Archive for Pandigital
Pandigital Goes Bankrupt
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Pandigital was a California based company that has been releasing lower-end tablets for the last four years. The company basically adopted vanilla Android tablets from companies in China and marketed them as its own. Most of its devices had outdated versions of Android and the hardware was kind of pitiful. The company has officially filed for bankruptcy and all of its assets are in currently in liquidation.
Pandigital got off to quite the audacious start with the Novel tablet. It was barely on the market for a few weeks before they initiated a full recall. Within a month the company had released it and alienated the customers who bought into it. The company released a few new devices every year and sold them on Amazon, Future Shop, Best Buy, Costco, Electronics Expo, Kmart, and RadioShack. Really Pandigital survived much longer than they should have, mainly due to retail viability.
Over the years, we petitioned Pandigital many times for interviews with senior management and executives. They constantly shut as down, and never really became involved in media with any other websites. People who purchased any of the tablets over the years are out of luck with warranties, as the company is not honoring them.
Pandigital SuperNova 8 Inch Tablet Launched
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Pandigital has been coming up with tablet PCs with extraterrestrial names, though thankfully, when it is about prices, they are down to earth. The latest from Pandigital, the SuperNova, has debuted with a price tag of just $229. There has been a steady flow of tablet PCs recently and the SuperNova is one more addition to the crowd, which in turn can be considered a notch higher than the Nova e-reader tablet that Pandigital has launched sometime ago.
Specification wise, the SuperNova sadly cannot be associated with not many superlatives. With a 1 GHz Samsung S5PV210 processor underneath and a 512 MB RAM, the SuperNova can’t win any performance battles against many of its peers. Further the tablet boasts of 4 GB of internal memory, while more can be added via micro SD cards. Connectivity options with the SuperNova include 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 while there also is a micro HDMI out port. The tablet runs Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread, though the display resolution is a disappointingly low 800 x 600 pixels. At least the display is capacitive multitouch.
Also, the official Android Market will be inaccessible to the SuperNova, so that users will have to make do with the GetJar app store instead. Pandigital though has tried to make things better with the inclusion of a few essential apps like YouTube and Adobe Flash. Then there also is the Barnes & Noble e-book app that will come pre-installed with the tablet.
However, while the price does look lucrative, it might still prove to be a bit more than other offerings such as the recently launched Amazon Fire and the Lenovo IdeaPad A1. The only thing in favor of the SuperNova is its slightly bigger display, though that again gets marred by a low quality.
Pandigital has said the SuperNova would be seen with retailers throughout the US by the middle of this month.
Pandigital Super Nova Soon Available at Best Buy
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Pandigital has been issuing a bunch of new e-readers this year and many of them have been limited to the USA in terms of sales. The other day we just reviewed the Pandigital Nova, but our hearts remain with the Super Nova. This new tablet will be the best one the company has released to this point in terms of specs and hardware.
The Super Nova comes with a 8 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 600 x 800 pixels. The tablet (e-reader) runs Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread and comes with a decent set of features, which include built-in mic and stereo speakers, a mini USB port, front 0.3 and rear 3 megapixel cameras, HDMI out port, and 802.11b/g/n WiFi.
On board storage with the SuperNova is just 4 GB, though there is an SD card slot to add another 32 GB. Android market remains off bounds, but not the SlideMe app store. Also, the SuperNova itself comes pre-loaded with the Barnes & Noble eBook app and store.
The tablet will be on sale in two weeks for around $219.99.
Review of the Pandigital Nova e-Reader
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The Pandigital Nova is the most recent entrant to the ultra competitive market of lower end tablet computers. The company has been issuing hybrid tablets and e-readers since early last year with the Pandigital Novel as its first device. Pandigital continues to be popular because of its solid distribution chain with most popular electronic stores in both the USA and Canada and continues to be in the Top 5 in sales for e-reader devices. How does it stack up against the competition and is it a good investment?
Hardware
The Pandigital Nova is the followup to the Pandigital Star and Pandigital Planet that have been released in the last six months. The e-reader is a 7 inch resistive color touchscreen with a resolution of 600×800 pixels. The one thing it has going for it on this model is that it is multi-touch, so you can hit more then one key at the same time. This shines during keybaord typing and playing higher quality games.
