One by one people would come by. They would glance at the 7" Playbook and mumble something like "too small". Then they would then pass by the 8" Galaxy Tab and say "too expensive". They would pause at the 10" Xoom and say "hmm maybe". Finally, they would embrace the 12" Eee Slate (which is the same size as a cookie sheet) and say with a big smile "this is nice!"
People were evaluating tablets like they were TVs!
The more inches per dollar -> the better the value.
I fear this tablet thing is going to take a while to shake out :)
I think what you are seeing is the slice of the market that wants to get into the fun, but are not sure what they are looking for. As you may guess, I was an early entrant into this wave of the tablet market, and was committed to answer any and all questions I received.
ReplyDeleteTwo things I observed:
- the number of questions this time around were many times more than when i purchased my first toshiba tablet/laptop... likely due to fewer, laptops in households, and price points, and more importantly
- the vast majority ask questions with the thought that tablets are often seen as a replacement rather than a compliment to the laptop/desktop they already own. The price point of entry systems for laptops and netbooks will add to the buying behavior.
A memorable moment for me was seeing the first "alley of tablets" in big box retail heaven. Watching a market develop is a great thing to see:)