Want an ebook reader in the states? You have two choices: the Kindle or the Nook. That’s it about. Either other manufacturers are pulling out of the US market or they’re avoiding it altogether. Samsung introduced its ebook reader with much fanfare at CES 2010, but now it’s not going to be released here. This isn’t exactly a bad thing as both the Kindle and Nook are well-polished devices and are about as good as the form factor gets. Still, the lack of competition will eventually be a bad thing as there won’t be clear motivation for innovation or competitive pricing.
It’s a different story in Euroland or Asia. There are many ebook readers available, as two devices backed by content providers don’t dominate the market. This creates true consumer choice and opportunities for new ebook readers. Now, the Kindle is still huge everywhere, but at least manufacturers haven’t totally given up on the market like they have in the US.
But did Apple just destroy the US tablet market in the same way? Are manufacturers really going to invest millions upon millions of dollars in R&D and marketing when consumers are buying the iPad by the millions? Is the US tablet market dead?
It’s been about five months since the iPad launched. Since then we’ve heard bits and pieces of info concerning upcoming tablets from some big names. So far, the only tablet that’s actually made it to market from a major manufacturer is the Dell Streak, but with a 5-inch screen, it’s not exactly after the same crowd as the iPad.
Nearly every week something drops that says Acer, Asus, Lenovo, everyone is working on a so-called iPad killer. But where are they? Did the iPad really come out of nowhere and catch everyone off guard? Surely it doesn’t take that much time to design and manufacture a keyboardless-netbook running Android?
That’s what’s so strange: Tablets have been made for years and they really haven’t changed all that much, but yet since the launch of the iPad five months ago, the whole industry has been silent. Only a few convertible netbooks have dropped including the Viliv S10 and Asus Eee T10.
Sure, there’s a steady stream of cheap Android tablets flowing out of China, but none of the top PC makers has responded with a proper competitor. It really feels like the whole market is holding its breath.
HP has perhaps the best chance to shatter the silence with the Palmpad. After all, it’s coming to the market bearing any major unforeseen hurdle and might be the best chance the tablet market has to spur true competition and innovation. WebOS failed the first time around mainly because of poor hardware, but hopefully that won’t be the case with the Palmpad. But the longer HP delays its launch, the iPad gains marketshare and furthers its conquest for total domination. It only took the iPad two months to hit the three million-unit mark. Just think what will happen if it has this Christmas shopping season all to itself.
Now that HP owns Palm and the rights to webOS, they have the same advantage as Apple. They can develop the OS specifically to their hardware. Everyone else is relying on Android underpinnings developed by Google. Then there’s the Android updating issue and all the fractioning. Android and tablets simply do not seem to be a recipe for success.
The iPad is killing the tablet market even more so than the iPod killed in PMPs. The iPod was the top dog for years, but there was always a race for second place between Creative, Archos, SanDisk, and eventually Microsoft with the Zune. This might not be the case with tablets as they’re more expensive to develop than MP3 players and makers have a lot more to lose. So rather than competing specifically in the US market where the iPad is the king of kings, they might go after other markets in Europe or Asia or ignore the form factor altogether.
I truly hope I’m wrong. I don’t even own an iPad, nor do I want one. The only Apple product I use on a daily basis is the full-size keyboard. But look at the numbers: the iPad has a gigantic head start against any other tablet. So much so that it probably already “won.” All I hope is that manufacturers haven’t totally gave up in that space and plan on outing innovative competitors. I just don’t see it happening anytime soon, though.
Props to CrunchGear
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This has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever read. Yes, the iPad is a big success, but so what. The iPhone was an even bigger success but the smartphone market is thriving not dead and now the iPhone has fallen to the number 3 spot in the US and not even in the top 5 world wide. I think the iPad will continue to be a big seller but the next gen tablets that are going to start hitting at the end of this year will collectively out sell it.
The conversation is not over until Android says its piece with a proper tablet. If that falls short, then maybe you’re right for the time being.
I actually think the same thing. Except for the iPad, there is no huge tablet market. Apple created its own tablet market and that’s how it will stay. I’m not saying that no one will buy an Android tablet because there are still a enough Android fanbois and plenty of poor consumers that can’t afford an iPad. (At least until the refurb models are available). Forget about any Windows 7 tablet. That’s dead on arrival for consumers. Why bother with a Windows 7 tablet when there’s an abundance of cheap netbooks?
The Android tablet vendors are each going to be fighting amongst themselves for a tiny piece of the pie of the second-tier tablet market and the iPad will be all alone at the top with brand recognition and a cohesive platform. As an Apple investor, I’m not all that concerned about overall tablet market share. Just as long as Apple is making the bulk of the revenue from its share that’s good enough for me.
