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March 2, 2011 9:01 PM PST

Apple's Jobs: The tablet PC 'crashed and burned'

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98 comments

Apple CEO Steve Jobs had some choice words today for the tablet PC, a relatively obscure PC product category that never caught on with consumers.

Fujitsu Lifebook T900 Tablet PC. At $1,899, would you buy one of these? Notice the stylus, which never caught on in a big way. It's not that light either at 4.59 pounds.

Fujitsu Lifebook T900 Tablet PC. At $1,899, would you buy one of these? Notice the stylus, which never caught on in a big way. It's not that light either at 4.59 pounds.

(Credit: Fujitsu)

What is the tablet PC exactly? While there's a long history of this product category and thus not a hard-and-fast definition, it's probably best exemplified today by hybrids like Hewlett-Packard's EliteBook 2740p (which starts at a whopping $1,599) or the Fujitsu Lifebook T900 Tablet PC (which starts at an even higher $1,899).

The tablet PC has been largely a vain attempt--certainly compared with the popularity of the iPad--to meld the laptop with a tablet, based on the Windows tablet interface.

And Jobs pulled no punches in pointing this out today when speaking at the iPad 2 event today in San Francisco. "We sold almost 15 million iPads in 2010. And remember that's just nine months. That's April through September," he said. "That's more than every tablet PC ever sold. The tablet PC crashed and burned. The modern tablet PC is the iPad."

Granted, he is probably Apple's best product evangelist, but he has a point. The stylus-based Windows interface never caught in any significant way. Not to mention the fact that the Windows 7 tablet interface today is not as touch-friendly as Apple's UI on the iPad.

But it's not only Apple that will likely deliver the coup de grace to the tablet PC. As PC makers like HP and Dell bring out more products like the HP TouchPad and the Dell Streak, they will do their fair share to bring about the demise of this product category too.

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Brooke Crothers has been an editor at large at CNET News, an analyst at IDC Japan, and an editor at The Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.

Topics:

Apple,

Processors,

Ultramobile

Tags:

Windows,

tablet PC,

Apple,

Steve Jobs,

iPad 2

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by Jamie9230 March 2, 2011 9:30 PM PST
"It's in Apple's DNA that technology alone is not enough. It's technology married with the liberal arts; married with the humanities that yields us the results that makes our heart sing" - Steve Jobs
Reply to this comment 33 people like this comment
by d4nowar March 2, 2011 9:49 PM PST
I laughed, but I don't know if I was supposed to or not?
23 people like this comment
by finalfanoffkey March 2, 2011 9:54 PM PST
@ d4nower

"I laughed, but I don't know if I was supposed to or not?"

No, you're not supposed to. We're in the middle of Anthem.
7 people like this comment
by kojacked March 2, 2011 9:56 PM PST
and I have a bridge I'd like to sell ya...

"It's money in my pocket..."

Thank god they got it right this time unlike the Newton.
7 people like this comment
by coffeedude77 March 2, 2011 10:51 PM PST
hmm.. bestdroidapps.com
1 person likes this comment
by iWonder94 March 3, 2011 4:23 AM PST
Steve Jobs is very dedicated to his work.
4 people like this comment
by MadLyb March 3, 2011 4:57 AM PST
You are supposed to stand at attention and place your hand over your heart and shed a tear as this is read.
6 people like this comment
by Random_Walk March 3, 2011 5:31 AM PST
Oh c'mon, guys... you gotta admit that it's at least a bit more poetic than "Developers! Developers! Developers!"
15 people like this comment
by kojacked March 3, 2011 7:17 AM PST
The tablet is a tool. Do we really need prose and poetry to help us decide to buy it? Oh wait...
1 person likes this comment
by Random_Walk March 3, 2011 7:56 AM PST
The automobile is a tool too... yet nearly every advertisement for one includes a metric ton of superfluous poetry and prose, both visual and verbal.

