While the new Google Nexus 7 tablet with an extraordinary $199 price tag is likely to spell the demise of the Amazon Kindle Fire and countless other budget-priced tablets, analysts remain unconvinced as to its chances against Apple’s iPad.
According to industry experts, what will define the success or otherwise of the Nexus 7 is the strength and abundance of apps and downloadable content developers create specifically for the tab, along with how well it performs and seamlessly integrates with the Google Play Store.
Or to sum it up in other words, the Google Nexus 7 stands to take over where the Amazing Kindle Fire left off in spectacular style, though in no way measures up to the iPad in terms of power, prowess or versatility.
A New Direction
Google has long displayed an enormous and ongoing interest in the tablet market place, though has never thrown down its own gauntlet in terms of a home-made piece of hardware. While some were expecting Google’s first tablet to be a direct attack on the sovereignty of the iPad from Apple, others are saying this was never their intention and the Nexus 7 proves this.
Instead, they went the way of the Kindle Fire, but again rather than making such a move simply to quell the growing threat that was Amazon’s first true tablet, Google was motivated by the desire to succeed in the tablet market in general and offer a price-tag that not only resonates with the buyer, but still allows for extensive revenues in terms of content purchases.
Elite Hardware, Budget Price
What has surprises analysts across the board is the way in which Google has managed to load-up the Nexus 7 with some of the industry’s most revered hardware for just $199 – case in point being the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Some have been quick to poke holes in the 7-inch screen of the Nexus in terms of its ‘modest’ 1280 by 800 resolution, though when held alongside such a low price-tag the value for money remains unrivalled.
All in all, the Google Nexus 7 has been summed up by most as less than a revolution, but certainly an excellent start for Google in the massively lucrative tablet market.
Kindle Fire Price Reduction
The Amazon Kindle Fire currently accounts for 7% of the total global tablet market share, though this could increase should a rumored $50 price reduction go ahead over the coming weeks.Apple’s iPad on the other hand accounts for around 60% of the market and therefore remains the biggest rival and threat to all newcomers – Google included.
Many are suggesting that the introduction of the Google Nexus 7 basically represents the execution of the Amazon Kindle Fire, though Amazon has thus far failed to pass comment.
However, Google has at least one battle ahead according to analysts, which is that of strengthening its range of fully tablet-optimized applications and games – something demanding extensive developer interest and motivation. At present, one of Apple’s key strength lies in the fact that consumers across both domestic and corporate markets are willing to pay top-dollar for iPad hardware, as they known that the app range and quality thereof is simply second to none.
Growing, Changing Market
Market experts predict that in excess of 191 million tablet PCs will be in the hands of consumers before the end of 2012, while this is expected to skyrocket to 760 million over the next four years alone, as the exodus away from notebooks and in some cases desktop PCs continues. For this year, Apple’s total worldwide market share for the iPad is expected to reach around 68%, followed by Android in a distant second with 16%.
Between now and 2016, Android is expected to fall to an 8% market share, while the iPad will also slide to 53%.
Speak Your Mind