Whether you use an Android tablet or an iPad or are crazy enough to like the Microsoft Surface, I think we can all agree that tablets are going to become “the next big thing”. There’s just no point in buying a laptop when 90% of what most people want to do can be done more easier and more enjoyably on a big piece of glass that slips into just about any bag.
Now Android tablets are already outselling iPads, but that’s because most of those sales go to no-name Chinese companies that build the budget tablets you see being sold at your local supermarket. Samsung wants to change that according to the Korean publication ETNews, which says the company has been pinging some of their suppliers to see if they can manage to make 100 million tablets in total during calendar 2014. Is that a big number? Yes, that’s 25 million a quarter, every quarter, for four quarters in a row. Apple has yet to have a single quarter where they’ve passed the 25 million tablet mark, but then again Apple’s tablets are expensive. It’s not clear what sort of products Samsung aims to make to reach that 100 million figure, but my gut tells me a lot of them will be far below the cost of Apple’s current cheapest iPad, the year old $299 iPad mini. Should you even buy an Android tablet? If you have a phone that’s large enough, like me with the 5.5 inch Galaxy Note II, then the justifications for buying a 7.0 inch tablet simply don’t exist. Maybe 8.0 inches will be the new popular size next year? LG tried it with the G Pad 8.3, let’s see if others join the club.
