14 DAY TRIAL // While the reaction to the release of the Apple iPad was pretty much mixed, there is one element of the device that, according to the most recent market rumors, caught mobile computer vendors by surprise. The unexpected element in the iPad was its price, which seems to have turned out to be substantially lower than hardware makers initially expected.
Of course, as it is often the case with market rumors that make it to the web, the report was published by Digitmes. According to its sources, MSI and ASUS initially expected the iPad to cost about $1,000 and they had already devised strategies that would have helped them produce similar tablet devices cheaper by 20% to 30%. The comparably accessible price of $499, however, may mean that the notebook vendors will have to reevaluate their plans and perhaps even try to avoid price competition.
Both MSI and ASUS have already either been rumored or confirmed to be working on tablets. MSI is preparing an NVIDIA Tegra-based slate PC that will cost about as much as the iPad and ASUS has already confirmed that its Eee Pad is on the way, also Tegra-powered. While already likely to be priced similarly to Apple's product, the Tegra already gives these slates an edge over the iPad through its support for Flash playback.
Nevertheless, the very low price of $499 has begun to raise concerns that, Digitimes says, “any profitably will be driven out of the nascent tablet PC market, before it even has a chance to take off.” The same report also states that vendors are already reevaluating their strategies in the hopes of avoiding price competitions if at all possible.
In related news, HP was also revealed to be nearing the launch of its own slate, with even an official video having been released. This tablet runs Windows 7 and will be “in the affordable range”, which should also imply a price of around $500.