Nvidia CEO: Android tablets sell poorly because they're too expensive

[zerocool84]

but the #'s driving up Android's marketshare are due to free phones, IMHO. Only anecdotal but 4 family members have android phones, only cuz they're free.

Well that's your opinion but look at the original Droid, tons of people got that and it was priced the same as the iPhone. The best selling Android phones are not the free ones.

Best selling Android phones and none of them were free, they're all higher end phones:

http://www.irnovo.com/2010/11/top-7-best-selling-android-phones-of.html

 

[Zen0]

Well that's your opinion but look at the original Droid, tons of people got that and it was priced the same as the iPhone. The best selling Android phones are not the free ones.

Best selling Android phones and none of them were free, they're all higher end phones:

http://www.irnovo.com/2010/11/top-7-best-selling-android-phones-of.html

Droids were buy one get one Free.

 

[zerocool84]

Droids were buy one get one Free.

Ok one phone on one carrier which in no way could account for the rest. The fact of the matter is that the best selling Android phones are not the cheapy free after rebate ones. People get them because they want them and pay for them over an Apple product. Does that mean it's better? To some of you that does because you say if it sells more that means it's better.

iPad is the best tablet right now. The rest have been overpriced or crappy but we're still barely getting any decent competition for it. Galaxy Tab sold real well, not iPad numbers but still sold well. It's just like when the original iPhone came out, they had the big jump then others had to catch up. The difference is that this time they are catching up faster and Apple is dropping marketshare fast in tablet land because there's too much competition already when it's still fairly new.

http://mashable.com/2011/04/11/apple-tablet-market-gartner/

 

[Ns1]

Well that's your opinion but look at the original Droid, tons of people got that and it was priced the same as the iPhone. The best selling Android phones are not the free ones.

Best selling Android phones and none of them were free, they're all higher end phones:

http://www.irnovo.com/2010/11/top-7-best-selling-android-phones-of.html

hypothetical example:
10MM android units sold @ 200 each, "best selling android phones"

5MM android units given away, 10 different units cuz they all suck. None will be a "best selling phone" but will increase android market share by 5MM units.

I don't care enough to research actual #'s.

 

[Aikouka]

I think the worst thing about Android tablets is the nVidia Tegra 2. Okay, okay... second worst to price . It might sound like a bit of a joke, but if you take a peek at Anandtech's tablet tests, they say how the Tegra 2 does not fully accelerate H264 video, so the CPU has to stay active. That's why it tends to perform 1-2 hours worse in the battery life tests. Not to mention the GeForce ULV isn't exactly that powerful... especially compared to the SGX543-MP2

He didn't say anything of the sort. But when Average Joe sees a drive for 499 and another similar device for 599, which gets bought? Doesn't matter what the specs are or who made it, the cheaper one usually gets purchased.

Cost of entry is almost always a pretty big factor. It's not like someone can't afford the $800 price, but $400 (Transformer) or $500 (iPad) certainly looks so much nicer .

 

[poofyhairguy]

Agreed. Give me OMAP over Tegra...

 

[kaerflog]

You people got some dumbass misconception about Apple and their overpriced products.
So you are that naive to think Apple got to be the the highest valued company by selling overpriced products ??
I must admit at the beginning I wouldn't touch a single Apple product because they were indeed overpriced but look at them now.
While their pricing will never beat anyone, the value is there.
- IP4. arguebably the best phone right now.
- Ipad. Best tablet right now.
- itouch. Best music player.
- Macbook air. Look at their only competition, Samsung. they can't even price them as low as the MBA.

 

[Bateluer]

Agreed. Give me OMAP over Tegra...

No love for the Qualcomm Snapdragons? Qualcomm is claiming the upcoming Adreno 300 is going to offer Xbox 360/PS3 level processing power, early 2013. Adreno 220 isn't going to be a slouch in the interim either.

While the Tegra 2 was a little underwhelming compared competitors, Nvidia isn't a company to sit ideal. They tend to learn from their mistakes and correct them. Expect Kal El to be their A game.

