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Android 3.0 tablets allegedly delayed due to low hopes

updated 08:45 am EDT, Fri April 15, 2011

Android 3 tablet designers said delaying launches


Companies building Android 3.0 tablets are supposedly holding back on launches based on concerns of low sales and support from Google. Results for the Motorola Xoom were "lower than expected," according to rumors. Combined with Google's inability to help some partners, many have simply decided to wait before getting into tablets, Digitimes said.

Supply issues due to the Japan earthquake were considered only potential factors by the companies. They had heard that Motorola had floundered due to the relative lack of a strong brand image, high device prices, and the rushed state of Android 3.0 as factors. The Xoom arrived with just 17 apps in its first day where the original iPad started with roughly 1,000.

As an example of delays, ASUS supposedly pushed back the Taiwan launch of the Eee Pad Transformer by about two weeks to late April for the base 16GB version. HTC has also reportedly stalled the mass production schedule of the Flyer, although the company said its roadmap had been unchanged. The tablet reaches Europe on May 9, but HTC hasn't said in what quantities or narrowed down the launches for North America or most other countries.

Google isn't expected to confirm any sales figures and might not be joined by Motorola. When it confirmed that it was activating 350,000 Android devices a day, however, it downplayed the ratio of tablets in the mix and hinted strongly that the Xoom's portion of this wasn't significant enough to be a factor.

The launch of the iPad 2 is known to have caused chaos for a handful of tablet designers that had presumed Apple either wouldn't upgrade the iPad for awhile or would have no choice but to raise the price. Samsung had planned to charge a premium for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 but was pushed to match Apple to stay competitive.


By Electronista Staff

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TAGS :  

industry, gadgets, Google, htc, ASUS, Android, Motorola, Apple, Eee Pad, iPad, Honeycomb, Xoom, Flyer, Eee Pad Transformer

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Previous Comments

  1. Foe Hammer

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2005

    +27
    04/15, 09:16am | report spam | reply

    Gee ....

    Wonder if the wannabes are slowly realizing that they may have missed something when it comes to designing their products - and not just on the hardware portion?


  1. kerryb

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +31
    04/15, 09:30am | report spam | reply

    over night success

    apparent over night successes take years like the development of the iPad. Steve J mentioned that they began working on a tablet before the iPhone and the company shifted gears and took those developments and created the iPhone. Is it any wonder that the geeky Android 3 and the me too hardware companies cannot match the iPad with their rush to market devices.


  1. kdogg73

    Dedicated MacNNer

    Joined: Dec 2002

    +18
    04/15, 09:33am | report spam | reply

    It's hard

    not to gloat for Apple at news like this.


  1. Joe05

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 2010

    +16
    04/15, 10:04am | report spam | reply

    Android

    The problem with Android is that it's been essentially a copy and a bad one at that of IOS4, why would someone flock to a tablet that looks and costs on average more than an iPad?

    Free doesn't equate to better, hardware makers like Motorola and Samsung excelled at hardware and should leave software and UI design to someone else.

    Another weakness is the distribution channel , no one has anything like the Apple store which is one of the big reasons for Apple's success.


  1. JBytes

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2000

    +29
    04/15, 10:12am | report spam | reply

    Leeches

    These companies sit on their laurels, wait for Apple to create a must-have product, then try to jump in with cheap imitations. They deserve every bit of failure that comes their way.


  1. Jonathan-Tanya

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 2004

    -3
    04/15, 10:16am | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    But hardware is the issue

    I know Apple's software ecosystem is superb - and that is great.

    But the real problem with the sales of the Android tablets - really is hardware and cost.

    They priced the hardware high, and required separate contracts, and - on top of that the machines were too thick and lacked desired features (cell capability).

    Few Android tablet makers have hit the right hardware/pricing, but those that have B&N Color Nook is an Android device, and it's selling like crazy. It's a fairly good performer, at a convenient size, and priced competitively at $249.

    And you say that its a book reader, well fine, that's marketing it doesn't change what the device actually is - and B&N is adding an app store and native email app.


  1. JohnFromBeyond

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2007

    +15
    04/15, 10:30am | report spam | reply

    too complex

    Just look at that screen shot, it's too busy and complex. No average consumer wants something like that. They would run away from that mess. Google doesn't get the consumer market. They design power tools for power users, and user interface is an afterthought. They don't control the hardware so they couldn't push a simple, elegant design if they wanted to. They choose not to control the software so that's a mess, too. Can you imagine Apple launching a new computer with only 17 apps to show it off?!?

    Google is playing a numbers game, going for the scraps that Apple leaves behind, the wannabe hardware copiers, and the disgruntled companies who can't design their own software. And there's alot of those, just look at the Android phone numbers, but can anyone really say an Android phone is better than an iphone in total user experience? (for the average consumer, not computer geek) When I look around at most Android phone owners, they pretty much use it for the phone and email, and that's about it.

    Regarding the Nook and it's relative success to other android tablets, this device has a focus and an ecosystem of thousands of ebooks. It has a purpose and a cohesive marketing strategy, along with its low price. The rest of the Android world is like the wild, wild west, terrorized by outlaw Droid robots.


  1. cmoney

    Mac Enthusiast

    Joined: Sep 2000

    +13
    04/15, 11:33am | report spam | reply

    Oh that Wily Apple

    Yeah, so the iPad 2 was a surprise to these tablet designers? They couldn't guess that Apple would keep the same price points? Or that it would be faster, thinner and more refined in its second generation?

    For all of its secrecy, Apple is one of the most consistent when it comes to price point and subsequent product refining. Anyone with a clue could guesstimate what the iPad 2 was gonna be the second the iPad 1 came out. The only real questions were the screen res and if they would up the storage space. Oh and if it would come in white. Otherwise it's right on track for almost every single iDevice refinement for nearly the past 10 years.


  1. Joe05

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 2010

    +4
    04/15, 11:56am | report spam | reply

    Android

    Success in this market besides Apple will require a different approach, one that doesn't match or copy the iPad but goes beyond it with a unique UI and I hate to say it, but a dedicated retail Chanel .

    I don't see Motorola or Samsung making the cut much less the others, the Nook Color is a great example , nicely done and isn't. an iPad wannabe, but a dedicated e reader with its own unique UI and yes, a dedicated distribution Chanel in the B&N stores.

    I see an outside chance with Web OS, unique with what appears to be nice hardware, but they have to rely on Best buy and the rest to execute so that will hurt their chances.

    Microsft has stayed quiet in this market and Windows 8 looks to be interesting especially the Metro UI, I suspect Nokia will be their dedicated hardware partners for this, and Nokia does and can make beautiful high quality devices. the Micosoft Stores are very well executed, I've been in two of them and they are different than Apples offering and nicely done , but they only have 9 or 10 at this point in time.

    This if certainly the year of the iPad 2 and I don't see any chanlengers until next year.


    Comment buried. Show
  1. facebook_Jubin

    Via Facebook

    Joined: Apr 2011

    -20
    04/15, 12:12pm | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    Just like SMARTPhone market, Androind will dominat

    Only a matter of time.
    It doesn't matter if they spent considerable time designing etc...
    Their system is antiquated. Wait for App amrket in other systems to catch up (and it will in a blink) and that would be it


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