That was my initial reaction... I mean it's no mystery that for $100, it simply cannot compete with the iPad and also be profitable.
Not everyone in the world earns $120k/year at a Silicon Valley technology job. For much of the world, $500 is a lot of money to spend on a tablet, especially for those outside the United States. In Brazil, for example, after accounting for import taxes on electronics and difference in incomes, spending $500 on a tablet is similar to spending $5,000 on a new tablet in the US. And if you're comparing to a high-paying tech job, that might be more like spending $15,000 on a tablet.
If the iPad was $15,000, would you buy it?
Wherever there's a successful high-end product, there's an even larger space for a lower-priced, lower-end version of that product for the billions of people who can't reasonably afford it. Those who look outside the Silicon Valley bubble realize this, and know that there's a lot of money to be made, even if it's at low margins.
I completely agree on the overpriced gadgets front.
For example, here in New Zealand an IPad will set you back about NZD$800-$1300 depending on your model (16GB Wifi->64GB Wifi+3G). Our currency is currently trading at around 87 US cents, so someone is making a huge amount of money off gadgets in this country.
If tablets reached our shores at something like a reasonable price, people might buy them. Plus this tablet would make a nice testing/development tablet if it can deliver decent performance for the price.
But maybe people would actually be better off buying nothing than a frustration-inducing $100 tablet. A tablet is a luxury, so why buy a non-luxurious one?
Comments
That was my initial reaction... I mean it's no mystery that for $100, it simply cannot compete with the iPad and also be profitable.
Not everyone in the world earns $120k/year at a Silicon Valley technology job. For much of the world, $500 is a lot of money to spend on a tablet, especially for those outside the United States. In Brazil, for example, after accounting for import taxes on electronics and difference in incomes, spending $500 on a tablet is similar to spending $5,000 on a new tablet in the US. And if you're comparing to a high-paying tech job, that might be more like spending $15,000 on a tablet.
If the iPad was $15,000, would you buy it?
Wherever there's a successful high-end product, there's an even larger space for a lower-priced, lower-end version of that product for the billions of people who can't reasonably afford it. Those who look outside the Silicon Valley bubble realize this, and know that there's a lot of money to be made, even if it's at low margins.
I completely agree on the overpriced gadgets front.
For example, here in New Zealand an IPad will set you back about NZD$800-$1300 depending on your model (16GB Wifi->64GB Wifi+3G). Our currency is currently trading at around 87 US cents, so someone is making a huge amount of money off gadgets in this country.
If tablets reached our shores at something like a reasonable price, people might buy them. Plus this tablet would make a nice testing/development tablet if it can deliver decent performance for the price.
But maybe people would actually be better off buying nothing than a frustration-inducing $100 tablet. A tablet is a luxury, so why buy a non-luxurious one?