Tablet Sizes vs Prices

[lewisgoddard]

There is remarkably little choice amongst OEMs about the specifications of potential Tablet. Dual Cores are hard to come by unless you manufacture yourself, 1GB of RAM seems to double a potential price, but the big thing is size.

So, which tablet screen size would you prefer for the price invoked for a Ubuntu Tablet?

[zekopeko]

There is remarkably little choice amongst OEMs about the specifications of potential Tablet. Dual Cores are hard to come by unless you manufacture yourself, 1GB of RAM seems to double a potential price, but the big thing is size.

So, which tablet screen size would you prefer for the price invoked for a Ubuntu Tablet?

You can't be serious about those prices. Amazon Kindle Fire is going for $199 and they are losing money making them. iPad's $500 price point is what is realistic for a 10" device.

[leclerc65]

How about this one (http://www.pcworld.com/article/245627/99_ice_cream_sandwich_tablet_to_debut_in_us.html)?

[LowSky]

You can't be serious about those prices. Amazon Kindle Fire is going for $199 and they are losing money making them. iPad's $500 price point is what is realistic for a 10" device.

$500 is still too high.

My Viewsonic G tablet cost me under $239 about 8 months ago. Sure it isn't a Motorola Xoom but it has the same parts inside. Tegra2 for nearly half the price When I got it.
Amazon isn't losing a Dime on their device. From what I read the device breaks down from anywhere from $150 to $210 to build depending on who the source is. Even at a $10 loss they make it back on a Prime Membership. A customer buys a few books, movies, or mp3s they make the cash back very quick. On the other hand Apple sells their product at a price over production cost. Simply because their buyers will over pay for the logo and supposed quality.

a 7" to a 10" tablet nothing changes but screen size, and somehow that makes the price jump a few hundred bucks? That makes no sense. Heck it shouldn't cost another $100 for doubling the storage space. But companies like Apple get away with it.

[dpny]

$500 is still too high.

My Viewsonic G tablet cost me under $239 about 8 months ago.

And, for half the price of an iPad, you get more weight, a much worse camera, no video, a slower processor, a smaller display, no gyro, no video mirroring and less battery life.

What a deal!

My point here isn't fanboyism, but to make the point that $500 tablets cost what they do because there's a lot of technology crammed into them. If your tablet had the specs of a Xoom or an iPad, it would cost about the same, too.

And, as Apple leverages their enormous cash hoard to essentially guarantee lower prices on components than its competitors, the issue isn't Apple overcharging. It's the same with smartphones and ultrabooks: look across the board and you'll see largely similar prices, because most of the tech in the machines is the same and it all costs the manufacturers about the same.


Even at a $10 loss they make it back on a Prime Membership.

So they do lose money on it.

And, to back up one more level, an Ubuntu tablet with similar specs to an iPad would cost about the same, unless Canonical is willing to sell them at a significant loss.

[thatguruguy]

On the other hand Apple sells their product at a price over production cost. Simply because their buyers will over pay for the logo and supposed quality.

Link, please. My understanding is that Apple sells the iPad at the break-even point, or less. They make their money by getting a percentage of the price of the apps, which can only be purchased through Apple's App Store.

That's why it's difficult for competitors to meet Apple's price point for similar hardware.

[Stovey]

How about this one (http://www.pcworld.com/article/245627/99_ice_cream_sandwich_tablet_to_debut_in_us.html)?

Yes please. That looks AWESOME. Ice cream sandwich for a hundred bucks!!

(On second thought I looked at the specs and now I'm not so sure)

[Copper Bezel]

Asus Transformer Prime with Gnome Shell, please. At the going rate ($650 with the keyboard / battery dock.) It's 10" and a legitimate iPad 2 competitor (comparable specs, thinner, prettier case.) I'd rather see an established OEM offer the OS option on a legitimately good piece of kit at a competitive price than see a little System76-style operation selling only on the fact that the hardware comes with Ubuntu installed. And Unity's not ready for tablets, anyway. (Closing a maximized window would be hours of entertainment.)

[LinuxFan999]

A 10 inch Ubuntu tablet at around $300 would be nice. I would buy one.

[PhilGil]

Link, please. My understanding is that Apple sells the iPad at the break-even point, or less. They make their money by getting a percentage of the price of the apps, which can only be purchased through Apple's App Store.
According to this analyst (http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/iPad-2-Carries-Bill-of-Materials-of-$326-60-IHS-iSuppli-Teardown-Analysis-Shows.aspx), the iPad 2's BOM is $326. If this is accurate, Apple is making a tidy profit on the hardware, as well.

[Mikeb85]

Link, please. My understanding is that Apple sells the iPad at the break-even point, or less. They make their money by getting a percentage of the price of the apps, which can only be purchased through Apple's App Store.

That's why it's difficult for competitors to meet Apple's price point for similar hardware.

Hah, not a chance. If you read their quarterly reports they give out to shareholders and the investing community, you'll see they have very large profit margins, in fact, the largest by far of any computer/mobile manufacturer. Apple makes alot of money on each and every phone and tablet.

In fact, depending on the model, Apple's profit margin on each iPad can be over 50%... Here's a link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/188196/apples_ipad_profit_breaking_it_down.html

If you doubt that, their quarterly reports are publicly available from a variety of sources, including Apple.com

[lewisgoddard]

Whenever i poll something, there always seems to follow an argument.

The Kindle Fire i selling at about a £10 loss, and is in fact an e-reader, not a tablet.

The Apple iPad (2) is selling at at least 20% shareholder profit, and as everything from R&D to assembly to retail is in house, you could probably argue that 90% is internal (employees, shipping etc.)

The Galaxy Tab is selling at a similar profit margin.

Liberta aims to sell at a self-sustaining margin, reinvesting any and all profit.

Specifications:
http://liberta.eustasy.co.uk/tablets/compare/

Pitch:
http://liberta.eustasy.co.uk/tablets/