I’ve always believed competing tablets need to be cheaper than the market leader, the iPad, if they want to stand a chance. Last year we’ve seen few tablets make it to market, but in 2011 the Android competition grew stronger, not as pricing is concerned, but in the number of available models.

    Pricing remained the major problem, as the best models were priced at the same level as the iPad 2, or even higher, at 700-800 $ price levels (example). A recently study puts a number on this issue: $100.

    That’s the amount a competing tablet must be priced under the iPad 2 to allure consumers into getting it. And sometimes one hundred bucks is not enough, and tablets must be priced even lower to stand a chance. The HP Touchpad is a good example of that, as it sold out quite rapidly when discounted to $99, $149 respectively, despite the fact WebOS was abandoned already. Other tablets didn’t had the same success, namely the Blackberry Playbook, that’s still plagued by the lack of software (apps and default functionality like contacts, mail and calendar). Not even a lower price point didn’t help RIM’s tablet.

    All this means the Amazon Kindle Fire is actually the best tablet to complete with the iPad2, which still has over 70% of the market. Another chance would be for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to offer a comparable user experience coupled with significant price drops for the tablets running it. All trends point towards 2012 being an year when tablets will fall significantly in price, but don’t expect for Apple to stand still and do nothing as an iPad Mini was already rumored.

    The iPad 2 is still king

    The iPad 2 is still king