MIPS $99 Tablet is First Ice Cream Sandwich Tablet
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 5th Dec 2011 22:48 UTC
PDAs, Cellphones, Wireless Cheap Android tablets are all over the place, and generally not any good. They often have resistive touch screens instead of capacitive ones, are slow, or have no access to the Android Market. For Ice Cream Sandwich, MIPS Technologies is trotting out its existing Honeycomb tablet - which, you guessed it, uses a MIPS processor - licensed to Ainovo. For some reason, that makes this $99 tablet with capacitive screen kind of interesting.
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nevrr trust a techies judgement
by unclefester on Tue 6th Dec 2011 23:06 UTC
unclefester
Member since:
2007-01-13

One very clear message form reading the comments. That message is that the average techie has absolutely no understanding of human nature or business.

So far the arguments have been that:

- tablets are useless
- tablets are expensive
- tablets are a luxury
- cheap tablets are crap
- people want expensive tablets

The reality is completely different:

- tablets (even top of the range models) are far cheaper in real terms than a C64 was in the 80s. The C64 was a mega success.

- a tablet is cheaper than a decent TV. Every middle class family has multiple TVs.

- people will spend a lot of money on their children. In Australia about 40% of children attend private primary and high schools. These schools cost $5,000-40,000/year.

- tablets are ideal for children. Many toymakers and entertainment companies are making child specific devices (such as electronic crayons) and games for iOS and Android.

- the average toddler doesn't doesn't give a shit about a aesthetics, screen resolution or battery life. As long as they can watch a Wiggles video or play a simple game they are happy.

- for children the perfect tablet has a 7-8" low resolution screen, a low end CPU and a thick plastic case.

I can guarantee that next Xmas there will be super cheap ($70-100) child specific tablets in the stores.

Reply Score: 4

bnolsen Member since:
2006-01-06

Have to agree here. Most people, unlike the ones who generally visit this site, are very poor hunt and peck typists who aren't nearly so inconvenienced by lack of a keyboard like I am especially.

For kids: yeah it's a great option. You can teach them starting piano interactively, they can do paint programs, watch videos, etc. This tablet for $100, well it's absolutely perfect for that audience.

Reply Parent Score: 2

leos Member since:
2005-09-21

One very clear message form reading the comments. That message is that the average techie has absolutely no understanding of human nature or business.


Do you have a point?

- tablets (even top of the range models) are far cheaper in real terms than a C64 was in the 80s. The C64 was a mega success.


I've got news for you. It's not the 80s anymore. I spent $2500 on a 386 desktop once too. Not relevant to today's market.

- a tablet is cheaper than a decent TV. Every middle class family has multiple TVs.


And? Your point? We're not comparing tablets to TVs. We're comparing tablets to tablets and laptops.

- people will spend a lot of money on their children. In Australia about 40% of children attend private primary and high schools. These schools cost $5,000-40,000/year.


So you're contradicting yourself. You say cheap tablets will dominate for children, and then you say it doesn't matter because parents will and are already paying premium prices for iPads.

- the average toddler doesn't doesn't give a shit about a aesthetics, screen resolution or battery life. As long as they can watch a Wiggles video or play a simple game they are happy.


Except tablets aren't being bought only for toddlers. Yes people buy them and give them to their kids to play games on sometimes. But lots of people also then pick it up and use it themselves once the kids have gone to bed.

- for children the perfect tablet has a 7-8" low resolution screen, a low end CPU and a thick plastic case.


Oh really. And you've done the research on this I assume?

I can guarantee that next Xmas there will be super cheap ($70-100) child specific tablets in the stores.


Great. Is anyone even arguing this point? So what if there is? How does that affect the existing market, or support your statement that apple is in trouble? Apple is not interested in making a $100 kid's toy, and this is not the tablet market. It might be part of it, but it isn't the whole thing by a long shot.

Reply Parent Score: 2

unclefester Member since:
2007-01-13

Get out of the basement and open your eyes.

One of Australia's major department store chains sells 8GB iPod touch style MP3 players for $59 and 7" touchscreen media players (stripped down tablets) for $79.

Unlocked Apple phones and tablets are already being sold at 10-15% discounts in Australia department stores.

Harvey Norman, until recently the biggest Apple reseller in Australia, doesn't have single Apple product in their latest catalogue. They have plenty of Android products though.

Telstra, Australia's largest phone company has just opened an Android only store in Melbourne.

Australia is one of Apples strongest markets. If sales are going badly here for Apple they must be a disaster elsewhere.

Back in the 90s we were constantly told that Apple products were unique, special and highly profitable as marketshare dropped to 5%.

Reply Parent Score: 2

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