Last year rumors held that both Samsung and Apple were working on mega-tablets, larger versions of their popular tablet lines that could contain displays larger than one foot across. The tales turned out to be true in Samsung’s case, though it seems now that the Korean company may end up regretting that fact.
DigiTimes Research today released a report detailing just why Samsung’s recently announced 12.2-inch tablets are unlikely to win over the market in the near future.
The report points out that while Samsung has aimed the tablets at the business market, notebook PCs at a similar price point are already available for the same market. The less expensive Galaxy TabPRO retails for nearly $650 – far more expensive than the Chromebooks that have begun to rise in popularity in recent quarters.
To make the tablets more viable for a business setting, Samsung has packed its mega-tablets with software designed to allow for enterprise use-cases. The offerings include its mobile security software, cloud apps, and better multitasking software that includes multi-window support for running apps in separate sections of the display. Despite these efforts, notebooks and desktop computers still remain the top choices from a productivity standpoint, leaving Samsung’s mega-tablets under-powered and feature-poor in a crowded market.
As stated in the DigiTimes report, the 12.2-inch tablets simply have no competitive edge against PCs specifically tailored to an enterprise setting, especially when hardware power is taken into account. Add to this some of the troubles that app-makers have had accommodating the vast array of Android tablets (in particular Samsung’s proprietary software) and the new mega-tablets could simply not find a place in the current market.
On the other hand, it is still unclear whether larger tablets will ever have a place in the market. This news comes on the heels of rumors that Apple’s mega-tablet project might have been shelved. The company reportedly had a hard time convincing developers to support yet another iPad size and spec.