…or it might be like saying that since people bought an iPod last year they’ll buy an iPod in a few years – i.e. an entirely correct assumption over the course the 00′s. Apple’s products are good enough to inspire loyalty. In the phone market, Android has the enormous advantage (in terms of moving volume) of being on every carrier – I think we’re mistaken to assume that the competitive situation will be at all similar in a market without carrier constraints.
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…and the RIM BlackPad…
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Spot on.
There’s many justifications for using a term other than EU – which has a specific technical meaning.
There are many European countries and markets that are not within the EU. A tongue-in-cheek colloquialism like Euroland seems fine there. Or you could talk about the countries within the EU that use the Euro – people use terms like Eurozone for those.
Quit bitching about something that’s so irrelevant to the core of the article.
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“Did The iPad Preemptively Kill The US Tablet Market Like The Kindle & Nook Killed Other Ebook Readers?”
NO, because the next generation of tablets with ChromeOS, webOS, etc. will cost less than $200 and will sell hundreds of millions units, so, within the end of 2011, the (too expensive) iPad, should have only a (rich but small) niche market… something like the WindowsX vs. OSX market shares (and, soon, also like the Android vs. iOS market share)
probably, the iPad will remain around 10-15% of the market
the eBook readers should have a different story, since, at (today’s and future) lower prices (like the Amazon’s $139 Kindle3) the average user will have enough money to buy BOTH a low cost tablet and a low cost eBook reader for LESS than the price of an iPad
gaetano marano
mylowcostpc.com
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“Did The iPad Preemptively Kill The US Tablet Market Like The Kindle & Nook Killed Other Ebook Readers?”
NO, because the next generation of tablets with ChromeOS, webOS, etc. will cost less than $200 and will sell hundreds of millions units, so, within the end of 2011, the (too expensive) iPad, should have only a (rich but small) niche market… something like the WindowsX vs. OSX market shares (and, soon, also like the Android vs. iOS market share)
probably, the iPad will remain around 10-15% of the market
the eBook readers should have a different story, since, at (today’s and future) lower prices (like the Amazon’s $139 Kindle3) the average user will have enough money to buy BOTH a low cost tablet and a low cost eBook reader for LESS than the price of an iPad
gaetano marano
mylowcostpc.com
.
Since when is Sony leaving the US eReader market? I thought they where the #2 seller, behind the Kindle?
Euroland ???
Don’t know how to call the EU or simply don’t care ?
I love my iPad, but didn’t iPhone kind of have a stranglehold on the touchscreen/smartphone market until Android came out?
I think the issue is not that iPad killed off the market, but all the manufacturers, just like how they are married to Android, are waiting to see which operating system to be married to in the Tablet world. There was Windows, then there was Android, and what about Chrome OS, or even the new PalmPad OS? They are kind of holding their breath and want to see what the clear cut option is other than iOS to start investing in.
As one commenter mentioned – it’s not really the hardware so much but more the OS.
Simple answer? Yes. People will try to copy Apple with more tablets, just like people tried to copy the Amazon Kindle, but nothing will be as successful as the first.
so true and this is coming from a previous / current tablet pc owner.
i have a dell xt for work and had an HP TX2100 and messed around with a few Lenovo’s too.
again, problem with any win based tablet is that its OS IS NOT BUILT AROUND TOUCH. MY GOD!! how many geeks much keep shrieking this until Redmond realizes this and enters the tablet hardware market and revamps Win7 for a pure touch interface.
however, i really am hoping HP really cranks it up a notch with its PalmPad. I almost envision the HP TC1100 formfactor revamped but shrunk. Optional attachable keyboard w/nub base, capacitive/resistive digitizers.
I’d def buy one!
http://blogs.tech-recipes.com/seamonkey420/files/2007/02/tc-on-keyboard.jpg
Yes, there is one or more Motorola phone with a slightly higher resolution, and several tablets in development too. Google appear to be taking a steady as she goes approach, gradually ramping up the specs. Someone will launch the de facto well built Andropad that counters iPad (on price to performance) – the first will most likely be the forthcoming Galaxy pad from Samsung.
This is a really funny assumption…its almost like saying consumers are still using the same computers they did back in the 80′s. Its saying that since I bought a laptop yesterday that I’ll never buy another brand of laptop ever. There is always market churn and people will always buy new devices and its a little too soon to say that the game is over when it just started.
“If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”
If we’re to believe that blogs are becoming as important as mainstream media publications, if not more so, then surely content should be as accurate as possible.
Seriously
Also:
After all, it’s coming to the market bearing any major unforeseen hurdle
They fixed these in the TechCrunch summary, but not in the TC RSS feed.
This is a blog, not the NY Times. Authors don’t have to spend tons of time proofing because they can easily go back and edit it later.
+1 tablets have been around forever, but their appeal has always been very niche. The iPad tablet is popular because it is an Apple product. I don’t think there is really a market for non iPad tablets, but who knows.