Here’s a problem: Number of 7” Windows 8 tablets announced = 0
I’m not prepared to blame the OEMs. As someone who is a Microsoft whore, sometimes a mirror is needed. The markets have clearly shifted and there’s a lot of focus and attention on tablets in the 7” size (give or take). There’s the Fire, Nexus, and iPad Mini. Because they’re smaller, they’re more pocketable. Of course that also means a smaller screen and smaller battery and thus an overall cheaper price.
There isn’t an Android tablet out there that’s selling in the 10” category. It’s only the 7” variety that anyone would consider. Again, a lot comes down to the crazy cheap cost of these.
So then how in the hell does Microsoft think they can sell tablets like hotcakes if they’re not going to release a product that meets the present consumer demands? I know what you’re thinking – why is this Microsoft’s fault? Well there’s a cost to the OEM for Win8RT and that doesn’t decrease with screen size. These ultra cheap tablets have razor thin margins, too. In fact, the Fire and Nexus are more about selling products later (ads, Amazon crap, etc) than they are about the hardware itself. But if you’re paying a hefty licensing fee to MS then you need to increase the price and possibly start to put yourself out of the heart of this category.
But I don’t care if that’s why there are no 7” tablets or if there’s something else. In the end, the hardware for Win8RT is the same as Android in most respects. Microsoft hasn’t incentivized its OEMs to hit this niche. That’s a problem. Ultimately Microsoft gains a lot from all of these sales. It’s not just the licensing fee – it’s the marketplace sales, music, Xbox tie-ins, etc. Whatever the case may be, they need to grab an OEM by the ankles and get them to release a 7” tablet if they want to seriously compete in the tablet market.
Yes, Apple sells 10” tablets like mad and yes, Microsoft needs to compete there (which they are). But to leave out the fastest growing niche is asinine.
Of course, if Nokia would just drop a 7” WinRT tablet I’ll take the whole thing back…
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I expect that before Black Friday, Barnes & Noble is going to introduce a 7″ tablet/reader, running some variant of Win8RT, which will include accessibility to the Windows Store.
As you noted, because of margins, the 7″ category needs some kind of hook to get you interested. B&N has what it takes to make that work.
“There isn’t an Android tablet out there that’s selling in the 10” category.”
“As you noted, because of margins, the 7″ category needs some kind of hook to get you interested.”
Sounds like someone figured it out for Microsoft. So now all they have to do is sit back and collect their
shakedown moneyOEM Android licensing fees.Sigh, no indication of hyperlinks on this theme’s article comments?
It was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_7#Reception
You’ll need to research a bit. The Win 8 specs define 10.1 as the bottom of the range, on top of which there is a minimum 16:9 resolution of 13xx by 7xx (forgot the exact figures, too many dimensions these days). This is sad because the 7.7″ OLED panel is superb and would have made a nice “small” Win 8 RT device.
When we get to mass market OLED I don’t think people will find a 10″ device as objectionable because it will need a smaller battery, will be thinner and lighter due to both the battery and screen taking less weight and ultimately won’t be so much more expensive than the 7″. MS did this for design purposes, something that still plagues the Android world. They felt that the design, layout, and use of the screen should dictate what formats it comes in. I do think that a 1280 by 800 OLED panel could have managed though (perhaps turning that into a 16:9 format).
Oh well. Threads like this should remind MS that the 7-9″ range is still a very hot market.
Actually Windows RT (different than Win8 designation) allows for a device as small as 7″. Most everyone hoped that Microsoft and Barnes & Noble would make a 7″ Kindle Fire & Nexus 7 competitor running Win RT. Unfortunately it looks like the next Nook is running Android.
I take it that there wasnt enough time to get Android swapped out for Win RT and get the type of performance they are looking for. I look for next year’s Mobile World Congress for Microsoft to announce the Win RT version of the Nook.