The past few months in the gadget industry have been all about tablets, thanks majorly to a much hyped announcement about the Apple iPad. And while the eventual revelation did let thousands of enthusiasts down, the speculation about more tablets from different companies did not die down.
Even before Apple made the announcement about thee iPad, companies already seemed to be running scared. The impending launch of the iPad (at that time being popularly referred to as iSlate) is perhaps what caused Microsoft to hurry the launch of the HP Slate (iSlate, Slate…does anyone else see a similarity? I guess it’s just me). Microsoft’s current CEO had once laughed at Apple while discussing the iPhone. He was later left red-faced as it went on to become the largest selling phone in history. Presumably, he didn’t want a similar situation this time around where Apple raced ahead of its competition and completely monopolized a market. Note that the tablet market is so far pretty nascent. The keynote at the CES 2010, however, didn’t do Steve Ballmer much good as comments on youtube videos and thousands of blog posts in the following days went on to ridicule the keynote itself (Though he shares the first name with Apple’s co-founder, he doesn’t share his charismatic stage presence) and the tablet PC. It wasn’t responsive enough, it wasn’t quick enough, but most importantly, it just wasn’t innovative enough. Sure, Microsoft didn’t manufacture the tablet PC by itself, but it played a darned important role. And it wasn’t good enough. And with that the debate on Microsoft’s innovativeness continued. The wait for the iPad started again.
Tablet PCs aren’t a new phenomenon. The first tablet was launched as far back as 2001 by Microsoft. It never really took off, thanks largely to an OS that wasn’t built for touch, backward touchscreen technology in those days and an expensive price tag. Innovative? Yes. Practical? No.
It’s interesting to note that most people, especially bloggers, keep going on about how Windows has never been meant for touch. Windows XP wasn’t built for touch, Windows Vista wasn’t built for touch, and while Windows 7 claims to have integrated touch, it still isn’t too responsive to the finger. Mac OSX, however, has escaped such scrutiny. Though we all know why that is so, most people don’t even consider that OSX might just be as non-responsive as Windows, if not worse, when it comes to touch. Neither OS was built to be touched.
Maybe the fact that OSX doesn’t respond too well to the finger, or a stylus (which Apple wouldn’t use in any case. “Who needs a stylus?” said Stevie during the iPhone launch), is precisely why Apple used an extended version of the iPhone OS in the iPad. Techies haven’t been too happy about this, sure, but isn’t it better to please the touch-happy average consumer than to aim to please gadget freaks who are never satisfied?
The demonstration of the iPad during Apple’s keynote on January 27, 2010, showed just how good the iPad was compared to the HP Slate. Check out the video below to get an idea of the ebook reading experience on both devices:
When faced with these two options, what would the average consumer go for? Remember that the average consumer does not make heavy use of spreadsheets. He doesn’t need to give a PowerPoint presentation in his office. He doesn’t even need the thousands of Windows specific applications. All he wants is a good browsing experience, ability to listen to his favourite music and in general a pleasant time. He doesn’t want to be harassed by complicated options and a non-responsive OS.
But the general user might also want to pause a game and exchange some photos with a friend, or check his mail. The iPad has no multi-tasking to enable him to do this. The average user also wants the full web experience where he can view the millions of online videos available only through a Flash plug-in. The iPad doesn’t have Flash support.
On both these counts, a tablet running a desktop OS wins.
And the HP Slate isn’t the only tablet option available to those not too pleased with the Apple iPad. Indeed, some users might want something a lot more rugged, in which case the soon to be launched Panasonic Toughbook H1 might be the ideal choice. The $3k+ price tag burning a hole in your pocket? Maybe you might want to wait for the Asus Eee pad, running on Google Android, or the Dell Mini 5 running on the same OS if you are looking for something a lot smaller. And if an all touch interface on a huge screen isn’t a priority, you might want to consider the Handheld US Algiz 7 tablet.
Dell Mini 5 tablet
There will, of course, be a lot more options for consumers come the middle of 2010. Tablets running on Android, Windows 7 and possible Google’s Chrome OS will flood the market.
But what caused the flurry of tablet launches? Was it the hype surrounding Apple’s iPad? Was it the recognition of an intermediate space between the smartphone and netbook? Or is it just that the recent
advancements in technology have made the tablet PC a lot more feasible than ever before? Whatever the reason, one thing we can be sure of is it wasn’t because of popular consumer demand. No one ever really demand the tablet. We didn’t need it way back in 2001. And we don’t feel any sort of vacuum today without the existence of one in our life.
The utility of tablets will be clear by the end of 2010. The sales of a host of tablets that will be launched in the middle of the year will give the market an idea of how much consumers really want these devices. For they are a pain to use while on the move because of their size, and if the person is planning to sit down he might as well use a netbook. The manufacturers need to convince the general public of the utility of these big touch screens, something that even the lofty Apple failed to do during the iPad revelation. Let’s not even talk about the HP Slate keynote.
Let’s check back here at the end of the year. Signing off from my Apple Newton (joking).
Handheld US Algiz 7 rugged