“I’ve seen these consumer electronics bubbles before. One company has a successful product, somebody else copies it ineptly, and everyone else piles on because they don’t want to be left behind. Never mind that they don’t know why they’re building the products, or for whom. The result is inevitably a big overshoot, inventory writeoffs, damaged careers, and a press backlash as the manufacturers run away from the market and customers feel burned.”
I completely agree with Michael. I think this is what I will see a lot of in 2011 — people investing money in sub-par, budget tablets. Tablets with no forethought given to product focus or polish. What will inevitably follow is a backlash against the form factor itself and the mindset of, “Oh yeah, I gave an iPad-like thing a try, and it sucked. So all tablets must suck.”
I suppose I see tablets as a second chance for computers to make a good impression on non-computer people — it’s a bit of a fresh start.
I don’t want to see that opportunity squandered yet again by poor experiences emerging from the budget market sector.
I suspect that it’s inevitable, though. For every person who buys a Galaxy Tab or iPad, there’s always a guy who will put up with a rubbish user experience to save a couple hundred bucks.
(Source: mobileopportunity.blogspot.com)
