GigaOm:Here’s the secret to Amazon’s, B&N’s tablet strategy

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

More people own ereaders than tablets, by a pretty big margin.

I don't believe you are correct in saying this. Apple alone have sold over 30 million iPads so far (they sell at over a million a week). Amazon don't release sales figures for the Kindle (by far the most popular eBook reader), but I've not heard anyone even guess that they've sold more than a few million in total.

[taming]

US Only

From Pew Internet: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/...ts/Report.aspx

The share of adults in the United States who own an e-book reader doubled to 12% in May, 2011 from 6% in November 2010. E-readers, such as a Kindle or Nook, are portable devices designed to allow readers to download and read books and periodicals. This is the first time since the Pew Internet Project began measuring e-reader use in April 2009 that ownership of this device has reached double digits among U.S. adults.

Tablet computers—portable devices similar to e-readers but designed for more interactive web functions—have not seen the same level of growth in recent months. In May 2011, 8% of adults report owning a tablet computer such as an iPad, Samsung Galaxy or Motorola Xoom. This is roughly the same percentage of adults who reported owning this kind of device in January 2011 (7%), and represents just a 3 percentage-point increase in ownership since November 2010. Prior to that, tablet ownership had been climbing relatively quickly.

[Lemurion]

I have a Nook Color running CM7 and I get a lot of use out of it. It's not quite as good for reading novels as my Sony, but it's very good for reading comics, graphic novels, and magazines - and the Sony can't do that at all.

So, while it's not a better reader (though I do like being able to access books from every store on one device) than the Sony, it's a more suitable device for me because I'd need to carry a second device to do the things the NC does that the Sony doesn't do at all.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

Well, I'm part of that 10% I guess. As a writer, a tablet is useless to me. That is most of what I do on a computer.

But it strikes me that you're wrong about tablets being so appealing and versatile when you look at the numbers. More people own ereaders than tablets, by a pretty big margin. And ereaders a niche product. Tablets can't even compete with ereaders. There's a reason for that.

I don't think this is correct, factually...and I don't think that the two are comparable anyway. Why not compare mp3 players and tablets?

Ereaders do what they do really well. They don't try to be things they aren't, and they don't do anything half-assed. Tablets do almost everything half-assed, and they have no specific purpose. In addition to that, they have very poor ergonomics and present the same problem that we had before the typewriter - your hand covering what you're trying to look at.

This depends on your use case. They are better to carry around all day and easier to look certain things up with. They have larger and better screens that most netbooks, while being lighter, smaller, and having better battery life. They are more ergonomic than balancing a netbook on your lap.

I have a convertible touch netbook. That is a perfect solution to me. It weighs a bit more than a tablet, but honestly, without a real keyboard, tablets are useless to me anyway and I'd be carrying around an external keyboard if I had one - so weight-wise it works out about the same.

It has great handwriting recognition. So if I need to take quick notes while I'm standing or moving I can swivel down the screen and do that, or to quickly read PDF's, or whatever.

If I need to actually get things *done* I can swivel it out again and use the real keyboard. And it has a full operating system.

That's great for your use system. Although when I need to do a lot of writing, I'd much rather do it on my desktop than on my netbook. But different people have different needs.

$500 may not be expensive to you, but it certainly is for me. I could buy a whole 'nother netbook for that price, and it would be vastly more functional. Hell, I could buy 2.

Words matter. I objected to your use of the term "very expensive." (And, obviously, that's still in the eye of the beholder.)

I should point out, however, that while I don't think it makes sense to compare e-readers to tablets, I think it does make sense to compare netbooks to tablets. (Which is the comparison you make yourself). And in this case, tablets are dominant - with 13.6 million tablets shipping last quarter vs. 7.3 million netbooks. That's a 112% increase in tablet shipments vs. a 13% decline for netbooks. I have both and the tablet is much more useful.

But honestly, if I'm part of a 10% minority on one end of the spectrum, I think you're part of a 10% minority on the other end. I may not represent the average user due to the amount of output I do, but I don't know any average users who use their tablets a whole lot. Most of them say they bought it, it was neat for a week, and they use it less and less. They can do all the same stuff on their netbook/notebook plus a lot more, and it will do it a lot better than a tablet could. Why bother?

I see tablets for sale on campus all the time, from students who bought them thinking they'd be useful for class. My dad got a tablet a month ago... and now he hardly uses it. Because it just isn't that useful.

Maybe it is for you and what you do, but from what I can tell you're as much a minority as me.

That's fair enough - and the vast majority of people don't use their personal (as opposed to work) computers for any actual work at all, aside from perhaps writing short e-mails. They just don't have jobs like that. But, as I think I mentioned earlier, I see about 50/50 tablet vs. laptop usage when I am doing work outside of my particular office. And I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes more and more prevalent in many professional jobs.

[kennyc]

Exactly. It all depends.

Tablets are not meant nor intended to be word processors or even laptop replacements. If you are a writer or photo editor or even a software developer like me than a tablet is not going to help you get work done (other than perhaps viewing the end result). Tablets are primarily media consumption devices with limited creation abilities (email, web posting, facebook, etc.).

[kjk]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't believe you are correct in saying this. Apple alone have sold over 30 million iPads so far (they sell at over a million a week). Amazon don't release sales figures for the Kindle (by far the most popular eBook reader), but I've not heard anyone even guess that they've sold more than a few million in total.

I don't think *any* of the eBook manufacturers have released actual sales numbers. But E-ink Holdings, who develop the eInk screens for Amazon, Sony, B&N, Hanlin, etc. recently claimed that demand for screens was tripling every year since 2006, and could possibly hit 25-30 million in 2011.

