New Windows 8 tablets, phones at IFA

IFA, the consumer electronics show in Berlin, apparently is setting up as the de-facto unveiling for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices, with a number of manufacturers showing off devices this week.  While the show is decidedly Android focused, Sony and Samsung have both announced new Windows 8 tablets, and Microsoft, via its Windows Phone blog, is touting Samsung’s new “Ativ S” Windows Phone 8 device, a super thin (and super big) phone sporting some super specs:

8.7mm thin brushed aluminum chassis4.8” HD Super AMOLED displayCorning Gorilla Glass 21.5Ghz dual core processor1GB onboard RAM8MP rear facing camera1.9MP front facing camera16 or 32GB storage, both with Micro SD slot for more2300mAh batteryphysical Windows button

The Windows Phone blog post is promising a full recap of all the devices announced at IFA on August 31st on the Blogging Windows blog.

Sony introduced a  new set of tablet devices, including a $399 Xperia device (running Android) that may give us some clues as to Microsoft Surface pricing (although the Xperia costs another $99 for the keyboard), and two new Vaio Windows 8 tablets, the Vaio Duo 11, which Sony calls a “hybrid-style notebook”, and the Vaio Tap 20, a 20” tablet.

Samsung also is introducing a series of Ativ tablets, some using their new “S” pen technology (Bill Gates would be so proud!):

We’ll be hearing lots more about new tablets and phones as IFA continues during the week, but things are definitely heating up!

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Low Priced Tablets Are Tough on Supply Chains, Especially in the Profits Area

Low priced tablets will cause some problems to supply chains, as the pressure increases and so does the number of units that need to be shipped. Prices keep dropping, so part suppliers also drop their prices, but who will make profit if this goes on? Tablet PC vendors are competing against each other and pulling the prices down, for whole units and parts too.

7 inch products are predicted to be the most popular items in the second half of the year, with emerging countries preferring them thanks to the lower pricing. Slate vendors insist on getting the cheaper components or the best parts at the best prices, thus making life harder for component makers. It’s an interesting situation: part makers fear getting into the cheap tablet biz, but they also fear missing out on the opportunity. It’s a big gamble, but if millions of units are sold, you stand to make a profit.
Then again, it takes one faulty chip to take it all back to the drawing board and profits can dip at any time. However, chip makers, for example can take their business to multiple companies, but there’s only a few names that supply the tablet makers with components, so it’s easy to be the one handling minor hardware, than the one that assembles all of it and sales it, hoping for profit.
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