I strongly recommend have a read of his post.

It’s called simply the “Amazon Kindle”. But it’s not like any Kindle you’ve seen before. It displays content in full color. It has a 7-inch capacitive touch screen. And it runs Android.

via Amazon’s Kindle Tablet Is Very Real. I’ve Seen It, Played With It. | TechCrunch.

The market dynamics about to be unleashed are going to have serious, serious implications for the operators. Pay close attention to MG’s point about a 3G Kindle tablet. Some operator groups are no doubt having kittens over this already. What happens if you do the worldwide deal for unlimited Amazon Kindle 3G data? Does your network take a pummelling? Or do you gain a fantastic partner, guaranteed stable revenue and the opportunity for some upside? Or are you relegated to a lower level whilst the tablet wars finally commence?

It’s going to be a really, really interesting final stretch to Christmas in the mobile industry.

There’s always a market, it just depends on the price.

Sometimes it’s free. Sometimes you need to pay folk. Other times you just need to adjust the price a little.

It turns out that there is what us economists refer to as dramatic elasticity when it comes to tablets that aren’t named ‘iPad’.

Whilst nobody seems to think twice about spunking £399 on an entry-level iPad, everybody develops a brain freeze when it comes to any other brand. That’s partly because — in fairness — the majority of iPad competitors are utter tripe. Worse than tripe. Tripe with about a ton of shit squeezed in.

Witness, for example, the abomination of the Motorola XOOM. The hardware? Middling. The user interface? Traditional rubbish from Google.

I won’t even bore you with the 100-quid-shitters that are bordering on offensive to anyone with a technical mind. You know the ones — the half-inch-thick Android 2.0 specials.

[The PlayBook is a special case -- that, I shall address at a later date]

Back to HP. It turns out that HP’s nano-brain senior management are on to a winner with the Touchpad. As retailers across the West are discovering this week, there’s actually huge demand for the HP Touchpad. Just, not at the iPad price.

Stick it down to £89 and everyone I know want’s one.

I’m not kidding. Everyone I know. And half of them haven’t ever tried WebOS. Half of them couldn’t pick WebOS out of a basic screenshot line-up. But they’ll all have an £89 16GB Touchpad.

If I’d had, say, 30 Touchpads in my hand this evening, I think I could have shifted every single one at £89. I’ll go further: I reckon I could have sold 100 via Twitter in about 10 minutes at 6pm this evening.

The Background

The neolithic incompetence of the HP board aside, here’s a quick primer: HP effectively announced the death of WebOS last week. Oh the OS may well be licensed. But hardware? No. Dead. If you own a Touchpad: Hahah. That was the message from HP last week. There were quite a few units sitting on shelves though. They needed to be cleared. Rather quickly over the weekend, rumours began flying of Touchpads being substantially discounted. News hit the UK on Monday evening, courtesy of a few tweets from the Dixons PR chaps. UK pricing has been ‘corrected’ (i.e. reduced-to-flog) at £89 for the 16GB Touchpad and £115 for the 32GB version.

The Results

As news was confirmed during the early evening, thousands of geeks lined up on the Dixons/PC World/Currys websites with their fingers poised. Although I had a meal to get to, I arrived at Bank in the Square Mile at 6.02pm and promptly flipped out the BlackBerry Bold 9900. [I wanted to give it's browser some real-time in-anger usage]. I’m delighted to say that the new Bold’s browser handled my requirements brilliantly. Unfortunately when I tried to order the Touchpad at the new price, I got an out-of-order message.

Dang it.

Judging by the Twitter messages, some lucky people managed to get hold of one. MIR reader @bragbpenders managed to snare one. Numerous other readers and followers appear to be planning on actually visiting shops in the hope of picking up extra stock.

What’s this mean?

Fundamentally, it’s a statement by the wider market that the Touchpad wasn’t a complete dullard. It’s got some worth. Granted, at £89 (or $142) that’s only about half the estimated build cost. But it’s got worth. And lots of people are scrambling for the Touchpad at that price. Further, I don’t think queues are out of the question. Any retailer that announces a decent chunk of in-store stock is set to be besieged with people wanting a good deal.