Most of the Pandigital line of devices employ the resistive screen technology, which means there is a thin film on the screen. On the visual end I am not a huge fan of these types of screens because colors on video and pictures often look very washed out. You also cannot type or interact with the screen as easily as you would with a compacitive touchscreen device. The Barnes and Noble Nook Color does so well on the market because it uses the capacitive screen and is easier to interact with. The Pandigital Nova ideally is used with a Stylus or with your fingernail. Aesthetically, the resistive touchscreen technology it uses does not really hinder the overall reading experience, because most books are black text on a white background. It is sometimes painful to turn pages because you need to be extra firm or have to use the tip of your fingernail.
There is a fair amount of internal memory in the Pandigital Nova that allows you store apps, games, and books. There is around 4 GB total, but you really only have 3.2 GB in the shipped model due to the space the operating system and default installed apps take up. You can also expand it up to 32 GB via a MicroSD card. Ram-wise, there is enough to run most things you would ever install on the tablet, which is 512 MB of RAM. This is the de facto standard on most low and mid range devices.
The audio experience on the Pandigital Nova is severely lacking! There is a single mono speaker on the bottom of the device. The worst part of this is when you hold the device in portrait mode and grip it on the left and right hand side, your hand covers the speaker. This gives you very muffled audio and I really cannot stand speakers that are on the bottom of tablet. You can get around this by plugging headphones into the 3.5mm headphone jack. Sadly, the Nova does not actually ship with headphones so you will have to get your own.
The one thing that boggles by mind on the Nova is how they built the hardware inputs and is in mind my mind a tremendous design flaw. The DC IN, Headphone Jack, Mini HDMI out is on the top of the device, rather than the bottom. This makes things very odd and hard to wrap your head around. Almost every single e-reader and tablet have these connectors on the bottom of the device. The Nova has only the headphone jack on the bottom of the side and the power button and volume buttons on the right hand side. On the left hand side you have the Micro SD slot.
Rounding off the hardware is two web cams! This is one of the first devices issues by Pandigital that actually allow you to do video conferencing, take pictures, and shoot video. The lackluster aspect is the feeble quality of the cameras with 1.3 MP on the rear and 0.3 VGA on the front. Do not expect any high quality pictures or video on either side, but it is a positive that the company is actually putting these new hardware features on their devices.
Finally, you can connect up to the internet via the WIFI and it has a moderately strong connection. You can use encrypted or un-encrypted networks and access hotspots.
In the end, hardware wise this is a tremendous positive step forward by Pandigital and moves the company in a positive direction. The dual cameras are something the average customer may find appealing for the price. This edition is also more pocket friendly with a seven inch screen vs the nine inch from the Pandigital Novel.
Software
The Pandigital Nova is running Google Android 2.3! This means the screen is multi-touch and you can run live wallpapers. Previous versions of Pandigital devices ran outdated versions of the Google OS which made the tablet feel outdated as soon as it was released. Obviously, this is a low cost entry level tablet, so it does not have the hardware necessary to run Honeycomb.
The Nova uses the more recent firmware that displays almost a library shelf experience to your home screen. The main app you would use for your reading experience is the Barnes and Noble Bookstore.
The Nook Bookstore allows you to purchase a ton of content from the store, including many bestsellers. You can set up bookmarks and craft your reading experience with many different options, such as fonts.
If you want to load in your own books you have many popular Android Reader options such as Aldiko, FBReader, or many others. You can easily load in your own books from your PC! The default formats the Nova reads is PDF and EPUB, but with the 3rd party Android readers you have a more wider array of options available.
One of the best uses of a color tablet/ereader hybrid is being able to read graphic novels, manga, and comic books on the device. It does not come with any apps to do this right out of the box, but you can download Droid Comic Viewer or other alternative apps. You can read CBZ and CBR type formats, which are the most easily accessible ones to find online.
With the Nova you are also not limited to just dealing with Barnes and Noble that comes loaded on the reader. You can of course load in the Android version of Kobo, Amazon, Borders, and many more. Remember the Barnes and Noble app only works for USA based accounts.
