Some of the world's biggest electronics companies are readying an assault on the tablet market. But before they even begin, they find themselves at an early disadvantage.
Though Samsung, LG Electronics, Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Asus, Research In Motion, and Dell have announced or hinted at touchscreen tablets that will arrive between now and March 2011, they're way late to the party. Since the iPad's debut in April, Apple has built a huge lead in this category--in terms of actual devices sold but also in many consumers' minds.
Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Tab tablet.
(Credit: CNET TV)
The category is new--a large touch-screen device bigger than a smartphone and running a lightweight operating system wasn't widely available to consumers prior to the iPad's introduction--but Apple got out of the gate and hasn't looked back. The company is selling about 1 million iPads per month and has not noticeably slackened its pace since.
The entire media tablet market is estimated to generate sales of just more than 12 million units by the end of 2010 and 25 million by the end of 2011, according to analyst firm IDC. Apple had sold more than 3 million by the end of June, and at that pace, Apple has likely sold about 4 million to date. That's almost a third of IDC's forecast for the year, and the all-important holiday shopping season is still ahead. So where exactly does that leave the latecomers?
At first glance, the chances of the Galaxy Tablet from Samsung or a WebOS-based slate from HP wresting some reasonable share of this market from Apple in the short term don't seem great. The companies with the most resources and brand recognition in position to compete with Apple are either only just getting their products into stores (see the Dell Streak) or about to put them into production (see the rest.)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
RIM tablet to use newly acquired 'infotainment' software?
Research In Motion's upcoming tablet may not run the BlackBerry OS after all.
In a report Thursday, Bloomberg says it was told by unnamed sources that the so-called "Blackpad" will feature software from QNX Software Systems, a company acquired by RIM in April.
The so-called Blackpad may not get the BlackBerry OS after all.
At the time of the acquisition, RIM said it would use QNX software to "further integrate and enhance the user experience between smartphones and in-vehicle audio and infotainment systems."
Perhaps this is the "infotainment" device referenced? QNX software is used in a variety of applications; interestingly, BMW uses it for in-vehicle navigation and the U.S. Army has it installed in Crusher tanks.
Bloomberg doesn't have a lot of details about what RIM thinks the advantages of using such software in a device intended to compete with the iPad are, other than that there are independent developers who already make apps for QNX.
A solid core of professionally made apps ready for the Blackpad at launch is important. Thanks to the success of the iPhone and iPad, Apple has many people already thinking in terms of apps with these kinds of devices. But what Apple and Google have done well is attract independent developers. Apple's App Store currently boasts 225,000 apps, the most of any mobile app store, and Google's Android, another major player in the burgeoning tablet market, has 100,000 apps.
In a report Thursday, Bloomberg says it was told by unnamed sources that the so-called "Blackpad" will feature software from QNX Software Systems, a company acquired by RIM in April.
The so-called Blackpad may not get the BlackBerry OS after all.
At the time of the acquisition, RIM said it would use QNX software to "further integrate and enhance the user experience between smartphones and in-vehicle audio and infotainment systems."
Perhaps this is the "infotainment" device referenced? QNX software is used in a variety of applications; interestingly, BMW uses it for in-vehicle navigation and the U.S. Army has it installed in Crusher tanks.
Bloomberg doesn't have a lot of details about what RIM thinks the advantages of using such software in a device intended to compete with the iPad are, other than that there are independent developers who already make apps for QNX.
A solid core of professionally made apps ready for the Blackpad at launch is important. Thanks to the success of the iPhone and iPad, Apple has many people already thinking in terms of apps with these kinds of devices. But what Apple and Google have done well is attract independent developers. Apple's App Store currently boasts 225,000 apps, the most of any mobile app store, and Google's Android, another major player in the burgeoning tablet market, has 100,000 apps.
Netbook, laptop sales growth biggest in 8 years
Last year was one of the most discouraging for PC makers as consumers hit hard by the recession started pinching their pennies.
But 2010 saw a big reversal of last year's decline: Gartner released data on Tuesday that showed mobile PCs grew to just under 50 million units during the first quarter of 2010. That's an increase of 43.4 percent from the same quarter a year ago, good enough to be the best quarter for mobile PC makers in eight years.
The success of the category is in line with what Intel reported last month. Its profits jumped 433 percent for the first quarter, compared to the same period a year ago, mostly thanks to the strength of its mobile chip sales.
