Retailers weigh up iPad alternatives

Reuters

COMPETITOR:: ASUS chairman Jonney Shih holds an Eee Pad during a news conference in Taipei last week. The new portable tablet will rival the much-awaited iPad, to be launched in New Zealand in July.

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Retailers are eyeing up contenders to the iPad as buzz around the local launch of Apple's tablet builds.

Computer manufacturer AsusTek unveiled its Eee Pad last week, a portable tablet computer that runs on Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system and undercuts the iPad on price.

Harvey Norman national business manager Matt Rummel says its Asus account manager was at the launch of the Eee Pad and it is considering stocking the device.

The market is "holding its breath" for the iPad – which will go one sale in New Zealand next month – and it will be difficult to compete against it, he says. "One uses a Windows-based system and the other uses an Apple-based system. That's quite a different customer and user experience."

The Eee Pad comes in 25- and 30 centimetre (10- and 12-inch) sizes and is to go on sale in the first quarter of next year.

In addition to full Windows support, company chairman Jonney Shih said the tablet PC will be equipped with a web camera and – unlike the iPad – would run Adobe Flash, which will allow users to view YouTube and other video programmes on the internet.

The 25cm Eee Pad will sell for US$399 to $449 (NZ$587 to $661). No price tag was given for the 30cm model. By contrast, Apple's iPad cost US$499, $599 or $699 depending on the data storage capacity. IPads use the HTML5 standard and its lack of Flash support has alienated some users.

Noel Leeming merchandise general manager Jason Bell says it is in discussions with Hewlett-Packard about stocking its tablet PCs, but customers seem to have only one model on their minds.

"They're all asking about the iPad. It's the whole hype; people aren't talking too much about other ones."

Independent technology consultant Colin Jackson says the challenge for the Eee Pad will be whether it can nail ease of use – as Apple has done with its operating system for the iPhone and iPad.

"The operating system has got to communicate with the user solely by using this glass surface ... I doubt they'd get it right first time."

The iPad is more a multi-media playback device than a replacement for a laptop or netbook, he says.

Acer, the world's second largest PC vendor, unveiled late last month a 17.5cm touchscreen tablet that like other models coming from the likes of Hewlett-Packard and Dell, runs on Android, the operating system that Google is distributing for free for mobile devices.

Hewlett-Packard has launched the Slate, a Windows 7-powered tablet PC and is expected to produce another version running on webOS, the operating system for Palm smartphones.

Meanwhile, Apple reported last week that iPad sales had topped two million since its launch in early April. Chief executive Steve Jobs forecast tablet computers would overtake PCs – which would be consigned to a smaller, niche market, The Times reported.

The company had previously said it sold one million iPads in the United States just 28 days after its launch. As a result of the strong demand at home, Apple had pushed back the start date of its international sales.

Apple began selling iPads in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and Britain late last month.

- © Fairfax NZ News