HTC scraps plans for large Windows RT tablet, report says

With so many tablets hitting the market these days – the majority of which fail to sell in any impressive number – it’s in some ways refreshing to hear that one company, HTC, has taken another look at its mobile strategy and decided to actually pull plans for one of its intended devices.

According to a Bloomberg report Thursday, the Taiwan-based mobile maker has abandoned plans to build a “large-size” Windows RT tablet for fear of weak demand. Though the report doesn’t reveal the precise size of the tablet, we assume it’s the 12-inch device, news of which first emerged at the end of last year.

“People familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg that HTC had found production costs for the device to be too high, a situation which would inevitably leave it with an unattractive price tag. However, the company reportedly still has plans to launch a 7-inch RT tablet later in the year, the source said. A 7-inch Android tablet is also said to be in the works.

HTC evidently feels the smaller form factor is the way to go with tablets, with strong sales of devices like the iPad Mini, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire no doubt influencing its thinking.

News that HTC was working on developing a number of RT devices emerged late last year. A report then suggested the Taiwan-based electronics company had been considering producing tablets running the full-featured Windows 8 OS – as opposed to machines running the lightweight RT alternative – but decided to scrap those plans and switch to RT devices because of spiraling costs.

Consigning its 12-inch RT tablet plans to the trash can looks to have been a wise move by HTC. Data from research firm IDC released in March suggests RT tablets will grab a paltry 1.9 percent of the tablet market in 2013, while Android devices are set to take 48.8 percent and iOS 46 percent. On those figures, even HTC’s expected 7-inch RT tablet looks set to struggle.

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