AT&T Is an Apple Tablet Dealbreaker [SURVEY]

Credit:

Shopping site Retrevo surveyed 500 of its customers to see what features the tablet will need to have to warrant purchase -- and the features that could keep it from earning a place in their collections.

eBooks and 3G Good, AT&T or Monthly Data Plans Bad

When asked what features the Apple Tablet absolutely needs to have to make it worth buying, the consumers Retrevo surveyed made it clear that a long battery life, the ability to connect to 3G and an eBook store were all top must-have features. What we find really interesting was that the women surveyed were even more keen on having access to eBooks and existing iPhone applications than men.

Credit:

Another interesting tidbit? Despite 39% of the respondents saying that 3G was a must-have feature, 44% of respondents said that a monthly data plan would prevent them from buying the new Apple device. How 3G data can be reconciled with no additional monthly plan is interesting, and it looks like consumers (or at least the ones that Retrevo surveyed) want Apple to follow in Amazon's footsteps with the Kindle and offer 3G data as part of the device, sans additional service plans. Of course, having a free data service for a device that mostly transmits text and free data for web browsing and other media-rich activities are two very different things.

What will also keep users from buying an Apple tablet? AT&T. It appears that Luke Wilson isn't enough to make consumers want to deal with another device hampered by the service provider.

That Whole Price Issue

Credit:

In Retrevo's survey, 70% of respondents said that any price more than $700 would prevent them from buying the tablet. Thirty percent of respondents seemed willing to entertain the idea of spending more than $700 for the device. While this data is interesting, it isn't very conclusive, even for this survey. For instance, what percentage of users would be OK with spending $600 on a device?

Granted, of those that are willing to spend above $700, we assume that the expectations and features of the device are going to have to seem worth that price. That's why trying to gauge pricing thresholds on an unknown device is so difficult. Still, there are plenty of people that seem to be ready to fork over their cash or credit cards just as soon as the new device is available.