 

[BoberFett]

http://images.google.com/search?tbm...ih=1324&q=hipster&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

These are the people who use Apple products:

REGULAR PEOPLE:

You mean morons buy Apple products? Because anyone who would stand in line like that just to purchase a consumer good is a moron. I'm not sure having your target market be a bunch of morons necessarily means you have a better product.

 

[MagickMan]

You mean morons buy Apple products? Because anyone who would stand in line like that just to purchase a consumer good is a moron. I'm not sure having your target market be a bunch of morons necessarily means you have a better product.

Not very social, are you? Some of my best times have been spent hanging out with people for concert tickets, product launches, etc.. It's a good way to meet people, talk, laugh, etc..

 

[alent1234]

and i remember the video from CES where he said the new way of buying computing was a device with an ARM based CPU and you buy it from Verizon. he was close. ARM based but you buy it from Apple

 

[MagickMan]

Well, you can buy all the mobile Apple stuff at Verizon, so he was really damned close.

 

[akugami]

He didn't say anything of the sort. But when Average Joe sees a drive for 499 and another similar device for 599, which gets bought? Doesn't matter what the specs are or who made it, the cheaper one usually gets purchased.

Reviews of several Android tablets have been pretty positive too, FYI. AT reviewed both the Xoom and Transformer positively remember.

We will be seeing some cool stuff from Android tablets this summer/fall/winter though.

I didn't read any Transformer reviews but the Xoom can only be said as lukewarm at best. I don't know about anyone else but when the majority of web sites list the Xoom as having a decent promised hardware set but needs a few more months of baking because the software does not allow you to use the full hardware capabilities that's hardly positive. Not to mention the crashes.

I don't think it's all about pricing. There are cheaper Android tablets on the market (price wise) but they simply haven't sold as well as Apple's iPad. I think this is partially due to the Apple brand but also because Android tablets prior to Honeycomb simply weren't up to the feature set and quality of the iPad. Even the Xoom at launch was not a solid competitor due to software issues. I'm sure the latest Honeycomb tablets out now or coming soon will better compete and even have a better feature set than the iPad 2. But to compete, it'll have to be cheaper than the iPad on top of having more features IMHO. At least if it wants to make any huge inroads on the more mainstream consumers rather than techie types.

Well, duh. The only reason Apple has been able to sell them at this price point is because Apple could sell shit on a platter and people would pay whatever Steve Jobs told them to pay for it.

And the reverse is true. The iPhone was arguably the best mobile smart phone at the time of its release for general consumers but people who hate Apple called it shit. The iPad 1 & 2 were the best tablets at the time of their release. Arguably even now no Android tablet can compete due to the feature set on top of the software application support but people will call anything Apple releases as shit no matter how good/solid it is.

Apple's products are very rarely better than the rest. They have better marketing that leads you to believe that their products are superior when they really aren't. Exceptions would be the first iPhone and iPods. Those products were ground breaking. Everything else is like "hey look at this pretty logo, you know that makes it better than everything else, right?"

Not being better does not make it "shit on a platter" as you've previously stated. Your words imply that Apple makes mostly crap. The fact is that while Apple is not always the best in terms of feature or price, it does usually give you a solid product with a decent feature set that satisfy the needs of general consumers. Have there been a few clunkers from Apple? Of course. But most of their products are pretty solid and as much as people say Apple isn't an innovative company they have a trend of putting together previous technologies into a cohesive whole that works pretty well.

Their forte is and likely always will be the user experience. They created a lot of the paradigms we take for granted that is used in modern desktop OS's and they did the same for mobile touch based OS's. A lot of their products are designed with usability in mind. Not for technological superiority. Look at their award winning products and you'll see this design philosophy in both software and hardware.

Btw. I get ice cream cones at McD not cuz they're the best, but cuz they're good enough and only 69 fucking cents each.


Remember, TWO ways to succeed in business: BETTER, or CHEAPER.

Agreed. I go to Ikea for lunch sometimes cause a soda, chips, and two dogs are $2. Either make your product so cheap that people can't help but buy it even if it's not better or so good that people will pay more for it. History is filled with superior products that simply lost due to price.


At this point, Android tablets are competitive from a hardware feature and price perspective but it's not so much better (and many would argue inferior) to the iPad 2. It's also not cheap enough that most interested would pass over an iPad 2 for an Android tablet.

