The tablet market is a bit cut-throat. Most of the world buys an iPad without a thought of a spec comparison (yes I know it’s not that simple). Meanwhile companies such as Amazon sell hardware at cost to recoup revenue through content, and now Google and Asus are doing the same thing with the Nexus 7.
HTC though, have had enough. The few tablets they did produce had promise but they were highly priced, badly supported and hardly marketed. With profits taking a nose-dive HTC have chosen to completely remove themselves from the tablet market.
They’re to “wait for the right opportunity” before producing another tablet. Jeff Gordon, HTC’s global online communications manager…
We’re watching that market [tablets] very, very closely. HTC is pleased with the results of our first foray into tablets—the HTC Flyer, EVO View 4G, and HTC Jetstream—and like any products in the mobile space that were release some time ago, our tablets have run through their planned lifecycles. We’re continuing to watch the tablet market very, very closely for the right opportunity to re-enter in a way in which we’re not just offering a “me too” tablet, but a product that’s compelling, differentiated, and inspiring to our customers.
Source – Fierce Wireless
Not surprising really, with the Kindle and Nexus tablets being so competitively priced.
It is a shame, more choice is good, but customers want a bargain and tbf to HTC, their tables have never been what you could consider a bargain.
It would not surprise me to see Sony pull out of the Tablet market too.
I agree about Sony, but I think it would be a great shame, as they are one of the only companies that are actually trying to innovate with tablets. I love my Sony tablet, but most people seem to want a bland looking big version of their phone (Nexus 7 & iPad being the main culprits).
I was tempted by the original Sony Tablet, having an SE Ray which I love I almost got one, I went with the Transformer Prime in the end. Love it to bits, the keyboard dock is a real boon due to the extra battery life it gives. I like the two memory slots, currently running with a 16gig card in each extra slot. I have weeks worth of video files (tv eps and movies) to watch on the commute to work. One thing, I’ve had my Prime since March, I commute to London from Kent and have seen gazillions of Ipads, a few Samsung tabs, but only one other Prime. People really don’t know what they are missing out on 🙁
I sold my Transformer TF101 and got a Sony Tablet S, a case with a built-in stand and a bluetooth Sony keyboard. Gives me the functionality of the TF101, but more flexibility. I write most of my coolsmartphone posts on it.
It is a shame ,I got my wife a flyer when expansy was selling em cheap (well cheap for a tab in Jan this year) for about £215
She loves it, And doesn’t want an ipad Just a shame its stuck on honeycomb !!