Though they did well, the first quarter of 2010 could also be the last hurrah for mininotebooks, or Netbooks. They saw a spike in growth of 71 percent from the same period a year ago, but in some geographic regions their sales are already beginning to slow. That's because consumers are "beginning to understand the limitations of mininotebooks, especially in the face of aggressive price cuts of regular notebooks," said Gartner analyst Mika Katagawa. The average mobile PC was sold for $732, compared to a year ago, when the average price was $868.
But cheaper laptops are not the only reason. Mininotebooks could also be getting squeezed by touch-screen tablets, which are priced close to mininotebooks. Lots of buzz surrounding Apple's iPad is also helping to attract a lot of attention to the new form factor for consumers. As of early May, Apple had sold 1 million iPads. IDC expects 7.6 million tablets to ship by the end of 2010, and for the category to hit 42 million units by 2014.
Gartner does not count devices like the iPad in the mobile PC category, however. It's included as a "media tablet" and is reported with statistics for mobile devices. That category is expected to see huge gains over the next year as the iPad and its competitors from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Asus, and others begin trickling into stores.
But 2010 saw a big reversal of last year's decline: Gartner released data on Tuesday that showed mobile PCs grew to just under 50 million units during the first quarter of 2010. That's an increase of 43.4 percent from the same quarter a year ago, good enough to be the best quarter for mobile PC makers in eight years.
The success of the category is in line with what Intel reported last month. Its profits jumped 433 percent for the first quarter, compared to the same period a year ago, mostly thanks to the strength of its mobile chip sales.
Though they did well, the first quarter of 2010 could also be the last hurrah for mininotebooks, or Netbooks. They saw a spike in growth of 71 percent from the same period a year ago, but in some geographic regions their sales are already beginning to slow. That's because consumers are "beginning to understand the limitations of mininotebooks, especially in the face of aggressive price cuts of regular notebooks," said Gartner analyst Mika Katagawa. The average mobile PC was sold for $732, compared to a year ago, when the average price was $868.
But cheaper laptops are not the only reason. Mininotebooks could also be getting squeezed by touch-screen tablets, which are priced close to mininotebooks. Lots of buzz surrounding Apple's iPad is also helping to attract a lot of attention to the new form factor for consumers. As of early May, Apple had sold 1 million iPads. IDC expects 7.6 million tablets to ship by the end of 2010, and for the category to hit 42 million units by 2014.
Gartner does not count devices like the iPad in the mobile PC category, however. It's included as a "media tablet" and is reported with statistics for mobile devices. That category is expected to see huge gains over the next year as the iPad and its competitors from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Asus, and others begin trickling into stores.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
3D at home still a tough sell
Even if "Piranha 3D" has a modestly successful box-office debut this weekend, it could in the long run do more damage to the hopes of 3D TV makers than good.
The more 3D movies available, the better is what the consumer electronics industry's strongest proponents of 3D would say. After all, the more opportunities to demonstrate the technology to people and sell the 3D Blu-ray copy later is in their interests. But a horror movie starring three-dimensional carnivorous fish, and similarly schlocky uses of the technology could be a setback.
The industry that's trying to convince people to buy TVs and Blu-ray players capable of re-creating the 3D theater experience at home are already fighting the perception that 3D is a short-lived trend, a rehash of past failed technology, and worse, a gimmick.
That and other roadblocks to TV buyers embracing the still-nascent technology was part of a panel discussion about the future of 3D here at the DisplaySearch TV Ecosystem conference on Wednesday.
"Making 3D movies is relatively easy. Making good 3D is hard," said Mike Abary, Sony senior vice president of Home Electronics. "We have to do a very good job as an industry to ensure quality 3D is brought to the consumer otherwise it will just be considered a gimmick by consumers."
He didn't refer to "Piranha 3D" specifically, but it's hard not to connect the dots when the horror movie is the highest-profile example of an intentionally campy execution of 3D.
"The end game is to make (3D) not a special effect but a key resource in the storyteller's tool kit," said Phil Lelyveld, who manages the Consumer 3D Experience Lab at the Entertainment Technology Center @ USC.
That means getting to a place where 3D is done subtly and in a way that makes entertainment "immersive," the panelists agreed.
