Related
it costs $215 to manufacture, there will be a bit more in distribution and software.
http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns-Manufacturing-and-Pricing/News/Pages/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-Carries-$205-Bill-of-Materials-iSuppli-Teardown-Reveals.aspx
that's a resounding yes from me
I saw this earlier and I understand the obscene profit margins are commonplace so I have disregarded it. I think it should have been cheaper definitely. I feel if someone is just in the market for a tablet and isn't really into Android it wouldn't get a second look as it doesn't have any SUPER AMAZING BLEEDING EDGE killer functions to take the shine off the iPad and I don't think it offers enough new things to appeal to a lot of hardcore android followers. Galaxy S having problems certainly hasn't helped.
Market share = excellent hardware + near enough faultless software + 20% lower than apple product
They should have thrown in the Keyboard at this price and maybe Co-Pilot or something
I think the Tab is a LITTLE overpriced, but not monstrously.
The best way to assess this matter is to compare it to its contemporaries, such as the iPad. Now, I won't go in to a full comparison here, but I wil simply say that the Tab does more than the iPad, and yet costs about as much as one.
Not too shabby
I think it should be $100 cheaper ($400 wifi, $500 3G).
But considering the current state of competition, it's no surprise they are charging as much as they are.
Why don't you make is possible to vote for this?
I really don't think it's overpriced. It's a bit cheaper than its immediate rival, the 3G+WiFi iPad, and around here at least, that puts it right in the same ballpark as most of the other newer higher end phones.
The Tab goes for between 900 and 1100$ here in Switzerland, which is almost identical to the prices of the various iPhone 4 models. Galaxy S goes for a bit less (around 100$ less in most places). Considering that the Tab is clearly the most attractive of the available devices, being near the top of the price scale seems justified.
Btw, if google is to be trusted in this matter, it seems the manufactoring costs for the iPhone 4 are around 180$. Again, seems to be comparable.
for it is cheap here in indonesia.. only about us$700 50$ cheaper than galaxy s and 100$ expensiver than iphone4
I got my tab for 650 euros. Similar ipad is 600.
It IS slightly too expensive, but the raw materials cost breakdown doesn't tell the whole story, you also have to consider
R&D
Internal Testing
Manufacturing
Shipping
Support
Local Taxes
Plus a healthy profit (we all want to make some money).
Considering all that, plus that I am happy to support Android vs Apple, I find it slightly too expensive, but not enough to make me change my mind.
Overpriced? Yes. Awesomeley awesome? Also yes.
But it really is a well-built, svelte device i would much rather carry with me than an ipad. Since i take my laptop (timelinex 3820tg) almost everywhere anyway, why would i want a device of similar size?
When the second gen tegra tablets arrive i will certaily get a 10 inch device to have at home. To play with in front of the telly or read papers on the loo. But for now this is the best mobile slate on the market, and i have no reservations about dishing out the $1200 they cost here in russia.
So good is the tab that i have even convinced a hardcore iphoney friend of mine to get one instead of an ipad. Hes over the moon with joy.
In Thailand a 16 GB version is the same price as the Samsung Galaxy S $772.6046 US.
If it was $500 US I would pick one up as soon as it was back in stock, But it seams there is high demand here so why not get as much as you can for you product while you can. We all know there will be a flood of Android devices soon then they will be a dime a dozen just like the apple I phone 3 is here now.
I find it slightly suspicious that iSuppli has decided it costs ~$10 to put the Tab together but hasn't quoted manufacturing costs in the past for other devices, just the price of components.
So, with that in mind, I'm going to base what I say purely on the estimated cost of parts.
So on top of that ~$205 value (which is in itself a rough estimate and may not be accurate), there's the cost of putting it together, distributing it, marketing it, R&D for both hardware and software and then a profit margin because, lets face it, Samsung are not a charity.
And that's just before we reach the price that Samsung are selling it on for, there's a whole extra layer of distribution and marketing costs for individual retailers plus their profit margin as well plus the possibility that there's a distributor between Samsung and the retailer, who will have their own costs and profit margin to add on too.
Comparing the cost of the parts to what we pay is a waste of time.
Comparing the value of the parts and the price we pay to other devices is a slightly better way of rating a product's value - the parts are worth more than the iPhone's but the Tab (here in the UK at least) costs about the same as the 16GB iPhone4 and less than the 32GB one.
What I will say though is that the plans being offered by UK networks for the Tab are a rip-off but that's a separate matter.
Picked up my Tab yesterday from PC World for £499 without contract/SIM, and that's bang on the price point I expected it to ship at. If you view the Tab as essentially a cell phone with a larger screen and battery, I'd say at that price point it comes in pretty favourably when compared to similar cell phones (e.g. Galaxy S, Desire HD etc).
I do love it when you get these teardowns that supposedly calculate the "cost" of a product, but in reality all this is the bill of materials, and fails to take into account everything else involved in designing, developing, sourcing, manufacturing, advertising, distributing, retailing, and supporting a product!
Make no mistake, Samsung will have to sell an awful lot of these to actually turn a profit on the line.
Regards,
Dave
I bought mine from Currys (which is a sister company to PC-World, both owned by Dixons Plc.). It cost 499 GBP/£ with a free voice/data SIM card (and dongle, in my case) on a rolling contract (15 GBP/month, but can be deactivated and restarted at any time). It's expensive, but on a par with other high-end smartphones and tablets.
