Asus' new Android Transformer tablet going quad-core

[rubiksc00p]

I think this kinda blurs the line between laptop and tablet. I don't exactly want a laptop with ICS, I want a full OS like Windows! That is where it would be more appealing with windows 8!
I love the transformer and if I get a tablet it would be between it and the galaxy 10.1. I just always think of a tablet a an extension of my phone, not laptop...

On another note, I think these expensive tablets are going to have to come down in price because of the new Kindle Fire. A. For the people who don't care about specs only price, or B. The ones who care about price and ICS can just root and install ICS onto the Kindle! (like me)

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[gadgetrants]

I think most tablet makers are seeing that to sell the quantity they expect they need to lower their prices and it is slowly starting to happen. You can not step into the iPad world and expect to sell for same price and steal their market share...

I agree with your point, but can't get over the gut feeling that the T2 will be > $400. Maybe mid-400s like the Slider?

Since we're discussing pricing strategy, if everyone will indulge me in some nostalgia, here's a post of mine from July 2010. I think your point about iPad as the standard is spot on:

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...s-k-mart-stores-week-149-a-12.html#post681196

I think there are two Android tablet niches/markets or price points. Here is my reasoning (I hope it doesn't sound pretentious...I was taught to "lay out my assumptions"!):

$100 - $300 = Ereaders
$300 - $400 = netbooks
$400 - $500 = mainstream Android tablets???
$500 - $700 = iPad w/wifi
$700+ = notebooks

(a) Ereaders. The new price-point (e.g., Amazon's move on the Kindle yesterday) looks like sub$200. More expensive models have optional features, e.g., color, touch screen, 3G, etc.

(b) Netbooks. In functionality, a netbook and an iPad are pretty comparable. The rationale that puts the iPad at a higher price point is probably based on the Apple "ooh" factor plus the capacitive touch screen. It's very hard to find a reliable netbook (e.g., EEEPC, HP, Dell) under $300 (though refurbs can be found for $200), so I guess this is an industry-imposed floor on pricing.

(c) iPad. What can I say? Gorgeous device, great software. Personally I'm not interested in owning one, but let's see if it transforms the playing field like the iPhone has.

(d) Notebooks. $700 is a pretty arbitrary line for a notebook. For example, I own an Asus thin-and-light that just squeezed under that price point. There are lots of machines out by HP, Toshiba, even Lenovo with dual-cores, HD displays, wireless 11n...pretty good specs for $500-$700. But you probably need to move toward $1000 if you want a machine with decent (a) portability (<4 lbs), (b) battery life (>8 hours), or gaming potential.

OK, so now my prediction: I'm looking into my crystal ball, and what I see is HP, Microsoft, Dell, and others pricing their entry-level tablets at $399. Specs should come close to an iPad, if not slightly better (e.g., dual-core ULV processor).

What about the $100-$300 price point? Right now, there are several Chinese-made Android tablets that come in just under $200 (check Amazon). While I can't disparage an entire nation, I will say I am pretty wary of these machines, esp. the chances of firmware updates, build quality, customer support, and whether they even have the guts to run Android 2.0.

Where does that leave us? I see two options. First, we wait until Q4 to see what the Android tablet market looks like. As I already predicted, I think those machines will come from mainstream U.S. manufacturers (e.g., HP), perform well, and run around $400.

The only other option afaik is the $100-$200 price point, which leaves the Pandigital and the Augen. And since I've already made the case for the Pandigital, I won't rehash the comparison. Remember, the Pandigital is not a dedicated EReader--it's an Android tablet with a built-in UI that emphasizes ebooks. It's not hard to mod it into something generic. The bottom line is....for about $150, you get what you pay for: a low-end machine with pretty weak hardware, that's able to run Android 2.0. If I wanted something with better specs or reliability, I'd expect to dish out another few $100.

-Matt

 

[kodiak799]

the other question is, can tablet/smartphone mfrs keep piling on the tech, and charging premium margins for it, if we don't really need it? Aside from some specialized gaming uses, how much more powerful do we really need? Anything that doesn't fully bridge the gap to something that can dual-boot Windows and/or run full-blown Office is basically wasteful overkill. What's this quad-core processor really going to do for you, especially with only 1gig of ram?

 

[soulpatch]

I think people look to the tablet to replace a netbook or laptop when that is not the intention. I have a computer at work and at home. I will most likely always need to have them due to the type of work and analysis that I do. I want a tablet for the same reason I want a smart phone. To have some productivity gains but also for entertainment.

I can more easily take a tablet into meetings for notes and while at home would rather surf the web or play games on the tablet then my laptop. I dont have a netbook as I never saw the need to get a second laptop essentially. A tablet has a lot more built in uses that I find value in.

 

[gadgetrants]

the other question is, can tablet/smartphone mfrs keep piling on the tech, and charging premium margins for it, if we don't really need it? Aside from some specialized gaming uses, how much more powerful do we really need? Anything that doesn't fully bridge the gap to something that can dual-boot Windows and/or run full-blown Office is basically wasteful overkill. What's this quad-core processor really going to do for you, especially with only 1gig of ram?

Excellent question. I'm disappointed that iSuppli (or someone) isn't doing a lot more teardowns and giving the Android tablet community a better idea what the component costs are. A lot of people say "tablets should be under $300" but with the supposed choke-hold Apple has on some of the components (esp. screens and memory) it's hard to know what the prices "should" be. Too bad there isn't the option to go the Dell route, where you "design" your tablet a la carte.

Regarding the quad-core question, I had understood that aside from speed gains (and bragging rights over the iPhone), Kal-El also does a better job with power management. But I recently joked that my T1 already gets 12-16 hours of use. At the moment (given I charge it every night) 24 hours of use on the T2 is not a feature I need.

-Matt

 

[Malvado]

I'm confused, where are you guys gettin 1gb RAM from. I didn't mention anything nor did I see anything of that sort mentioned on the source link I provided.

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[bigfake23]

I'm confused, where are you guys gettin 1gb RAM from. I didn't mention anything nor did I see anything of that sort mentioned on the source link I provided.

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...ad-transformer-2-may-launch-november-7th.html

 

[Malvado]

That's for a transformer 2...might not be the same as the tranformer prime

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