Asus, Dell, Acer & Lenovo Prepping 8-inch Android Tablets for Q3 2013

[dgstorm]

According to a report from market NPD DisplaySearch, several third party manufacturers are betting big that the next trend in tablet size will be the 8-Inch variety. Supposedly, 8-inch Android tablets from Asus, Acer, Dell and Lenovo will all be launched sometime later this year, and some in the third quarter. Apparently, they are all inspired by the success of both the Apple iPad Mini and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. Here's a quote with a few more details,

Another reason for this shift would be the consumer segment targeted by 8-inch tablets. While 7-inch units usually go for the lower-end market, selling for cheap prices and integrating rather modest specification (with some exceptions), slightly bigger units should be sold for premium prices. This is yet another Apple-borrowed principle, which managed to capture a significant share of the market even though the starting price of the iPad Mini is $329.

Known mostly for their desktop products, vendors like the ones above are said to be shifting production towards the tablet sector as personal computer shipments continue to decrease. While the total number of tablet shipments is expected to increase around 67 per cent when compared with the past year, up to 10 per cent of all slates are expected to be 8-inch products.

What do you guys think? Could the sweet spot for tablets really be the 8-inch variety instead of the 7-inch?

Source: AndroidAuthority

 

[kodiak799]

I'm thinking about a tablet, mostly for reading books, and 10"+ seems a bit big for extending reading. But I also would watch the occasional movie/tv show. I really don't watch much video content, so it will probably come down to what feels better for reading between the 7" and 8".

Storage matters, too...a lot. My other main use would be offline music and video (because I would not have a mobile data plan, so I want buku storage for when I'm away from wifi).