumor bears out, that iPad 3 will keep same pricing, then it means the TP700 will have the same $500 base price, as it can't sell for higher than the iPad 3 w/ QXGA res. If so, then Prime will disappear. TP300 will take up the lower $400 slot, and TP700 will replace Prime. We'll know in two days.
Q&A:
>Why is Sony a non-factor?
Because it was never a factor in the tablet market. Sony's MO is premium-but-proprietary, and cheap tabs just ain't its thing.
>Samsung being a no show at MWC?
Showing wares at trade shows doesn't translate to wares on the retail shelf. A Samsung exec is on record as admitting that its tablets aren't selling well. Samsung, like Sony, are still on the "premium" strategy. 2011 should definitely prove that you can't compete with iPad on a price-parity strategy. All of the announced Samsung wares are premium-priced, some even more than the iPad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's my point more or less. It isn't because Google has Faith in Asus but simply the "PRICE" that was attractive to Google..
shinzz said:
Why is Sony a non-factor? Just because they don't plan on creating quad-core tablet (could be waiting for Qualcomm's Krait instead of jumping on to Tegra 3) doesn't mean they will be non-factor. Why does Google's Nexus tablet have to be quad-core? When it comes to BRAND/Image/Reputation... Sony is simply superior over Asus.
Samsung being a no show at MWC? Probably because they opted not to participate heavily at MWC since they plan on having their OWN Samsung EVENT (just like Apple). I think Galaxy Note was innovative.... & that's a product that's already launched & is successful. Also, Asus isn't the only OEM that has close relationship with Google.... Google will, or owns Motorola right now.. and Samsung did release first ICS Nexus phone just recently....
Winning awards at MWC or CES also means nothing. If they aren't priced accordingly, or if they aren't simple to avg. user (think of Padfone.. innovative but the market on that will be small with all the "transformation" & Galaxy Note simply provides everything that Padfone hopes to provide except the battery.. *which is only found through constant transformation*)... it'll tank. Motorola XOOM won awards at MWC & at CES.. and look at how that tanked.
Asus is world leader in PC manufacturing and parts? You can say exactly the same about SONY and Samsung. For the longest time, SONY VAIO brand was regarded as one of the highest quality.. and many of the current SAMSUNG PC lines are considered one of the finest in quality and performance.
Finally, ASUS simply cannot match Sony & Samsung when it comes to world-wide production.
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Click to collapse
price point will be the determining factor. we know Samsung tabs are over priced and has no low end sector really. the tab is still priced higher than comparable tablets with same specs or higher. Sony just released the clamshell dual core 1Ghz processor selling it for $599. are they retarded or something. no one will pay that much for s tablet using very outdated specs.
like said before though, no single android manufacturer can compete with Apple. it will take the whole Android collective to swing the tablet shares and nothing less. just like small businesses in America the foundation, same will go for the perceived smaller tablet manufacturers. As Asus is right behind Samsung in android tablets.
So Android really needs all manufacturers to sell well. only way to do that is catch up to the times and start innovating and coming with new features that will even appeal to apple owners. plus zandroid marketplace needs a huge boost in tablet only apps and needs to dedicate its own section for that. apple just recently hit a milestone with like over 25billion app downloads. in order to compete, the apps n software needs to be a bigger factor. if android just solely focuses on hardware spec boosts, we will never beat apple.
---------- Post added at 10:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 AM ----------
e.mote said:
Throwing in my 3 cents...
Sure, it sounds reasonable. Android tabs are foundering, and Goog needs to make a major move before Win8 ate its lunch (and dinner..and breakfast..). Goog's Rubin dude said as much himself at MWC.
Win8 preview has issues with integrating the WIMP UI. Mouse/keyboard frankly sucks on it, but it excels with its touch UI. It will do well against iPad, since it targets a different market. Being a full-fledged OS, it will power primary computing devices, whereas iOS/Android can only power secondary devices. Apple itself has no worry. The iPad has established a solid ecosystem, with good hardware, good adoption rates in both business and consumer, and large software base. It has the lead.
There are two ways to make people buy your wares: Make it good, or make it cheap.