The Pandigital Nova does not have access to the Google Android Market but you can easily download apps from Getjar, which is included. If you live in the USA I would recommend the Amazon App Store as your destination app of choice to find new content. Not that Getjar is bad, but Amazon offers way more content and even free apps of the day. It is also organized more properly to find games and apps easier than ever.
The Nova comes with plenty of other apps to get you loving it right out of the box. It has a dedicated Youtube Player, music, audio, and other default apps that normally come preloaded.
Finally, let’s talk about the internet experience. The keyboard supports multi-touch so it’s easy to type web addresses in the search bar. Websites load rather fast, you can pinch and zoom, and it is very responsive.
Essential Apps for the Pandigital Nova
- Dolphin HD – Web Browser
- Meridian – Best Multimedia Player for Music and Videos
- Slide Me - App Market
- Andappstore – Android Market
- Amazon Appstore for Android – Best Android Market for USA Residents
- Kindle – The Amazon Kindle for Android App
- Kobo – The Official Kobo Reading App for Android
- FBReader – A Great Android App That Lets You Load in Your Own Books
- Barnes and Noble – The Official Barnes and Noble Android App
- Droid Comic Viewer - Simply One of THE Best Comic Readers and Reads Most Popular Formats
Our Thoughts
This device feels really cheap from the screen that they use to the overall hardware build. I really got thrown for a loop when they decided to put all of the inputs on the top of the unit rather than the bottom. The audio quality is really poor with the single mono speaker on the back of the device. It does have a wide application selection that comes pre-loaded on the device. The Android 2.3 OS is a solid addition to the Pandigital tablet lineup.
Pandigital does not really know what they are doing in terms of the construction of their devices. On the box there is conflicting information on whether they are making a tablet or an e-reader.
The $189 you would spend on this device at Best Buy might be better served purchasing the SkyPad Alpha, which is the same with specs but has way better functionality.
Video Review of the Pandigital Nova Tablet
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Welcome to another Good e-Reader Review Video! Today we give you a solid 18 minute review of the new Pandigital Nova Tablet!
This new tablet from Pandigital expands upon their previous offerings, such as the Pandigital Novel line of devices. It runs a more current version of Google Android 2.3 than previous iterations. It has a 7 inch TFT Resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 600×800. I find the screens pandigital use are flimsy and make the colors look very washed out. It is also harder to type and navigate around the device, so I recommend you use a stylus. It also has a solid front and rear facing camera.
The Pandigital Nova has 4 GB of internal storage and you can further enhance it via the MicroSD card up to 32 GB. There is 512 MB of RAM, which is fairly consistent with most low and mid range tablets. It has WIFI for internet connectivity and Micro HDMI which is a solid plus. It also has a Mini USB and 3.5 mm headphone jack.
The speaker on the back of the device is very weak and even on full blast, you can’t really hear anything. I find it odd that Pandigital is fairly notorious for putting speakers on the back of the device instead of its side or front.
In this video we are going to show you all of the applications that come bundled with the device. We show you ebooks and how they look, videos, pictures, and more! We really put this device through the paces in this official Pandigital Nova Review Video.
Pandigital Nova Unboxing Video
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Welcome to another Good e-Reader Video! Today we unbox the brand new Pandigital Nova! This is a follow-up device to the Pandigital Novel line of tablets.
This new tablet is a 7 inch TFT Resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 600×800 pixels. It is running Android 2.3, and we show you everything that comes in the box and give you a first time startup of the device!
Pandigital Nova Digital Reader hits Bestbuy Today
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There is a new Pandigital e-reader and tablet hybrid on the block and it is rolling into Bestbuy locations today! The new device will set you back a modest $169 and is powered by a later version of Google Android 2.3.
The new Pandigital Nova is a positive step forward from the companies first forays into the tablet world, with the woeful Pandigital Novel. The company is back and offering a solid product that is sure to impress. It has a 8 inch TFT LCD screen with a resolution of 600×800. It is rocking a 800 MHZ Samsung processor and has 4 GB of built in storage. If this is not enough you can surely increase it to 32 GB via the MicroSD. What about Books? You can use the built in Barnes and Noble Android app and connect right up into the ecosystem and download books like the wind!
