Rivals to iPad said to be concerned about sales of other devices and supply of components following Japan earthquake
Taiwan's Digitimes is reporting that a number of companies have delayed their rollouts of Android tablets due to concerns about component shortages caused by the Japan earthquake and concerns over low sales of non-Apple products.
Sales of Motorola's Xoom - estimated by one analyst at around 100,000 in its first six weeks - have been respectable but not outstanding. That, say the writers at Digitimes, has led to concerns among other companies including Asus and HTC that demand is not strong enough to make it worthwhile for them to compete.
That is allied to problems with supply. Earlier this week the Guardian revealed that Apple, HTC, Huawei and Samsung had secured supplies of essential components following the Japan earthquake in March, but that other companies were now facing constraints for smartphone elements. That seems to have been extended to tablet components, probably including batteries.
Asus has put samples of its Eee Pad Transformer tablets into the hands of reviewers, including the Guardian, though UK release dates have slipped by a few weeks to late April, and further in Taiwan itself. HTC is reportedly putting off volume production of its Flyer tablet computers after losing out in the race to get larger touch panels.
Paradoxically, the absence of strong competitors to the iPad could be a problem for Apple, which is trying to carve out a new market in "media tablets", as analysts have dubbed devices such as the iPad and Xoom. If there are no effective rivals then the tablet market could turn into a niche - just as they quickly became after Microsoft first launched its versions in 2001.
[Note: Digitimes links expire after a few days and go behind a paywall.]
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2011/apr/15/ipad-rivals-tablets-delay-rumours
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