Working backwards, you could estimate:
2011: 27 million
2010: 9 million
2009: 3 million
2008: 1 million
2007: 300K

So possibly by the end of 2011 there could be ~40 million eReaders using eInk out there, over 5 years of sales. Analysts are predicting ~40-50 million iPads sold just in 2011 alone.

So even counting the non-eInk readers, and not counting the non-iPad tablets, it looks like Tablets can, in fact, can compete with eReaders, in terms of sales at least, and that there doesn't seem to be a wide margin of ownership between the two.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Exactly. It all depends.

Tablets are not meant nor intended to be word processors or even laptop replacements. If you are a writer or photo editor or even a software developer like me than a tablet is not going to help you get work done (other than perhaps viewing the end result). Tablets are primarily media consumption devices with limited creation abilities (email, web posting, facebook, etc.).

Precisely - that's the key to it. I'm browsing MR and writing this reply at the moment on my iPad, while sitting in a comfy armchair with a beer at my elbow. It's infinitely more comfortable doing that than it would be to try and balance a laptop on my knee, or to sit at a desk; I'm sure you find the same with your Xoom tablet, don't you? A tablet is the ideal web browser, video player, personal entertainment device, etc. it's not a replacement for my Dell laptop, which I'll switch on my my work tomorrow morning. Yes, it's expensive - I could have bought another very nice laptop for what I paid for my iPad, but I didn't buy it to replace a laptop.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Precisely - that's the key to it. I'm browsing MR and writing this reply at the moment on my iPad, while sitting in a comfy armchair with a beer at my elbow. It's infinitely more comfortable doing that than it would be to try and balance a laptop on my knee, or to sit at a desk; I'm sure you find the same with your Xoom tablet, don't you? A tablet is the ideal web browser, video player, personal entertainment device, etc. it's not a replacement for my Dell laptop, which I'll switch on my my work tomorrow morning. Yes, it's expensive - I could have bought another very nice laptop for what I paid for my iPad, but I didn't buy it to replace a laptop.

Hey, if you're having a beer you should share!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Hey, if you're having a beer you should share!

Here you go:

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Hey, if you're having a beer you should share!

There (should be) an app for that!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

There (should be) an app for that!

Oh, there is: http://www.greatclubs.com/beerofthem...-apps-list.asp

[emilikins]

If you look around the forums here, you'll notice many MR users have multiple e-readers or combinations of e-readers, tablets, smartphones, etc., and I'm sure nearly all of us have a laptop or desktop of some sort to go along with the mix. We live in a spoiled age!

I have a Galaxy 10.1 for roving reference at work, and I've discovered that I love e-reading on it (as compared to my dead and gone Coby) with the better screen resolution, as well as doing games and web browsing. I like checking my email on it and reading Google Reader, but I don't like writing email or doing blog posts on it. It is definitely a consumption device in my off hours (more inclined to grab it than my laptop), but it's a service device at work (I don't need to be at the reference desk to help you,).

Personally, I will purchase a 7-inch tablet for e-reading, video and web viewing, and some games (scrabble, boggle, solitaire, etc.). It's hard to argue that size as a productive device. It must have a high screen resolution for e-reading, I've discovered. My Borders closeout Kobo Wifi will be my gym e-reader - I don't want to be sweaty and touching the screen, and I can justify this luxury at the closeout price :-)

I agree, laptops and desktops are better at most productivity usage than tablets of whatever size. That's most. And so what? Nothing has to replace the other. We're at a gadget buffet with many options to fit different budgets. If someone wants to have a heard of expensive toys, that's fine. If someone wants a 7-inch tablet so they can e-reading and do web stuff without carrying another device around, more power to them.

I don't think we're going to see a whole market trend down to Fire and NC-like tablets. There will certainly be a defined split in the market between "whole" tablets and dedicated use tablets, and frankly, I would rather see this fork than "this is all we've got, so deal."

[GreenMonkey]

I'm getting by on my Nook Color with CM7. It's a good tablet. I *want* a 7" Tablet with GPS and a real stylus for writing notes and such. I'd love a full sized SD card slot and usb - like the Toshiba Thrive. I might take a 10" version of the Thrive (with all of the ports) with a stylus - but I vastly prefer the 7" form factor.

Waiting for a good combo of price and features.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by HarryT

.... I'm ... writing this reply at the moment on my iPad, while sitting in a comfy armchair with a beer at my elbow....

Bravo ol' chap. Not only are performing a near impossible feat(typing on the iPad) but your doing so under the influence.

You are quickly becoming "the most interesting man in MR".



=X=

[=X=]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Tablets are not meant nor intended to be word processors or even laptop replacements. If you are a writer or photo editor or even a software developer like me than a tablet is not going to help you get work done (other than perhaps viewing the end result). Tablets are primarily media consumption devices with limited creation abilities (email, web posting, facebook, etc.).

I'd agree with you that that might be Apple's view of the tablet space. But I don't think the populous nor other tablet manufactures would agree.

People say it's an iPad market or no tablet can compete with the iPad. My personal opinion is that the tablets have not matured enough to meet the users needs and that is why they are failing.

Right now the tablet space is in transition and tablet makes, app developers and OS developers don't know how fill that transition gap. Most productivity apps rely heavily on the mouse and keyboard. But as the market matures apps and OS will start to mature new ways to input data will emerge. You are seeing it already with swipe and predictive text keyboards. Apple tried to kill the stylus and it is coming back.

Going back to the bold text in your quote, take a look at Adobe's productivity apps for Android tablets. All are content creation all take advantage of the touch interface tablets have. I would even argue that using a tablet with these apps would be faster than using a PC.


The OS that fills that gap will be the OS that kills the tablet market.

Here is a demo of the Adobe Touch app.


=X=