Personally this e-reader I think looks good, but I am waiting on the Super Nova we just saw at the FCC a mere three days ago. This one has dual cameras and similar specs to the Nova, but has a capacitive touchscreen.
Pandigital SuperNova tablet e-reader clears FCC
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Pandigital is back with a new tablet PC. Called the Pandigital SuperNova, that tablet has also been through FCC. Also, while the SuperNova is being referred to as a tablet, Pandigital though is sticking to its traditional approach of calling tablets as e-readers which is equally applicable to the SuperNova as well.
So, how does the latest Pandigital Tablet eReader (as it is being so referred) live up to its out-of-this-world sort of naming. Well, to begin with, the SuperNova is a budget tablet, which means expectations should be restrained. Its comes with an 8 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 600 x 800 pixels. The tablet (e-reader) runs Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread and comes with a decent set of features which includes built-in mic and stereo speakers, a mini USB port, front 0.3 and rear 3 megapixel camera, HDMI out port along with 802.11b/g/n WiFi.
On board storage with the SuperNova is just 4 GB though there is an SD card slot to add another 32 GB. Android market remains off bound but not SlideMe app store. Also, the SuperNova itself comes pre-loaded with the Barnes & Noble eBook app and store.
So that’s quite some information that the FCC listing reveals, which is in contrast to the vast majority of FCC visitors who prefer to keep things under the cloak. However, the things that Pandigital kept to themselves is the price and availability details. So while it seems the SuperNova won’t be as costly as its name might suggest, we don’t have an inkling as to just much affordable it will be.
via engadget
New Pandigital Planet Android 2.2 e-Reader Arrives at the FCC
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Pandigital has released a number of tablets billed as e-readers and they enjoy strong sales. However, many reports indicate that most people have a rather lackluster experience with them. We did enjoy to a small degree the new Pandigital 9 inch novel a few months ago and it looks like Pandigital is at it again! They have developed a new 7 inch model that will replace their existing line, which was fraught with perils.
The Pandigital Planet e-reader is a 7 inch e-reader with a resistive touchscreen display and a resolution of 600 by 800 pixels. The unit will be running on a more recent version of Google Android 2.2. Internal memory is relegated to 2 GB but you can enhance it via MicroSD up to 32 GB. One of the most exciting features of this new e-reader by Pandigital is that it is the first model with cameras. It will feature a 0.3 MP front facing webcam for video chatting and a rear facing 1.3 MP webcam. You will be able to shoot both video and take pictures, so Pandigital customers can leap into the modern era of tablets for a change! It will also have a Mini HDMI port in order to stream HD videos from your tablet to your TV or computer.
The Pandigital Planet is first and foremost being billed as an e-reader so it will have full support for Adobe Digital Editions to transfer store purchased content from your computer to your e-reader. You will also easily be able to sideload in your own ebooks in PDF and ePub format. It will also be using the Barnes and Noble eBook store to deliver content. Pandigital recently released a firmware fix that greatly enhances the B&N app. Speaking of sideloading, in applications it comes with SlideMe App market, so you can easily get new applications onto your device.
Finally it comes with some documents programs, a new anti-virus package for android, and a bunch of other goodies. This is more or less the best 7 inch tablet/ereader that Pandigital has designed to date and should be on sale soon in the $200 price range.
via FCC
New Pandigital Novel firmware update out now
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Pandigital has released a new firmware update for its 7 inch Novel e-reader today! They have packed in LOADS of new features to really update the unit and give it more Android functionality.
One of the best updates to the Pandigital Novel is the revision of the Barnes and Noble e-reader application. It now actually integrates into your home screen and gives you many new features.
Pandigital is also doing the right thing and making Google Android apps more accessible than ever before. Currently you have to be a bit tech savvy in order to find and install applications by yourself. Pandigital has now made very common applications available to anyone at any level. Applications are easily available via the Slideme Market through their SAM 4.0 application. Using this, you can get Facebook, twitter, and a ton of others. Installing applications has never been easier with the new firmware update.
