HTC just can't make up its mind about tablets. The smart phone maker has revealed it's watching the tablet market closely, but has yet to decide if it's to challenge the iPad or the Google Nexus 7. So what does that say about the tablet game?
With Windows 8 about to shake up the world of tablets and the Nexus 7 taking names at bargain prices, HTC is "watching that market very, very closely" and would launch a tablet if it could "make a splash," HTC boss Jeff Gordon told Fierce Wireless.
With the tablet market heading in two directions -- larger, pricier tablets like the iPad or smaller, cheaper slates like the Nexus 7 -- HTC is still "not set on one strategy over another," he added. Better not hang around, HTC: smart phone manufacturers could be left behind by non-phone tech companies coming into the tablet space, like Google and Microsoft.
The company is also reported to be working on a 5-inch rival to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, whether it's the rumoured DLX or an oversized version of the One X.
Apple's iPad is the best-selling tablet by a country mile, having basically invented the consumer tablet market three years ago. It's by no means the most powerful or best value slate going, yet no other tablet has managed to mount a serious challenge where it counts: at the tills.
HTC has previously sold three tablets in the US: the Flyer, the Jetstream and the Evo View 4G. Gordon describes the company's previous crack at the tablet market as "a great learning experience for us," which is business-speak for 'made no bloody money'.
High Tech Computers isn't the only company to have had a learning experience when it comes to tablets. HP did some serious learning with the HP TouchPad, and RIM were learning all the way to the tip with the Blackberry PlayBook.
Is HTC right to stay away from tablets? Is the iPad unbeatable? How will Windows 8, the Note 2 and the Nexus 7 change the world of tablets? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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anonymous 11 October, 2012 14:03
Why do people persist in calling HTC "High Tech Computers"? The name of the company is HTC, in the same way that IBM isn't "International Business Machines".
anonymous 11 October, 2012 16:36
On a recent Kings Cross to Edinburgh service, all the iPad owners were tearing their hair out to get logged onto the free wi-fi as far as Grantham but all the other tablets I saw got logged in easily. Opposite me was someone with a Cambridge Sciences pad and a Nexus and both found the signal before leaving London. I was so impressed with the Nexus I bought one on my return. I can't see there's much room for expensive pads anyway.
bengoey 11 October, 2012 20:46
Agree with anonymous, I made an expensive mistake of buying first generation 64 G iPad for £600 when it was launched. ? That lasted less than 18 months when it broke because it is unable to find Wi-Fi. Took it to Apple and was told that it is unrepairable. I now have Samsung Galaxy tab 2 7inch tablet and I don't miss the iPad.
Leszcz 12 October, 2012 16:04
The future is windows 8 or at least I hope it is. I reckon if Microsoft does it right, the hybrid concept will prove so successful even apple will follow and maybe crate a mac book air hybrid. But that's just speculations. Machines running Android and ios are pretty decent but windows 8 pretty much merges two os's into one, making it so versatile. I just can't wait for those tavlets/laptops!
simonjphillips 13 October, 2012 06:52
Agreed, the future is very much Windows 8. Apple's iPads just made Microsoft's original tablet idea popular and marketable. Now Windows 8 will come in and take the tablet space.
Who wants an iPad or an Android when you can have a full PC in a tablet now?
leoevs44 13 October, 2012 12:10
Sorry to dissapoint but the windows 8 tablets ain't going to be like a windows 8 laptop it will be limited compared to a full blown computer, yes it will knock spots off the ipad and will prob be better than android, but android are constantly updating their os where apple don't, so I don't think it wohld be very long before android come up with a os to rival windows 8 , so my advice wojld be to just completely stay away from ipads because their outdated and go with android or windows 8 but that's just my opinion....
anonymous 13 October, 2012 14:12
Windows 8 tablets RT (Surface) will not run pc software initially they will have less apps than android or apple. They will just be yet another closed down os with nothing really to recommend them, apple has the high price point google the mid to low. Just looking like the desktop OS will not be enough to save them. if they cant run true desktop apps with decent battery life at a low enough cost (£500- 600) they are completely redundant. Where will the apps come from?
I would love a true windows tablet but they arent going to be around for quite a while. Perhaps by then Android and IOS will have already closed the gap with desktops in terms of power and usefulness.