Seems to work rather well for them.
6 people like this comment
by gerrrg March 2, 2011 9:52 PM PST
Jobs is right -- the tablet PC sucked. And so too, was the UMPC, if you recall. Jobs has brought beauty, simplicity and solid UI to computing. Eric Schmidt is right to say that what Apple / Jobs has done, is worthy of praise and everyone's attention.

Having said that, I'm actually sold on the Android platform, and am looking forward to a solid Honeycomb-based tablet, because I've bought into Google's integration for years, even before I bought the G1.
Reply to this comment 5 people like this comment
by aka_tripleB March 2, 2011 11:29 PM PST
I have my own tablet running a proprietary OS and both Windows and iOS are pedestrian compared to what I built! </sarcasm>

Oh course Jobs said Windows sucks, it's part of his job to do so. He's obviously never going to say that the tablet features of PCs work great if you actually get a chance to use them.
12 people like this comment
by symbolset March 3, 2011 12:27 AM PST
The desktops and laptop PCs also suck. They're just not as responsive as the iPad2 is going to be, once they're larded up with antimalware suites and shovelware. I wonder what we're going to do about that.

I like the Android tablets too. Strong preference for Linux. But y'know, not enough choice in the Xoom. And the iPad apps are lovely. I guess I could get an iPad 2, and if the Android tablets show up with what I want by Christmas I could trade up.
3 people like this comment
by pghcraig1 March 3, 2011 4:59 AM PST
The tablet pc did suck. BUt see before hardware vendors had to rely on Microsoft to make software that make the hardware relevant.

Google changes that, and gives an Apple-esque OS for their hardware. I think Honeycomb shows where Google will go with tablets, far different than Apple and more functional. Not to say Apple won't surprsie us with an iPad version of IOS 5.

Really the loser will be Microsoft. They still don't get it.
2 people like this comment
by MadLyb March 3, 2011 5:10 AM PST
Having owned and carried a Tablet PC for years, I can safely say, it was heavy, expensive and had a terrible battery life...and it was the **** for 2004 and I found nothing comparable for the 4 years I carried it. I am still waiting on a modern tablet that has a stylus and a note taking application like OneNote.

The iPad is a software and engineering marvel...covered in the poop of a control freak organization and honestly, I have to wonder what Apple would have built in 2004 that would have been any better.
8 people like this comment
by celticbrewer March 3, 2011 5:26 AM PST
Wow, an acient product that does more than the iPad built on technologies from years ago? Yeah, it's no wonder why it failed. There's been huge growth in the technology of portable components- batteries, screens, processors, wireless, etc since the tablet idea was born.

It's rediculous that truly innovative companies come up with a great idea and implement it poorly with what's available at the time, but then shelf it to never try again until Apple digs up the decade-old idea and applies new (well, newer but seasoned) technology and calls it revolutionary.
3 people like this comment
by ReVeLaTeD March 3, 2011 6:49 AM PST
"I am still waiting on a modern tablet that has a stylus and a note taking application like OneNote"

Asus Eee Slate.
3 people like this comment
by biffhenerson March 3, 2011 7:28 AM PST
The Windows based tablet PC's do one thing that the iPad cant. Enable me to use a stylus pen to take notes and draw sketches. In fact, that is all I use my tablet for 99% of the time. It replaced my paper notepad. The other 1%, it transforms into a laptop computer so I can do things that would be difficult to do with a slate/pad. It is the only thing that has stopped me from purchasing an iPad. Heck, even their Newton had a pen.
5 people like this comment
by jypeterson March 3, 2011 8:56 AM PST
@ biffhenerson, just purchase a stylus to use with your iPad. Pogostick is one example...
3 people like this comment
by wirelesscaller March 3, 2011 7:43 PM PST
What changed was that people accepted a phone OS on a tablet for the price of a laptop. If MS tried to pull it off using windows ce they would have been laughed out of the room. MS had the vision but the hardware wasn't there yet, people want a full OS on their tablets and we should see it within 5 years. iOS, Android, Win CE7, and WebOS are all on borrowed time. I think MS pioneers products before the hardware got there, their aim was a little too high.
by Constable Odo March 3, 2011 10:22 PM PST
The Windows tablet PC crashed and burned a long time ago. Only the most hard-headed Windows fanbois would ask for new versions of those ancient dinosaurs. Microsoft refuses to give up. Rumors have a Windows 8 tablet PC ready to go in late 2012. How will the Wintard fanbois wait it out until then? Continue playing with their old skool netbooks, I suppose.
1 person likes this comment
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by badasscat March 2, 2011 9:57 PM PST
The tablet PC sucked, but so do "modern" tablets. Steve Jobs is a master at making people want crap they don't need. The public got it right the first time.

