There’s news from Taiwan that M$ and Intel are trying to jack up the price of “8″ on tablets. Manufacturers are concerned the devices won’t sell well.
They could be right. They know the world wants small cheap computers, not small expensive computers. The iPad sets the acceptable price-horizon and Wintel wants to exceed that.
Android/Linux on ARM is looking better all the time and there is still the option of GNU/Linux on everything if prices really do matter.
see also Wintel tablet PCs may be priced from US$599-899
Better luck next time M$. Oops! There will be no next time. This is M$’s last chance to remain at the top of monopoly pricing. It will be so embarrassing when they have to cut prices in order to compete on price/performance. The world has seen tablets before and knows what they can do thanks to 2011. 2012 cannot undo the global experience. No amount of advertising can put that back in the bottle. It was one thing to pay manufacturers to install that other OS but M$ will not be able to do it on ten times as many units without a serious hit to the bottom line. This week we will see last quarter’s numbers and it will not be pretty for fans of M$.
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7152 
2718 
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198 
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If the chip prices from Intel and the license fees from Microsoft are so high as to cause manufacturers to lose money at the price points demanded by the market, they are indeed doomed, Mr. Pogson. Of course, this information in the Taipei press may just be posturing on the part of manufacturers, trying to horse-trade for pricing that would give them a bigger slice of the pie.
Why do you suppose that Digitimes does not ever publish any information about the fate of the 45% or so of PC production that you sense is being sent out into the world sans any sort of Windows OS? They report on just about everything, but they are silent on even the existence of more than a hundred millions PCs each year that are, by your figures, being sold without Windows by companies other than Apple.
There are other choices in chips for tablets, unless I missed something there is no intel ARM or intel Longsoon. Concerning the platform I probably missed the announcement of ms-Android.
“They report on just about everything, but they are silent on even the existence of more than a hundred millions PCs each year that are, by your figures, being sold without Windows by companies other than Apple.”
Not sure about that. How much does Microsoft pay them each year in advertising money?
Are you suggesting they are being bribed to remain silent on this issue, Mr. Koz? How utterly typical of your lack of imagination!
Take a look yourself at all the Microsoft ads there:
http://www.digitimes.com/index.asp
“Are you suggesting they are being bribed to remain silent on this issue…”
Not at all. I think that would be illegal. And since no one has called them on it, no, it’s not a bribe. Once Microsoft advertises with a site, like NPR for instance, all mention of Microsoft or Windows disappears from reports about malware affecting Microsoft products including Windows. I wouldn’t call that a bribe, just a common sense. Microsoft wields a lot of influence. To argue otherwise would be disingenuous.
You can’t argue that Microsoft is powerful Clarence and then say they just sit on their hands and do nothing with that power that would position them in a positive way.
Let’s hear your convoluted explanation of Microsoft not using their money and influence to better position themselves.
Why would I pay $600+ for a Windows tablet, when I could get two, or possibly three for the same price and then subjugate myself getting malware on the thing.
Once the Windows tablet is hijacked, how does one go about re-installing the operating system? Oh I know, you toss it in the trash and go and buy another one, sure way to keep the Microsoft profit train running.
dougman wrote, “Once the Windows tablet is hijacked, how does one go about re-installing the operating system? Oh I know, you toss it in the trash and go and buy another one, sure way to keep the Microsoft profit train running.”
That’s what is so obscene about the monopoly. It breeds pure waste. Lowering performance and raising prices is just plain bad IT.
“Why would I pay $600+ for a Windows tablet, when I could get two, or possibly three”
Exactly for the same reason why people prefer BMWs before Ladas.
Linux fans never learn that people are not always driven solely by the price itself. People are driven by what is called “satisfaction”. Price is only a component of the satisfaction you receive from buying a product / service.
Phenom commented, “people prefer BMWs before Ladas.”
I used to drive a Cadillac. It was very comfortable but was a gas guzzler. I don’t drive a Cadillac today because of that. Even if people “prefer” BMWs they may not choose to drive one or even be able to afford one.
The same goes for IT. If money were the solution to all problems and we were all flush with money, then perhaps we might always take the most expensive solution. Reality is much different. China now has more surfers and smart phone users than the entire population of USA but those folks often prefer entry-level equipment because the price/performance is so good. Most of the world can now afford low-priced IT and they are starting to buy. Even those who may know some brand is better than no-name or other brand may well prefer to buy another.
I have actually seen a Lada and was considering buying it. I am not aware of actually having seen a BMW. I have mostly driven Toyotas and Chevvies. They are certainly good enough for normal use. I drive a Toyota today, but it’s called a Lexus. In years of use I have not found a single bug, just a bit more complexity than I’d like. I would not have fewer bugs driving a BMW so I don’t prefer a BMW. If I had to choose a fuel-guzzler again, I would choose a diesel but the little woman would have none of it. She likes expensive toys…
“I drive a Toyota today, but it’s called a Lexus.”
Quite an admission for a minimalist such as yourself, Mr. Pogson. And congratulations on knowing what a Lada even is. I had to google for it.
It is a little chauvinistic for you to think that China and the like are universally so impoverished that they cannot afford a little luxury such as the incremental difference in padding between a Toyota and a Lexus. Thus they must satisfy themselves with entry level devices and Linux to boot. Perhaps even tie themselves down with thin clients in order to save the few pennies wasted by the Western Nations on laptop storage and larger screens.
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