Android-powered tablets seem likely to emerge as the most powerful rivals for the iPad. A host of such designs have already appeared both in Japan and overseas. Challenging the iPad head-on will be tough, but it is rich in opportunity.
The iPad from Apple Inc. of the US has made a phenomenal start, but the competition is not sitting idly. The iPad has demonstrated that there is a real market for tablets, and a host of other companies are now fighting to carve themselves a piece of the market pioneered by the iPad, offering their own platforms combining tablet OS and application software (Fig.1).
Fig.1 Tablet OS and App Distribution Platforms
Of the manufacturers shown, Apple, HP and RIM are developing their own devices. Microsoft is the only company without an app distribution platform, making it a very slow starter in the tablet sector.
The rival viewed as most likely to succeed is the Android embedded platform, developed by Google Inc. of the US. Tablets utilizing Android have already appeared in quantity overseas. Dell Inc. of the US, for example, released the compact "streak" with a 5-inch LCD in June 2010, through British mobile phone carrier Telefónica O2 UK Ltd. (O2) of the UK. In continental Europe, WeTab GmbH of Germany is attracting considerable attention with the WeTab terminal scheduled for release soon, featuring an 11.6-inch LCD and an Atom processor from Intel Corp. of the US. Android tablets are also said to be under development by firms such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. of Korea and Motorola, Inc. of the US.
When Sony Corp. of Japan announced the development of Google TV in May 2010 jointly with Google, it hinted at the development of Android-based mobile equipment, and appears to be considering developing its own tablet. Most of the recent flood of iPad imitations from China and Taiwan also use Android.
Major Corporations Joining the Fray
Fig.2 MeeGo Device Revealed by Intel
The Redvale, developed by Quanta, was shown at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2010. Intel also has the AppUp Center application distribution platform.
Intel is working hard to catch up to front-runners Apple and Google, and is pushing the MeeGo Linux-based open-source OS. Version 1.0 was just released on May 25 2010 specifically for use in tablets. MeeGo combines the Moblin Linux-based software from Intel with the Maemo OS being worked on by Nokia Corp. of Finland, and the result (with improvements) is currently managed by the Linux Foundation of the US. At COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2010 in June 2010, Intel revealed the Redvale tablet from Quanta Computer Inc. of Taiwan, mounting MeeGo (Fig.2).
Along with MeeGo, Intel is also promoting its AppUp Center, the application distribution platform it developed. A number of manufacturers are cooperating in this initiative: ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. of Taiwan announced at COMPUTEX that it would provide an app store compatible with AppUup Center.
Intel and Nokia, however, do not appear to have entered into much of a tie-up as far as MeeGo integration is concerned, and their app distribution platforms are separate. Intel's AppUp Center is designed for netbooks and tablets driven by Atom processors, while Nokia's Ovi Store is aimed at smartphones with ARM processors. The significance of an integrated OS would be lessened without an integrated app distribution platform, and so neither firm appears to be fuly committed yet.
Hewlett-Packard Co., (HP) of the US appears to be hoping to put its webOS (gained through acquisition of Palm, Inc. of the US) into tablet computers. Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) of Canada is said to be developing a tablet based on the BlackBerry.
For the application distribution platform, the depth and breadth of app selection is a matter of life and death, and largely depends on how many software developers can be reeled in. Jim McGregor, Chief Technology Strategist at In-Stat, LLC of the US, believes "Software developers will only supply their apps to two or three major platforms." In other words, platforms other than iPad and Android might have a tough time finding popular apps.
Microsoft Lags Behind
Microsoft Corp. of the US seems to be lagging far, far behind. The company is hoping to provide Windows 7 and Windows Embedded CE (along with its successor, Windows Embedded Compact 7) as operating systems for tablets.
The problem is the app distribution system. While there is a Windows Phone Marketplace designed specifically for smartphones, Microsoft admits that it "unfortunately" does not have a distribution platform that can also be used by tablets. One of the reasons that Intel split with Microsoft in the tablet sector and is pushing MeeGo instead is rumored to be the slow reaction time Microsoft showed.
Service Provision the Key
Android-based tablets are booming in Japan as well, but it is intriguing to note that most of the action is not being directed by the manufacturers. The key players seem to be companies like service provider NEC BIGLOBE, Ltd. of Japan, Internet company FreeBit Co., Ltd. of Japan, and communication carrier Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp. (NTT East) of Japan, who are planning on offering Android tablets.
In-Stat's McGregor explains: "In the past many PC manufacturers tried to sell tablet PCs and MIDs, but they didn't give any consideration to what sort of services to provide, and just tried to sell the hardware. As it turns out, content aggregators like DVD rental company Netflix, Inc. of the US, book retailer Amazon.com, Inc. of the US and Apple are better positioned to supply tablets."
Smaller and Lighter than the iPad
NEC BIGLOBE announced its "personal cloud" concept (Fig.3) in December 2009, before the appearance of the iPad. The idea was to provide service to the home via an Android-based tablet "cloud device." The company says that it began considering the idea in-house in July that year. Yoshiyuki Koseki, senior vice president and member of the board at the firm, who was in charge of the project, comments "We were never able to get the concept across before, no matter how we tried." As a result, a number of product proposals bit the dust over the years.
Fig.3 NEC BIGLOBE Entering the Tablet Business with Android
The "LifeTouch" tablet developed by NEC is customized for sale by NEC BIGLOBE, which also operates the Andronavi app distribution platform. The tablet shown here with Andronavi is the ARCHOS 7 home tablet, obtained separately by Nikkei Electronics from ARCHOS.
After the iPad appeared in 2010, though, it was sufficient to simply say the concept was "like the iPad," with no additional explanation needed. NEC BIGLOBAL's Koseki adds "I'm amazed at how quickly the world changed. Everyone here used to wonder if anyone would ever buy such a device, and now all of a sudden they want to start selling it yesterday."
From March to May 2010, the company asked one hundred BIGLOBE members to cooperate in a trial using Android-based tablet prototypes. The tablets were made by Camangi Corp. of Taiwan, although the actual cloud devices put on sale in the fall of 2010 were manufactured by NEC Corp. of Japan. NEC provides only the hardware, with NEC BIGLOBE in charge of the user interface and installed apps.
The device has a 7-inch screen, slightly smaller than the iPad. A source at NEC explains that seven inches is the largest size than can comfortably be held in the average Japanese hand. It weighs only about 400g, less than the iPad at 680g-730g. NEC BIGLOBE's Koseki says "We didn't especially plan for it, but we ended up with a size that avoided competing with the iPad in the market." The device is designed to be stand-mounted in the home for use, but can be carried outside as well. Communication in the home is by Wireless LAN, and outdoors by public wireless LAN or NEC BIGLOBE providing third-generation mobile communications (3G) as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). The device has software to switch circuits automatically. The retail price is expected to be no more than 50,000 yen, and the firm hopes to move 100,000 units a year thanks to its small size and light weight.
Proprietary App Distribution
One interesting point in NEC BIGLOBE's project is that the firm has developed its own application distribution platform for Android, dubbed Andronavi. The company intends to provide a seamless service by combining its existing content provision business with the new hardware and app distribution platform. "We have assigned Andronavi top priority," says Koseki.
Andronavi is not intended to be limited to cloud devices, but to also handle smartphones and other devices running Android. The service launched as an information site in January 2010, introducing apps from the Android Market run by Google, and in February began offering free apps for download. In April a dedicated Android app was released to facilitate Andronavi use.
In May 2010 the site began offering apps for sale. Comics and other content will be distributed from August, and the service is scheduled for rollout in North America in the fall.
