Four reasons why Android tablets couldn’t beat iPad in 2011

The year 2011 saw the launch of a number of Android tablets. At CES 2011, Google demoed its Honeycomb version of Android for tablets only. Big hardware makers like Motorola and Asus went on to make flashy announcements about their tablets with Honeycomb. Later Samsung, Acer, Lenovo and lots of other tablet manufacturers joined the flurry of Android tablets. Yet, Android tablets could not oversell iPad in 2011 as it was expected to happen.

In fact, when 2010 ended, we all recognized that Apple sold out more than 15 million tablets. Yes, the Cupertino tech innovator continued its dominance last year too. The Android tablets failed to compete with Apple iPad. What really went wrong with Android tablets? Here are four reasons, which were suggested by TechRepublic’s Jason Hiner, for the stumble of Android in front of iPad in 2011.

High price
When Apple came up with its iPad original in 2010, many analysts sighed to read its price tag of $499. Many commented that no one would require an electronic slate just for surfing the web. But it doesn’t reflect in the sales of iPad; Apple could sell millions of units in a few weeks alone. But to the surprise of all, the first Android Honeycomb tablet Motorola Xoom landed in stores with a price of $800. Actually, who would need an Android tablet for that huge price?
An Android tablet does offer nothing new in features that an iPad does not. The market performance of Xoom was clearly pathetic. However, later some brilliant Android tablets like Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Asus Eee Pad Transformer appeared in stores for a price range of $400 – $500. Unfortunately, the diversity in products and price range couldn’t help Android tablets do well against iPad.

Lack of apps
Google Android has a great app store, called Android Market. Third party developers can build HTML5 apps for Android tablets. But compared to Apple App Store, Android Market has a big scarcity of app. Even Google hasn’t developed many native apps such as Google Analytics, Google+, Google Finance, Picnik and others. It is another big reason for the letdown of Android last year. Getting third party apps “is an important and admirable goal, but dedicated apps can still be extremely useful for taking advantage of a platform’s strengths,” notes Hiner.

Businesses doesn’t trust Android
“IT leaders were spooked about Android malware,” Hiner says to indicate the enterprises’ untrustworthiness towards Android tablets. Businesses often prefer iPads to Android tablets due to the malware issues. Of course, there was a move from the part of Samsung to tie up with hospitals, schools IT firms to provide Android tablets. But the enterprises eventually lost interest in Androids, because many of them perform poorly. “Surveys like the one from enterprise vendor Good Technology showed that 96% of tablet activations in the enterprise were iPads,” Hiner adds.

The 16×9 problem
Google made an innovative move by getting a 16×9 aspect ratio for Android tablets. Apple iPad has an aspect ratio of 4×3. Instead of copying it, Google made changes. But it was later proven as an awkward move, because it was not easy to take a 16×9 tablet in your hands. Well, as Google made landscape the default orientation for Android tablets, it will feel that you are taking a laptop without keyboard. Many leading Android tablets like Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and ASUS Eee Pad Transformer are locked into the 16×9 orientation. Hence, Google can’t fix the problem even in a software update. Remember the point that users always want more handy and comfy tablets for their daily use.

Wrap-up
It seems that Google’s strategy against Apple iPad has staggered in the first step. However, with the new version of the Android (Ice Cream Sandwich) and other advancements, Android can try a comeback. The company sources have reportedly hinted that it would work for a change in the scenario in 2012.

Last month Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said that Google will “market a tablet of the highest quality” in the first half of 2012. It’s also been rumored recently that Google is working on a low-cost 7-inch tablet to battle the Amazon Kindle Fire, which runs on an improved version of Android 2.3 and quickly grabbed the No. 2 spot in the tablet market at the end of 2011,” notes Hiner.

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Posted by admin on January 8, 2012. Filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry