Dell signals larger Android tablet troubles
"There's a bit of a haze over some early launches," Thode said about the U.S. tablet market."I don't want to criticize competition too much, but I think the [Motorola] Xoom has had mixed success because it launched before its time. The channels were confused, the pricing was confused," he said. That sentiment is similar to criticism leveled by Nvidia's CEO about the Xoom launch last month.Thode continued. "Our view is rather than try to rise above that noise--or worse, add to that noise--it is better to go get some traction in a market that will be a larger market.China will clearly be the largest tablet market in the world in a very short time." And Thode believes the U.S. consumer isn't ready yet.The Chinese consumer "is much more savvy" about tablet adoption he said.Richard Shim, an analyst at DisplaySearch, agrees. "The problem is that you have to educate the consumers about the experience," he said.Consumers are used to comparing PCs based almost solely on specifications, i.e., price-performance--while tablets have more subtle distinctions based on the tablet's overall "experience," Shim said. "Apple has had such success in that market because it has been able to hold the hand of the consumer and walk them through the experience," he said. All of the tablet confusion in the U.S. also raises bigger questions about the actual size of the tablet market stateside. Though Apple has clearly succeeded, it's possible that most of the consumers who want a tablet already have one--the iPad.And the potential for a lot of demand beyond Apple just isn't there yet, at least not in the U.S.
