So many new tablets will flood the shelves by the holiday shopping season, you'd be forgiven for losing track. And while the wealth of new choices is certainly a plus for consumers, analysts concede that the influx of so many new tablets this fall could be white noise to many users' ears.
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Just last week Apple added two new tablets to its lineup: a revamped full iPad (iPad 4) and a smaller 8-inch version, the iPad mini. Google announced two new tablets Oct. 29, an updated 32GB version of its Nexus 7, and a larger, 10.1-inch tablet, the Nexus 10.
On the other end, Amazon has expanded its line of low-cost Kindle Fires, and book seller Barnes & Noble, and electronics giant Best Buy now have their own offerings, the Nook HD, and Insignia Flex, respectively. And that doesn't even include companies like Samsung, Asus, and Lenovo who are all trying their hands at the tablet market for a second time.
"There's going to be an awful lot of choices on the market - that's great for consumers but could be confusing," Tom Mainelli, a tablet analyst ar Inernational Data Corp. said. "Even spending five or 10 minutes with a device will probably go a long way toward making an educated decision," he said.
Flashy ads can only go so far; purported device specs mystify most anyone who isn't a tech-head. Beyond price, and brand-loyalty and prejudice, allowing consumers to spend hands-on time with a tablet looks to be a crucial factor in the decision-making process.
Considering that, Microsoft has an uphill battle to fight with its first ever tablet, the Surface RT. Microsoft is only selling the devices through its own webs and retail locations, and the company currently only has 26 physical retail stores in 14 states, no where near the presence of Apple, or Barnes & Noble.
To remedy this Microsoft has opened temporary "pop-up" stores for the holiday shopping season in 32 cities across the U.S. and Canada.
Microsoft Surface "pop-up" stores
U.S.
Atlanta (Perimeter Mall); Aventura, Fla. (Aventura Mall); Beachwood, Ohio (Beachwood Place); Bethesda, Md. (Montgomery Mall); Braintree, Mass. (South Shore Plaza); Charlotte, NC (Southpark Mall); Columbia, Md. (Mall in Columbia); Denver (Cherry Creek Shopping Center); Durham, NC (Streets at Southpoint); Frisco, Texas (Stonebriar Centre Mall); Garden, City, NY (Roosevelt Field Mall); Glendale, Calif. (Glendale Galleria); Indianapolis (Fashion Mall at Keystone); Las Vegas (Fashion Show Mall); Miami (Dadeland Mall); Nashville (Mall at Green Hills); Natick, Mass. (Natick Collection); New York City (Time Warner Center -- The Shops at Columbus Circle); Oklahoma City (Penn Square Mall); Paramus, NJ (Westfield Garden State Plaza); Pittsburgh (Ross Park Mall); Portland, Ore. (Washington Square); San Antonio (North Star Mall); San Francisco (San Francisco Centre); St. Louis (Saint Louis Galleria); Tulsa, Okla. (Woodland Hills Mall); West Hartford, Conn. (Westfarms Mall); Woodlands, Texas (Woodlands Mall)
Canada
Burnaby, British Columbia (Metropolis at Metrotown); Edmonton, Alberta (West Edmonton Mall); Toronto (Eaton Centre); Vancouver, BC (Oakridge Centre)
Microsoft's website promises more locations will be revealed in the future.
Analysts expect tablets to be a top gift this year. Fifteen percent of tablet buyers told the Maritz Research firm that, if given the chance, they would purchase a tablet before buying a computer, smartphone or even a television, making it a potential all-in-one replacement device.
"People coming in at this point are a wide cross section of society. They held back initially to see if it was a fad but are now seeing these devices everywhere they go," said Rhoda Alexander, a tech analyst at IHS iSuppli.
"The rising interest means there are tablets aimed at all segments of the market - from the business-like Microsoft Surface with a full keyboard on its cover to the Toys R Us Tabeo, meant for children as young as 5," says the Washington Post.
This holiday season could establish the tablet narrative for years to come and even provide insight into what consumers value most in making a tablet purchase: price, functionality, top-of-the-line specs, or app and entertainment options.
"The value proposition for a retailer is to drive additional sales of their physical goods or to build brand recognition," Alexander said. Barnes & Noble sells its Nook for $199 and bets users are likely to turn back to the bookstore when they want to get their hands on the next hot novel.
That strategy, employed by the likes of Barnes & Noble and Amazon to keep prices down, usually includes making little or no profit on the tablets upfront. Companies can always make money later, said Alexander, by introducing tablets with new features in the second generation. The most important part of the puzzle is getting in the ring with the rest of the big boys.
However, no other company has managed to profit from that business model, but Apple, according to Alexander.
Only Apple has shown it can make a profit in this increasingly competitive market. It prices its tablets at a premium and cashes in on the thousands of apps developed for them.