Make it good: Goog can't improve Android to be a full OS overnight to compete with Win8. Similary, it can't conjure a large base of tablet-specific apps overnight. The geek set aside, hardware specs isn't that important for normal buyers. In short, the "premium" option is out.
Make it cheap: HP Touchpad and Amazon Fire have shown that cheap tabs will sell. It's a reasonable option to take a page from Amazon and launch a dirt-cheap, barebone device to jumpstart adoption rate, which will in turn get devs to start making tablet-specific apps. If Amazon and B&N can be successful in making cheap tabs, Google can too.
The point isn't to make money per device. It's to ensure Android's relevance outside of phones. That's worth spending money over.
Why Asus for its "Nexus tab"? Because most other vendors have bailed. Asus is the only one left that's actually still making new Android tabs for the mainstream market. And whereas most other vendors are still on the "iPad-parity" pricing, Asus has the angle on the cheap-but-good pricing, with the MeMo 370T. If Goog wants to go with a "cheap but good" device, Asus is the natural choice.
Q&A:
>Why is Sony a non-factor?
Because it was never a factor in the tablet market. Sony's MO is premium-but-proprietary, and cheap tabs just ain't its thing.
>Samsung being a no show at MWC?
Showing wares at trade shows doesn't translate to wares on the retail shelf. A Samsung exec is on record as admitting that its tablets aren't selling well. Samsung, like Sony, is still on the "premium" strategy. 2011 should be definitive proof that you can't compete with iPad on a price-parity strategy. All of the announced Samsung wares are premium-priced, some even more than the iPad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. price point will be the biggest factor. Samsung can't play ball with apple at their own price point or higher. only way to gain more of a stronghold is to start undercutting prices while still having comparable specs or better. Asus seems like one of the only mainstream ones who know howbto properly price devices. Acer also but even Acer themselves unsure of their Android future.
---------- Post added at 11:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:52 AM ----------
wouldn't price point also be a factor for win8 tablets also in order to compete with Android and Apple? I'm sure win8 tablets won't be cheap considering their minimum specs to run their OS. win8 will do well with business sector because its windows. but it takes more than business sector to be successful in tablet market as shown by Apple.
how can Android or Win8/Microsoft take over and surpass Apple in tablet sales? makes you wonder if their head start and boost in tablet market has become too much to overcome. Apple could take a dump and label it the ipad3 or iphone5 and millions will eat it up. we need the loyal fan base like apple has. thing is with apple having Mac PC, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, Ipad, apple t.v. etc... they have endless amounts of money to pour into their tablets.
I think Bill Gates needs to really jump back into this scene. he was the one who actually predicted and described the original Ipad like 10years before it was ever released in a well known interview. bill gates and Microsoft alone has more than enough money to combat apple. As Microsoft is Apple arch Nemesis. they're the only ones with resources, research, and pockets deep enough to really stand a chance as a single company combating Apple. just look at how Microsoft came into the gaming scene with Xbox and took over as the best selling device here in the u.s. Sony is doing well also but for Microsoft to come out of nowhere, when Sony had such a huge head start, and take over really says something.
Apple needs to be knocked off its thrown asap or no one else will hold the title of best selling tablet device.
demandarin said:
wouldn't price point also be a factor for win8 tablets also in order to compete with Android and Apple? I'm sure win8 tablets won't be cheap considering their minimum specs to run their OS. win8 will do well with business sector because its windows. but it takes more than business sector to be successful in tablet market as shown by Apple.
how can Android or Win8/Microsoft take over and surpass Apple in tablet sales? makes you wonder if their head start and boost in tablet market has become too much to overcome. Apple could take a dump and label it the ipad3 or iphone5 and millions will eat it up. we need the loyal fan base like apple has. thing is with apple having Mac PC, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, Ipad, apple t.v. etc... they have endless amounts of money to pour into their tablets.
I think Bill Gates needs to really jump back into this scene. he was the one who actually predicted and described the original Ipad like 10years before it was ever released in a well known interview. bill gates and Microsoft alone has more than enough money to combat apple. As Microsoft is Apple arch Nemesis. they're the only ones with resources, research, and pockets deep enough to really stand a chance as a single company combating Apple. just look at how Microsoft came into the gaming scene with Xbox and took over as the best selling device here in the u.s. Sony is doing well also but for Microsoft to come out of nowhere, when Sony had such a huge head start, and take over really says something.