Stick some of the Android abominations to £89 and, no. No thank you. I don’t want one.

Basic logic tells me HP and Palm got something right with the Touchpad — the price was wrong, but the basic product was right.

The future?

Ah dear.

I would have loved to have seen a balls-out strategy from HP. Come on, it could have been brilliant!

Let’s be clear: The tablet market is completely owned by Apple at the moment.

At the moment. There’s plenty of opportunity to innovate — and it doesn’t just have to happen on the hardware. Price is an important innovation point. Apple famously uses price to completely wrong-foot competitors. It’s done this brilliantly in the tablet market, with other manufacturers struggling to get anything out the door to match the iPad price — with a decent margin to boot.

Why not go the other way? Invest in the ecosystem. Invest in the market. Invest in the fact that you were fracking late to the party, but that you have a meaningful contribution to make: But that it’s going to cost you.

Wan Billyin Dollurz

So set aside a billion dollars. You’re big enough and you want the ecosystem. The only way anyone is going to pay any attention is if you own a section of the market.

Let’s get out the fag-packet and do some calculations.

$99 purchase price, right?

Assume HP is currently taking a $200 haircut on each one at this rate. But let’s aim for an 8GB Touchpad. Or perhaps even a 4GB. I think folk would still go for an 8GB one at $99. So if you assume the market is happy to stump up $99 for a Touchpad — and that HP would need to subsidise each purchase by, say, $150, how many could HP sell if it had a billion dollars to play with?

$1 billion divided by $150 is 6.6 million.

So HP could sell 6.6 million units.

Is there a big enough market for Touchpads? Arguably, yes.

Would folk be queuing round the block for them? Arguably, yes.

Would Western developer attention be re-tuned to prioritise or focus on WebOS? Arguably, yes.

6-7 million units is pretty good. That’s just over half of what Apple sold in 2010 (thanks Wikipedia).

So a billion dollars could potentially buy you into the tablet ecosystem.

Wikipedia reckons that in March there had been 15 million iPads sold. That isn’t much, is it? Not in the context of this imaginary 6-7 million Touchpads. As of today, Wikipedia reckons there have been 28 million iPads sold by the end of June 2011.

Could HP — with some clever pricing and some audacious nail biting accounting — find itself with a 25% chunk of the tablet market in 6 months? As this post at The Week points out, such a strategy would also more or less wipe out the other Android pretenders. Even the current fire sale could seriously damage the rest of the market:

3. Tablet pricing will be thrown in flux
The TouchPad may have been flawed, but its exit from the market at fire-sale prices may force other tablet makers to slash their prices, too, says Dignan. “It’s no wonder retailers initially balked at HP’s prices. If the TouchPad is ultimately worth $99, what’s an Android tablet worth?” If Google tablets want to really compete with Apple, they’re going to have to offer a much better price — $250 max.

I know there’s a lot of ifs. I just wanted to explore the possibilities.

It’s a big ask.

It’d cost way more than a billion of course. But it’d keep you in the game.

I had high hopes for HP. You never know, perhaps HP’s management might grow a pair and decide to get stuck into the mobile marketplace once again.

You can — provided your luck holds — get yourself a brand new BlackBerry PlayBook today in the United Kingdom. Currys, Dixons, PC World, Carphone Warehouse, Insight UK and Phones4U will all be making the tablet available this morning. As yet I haven’t seen any PlayBooks ‘in the wild’ in London but after today, I’m hoping to begin seeing a few around.

You can use this link at Carphone Warehouse to check stock and place an order.

Good hunting!

Now then, if you’re in the following countries, look out — the chances are the PlayBook has already launched or is about to launch:

UK
Netherlands
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Hong Kong
Australia
Venezuela
Spain
Germany
UAE
Singapore
Mexico
France
Italy
India
Indonesia
Colombia

Instead of bashing away on the keyboard I decided to do an audio opinion on Sony’s Android tablet announcements today.