Other features of the firmware update include increased productivity with Office Suite reader and the ability to open documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. Finally, improved speed and responsiveness with page turns and overall enhancements.
Check out the firmware update tool today for your PC HERE.
What Brand e-Reader do you have? Top 10 Poll Results
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We ran a poll in December 2010 and January 2011 on what brand of e-reader proved to be the most popular with the regular visitors of Good e-Reader. This poll was run during the crucial holiday season and the month afterwords. We did not ask what e-reader in particular people had, but only what brand they decided to go with. We had 647 votes total cast in two months and the results for the top two are rather surprising.
Barnes and Noble came in first place with 167 of the total vote cast. The company has far reaching accessibility in the retail setting which propelled the company into 1st place. The big sellers during the poll was the new Barnes and Noble Nook Color e-reader and the Barnes and Noble Nook WIFI.
Amazon came in second place with 144 votes in our poll. It is no surprise that Amazon is ranking in the top two due to the success of marketing their Kindle line of e-readers online and in a retail setting. One of the huge factors that limited Amazon from top position was the fact that most of December 2010 they suffered from an inventory shortage. After Dec 12th all online orders were shipped in January. This does show that Amazon is remaining relevant. Their big step forward in 2010 was the fact they migrated from being purely available online to establishing relationships with Target, Bestbuy, Staples and others.
Kobo came in third place with 111 votes. This company remains very successful in other markets besides the USA. Kobo does well in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, where retail accessibility for other e-readers is virtually nonexistent. The main e-Reader people seem to have is the Kobo Wireless which allows you to tap into 1.3 million ebooks that Kobo has in their library.
Pandigital came in fourth place with 90 votes and 14% of the overall vote. This is the only company in the top 5 that does not have their own ebook store. The company makes money only selling its Novel line of Tablets thinly veiled as e-readers. A recently filed report by business intelligence group IDC mentioned that Pandigital was the 2nd most popular e-reader company in all of 2010 from a sales point of view, barely overtaking Barnes and Noble. The most popular Pandigital e-Readers is the Pandigital Novel and Pandigital Novel 9 inch.
Rounding off the top five is Sony with 88 votes from the overall poll respondents. Most of Sony’s success came from the two of the three new e-readers launched in 2010 the PRS-650 and the PRS-350. Sony is also big time into retail settings in non-USA markets. Although it does very brisk sales in America it is the international division that reports a large number of sales. In late 2010 Sony entered the notoriously fickle Japanese market for the second time and made many new local partnerships for magazines, ebooks, and newspapers. This also contributed to the global supply problems we reported on recently.
Capturing 69 votes were respondents that said they had e-readers not listed in the poll. Rounding off the top 10 was Beebook with 2% through 13 votes. Next came in Ectaco with 2% and 11 votes and Astak with 1% and 9 votes. Finally we had 2 votes for iRex and 1 vote for Elonex.
What this poll clearly showed is the tech savvy people that visit our blog clearly are not all Amazon loyal, but have their preferred device spread out by the top companies. The fact Barnes and Noble came in 1st place was a telltale sign that people really bought into the Nook Color and the Nook WFI last year. The Nook Color is not only a tremendous tablet for your money but is one of the only companies in the world that offer full color kids books, textbooks, newspapers, magazines, and all of the latest bestsellers. Also Barnes and Noble make it very easy to shop with bookstores other than Barnes and Noble. You can purchase ePub books from Kobo, Borders, Smashwords, and most others to import onto your device via Adobe Digital Editions.
Amazon coming in 2nd place was a clinch. You can never discount the relevancy of the largest eBook store in the world. In 2010 we saw the 3rd generation Kindle Graphite line of e-readers. The company also slashed prices bringing down the entry level costs to $139 for the WIFI only and $189 for the 3G variant.
I was very surprised that Kobo ranked 3rd, but in essence it does make sense. Kobo leads all of the top 5 with its reader application having the farthest reach out of all of the others. They have their app on iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone 7, besides having an exclusive relationship with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. In 2011 things should remain consistant with their app expansions, inking new agreements with the Playbook by RIM, the HTC Tablet, and many more. It really helps Kobo to have their app come pre-bundled on a ton of devices, such as the Sharper Image Literati. Although their core e-reader lacks some features that Sony, Amazon and Barnes and Noble offer, it makes up for being very easy to get and return.
