Is Steve Jobs the MC Hammer of tablet computing? ‘Can’t Touch This could be the message behind a 115-page report which gives thumbs-down on Android as unable to compete with Apple’s iPad.
Jeffries & Co. analyst Peter Misek believes Android and Android-based tablets just cannot compete with the iPad. He blames Android’s “Honeycomb” operating system as a reason for cutting his 2011 tablet sales projection to 70 million units, down from 100 million. Android-based tablets are also too expensive to compete with the iPad, Misek adds.
But what about the Research In Motion PlayBook and Motorola’s Xoom, both hyped as iPad alternatives? Fuhgeddaboudit. RIM will have just 1 percent of the tablet shipments this year with the Xoom garnering an equally-tepid 2 percent. Both are far behind Apple “due to their dependence on Taiwan [Original Device Manufacturers] for notebooks,” the analyst writes.
As for Apple, the iPad maker is projected to have 64 percent of tablet sales this year and around 41 percent in 2012, according to Misek.
While PC makers worry about how to catch up with Apple’s iPad, they must also fear increasing cannibalization of their core computer market. Misek didn’t lend any comfort on this front, writing tablets can be used for “production” as well as “consumption” tasks. This means not only will tablets erode the market for videos and gaming, but also writing, emailing, number-crunching and photo-editing.
Finally, where are the future consumers of tablets? China is the place to be. According to the analyst. 80 percent of consumers in China express interest in purchasing a tablet versus 40 percent in North America or 50 percent in Europe.
[Barron’s]
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
16 responses to “Android-Based Tablets Are Too Chintzy And Too Expensive To Compete with iPad”
Transformer, and the Tab 8.9 and 10.1 are much better competitors than Xoom
And its way too early in the game, Android has literally just started working seriously on tablets. Let’s check back at the end of 2011 and early 2012.
The fallacy n your argument is that you assume Apple will somehow stand still. The more logical assumption is that just like Apple leapfrogged the android hooard that launched at CES, the same will happen time and again
the problem with Android setup is the phones and tablets are to fragmented and do not have a compatible docking so aftermarket docks are near non existent,the tablets lack any good dedicated apps,it seems it’s all about hardware but lacking in good software to use,I have not seen a Android app that has that wow factor yet.
And the fallacy in your argument is that the Android Tablet market has only just kicked off………….Its only just started…………It has only juts emerged………can you see what I’m trying to say?
As well as the fact that “Sean Liu” sounds like someone balanced in opinion,but unfortunately sound like
the typical Apple fanboy,out to discredit anything that is not made by and or
endorsed by Apple,
*Just
*But you unfortunatelybefore a en-flamed comment is made about my spelling
It’s the same mistake made again and again by these Android tablet manufacturers. It isn’t about the hardware only. Besides (finally) making better hardware, they are still missing these:
1. Software – Android is too fragmented.
2. Services – apps and app store are dismal.
So what if I check back in 2011 or even 2012? Like what Adam Reid said, you can bet Apple isn’t just twiddling its thumb waiting for Android to catch up.
“Let’s check back at the end of 2011 and early 2012.”
You’re either missing the point or you haven’t thought through what you’re saying. It’s not a question of hardware or OS quality. The primary issue is the developer & app environment. The fragmentation of Andoid versions/screen sizes/hardware variations makes developing for Android a real hassle. Add to that the extra step of using google checkout for each app sale (and a userbase less inclined to spend money) and developers are undederstandably much more focused on iOS than Android. Does Android have apps? Sure, but do they have any great apps? Not really. Great apps are headed to iOS.
Waiting another year won’t fix this… It will make it worse. More users will be drawn to iOS because of the quality of the apps, which will justify devs putting even more focus on iOS.
The only folks left on Android will be folks buying cheaper smart phones who don’t buy many apps (the folks who don’t own smartphones today) and a few die hard Apple hating dogmatic geeks (the folks who want everything for free and still complain). Numberswise it may still be a large share of the telecom market, it just won’t be a very interesting share.
you are correct, Sean.