Posted via email from MIR Live

Interesting times…

TOKYO, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Corporation (“Sony”), announces “Sony Tablet” that delivers the perfect combination of hardware, content and network with seamless usability for a high-quality, engaging entertainment experience. Based on decades of engineering heritage, Sony is developing two tablets with unprecedented design, including S1 (codename) which is optimized for rich media entertainment and S2 (codename) which is ideal for mobile communication and entertainment. “Sony Tablet” will become available in the global market starting in fall 2011.

“Sony Tablet” is equipped with the latest Android 3.0 which is designed for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. Both tablets are WiFi and WAN (3G/4G) compatible and users can not only browse the internet or check e-mail but they can also smoothly access digital content including videos, games and books through Sony’s premium network services and more, on-the-go at any time.

S1 has a 9.4-inch display for enjoying the web and rich content on a large screen. Its off-center of gravity design realizes stability and ease of grip as well as a sense of stability and lightness, offering comfortable use for hours.

S2 has two 5.5-inch displays that can be folded for easy portability. In contrast to existing tablets, its unprecedented dual screen presentation and usability allows its displays to be combined and used as a large screen or for different functions such as playing video on one screen while showing control buttons on the other.

“‘Sony Tablet’ delivers an entertainment experience where users can enjoy cloud-based services on-the-go at any time. We’re aiming to create a new lifestyle by integrating consumer hardware, including ‘Sony Tablet’ with content and network,” said Kunimasa Suzuki, Corporate Executive, SVP, and Deputy President of Consumer Products & Services Group.

“Android 3.0 is a new version of the Android platform with a new holographic user interface that is designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. I’m excited about “Sony Tablet” as it will further spur the development of applications and network offerings which users are looking for,” said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President, Mobile, Google Inc.

Also, in the mobile computing category, the market for PCs which realize high productivity is expected to steadily grow, particularly in emerging markets. Therefore, Sony will also remain committed to strengthening its VAIO brand and introduce increasingly compelling products which offer new value propositions to the market.

“Sony Tablet” features

• Designed for portability and intuitive gripping

With its off-center of gravity form factor, the 9.4-inch S1 offers stability and a sense of lightness, offering comfortable use for hours.

The dual screen S2 comes with two 5.5-inch displays which can be used together as one large screen to browse websites and more. They can also be used for different functions as users can watch a video on one screen and input commands on the other, or check email on one screen and use the other as a soft keyboard.

• Seamless Usability and Performance

Through Sony’s knowhow for combining hardware and software, “Sony Tablet” realizes optimal usability and performance. Because of Sony’s rapid response technologies, users can perform smooth, quick touch-screen operations and enjoy fast and efficient website loading. The keyboard arrangement is also optimized for the large screen, making email and SNS communication a breeze.

• Rich entertainment experiences through various network services

Through Qriocity(1) music and video services, users can enjoy rich video and music content. Also, through PlayStation®Suite, users can immerse themselves in high quality first generation PlayStation® titles. Additionally, users can easily download ebook content from Reader™Store(2) and use both tablets as digital reading devices. The integration with various services allows users to take their entertainment experiences on-the-go. Furthermore, “Sony Tablet” is equipped with functionality that organizes content for easy access.

• Remote access functionality with AV devices

Through “Sony Tablet”, users can control home entertainment devices as well as enjoy content in new ways. S1 uses infrared technology and works as universal remote controls for a variety of AV devices starting with < BRAVIA >. Users can perform functions like turning on their TVs, changing the channel and adjusting the volume. Also, through DLNA functionality on “Sony Tablet”, users can “throw” personal content to large screen televisions or music to wireless speakers.

In 2010, Sony launched a network platform called “Qriocity” which connects many of Sony’s network-enabled devices, and has been expanding its services into global markets. Also, Sony Computer Entertainment has been providing various contents and services for PlayStation users through PlayStation®Network, which now has over 75 million registered accounts (as of March 20, 2011) worldwide.

Simultaneously, Sony will continue to announce various devices which leverage these services. Starting in early 2011, Sony Computer Entertainment announced the next-generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP) while Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications brought “Xperia™PLAY” to the market. Sony is introducing “Sony Tablet” to deliver an entertainment experience which integrates hardware with network services that deliver rich content.

With the establishment of Consumer Products and Services Group in April 2011, Sony will focus on accelerating the development of innovative next generation products and aim to deliver a new lifestyle by strengthening the integration of hardware and network services.

