Comments on: Poor Pathetic HP Way Too Late to Android Tablet Market

By: Ron Miller

Ron Miller — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 23:01:25 +0000

Gbollard,Your assertion assumes that people take HP seriously as a brand, and I don’t think that’s necessarily true anymore and that IT is still purchasing the devices, when in many cases, users are choosing their own devices now in a Bring Your Own Device kind of scenario. I can’t see many people buying HP tablets when given the choice of Apple or the myriad of other quality Android offering out there.

By: TomLiotta

TomLiotta — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:44:04 +0000

I can’t quite characterize Lenovo’s problems with the app store that they used as having “destroyed” it. It looks as if that issue was outside of Lenovo’s control. Regardless, it does point to an issue with relying on a facility (e.g., an “app store”) that is not completely within your control. If the facility closes, you are left hanging, and it’s a bad experience for your customers. BTW, Lenovo still has Android devices showing as available on their web site; so it doesn’t seem as if they’ve dropped support except possibly for earlier models. Any links to show dropped support? — Tom

By: infomanager

infomanager — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 05:19:01 +0000

@gbollard – I beg to differ in regard to your assertion that buying a
brand provides a customer with warranty backed by the brands reputation.
Case in point; Lenovo let many of its clients down when they pulled
support for their ThinkPad (android) device. Initially peddled as a
business tool, on spec it certainly looked a formidable contender for
the wallet of enterprise users. Not only did Lenovo pull the device from
the market, but they destroyed their thinkpad “app” store. Further
adding insult to injury, many of the apps available solely through this
app store have been orphaned off by their developers, with no recourse
to updates even where the same app is available from the Google app
store!!

By: gbollard

gbollard — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:11:45 +0000

I'd be critical of this if it was about HP coming up with another new tablet system but it's not. They're simply entering the market and using an existing (compatible) and established system. Having quality choices like HP and Samsung in the android market is no different to having Lenovo, HP and Dell offering quality PC products in a market full of low-priced clones.

Businesses will pay more for the reputation and warranty that comes with a brand name device. As for the cloud, that's a much more crowded market than the tablet one. HP would do well to stay clear of that.

By: Ron Miller

Ron Miller — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:48:02 +0000

Good question, Michael. I think they should get out of the computer business and concentrate on a few enterprise areas such as storage and the cloud.

By: Michael Tidmarsh

Michael Tidmarsh — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:34:00 +0000

So with the PC market struggling and since it’s too late to join the tablet market, what should HP’s next step be?