Tablet Prescription: Take Two, They’re Small

Michael Hedges June 27, 2012 Follow on Twitter

Mobile devices are the big thing in media delivery. Smartphones have been the big thing since Apple’s iPhone arrived. Tablets are considered the next big thing. And there’s a rush to get in on the business.

Search engine giant Google is about to enter the tablet market, say all the techie wags. At its developer conference this week (June 27), according to the gaggle, a 7-inch tablet using the Android operating system will be unveiled, co-branded with Taiwan hardware manufacturer Asustek. It will target the Amazon Kindle Fire or the Apple iPad or both or others.

Last week (June 18) Microsoft announced it will bring out two – count ‘em, two – tablets. Called Surface, one will have a fold-up keyboard, both will connect to the Web only via WiFi. Best known for operating systems, network software and applications, Microsoft has dabbled in hardware before. The X-Box game console is considered a success, the Zune MP3 player not so much.

Global forecasts for mobile tablets are pointing up. ICT analytics firm IDC raised its 2012 shipping forecast to 107 million units, with the expectation of 222 million units shipped in 2016. “Demand for media tablets remains robust, and we see an increasing interest in the category from the commercial side,” said IDC researcher Tom Mainelli, quoted in the press release (June 14). ”We expect pending new products from major players, increasingly affordable mainstream devices, and a huge marketing blitz from Microsoft around Windows 8 to drive increased consumer interest in the category through the end of the year.”

Digital publishers are banking on mobile device up-take. And, hardly unrelated, so are telecoms. The logic is straightforward; users pay for access, whether through mobile or application subscriptions. It’s no surprise that mobile rights for major sport events are highly coveted.

Publishing giant Axel Springer launched its iKiosk-App in Germany and Switzerland for the Apple iPad in 2011. It has since expanded the platform to Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic. “The newspapers and the magazines of the future are the mobile devices,” said CEO and tablet fan Mathias Doepfner in an interview with Bloomberg TV last year (May 11, 2011). “The beauty is that we don’t have to change habits, we can count on existing habits that everything that you do on a smartphone, you’ll pay for.”

Now in its third generation, the Apple iPad is the undisputed leader in the tablet market, more than 60% worldwide according to IDC figures. Samsung’s Galaxy, favorite of techies, ranks second with 9%. All others are, well, less. Apple and Samsung, when not releasing new products, are busy suing each other for patent infringements. Apple won the latest round in the United States with a court ordering (June 26) Samsung to stop selling its Galaxy 10.1 tablet.

The tablet strategy for Google lies in its overall business model. Google sells ads on the Web. For that it needs internet eyeballs and more of those are arriving from mobile devices. Plus they would like to bulk up the Android operating platform.

Microsoft’s strategy is slightly more nuanced. The company’s core business is selling software licenses, enterprise licenses in particular. Tablets are certainly trendy but most do not interface well in the office. Adobe has been trying to work around that but Microsoft applications and network software are pervasive. But moving enterprise-level computing from the desktop to the tablet could take years.

All this tablet competition – and the attendant promotion and advertising – will certainly drive unit prices lower, the iPad’s “cool factor” premium notwithstanding. Apps development will be easier, note Adobe’s InTouch. And digital publishers will not want to leave any money on the table…or desktop.

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