I filmed this video overview of the PlayBook for them — but I thought you’d appreciate a look too.

I have to say, the PlayBook is looking rather fine. The web browser — as developer relations head honcho Mike Kirkup commented back in September — ‘absolutely rocks’. It really does. It’s quite a pleasure to use as well — I am particularly taken with the use of the screen edges as part of the UI (e.g. swiping up from below the screen). I also really like the concept of dragging app windows off the screen to delete/stop them.

The chap from RIM gave us a good overview — see what you think.

In the bad old days of mobile, I often used to attend the most lacklustre device launches you could imagine. At the end of the presentations, I’d invariably ask a question from the back along the lines of, ‘what do you think of it?’ or ‘what phone are you using?’

I was always surprised by the amount of times the CEO or C-level person (or worse, the sodding product manager responsible for the device) would respond with an answer like, ‘well, I don’t really like QWERTY phones’ or ‘I’m not much of a fan of camera phones really.’

It took me a long time to eventually realise that most folk in some key positions in the mobile industry were just pushing paper about. It’s still a shock to meet a disinterested, couldn’t-give-a-toss product manager or senior whatsit at a product launch. It’s fascinating to ask them questions about their product because they generally can’t be bothered to lie, spin or be at least a little creative. Then when I get to my computer, I find it really difficult to summon up any will to write about the resulting output.

So it’s nice to see the care and attention radiating from the Motorola XOOM team. First we had the scene setting (“Tablet Evolution presented by Motorola“), then we got the introductory product video and now we’ve got ‘the making of’ video which I’ve embedded below.

In that video you’ll see a few fancy-angle shots of Motorola XOOM people talking about designing and using the Evolution tablet. The film looks good. It sounds good. It’s very well made. It’s rather Apple-esque in that the people featured appear competent and passionate. Clearly a lot of thought went into the marketing of the XOOM. And one would hope that the presentation effort will be commensurate with the product. After watching the video, I came away with the impression that — yes — however the XOOM actually performs, it should perform well.

To the industry I say: More of this please. More passion, more excitement, more confidence.

I look forward to checking out the XOOM.

Here’s the vid…

The confusion, however, is nothing to the widespread excitement I’ve been witnessing from people raving over this introductory video released by the Android team.

I have to say, it does look rather good — particularly the 3D Google Maps screens.

What do you think?

Have a look at this rather swish video from the team at Motorola. It’s rare to see a manufacturer actually reference other products and services in their marketing (or, pre-marketing), but it’s the way ahead. It gives an air of authenticity — that there’s some confidence amongst the Motorola team that they’ve got something worth looking at.

Time will tell

Meanwhile I like the video. I like what they’ve done with the ‘evolution’ theme. It certainly left me looking for more.

Have a watch:

The whole concept behind the video is the message that ‘our tablet is running Android that’s made for the tablet’ (as apposed to the Tab).

All will be revealed in a glorious and no doubt well attended CES launch early next month. Not long at all.

This will certainly get the cat amongst the pigeons in the tablet market. We definitely need a bit more choice and competition. We should also be seeing the PlayBook from BlackBerry in the next few months too. Bring it on.

Looking forward to a Motorola tablet?

Have you checked out HP’s all new Slate tablet device? The videos hit the web recently and I made a note to sit down and document my utter dismay.

The ‘Slate 500′ is 8.9″ and it runs Windows 7.

Let me just stop there.

Oh dear.

Dear me, dear me. That automatically means it will perform like a pig. In mud. Wearing ballet shoes.

But you don’t need to take my word for it, oh no.

HP are advertising the shoddy performance in the promotional video. It all sounds quite exciting until you get to 17 seconds in:

At 17 seconds, you’ll see the doctor chap try to enlarge the x-ray of the hand. And that’s when the true horror is revealed in j-j-j-errky multi-touch glory. Watch as the doctor’s fingers enlarge the photo and the operating system follows him, roughly, about 0.5 seconds behind.

When everyone else on the planet is working to make sure that they can just equal, if not exceed Apple’s ‘it just works’ multi-touch smooth scaling zoom, HP have — it appears — vomited out a traditional Windows-powered nightmare.

