Sony Commits Harakiri by Pricing S Tablet at $499

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Sony told the world today its keen desire to ritually disembowel itself by pricing its new S tablet (based on Android) at $499 (16GB version), same as the market leader Apple iPad.

The 32GB version of the S tablet will cost $599.

Sony said the 9.4-inch S tablet would be available in stores next month and the P tablet, featuring two 5.5-inch displays, later this year.

Sony Commits Harakiri by Pricing S Tablet at $499Sony S Tablet Coming in September for $499

So far, none of the Android or other tablet vendors have been able to challenge the iPad with a similar pricing.

Unless a miracle happens, Sony’s S tablet will meet the same fate as all the other iPad challengers – gather dust on store shelves.

HP’s TouchPad, based on the webOS, sold out only after the price was slashed to $99.

The S tablet has 9.4-inch touchscreen, weighs 1.33 lbs, features front and rear facing cameras for video recording and capturing still images, supports micro USB interface and SD card and runs on Android 3.1.

Related Stories:
Will Upcoming Sony S1 Tablet Meet Same Tragic Fate of HP TouchPad? Most Likely, Yes!

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8 Responses to "Sony Commits Harakiri by Pricing S Tablet at $499"

  1. vjcool   August 31, 2011 at 9:16 pm

    from the washington post:

    Another day, another Android tablet to add to the deadpool. But hopefully manufacturers do not view each failure as a wasted opportunity but rather a learning experience. You can bet that Apple pays attention, as the iPad is not the definition of a perfect tablet. With each failed tablet, the path to the perfect slate device gets a tad shorter and we’ll all eventually arrive together. Hopefully this promised land isn’t a gated garden filled with apple trees but rather an open field filled with frolicking androids. But until then, let’s just gather up all the Honeycomb tablets and throw them in the deadpool. No one will notice.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. Most writers are clueless idiots since they have never managed a business.

    Only a half-wit would write:

    But hopefully manufacturers do not view each failure as a wasted opportunity but rather a learning experience.

    Let’s not forget that a failure in the tablet arena is not only a hit to the brand but entails a loss of over a billion dollars to the losing company and a fire-sale of the remaining inventory a la the HP TouchPad.

    2. And what in the heavens is the meaning of this drivel: the path to the perfect slate device gets a tad shorter.

    3. BTW, have you purchased your Tablet yet?

    • vjcool   September 2, 2011 at 3:28 am

      no tablet yet,

      the more I look at, the ipad seems the only choice. the others well.. when they are pricing at 599$ to 799$, anyway planning only on Jan next year, got a lot of time and the ipad is standing tall.

  2. boopalanj   September 5, 2011 at 8:10 am

    Just a doubt – Can I read PDFs with Tamil fonts in iPad?

    And Can I transfer PDFs from my PC to iPad? I think, yes. Right?

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. Considering our enduring fondness for the English language, we’ve never tried to read Swahili, Arabic, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Urdu or the dear Bhojpuri on the iPad.

    BTW, we agree with Macaulay that ‘a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.’ 😉

    Source: Thomas Babington Macaulay, from “Minute on Indian Education” (1835)
    http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/victorian/topic_4/macaulay.htm

    2. We’ve never tried to transfer anything from PC to the iPad.

    But when you search for “File Transfer” from the AppStore on the iPad, you get 54 apps (including some developed by Indians).

    Some apps like Simple Share (from Rambax) clearly state that you can wirelessly ‘Upload multiple files, photos or videos with any size from your computer to your device via WiFi’

    Source: http://i.rambax.com/simplyshare.html

    You might also want to check:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAOtbYz-JDc

    • boopalanj   September 5, 2011 at 11:05 am

      Will try these out. Thanks.

      Nice piece (Macaulay’s one), although I’ve come across parts of it earlier.

      Btw, those statements from Macaulay were originally on the context of educational reforms & more on the grounds of choosing a medium of education – between English / Sanskrit / Arabic.

      Could not quite agree with the same statement applied to Tamil literature.

      SearchIndia.com Responds:

      So, have you too fallen prey to the many charms of that most beguiling of sluts, the iPad?

      If yes, how do you find it and how much does it cost in Mera Bharat Mahaan?

      • boopalanj   September 5, 2011 at 2:37 pm

        Yes, finally I decided to surrender myself to her 😉 Will bring her soon I guess, most probably before this weekend.

