4 ms·

Tablet growth rate forecast slashed by half as Western markets slow

30 points by BobbyVsTheDevil 12y ago

diminish 12y ago
what's halved is the tablet shipment "growth rate" forecast, just to be clear..
- dang 12y ago
  Thank you. We edited the title to say that.
_RPM 12y ago
A Tablet never attracted me enough to actually buy one. I would much rather buy a new laptop.
phaemon 12y ago
I like having a tablet around for quickly looking up stuff, or showing someone a video or photos. However, I got one free with my phone and it's good enough that I'm not sure I'd bother buying a more powerful one. On a side note, what I would buy is a tablet with an HDMI input so I could use it as a portable monitor (field monitors are too bulky and pricey!). Anyone know if such a thing is available?
- pedrocr 12y ago
  This is in that general area: https://www.adafruit.com/products/1652 https://www.adafruit.com/products/1652 It's not a standalone tablet though, just a screen.
SiVal 12y ago
Give me a $199 eInk tablet optimized for reading PDFs, and I'd buy one. I would want a hi-rez 13" B&W screen on which PDF charts, diagrams, maps, B&W photos, etc. looked as good as on a 300dpi laser printed page and a battery that would last for a few days of reading. At that price, I'd risk carrying it with me all the time. With that battery life, it would usually be usable, and with that screen, I would be able to read what I really want to read (journal articles, programming books, textbooks with lots of equations, history books with maps, etc.), unlike the plain-text fare I'm usually limited to with a Kindle eInk device. I don't know if such a thing could be built yet at that price, but there are tablet niches such as these serious reading devices that haven't been served yet.
- superuser2 12y ago
  Isn't the DX almost exactly what you're asking for?
  - aschampion 12y ago
    I have and love a DX, but it's long in the tooth in speed, features, and lack of backlight. The UI and keypad are awkward and frustrating, and Amazon has no intention of updating the software. Worse, more and more Kindle titles are locked from the platform.
  - wycx 12y ago
    It is too small to display an A4 page at 100%, so its no good for pdfs.
- wodenokoto 12y ago
  "Give me something at a fifth of the price and I'll buy it" Sorry, but that's a crappy argument. Pony up the cost if that device is so important to you. http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/03/27/sonys-13-3-ereader-to-ship-in-the-us-in-may-will-cost-1100/#.VAOLQ2IaySM http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/03/27/sonys-13-3-ereader-...
  - SiVal 12y ago
    You misunderstand. As I wrote, "At that price, I'd risk carrying it with me all the time." At five times the price, I wouldn't, so it wouldn't suit the purpose I described. I am more willing to make some other compromise than I am to pay five times as much for an everyday-carry reader.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
jiggy2011 12y ago
I wonder if there will be a similar increase in sales of laptops etc. Smaller laptops can have similar battery life to a tablet but with the advantage of more power. Or is it that people are buying devices in cycles that are roughly synchronised?
- gerbal 12y ago
  The decline in laptop sales has slowed [1]. IMO a big part of the decline in tablet sales may have to do with Chromebooks. They have hit a niche in the lower end that tablets supposedly killed 4 years ago. That combined with a saturated market and no new Wiz-Bang Tablets so far this year. [1] http://www.computerworld.com/article/2599990/windows-pcs/mac-chromebook-gains-soften-pc-industry-decline.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2599990/windows-pcs/mac...
benologist 12y ago
Are they slowing or are they shifting to giant phones?
themodelplumber 12y ago
I resisted buying a tablet right up until I absolutely had to (to help a client finish a web dev project). Now that I've had it for a while, I wouldn't go without one. I've got everything from Pythonista and Codea to Machine World on there, and my wife is always borrowing it to take on short trips with the kids. Although I could certainly get by without a tablet, now that I have one, it's like this whole new world has opened up. So...if you are leaving comments here about "I would buy a tablet if..." That's where I was a few months ago, and I think you should just bite the bullet and buy one. They're good enough now. (and using Pythonista and Codea...brilliant IDE adaptations to the tablet + finger use case)
- delecti 12y ago
  That was exactly how I felt before I got a tablet. "I really don't know what I'll use it for", but then the first gen Nexus 7 slashed prices, and I figured I wouldn't be too badly inconvenienced at that prices. It's similar to using a phone, but being so much larger really does fundamentally change the experience.
coralreef 12y ago
I still run an iPad 2. Even though its not as responsive on iOS7, it does the job.
rch 12y ago
A decline in iPad sales is not the same as a decline in the market for all devices that are slightly larger, and better suited to reading and handling email, than a phone. The article claims that the sub-8 tablet category is growing overseas largely because of the lower price point, but I'd argue that the sustained growth is due to the greater general utility of the class. There might be an optimum size that is slightly smaller and thinner than the Nexus 7, but I find it hard to imagine using anything that's even slightly larger on a daily basis.
dannyr 12y ago
It's not like people dislike tablets but it's more on not having a reason to upgrade. Most tablets are good enough.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- PhantomGremlin 12y ago
  Exactly. Not only are they good enough, but they are very sturdy (at least the iPads I've owned), they will last "forever". Or at least 3 or 4 years before the battery fails. No reason that the 2 year upgrade cycle that applies to cellphones should apply to tablets.
pwarner 12y ago
The wife used the Galaxy Tab 10.1 until she got a smart phone, but now everything seems to be a smart phone or laptop job. Maybe most common remaining use case are recipes in the kitchen or showing photos to a friend. Would not buy another one just for those...

diminish 12y ago

what's halved is the tablet shipment "growth rate" forecast, just to be clear..

dang 12y ago
Thank you. We edited the title to say that.