To put that scene in the promotional video is, I suppose, a good idea. It warns you that if you were expecting Apple level smooth scaling, you should reset your expectations immediately. One commenter on the Youtube video lept to the Slate’s defence with this contribution:

Is there a reason you need it to zoom smoothly? The zoom is like that because the way Windows 7′s zoom works is it goes up by percentages with set increments. It doesn’t do a 1% 1.1% 1.2% 1.3% 1.4%………99.5% 99.6% you get the picture. It’s just the way the OS is built. You can’t smooth zoom in paint. If you install programs that can zoom at smaller increments it’ll be smoother. The cool thing is hp doesn’t try to hide the jerky zoom. Apple hides their lack of flash support…

So the new HP Slate 500 comes complete with JerkyMultiTouch™? Because it’s how Windows 7 ‘works’? Well, that misses my expectations by a lightyear.

Surely smooth scaling/scrolling is a prerequisite now, for a tablet experience? Ah dear.

Who knows, perhaps the Slate will make up for this shortcoming (and it does look like a shortcoming to me) with some phenomenal other features? I hope so. I really am hoping to be blown away when it arrives on my desk.

The official site is at hp.com/slate.

Over here in San Francisco, even the iPhone-totting Valley locals are generally nodding with approval at RIM’s latest creation, the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The device name has warranted just a cursory nod before discussions of price, availability and other such issues.

Abroad, however, it’s a slightly different story. I’ve had a lot of emails and a good few Tweets asking what I think of the brand.

I like it.

When I first heard the name, I was prompted to think of the device in a business-cum-personal context. I liked the contrast between ‘playbook’ in the context of plans and strategy mixed in with a dollop of entertainment.

But I’ve spent quite a bit of time steeped in North American culture, where the term ‘playbook’ is synonymous with American Football. Here’s one definition of the term I found online:

A book of strategies (plays) for use in American football 

You can’t walk into a sports bar in America without a Sports TV anchor going on about ‘the playbook’. It’s a ubiquitous term widely understood.

‘PlayBook’ everywhere else — at least in the UK — is the kind of thing I’ll shortly be buying my 3-month-old Son. You know, Spot The Dog, Burglar Bill, that kind of thing.

Hence the initial confusion echoing across the webosphere yesterday from the European side of the Atlantic.

Conventional PR and marketing wisdom is that you can take almost any word or jumble of letters and make it mean what you want.

That said, I don’t necessarily think it’s a problem. I don’t think the name will put executives off purchasing them.

That’s my feeling. What do you think?

Only this morning I was sat amongst 100 or so mainstream and new media journalists as the RIM team conducted their initial pre-briefing under strict embargo.

At the end of the event, there were a lot of glum faces. The announcements were good, but not necessarily earth shattering (I’ll write more on those shortly).

Everyone was hoping for some hardware announcements and in the light of the Wall Street Journal post last week discussing the ‘BlackPad’, we were all hoping for some tablet news.

It didn’t come. The reaction from the media was palpable, with small groups huddling to discuss their disappointment, shock — and angle. I overheard one internationally renowned mainstream media chap explaining that he would write a piece demanding to know where the tablet was.

I was sitting at the back of the pre-brief pondering RIM’s enterprise position. I’ve been watching one particular Fortune 100 company go through the pain of iPad evaluation, recognising that if you want iPad in the business, you need to play by Apple’s rules — i.e. you put the user in full control of their experience. Completely unnatural for most IT departments.

Once you’ve got through the pain barrier, deployed iPads to executives and realised that the world is still ticking away (and that your users are quite content), it’s all good. Indeed as an IT manager, you can (generally) stop worrying about your iPad and iPhone installed base. If users raise any issues whatsoever, you just blame or point to Apple. (For instance, I observed one senior executive getting annoyed that he couldn’t print from his iPad — until, that is, it was explained to him that Steve Jobs doesn’t want you to print from iPad. The executive simply answered, ‘oh’, accepted that at face value and carried on with his day. Can you imagine that reaction from someone using a Dell? — I know printing is coming in 4.2)

That pain barrier has been one of the key reasons RIM has retained it’s position. RIM’s executives just have to mention ‘NSA approved’ and most executives simply melt. In the wake of the Indian and Middle Eastern Governmental concerns, though, it’s a little bit dangerous to play the encryption card. And once IT executives actually take a fresh look at their device strategy and associated costs, it can be very, very bad news for RIM.