I need a PC. It's how I get my work done running my business. I need my phone; it's how I stay in communication. What do I need a tablet for? What do I *want* a tablet for? The reasons I don't want a "tablet PC" are the same reasons I don't want an iPad. It's just another device that I have no use for.

Kudos to Steve Jobs, I guess, for making a lot of other people think otherwise.
Reply to this comment 26 people like this comment
by kool_skatkat March 2, 2011 11:44 PM PST
Clear your need is not the same as other people's need or even want.
8 people like this comment
by SquezeBox March 3, 2011 12:18 AM PST
And your a mechanic maybe? Someone else with a different profession would find the ipad great oh yeah my wife a Project Manager of Medical software.

I also like the ipad but not for work I use a 13" Macbook Air for that. Works great so thing and light but I can see where another person would find the Air to limited. Apple makes enough products to give people a choice and that is a good thing. Apple may not be perfect but for the most part they get it right 95 percent of the time, I can't say that about most companies but that not to say other companies don't bring out good products that makes my life easier.
3 people like this comment
by boxing_bantz March 3, 2011 12:48 AM PST
Absolutely spot on badasscat.

It's a bridge between a pc/laptop and a smartphone that isn't needed. It just goes to show there are many stupid people in this world who buy anything Apple throw at them.
7 people like this comment
by ckh1272 March 3, 2011 3:32 AM PST
@boxing_bantz and badasscat--Do you use that same logic with Android and WebOS tablets (directed at boxing_bantz)? This is like every other product category. Some people will have a use for it, some people won't, end of story (directed at badasscat).
2 people like this comment
by Mangolite March 3, 2011 3:51 AM PST
It does not matter what your profession is-it's what you want to do with it that requires the need for such a device. Some individual or company no longer lugs around a 3lb laptop because "they" have found the best maximize method for their needs.
by Market_Player March 3, 2011 4:24 AM PST
My wife is a Doctor and she needs and uses an iPad frequently at work, badasscat your needs are not blanketed across humanity, and Jobs centrally did not make the healthcare system think iPad was necessary; it just turned out to be the best tool for the job.
4 people like this comment
by swguy March 3, 2011 5:39 AM PST
Different organizations and people, different needs.

iPad deployment now includes GE, US Army, Korea Telecom, IIT, Abbott, NASA, USGS, Otsuka Pharma, SAP AG, Boston Scientific, KLA-Tencor, Victoria HOspital, State of Victoria in Australia, Univ. of Minn., CA DOE, Alaska Air, on and on.

You may find it useless but millions of others have found it useful.
5 people like this comment
by freemarket--2008 March 3, 2011 6:01 AM PST
I suppose if you're illiterate and plan to stay that way, you really don't need an e-reader. It does do porn though, just not from the app store. ;-)
by ciuin March 3, 2011 6:04 AM PST
I agree. The tablet should be phone/Skype ready, not be limited to one or two carriers like AT&T or Verizon, and take the place of a laptop. That would be ideal. Having said that, I have no need of a laptop when away from my desktop. The tablet is a nice intermediate step for me.
by dansterpower March 3, 2011 7:38 AM PST
I just don't think you get it.
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by Sourdust March 2, 2011 10:02 PM PST
I think Microsoft's problems was that they always tried to make the Windows desktop UI fit into every platform, from tablets to PDAs. To them everything needed a Start menu even if it didn't make sense. Apple did the smart thing and created a different UI for a different platform. Microsoft finally got creative with Windows Phone 7. Maybe they've learned their lesson (I kinda doubt it.)
Reply to this comment 11 people like this comment
by SteveW928 March 3, 2011 10:20 AM PST
Well, since M$ doesn't innovate, they don't know what else to do. Their market is slipping away from them, and all they knew how to do was find ways to try and keep people in their eco-sytem (including many illegal ones).

