Tablet Makers Realize They Can’t Beat iPad

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Photo by chelo.face - http://flic.kr/p/8UHf7s
Photo by chelo.face - http://flic.kr/p/8UHf7s

PC makers looking to ride the tablet wave and overcome Apple’s lead have had a rude awakening.


As a result “widespread reductions” in build plans of up to 10 percent are part of what one analyst described Wednesday as “an early dose of reality.” High-profile attempts to beat the iPad include Motorola’s Xoom, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook.

“The technical and form factor improvements of the iPad 2 stand to make it tougher for the first generation of competitive offerings to play catch-up, meaning actual shipments could fall well short of plan,” JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz tells investors.

Unlike its rivals, Apple is in the enviable position of not being able to keep up with demand. Because of which, Wall Street experts have cut iPad shipment expectations to 6.75 million for the June quarter.

We’ve talked about how tablets are destroying the netbook market. Moskowitz says tablets will comprise 3 percent of all handset sales this year and 11 percent of smartphone sales. If you count tablets as PCs, they account for 32 percent of desktops and around 21 percent of notebooks, according to JP Morgan.

This isn’t the first time we’ve reported tablets could cut into PC sales. In April, Goldman Sachs said tablets are a “disruptive force” that will eliminate 21 million PC purchases.

Can the competition ever match the iPad? They’re certainly not doing a very good job so far, but surely, Android coming to dominate the tablet market is inevitable… isn’t it? Let us know how you feel in the comments.

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