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Xbox tablet? I don't think so

Gewirtz's reasoning is that he puts too much stock in "Xbox the brand" as opposed to "Xbox the console".
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer

Could Microsoft be getting ready to unveil an Xbox branded tablet at next week's mystery media event?

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ZDNet's David Gewirtz says believes so, claiming "Microsoft really only lets the exciting out of its cage once a decade or so" and comes to the conclusion that it's now time to take the Xbox brand to a new level.

In fact, Gewirtz has no trouble at all coming up with reasons to back up the ongoing industry speculation. He spins such a good tale that for a moment I was sucked into the fantasy.

But then I started to see the flaws.

While I have no doubt that Xbox has its cadre of hardcore fanboys, I doubt that there are enough of them to take a new product to leap across Moore's 'chasm', something that's necessary for any product if it is to go mainstream. Most people just bought -- or were bought -- a games console. They didn't just subscribe to a cult or religion.

There's no doubt that the Xbox 360 is a popular gaming console, but its success is nothing compared to a device like the iPad.

First released in November 2006, by April 2012 Microsoft had sold over 67 million units. That seems like a lot, but remember that the console was first released in November 2005, so those sales are spread over six and a half years. To put this into perspective, the iPad was first released in April of 2010 and in a little over two years Apple has sold more than 67 million tablets.

Another problem with an Xbox tablet is differentiation. How does this tablet differ from Windows 8 or Windows RT tablets?

Sure, there would be a gaming slant to it, but is this going to be purely a gaming platform or will it be able to do other stuff too? On the one hand it seems somewhat late in the proceedings for Microsoft to release a one-trick tablet, but simply branding a tablet "Xbox" seems like little more than a cheap marketing trick.

Even the Xbox 360 console itself is no longer purely a gaming platform, but it has morphed into an entertainment hub.

This 'fictional' tablet could cost in or around $299. Unless this Xbox tablet were to be heavily subsidized by Microsoft right from the off, I can't see Redmond being able to come up with anything compelling at this price point. Even Apple's iPad 2 will set you back $399, so a $299 price sticker is really low-balling things.

Gewirtz added: "The one thing the company doesn't really have is a portable Xbox solution."

Is a tablet even the right direction for Microsoft, especially given that the company is hoping that Windows-powered tablets will gain traction over the months following the launch of the new operating system?

Come to think of it: I'm having a hard time believing that Microsoft needs a portable gaming solution at all, given that Windows-powered tablets and Windows Phone devices could fill in the gaps without needing a dedicated device.

I don't think that we're going to see an Xbox tablet announced on Monday. My guess is that this is announcement will revolve around music, movie or TV.

Image source: Microsoft.

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