I will try the 10" Advent Vega tablet when it comes out on November 18 (250 GBP Tegra 2 device), but to be honest I am really pleased with the 7" form factor, which manages to be pocketable whilst offering a touch experience that doesn't hurt my eyes after 10 minutes (unlike small mobile phone displays).
A note about the Galaxy Tab display: there are mixed reviews, some say the view angles, color saturation and crispness are great, others the contrary (they even say there is ghosting due to the slow refresh rate). I think both camps are right: this is clearly not the best display on the touch market (the IPS screen on the iPhone / iPad just looks awesome !), but conversely it is clearly amongst the better ones. The Android firmware offers settings in the configuration panel to adjust the white/black balance and saturation. The manual brightness adjustment also needs to be used to get the best results depending on the environment. As for ghosting: yeah, the fonts sometimes look a little jagged when scrolling screens, but it's really not a big deal at all (it's not perceivable with most apps, to be honest).
I bought mine from currys.co.uk @ £499 through quidco so got a voucher for £25 off plus 3% cashback. So totally I paid £464.
However I still think its a bit (not much) too expensive. If Samsumg could have sold it @ £399 - £429 it would be perceived as much more value for money by the masses. I totally agree with previous poster about the UK networks overcharging for the Tab. Total cost of ownership over a 2yr contract totalling over £1k is taking the piss.
Now for me the Tab ticks all the boxes so even @ £499 I'd still buy it. One complaint I have is that Samsung could have at least thrown in some sort of protective case even it was one of those cheap neoprene type ones.
zen123 said:
Total cost of ownership over a 2yr contract totalling over £1k is taking the piss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the networks.
They'll happily subsidise a ~£500 phone down to nothing up-front on a £30-35/month 24 months contract, so why should a tablet cost so much more?
Depends how we look at it...
When my SGS was released, the cheapest I could find for 16gb version was £530
So placing it within the mobile market, which they have done, gives it quite an attractive price point at £500.
However, I was expecting, and still expect to see tablets placed within the laptop market at half the price of this.
i will also pay $1000+ for the rumored galaxy tab 2, especially if it has amoled tech
I currently own the HTC HD2 it cost me £499 but I brought the Samsung Galaxy tab because I am so disappointed with Microsoft’s market place. The tab cost me £475 to buy SIM free. It is an amazing product the screen is bright and big enough to use in all types of environments. I am still finding my way around the product having used only windows mobile phones but Android is easier to use.
The Android market place is fantastic lots of free software to try; I have downloaded several and removed them without crashing the operating system.
The price of Samsung Galaxy Tab is value for money when comparing it with the IPAD and my HTC HD 2 because I now only carry one device instead of two.
I think they priced it as they did so that when they release the next version they can keep the price the same but add SAMOLED, more RAM, and more internal storage...making it a relative bargain.
The price does seem a little high for the current iteration, but it will still sell well because it is a capable device that offers an open approach to media.
peer pressure
If the iphone and other high end phones cost around £500 there is no way they can price a quality item as the tab below those so early.
sadly that is how the market works
Check out the whole story:
http://www.mytabletlife.com/2011/02/04/elocity-a10-pre-order-begins-feb-15th/
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
Few things, it looks as only 3 of the 7 models are up first.. the 4GB at $399, the 32GB at $599, and the 64GB at $699. True multi-touch this time, for all of you
Also, they look to be debuting with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and not Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).
Still the hardware is top notch... I am sure the developers here will have fun with it..
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
I think they can't sell devices with Android 3.0
Google approved sellings to Motorola Xoom and T-MOBILE G-Slate. Then top companies will go. Other companies must wait till May or June
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
5[Strogino] said:
I think they can't sell devices with Android 3.0
Google approved sellings to Motorola Xoom and T-MOBILE G-Slate. Then top companies will go. Other companies must wait till May or June
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to go back and look at the press material I received at CES 2011 about the eLocity A10. It actually does state that it would be released with Froyo and upgraded to Honeycomb once it is made available to them....
I agree that Motorola and LG seem have been working with Google awhile on Honeycomb and will be the first out of the gate with Honeycomb tablets, then we will see it available on the lesser known brands.
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
I am watching this one VERY closely
I have two requirements for my next tablet - a Tegra 2 CPU (or better) and an IPS screen. So this one sounds like it fits the bill, assuming it doesn't get delayed into the summer.
I'm tempted by true multi-touch and IPS, but I really like the 7" form factor. It fits in my coat(s) pocket and I can thumb type like a madman. I would like a bigger screen, but you can't have it both ways.
I don't get the 10" form factor. Everybody I know who owns an iPad bought a case that you can prop it up with. I asked why and the answer was it's it's too heavy/akward to hold in one hand and you need to set it down to type on it.
I say don't try to compete with Apple in the 10" range, make an 12" version (8.5 x 11?) and include the prop case with it! To me once it doesn't fit in your pocket and it's too heavy to hold, you really just have a touch screen laptop. It seems that is what every iPad owner I know is turning their's into.
roebeet said:
I have two requirements for my next tablet - a Tegra 2 CPU (or better) and an IPS screen. So this one sounds like it fits the bill, assuming it doesn't get delayed into the summer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess will be in customers hands before the end of March...
I think they would be wise to make sure this is the case.
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
5[Strogino] said:
I think they can't sell devices with Android 3.0
Google approved sellings to Motorola Xoom and T-MOBILE G-Slate. Then top companies will go. Other companies must wait till May or June
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that Motorola Xoom is priced at $799 and I am sure the LG G-Slate will sell for more with its 3D screen and cameras I am sure people wont mind waiting a few months to have Honeycomb on a nice dual-core unit with a 10inch IPS multi-touch screen with the highest resolution on the market.
