Why a $35 Tablet Would Never Succeed in the U.S.

[Guest]

How unfair! India is getting its long-promised $35 tablet, yet we are spending $500 for an iPad.

Why a $35 Tablet Would Never Succeed in the U.S. : Read more

 

[captaincharisma]

it wouldn't succeed because it does not have an apple logo on it an cost an insane amount of money.

 

[stryk55]

[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]it wouldn't succeed because it does not have an apple logo on it an cost an insane amount of money.[/citation]

Uh, ok buddy...

It wouldn't succeed since the US is a society that is content-hungry and this thing couldn't possibly deliver and meet the expectations of an average US consumer.

 

[legacy7955]

I noticed that the writer mentioned that about 37% of the US population actually can access the internet via broadband connections, actually that sounds like the developing world to me. Oh wait I forgot the US actually has become the third world over the past couple of decades in almost every way.

 

[de5_Roy]

the tablet will not succeed in usa because of it's weaker hardware and how much more data u.s. users will need it to process. it might find a niche market or compete with low-cost e-book readers, lesser known tablets.
if it catches on, it'll give dell streak some serious competition. i kid of course.
don't think it can play crysis.
with economy this bad, who knows...

 

[Guest]

I could see purchasing lower-end tablets, though more for specific uses.
Not everyone needs to play videos and games.
I'd purchase one to control my HTPC when the TV is off and I'm playing music
Maybe have it in the kitchen with the weather, news, recipes, calendar, etc

 

[rosen380]

"I noticed that the writer mentioned that about 37% of the US population actually can access the internet via broadband connections,"

Re-read, he says that 37% DO access the internet with broadband. The difference is that probably somewhere around 80-90% CAN access broadband, but more than half of them CHOOSE not to.

 

[LORD_ORION]

All you need to do is market it as a mobile e-mail / instant messenger device.

There are many people in the US who don't have or want a cell phone (because of the ridiculous telecom prices).

 

[Device Unknown]

I agree with your assumption. However, I do believe that in some circumstances that $60 tablet would be welcomed in America. Think of the impoverished school systems.

 

[CTT]

[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]it wouldn't succeed because it does not have an apple logo on it an cost an insane amount of money.[/citation]

Ahahah, its funny cause its true. Slap an Apple logo on that bad boy and it'd sell like hot cakes.

 

[theuniquegamer]

With proper advertisement and a popular brand logo ,all of it will be soldout in every market.BTW The tablet is available at INR 1200 i.e $24 for students in our state

 

[anony2004]

A typical smartphone in India costs about as much as it does in the U.S. – about $600 without a contract.

Well, this is certainly wrong as I live in Pakistan (and India and Pakistan are pretty much the same) and here an 'average' smartphone will cost you around $250-$300 not $600. Six hundred dollars here can fetch you a 32GB iPhone 4 and that certainly isn't average...

 

[acadia11]

If you build it they will come. YOur argument is hogwash. The freaking Kindle is less powerful and sells like hotcakes and cost a ton more. We'd do just fine with it, to do the things most people do, google search, connect to face book, angry birds. The reality is we are a money grubbing wh0re of a society. And it wouldn't be successful because people might realize that business often grossly overcharges us for isht we don't need.

 

[southernshark]

37 percent is too high. I had DSL in Alsaka which ran at around 14.4kb speed. The government uses the same funny numbers here that they use for unemployment. If you have DSL you have broadband, at least in their minds. In reality DSL in rural areas is often extremely slow. So slow, in fact, that its only advantage is that you don't need a second phone lone to use it.

 

[nezzymighty]

The title of the article is indeed "Why a $35 Tablet Would Never Succeed in the U.S." is it not.

Very poor delivery on the article. You're nuts if you think a tablet at a cost of $35-50 with whatever lame spec won't sell for that price in the US. You can sell used clothing (underwear) on eBay in the US for that much. Many eat out at lunch at $10-15 per shot per day. Many rack up extra $50-60 on their cell phone per month because they went over their allotted plan time. And you think this product won't sell in the US? You've attempted to use stats to argue your idea that this tablet wouldn't succeed in the US. In fact, the stats you use have nothing to do with whether it can sell at all in the US. What do I care about per capita between the two countries! Where the heck does $25,000 dollars come into play? What does that have to do with selling the product in the US? Are you saying that we in the US are too good for this product, that we shouldn't purchase such a petty thing?

The product is probably limited to poor web browsing, but you can count me in for a few. You think every parent can afford the typical $400-$500 tablet product that is sold here in the US, let alone parents that have a few kids. The economy still sucks, and many families are still defaulting on their mortgages. This is the perfect tablet that many parents have dreamed about for their young children. How many parents out there concede that their children, regardless of age, are rough with the things you've purchased for them. How many of you parents that can afford the $400-$500 tablet are cautious when you're little ones are around when using it?

Like others have mentioned, poor school systems could make use of it. Not only that, there are industries out there that run customized linux applications/products for stock keeping, inventory tracking, JIT delivery to assembly systems, etc. I could see companies outfitting their workers in a store like Home Depot to check inventory on a product for a customer. You don't need a Tegra 2 to accomplish this. And typically, this product could act as a terminal to the main control/server. You think a company wants to spend $400-$500 over $35-$50 to accomplish the same goals? You think companies care whether Angry Birds is going to perform poorly on the tablet?

What makes a good article is one that doesn't lead the audience to YOUR decision (especially when the facts don't even support the intent of the article), but rather provide the facts so that the reader can make their own. Stick to reviewing the product only.

 

[maigo]

We have different expectations for our portable tech. Mainly Angry Birds, HD vids on the youtube, all our music and bling

 

[Guest]

If apple built it, it would be better. The software stack would be designed for the limitations and the app store requirements would reflect that.

As somebody else mentioned, there are devices like the kindle that are cheap and can't do alot that do just fine. It's about setting expecations and making them good at what they are meant for.

If the screen and battery life are half decent you could use it as e-reader. Should be able to make some optimized email clients, rss readers, etc. Maybe a facebook client that's lite on pictures/media.

 

[noblerabbit]

It's very simple, if it doesn't have an Apple Logo and Applie IOS, and doesn't cost 800$ / yr to own, then no one in America would buy it!

 

[Sunfighterlc]

We already have a cheap alternative tablet in the United States. Its called an Etch-a-Sketch.

 

[ojas]

[citation][nom]anony2004[/nom]Well, this is certainly wrong as I live in Pakistan (and India and Pakistan are pretty much the same) and here an 'average' smartphone will cost you around $250-$300 not $600. Six hundred dollars here can fetch you a 32GB iPhone 4 and that certainly isn't average...[/citation]

I couldn't agree more. $600 may be average for you Wolfgang, since we all know you love apple.
The average smart phone costs $250, most people in cities have one that costs $200 and rural folk don't usually have smart phones. The average phone they buy costs between $15 to $100. And most of our country is on pre-paid services, and pay about $2 for unlimited text messages and $0.002 per second for calls. I pay $0.002 for each SMS and $0.01 per minute for calls on a post paid connection.

People in India are used to paying way too much for their ability to communicate wirelessly (much more than we think we are paying for our communications).

So I'm really at a loss to understand what you're talking about. It's not like you NEED an iPhone to be able to call someone.