Too Many Tablets!

By Jeremy Yowell on November 12, 2012

With Apple’s recent release of the iPad mini, touch screen computing devices have been on my mind. The overriding feeling that’s dawned on me is simply this: there are too many tablets! Every major electronics company has thrown their metaphorical hats into the tablet ring, to mixed fanfare. Apple, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Google, Motorola, Sony,  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Archos, HP, Lenovo, LG, RIM, Dell, HTC, and more all have varying models of tablets on the market. Something tells me this is a tad too many tablets.

Realistically, the heavy hitters in this market are Apple, Samsung, Google, and Amazon. While Apple currently holds the majority share in tablets (and frankly probably phones, MP3 players, and some people’s souls) Samsung and others are quickly gaining ground. The question must be asked though; who needs all these different tablets? Who is buying these completely random tablets from random tablet producers? I honestly do not know.

I have yet to come across most of those brands in college, or anywhere for that matter. I’ve seen Sony tablets, Samsung tablets, and oh so many iPads, but a Lenovo tablet? Not so much. The tablet market is too crowded and frankly, I’m on tablet overload. I’d much rather see some of these manufacturers dedicate their funds to pursuing different technologies, products, methods, ideas or whatever, just something different!

Do you know why there are really only three videogame console manufacturers? Because there’s a point where there are simply too many producers on the market. Back in the 1980’s there were many videogame consoles producers; at one point there were fourteen consoles on the market. Do you know what happened? The video game industry collapsed. Now, there were certainly more influences which led to the collapse of that industry, and I’m not saying the tablet market is heading towards destruction. What I am saying is that we will reach a point eventually where it’s just too much.

Eventually the excellent products such as Apple’s or Samsung’s will rise to the top and the sub-par tablet manufactures will abandon the industry. Will we ever see a situation where there are only three tablet producers? Highly unlikely. But we will eventually reach a point where companies start dropping out of the market. The saying, ‘this towns not big enough for the both of us’ is an applicable saying. Except in this case the town is the highly competitive and expensive high end electronics market; and the “two of us” are actually over eighteen companies. There are too many tablets!

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