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
cpg716 said:
Now that Motorola Xoom is priced at $799 and I am sure the LG G-Slate will sell for more with its 3D screen and cameras I am sure people wont mind waiting a few months to have Honeycomb on a nice dual-core unit with a 10inch IPS multi-touch screen with the highest resolution on the market.
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. I just notice, that over "approve sellings" i mean Android 3.0 out-of-box.
Google can't deny other companies sell tablets with Android 2.2 and it's a good trick to start sellings before top-companies will go. And promise upgrade, like Notion Ink did.
If Stream TV Network will sell new tablets when Motorla will start Xoom's sellings - people will get choice:
Tablet with 2.2 today for 400$ and upgrade in future
or
Tablet with 3.0 today for 800$
Good business struggle - satisfied customers
If roebeet is signing up for this sign me up to.
5[Strogino] said:
Yep. I just notice, that over "approve sellings" i mean Android 3.0 out-of-box.
Google can't deny other companies sell tablets with Android 2.2 and it's a good trick to start sellings before top-companies will go. And promise upgrade, like Notion Ink did.
If Stream TV Network will sell new tablets when Motorla will start Xoom's sellings - people will get choice:
Tablet with 2.2 today for 400$ and upgrade in future
or
Tablet with 3.0 today for 800$
Good business struggle - satisfied customers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Just hopefully it won't be Christmas by the time we see it..
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
Google's Android love and hate!
Funny you mentioned the 3.0 release.
I can see things a couple ways. Like Apple Google wants people to see their OS on a device that can actually use it so they are working with those companies to do so. I can understand they want people to get a good user experience and therefore are pushing to the best retail partners. It helps them and helps the companies by having a release before anyone else.
What I do not understand is the price point. I mean I can get a really nice laptop with a quad core, good graphics, huge hda, etc for $800 so why would I buy a tablet that will do a lot of what I want but not as much as I can with a real pc. Since the masses really only know iPad then wouldn't it make sense to start with 3.0 at a price slightly less than Apple? Offer better equipment or at least just as good and sell for a little less. That way when people try it they will be more apt to buying it. As it is now I paid $300 for my a7 and I could have gotten a Apple iPad for $429 refurb which I think is a really fair price for the unit with its hardware plus a feature rich environment and apps galore and Apples OS is very good. Now comes the xoom for $800??? What. I mean if Honeycomb had been out for a year or so and it was a proven OS with features Apple does not have then I could see it but really they should have at least come in around $500. Personally for me I had a hard time justifying my purchase above $300. I wanted a device I could use to replace a mp3 player with additional features. I already have a laptop and desktop so there is no need for the tab except I do need a portable media player and that is where the A7 and its size fit so nicely.
Add to all of this the system that Google has which is very confusing for a consumer who does not know much about android and not having regular updates from Google but through the manufacturer is a horrid choice!! I think Microsoft got one thing right and that is update the OS without manufacturer involvement. I mean any other OS, MS, Apple, Linux all update their os's independent of what machine it is installed on. Then because Google does not have any control the manufacturers will put out what ever version of Android they have slap it on the device and sell it and if you want a new os you have to buy a new tablet??? Apple iPad does not do this. I can get ios 4.2 for free. This is the same way it should work for Android. Instead you have a huge array of devices for sale all running different versions of Android some of which are outdated before they even start selling.
Because of this situation and the fact Honeycomb seems impossible for the a7 I was seriously thinking of a net book. I mean I can get a 250gb hda, 1.6 ghz 455 atom processor, 1 gb ram, incredible screen for $29 more than my elocity and it will have a full OS with a full browser, not a mobile version, and I can do a lot with it. I could install honeycomb on the netbook!! I did it on my laptop before. I could also install Linux which would run nice and have all I need. Problem again is portability. Netbooks are much better than laptops but not as convenient as the tablet and I find the touch screen interface more intuitive. I think as time goes by it will be the future. However, as things are now with Android and not having it on a phone but strictly for tabs the experience is not what I thought it would be. For a linux based os I do not have much control and that is not good.
Just my 2 cents
Robert
I completely understand the "why not just get a netbook / laptop" argument.
But I think tablets have / will sell for a variety of reasons. Part of it is the "cool" factor, having the latest and greatest. And partly because tablets can do things that laptops cannot (I am in the latter category).
Example for myself: I use my R10 for reading comics -- it easily beats a netbook / laptop in this one function. It's relatively fast, its got great battery life, it's light, generates very little heat and has a better screen. The netbook/laptop kills the R10 in other areas, but it all depends on what you want to use your device for.
roebeet said:
I completely understand the "why not just get a netbook / laptop" argument.
But I think tablets have / will sell for a variety of reasons. Part of it is the "cool" factor, having the latest and greatest. And partly because tablets can do things that laptops cannot (I am in the latter category).
Example for myself: I use my R10 for reading comics -- it easily beats a netbook / laptop in this one function. It's relatively fast, its got great battery life, it's light, generates very little heat and has a better screen. The netbook/laptop kills the R10 in other areas, but it all depends on what you want to use your device for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree totally on this.. Also. People forget unsubsidized cell phones cost $400-$600. Mobile parts are not the same as laptop etc which are much cheaper. Right now even tablets are relying on mobile components. These prices will come down over the next year just as other electronics do. And margin on Laptops/netbooks is horrible. With a new product like tablets companies don't think they need to sacrifice margin yet as these are a "geek" product and we geeks are willing to pay to have the latest and greatest.
