Well, the low-end N7 has a $152 bill of materials and has some fairly high-end hardware, so putting in slightly lower-end hardware (dual core chip, 1,024 x 600 display etc) can get the tablet close to $99.
The other thing to note is that Google can probably afford to lose a bit of money on these, since it'll only take a few months (say, q2 '13) for them to really drop to $99. Seems like having the only $99 this holiday season is worth a couple of hundred millions (think of it as a huge advertising campaign).
Newer Kia's are the best value money can buy. They are solid and very reliable automobiles. And, they cost 10 times less than a Mercedes. Smart buyers buy them.
As someone who used to work in the automotive manufacturing sector I'll say this: Mercedes/BMWs/luxury cars are not nearly as overpriced as laymen make them out to be. There is a lot going on under the hood (literally!) that sets these cars apart. Which isn't to say that everyone needs a Mercedes, but there's certainly nothing intrinsically smarter about a Kia over a Mercedes.
I'm sure that Mercedes puts a lot into making their cars, but consumer reports seem to indicate that the end product is actually worse than low end Asian vehicles. Most of the people I know that have Toyota, Hyundai, and KIA automobiles drive them for a couple hundred thousand miles. The people I know who drive Mercedes, bmws and audis have constant.
problems. I'm not a mechanical expert but my guess is that the extreme standards of precision that high end cars are manufactured to may actually make them less reliable. Maybe it's similar to the way that an AK-47 is the most reliable assault rifle because it is cheaply made, while our m16 jams if you don't clean it constantly because the machining is extremely precise.
A quality $99 name-brand tablet would impact the eInk device market the most. Why would someone buy a $139 Nook or $179 Kindle when they could get a tablet for less? (Yes, I know how eInk is "better for the eyes" -- but we are talking the general population here, who have not embraced eInk in droves and who probably don't want to read books, either.)
I’d be much more willing to spend $99 on a Google tablet then $99 on another cheap Chinese tablet. I bought a Novo 7 several months ago to test out the accessibility of Android verses iOS as a blind user. Since it was Android somewhat modified by the manufacturer I needed sited help to install a TTS engine as well as install the talkback screen reader. I then had to remove a bunch of crapware, and deal with the fact that the tablet was somewhat underpowered providing me with a substandard experience. I was not very impressed with the tablet’s accessibility, but don’t know how much of that is Google’s fault verses the manufacturer. In comparison with iOS I can take a device out of the box, turn it on, hit the home button three times, and it starts talking. After this experience I won’t be buying no name $99 Chinese tablets, and since I have an iPhone that works fine I can’t justify $199 for another device that would be nothing more than an excuse to test the accessibility of an OS I most likely won’t switch to any time soon. If you reduce the price from $199 to $99 and it’s a stock Android experience with the accessibility software preloaded I can justify $99 to test out the accessibility of an OS I most likely won’t switch to any time soon.
They're fun. I can code on them so long as I don't mind waiting a long time for the compiler to run, and I find the screens are easier on the eyes in the dark. But I'd never try and use one to do my job.
Not yet - but x2 in power annually, how long til they're fast enough?
That's irrelevant. I used to work quite happily on a 25MHz ARM machine years ago (Acorn A5000).
The issue is that the environment and model are entirely unsuitable for software development.
I think he means, in layman's terms, Apple wants to sell Mercedes... Someone else can sell Kia's. Edit: Not sure how that will work out in the tablet market, but it certainly works with cars and laptops.
Newer Kia's are the best value money can buy. They are solid and very reliable automobiles. And, they cost 10 times less than a Mercedes. Smart buyers buy them.
People purchase products for all kinds of reasons. Don't be "that guy" that says only smart people "buy X".
I just picked up a Nexus 7 today :| May have been a bad time to buy. Any thoughts on whether I should sell it? It's still completely packaged, haven't opened it yet.
It's unlikely that a 99$ nexus would have the same features of your N7...
pardon me, I don't understand your reasoning. Why would apple be less happy with 70% of the market than with 40%? Do you mean that you expect the total size of the market to double, and then expect apple to own 40% of it (so they have a total number of customers which is slightly more than what they had initially) ?
I think he means, in layman's terms, Apple wants to sell Mercedes... Someone else can sell Kia's. Edit: Not sure how that will work out in the tablet market, but it certainly works with cars and laptops.
I'd be curious to see if the volume selling "Mercedes tablets" in four years would be enough to sustain Apple's supply chain and logistics advantages, or if it would open the door for someone else to start matching them on build.
I hope all Android OEMs are fully aware that Google has tricked them all into a race to the bottom. That's pretty much been Google's strategy against all its competitors to date.
Almost all other Android OEMs fucked up by not providing stock Android or supporting their custom versions. Serves them right, if you ask me.
A quality $99 name-brand tablet would impact the eInk device market the most. Why would someone buy a $139 Nook or $179 Kindle when they could get a tablet for less? (Yes, I know how eInk is "better for the eyes" -- but we are talking the general population here, who have not embraced eInk in droves and who probably don't want to read books, either.)
This is already happening. I don't have a citation handy, but about a year ago, I believe Barnes & Noble was saying that its Nook Tablet was outselling the e-ink Kindles (this was before the Kindle Fire was introduced).