« Review : Nintendo Wavebird Controllers for Gamecube | Main | Review : Tenchu : Wrath of Heaven for PS2 »
Why are Tablet PC So Expensive?
Recently I have been looking at various Tablet PCs and speculating on what it would be like to have one. I love my notebook PC and Wacom Tablet and I have owned two PDAs so the idea of having a pen based computer the size and shape of a book is rather attractive to me.
I think that tablet PCs are being designed and marketed towards hard-core computer nerds such as myself who would be willing to take some rather inconvenient changes ( such as a lack of an internal optical drive and a decent 3d graphics chip ) for having such a cool Star Trek like PC.
But without a doubt the main thing that makes me cautious about the whole tablet PC thing is the price of the hardware. I am blown away at how a decent tablet PC can run 50% to 100% more than a comparable notebook PC and statistically the Notebook PC is carrying more beefy goodness for your buck.
Bill Gates has gone out of a limb to predict that with in five years of the introduction of the Tablet PC that it will replace notebooks and desktops for popularity. While it is true that Notebook PCs have surpassed desktops recently in shear sales.
That is a bold claim to state than a obscure high tech hybrid is going to replace both of them. In fact most users have never seen or used a Tablet PC even among notebook PC owners. Notebook PCs have not radically changed in form since the first Apple Powerbooks hit the market. But then again Microsoft was serious when they sold Microsoft Bob and Kakuto Chojin. They have a good batting average but not perfect.
I can only assume that the reason for the increased prices of the Tablet PC hardware is to offset the reduced market place compared to Notebooks the the buyers if the Tablet PCs are more willing to pay for cooler nerd toys. You know I can think of another technological platform that has been disproportionately and unfairly priced to off set a lower market place.
What is this higher priced but cooler platform I speak of?
Why Apple Computer's Macintosh line.
I have been a Mac user since 1984 and for almost two decades the Mac has been a constantly 50% more expensive than a similar PC. I am not trying to discount the power and advantages of the Mac but I am simply pointing out that Apple has priced the Mac at a higher profit margin than other PC makers. Bastard extraordinary John Scully raised the price of the original 1984 Macintosh to offset the forking high costly ads to sell the first Macintoshes.
Let's compare two cow-powered Gateway systems.
The Gateway Tablet PC Deluxe features
1 Ghz Pentium -M Centrino Chipset.
Crappy Integrated Intel graphics chip.
12.1 Inch screen.
512 Megs Ram
40 Gigs HD
Docking Station
External CD-RW/DVD optical drive
For a grand total of $3,477.98
Now let's compare that to a Gateway 450 XL Notebook PC
1.6 Ghz Pentium -M Centrino Chipset.
15" SXGA+ Screen
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 w/ 64MB DDR video memory
512 Megs Ram
60 Gigs HD
Internal CD-RW/DVD optical drive
For $2,139.98
That is $1,338.00 Less than the Tablet PC and you can get yourself on of my eMachine Notebook PCs and Wifi router with the money you would save.
Update OK I guess I will take a took at the Acer TravelMate C110 Tablet PC
900mhz Pentium -M Centrino Chipset.
Crappy Integrated Intel graphics chip.
10.4 Inch screen.
512 Megs Ram
40 Gigs HD
External CD-RW/DVD optical drive Firewire.
Much more like it at $2,208.99
I understand that there are considerations to design a well balanced tablet with the pen based screen but In a more perfect world Tablet PCs would only to 10% to 15% more than a notebook PC.
All is not lost when the cost of Notebook PC chipsets and displays continue to drop in price is combined with more energy efficient mobile chips and WiFi networks will start to sell Tablet PCs to a mainstream market. It is a Chicken and Egg situation. When the prices comedown they will sell more Tablet PCs but that will not happen until the market share increases.
Jake at August 5, 2003 
Rants
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/cgi-bin/mtype/mt-tb.cgi/316
Comments
Yikes, you may be tempted, but I'd let some other suckers take that initial leap. Not only will the price go down eventually, but the stats, capabilities, and the reliability of the machine will get better. Early adoption is a cold, lonely, and expensive frontier.
At least that's what I tried to tell myself before I bought my Handspring Treo.
Posted by: Marcus at August 5, 2003 6:33 AM
ok, that's it...i've been w/my hubby too freakin' long...when i actually know what the hell it means when you give computer specs i've done geeked out...damn...and i was hoping to just stay a dork the rest of my life...now i'm a geeky dork! :P
i'd rather have a notebook than a tablet, though i can see definite coolness in the tablet thing...*especially after getting this little Sony Clie thingy...dang...nope, i'd still rather have the notebook...;)
Posted by: lilly at August 5, 2003 7:31 AM
If the tablet PCs had built-in optical and a 3D card good enough to game with, I'd shell out the extra money to be on the cutting edge. I'd love to be able to toss the tablet PC in my backpack and head off to a friend's house for some LAN gaming. They'll get there. If you remember, just 3 years ago geeks were lamenting the fact that notebooks couldn't game, and look how far they've come. Now they've got great 3D cards and subwoofers under the keyboards. That's progress.
Posted by: Jeff at August 5, 2003 7:43 AM
That is somewhat an illogical comparison, as the Acer C110 (Centrino) fully loaded that runs for $1,9800. Gateway, packs extra options on in an “all or nothing bundle”, and besides Gateway is just reselling Motion Computing (Compal) tech. When one needs to make an argument about how expensive something is, naturally one picks the most expensive model out there. The fact of ONE OEM out of nearly 24 others having screwed up pricing isn’t a valid argument about the high prices of Tablet PCs. And now with Centrinos starting to come out in full-force, first generational Tablet PCs are getting cheaper than ever. www.escstore.com has FIC’s for $1,315 and Acer TMC104CTi’s for $1,695 and a baseline Compaq TC1000 (with GeForce) for $1,690 and the Viewsonic (1st Gen model) for $1,606. No crazy Gatewayisms here.
Posted by: Christopher Coulter at August 5, 2003 10:25 AM
Thought I would want a tablet PC, I'd have to agree with Marcus. I bet the designs will get better and the prices will go down, but still, everyone wants to try one NOW and see what it's like. I'm rabling. I'll shut up now.
Posted by: Riley at August 5, 2003 10:32 AM
I picked Gateway because I looked into getting that Notebook in the past. I am probably going to get a new PC in about two or three years and I will think about a Tablet PC if they prices get down to 10% more than a notebook.
I probably could have done the same thing with a Compaq or Toshiba Tablet PC
Posted by: Jake at August 5, 2003 10:41 AM
I just bought a new Sharp laptop. It's the MM10 - and it only weighs 2.1 pounds. I considered a Pocket PC, but I wanted Wifi, a keyboard, and the ability to surf regular websites so I could do tech support. It's so small I can carry it in my purse. I love it.
Mike wants a Tablet PC, but I told him the same thing others have said here - wait until they aren't "new" so that they are better.
Posted by: Christine at August 9, 2003 11:15 PM