Apple needs to be knocked off its thrown asap or no one else will hold the title of best selling tablet device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's obvious that I'm looking forward to Win 8 tablets. To answer your question... Intels cloverfield/medfield x86 SoC will be deciding factor to Win 8 ... Biggest knock on Intel's mobile SoC has been battery life..... but if the battery life is near or close to ARM... You are looking at Win 8 Tablets that'll have fully functional OS to their PC counterpart.
If Intel's SoC is successful (well see how the Lenovo Android phone performs) & if the price difference between Win 8 and Android are in $10s.. instead of $100s (or in the ballpark of say current premium Android devices.. such as Samsungs).. I can def. see Win 8 penetrating on Android market share.
shinzz said:
Why is Sony a non-factor?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony has the power to be Apple for the same reasons that Comcast bought NBC - content. Sony owns a huge portfolio of audio, video, and gaming content. They could develop an iOS like eco-system biased toward their content offerings that would create a profit stream that Asus would sell their left nut for. Why do you think Amazon is selling the KF at literally their cost of building it? Asus makes $75 by selling a tablet where Amazon estimates the lifetime value of a KF purchaser to be worth hundreds. Who do you think will win? These billion dollar companies don’t make multi-year strategic decisions about what markets to pursue based on someone else’s h/w. They’re the “dog,” the Nvidia’s (or Qualcomm’s, TI’s, etc.) of the world are the “tail.” An 8-core chip announced tomorrow isn’t going to change Amazon’s strategy for the KF. It's the same thing with BMW and their M cars and M-B with their AMG models. They're halo products for image only and represent single digits in sales and profit. They'd both give them up in heart beat if they had to decide between them and their bread and butter models like the 3 and the C. We on XDA are "M" and "AMG" buyers. We don't represent the masses and are expendable.
Sony's issue isn't h/w; they are an incredibly well regarded global brand. It's their historical inability to leverage their considerable assets. Catching up on the h/w side wouldn't be difficult. Their PC division does extremely well and has the highest profit margins in the industry. Applying that talent to tablets would allow them to catch up quickly. What Asus is doing isn't rocket science. Their cobbling together available parts from third parties to create a product. They own nothing unique h/w or s/w wise that someone with deep pockets couldn't recreate quickly. Sony has the resources to do h/w. Asus (and others like them) will never be able to own content.
Sony's success depends on Sony. They just got a new CEO so it'll be interesting to see if they get their act together. If they can, they have a very good chance of winning. If they can't, they'll plod along like they have been. And success or failure is measured in years, not SoC lifecycles.
P.S. - They are Google's most committed partner for G-TV. Coincidence? No, they see it as a conduit to bypassing the cable companies and delivering they’re enormous content assets to as many purchasers as they can. So it's not like their sitting in the bleachers watching the game.
shinzz said:
If Intel's SoC is successful (well see how the Lenovo Android phone performs) & if the price difference between Win 8 and Android are in $10s.. instead of $100s (or in the ballpark of say current premium Android devices.. such as Samsungs).. I can def. see Win 8 penetrating on Android market share.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Microsoft can't/won't compete with free. All things being equal hardware wise, a Win8 tablet is going to be far more expensive than an Android tablet, because of the cost of a Win8 license.
However, that may well be a price consumers are prepared to pay - only time will tell.
Regards,
Dave
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
BarryH_GEG said:
Sony has the power to be Apple for the same reasons that Comcast bought NBC - content. Sony owns a huge portfolio of audio, video, and gaming content. They could develop an iOS like eco-system biased toward their content offerings that would create a profit stream that Asus would sell their left nut for. Why do you think Amazon is selling the KF at literally their cost of building it? Asus makes $75 by selling a tablet where Amazon estimates the lifetime value of a KF purchaser to be worth hundreds. Who do you think will win? These billion dollar companies don’t make multi-year strategic decisions about what markets to pursue based on someone else’s h/w. They’re the “dog,” the Nvidia’s (or Qualcomm’s, TI’s, etc.) of the world are the “tail.” An 8-core chip announced tomorrow isn’t going to change Amazon’s strategy for the KF. It's the same thing with BMW and their M cars and M-B with their AMG models. They're halo products for image only and represent single digits in sales and profit. They'd both give them up in heart beat if they had to decide between them and their bread and butter models like the 3 and the C. We on XDA are "M" and "AMG" buyers. We don't represent the masses and are expendable.