The cool factor is a part of it also, and the bleeding technology factor.. I don't think $799 is overpriced for the Xoom, but I do wish it would have started at around $599...
If the eLocity A10 shines, then the $399 price tag will be amazing.. I think StreamTV has learned alot from the A7 release and I am confident they wish to put out a product that will really be a great value.
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
I happened to be on the J&R website today when, to my surprise, the pre-orders for the A10 opened up!
I bought mine right there - shipped, the cost is $439 - and of course no clear indication when I'll actually get it. Still, the timeline seems firm now, and hopefully I'll see my unit in a few weeks.
Just checked out jr.com and it is there for preorder, but it does not say ips screen. The res is higher than gtab or xoom though. Other than the screen res, it is very similar to gtab. Can someone confirm the screen? is it a ips screen?
It has a sim card slot? can we ue a sim card like tmoblie to make calls or data?
thanks in advance.
tyy10002 said:
Just checked out jr.com and it is there for preorder, but it does not say ips screen. The res is higher than gtab or xoom though. Other than the screen res, it is very similar to gtab. Can someone confirm the screen? is it a ips screen?
It has a sim card slot? can we ue a sim card like tmoblie to make calls or data?
thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.pcworld.com/article/216184/hands_on_with_the_streamtv_elocity_a10.html
The CES models had an IPS screen. Everything I've read (so far) mentions an IPS screen. Of course that could have changed, but I guess we'll find out soon.
I'm also not sure if all models will have a SIM slot, so J&R's info could be faulty.
EDIT: From the source, here you go: http://www.elocitynow.com/docs/pr_2011_0204.pdf
It's an IPS screen.
Yes. As the press release says it has an IPS screen.
Now, about the SIM card slot. In the materials I go at CES 2011, it said they would have one, but no mention is made in the press release. I am going to find out on this one.
About JR.com preorder. The device is supposed to be $399 for the pre-order. So they are charging about $30 more. But also, it wasnt supposed to go live until Feb. 15th. I wonder if the price will drop then.
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
I doubt the price will drop, but I hope I'm wrong...tho' I myself sprang for the $439 tag.
B&H Photo lists it at $428 plus shipping, so it seems the pre-launch buzz was off.
zahir32 said:
I doubt the price will drop, but I hope I'm wrong...tho' I myself sprang for the $439 tag.
B&H Photo lists it at $428 plus shipping, so it seems the pre-launch buzz was off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the price should drop. As it was stated in the press release that those who pre-order would pay only $399 for the 4GB model.
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
I can't belive how overpriced this keyboard is! I want to sell my laptop now that I have this, but the keyboard is super overpriced! $150... for what? A keyboard, Synaptics touchpad, a USB port, power connector and a battery.
K so here's a keyboard...
http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-Pavilion-DV6...86?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item414b083df2
$14
The batteries would be about $30 total(3.7v * 2, $15 each)
Touchpad - http://cgi.ebay.com/Gateway-MX6000-...840?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bb7aa9f8
And let's say the main interface PCB is an extra $15(connects everything together inside)
$25 for the chassis(that is a gigantic overestimate)
$84 total... not including R&D, etc.
So I think $110 is a fair price, no?
36% profit margin
chatch15117 said:
So I think $110 is a fair price, no?
36% profit margin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suspect you will find that, in the US at least, the cost of the keyboard effectively subsidises the tablet.
$399 for the tablet, vs £379 in the UK, but in the UK you can get the keyboard bundled with the tablet for £429.
When you take the UK VAT of 20% out of the equation, the total cost for the tablet+keyboard is broadly similar between the US and the UK, but only if you buy the bundle in the UK (or got the keyboard via the ilovekeyboards offer).
I can only imagine that the marketing guys assume that US purchasers are likely to buy the keyboard so price the tablet very competitively, making up any "shortfall" via the keyboard.
You should also remember in your calculations that you've not considered distribution costs, or the retailers profit margin which is quite separate from Asus's.
Regards,
Dave
If you think that it's as simple as finding a USB keyboard, a touchpad and a battery, you really don't understand what it takes to design the unit as a whole - the chassis, the cover, the internal components, how they all fit together, the different materials, and then assembling the whole thing.
It is NOT as simple as buying a USB keyboard and touchpad at Fry's and a battery at a hobby store.
I could go into economies of scale... basically that a generic USB keyboard can work with many THOUSANDS of different types of computers out there, so many get sold offsetting the cost of development and production.
Put it like this - a company designs a USB keyboard and spends $100k doing so (design, styling, getting molds made for the plastic parts, etc, etc, etc,) and then sells them for $50 each, they'd need to sell 2000 of them just to break even with what they have already spent. This is easier with a universal device, because as mentioned above, it will work with THOUSANDS of different computers.
Now imagine the same thing, but the keyboard can only work with ONE type of computer, and there simply aren't thousands out there. You have to price the unit so that it can cover it's cost of development, at least. Why should a company take a loss just to get you something you want? It shouldn't.
This is really simple economics and production. What are they teaching kids in school these days?!?!
FrayAdjacent said:
This is really simple economics and production. What are they teaching kids in school these days?!?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't helped by companies like iSuppli calculating the component cost of a product (e.g. iPhone 4 here), which is then erroneously posted as the cost to make the product when in reality it is just the cost of the bill of materials, and fails to take into consideration all the other "intangible" costs which are likely to be more than the total BoM cost in the first place.