 

[MagickMan]

Well, duh. The only reason Apple has been able to sell them at this price point is because Apple could sell shit on a platter and people would pay whatever Steve Jobs told them to pay for it.

That's just retarded. The iPad 2 is a very high quality device offering top-tier performance, and it's the most solid tablet being built right now, period. You may hate Apple and iOS, but from a build quality standpoint the iPad 2 is still in a league of it's own.

 

[Mopetar]

You people got some dumbass misconception about Apple and their overpriced products.
So you are that naive to think Apple got to be the the highest valued company by selling overpriced products ??
I must admit at the beginning I wouldn't touch a single Apple product because they were indeed overpriced but look at them now.
While their pricing will never beat anyone, the value is there.
- IP4. arguebably the best phone right now.
- Ipad. Best tablet right now.
- itouch. Best music player.
- Macbook air. Look at their only competition, Samsung. they can't even price them as low as the MBA.

In a free and highly competitive market it's impossible for something to be overpriced. If it were, no one would buy it. Some people may consider Apple overpriced and therefore don't buy Apple, but anyone who has purchased one of Apple's products considers it a good value for their money.

On the other hand, Apple certainly could charge less for their products as evidence by the obscene amounts of profit they're generating. However, since there are a large number of people who consider the current price fair, Apple has no incentive to reduce it.

Apple was the first company out the door with a tablet and they got to set the initial price, one which gives them good margins. Other companies also want good margins on their tablets, so they're mostly content to stay at the same price. If their sales are weak, it may prompt them to lower the prices, however I think they've all seen how cut-throat the netbook market turned out and aren't in any hurry to get themselves into a position where they need to sell ten tablets to make as much profit as they used to with one sale.

Also, "best" is subjective. If someone wants a physical keyboard on their phone, no matter how good the rest of the iPhone experience is, it's clearly not the best phone for that person.

 

[alent1234]

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR? That's about as far from the truth as you could be when describing Apple. You get a shiny box with a logo on it that has the same parts as everyone else for 2x the money. This isn't exactly the case when it comes to their mobile devices (they're only slightly more expensive than they should be), but it is definitely the case with their PCs.

the $2000 MBP's and iMac's are actually cheaper than an apples to apple's configuration from Dell or HP. the cheaper ones maybe only because apple's imac LCD's are very expensive and no one sells a monitor like that with a computer. and you get a computer with no crapware. and if you want support you go to an apple store, wait a few minutes and talk to someone in english, american english that is.

when my iphone broke i was in and out in 30 minutes including the wait and the genius bar was a madhouse that day. you buy a $2000 dell and you have to call some number, wait on hold, try to understand the person on the other line, play the script game, or go to best buy and get raped by the geek squad

 

[Genx87]

With tablets like the transformer on the market. Prices will come down. The wave is just starting.

 

[alent1234]

With tablets like the transformer on the market. Prices will come down. The wave is just starting.

like apple doesn't have a lower priced ipad just waiting to be released. apple has a product at every price point starting at $79. they usually start at higher price points and in a few years release low end entry products because the easiest way to take a market away is to start at the low end and work your way up. MS and the whole PC revolution is proof of that

 

[Zen0]

the $2000 MBP's and iMac's are actually cheaper than an apples to apple's configuration from Dell or HP. the cheaper ones maybe only because apple's imac LCD's are very expensive and no one sells a monitor like that with a computer. and you get a computer with no crapware. and if you want support you go to an apple store, wait a few minutes and talk to someone in english, american english that is.

when my iphone broke i was in and out in 30 minutes including the wait and the genius bar was a madhouse that day. you buy a $2000 dell and you have to call some number, wait on hold, try to understand the person on the other line, play the script game, or go to best buy and get raped by the geek squad

Yep, same with Apple phone support.

Hell, I hate companies like Dell that outsources a critical part of brand value and product value - customer support!

If you want no support after I purchase the product, you might as well stop buying cars with warranties and shit as well.

Apple products are damn cheap for what you get.

You buy a Dell or Android, you GET cheap ass plastic, support, and unrefinement for your cheap ass dollars.