        Pricing is insane in India. 16 GB WiFi + 3G costs around Rs.37000 (> 800 USD). 32 GB WiFi + 3G costs around Rs.42000 (going by online media). Visiting few shops starting tomorrow.

        http://www.apple.co.in/store/mainproducts/ipad/ipad.html

        🙁

        SearchIndia.com Responds:

        In the U.S., we suspect over 75% of consumers are buying only the WiFi version. Since WiFi is fairly ubiquitous here, the WiFi model is good enough.

        The 3G version of iPad is nonsense in the U.S. considering the ridiculously low data transfer offered (just 2GB) and the obscenely high monthly cost ($25). Source: AT&T http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/ipad.jsp

        For the 32GB WiFi version, the pricing difference between U.S. and India is about Rs 7,000 (India more expensive).

  3. Carokann   September 5, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    I have to say Samsung Galaxy 10.1 (not the first version) holds its own against iPad. I had spent sufficient amount of time with both iPad 2.0 and Galaxy 10.1.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: I have to say Samsung Galaxy 10.1 (not the first version) holds its own against iPad.

    Well, that depends on how much you drink.

    Since we’ve finished just one bottle of Guinness Stout so far today we’ll consider ourselves more sober.

    Sweetie, here we go:

    1. Limited number of Apps for Samsung Galaxy 10.1. Barely a few hundred or at best a couple of thousand dedicated Tablet apps (don’t count all Android apps, only dedicated tablet apps) are available for Samsung Galaxy 10.1

    2. Hell, you can’t even run Netflix on Samsung Galaxy properly. Read this discussion on Amazon.

    3. No easy legacy content protection (millions have tons of songs purchased on iTunes) on Samsung Galaxy 10.1. Songs we purchased a few years back on iTunes play on iPad effortlessly. No need to transfer them or do any extra work. The songs just play.

    4. Battery life for Samsung Galaxy 10.1 is only about half that for the iPad. 5.38 hours for Samsung Galaxy 10.1 vs 10.09 hours for iPad
    Source: Wall Street Journal Review – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303848104576385633609398422.html

    5. Even the much touted Flash doesn’t work properly on Samsung Galaxy 10.1. (no Flash support for iPad).

    6. If you wait long enough, Samsung might do a HP and dump their inventory for $99. Why pay $499 or wateva and get buyer’s remorse later. 🙁

    7. BTW, Samsung is already giving away their Galaxy 10.1 for free if you buy one of their specified TVs. And it’s not even a Thanksgiving deal! Wonder what Samsung will do for the Thanksgiving sale. Maybe, send a stripper to all buyers of the Galaxy 10.1. No, we won’t in the least be surprised. That might be the only inducement to get people to but this dud aka Samsung Galaxy 10.1.

    8. Now that Google has purchased Motorola (Xoom tablet), all the android vendors like Samsung (Galaxy 10.1), Acer (Iconia) etc are gonna get eventually screwed.

    Now, if you’ll excuse us we’d like to open our second bottle of Guinness Extra Stout. 😉

    • rama dasa   September 5, 2011 at 8:13 pm

      I havn’t been commenting lately due to lack of interesting comments, but this one I’ll give a try: Do you think that the I-pad’s,I-phone’s, (I-dont have enough money to by the $hit as I’m poor-as-hell) and other tech-miracles,will eventually kill the desktop computer business if more smart pad’s,phone’s ect. continue to drop their prices?(obviously Apple isn’t one of the one’s dropping prices)

      SearchIndia.com Responds:

      1. You write above: I-dont have enough money to by the $hit as I’m poor-as-hell

      Don’t you worry, Honey.

      The way our country (USA) is going, soon 299.99 million will be giving you company.

      Just think of your’poor‘self as ahead of the curve. 😉

      2. You write: Do you think that the I-pads, I-phones,….and other tech-miracles,will eventually kill the desktop computer business if more smart pad’s,phone’s etc. continue to drop their prices?(obviously Apple isn’t one of the one’s dropping prices)

      Tablets will put tremendous pressure on PC/Laptop pricing and certainly dampen demand for them.

      This morning we were at Staples and noticed a 15.6-inch HP note book with 500GB storage and 4GB memory for $349 (check P.1 of Staples flyer). Not a bad deal.

      We recollect reading that PC and notebook sales have already slowed in part due to the Tablets and also, of course, due to the recession.

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