There were several tablets launched in 2011, but not all became hot with customers. Here we take a look at eight tablets that failed to create a buzz in the market.
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8 tablets that failed to take off
Acer Iconia Tab A500
The Acer Iconia Tab A500 is the latest in the ongoing parade of Android 3.0 tablets. It earns points for its many strengths, such as its inclusion of both a USB port and a microSD Card slot, its support for Dolby Mobile audio, and its custom home screen widgets that help organise applications.
However, it fell short - in part due to its own hardware constraints, and in part due to its software.
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8 tablets that failed to take off
Dell Streak 7
The Dell Streak 7 tablet offers dual-core processing, 4G network compatibility, Adobe Flash 10.1 support, front and rear cameras, and an inventive reimagining of Android 2.2.
But its interface doesn't make up for the stale operating system. Screen quality and responsiveness are not as good as they could be.
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8 tablets that failed to take off
BlackBerry PlayBook
Running a new OS called QNX, with features like bridging to a BlackBerry phone for secure email and an oddly confusing initial setup, the PlayBook is a departure from the more iPad-like Motorola Xoom.
Features such as built-in viewers for spreadsheets and word processing files are good, and the PlayBook gets praise for being fast and nimble on a dual-core 1GHz processor.
Unfortunately, it fails to compete with either the iPad 2 or the Xoom, and even falters compared to the original Samsung Galaxy Tab.
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8 tablets that failed to take off
Motorola Xoom
At 9.8 inches wide by 6.6 inches tall, the device isn't massive, and its weight gives it heft without killing your arms - though it can be a problem if you're holding the tablet up for an extended period of time.
The problem isn't about the experience or the core of the hardware - it's about the details. Too much in the design makes it look like it was rushed to beat the next competitor.
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8 tablets that failed to take off
Asus Eee Pad Transformer
The typical specifications for an Android (Honeycomb 3.x) device include the Nvidia dual-core Tegra 2 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM, and this is exactly how the Asus Eee Pad Transformer has been outfitted.
The official model number for the Tegra 2 chip is "Tegra 250 T20" which uses a 40nm design process and is based on the ARMv7 CPU instruction set. It features a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU combined with the GeForce ULP (ultra low power), which works at 333MHz and single-channel LPDDR2 DDR2 667MHz memory module on the same board.
The 5MP camera's photo quality is average and the same can be said about video, which doesn't track very well and is quite blurry.
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8 tablets that failed to take off
HTC Flyer
The 7-inch Flyer opted for a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a sturdy aluminium construction that doesn't even try to compete in the race for extreme thinness, and a Magic Pen to make you forget it's running Gingerbread and not Honeycomb.
The Flyer received bad reviews for its poor multimedia performance and weight.
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8 tablets that failed to take off
HP TouchPad
It weighs in at 1.65 pounds (750 grams), heavier than the 1.3 pound (600 gram) iPad 2, heavier than the 1.26 pound (570 gram) Galaxy Tab 10.1, and heavier even than the 1.6 pound (730 gram) Motorola Xoom - which is itself hardly a delicate flower.
Poor sales forced HP to kill the TouchPad tablet and discontinued its WebOS operations.
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8 tablets that failed to take off
Creative ZiiO 7
The Creative Ziio 7-inch is a budget Android tablet, and as such it's not exactly what you'd call feature-rich.
It failed to create a buzz because its specs didn't promise much. This is a tablet running a slightly modified Android 2.1, a resistive touchscreen, no 3G connectivity and no Android Market.
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