Around the Web - Not all is well on the Android tablet front

Engadget reports  that the Motorola Xoom won't support flash at its launch. The feature will be added in Spring 2011 (March to May 2011). Waiting a bit for flash is fine. Price is the problem, the US$600 price for the WiFi only model is fair, but a even lower spec'd unit at a lower price would be nice. The US$799 price for the 3G model, well we do not not expect to see many selling at that price.

HTC Flyer - A 7-inch tablet

The HTC Flyer looks like it is going to be another 30K or so Android tablet. Well, based on pre-order prices found by TechRadar.com. 

Jon Stokes of ars technica writes about why he does not care about tablets anymore. While, I like Jon really have no interest in tablets, I think it is fair to say that for anyone who writes long documents, they will not be replacing their laptops with a tablet. On the other hand, there are many people who really do not need a laptop.  For web browsing, social networking, viewing videos and pictures, as well as  some light productivity, that is what the tablet is designed for. 

Apple's lower cost iPads do that at a decent price. Being content consumption, rather than content creation devices, I really do not see the need for a lot of horse power under the hood. Being primarily an accessory device, lower prices are a must. So far, the Android tablets have failed to deliver on the lower price part. 

Posted in: Tablets