And while I understand the appeal of cheap, gimmicky gadgets that are everywhere at CES, they tend to come from the same companies that push those kinds of tacky products out year after year. It's another thing entirely for an established company to venture into cheap products.
This brings us to Polaroid. The former camera company announced its entry into the post-PC world with a lineup of tablets and e-readers. Before I go any further, there are 3 general principles I think any company should stick to when getting into the tablet business:
- Make sure a tablet fits with your general company image and that it makes sense in your company portfolio.
- Give yourself an advantage. It can be either be quality hardware or solid software are a must, but tablets have come a long way and you need to stay competitive.
- Don't price yourself out of the market. Unless you're Apple, a $500 16GB tablet is a tough sell.
Okay, back to Polaroid.
Whether or not Polaroid violated the first aforementioned principle is debatable. While I understand that Polaroid is trying to be a consumer electronics company and not a camera company, the name "Polaroid" just doesn't scream tablet computing.
That point aside, Polaroid could have made it a moot point by adhering to the second principle and delivering quality devices with a competitive edge. Unfortunately, critics across the board have said all of Polaroids new devices are underwhelming at best. Granted, the devices haven't been tested beyond the look and feel of the exterior, but that alone will enough to deter most consumers.
The question that has yet to be answered is price. Given the lack of quality here, these prices will have to be dirt cheap to give them an edge. Anything over $150 will probably be too much for consumers given the Kindle Fire is sitting at $200.
Polaroid is diving headfirst into the tablet and e-reader waters, but unfortunately for them they may be jumping in with proverbial anchors tied to its feet.