_RPM 12y ago

A Tablet never attracted me enough to actually buy one. I would much rather buy a new laptop.

phaemon 12y ago

I like having a tablet around for quickly looking up stuff, or showing someone a video or photos. However, I got one free with my phone and it's good enough that I'm not sure I'd bother buying a more powerful one. On a side note, what I would buy is a tablet with an HDMI input so I could use it as a portable monitor (field monitors are too bulky and pricey!). Anyone know if such a thing is available?

pedrocr 12y ago
This is in that general area: https://www.adafruit.com/products/1652 https://www.adafruit.com/products/1652 It's not a standalone tablet though, just a screen.

SiVal 12y ago

Give me a $199 eInk tablet optimized for reading PDFs, and I'd buy one. I would want a hi-rez 13" B&W screen on which PDF charts, diagrams, maps, B&W photos, etc. looked as good as on a 300dpi laser printed page and a battery that would last for a few days of reading. At that price, I'd risk carrying it with me all the time. With that battery life, it would usually be usable, and with that screen, I would be able to read what I really want to read (journal articles, programming books, textbooks with lots of equations, history books with maps, etc.), unlike the plain-text fare I'm usually limited to with a Kindle eInk device. I don't know if such a thing could be built yet at that price, but there are tablet niches such as these serious reading devices that haven't been served yet.

superuser2 12y ago
Isn't the DX almost exactly what you're asking for?
- aschampion 12y ago
  I have and love a DX, but it's long in the tooth in speed, features, and lack of backlight. The UI and keypad are awkward and frustrating, and Amazon has no intention of updating the software. Worse, more and more Kindle titles are locked from the platform.
- wycx 12y ago
  It is too small to display an A4 page at 100%, so its no good for pdfs.
wodenokoto 12y ago
"Give me something at a fifth of the price and I'll buy it" Sorry, but that's a crappy argument. Pony up the cost if that device is so important to you. http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/03/27/sonys-13-3-ereader-to-ship-in-the-us-in-may-will-cost-1100/#.VAOLQ2IaySM http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/03/27/sonys-13-3-ereader-...
- SiVal 12y ago
  You misunderstand. As I wrote, "At that price, I'd risk carrying it with me all the time." At five times the price, I wouldn't, so it wouldn't suit the purpose I described. I am more willing to make some other compromise than I am to pay five times as much for an everyday-carry reader.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

jiggy2011 12y ago

I wonder if there will be a similar increase in sales of laptops etc. Smaller laptops can have similar battery life to a tablet but with the advantage of more power. Or is it that people are buying devices in cycles that are roughly synchronised?

gerbal 12y ago
The decline in laptop sales has slowed [1]. IMO a big part of the decline in tablet sales may have to do with Chromebooks. They have hit a niche in the lower end that tablets supposedly killed 4 years ago. That combined with a saturated market and no new Wiz-Bang Tablets so far this year. [1] http://www.computerworld.com/article/2599990/windows-pcs/mac-chromebook-gains-soften-pc-industry-decline.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2599990/windows-pcs/mac...

benologist 12y ago

Are they slowing or are they shifting to giant phones?

themodelplumber 12y ago

I resisted buying a tablet right up until I absolutely had to (to help a client finish a web dev project). Now that I've had it for a while, I wouldn't go without one. I've got everything from Pythonista and Codea to Machine World on there, and my wife is always borrowing it to take on short trips with the kids. Although I could certainly get by without a tablet, now that I have one, it's like this whole new world has opened up. So...if you are leaving comments here about "I would buy a tablet if..." That's where I was a few months ago, and I think you should just bite the bullet and buy one. They're good enough now. (and using Pythonista and Codea...brilliant IDE adaptations to the tablet + finger use case)

delecti 12y ago
That was exactly how I felt before I got a tablet. "I really don't know what I'll use it for", but then the first gen Nexus 7 slashed prices, and I figured I wouldn't be too badly inconvenienced at that prices. It's similar to using a phone, but being so much larger really does fundamentally change the experience.

coralreef 12y ago

I still run an iPad 2. Even though its not as responsive on iOS7, it does the job.

rch 12y ago

A decline in iPad sales is not the same as a decline in the market for all devices that are slightly larger, and better suited to reading and handling email, than a phone. The article claims that the sub-8 tablet category is growing overseas largely because of the lower price point, but I'd argue that the sustained growth is due to the greater general utility of the class. There might be an optimum size that is slightly smaller and thinner than the Nexus 7, but I find it hard to imagine using anything that's even slightly larger on a daily basis.

dannyr 12y ago

It's not like people dislike tablets but it's more on not having a reason to upgrade. Most tablets are good enough.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
PhantomGremlin 12y ago
Exactly. Not only are they good enough, but they are very sturdy (at least the iPads I've owned), they will last "forever". Or at least 3 or 4 years before the battery fails. No reason that the 2 year upgrade cycle that applies to cellphones should apply to tablets.

pwarner 12y ago

The wife used the Galaxy Tab 10.1 until she got a smart phone, but now everything seems to be a smart phone or laptop job. Maybe most common remaining use case are recipes in the kitchen or showing photos to a friend. Would not buy another one just for those...