A tried and tested method of successfully positioning a product in a market that is dominated by some other product is to price it cheap while ensuring quality levels are never compromised. This is exactly the strategy that both Barnes & Noble and Amazon has adopted with their Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire respectively. The Nook Tablet is priced at $250 while the Kindle Fire is even more pocket friendly at just $200, which, from a consumer’s point of view presents a nice scenario. The Kindle Fire presents an excellent option for anyone opting for a decent tablet but with a somewhat restricted scope while the Nook Tablet presents more functionality for $50 more. No points for guessing who has already started to feel the heat with some experts claiming the iPad is due for a price-cut treatment.
True the iPad range of tablets are selling in millions and continues to be the tablet to beat though one thing that the Amazon and B&N products has managed to achieve is to make the iPad seem too expensive. So its like the iPad may be the best tablet out there but all of that comes at a price and there are cheaper options currently available. The emergence of Android 4.0 ICS may be further damaging to Apple’s prospects in the tablet segment though all of this has surely not gone unnoticed on Apple’s radar. This since there already are talks of Apple too considering a cheaper iPad to take on the new found challenge while analysts believe the reduction in price may come earlier than previously expected as the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet will definitely be higher up in the holiday shopping crowd’s minds than the iPad.
So if the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet has managed to shake up the seemingly unshakable iPad, what also can’t be ignored is that the profit margin is either too thin or even non-existent for Amazon and B&N. In such a scenario, if Apple does indeed come out with a low priced iPad or even a cheaper version of the tablet minus some of the features, the initiative can be back with Apple once more.
It will be interesting to see what Apple’s response is in a changed scenario in the tablet segment. The fire sale of the $99 priced TouchPad should be a lesson to all for it has proved that if a product is priced cheap enough, there will never be a dearth of buyers. Amazon has played the price card to the maximum while Apple still has a lot of room to make its move. What move? We may not have to wait too long for that.
via msnbc
Sovan Mandal is the senior tablet and tech corespondent for goodereader.com. He brings a international approach to news that is not just applicable to the North American market, but also Asia, India, Europe and others. Sovy brings his own writing flavor to the website and is interested in Science Fiction, Technology and Writing. Any questions, send an email