For Jobs, I think that was a long awaited personal poke at Gates. Kind of a 'told you so' and the empirical proof to rub some salt in the wounds.

If M$ hadn't been such a terrible company all those years, I'd almost have to feel sorry for them.
1 person likes this comment
by raehl311 March 2, 2011 10:10 PM PST
Newsflash: Things made before large touch screens were economical did not do as well as things made after large touch screens became economical.
Reply to this comment 14 people like this comment
by Synthmeister March 3, 2011 9:44 AM PST
And MS and its OEM minion's still can't make a $499 slate with 10 hrs battery life that anyone wants to buy, economical touch screens or not.
1 person likes this comment
by FormerPCwonk March 2, 2011 10:11 PM PST
""We sold almost 15 million iPads in 2010. And remember that's just nine months. That's April through September," he said."

No, I think he said "April through December."
Reply to this comment 4 people like this comment
by jrfree March 2, 2011 10:18 PM PST
Jobs is so high on himself that he cannot think straight when making a comment. Comparing an iPad to a PC is like comparing an abacus to a modern calculator - the iPad is a severly limited device that gives you just what Steveo wants you to have one thing at a time. With a PC you can create, you can build, you can design, and connect pieces from different parts into one. Trying to do that on an iPad is like trying to paint a detailed picture with cans of spray paint - the end result is clumsy, takes forever to achieve and turns out looking pretty sad. Sure, the iPad has sold as most Apple devices do, with a lot of hype, and to people who want to feel special for having something with the logo of a piece of fruit on it. I think if I am going to invest in any new device I will go for something with a little green guy on it!
Reply to this comment 19 people like this comment
by RedEis March 2, 2011 10:34 PM PST
very well said.. ;)
8 people like this comment
by SquezeBox March 3, 2011 12:24 AM PST
No he was right on the money. The tablet laptop sucked big time I used one in college and they where heavy and windows would crash and I loose what I was working on. The Ipad is not perfect that is for sure but I trust it more than I would Window Vista and the tablet pc. Most of your rant has nothing to do with what he was talking about and I saw the how thing online.

But hey don't buy one get your elf a nice big and heavy windows tablet pc and have fun, I know I will not be buying that garbage.
6 people like this comment
by symbolset March 3, 2011 12:31 AM PST
At least 15 million people disagree with you, and more every day - and they're not just banging on the keyboard, they're putting their own money on the counter.
5 people like this comment
by TelstarII March 3, 2011 12:41 AM PST
symbolset: 15 million people do not disagree. They want an abacus and got one. Others want a content creation device that requires different capabilities....like a digitizing pen, a real file system, SDHC, etc.
3 people like this comment
by shinyflu March 3, 2011 1:33 AM PST
I think you're missing the point. The iPad/tablets are not a replacement. There is no way in the world I would use if for work (audio/video editing). I will however use it at home, on the couch, at the coffee shop to consume media mostly. Maybe a little 'media generation' but nothing serious. That's why we have iMacs/MacPros/MacBookPros at work. Some people may be able to use it in their work environment, but that's the thing- it doesn't claim to be a computing powerhouse.

Why do people think that a tablet, which is ultra thin and portable, is meant to be the equivalent of proper computer!?
3 people like this comment
by cbscowards March 3, 2011 2:52 AM PST
Agreed. The iPad is mainly a consumer device. It might be able to replace a PC for lightweight consumers, but it is a very poor substitute PC for someone who is creating, and cannot be used at all for some professions like software development. So for anyone who needs a real computer, tablets are just an expensive nice-to-have gadget. If you have a smartphone, it's even less needed. My wife has an iPad, and I never use it -- between my MacBookPro and phone I have all I need.
2 people like this comment
by JNisbit March 3, 2011 3:05 AM PST
@SquezeBox are you blind or just dont know how to read?!

