7 ms·

I don't think google can compete with the ipad. The ipad is priced competitively, and the question every similar tablet has to answer is why on earth would I p

by earl 14y ago

I don't think google can compete with the ipad. The ipad is priced competitively, and the question every similar tablet has to answer is why on earth would I pay as much for this as I would for an ipad? There doesn't appear to be any good answers. The android tablet manufacturers don't appear to able to compete on price with a similar hardware quality. edit: I meant compete directly. Obviously they can make something nowhere near as nice but a lot cheaper. But is there much profit in that? The answer so far from android phones seems to be there isn't much profit and it's hard to walk up the value chain.

MartinCron 14y ago
The Google tablet is half the price of an iPad. If that's not competing on price, I don't know what is.
- dagw 14y ago
  It's half the price, but also smaller and lower specced. So it's not going after the iPad head to head.
  - whiskers 14y ago
    I actually think they are putting this up head to head by making people ask the question about whether they should bother spending the extra £200 on an iPad. Tablets are very much a luxury item, no one really needs two of them. Essentially they're after people who are on the fence by making it too attractive price-wise to pass up on.
    - jsz0 14y ago
      I think you're right that tablets are a luxury item but that might also be part of the iPad's success too. People aren't really looking for the cheapest option it seems. I remember reading somewhere that the average iPad sale price ends up being above $650 since a good number of people opt for the larger capacity or cellular models.
- whiskers 14y ago
  It's also 3" smaller, shorter battery life, much lower resolution, and maxes out at 16GB of storage. I suspect Google has priced this very competitively (low margins) specifically to compete with iPad by offering something half the price. If they'd put out a device with comparable features in screen, battery, and storage it would have had to be priced so close to the iPad that the question "why not just have an iPad?" would still remain. This is pitched aggressively against the iPad as a (good) inferior product at an amazing price point.
  - will_work4tears 14y ago
    I'd pay more than an iPad for a tablet with identical specs if it had replaceable batteries. I'll never, ever personally purchase an Apple product until they do.
    - rayiner 14y ago
      > I'd pay more than an iPad for a tablet with identical specs if it had replaceable batteries. Why?
      - will_work4tears 14y ago
        Because I like to be able to swap my batteries without paying 200 bucks and having my electronic device away (Send to apple to replace). Also, I'm don't like Apple as a company and am not a brandphile. Having a smart phone or tablet is enough for me, I don't need to flash around a brand name to feel important.
        pinaceae 14y ago
        you are a brandophobe then, completely guided by a logo rather than the capabilities of the device. i own iPad 1, 2 and 3 devices (through my job) - never, ever did i need to replace the battery. it lasts very long, days, by then you have plugged it in somewhere. my customers are big on ipads for their mobile sales forces and none, NONE, report issues with the batteries. that's a sample size of 15k+ users, worldwide.
- earl 14y ago
  it's also crap compared to the ipad. Smaller, lower resolution screen. Less storage. No ability to directly access wireless networks. Crappier apps. Fewer apps. Crappy entertainment ecosystem compared to itunes. Most likely Google will dick you on OS updates just like the nexus phone that waited months and months. No genius bar to send your mom to. etc etc etc.
  - CraigRood 14y ago
    Can't believe i'm even replying to this but here goes. Your'e exactly whats wrong with Apple, instead of looking and hoping for innovation and risks your essentially saying don't bother, it's been done before. Maybe this device will be 'crap' but who knows? Maybe this device becomes the best selling 'tablet' over the next 12 months and Apple changes their game. This is a fantastic, cheap piece of hardware with an elegant ecosystem, with lots of potential might I add. If you don't find that exciting - I feel bad for you.
lmm 14y ago
When I got my transformer it was competing directly against the ipad. Flash, a video app I trusted to play everything, and (being honest, and going against my normal tendencies) that beautiful copper look are reasons I would have paid an ipad price for it, and it was actually substantially cheaper.
earl 14y ago
DF / allthingsd is relevant: essentially, there is no profit in the google nexus tablet and they're selling it at a loss. Thus my point is correct: Google can't compete with the iPad and instead they're going for decent but really cheap. Which is fine, but how long are they going to take a loss on the hardware? Also, this quote is money: "When it gets sold through the Play store, there’s no margin,” Rubin said. “I t just basically gets (sold) through.” However, it appears that the Nexus 7 is headed for retail shelves, as well, though only the plans for the Google Play store were announced on Wednesday. While that kind of cost structure could make life challenging for any other hardware makers looking to sell Android tablets, Rubin insists there is plenty of room left for Android tablet innovation. That was the sound of Google's partners being dicked. [1] http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/06/28/no-margin http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/06/28/no-margin [2] http://allthingsd.com/20120627/exclusive-googles-andy-rubin-and-asuss-jonney-shih-on-how-they-cooked-up-the-nexus-7/ http://allthingsd.com/20120627/exclusive-googles-andy-rubin-...

