Dell’s (NASDAQ: DELL) habit of coming to market with products well after its competitors do continues. Reuters reports that the PC company will launch a tablet later this year. Dell management says it prefers to enter the market when it is more mature.
The market for tablets is already mature enough to support substantial sales. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung have proven that. That competition between the two is heated enough for each to spend time in court attempting to block sales of the other country by country.
If any other company is late to the tablet PC market it is Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), which launched its Kindle Fire late last year. Amazon has the advantage of its large content libraries to help buttress sales. Dell will have no such advantage.
Dell also will face other tablet launches in 2012. That will include one by Lenovo. Acer has just entered the market. Hewlett-Packard’s (NYSE: HPQ) first foray was a failure, but that does not mean the firm will not try again.
Companies like Dell get caught flat-footed when a market they should do well in grows rapidly. The excuse is usually the same. It is worth a wait to see how the market will flesh out. It is best to hold off to see which features and operating systems have the most momentum. By the time all of those things are known, it is usually too late. Being first to market a risk, but it is a bigger risk to be last. The tablet market has already shown as much.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Find a Qualified Financial Advisor (Sponsor)
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