"I think if I am going to invest in any new device I will go for something with a little green guy on it!"

maybe i missed it but when did windows change their logo to a "little green guy" oh thats right they didnt. that would be android. if yer gonna go off on a rant at least know *** your talking about.
1 person likes this comment
by ckh1272 March 3, 2011 3:38 AM PST
"by TelstarII March 3, 2011 12:41 AM PST
symbolset: 15 million people do not disagree. They want an abacus and got one. Others want a content creation device that requires different capabilities....like a digitizing pen, a real file system, SDHC, etc."

"Others"? I'll be sure to check with all five of them.
by celticbrewer March 3, 2011 5:36 AM PST
"Why do people think that a tablet, which is ultra thin and portable..."

Why do people think tablets are any more portable than a laptop? I sure as heck wouldn't want to carry around an iPad everywhere. Maybe if you're a woman with a large purse. My smartphone is the perfect size for being every-day portable.

I feel sorry for the kid here at work who is always carrying around his iFad. Especially with that huge leather case he needs to protect the screen. You know what would make a great screen protector? -a keyboard in a clamshell design. Oh, wait...
8 people like this comment
by ewsachse March 3, 2011 7:06 AM PST
@celticbrewer

You are the bomb. Best response on this article.
3 people like this comment
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by workshopmusic March 2, 2011 10:24 PM PST
I don't own an iPad; but I've observed that it is the second-most ubiquitous computer around, where I work... on video productions... where producers, directors, the audio engineer, various members of the creative team all are using them for various technical roles on the shoot.

The most ubiquitous computer on the set is a Macbook Pro (for audio recording and Final Cut use) and the third most popular device I see everyday is the iPhone. There are usually a half-dozen of those plugged in and charging off my gear.
Reply to this comment 8 people like this comment
by Shinespark March 2, 2011 10:49 PM PST
Pretty sure you can't exist in more places than "everywhere," so I daresay there are not degrees of ubiquity.
4 people like this comment
by shinyflu March 3, 2011 1:36 AM PST
But the use of Mac/Apple products in the media industry has more to do with either programs, file structure of OS X and/or program power & stability. Some people love Premiere, but by far in large is Apple the dominant manufacturer.

Rather than carry a bunch of paper around, the iPad is perfect for dispo's, story boards, notes etc. It's a dovetail fit :)
4 people like this comment
by celticbrewer March 3, 2011 5:43 AM PST
Funny, I work in an IT deparment (you know- where people use REAL technology) and of around 90 people, there's only 1 iFad (the kid is pretty clueless) and maybe a dozen iPhones at most. Everyone else is on Android or Blackberry.

Apple has always dug into the art/media professions. Probably because those people aren't technical enough to use something more complex than a 1 button mouse.
7 people like this comment
by phenixdragon March 2, 2011 10:42 PM PST
Uh...the iPad is also a PC. PC = Personal Computer. Maybe he means the Windows tablets?
Reply to this comment 3 people like this comment
by madawg2 March 2, 2011 10:49 PM PST
The NEW iPad 2, it's as thin as Steve!