 

[simonizor]

That's just retarded. The iPad 2 is a very high quality device offering top-tier performance, and it's the most solid tablet being built right now, period. You may hate Apple and iOS, but from a build quality standpoint the iPad 2 is still in a league of it's own.

I never said that the iPad was shit, I simply stated that Apple could sell shit on a platter and people would pay whatever Steve Jobs told them to pay for it. The fact of the matter is that it's far to expensive for what it is, but people pay that price because it's an Apple product. No one is buying the Android tablets because people that are seriously considering tablet devices realize that they are currently far too expensive for what you get. For less money than these tablets cost, you could get a tablet netbook with a much more capable OS. As it stands they're pretty much just the newest marketing gimmick. No one really needs a tablet; it's pretty much just an oversized smartphone.

 

[Zen0]

I never said that the iPad was shit, I simply stated that Apple could sell shit on a platter and people would pay whatever Steve Jobs told them to pay for it. The fact of the matter is that it's far to expensive for what it is, but people pay that price because it's an Apple product. No one is buying the Android tablets because people that are seriously considering tablet devices realize that they are currently far too expensive for what you get. For less money than these tablets cost, you could get a tablet netbook with a much more capable OS. As it stands they're pretty much just the newest marketing gimmick. No one really needs a tablet; it's pretty much just an oversized smartphone.

This people, is coming from the guy, who thinks you can stick an iPad into your front pockets.

No further correspondence is necessary.

 

[Ns1]

No one is buying the Android tablets because people that are seriously considering tablet devices realize that Android Tablets are currently far too expensive for what you get.

FTFY


$800 to be a MOTO XOOM beta tester.

LOL

Transformer is selling great cuz it's a polished product, just like the iPad. Didn't read any reviews that claimed the Transformer feels like a beta product; read many reviews that said the TAB + XOOM felt like beta products.

 

[MagickMan]

I never said that the iPad was shit, I simply stated that Apple could sell shit on a platter and people would pay whatever Steve Jobs told them to pay for it. The fact of the matter is that it's far to expensive for what it is, but people pay that price because it's an Apple product. No one is buying the Android tablets because people that are seriously considering tablet devices realize that they are currently far too expensive for what you get. For less money than these tablets cost, you could get a tablet netbook with a much more capable OS. As it stands they're pretty much just the newest marketing gimmick. No one really needs a tablet; it's pretty much just an oversized smartphone.

Well, duh. The only reason Apple has been able to sell them at this price point is because Apple could sell shit on a platter and people would pay whatever Steve Jobs told them to pay for it.

You implied that it's "shit" for the price, and it very much isn't.

It's a better value than some crappy $300 Atom based netbook with 2GB of RAM that tries to run Win 7, that's for sure. Have you actually tried to use a netbook? I had one and sent it back in less than a week, trying to run a full desktop OS on it was a slow and painful experience.

iPads and the new crop of Android tablets are highly portable media consumption devices. Aside from high end games, which netbooks can't run either, I can do anything on this iPad that I can do on my desktop. The difference is, I'm typing this from my hammock on the back porch, while listening to Pandora over my BT headphones.

Now, excuse me while I go back to playing Infinity Blade.

 

[BoberFett]

Not very social, are you? Some of my best times have been spent hanging out with people for concert tickets, product launches, etc.. It's a good way to meet people, talk, laugh, etc..

Yeah, I bet it is...

 

[Aikouka]

iPads and the new crop of Android tablets are highly portable media consumption devices. Aside from high end games, which netbooks can't run either, I can do anything on this iPad that I can do on my desktop. The difference is, I'm typing this from my hammock on the back porch, while listening to Pandora over my BT headphones.

Ugh... typing is the one thing I can't stand doing on my iPad (2). I used to use it a bit in the morning for browsing webpages and such, but the problem I'd run into is that I'd browse the AT forums and want to make a reply. Even a reply as short as this one would take maybe 2-3x as long as on a PC. So, I begrudgingly get up and go over to my PC instead.

Lately, I just cut out the iPad all together, and I just get up and go over to my PC to begin with (it's only in the next room over). That's kind of why I was seriously considering getting an ASUS Transformer... the dock would be rather nice as it solves trying to hold the device while typing (on the screen or a Bluetooth keyboard).