Comparison of ASUS and HP - Coursework Example

?Introduction Hewlett-Packard Company more commonly known as HP is an American multinational which began its operations from a one car garage by BillHewlett and Dave Packard, who have now made it into one of the largest and most successful multinational company in existence today. HP deals in electronic devices and has been an innovative contributor to the electronics market since the early nineteen forties and has made a difference ever since (Hp official webpage). Recently Hp has launched its Slate 500 Tablet PC which is the product which would evolve the electronic world forever; the perfect substitute for the large desktops and a more stylish and trendy substitute for a laptop. Its multi touch display can browse spread sheets , applications , documents and so much more and now comes with a pen to write on your screen which makes it all the more easier to write and edges it closer to perfection . It includes 2 cameras, the first a VGA camera for web conferencing and the other a three megapixel camera to take still shots and it comes with accessories such as a keyboard, mouse and a printer. So technically we fit a whole desktop into a tiny 8.9 inch screen (Crocker, 2010). Meanwhile ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated is a multinational computer product manufacturer; traditionally Chinese in origin and ASUS also produces components for other companies which also include HP. ASUS has been included in "InfoTech 100" and "Asia’s Top 10 IT Companies" and has a total brand value of US$1.324 billion The Slate 500 Tablet PC now sees a competitor in the face on ASUS's Eee Pad Transformer TF101. The Eee Pad comes with a more powerful 2.1 GHz processor and but has an in built memory of 1 Gb in contrast to the 2 Gb provided by the 500 Tablet PC and a. The Eee Pad also has better quality cameras with a 5 mega pixel and a 1.3 mp video conferencing camera and has a superior battery life. There are also various differences in the specification of both the products but perhaps the most startling one is that of the price, The Eee Pad Transformer TF101 supposed to be cheaper than the HP Slate 500 Tablet PC by at least a hundred and fifty dollars (Gadgetian, web). The HP slate comes at 799$ which includes all accessories which targets a more upper-class audience so the focus is more on brand loyalty and product image than that to see elasticity of demand . The demand for the product should be inelastic but considering the fact that Transformer TF101 can be bought for a starting price of $ 399, the only advantage HP has in the international computers market is that of a superior brand image. Product The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is at the end of the Introduction stage but has quickly moved on to the growth stage. This can be largely attributed to the market penetration pricing that the   used which resulted in more than five hundred thousand pieces being sold in a couple of months and due to the product being in the growth stage the demand is still increasing to quite a large extent .   While the HP Slate 500 Tablet PC was launched at around proximity of six months, it may not have accomplished the point in the growth stage that the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer has. The product has recently been introduced and due to its low prices the product has been an instant hit and has seen increasing sales ever since. The other more notable difference is that the Transformer is using more widespread extension strategies to increase the extent of the growth stage and they seem to be working as the predicted sales are increasing by the day. The only reason why the Tablet PC is still in the growth stage is due to its superior brand image, but it can only do so for so long. HP faces the risk of its product reaching the saturation / maturity stage more quickly than desired as undesirable reviews and cheaper substitutes have seen the products credibility decrease. This problem lies only with Hewlett-Packet and ASUS have been smart enough to understand the problem and the product is at the most desirable and profitable stage of the Product life cycle (Shimpi, 2011) So this in turn proves that it is smarter to focus on elasticity of demand rather than brand loyalty and the HP Slate has proven to be a mediocre product with a high price tag while ASUS has been smarter to charge less and sell more     Recommendations It is quite obvious what the HP Slate 500 Tablet PC needs improving , HP may be one of the top brands in the world but again the price for this product is too high and the first thing HP needs to do in order to make their order more attractive is significantly reduce the price . The concept of penetration pricing would be slightly extreme but it is the method ASUS is using and their estimated 2.8 million orders reflects their success. Approximately 800 dollars for a PC with a slow processor is going to hinder consumer satisfaction. The Tablet should have come with a better processor to say the least and the device’s build quality is not the best ever seen. Overall it is easy to say that the Tablet is no competitor to the Android or the iPad. Since the slate has comparatively lower demand and a high price each good should be made with utmost care and batch production should not be used but simultaneously lean production methods should be implemented. Another thing in order to boost sales is perhaps keep discount packages for different groups. Perhaps student discounts on the purchase of the Slate or free accessories with the Tablet PC may perhaps remove its image from a technical - business man product to a common household necessity. Furthermore promotion methods such as advertisement using the HP brand name is a good attention grabbing move but HP needs to open more factory outlets in different countries as the commission of the middle men only causes an increase in price of the product ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 perhaps not as well known as the HP Slate 500 Tablet PC but is the more affordable of the two items but recently user complains about its touch screen have risen as it is seen to be easily broken and the additional features are expensive so the first thing for the Transformer TF101 would be a reduction in the price of its additional features (Lanier, 2011). The other way to make the product better is that it should increase product research in order to make the product a lot better. The product is also missing 3G or even GPRS in some incidences and product could be made a whole lot better with these additional features. As the quality conscious people will prefer to have a more expensive yet a more advanced product. The Eee Pad has a demand of more than two million units so the Eee Pad should focus on producing goods in bulk and using flow production techniques. Since ASUS already is the raw material provider than the quality of the Eee Pad should be impressive but its appearance needs to be more attractive so it can be more desirable to buy than say a product such as Zoom (ASUS official web page). References ASUS official webpage. Retrieved from: http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/ Crocker,W. (2010). HP Slate 500 Demand Exceeds Initial Production Run, But All Things are Relative. Retrieved from: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2010/11/14/hp-slate-500-demand-exceeds-initial-production-run-but-all-things-are-relative/ Lanier, M. (2011). HP Slate 500 Tablet PC- Very Negative Review. Retrieved from: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/05/09/hp-slate-500-tablet-pc-very-negative-review/ Shimp,L. (2011). ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Review. Retrieved from: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4277/asus-eee-pad-transformer-review  HP official website. Retrieved from: http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/welcome.html Gadgeteon. Asus Eee Pad Transformer Full Specifications And price details. Retrieved from: http://gadgetian.com/9262/asus-eee-pad-transformer-specs-price/ Read More