A number of recent entrants in the tablet space may make quick exits as their tablet offerings go largely unnoticed in a market seen to be dominated by the likes of Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble moving forward. A new report from DigiTimes on Thursday cites unnamed sources from within component suppliers in stating PC vendors such as HP, Acer, Asustek and Dell may abandon the tablet market next year. These companies have gained very little traction in the tablet space according to the report, as they lack competitive advantages. Read on for more.
Amazon, Barnes & Noble and possibly even Apple will continue to bring cheaper and more compelling tablets to market, making it increasingly difficult for companies like HP and Dell to compete. The former two companies are also seen as profiting mainly from their content platforms rather than hardware sales, so they are willing to sell devices at rock bottom prices that traditional PC vendors will be unable to match.
A number of venders are expected to turn to Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform once it becomes available in the second half of 2012, in an effort to offer a fresh take on media tablets. Of course, they might also try introducing unique and compelling features that draw attention and add utility unavailable on competitive offerings.
DigiTimes’ report notes that there are already indications that interest in the tablet market among consumers may be waning, and even Apple’s iPad 2 has seen sales stall in recent months. An earlier report noted that Google’s new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich platform is still not strong enough to compete in the tablet market, which could mean interest in Android tablets will continue to sputter in 2012 as it did this year.