Regards,
Dave
Oh look I can buy hops, yeast, malt & water and make a keg of beer for £5 or I can go to the pub in London and pay that for a pint… Since when does adding up the ingredients = the price of the finished product?
HP charge upto £70 for a laptop battery – you don’t ***** that a pair of AA batteries only cost £4!!
foxmeister said:
I suspect you will find that, in the US at least, the cost of the keyboard effectively subsidises the tablet.
$399 for the tablet, vs £379 in the UK, but in the UK you can get the keyboard bundled with the tablet for £429.
When you take the UK VAT of 20% out of the equation, the total cost for the tablet+keyboard is broadly similar between the US and the UK, but only if you buy the bundle in the UK (or got the keyboard via the ilovekeyboards offer).
I can only imagine that the marketing guys assume that US purchasers are likely to buy the keyboard so price the tablet very competitively, making up any "shortfall" via the keyboard.
You should also remember in your calculations that you've not considered distribution costs, or the retailers profit margin which is quite separate from Asus's.
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, adding only £50 to the overall price if you get the tablet/keyboard bundle instead of the tablet only is a very good deal in my book - and I should know, because I just bought into that deal this week from eBuyer .
FrayAdjacent said:
What are they teaching kids in school these days?!?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny ....
Considering the tablet has no usb port, it stands to reason that one could be enticed (or forced?) to get the dock. Of course, this will change once the usb adapter becomes available. But looks like asus is dilly-dallying in order to sell more docks? Who knows.....
leonpr said:
HP charge upto £70 for a laptop battery – you don’t ***** that a pair of AA batteries only cost £4!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol I bought a replacement laptop battery off amazon for $22 - HP dv6700z
The price I stated is very reasonable. It includes R&D and distribution cost. It costs a lot more to get a single part as a consumer than it does when you order 20,000 parts from a manufacturer. I used consumer pricing with a large buffer for chassis cost + R&D.
Anyone who posted actually work in manufacturing? I agree with the 2nd post, the keyboard is probably offsetting the cost of the tablet. The tablet is very competitively priced.
FrayAdjacent said:
If you think that it's as simple as finding a USB keyboard, a touchpad and a battery, you really don't understand what it takes to design the unit as a whole - the chassis, the cover, the internal components, how they all fit together, the different materials, and then assembling the whole thing.
It is NOT as simple as buying a USB keyboard and touchpad at Fry's and a battery at a hobby store.
I could go into economies of scale... basically that a generic USB keyboard can work with many THOUSANDS of different types of computers out there, so many get sold offsetting the cost of development and production.
Put it like this - a company designs a USB keyboard and spends $100k doing so (design, styling, getting molds made for the plastic parts, etc, etc, etc,) and then sells them for $50 each, they'd need to sell 2000 of them just to break even with what they have already spent. This is easier with a universal device, because as mentioned above, it will work with THOUSANDS of different computers.
Now imagine the same thing, but the keyboard can only work with ONE type of computer, and there simply aren't thousands out there. You have to price the unit so that it can cover it's cost of development, at least. Why should a company take a loss just to get you something you want? It shouldn't.
This is really simple economics and production. What are they teaching kids in school these days?!?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really is that simple. You obviously haven't designed anything. You start with the chassis, then look at what components are available from different vendors. In large orders you can have the parts customized(touchpad, keyboard). You send the specifications off to the engineers who use a generally available board and write firmware that will interface with each component. Once the electronics are working, it is redesigned to fit in the chassis.
You obviously don't have a rapid prototyping machine. Mine can spit out a usable 3D model in ABS plastic in 2 hours.
And I think you missed the part where Asus is shipping 300,000 of these tablets in June alone. That's 10% of Asus' revenue for the month.
The keyboard is an awesome price for the integration with native android buttons, battery, usb host mode, touchpad which is not a standard android feature (afaik) etc.
It also functions as a dock, that pivots.
The original post has ridiculous logic by the way.
leonpr said:
Oh look I can buy hops, yeast, malt & water and make a keg of beer for £5 or I can go to the pub in London and pay that for a pint…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FTW!!! Cheers, mate.
glg
Reminds me of a story from long ago when I was in the jewelry industry. A man brought in his watch for repair, the repairman said it needed cleaning, and would cost $10. The customer went into a frenzy over the cost, stating "you couldn't use more than a nickel's worth of cleaning solution to clean something so small." The repairman calmly walked to the back of the store where the cleaning machines were, and returned with a small bottle filled with liquid. "What is that?" asked the customer. "This is a nickel's worth of cleaning solution, which I will happily give to you at no charge," replied the repairman. "I don't know how to clean a watch," was the customer's angry reply. "That is what the other $9.95 is for," replied the repairman. True story, the customer stormed out of the store.
Feel free to build yourself a keyboard/dock, and save yourself a few bucks.
Aryantes said:
The keyboard is an awesome price for the integration with native android buttons, battery, usb host mode, touchpad which is not a standard android feature (afaik) etc.
It also functions as a dock, that pivots.
The original post has ridiculous logic by the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 - acer is selling a keyboard dock for the iconia, 100 bucks, cant be docked as netbook and no battery. Its all about R&D costs. You want ridiculous markup, look at all these tabs charging 100 bucks extra to add an extra 16g to them.
To the OP if you can design and build and deliver these for 100 please do so i'm sure we'll all buy one.;-)
The cost of many things (especially luxury items, which this is) has almost exactly nothing to do with what they cost to make.
Asus put the price point where they did because it's what their marketing department calculated to be the best place for it. That's pretty much it.