Sony's issue isn't h/w; they are an incredibly well regarded global brand. It's their historical inability to leverage their considerable assets. Catching up on the h/w side wouldn't be difficult. Their PC division does extremely well and has the highest profit margins in the industry. Applying that talent to tablets would allow them to catch up quickly. What Asus is doing isn't rocket science. Their cobbling together available parts from third parties to create a product. They own nothing unique h/w or s/w wise that someone with deep pockets couldn't recreate quickly. Sony has the resources to do h/w. Asus (and others like them) will never be able to own content.
Sony's success depends on Sony. They just got a new CEO so it'll be interesting to see if they get their act together. If they can, they have a very good chance of winning. If they can't, they'll plod along like they have been. And success or failure is measured in years, not SoC lifecycles.
P.S. - They are Google's most committed partner for G-TV. Coincidence? No, they see it as a conduit to bypassing the cable companies and delivering they’re enormous content assets to as many purchasers as they can. So it's not like their sitting in the bleachers watching the game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, you certainly took a quote and simply ran off with it as your own rant. Perhaps you didn't read my statements... More or less, I agree with everything that you mentioned about SONY.
My point was against Demandrin & was simply a question as to how.. or why SONY is non-factor? I was making a case, or point against Demandrin that it isn't "Faith" but simply the "PRICE" factor that attracted .. or is attracting Google to Asus. Because if it was based on "faith".. Sony & Samsung are far more ideal for everything that you have mentioned in detail.
foxmeister said:
Microsoft can't/won't compete with free. All things being equal hardware wise, a Win8 tablet is going to be far more expensive than an Android tablet, because of the cost of a Win8 license.
However, that may well be a price consumers are prepared to pay - only time will tell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, however.. I don't think & seriously doubt it'll be FAR more expensive if all things are equal in hardware wise. By being far more expensive.. as in.. in upwards over $100. Also, Win 8 is being developed to break into tablet market... I doubt Microsoft will charge OEMs excessively ...
Personally I would like to see Google team up with Samsung for Tabs
Super AMOLED HD displays please
shinzz said:
Wow, you certainly took a quote and simply ran off with it as your own rant. Perhaps you didn't read my statements... More or less, I agree with everything that you mentioned about SONY.
My point was against Demandrin & was simply a question as to how.. or why SONY is non-factor? I was making a case, or point against Demandrin that it isn't "Faith" but simply the "PRICE" factor that attracted .. or is attracting Google to Asus. Because if it was based on "faith".. Sony & Samsung are far more ideal for everything that you have mentioned in detail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I just used your quote to give some color on Sony as potential player. It wasn't directed at you or anyone else. They're kind of a sleeping giant and everyone underestimates them. They could easily be a bigger player than Samsung in mobile if they could actually get their act together. The key word is “if” because they have a record of squandering opportunities. Appointing a new CEO (the former head of PlayStation) and buying out Ericsson's share of their phone business was a good start.
Look at it this way, if Sony approached Google who has stores set up to sell and distribute content and said "hey, we want to build the Nexus tablet and in return we'll give you access to all our media assets," you think Google would say no? Also Sony and Microsoft with PlayStation and X-Box are like Apple and Google. With W8 leveraging X-Box if I was Sony I'd be looking for a partner with a huge audience in order to counter. People still view Google as a "public service." While they give Android away it's only to get access to an audience for their other money-making products. Google's no more unselfish or concerned about their users when they make decisions than any other public company with shareholders. They may "like" Asus and Samsung but they like money even more.
It's all good.

WSJ: Google to sell ASUS, Samsung tablets from its own online store

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

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