Recent comments from Samsung's executive VP regarding the positioning of the the company's Galaxy Tab in relation to the forthcoming iPad 2 see a proud and ambitious company enter a period of quiet reflection, taking stock of Apple's latest improvements particularly when it comes to specifications, form factor and pricing. It also begs the question, if Samsung are re-thinking their tablet strategy, what of the major PC vendors?...and where does that leave the Shanzai?
“We will have to improve the parts that are inadequate,” Don-joo said. “Apple made it very thin.” Also, on the issue of product pricing, clearly Samsung had hoped to issue it's new 10 inch tablet at a higher premium than their currently expensive seven inch offering. "The 10-inch (tablet) was to be priced higher than the 7-inch (tablet) but we will have to think that over," Lee added.
If this is the response from one the industry's biggest and most aggressive players, then what of the others? How will the tablet landscape unfold for the middle to upper tiers, and of equal importance, how will the Shanzhai react?
Price? How much to buy a tablet ticket? It's interesting to note that Apple is currently offering iPads for just a snip under 500 bucks when most others tablets are typically priced higher. Ok, one could argue that Apple is being a little disingenuous when it offers Wi-Fi only 16GB storage versions which quickly become out of stock. Still, the point I am making is that Apple clearly sees the tablet as becoming a ubiquitous device, one aimed at all and sundry, not, as with the iPhone and many other Apple products for example, a device for that claims the market high-end luxury segment. This is a devastating thought to players like Dell and HP for example who have already seen their margins reduced to ashes from stiff competition from Acer and others in the PC.
Specifications? Who Cares? Some companies have talked about having better multi-tasking on hummigbirds, snapdragons and tegras with dual cameras, HD video support and all the rest of it. Apple however, cares less about technical detail and promises 'a magical experience'. Not that the other companies aren't capable of some decent kool aid either, it's just that Apple has a much more intimate link to its customers who love to be marketed to in this way. When unveiling the iPad 2, Steve Jobs used words like 'beautiful' and 'elegant' to describe the one third thinness - and most of the audience clapped! No, simple specs ain't going to win you a piece of this pie anytime soon.
Look at the Cams on that! Many vendors pointed to the lack of cameras on the iPad and saw a gap. A percieved misstep that they could use to prop up their own tablet offerings, telling the world that their tablet had two cameras....megapixels full of them. In reality however I don't think that cameras are so important to a tablet. These cameras will become purely ornamental in the same way that most built-in notebook cameras have over the years. The need to use them just isn't that great and if you're serious about video blogging or face to face conference calling then you going to have a proper camera anyway. Apple put cams on the iPad in an almost arrogant 'because we can' way, plus they know that Facetime will make cameras a more relevant storyline in the future, so this is merely future proofing.
Content Eco-System What Apple has built with iTunes (software that I personally loathe) is a way for content to get on the iPad, a simple way that your grandma can supposedly use and enjoy too. Ok, yes you're paying a few dollars for that content, but it all works, it all plays nicely with your hardware and there's still the widest possible choice of content on offer. I haven't even mentioned magazines, books and newspapers! This is where Apple's competitors are really suffering. They're way behind in the race to get the content out there on the actual device. Hardware vendors doing content eco-systems? Do me a favor.
So a mid to upper tier mainstream PC vendor to do? The big boys are really struggling to find their way, and even Samsung who looked like putting up a decent fight, have publicly confessed to be in need of a rethink. Most of these mid-to-upper tier players are offering a product that is either half baked, over priced, non existent in the channel or all of the above. They will continue to struggle throughout 2011 with disappointing sales reflecting an industry in 'post-PC' transition. There may perhaps be some notable exceptions; Viewsonic? HTC? Don't laugh. Perhaps companies with less PC baggage and a willingness to compete on new terms.
What about the ShanzhaiPad? The Shanzhai however have less lofty goals and are happily using Google's Android to pump out a massive range of tablet designs on the premise that Apple is right. These devices will soon be completely unambitious and common place in our lives. By 2013 most school children will own at least one tablet and most living-rooms will have one installed. We'll be using them in meetings at work, to order food in restaurants and lord only knows what else. The only way this will happen is if tablets are affordable, almost to the point of disposability.
While the major OEMs and brand creators chase Apple's tail around a garden only they control, the Shanzhai are seeking a different path, a path that puts price before all other considerations. Android and its market will provide the seeds of an eco-system other Chinese vendors and retailers will expand upon, offering content like TV, movies, newspapers and magazines to the biggest audience in the world - and lets be honest, these content providers will offer content better suited to a Chinese audience at lower price points.
So no. China's tablet vendors will not compete with Apple per se. They won't have to. The iPad 2 will have the effect of putting tablets back in the news and in peoples minds. Chinese consumers who are tempted will eventually purchase an Android device that suits their pocket and offers content they'll enjoy. Thinner? Well, we've already started seeing some signs that thin could be in .......but dual cams? Old hat in China my boy.
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*Shanzai.com is a news and reviews website, we do not promote the purchase or sale of the products and services mentioned in our content.
Disclaimer: *Shanzai.com is a news and reviews website, we do not specifically promote the purchase or sale of the products and services mentioned in our content.
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