Think about it. A pair of Gucci blue jeans doesn't have $100+ worth of material in them over a $20 pair of Levi jeans.
Asus charges ~$150 for the dock because it's a niche item, and they can set the price at whatever they want to.
Oh yeah.. I can probably dig for some iron/copper ores make everything out from it...
Another ridiculou post...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1133706
lololololol
Totally worth $150... I'll stick with my mechanical keyboards
chatch15117 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1133706
lololololol
Totally worth $150... I'll stick with my mechanical keyboards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats up to you of course but you do realise that thread is basically 1 person who dislikes the keyboard and is asking why he can't find any other posts on the internet saying the same thing right? Prob like the lack of threads complaining about its cost either - some people are never pleased heh
iPad or Galaxy tab keyboard: 70 euro. Those are keyboards with a dock connector. Now a keyboard, trackpad, USB hub, sd reader, extra battery. Considering the TF + dock bundle it's 100 euro.
Sounds kinda good to me.
Not to mention that those are extra stuff to carry, while in the TF case it's more practical as it ends up being a single gadget.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
I'm with the thinking that Asus is using Dock sales to increase the overall profit margin on the whole product. None of Asus's tablet only competitors are coming close to where they are on the $399 price for the tablet only, and Asus has a nice ips display, microsd & hdmi. This isn't to say that Asus is selling the tablet only at a loss -- just at a much tighter margin, and making up the difference selling the dock a heftier markup.
I'm not complaining because the dock is a compelling product that integrates VERY well with the tablet, so the overall price ($550) seems pretty reasonable to me and those that want just a tablet are getting a pretty good deal indeed...
gottahavit said:
You want ridiculous markup, look at all these tabs charging 100 bucks extra to add an extra 16g to them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its onboard nand flash, likely Samsung chips. Not some cheap ass Class 2 card. Id like to see a performance comparision between r/w on internal memory vs the best 16 gig micro SDHC card.
chatch15117 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1133706
lololololol
Totally worth $150... I'll stick with my mechanical keyboards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works fine and, as the link shows in my post, it seems that everyone else is having trouble putting the ASUS functionality in the cheaper dock. The closest thing the ipad gets still has to use bluetooth, doesnt have any expanded storage connectivity options and is touchpadless:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/14/clamcase-ipad-keyboard-case-review/
Hi guys. I am a graduate student and I've been wanting to buy a tablet. Most out there are expensive and in terms of battery life, my 14" laptop with an SSD beats them all. Only problem is, of course, the size of the laptop.
So I have some questions regarding this kinde fire. Looking at the interface, it looks like a constricted version of android and as Besos said, its more of a multimedia device.
The main functions I'm looking for my tablet are: email, reading, viewing videos of PPT lectures, web browsing, watching movies occasionally. Without the tablet being rooted, would all this be possible or is it just for games, web surfing, and videos/music? I would like to leave my device unrooted for as long as possible.
Plus, looking at the specs, this thing would make an excellent android tablet.
Also, how does this GPU compare to the nVidia Tegra?
Thanks!
Get a reading device. A kindle (not Fire) offers quite a lot for a low price.
That's for the reading. For the other stuff, I would not know what to reccomend.
theomni said:
Hi guys. I am a graduate student and I've been wanting to buy a tablet. Most out there are expensive and in terms of battery life, my 14" laptop with an SSD beats them all. Only problem is, of course, the size of the laptop.
So I have some questions regarding this kinde fire. Looking at the interface, it looks like a constricted version of android and as Besos said, its more of a multimedia device.
The main functions I'm looking for my tablet are: email, reading, viewing videos of PPT lectures, web browsing, watching movies occasionally. Without the tablet being rooted, would all this be possible or is it just for games, web surfing, and videos/music? I would like to leave my device unrooted for as long as possible.
Plus, looking at the specs, this thing would make an excellent android tablet.
Also, how does this GPU compare to the nVidia Tegra?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I have read the AF is built to be first and foremost an ereader. Games probably secondary especially with only 512MB of RAM (unless they are from Amazon App Store.) I could be wrong though.
If I were you, I would look harder at other REAL tablets and not closed garden ereaders like the AF appears to be. The dual core CPU would be great on an android tablet. It already is on many. And, by many accounts, quad cores are not too far away. Tabs that are tablets first though.
Price is important. Desired functions are more so. IMO.
Would I recommend? No.
I've been hearing that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus might be coming out with a price near $250. If that is the case, I'll get that instead. Luckily, I will have until the end of October to decide, since that's when the Samsung Tab will be releasing. However, I'm assuming/hoping that we will know its price by next week or so.
Hell, I'll be willing to pay upto $300 for it. I preordered the Kindle Fire with a leather cover for a total of $250.
theomni said:
I've been hearing that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus might be coming out with a price near $250. If that is the case, I'll get that instead. Luckily, I will have until the end of October to decide, since that's when the Samsung Tab will be releasing. However, I'm assuming/hoping that we will know its price by next week or so.
Hell, I'll be willing to pay upto $300 for it. I preordered the Kindle Fire with a leather cover for a total of $250.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wise move. A lot of new items will be released and I suspect many (if not most) in your price/needed specs range will far exceed the AF.
Wish I had these options in grad school!
You cold do this all on the NC for $150 or less, unrooted. Also, the NC can be rooted and custom ROMs are available.
I would say yes. Both quick office and documents to go are available in the amazon app store
A couple of people at work have mentioned the Amazon Kindle Fire in passing. I've looked at the specs, it looks pretty poor.
