NEWS ANALYSIS: Google is reportedly well on its way to launching a new tablet within the next six months. If that happens, what features should it have to make it a success?
Tablets
are all the rage. Consumers around the globe are flocking to stores to buy
products like the Apple iPad or the Amazon Kindle Fire, and countless
companies, seeing that trend, are trying to break into that market. From big
companies to small, just about every tablet maker hopes it can deliver a
product that consumers and even enterprise users would be happy to use.
Surprisingly,
though, Google is one of the few major companies that hasn't tried to enter the
tablet market with a product of its own. In fact, the search giant has been
content to simply offer tablet manufacturers the Android mobile operating
system and then sit back to see if anybody can really make a go of it.
However,
in a recent interview,
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt mistakenly let it slip that the
search company is planning to launch a tablet in the next six months. Now
pundits are speculating about what the device will offer.
Read
on to find out what we'd like to see in a Google-branded tablet:
1. An Android version that's ready for
primetime
One
of the biggest mistakes Google made this year was to make Android 3.0 Honeycomb
available to its vendor partners before it was ready. When the Motorola Xoom
launched, the device fell short immediately because of its poor Android
installation. In the Google-branded tablet, the search giant must offer an
ideal software experience. If it doesn't, it'll be in for trouble.
2. End-to-end Google development
Google
has in the past used its own corporate branding on smartphones. However, those
devices were designed by third-party vendors. If Google is indeed working on a
tablet, it should control all facets of its development.
Firms that control the hardware and the software are typically more
successful. Just ask Apple.
3. Multiple screen sizes
Although
earlier in the year it seemed consumers really only wanted tablets with big
displays, like the 9.7-inch flavor in Apple's iPad,
the Kindle Fire has thrown that idea on its head. Now, it appears customers
are just fine with 7-inch tablets. If Google wants to see its tablet become a
success, it should offer multiple screen sizes, including 7- and 10.1-inch offerings.
4. Multiple price points
Along
with multiple sizes, it's important for Google to remember that different
consumers want different features and they want them all at varying prices.
Therefore, Google would be smart to offer its tablet versions at different
prices. A cheap model could go for, say, $199, while a top-of-the-line option
could retail for $799. The move could maximize the tablet's market appeal.
Email
Print