by earl 14y ago

MartinCron 14y ago

The Google tablet is half the price of an iPad. If that's not competing on price, I don't know what is.

dagw 14y ago
It's half the price, but also smaller and lower specced. So it's not going after the iPad head to head.
- whiskers 14y ago
  I actually think they are putting this up head to head by making people ask the question about whether they should bother spending the extra £200 on an iPad. Tablets are very much a luxury item, no one really needs two of them. Essentially they're after people who are on the fence by making it too attractive price-wise to pass up on.
  - jsz0 14y ago
    I think you're right that tablets are a luxury item but that might also be part of the iPad's success too. People aren't really looking for the cheapest option it seems. I remember reading somewhere that the average iPad sale price ends up being above $650 since a good number of people opt for the larger capacity or cellular models.
whiskers 14y ago
It's also 3" smaller, shorter battery life, much lower resolution, and maxes out at 16GB of storage. I suspect Google has priced this very competitively (low margins) specifically to compete with iPad by offering something half the price. If they'd put out a device with comparable features in screen, battery, and storage it would have had to be priced so close to the iPad that the question "why not just have an iPad?" would still remain. This is pitched aggressively against the iPad as a (good) inferior product at an amazing price point.
- will_work4tears 14y ago
  I'd pay more than an iPad for a tablet with identical specs if it had replaceable batteries. I'll never, ever personally purchase an Apple product until they do.
  - rayiner 14y ago
    > I'd pay more than an iPad for a tablet with identical specs if it had replaceable batteries. Why?
    - will_work4tears 14y ago
      Because I like to be able to swap my batteries without paying 200 bucks and having my electronic device away (Send to apple to replace). Also, I'm don't like Apple as a company and am not a brandphile. Having a smart phone or tablet is enough for me, I don't need to flash around a brand name to feel important.
      - pinaceae 14y ago
        you are a brandophobe then, completely guided by a logo rather than the capabilities of the device. i own iPad 1, 2 and 3 devices (through my job) - never, ever did i need to replace the battery. it lasts very long, days, by then you have plugged it in somewhere. my customers are big on ipads for their mobile sales forces and none, NONE, report issues with the batteries. that's a sample size of 15k+ users, worldwide.
earl 14y ago
it's also crap compared to the ipad. Smaller, lower resolution screen. Less storage. No ability to directly access wireless networks. Crappier apps. Fewer apps. Crappy entertainment ecosystem compared to itunes. Most likely Google will dick you on OS updates just like the nexus phone that waited months and months. No genius bar to send your mom to. etc etc etc.
- CraigRood 14y ago
  Can't believe i'm even replying to this but here goes. Your'e exactly whats wrong with Apple, instead of looking and hoping for innovation and risks your essentially saying don't bother, it's been done before. Maybe this device will be 'crap' but who knows? Maybe this device becomes the best selling 'tablet' over the next 12 months and Apple changes their game. This is a fantastic, cheap piece of hardware with an elegant ecosystem, with lots of potential might I add. If you don't find that exciting - I feel bad for you.

lmm 14y ago

When I got my transformer it was competing directly against the ipad. Flash, a video app I trusted to play everything, and (being honest, and going against my normal tendencies) that beautiful copper look are reasons I would have paid an ipad price for it, and it was actually substantially cheaper.

earl 14y ago

DF / allthingsd is relevant: essentially, there is no profit in the google nexus tablet and they're selling it at a loss. Thus my point is correct: Google can't compete with the iPad and instead they're going for decent but really cheap. Which is fine, but how long are they going to take a loss on the hardware? Also, this quote is money: "When it gets sold through the Play store, there’s no margin,” Rubin said. “I t just basically gets (sold) through.” However, it appears that the Nexus 7 is headed for retail shelves, as well, though only the plans for the Google Play store were announced on Wednesday. While that kind of cost structure could make life challenging for any other hardware makers looking to sell Android tablets, Rubin insists there is plenty of room left for Android tablet innovation. That was the sound of Google's partners being dicked. [1] http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/06/28/no-margin http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/06/28/no-margin [2] http://allthingsd.com/20120627/exclusive-googles-andy-rubin-and-asuss-jonney-shih-on-how-they-cooked-up-the-nexus-7/ http://allthingsd.com/20120627/exclusive-googles-andy-rubin-...