Four Reasons Why Microsoft IS NOT Too Late To The Tablet Market

Opinions regarding Windows 8 have to be some of the most mixed and scattered I’ve ever seen. People say they love Metro, people say they hate it. You hear about how Windows is too late for tablets and then you hear that a burst of tablet sales will arrive in 2012 sometime and that the Windows release is right on track.
Sorting through all the bi-polar news regarding Windows 8 can be a little confusing but you have to understand why. Windows 8 is very different from past offerings thanks to Metro and their idea of unifying platforms through ARM/x86 support.
This means that Windows 8 is a gamble, and like any gamble the odds can often be about 50/50 (unless you are at a casino, in that case the odds are much lower). Calculating the odds of Microsoft’s chance of success with Windows 8 isn’t easy and this is likely why there is such a large variety of opinion surrounding it.
Now here comes an article from PC World that states we shouldn’t be worried.
Unlike the other article I reported on today, this article doesn’t claim Windows 8 will be a wild success, it simply says Microsoft isn’t too late to the party.
Here are the reasons he states:

People Are Clueless

This doesn’t apply to tech-saavy types like those reading Windows 8 Update and other similar publications, but the average man on the street has no idea what Windows 8 is all about. When you ask them about a tablet running Windows they likely will think of the same plain old version of Windows slapped onto a touch screen.
This isn’t what people want and so no wonder people with their narrow understanding of what Windows on a Tablet looks like, don’t want it. The average person doesn’t understand Microsoft is rebuilding the entire interface to make it more touch friendly, app friendly, and a great mobile experience.
When tablets running Windows 8 finally arrive and people check them out, it seems likely their opinion could change.

Windows is Huge, and So Is the Market

Those who argue that Windows 8 is running out of time are overlooking the vast number of people who have yet to adopt a tablet.
Microsoft has license over 450 million copies of Windows 7 versus Apple’s iPad 40 million sales. If you add in the few million that own Android tablets you still see that there is a vast untapped market that Windows could reach out to.

Late to What Market?

“Windows 8 looks like it’s going to be a good product,” Gownder told the New York Times. “It’s just going to be so late to the market.”
According to PC World, Gownder’s comment implies that being early to the market is an advantage, but this isn’t necessarily true. As an old example, the Dreamcast reached the console party for its generation in 1999, and the rest of its competition (Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube) didn’t arrive for another 1-2 years. The Dreamcast failed horribly in the market, and so being first means little.
The market is still growing and offering a solid product is what is really going to matter.

Cheap Tablets Are a Different Product

Forrester notes that cheap tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet have reshaped consumers’ expectations, and this is honestly true. Still the iPad was also initially a consumption device and blossomed into a powerful computing device.
Kindle and Nook will NEVER be powerful laptop replacement units. PC world contest that Windows tablets will more than likely go up directly against iPad and not the Android options. This is likely true and although Apple fans will stick with iPad, Windows fans will likely flock instead to W8 tablets.

Overall Opinion

Windows 8 will certainly have its place. Android is starting to settle in as a budget option thanks to the success of devices like the Kindle Fire. If Microsoft can dominate the mid-range and compete in the high-range with the iPad as well, it will have a place in the market.

Here are the top 16 Tablets that Windows 8 will have to compete with

So Windows 8 will be here sometime next year and of course, we’re all expecting to be using Windows 8 tablets with the Metro interface.

I write so much about Windows 8 and the tablets etc and I realized that I hadnt really paid attention to the competition i.e. the tablets on sale now in the market place.
I hunted down all the tablets and vendors that I could and here they are just for you. As you can see, it’s a really crowded field and Microsoft are going to have to work really really hard to make Windows 8 stand out.
You can get more information about each Tablet from Amazon from clicking on the titles (they open up in a new window).
My personal favorite is the Samsung galaxy. Has a really sexy feel to it. On a separate note – Samsung seem to be kicking ass in the hardware department these days. Stay tuned for a separate post on that.
Anyway, let’s do it.
Here are the top 16 Tablets that Windows 8 will have to compete with when it hits the market next year.