Unimpressed! Yawn!
Reply to this comment 7 people like this comment
by ckh1272 March 3, 2011 3:40 AM PST
Way to sound like a jackwagon. Oh, and you really proved your point by commenting on something you allegedly have zero interest in (note sarcasm). Bravo!
8 people like this comment
by CupertinoBill March 2, 2011 11:11 PM PST
What a bunch of pricks replying today. Junior high stuff.
Reply to this comment 17 people like this comment
by freemarket--2008 March 3, 2011 6:05 AM PST
The trolls gotta let off steam... ;-)
4 people like this comment
by mmmCheeseburger March 2, 2011 11:18 PM PST
Blah I don't know.. Steve can wax idiotic all he wants but I remember a day not long ago when yes we had few crappy tablets and fake ipad leak after fake ipad leak years in succession and apple's word being tablets are not a feasible market. Frankly it's too late for me to listen to the smug we know all mentality when people have practically been begging for a tablet iphone since the onset of the iphone. That said the ipad 2 is going to be pretty nice though it's finally going to go up against some real competition so I guess we'll see what happens.
Reply to this comment 1 person likes this comment
by freemarket--2008 March 3, 2011 6:08 AM PST
Yea, it would have been so much smarter to give away the tablet strategy long before he had a product ready to ship... You should apply to be the new Apple CEO since the company is doing so poorly under Jobs.

/sarcasm
3 people like this comment
by brianbot5000 March 2, 2011 11:27 PM PST
Can't compare a fully capable PC/laptop with the iPad. The iPad is great, but it's a toy more than it is a serious working tool. And that's not a bad thing, but don't confuse the two Jobs. I don't see anyone doing serious work on an iPad - yes, I'm sure there's the exception out there, but by and large iPad people are checking email, surfing the web, watching media, etc... No comparison.
Reply to this comment 9 people like this comment
by VegasBaby March 3, 2011 12:16 AM PST
Let's see "a toy" that can do:
Word Processing
Spreadsheets
Email
Surf the web
Print
Network monitoring and management
E-Books, Magazines, social network
Has over 60,000 native applications, including a wide selection of audio, video, drawing, graphics creation tools and specialized Apps for the medical, aviation and education markets.


Now, what is YOUR definition of a "fully capable PC/laptop"?


Maybe playing shoot-em up games -- Oh there's thousands of Apps for that.
9 people like this comment
by symbolset March 3, 2011 12:33 AM PST
You have no idea. It's happening. Just because you can't imagine it doesn't mean it isn't happening.
3 people like this comment
by Neosum March 3, 2011 1:43 AM PST
It all depends on each person's definition of "capable." No flash, no usb, no sd, no physical keyboard. Big freaking deal? Those who require them will not buy an ipad. Others who find use for one will buy it. Plain and simple. The demand is there and apple's meeting that demand with over 9 billion in revenue to prove it.

There are plenty of people who would prefer to carry an ipad or alternative vs a laptop. It's their choice but I can promise you that the person carrying one will put it to good use and that includes serious work.

Hype doesn't sell 15 million units in 9 months. Ever consider maybe customers are actually happy with their purchase? If they weren't, apple would be stuck with over 15 million ipads right now, wouldn't they? Perhaps they burried them in the nevada desert along with the old atari cartridges.
2 people like this comment
by cbscowards March 3, 2011 2:56 AM PST
@VegasBaby: My definition of a fully capable PC/Laptop is one that I can write code on, do complex image editing, etc. Please tell me which of the 60,000 apps will let me do that. The iPad (and all tablets) are far from fully capable computers. They might be fine for casual users, but not for heavy lifting.
6 people like this comment
by ckh1272 March 3, 2011 3:43 AM PST
@ cbscowards--So you have provided two examples of why the iPad is not for you? The other 15 million people who have bought it since its release obviously have found plenty of uses for it.
5 people like this comment
by javawebdeveloper March 3, 2011 5:28 AM PST
@ckh1272: I don't think anyone is saying that the iPad is not useful for many people. I agree with cbscowards, however, that it is nowhere near capable enough to replace a computer for heavy users. Even someone doing heavy data entry all day would suffer with it: It is a low-resolution screen (compared to PCs) and you lose half the screen when the keyboard is showing. The keyboard is fine for quick emails and the like, but not for intensive use. I know you can get external keyboards, but then you lose the portability so you might as well carry a laptop. VegasBaby is arguing that it is a "fully capable" computer, and it clearly is not.
1 person likes this comment
by celticbrewer March 3, 2011 5:46 AM PST
Gee VegasBaby, you just described every smartphone in the past 4 years. What's so special about the iFad? Oh, it's bigger. Wow.
4 people like this comment
by ReVeLaTeD March 3, 2011 6:56 AM PST
Wow.