The more 3D movies available, the better is what the consumer electronics industry's strongest proponents of 3D would say. After all, the more opportunities to demonstrate the technology to people and sell the 3D Blu-ray copy later is in their interests. But a horror movie starring three-dimensional carnivorous fish, and similarly schlocky uses of the technology could be a setback.
The industry that's trying to convince people to buy TVs and Blu-ray players capable of re-creating the 3D theater experience at home are already fighting the perception that 3D is a short-lived trend, a rehash of past failed technology, and worse, a gimmick.
That and other roadblocks to TV buyers embracing the still-nascent technology was part of a panel discussion about the future of 3D here at the DisplaySearch TV Ecosystem conference on Wednesday.
"Making 3D movies is relatively easy. Making good 3D is hard," said Mike Abary, Sony senior vice president of Home Electronics. "We have to do a very good job as an industry to ensure quality 3D is brought to the consumer otherwise it will just be considered a gimmick by consumers."
He didn't refer to "Piranha 3D" specifically, but it's hard not to connect the dots when the horror movie is the highest-profile example of an intentionally campy execution of 3D.
"The end game is to make (3D) not a special effect but a key resource in the storyteller's tool kit," said Phil Lelyveld, who manages the Consumer 3D Experience Lab at the Entertainment Technology Center @ USC.
That means getting to a place where 3D is done subtly and in a way that makes entertainment "immersive," the panelists agreed.
Friday, August 13, 2010
HP readying WebOS tablet for early 2011?
A few tidbits about Hewlett-Packard's plan for WebOS are leaking out from a company meeting held Monday.
Engadget said Tuesday it heard from several "trusted sources" present at the all-hands employee meeting that HP Senior Vice President Todd Bradley pointed to the first quarter of 2011 for when the company would be shipping a tablet loaded with WebOS. The sources also reported that the internal code name for the project is Hurricane.
Bradley, the former CEO of Palm, heads up HP's Personal Systems Group, which absorbed Palm in July, along with its mobile operating system, WebOS. HP has said from the moment it announced the acquisition that it planned to use WebOS in a variety of ways across its consumer product lines, including tablets, Web-connected printers, and smartphones.
HP CTO Shane Robison reiterated that last week at the Techonomy conference. He told CNET that while WebOS may also eventually be an option on Netbooks, it won't replace Windows for people looking to do productivity tasks.
If HP does end up shipping the tablet within the first three months of next year, it'll be a much quicker product turnaround than the Windows 7 Slate the company made a show of at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. HP has remained mum on the future of the device since acquiring Palm, other than to say it is re-evaluating the product and determining the next steps.
Engadget said Tuesday it heard from several "trusted sources" present at the all-hands employee meeting that HP Senior Vice President Todd Bradley pointed to the first quarter of 2011 for when the company would be shipping a tablet loaded with WebOS. The sources also reported that the internal code name for the project is Hurricane.
Bradley, the former CEO of Palm, heads up HP's Personal Systems Group, which absorbed Palm in July, along with its mobile operating system, WebOS. HP has said from the moment it announced the acquisition that it planned to use WebOS in a variety of ways across its consumer product lines, including tablets, Web-connected printers, and smartphones.
HP CTO Shane Robison reiterated that last week at the Techonomy conference. He told CNET that while WebOS may also eventually be an option on Netbooks, it won't replace Windows for people looking to do productivity tasks.
If HP does end up shipping the tablet within the first three months of next year, it'll be a much quicker product turnaround than the Windows 7 Slate the company made a show of at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. HP has remained mum on the future of the device since acquiring Palm, other than to say it is re-evaluating the product and determining the next steps.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Microsoft makes a return to Flight
One of the casualties of last year's layoffs at Microsoft was the Aces game studio responsible for the company's long-running Flight Simulator game.
At the time, Microsoft promised that the flight simulation franchise would continue in one form or another. This week, Redmond confirmed that it is indeed following through with a new title: Microsoft Flight.
The game is in its early development stages, with an alpha version nearly ready for internal testing, according to Kevin Unangst, a senior director in Microsoft's game unit.
The company is offering few details on Flight, but Unangst said that it is looking to appeal to flying enthusiasts with the realism, accuracy, and fidelity they expect, but also imagines including other types of gameplay that might appeal more to novices.
"It's an opportunity for us to branch out even more into something that's approachable," he said.
It will mark the first new flight simulation title for Microsoft since the 2006 release of Microsoft Flight Simulator X. The company's first version dates back to 1982. The company has also licensed some of its technology to Lockheed Martin for a forthcoming military training program called Prepar3d.
