ASUS Memo 370t: $250 ICS, hdmi, 7" 1280x800 IPS, Quad core Tegra3

[David Marseilles]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

A race to the bottom on price and specs instead of better functionality --- something to look forward to, lol.

Not sure I follow. We won't know for sure until the end of June, but so far the specs still look pretty good.

[VaporPunk]

Kai and "secret sauce"? Sounds more like a Thai Cuisine cooking class than a tablet. Still, looking forward to this.

Dunno what you're worried about HansTWN, there will always be top-o-the-line tablets available for the discerning consumer. For what I use my tablet for, the specs are good enough and then some.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

Kai and "secret sauce"? Sounds more like a Thai Cuisine cooking class than a tablet. Still, looking forward to this.

Dunno what you're worried about HansTWN, there will always be top-o-the-line tablets available for the discerning consumer. For what I use my tablet for, the specs are good enough and then some.

Well, if good enough is good enough, then why even replace your transformer?

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Well, if good enough is good enough, then why even replace your transformer?

Size matters. I want a 7" for better portability.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

Dunno what you're worried about HansTWN, there will always be top-o-the-line tablets available for the discerning consumer.

Worried would be a gross exaggeration. But I see little progress at the top end, other than incremental processor spec improvements which will mostly matter for gamers. I would like to see new screen technologies, more storage space (128 or 256 GB) and RAM, as well as some innovative new formats (flexible, foldable, whatever). It seems most efforts are concentrated on making things cheaper.

Which will force me just to keep using my TouchPad. Well, at least I am saving some money!

[afv011]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Worried would be a gross exaggeration. But I see little progress at the top end, other than incremental processor spec improvements which will mostly matter for gamers. I would like to see new screen technologies, more storage space (128 or 256 GB) and RAM, as well as some innovative new formats (flexible, foldable, whatever). It seems most efforts are concentrated on making things cheaper.

Which will force me just to keep using my TouchPad. Well, at least I am saving some money!

There are tablets with 250GB of storage space (Archos), but they use a hard drive; adding an SSD of such capacity would add too much to the price and it'd become a niche product. And there are other factors, tablets are expensive enough as it is (top of the line cost as much, or more, than laptops), adding more features would limit the market further due to price considerations. There is a clear price point were buying a tablet is more of an impulse decision, and $199 seems to be in the ballpark. There will always be top of the line tablets for those willing to spend big bucks, but most people will settle for a middle of the road tablet. And another big consideration is platform adoption; if you get people into a specific ecosystem, there is a good chance that they'll stick to it, that's why offering a cheap tablet is so important.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by afv011

There are tablets with 250GB of storage space (Archos), but they use a hard drive; adding an SSD of such capacity would add too much to the price and it'd become a niche product. And there are other factors, tablets are expensive enough as it is (top of the line cost as much, or more, than laptops), adding more features would limit the market further due to price considerations. There is a clear price point were buying a tablet is more of an impulse decision, and $199 seems to be in the ballpark. There will always be top of the line tablets for those willing to spend big bucks, but most people will settle for a middle of the road tablet. And another big consideration is platform adoption; if you get people into a specific ecosystem, there is a good chance that they'll stick to it, that's why offering a cheap tablet is so important.

Yes, adding a 256 GB SSD would make it horribly expensive at this point in time. But we have stopped moving, manufacturers still bring out tablets with 16 and 32 gigs when 64 should be the standard and 128 the top end. Wide adoption would bring drastic price drops for larger SSDs.

Or is it part of a new marketing strategy to concentrate on the low-end at leave the top-end to Windows 8? And there really are no top-of-the-line tablets right now, and nothing seems to be in the pipeline. Not that the low end isn't important, but the high-end is driving innovation. Same old doesn't bode well for Android.

[David Marseilles]

I don't mind off hand related remarks, but we're veering pretty far off topic here and it looks like a conversation that go on for some length. Any chance the argument over the need for multiterabyte 42" holotablets could be continued in a thread more suited to the subject?