The other top positions were expected, neither Sony nor Pandigital have any kind of pull. You cannot buy ebooks on a Sony device, you have to use your computer to buy books then transfer them to your device over USB. Pandigital does not even have their own book store. Both of these e-readers continue to be popular due to the fact that Sony rides with the Sony brand name and actually has SOLID technology. I personally love the build quality of the Sony PRS-650 and Pandigital is merely an average tablet.
The most telling feature is the gulf between the top 5 and everything else. The top 5 accounted for most of the top percentile of all votes cast, with only a combines 69 votes for the others. It really shows that people are attracted to e-readers that are available in a retail setting and have a low price. People also mentioned that having a dedicated ebook store builds better brand identity.
IDC claims 13 million e-readers and 18 million tablets shipped in 2010
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International Data Corporation whom is considered one of the leading global market intelligence company has just released some interesting statistics. It seems in 2010 13 million e-readers and 18 million Tablet PC‘s were shipped globally.
Retail giant Amazon led the entire e-reader sales scene, retaining around a total 48% market share, not only in the pivotal 4th quarter earnings but in 2010 in its entirely. Amazon saw great earnings with its new Kindle 3 WIFI and 3G e-readers and slashed prices on them to boot.
A very interesting fact surfaced in this report regarding the nations largest bookstore chain Barnes and Noble. Their first color e-reader sold a tremendous amount of copies during the holiday season, but were edged out of the number 2 position by Pandigital. Pandigital saw great strides in the market with their Novel e-Reader. A big proponent of the companies overtaking B&N was due to the fact Pandigital is available in more regions and enjoys more retail prevalence in countries like Canada.
Rounding off the top 4 was Havon, whom half of their shipments were shipped to China and Sony. Worldwide Sony shipments rose 80% during the 4th quarter and sold more then 800,000 e-readers during 2010. We are still seeing worldwide shortages of the Sony PRS-650.
In the 4th quarter of 2010, the global e-reader market more than doubled volume from the previous quarter, with more than 6 million units shipped for the quarter, bringing the full-year total to 12.8 million units shipped. eReader shipments were also up more than 325% from 2009 when roughly 3 million units shipped. The strong growth reflects a more competitive offering as well as widening interest in the category, including a boost from media tablet press and much lower pricing.
The entire Tablet PC market really took off in 2010 with the release of the Apple iPad. This first the first mainstream tablet and left the competition rushing to produce their own technology. Although the iPad 2 is launching tomorrow IDC still products Apple to control 70-80% of the entire market.
Samsung came in as one of the only true viable Apple alternative, leading the charge with its Samsung Galaxy Tab. They will expand on their first offerings in 2011 with the 10 inch and 8 inch Honeycomb 2nd generation models.
Other companies are launching new products during 2011 which might be good to look out for. Motorola recently launched their new Tablet and LG, HTC and other competitors might make some ground this year.
via IDC
Feature: Why e-Reader and Tablet Companies Fail
Posted by: Michael Kozlowski | Comments (3)During the last five years since I started covering the e-reader and tablet PC industry, many companies have risen and fallen. There are some very disturbing trends that all of these failed ventures have in common, and many others are on the cusp of falling suit and hopefully could avoid the same fate.
Pandigital, Cool-ER, Endless Ideas, Entourage, and iRex have all fallen by the wayside as the competition has trounced them in sales and marketing. These companies have not only failed because of their sub-par line of devices, but also due to inept senior management.
All of these companies, save Entourage, bought cheap devices from China to re-brand the devices as their own. Most of the factories and OEM developers mainly brand lower-end devices and large quantities have to be ordered to get modern hardware. I have talked to many Chinese Factories and manufactures from websites like Alibaba. They all told me that it is impossible to have a higher performing device with custom firmware, splash screens, and laser etching done on orders less then 10,000. In most cases, you could have this done on very low-end tablets for a lower MOQ. Most of these failed companies simply did not have the resources to buy e-readers and tablets with enough processing power and RAM. This resulted in experiences that basically just built frustration amidst their user base and forced many to return their units for a refund.
