The price of upcoming tablets powered by Intel processors and Microsoft’s Windows operating system appears set to remain substantially higher than that of other tablets. Citing “sources from notebook vendors,” Digitimes reports that neither Intel or Microsoft are so far willing to reduce their prices on processors and Windows licenses. The outcome could be that Wintel tablets could sell for between US$599 and US$899.
As already seen with a number of tablets such as the HP TouchPad and RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook, customers are unwilling to buy what they perceive as overpriced tablets. With competition only heating up, WinTel tablets are likely to end up facing the same challenge. And the competition knows it. For example, at CES, ASUS teased the MeMO ME370T, an upcoming quad-core ARM processor, Android 4.0, 7-inch tablet that will sell for US$249. Apple, the dominant tablet manufacturer, is also rumoured to continue selling the iPad 2 at a reduced price once the iPad 3 is launched.
Given that both Windows and Intel processors are also used in PCs, a move to drop prices in a bid to help them sell better would force the companies to match those prices for that significantly larger space, threatening their overall revenues and gross profit margins.
Both companies have some tough choices ahead of them…
Read more: Digitimes