 1. Acer Iconia Tab A500-10S16u 10.1-Inch Tablet

 2. Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi

3. ARCHOS 101 Internet Tablet 16GB

4. ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101-A1 10.1-Inch Tablet

5. Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet (16GB)

6. Coby Kyros MID7015 7-Inch Android Internet Touchscreen Tablet

7. Cydle M7 MultiPad Tablet PC – White

 8. Dell Streak 7 Wi-Fi Tablet

  

9. HTC Flyer 5MP,16GB,Android OS,AD2P 7inch WIFI Tablet

10. MOTOROLA XOOM Android Tablet (10.1-Inch, 32GB, Wi-Fi)

11. Barnes & Noble NOOK Color eBook

12. Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1-Inch, 16GB, Wi-Fi)

13. Sony SGPT111US/S Wi-Fi Tablet (16GB)

14. Toshiba Thrive 10.1-Inch 16 GB Android Tablet AT105-T1016

 15. Velocity Micro T301 Cruz 7-Inch Android 2.0 Tablet (Black)

16. ViewSonic gTablet with 10″ Multi-Touch LCD Screen

Could Dell and HP Support Help Windows 8 Tablets Take Off?

No one can argue that tablets have really taken off in the last couple of years. There are options like WebOS (though it is a dying option), Blackberry tablets, and even Windows 7 but they really haven’t taken off. These days there are really only two accepted options when it comes to tablet computing, either Android tablets or the iPad.
With Windows 8 this is all about to change, but does Windows 8 have what it takes to do well? Certainly Dell seems to think so.
You may have heard of the Dell Streak before. Essentially it is a series of both tablets and smartphones that utilize Android technology. Dell’s Android offerings haven’t seen as much success as other companies like Samsung, although many argue it is because of hardware issues that plagued many of Dell Streak’s earlier offerings.
For example, the Tegra-2 based Dell Streak 7 was plagued with abysmal viewing angles and an overlay to Android overlay that really didn’t anything worthwhile to the Android experience.
According to Michael Dell, Android hasn’t turned out to be the operating system that they had hoped it to be. Dell believes that Android might have a future in mobile smartphones but are convinced it just doesn’t have what it takes to really do well in the tablet sector.
It is true that Android has yet to make as big of a mark on tablets as they have smartphones, but with new technologies like the upcoming “Ice Cream Sandwich” update for Android, it is really hard to say for sure what the future looks like for Android on tablets.  We really won’t have a clear picture of what Android’s role in the market will be until Windows 8 rolls out and gives it non-Apple competition, as well.
Dell believes that a tablet that has the true power of Windows behind it while still offering a touch-centric experience. Metro is shaping up to be the best of both worlds, with the power of Windows behind it and an interface that is fitting and welcoming in the tablet/smartphone world.
The great thing about Windows 8 tablets is you will have lower-end tablets that use ARM processors and offer the beauty of Metro, and you will have laptop replacements that offer x86 processors and legacy support through desktop mode. For those looking for a tablet that can also be used for true business and work, Windows 8 truly has an advantage over Android.
Dell might find that Windows 8 is the best choice moving forward for tablets, but what about other major vendors? With the recent retirement of WebOS on HP tablets, Hewlett Packard has also taken an interest in Windows 8. What do both of these vendors have in common?
Both have tried Android to at least some extent and decided it wasn’t right for them. To be fair, HP never had its own Android tablets but they had experimented with Android early on and decided to instead go the WebOS route. With the failure of WebOS it is now clear that HP is placing its bet on Windows 8 for tablet success as well.
Both Dell and HP are major players in the PC world and their clear support will really make a difference in Windows 8 tablet adoption. With strong partners like Dell and HP on its side it should be easier to convince other vendors to join the Windows 8 tablet market, even if these other vendors still choice to have Android offerings as well.