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What TouchPad's Fate Says About the Tablet Market
- ChuckMcM 15y agoThis is pretty insightful in my opinion. The two key things are "people aren't buying potential, they are buying tools" and "the value comes from the applications." At $100 the HP Touchpad is a great value relative to its tools (actually I suspect the 'right' price for this tablet is about $150 but that is neither here nor there). This example helps make the claim that there is a market for the things that smart phones do, in a larger form factor. The challenge is being able to do those things cost effectively. Browse the web. Watch a video, either 'YouTube' type or subscription type. Read content formatted for the device (books, magazines, newspapers) Buy content and applications from the device. Listen to music / podcasts / lectures. Entertaining diversions (games). Say what you want about the iPad but the history of the iPod touch really gave it an edge here. It literally was an iPod Touch made bigger. Google was caught flat footed (sorry but 2.x Android sucked horribly on tablets) and rather than sitting down and saying "Hmm, ok we misjudged this one, lets sit down and do this right" they started 'releasing early and often' (the Linux strategy they inherited). It iterates to a successful solution but it is so painful to watch. HP on the other hand had a completely different problem, they actually bought a decent OS, with a solid design for tablet style interaction, but their DNA is shipping PCs and Laptops so they struggled to move it forward, they couldn't figure out why people would want it, and had no idea how to price it. These are the scars that are both the most painful, and the most valuable later on.