Several people have shown me their iPad 2 or HP tablet - huge 10.1" things.
One person has compared his iPad camera with my Galaxy Tab 7's camera and said the Galaxy Tab comes out better.
I can fit my Galaxy Tab in my pocket. It has Kindle for Android on it.
I chose my device carefully out of some really budget budget devices, and larger & more expensive devices.
Here you can now pick up a Galaxy Tab 7" 3G (GPS, Wifi) 16Gb for £399 from Tesco's Electronics dept, £349 from BestBuy, £299.99 from Tesco Direct (24hr wait, but the desk is in the store!) or £299.98 from PCWorld. I got mine from Tesco Direct, because it was a weekend and the nearest PCWorld that stocks them is over the road from work.
If you don't need 3G (I understand the Fire doesn't have 3G) I believe you can now pick up a 32Gb Wifi-only model from Asda (Walmart) for £249 ($387) and it will be an order of magnitude better than the Fire. There's also a heap of cheap things on eBay from China (that Maplin (Radio Shack) buy & resell with enormous margins)
When people ask me about it, I reply with:
Do you want a next gen Kindle, or do you want a tablet?
That seems to get them into the right frame of mind. The Fire is no more or less a next gen Kindle. It's aimed to compete against the Nook Color and the iPod Touch, being a portable media device.
thanks a lot guys! I actually just cancelled my preorder for the KF and bought the HTC Flyer.
FWIW smart move!
Now take a look at the adonit jot stylus. Amazing.
I've been looking for a pen/stylus to buy.
Would that work with the HTC flyer or am I better of buying the HTC scribe pen for it?
Gotta say I am not familiar with the stylus scribe for the HTC. One would presume an item custom made for a dedicated device would be preferable. I can say the adonit jot performs amazingly on the Transformer on SuperNotes!
You might try it out. If it doesn't work for you, return it. It would appear their Return Policy is liberal enough here.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/11/21/lg-release-g-pad-tablet-more-overseas-markets.html
Gee, I wonder why sales are below expected in the US? Could it be Best Buy's epic failure at promoting the product? The people at BB should be running the NSA; they're better at keeping secrets.
Maybe LG should just rename it the Area 51 Pad...lots of people have heard of it but BB continues to deny it's existence.
No kidding! The Best Buy help weren't aware of it and took forever to find it in "the cage".
LG has officially jumped the shark.
I don't know who is to blame LG or Best Buy or both but it does make you scratch you head in wonder how they plan to sell this tablet based on current marketing an store display. Why give Best Buy an exclusive if they don't plan to display it and sell it? They need to get this in more stores out on display. They also need to drop 30-50 off the price here in the states if they want it to sell it needs to be cheaper than the first iPad mini and the Samsung Tab 3 8 regardless of the specs and it being a better product most Americans don't know specs they know brand name and price.
Ya, BB has this thing in their phone department next to the G2. Like what?
They need this over with the other tablets, let alone the other 8" tablets. Luckily I knew where to look so i can get a hands on before deciding on a purchase online
The two BB near me do not even have it out in the phone area they have a picture of it in the G2 display but not the actual device.
It does feel like that what is otherwise a fantastic tablet will again fail to sell properly. Just like the Samsung 7.7 did in its time. You have to wonder...
BB has no interest in promoting specific products. If the G Pad fails, it makes no difference to them. They are just as happy selling an iPad or a Samsung Note. LG is the one who loses when this product is a flop. It's up to LG to make sure that retailers sell the product. If they made the product attractive to BB, then BB would sell it. The real problem is that LG has not advertised the product, they've priced it too high, and they haven't provided the right incentives to retailers.
A retailer isn't going to give shelf space or attention to a product that is as poorly marketed as the G Pad. If a lot of people were coming into the store asking for it, BB would pay more attention. It's LG who's keeping the product a secret. BB is just following their lead.
And why are BB and Newegg the only authorized dealers?? Why isn't Amazon, Target, Costco, Sam's Club and Walmart selling this? Where are the magazine and TV ads? The billboards? The point of sale kiosks, etc? LG seems to have no serious interest in this product. Any product that was as poorly marketed as this one would fail in the market.
At least my local Best Buy has a white one up for display *in the phone section* away from all the other tablets and readers.
TonyBigs said:
At least my local Best Buy has a white one up for display *in the phone section* away from all the other tablets and readers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got mine on release date. They didn't have any on display and only one left in stock (other than the one that the guy tried to sell me the display unit and then noticed the computer said it was $1000 for it).
I visited my local Best Buy last night and they still don't have it on display (in tablet or phone area) or in stock. I really don't understand why LG has dropped the ball on this but it seems to be in line with about every other mobile company minus Apple and Samsung. Every display other than the Apple and Samsung displays looked cheap and run down. The Nexus 7 display looked fine, but they have a demo running on all of their models so you can't even get a real feel for how it works. If LG would put a nice display in the tablet area, these things would sell fast. I just hope enough sell to have a decent development community.
LG must not. want to be successful. they had it on display only at. best buy with the mobile phones. No advertising, ovepriced and lackluster support.
Whose poor ideas were this? only. 1 retailer in the US?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Apparently, US sucks *JOKE*
Here in Europe you can get your G Pad in 95% of all the electronics shops. Its really strange what's going on in the US...
I don't know how well the tablet is selling worldwide but at the biggest electronics store here in Zurich, I think it's doing quite well with the Black version sold out and only a few white versions left. Of course, this could be due to low stock to begin with, I'm not sure. I really hope it does well because I just got mine and it's probably one of the best electronic gadgets I have ever bought.