There are a myriad of companies besides the failed ones that still adhere to this philosophy of buying sub-par hardware and relying on marketing to sell it. Velocity Micro, Ectaco, Pocketbook, Archos, Aluratek, Ramous, and a slew of others are guilty of releasing a new tablet or e-reader every few months and sales continue to be abysmal. This is mainly attributed to the higher sales cost to break even, whereas cutting edge devices issued by Google, Amazon, Kobo, and Samsung that destroy the lower-end market can afford the high overhead.
The only thing that is saving the companies outlined above is their retail distribution chain. Velocity Micro has one of the largest footprints with Walmart and other big box stores. These companies on your average consumer that has heard about this new e-reader trend, but doesn’t want to spend that type of money. All of the others rely on online sales to push units to customers.
One of largest proponents helping Pandigital, Entourage, Endless Ideas, and other similar small-time companies fail is because of their media and marketing divisions. A small company often does not have the resources to employ savvy marketing and press relations. About the only thing these companies ever did was issue the odd press release or talked about their own product on their official blog. Most have never consulted with tech websites or offered their products for review. They simply relied on their established retail distribution chains and hoped a new device every few months would fuel their growth. In Entourage’s case, specifically, the company lacked the vision on a business level to market the devices directly to educational institutions. Entourage instead relied on strict online sales and word of mouth to propel growth, but obviously the company has failed and is now out of business.
Companies that do not actively court the media or stage events are often the ones that no one recognizes, and as a result fade into obscurity. They don’t need to stage Apple or even Amazon caliber events, but having a product launch in New York or San Francisco would attract local and online media. A very basic invite just needs to be sent out and people will come for a scoop. None of these failed companies ever considered this, even though they are based in or have satellite offices in the USA. If you aren’t sending review units out and getting people (other than yourselves) hyping the product, you will go out of business. If you don’t court the media and build relations with the websites everyone reads, you will go out of business. If you continue to release sub-par Android tablets with single or dual-cores, you will go out of business. If you rely on your established retail chain to do the marketing and dirty work of promotion for you, you will trudge on for the next two years and then go out of business.
While indie companies may have to compete against very low cost tablets or e-readers from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Google, and the name power those brands bring, there is still plenty of room for indie companies to succeed. A few years ago you might have heard of a little company based out of India named Notion Ink. It never really had an endearing product, but it was very unique. The company hyped up the Pixel QI connection, a camera that swiveled 180 degrees, and cutting edge design. One of its most notable achievements was staging tremendous viral media campaigns. The company chronicled the entire development process on a hardware and software level on its blog. It took users suggestions, sifting through comments in the tens of thousands on each post. Notion Ink sometimes would even post complex code and show people what they were trying to accomplish. Its marketing blitz transcended online, and CEO Rohan Shravan was a fixture at CES, Computex, and many other international tech events. The company put an “Adam” in everyone’s hands who cared to express interest. It might have fallen off the map in recent years, but Notion Ink is developing the Adam 2, with a more subdued process.
There are plenty of extenuating circumstances on why so many companies failed in the last few years. I don’t pretend to know the inner workings and logistical semantics, but I have talked directly to these companies on many occasions. Their demise is mainly attributed to all the trends outlined above. All of the companies on the cusp of imminent doom have to get their act together in order to stay in business. It is not enough to sit back and let your retailers (if you have them) do all the work. It is critically important that your marketing be your strongest suit. If you continue to sell your tablets or e-readers directly to schools, businesses, government, or other key demographics, you might be in good shape. These days, customers are spoiled by the crazy hardware specs that companies like Google offer with the Nexus. Indie companies simply cannot appeal to the average customer like they did three years ago, when tablets and e-readers were a fresh concept. Your average user is savvy enough to know that a higher resolution and faster processing power will make playing games, watching movies, and listening to music more enjoyable.
If you can’t beat them on price, beat them in their marketing campaign, or develop new business models. It’s the only shot they have.