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Worried would be a gross exaggeration. But I see little progress at the top end, other than incremental processor spec improvements which will mostly matter for gamers. I would like to see new screen technologies, more storage space (128 or 256 GB) and RAM, as well as some innovative new formats (flexible, foldable, whatever). It seems most efforts are concentrated on making things cheaper.

Which will force me just to keep using my TouchPad. Well, at least I am saving some money!

Valid points all. But I suspect, though I'll be happy to be corrected, that TotL tablets will still drive innovation, especially for enterprise use and then filter down to the thriftier consumers like meself.

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by David Marseilles

I don't mind off hand related remarks, but we're veering pretty far off topic here and it looks like a conversation that go on for some length. Any chance the argument over the need for multiterabyte 42" holotablets could be continued in a thread more suited to the subject?

Going off-topic on MR? Nevah!!!

I've seen a lot worse (and been guilty myself) on MR. I will try to behave. As I said before, an inexpensive quad-core 7" tablet would be perfect for me on the go. Another perk that I would expect from a Google tablet would be a "pure", clean OS without bloatware. I'm not the brightest bulb on the X-mas tree, but I am perfectly capable of installing the apps that I need/want myself.

[David Marseilles]

Mostly trying to head off an extended argument, not feeling bad about where things have gone so far.

There are a couple of extras that are pretty important to me. 1) the pixel density. 1280x800 on a 7" screen is 215ppi, which is probably just right for my purposes. 2) I'd really love a transformer dock and a mini transformer.

I still don't think we have a reliable rumor of 370t cancellation. It's mostly a presumption -- who would buy the 370t with a cheaper nexus and would Asus invest in it if the nexus was undercutting demand. A fair presumption, but I'm still waiting to see what happens. If the 370t were to cost more but offer higher res and a dock option, I'd pay the piper happily. Asus has a decent reputation for not bloating their stuff up, so that doesn't worry me much. If I can't get the dock option, I'll get a usb or bluetooth keyboard on my own, but that's never going to be as smooth a solution for me.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by David Marseilles

1) the pixel density. 1280x800 on a 7" screen is 215ppi, which is probably just right for my purposes. 2) I'd really love a transformer dock and a mini transformer.

The resolution of 1280x800 would indeed be nice, but I'm not certain it can be achieved at the $199 price point, so far all tablets at this price have had 1024x600 or worse. I'd rather it costs $249 and offers 1280x800 than $199 and 1024x600.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

Size matters.

Be careful; this is a family friendly forum

[David Marseilles]

Originally Posted by afv011

The resolution of 1280x800 would indeed be nice, but I'm not certain it can be achieved at the $199 price point, so far all tablets at this price have had 1024x600 or worse. I'd rather it costs $249 and offers 1280x800 than $199 and 1024x600.

You may be right, but we're being told some encouraging things. Remember, Asus came out in January, before Kai and before the Goog subsidy, and (not a rumor) said they could produce a 1280x800 T3 at $250, and somehow profit from it. Now Kai exists, el Goog has skin in the game and daddy needs a new pair shows.

You're probably fair less likely to be disappointed than I am but what the hey, I'm excited the device has been mentioned again and I'm aiming high.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

....But I see little progress at the top end, .... It seems most efforts are concentrated on making things cheaper.

Which will force me just to keep using my TouchPad. Well, at least I am saving some money!

I think you have a bit of a double standard, while you criticize the industry for a bottoms race you yourself purchased a lowered end tablet. Sure you might argue there is not a high end tablet that fits your need. Yet while you are not content with the current state of tablets you did cast your vote with a purchase of these tablets. Tell me did you pay $99 or $499 for the tablet.

There are however plenty of manufactures that have gone out of the norm and added enhanced features however they did not sell because of there price tag. The consumer has voted and they want cheap tablets before features.