I'm no stranger to Android (although I haven't spent a great deal of time on the latest hardware such as the HTC One, G2 or Galaxy S4) but I was always a little disappointed by the promise of "buttery smooth performance" from the Jellybean. I have a One X and also another tablet from Pipo running the RK3188 so it's no slouch but both are not what I would call a smooth experience (although my One X became a heck of a lot better after flashing Cyanogenmod). I originally came from iPhones and iPads so I was very disappointed in this regard.
Now with the G Pad, I finally know what "buttery smooth" feels like on an Android. The machine is just incredible with next to no interface lag at all and all the apps zip around without any effort. The Wi-Fi strength is also incredible, picking up my router from distances that my One X, iPad mini or iPhone 4S could never have.
For the sake of LG, I hope it really does well. They deserve it and will hopefully release more products like this in the future.
marcolorenzo said:
I don't know how well the tablet is selling worldwide but at the biggest electronics store here in Zurich, I think it's doing quite well with the Black version sold out and only a few white versions left. Of course, this could be due to low stock to begin with, I'm not sure. I really hope it does well because I just got mine and it's probably one of the best electronic gadgets I have ever bought.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you pointed out low stock could mean heavy selling or it could mean low stock. Considering the way it started off in the US, i.e., few retailers and high prices, I'm inclined to think that LG does not have a lot of capacity to manufacture the units. Currently, we're seeing more discounting in the US and few more options for retailers, but it is still not widely sold. Could be that the situation will get better as they produce more units.
Awesome tablet but I just returned mine to BestBuy. I've been burnt before buy buying a killer device that no one else bought. Software updates don't come and accessories don't fit. Very sad that LG made this ridiculous exclusive distribution deal.
globiboulga said:
It does feel like that what is otherwise a fantastic tablet will again fail to sell properly. Just like the Samsung 7.7 did in its time. You have to wonder...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm moving to the G Pad from the Lenovo A2109. A great device for the money...
GTabJosh GPadJosh
I played with one at best buy in southern il today it was next to the lg g2. I think I'll love this thing it's the perfect size and seems fast. I figure I'll keep for at least a year maybe longer if no one comes out with a better 8 inch tab. Samsung's note screen sucks I also looked at it today.
Sent from my Galaxy Note 2(The midrange Note)
MarkLI88 said:
I don't know who is to blame LG or Best Buy or both but it does make you scratch you head in wonder how they plan to sell this tablet based on current marketing an store display. Why give Best Buy an exclusive if they don't plan to display it and sell it? They need to get this in more stores out on display. They also need to drop 30-50 off the price here in the states if they want it to sell it needs to be cheaper than the first iPad mini and the Samsung Tab 3 8 regardless of the specs and it being a better product most Americans don't know specs they know brand name and price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well Said Mark..
Even though they had no choice but to drop the price, still BestBuy does not even display it.
woody1 said:
BB has no interest in promoting specific products. If the G Pad fails, it makes no difference to them. They are just as happy selling an iPad or a Samsung Note. LG is the one who loses when this product is a flop. It's up to LG to make sure that retailers sell the product. If they made the product attractive to BB, then BB would sell it. The real problem is that LG has not advertised the product, they've priced it too high, and they haven't provided the right incentives to retailers.
A retailer isn't going to give shelf space or attention to a product that is as poorly marketed as the G Pad. If a lot of people were coming into the store asking for it, BB would pay more attention. It's LG who's keeping the product a secret. BB is just following their lead.
And why are BB and Newegg the only authorized dealers?? Why isn't Amazon, Target, Costco, Sam's Club and Walmart selling this? Where are the magazine and TV ads? The billboards? The point of sale kiosks, etc? LG seems to have no serious interest in this product. Any product that was as poorly marketed as this one would fail in the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well Said Woody.
Fast forward to the present and it's still the same.. BestBuy could care less about this Tablet.. a lot of sales reps still don't know about it and it's still to this day not on display..
And that's sad.
I have posted similar thoughts about lack of promotion and availability for this tablet in other forums. It's very strange to have such a product available only at one B&M retailer (BB), and one online store (Newegg), and as a GPE version. With that approach you would think LG would have dumped a bunch of money into promoting the G Pad at BB. I've seen enough complaints in the reviews at Newegg (and elsewhere for units purchased from Newegg) to think they were chosen to handle the returns, refurbished units, and otherwise 'unclean' units.
Having said that, our BB started displaying a black version and a white version G Pad a couple of weeks ago. Last week they price matched Newegg's $280 for the black version for me when they were selling theirs for $350. The sales rep I got knew all about the G Pad and started trying to sell me on it but I already knew everything I needed to know.
Now VerizonWireless has started to sell it as well, with LTE. That could be a breakthrough for this tablet, especially with the pricing model they have ($100 with a 2 year contract through tomorrow, $149 after that, and $300 with no contract). Those prices are pretty enticing, I think, especially compared to BB's $350 everyday price for the WiFi only model. It will be interesting to see what happens with this tablet now that VW is in the picture.
Another thought. I've wondered, especially since the GPE came out, if maybe the G Pad is a trial run for a Nexus 8 replacement for the Nexus 7 and maybe a new Nexus 10 as well that a lot of folks are waiting for. Google got a lot of heat for the issues many folks had with the Gen2 Nexus 7 built by ASUS. Maybe they are testing the waters with LG for their next generation Nexus tablets and they and LG aren't necessarily concerned about how much money they make from this one. Just a thought.