It’s always been about price:performance.
Ifixyour.com did a Bill of Materials (BOM) analysis for the Apple iPad 64 GB wi-fi only - it was less than $300; yet retails for $699. Ample profit there, huh?
Now, we had a much of ‘me-too’ companies who made shoddy tablets, with ~1-10% of the app support; and wanted the same price point. They had their butts handed to them by Apple’s iPad (Hello Blackberry Playbook, HP Slate, Folio, Motorola Xoom). Shoddy construction, OS that simply should never have made it past QA, little to no application support after the sale. Think of a flea-market next to a high-end designer store (all for the same price); how would you spend your money?
But, if you make a product that is useful, and can get the price down substancially below that of the iPad; you may have something. Who is going to pay the Lexus price for a late model Kia? If I pay the iPad price, give me an iPad.
But, if you have something that does 90% of what I will use the iPad for, and can deliver it for half the price - you have my undivided attention.
See #16 for the lineup...