Hardware manufacturers force tablet computers to fight for life-saving straw

After a lapse of ten years, the tablet PCs turned back to the rivers and lakes and began to erode the traditional notebook market. However, when the winds of enthusiasm linger, who would be the victim of a market battle like the Internet that year, Jobs wanted to customize the future of tablet computers. Lazaridis believed that the BlackBerry could change the rules of the game.

On September 27, the BlackBerry maker Canada RIM announced at the developer conference in San Francisco, the United States, that the company will launch PlayBook, the first tablet computer product, as part of its strategy to boost the status of the BlackBerry core commercial market. RIM's co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said that the PlayBook is the best professional tablet computer at present, with the industry's top hardware structure and powerful and flexible software system.

According to foreign media reports, the 7-inch PlayBook is equipped with WiFi and Bluetooth, but it is necessary to connect a BlackBerry smartphone to achieve wireless Internet access. Unlike the Apple iPad, it supports Adobe's Flash multimedia software and multi-tasking capabilities, with two high-pixel cameras. In addition, BlackBerry products will run a new non-mainstream operating system, which was developed by QNX Software. The company developed various types of software and was acquired by RIM earlier this year.

The PlayBook shipped to business users and developers in October this year and will begin selling to consumers early next year. RIM did not disclose the price of the PlayBook, but said it would pull down the price range of consumer-grade tablets.

After the announcement, RIM's shares rose nearly 2% after the close of trading, trading at a price of $49.29. Reuters quoted investment company analyst Peres Fernandes as saying that he was initially skeptical of the tablet, but now believes that some key features of the PlayBook can make it different from the iPad.

Influx of tablets in front of this big cake, other hardware manufacturers did not stand idly by. Earlier, some companies were already gearing up to try to get a share from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

On September 17, Samsung Electronics released the first tablet GalaxyTab in the United States. This product, which is also considered to be a challenge to the iPad, uses Google's Android system with a 7-inch screen and WiFi and 3G Internet access. Samsung said before that, GalaxyTab will be listed in Europe in October.

Samsung Chief Strategy Officer Omar Cards said that when using the Galaxy Tab on a crowded train, it feels comfortable to sit on a sofa at home, and the tablet can fit into the pockets of pants and jackets.

It is worth noting that the GalaxyTab will be sold in cooperation with the four major US telecommunications companies, and the Galaxy Tabs sold by the telecommunications operators will have slightly different features and specifications. Telecom operators stated that Samsung's products will be available on time for the Christmas holidays. Anashak Komar, an analyst at RodmanRenshaw, an investment firm, said that the pattern of operator subsidies is interesting and that the market has become favored.

Samsung will also open an online entertainment store called MediaHub to provide movies, TV and tablet content for its smartphones and tablets. Samsung did not disclose the online store's fees, saying that it would be competitive with the prices of other content stores currently on the market. In contrast to Samsung’s firm grip on Apple’s pace, PC giant Hewlett-Packard’s moves are even more intense.

HP plans to introduce a 7-inch tablet and bundle it with a $399 HP printer that can act as a printer's control screen. It is reported that this tablet is equipped with WiFi capabilities, you can download e-books, play music and access social networking sites such as Facebook.

Some analysts said that HP hopes to compete with its opponents to take advantage of price war to seize the higher end of the notebook market. However, this move may reduce the enthusiasm of other manufacturers for tablet computers. "Business Week" quoted Roja Kay, chairman of ETA, the market consultancy, as saying, "This is like someone wearing an engagement ring on their first date."

In fact, the tablet that comes with the printer has limited functionality, and HP seems to want to tell consumers that the tablet is not a replacement for the personal computer. IDC analyst Richard Shim said that everyone wants to find business opportunities for such devices, but also want to know how to locate the tablet so that it does not affect the company's other business.

On September 22nd, Dell CEO Michael Dell surprisingly announced at Oracle's OpenWorld conference that the company will launch the second tablet, but he did not disclose the details of the product, nor did it explain the price and When to go public.

Earlier this year, Dell introduced a 5-inch Streak tablet with Google's Android operating system. Shortly after the launch of the product, Dell had stated that the initial sales of the product were exciting and exciting, "but it is really insignificant for Dell's $60 billion in revenue."

Compared with the enthusiastic enthusiasm of the above-mentioned manufacturers, Motorola has become more stable, and they postponed plans to launch tablets this year.

Motorola's co-CEO Sanjay Jia recently revealed that they will not be eager to release tablets before the end of this year, but will focus on developing a product with more market prospects. "We only put the market on the market if it is really competitive. If it goes well, I hope to be available early next year." He said he is eager to enter the tablet market, but he is also considering more extensive new forms of mobile computing.

Saving straw tablets is not a new concept. As early as 2000, Microsoft launched the world's first prototype tablet computer and was highly hoped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. However, this model soon died. Until the beginning of this year, after Apple released the iPad, the tepid tablet has only regained its new life. iPad market reached 3.27 million units in the quarter, the market's enthusiasm for the Tablet PC is evident.

