Are Cheap Tablets the Future?

If we can learn anything from the recent success of the HP TouchPad, it is this – consumers like cheap technology.  The TouchPad was a flop at $399, but became an automatic hit when HP announced the end of webOS development and started selling it for $99.

“People love to have a bit of hardware to toy around with,”Al Hilwa, a program director at IDC, told LinuxInsider. “The TouchPad is now so inexpensive that people may feel they’re not putting much at risk.”  This looks like great news for the up-and-coming Amazon tablet, which analysts say will also retail for hundreds of dollars cheaper than the iPad.

While the Apple iPad has been impossible to match so far in terms of sales figures or market recognition, perhaps consumers will be more willing to step outside the box if the price is right.  Amazon already have a history of selling technology at a loss in order to gain market acceptence, and an aggresively priced tablet from a big name may be what the market has been waiting for.

“If Amazon is particularly aggressive on pricing, that could be a trigger for many players to rethink the sales price of tablets,” said Charles King, the lead analyst at Pund-IT.  Other companies are also starting to think low in order to sell big, with Vizio having just launched a $299 tablet and other names also looking at low cost development options.

“We expect to see more and more lower-end, more-affordable Android devices enter the marketplace, which should further allow Android to increase its share,” said Tony Berkman, CEO of ITG.

While no-one is sure how much the up-and-coming colour Amazon tablet will be, analysts are expecting a much cheaper price than the Apple iPad.  The big question for Amazon and other manfuactuers is this.  How much money can we afford to lose in the short term in order to initiate a serious consumer migration away from the iPad?