Another CIO I know is considering dumping absolutely everything to do with Exchange, BES, RIM — and moving to ‘enterprise 3.0′ as he calls it, outsourcing the ‘craft workshop’ to use a host of tools such as Google Apps, Salesforce and so on. With 250,000+ BES installations out there, all generating nice annual revenues, Android and Apple (together with other players) are increasingly well placed to take a chunk of that away.

So the company needed a strategy to secure it’s BES infrastructure. It also needed to move swiftly to secure the consumer mindshare associated with iPhone and iPad (in the States alone, the Best Buy CEO estimates 50% of laptop sales are being replaced by iPad sales).

And the answer from RIM is the PlayBook tablet.

7 inch screen, 1024×600 resolution, 1080p HD capable screen, 2 cameras and an all new QNX-based operating system working on top of dual core super fast processors. And it’s coming in Q1 and Q2 next year (so 6 months+).

My first impressions of RIM’s PlayBook are positive. I’ve not touched one or had a play as yet (I’m hoping we’ll get the opportunity).

I’m thoroughly impressed at the possibilities, though. I’m delighted to see some innovation in the form of Adobe Air, Flash and RIM’s own WebWorks HTML5 compliant apps (and Java, of course). All built around RIM’s now legendary security architecture.

Yes I could see this playing very well in enterprise. Very, very well.

In many enterprises, where messaging just needs to be reasonably secure, Mobile Exchange to an iPad or iPhone will do fine. But lawyers, doctors and the military have serious, serious issues with the likes of the iPad. They’ll eat the PlayBook up.

Elsewhere, the fact that the PlayBook plugs straight into existing infrastructure and keeps the IT security teams sleeping soundly at night, will really help the purchase decision.

The question for RIM is whether they’ve waited too long to deliver the device into the marketplace. Although we’ve had the announcement, we’re not going to see the device arrive for another 6 months. We’ll probably have had yet another iteration of the iPad introduced by then — but more importantly, all those expectant senior executives still want one.

Is it too much to say that the PlayBook’s success is now in the hands of perhaps 50,000 super high level senior executives around the planet who don’t yet have iPads? If those executives seriously push for an iPad *now* (if they haven’t already), it won’t be good news for the PlayBook.

I know one CEO of a global Fortune 500 firm who is loving his iPad. Everyone he meets, he shows it to. Every one of his senior executives also has one. They are also using it at every single meeting, internally and externally to the firm. Every time the CEO or his executives meet another senior cutomer/supplier without an iPad, they deliver a 5-minute sales pitch. Which results in huge pressure on the respective IT departments.

“Well, Jim over at So-And-So Inc has got one. In fact his whole team have them!”

And before you know it, any IT or Security person who values their position removes any resistance to the adoption of iPads.

Can the marketplace be encouraged to wait for the PlayBook?

I think it’s eminently possible.

There are a lot of questions though:

- Price: A very big issue here. $399 or $899? Or more?
- Battery life: Needs to match the 8-10 hours of the iPad
- User interface: The touch screen needs to be as good as the iPad
- Evolution: We can’t have 200 different ROMs for the PlayBook, it’ll need to be easily and swiftly upgraded to support new features as necessary
- Apps: Yes it’s got Air, Flash, WebWorks and Java … but will the developers take to it? The 6-month lead time certainly gives companies time to build for it.

Read the full RIM PlayBook release.

And here are the basic specifications:

– 7″ LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
- BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
- 1 GHz dual-core processor
- 1 GB RAM
- Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
- Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
- Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
- HDMI video output
- Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
- Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
Ultra thin and portable:
- Measures 5.1″x7.6″x0.4″ (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
- Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
- Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.
- RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

What are you thinking about the PlayBook?

Michael at MobileBurn highlights a tweet from o2 Germany pointing out that the all new Samsung Galaxy Tab Android tablet will hit the network in October costing €99 up front with a €27.50 contract.

