A low price point on commodity hardware certainly doesn't correlate to the hardware industry being dead. If anything it is quite the opposite. With such a low price point, the potential market opens up quite significantly. There become many more people that can now afford a tablet, and there also becomes many that can justify having a few around the house for various tasks. A tablet in the kitchen for just recipes becomes a viable product. Of course I would want that particular tablet to have some particular features. Maybe water proof, and easy to clean.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you do have the Apple's and Amazon's of the world that the author mentioned. Quality/expensive hardware will continue to exist long into the future. It will help drive the advancements in technology, and a portion of consumers will always demand quality regardless of price.
If anything the low price point opens up the market for new products. Take Ouya as an example here. While they managed to get $8.5M on Kickstarter, their initial outset had them need less than $1M. I would argue, and I think I have here that we are on the brink of a cambrian explosion of new hardware devices, and given the low entry point, there will be many new companies that bring us exciting new products.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you do have the Apple's and Amazon's of the world that the author mentioned. Quality/expensive hardware will continue to exist long into the future. It will help drive the advancements in technology, and a portion of consumers will always demand quality regardless of price.
If anything the low price point opens up the market for new products. Take Ouya as an example here. While they managed to get $8.5M on Kickstarter, their initial outset had them need less than $1M. I would argue, and I think I have here that we are on the brink of a cambrian explosion of new hardware devices, and given the low entry point, there will be many new companies that bring us exciting new products.