The British "Financial Times" article said that people began to respond that this type of new equipment represents an increasing demand for computing, but now it seems that the tablet may be a truly revolutionary innovation. Now, those computer makers mostly attribute the sluggish PC sales to the rise of tablets, just as two years ago when netbooks hit hard for ordinary laptops, buying tablet computers prompted PC owners to postpone the replacement of their old ones.

Recently, Morgan Stanley adjusted its sales forecast for the global PC market next year. The agency analyst Katie Huberty expects global PC sales will grow by 13% this year, while previously expected to increase by 15%, he also lowered the next year's global PC sales growth forecast from the previous 13% to 8%. Huberty repeatedly pointed out in the report that the erode of tablet PCs is one of the important factors for the decline of PC sales.

Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn issued a statement saying that consumer perceptions of consumers are changing and that tablet computers are becoming the preferred choice for more and more consumers.

In fact, with more and more manufacturers such as Dell and Samsung releasing tablet PCs and expansion of Apple's iPad distribution channels, the industry expects that tablet PCs will continue to exert pressure on the PC market. According to Forrester Research, tablet PCs will account for almost a quarter of the PC market by 2015.

Market research company NPD Group's data corroborates this view. In February of this year, global notebook computer sales increased by 35% compared with the same period of last year, but the data in August decreased compared to the same period of last year, even a negative growth of 4%, this is the first time appear.

“The growth of the PC industry is indeed in a stagnant state,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. Its recent sales growth rate has been slowing from the previous months. It is unlikely that PC sales will pick up until the second half of 2011.

Now PC hardware makers hope to grab the last straw of the tablet computer, but it is not easy to win the market from a strong apple. According to iSuppli's expectations, the iPad will still be able to win three-quarters of the global tablet market this year, even if other hardware vendors have recently introduced new tablet devices.

Other vendors may be able to quickly develop products that are equivalent to or even better than the iPad hardware configuration. iSuppli's research considers that the reason for the independent branch of the iPad is that it combines hardware, software, operating systems, and applications. The company predicts that at least until 2012, Apple’s product share will remain above 60%.

For PC makers, the consequent nightmare is the collective disruption of smart phone manufacturers with telecom operators and low-cost chip resources. In addition to companies such as RIM and Motorola, the Taiwanese smart phone maker HTC also tried to scrounge on the tablet PC industry.

According to reports, HTC intends to use Android and its established relationship with operators to launch Android tablet products. An HTC executive has said with care that they are developing tablets. Another source said that HTC plans to launch tablets in the first quarter of next year.

It seems that now, the biggest winner of this game is Apple in addition to Google.

Google's Android system has won the enthusiasm of many hardware manufacturers for its open source and free products, and it is entering the tablet market. Some analysts believe that in the long run, Android-based tablets will break Steve Jobs's dominant position. According to Gartner, smartphones using the Android system have surpassed the Apple iPhone in the US market. According to Ed Moran, head of research at Deloitte, Google may replicate this success in the tablet market.

Although Google does not charge Android, Google can still earn relevant revenue if the Android system is widely used. Bloomberg quoted CowenCo analyst Jim Friedland as saying that the Android system can help Google increase mobile advertising revenue, explore the search engine market, and strengthen the application store business. He believes that through the open strategy, the Android system has been rapidly popularized.

Due to Apple's current restrictions on the AppStore app store, the industry expects the phenomenon of weak momentum may gradually appear in the next few years. Friedland said that the Android tablet may take 3-4 years to catch up with the iPad in sales, which is about the same time as the Android system mobile phone to catch up with the iPhone.

However, Google executives recently said that due to no targeted optimization, the current Android system does not fit the tablet. Google revealed that the company will promote the Tablet PC product to carry its upcoming Chrome OS in the future. This undoubtedly leaves Apple breathing time to consolidate its existing position.

At the beginning of next year, with the launch of Google's new Android version, a large number of tablets will be available. People in the industry point out that the success or failure of these products will verify whether the iPad boom reflects the unique appeal of Apple products, or whether consumers have a keen interest in such tablet devices.

As with brand manufacturers, panel suppliers are also quite positive. According to Digitimes, a Taiwanese research organization, the iPad has hit hard on netbook sales. The price of netbooks is even lower than the cost price, and panel suppliers are agonizing over this. Now, they are more willing to transfer their production capacity to the tablet panel.

Currently, major hardware manufacturers are squeezing into the tablet production force. Intel, the chip giant, is also working with Nokia to launch a tablet based on the Meego system in the coming months, but AMD chose to wait and see.

Recently, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer said in an interview that the company will focus on personal computers and servers and will not enter the mobile Internet space for the time being. Previously, Rick Bergman, AMD’s vice president, once said that the tablet PC market is still not mature enough to develop a complete ecosystem. He believes that at least until 2011, AMD will still focus on netbook processors.