If you translate those prices directly to sterling, that equates to £82 up front and £22 per month. Now I reckon the o2 UK prices will be slightly in advance of that, but at this level, could you see yourself picking one up soonish?

Or no? Too much of a gimmick? Far too happy with your iPad?

I wonder how the operator subsidy is going to change the market dynamics. I think there’s a lot more people who’d be clamouring for an iPad if it was £49 or £99 up front with a monthly contract, rather than around 500-700+ pounds straight on the credit card.

That there is the all new Cisco Cius, an ultra-portable ‘mobile collaboration business tablet‘ that ‘offers access to essential business applications and technologies.’  At least, that’s what Cisco reckon.  And I’m inclined to agree.

Various people around the industry are describing it alternately as an iPad-killer, an iPad-rival and so on.   I think it’s certainly an interesting device concept.  You see the phone up there on the left?  That’s your standard all-new Cisco IP device, right?  But when you leave the office or leave your desk, you simply pick up the Cius screen there which becomes a stand-alone tablet.

It’s not running some proprietary nonsense, either.  It’s Android-based so you can access and use the wealth of current and future Android resources on the Android Market. 

The most important thing point about the Cius, however, is that it’s got a Cisco label on it.  Which means it’s most, most welcome in enterprise.  Nobody ever got shot for buying Cisco.  There will be a considerable number of CIOs who will relax and smile during the product evaluation discussions between iPad, various other Android tablets and the Cius.  Not only have you got the backing of the global connectivity giant that is Cisco, you’ve also got the ability to access products and services from the Android market.  Or, to put it another way, you can get your in-house development team to start developing custom applications and services for your Cius estate using industry standard and easily accessible technology. 

Aaand… let’s have a look at the other specs:

Applications Capabilities:

• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G/4G data and Bluetooth 3.0 help employees stay connected on and off-campus
• HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution interoperability for lifelike video communication with the simplicity of a phone call
• Virtual desktop client enables highly secure access to cloud-based business applications
• Android operating system, with access Android marketplace applications
• Collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, WebEx, Presence, and IM

Tablet Highlights:

• 7” diagonal, high-resolution color screen with contact-based touch targets delivers an elegant, intuitive experience
• HD Soundstation supports Bluetooth and USB peripherals, 10/100/1000 wired connectivity and a handset option
• Detachable and serviceable 8-hour battery for a full day of work
• Highly secure remote connections with Cisco AnyConnect Security VPN Client
• HD audio with wideband support (tablet, HD Soundstation)

You can hear a little more about the specs and the thinking behind the Cius from this video featuring Cisco’s Kara Wilson, VP of UC & Collaboration Solutions Marketing.

Of course since this is Cisco we’re talking about there are whitepapers galore.  There are case studies.  There are use-case-analysis concepts.  Try this page for starters.

I think it’s a fascinating move by Cisco and I can hear the CIOs lining up to deploy thousands of these across their respective organisations.  I think it’s what a lot of companies have been waiting for.  Oh, you can go out and buy 5,000 Dell Streaks or 5,000 iPads for your executives, but how do you manage them?   How do you handle security?  How do you deal with unified collaboration?  What do you do about VPNing?  How do you make sure that video calling actually works?  And most importantly, how do you control the devices, your device estate and the related user policies?

The Cisco sales teams are going to be having a very, very busy time this year.

Check out this video I came across via PCInpact.com’s recent piece:

Interesting, interesting. We’ll watch this one.

On the subject of its Linux tablet range, Nokia spokesman Kari Tuutti told Reuters: “We will expand that range, and we believe that the role of Linux will grow.” Reuters also quotes Nokia CFO as saying the Linux tablets are “going to be terribly important” in the future.

While it’s not a sign that Nokia is thinking of moving away from its Symbian heritage, it’s good to see the company promising more in the way of Linux and diversifying operating systems. But with the likes of Vodafone and Verizon championing open source software through the likes of the LiMo Foundation, I’d be seriously surprised if the handset maker hadn’t at least considered making mobile phones (rather than tablets) that run Linux.