Vaio tablet to challenge Microsoft Surface Pro 3, but offersno price relief - Las Vegas Technology in Education

At the Adobe MAX 2014 convention in Los Angeles, Vaio announced today, October 6, 2014, a newentry into the tablet market. While the product will not be sold in the US immediately uponintroduction, the design factor portends more things to come as a new generation of hybrid tabletscontinues to emerge.

The Vaio is destined to compete with the Microsoft Surface Pro 3. The Surface Pro 3 is thebenchmark for hybrid tablets, however, is most often considered too expensive for many schools andstudents. Microsoft has recently announced a 10% education discount; the entry level Surface Pro 3with an Intel i3 chip is available now for as low as $839. This price includes the touch type cover,and requires schools to purchase a minimum of 5 units. For the tablet with an i5 processor, the priceis $1019. While the price is ever so slowly moving downward, it is surely not yet cost effective forschools. That is a little disconcerting considering how well the Surface Pro 3 aligns with the learningneeds of students.

The Vaio would be the first tablet to really match the specs of the Surface Pro 3. The Vaio is light,thin, has a detachable keyboard, runs Windows 8.1, uses http://privatetutoring.biz/ an Intel i5processor, supports a pen stylus, has two USB 3.0 ports, and a 12.3 inch screen with 2560 x 1704resolution. For students looking for the convenience of tablet with the power of a laptop, this is anexample of how tablets are moving from consumption to productivity oriented devices. However,hybrid tablets differ from traditional tablets becausehttp://online-math-tutoring-review.toptenreviews.com/ of productivity functionality, and are moresquarely aimed at the business market with much deeper pockets. Schools will have to wait for atrickle down effect where the technology becomes more commoditized, and competition offers pricecompetition.

The continuing drag on hybrid tablet adoption in education circles is mostly about price; not needsor wants. The Vaio will offer no relief from price shock, with the cost in Japan reportedly at about200K Yen. That equates to about $1800USD. While if offered in the US, the price would likely belower, one could expect the price to be roughly in line with the Surface Pro 3.

There has been little pricing movement to a level that would make a hybrid tablet a mass marketproduct for students, but as more entrants offer similar products, it is sure that prices will drop.Thus far, the faint market challenge to the Surface Pro 3 has resulted in a stubbornly high pricepoint. There have been other vendors moving into the hybrid space, but none yet have reallymatched the Surface Pro 3 feature for feature. There are a few low cost Windows tablets on themarket with a sub 10 inch screen, but offer compromised value to students, except as anaugmentation to a PC/Laptop. The Asus T100 is one notable exception, and is a 10 inch tablet hybridthat offers a decent product for price often below $400. However, it uses an Atom processor, whichis fine for routine tasks, but does lag when pushed with multi-tasking. Further, the T100 does notsupport a pen stylus.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Surface Pro 3 will likely have more imitators in thecoming year, in addition to the Vaio. For now though, it does seem that if schools and students wanta hybrid tablet, the Vaio won't offer any price relief, leaving the Surface Pro 3 as still the only kid onthe block.