Microsoft resurrects classic games (images)
In an interview on Tuesday, Unangst said that with the rise of social gaming, online services, and cloud computing, Microsoft saw an opportunity to bring back some classics.
The company is also bringing back another venerable title--Age of Empires--in a new online version.
"We had a great opportunity to reinvent these franchises," Unangst said.
For now, all that is out there for Flight is a teaser video that starts with a young woman's voice: "When I was a child, I dreamed I could fly." The brief video then shows a plane flying and offers a link to the company's similarly nondescript Web page.
Microsoft isn't saying when to expect Flight to take off, but it likely won't be anytime soon.
"I wouldn't expect for people to see Flight in public beta this year," Unangst said.
Age of Empires Online is further along, with the company now taking sign-ups for a public beta set to begin later this year.
That game, Unangst said, includes a new level structure as well as the notion of cooperative multiplayer quests and trading along with what Unangst said is a "more fun, approachable" art style.
At the time, Microsoft promised that the flight simulation franchise would continue in one form or another. This week, Redmond confirmed that it is indeed following through with a new title: Microsoft Flight.
The game is in its early development stages, with an alpha version nearly ready for internal testing, according to Kevin Unangst, a senior director in Microsoft's game unit.
The company is offering few details on Flight, but Unangst said that it is looking to appeal to flying enthusiasts with the realism, accuracy, and fidelity they expect, but also imagines including other types of gameplay that might appeal more to novices.
"It's an opportunity for us to branch out even more into something that's approachable," he said.
It will mark the first new flight simulation title for Microsoft since the 2006 release of Microsoft Flight Simulator X. The company's first version dates back to 1982. The company has also licensed some of its technology to Lockheed Martin for a forthcoming military training program called Prepar3d.
Microsoft resurrects classic games (images)
In an interview on Tuesday, Unangst said that with the rise of social gaming, online services, and cloud computing, Microsoft saw an opportunity to bring back some classics.
The company is also bringing back another venerable title--Age of Empires--in a new online version.
"We had a great opportunity to reinvent these franchises," Unangst said.
For now, all that is out there for Flight is a teaser video that starts with a young woman's voice: "When I was a child, I dreamed I could fly." The brief video then shows a plane flying and offers a link to the company's similarly nondescript Web page.
Microsoft isn't saying when to expect Flight to take off, but it likely won't be anytime soon.
"I wouldn't expect for people to see Flight in public beta this year," Unangst said.
Age of Empires Online is further along, with the company now taking sign-ups for a public beta set to begin later this year.
That game, Unangst said, includes a new level structure as well as the notion of cooperative multiplayer quests and trading along with what Unangst said is a "more fun, approachable" art style.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Asus $399 Android tablet to arrive in March
Is Asus trying to make up for lost time?
While Apple's iPad has been selling out of stores since April, Asus is one of the many PC makers busily working on its own tablet since then. After announcing two versions of the Eee Pad in June, Asus CEO Jerry Shen told reporters on Friday that it has yet another tablet in the works.
This one, also part of the Eee Pad family, is set to sell for $399 and is scheduled to be ready by March, the executive said during the company's earnings call. It's different than the other Eee Pads, on track for January debuts, because it will feature Google's Android instead of a Microsoft Windows operating system.
The 12-inch and 10-inch Eee Pads were announced at Computex in June. The 12-inch version features Windows 7 and is set to sell for $1,000. The 10-inch Eee Pad will have Microsoft's Windows Embedded Compact 7 software--designed with tablets in mind--and cost between $399 and $499.
While Apple's iPad has been selling out of stores since April, Asus is one of the many PC makers busily working on its own tablet since then. After announcing two versions of the Eee Pad in June, Asus CEO Jerry Shen told reporters on Friday that it has yet another tablet in the works.
This one, also part of the Eee Pad family, is set to sell for $399 and is scheduled to be ready by March, the executive said during the company's earnings call. It's different than the other Eee Pads, on track for January debuts, because it will feature Google's Android instead of a Microsoft Windows operating system.
The 12-inch and 10-inch Eee Pads were announced at Computex in June. The 12-inch version features Windows 7 and is set to sell for $1,000. The 10-inch Eee Pad will have Microsoft's Windows Embedded Compact 7 software--designed with tablets in mind--and cost between $399 and $499.
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