Contact me when the iPad can:

- Join a domain - ANY domain, Windows or Mac
- Join Exchange for full email sync two way with calendar sync and contacts
- Print DIRECTLY to a local printer...not every printer is networked
- Create AutoCAD files
- Manage blueprints or ArcGIS files
- Create and manage VMWare VMs, or even Parallels VMs
- Boot Windows directly
- Boot Linux directly
- Read videos, photos or anything else from non-networked external media
- Connect to a non-wireless network
- Power a GoToMeeting session while navigating a VM or Keynote/PPT
- Access and create folders on a file share WITHOUT a secondary app
- Edit PDFs
- Attach a physical scanner and scan documents
- Receive and process domain security policies
- Encrypt stored files
- Run Flash based applications WITHOUT a secondary app
- Upload to and download from FTP sites
- CREATE FTP sites
4 people like this comment
by dansterpower March 3, 2011 7:41 AM PST
@ VegasBaby -- Don't forget command line remote server management and killer Keynote presentations with embedded media and animation.
1 person likes this comment
by inplainview March 3, 2011 12:23 AM PST
@kyoxilbuzz,

I call BS on you being a supplier. If your "morals" are so high why do any biz at all with Apple. The word you are looking for is liar.
Reply to this comment 1 person likes this comment
by IT_worker March 3, 2011 1:20 AM PST
The new era of multi-touch slates (like iPad) have not only brought about the demise of one product category, the Microsoft Tablet PC.

It has obsoleted 2 product categories: The Microsoft Tablet PC, and the Windows Netbook.

The sad thing is that Ballmer is still **still** trying to push the old Tablet PC.
Reply to this comment 1 person likes this comment
by zanely March 3, 2011 2:35 AM PST
The tabletPC and its various touch-screen cousins were never really intended for the consumer market and thus there are no compelling apps for consumers. Businesses, on the other hand, are attracted to mobile devices that can be switched between laptop mode and tablet mode. Tablet mode is an excellent format for apps requiring signature capture, electronic sales presentations and other form-based application. The iPad may replace many of todays tabletPCs but not without a stylus.
Reply to this comment 3 people like this comment
by Dominick_7 March 3, 2011 2:46 AM PST
I'd MUCH rather get a pocket-able but large screen device on the Dell Streak than anything by that dictator.
Reply to this comment
by ckh1272 March 3, 2011 3:52 AM PST
And Michael Dell is not one?? Read up on how Dell almost completely screwed the state of North Carolina because of his swindling tactics. They dangled a $240,000,000 carrot as Dells' request for a desktop facility, only to close shop after five years (when Dell could not see the laptop writing on the wall). At least NC had the sense to make Dell pay back that money (when they left) but now they are stuck with a gigantic building with no suitors in a crappy economy.
1 person likes this comment
by Dominick_7 March 3, 2011 2:09 PM PST
If true, I'd agree that that's not good.. I don't like Dell either. Their build quality has gone down, and the specs on their devices are typically not impressive.. but at least I don't have to see the guy all the time, get ticked off at the way he makes his tech proprietary and closed like some control freak, or get a bunch of annoying backstreet boy like fan boys trying to call something that isn't that great better than a miracle from God in my face on all these tech sites.
by eon2010 March 3, 2011 3:55 AM PST
The magic words here are "fair share." HP has made the right maneuvers to participate in the new age of the tablet computer market more so than Dell. This will definitely be an interesting category to follow. WebOS is more intuitive than Honeycomb for the non techie public. That is the point as to why the iPad has become as popular as it has and why since the introduction of the iPhone people are using their cellphones more than they ever had before.
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by toddemiles March 3, 2011 5:13 AM PST
I have to admit that Steve has a point. Not that I am heaping great adoration on the Ipad but the tablet Pc never really caught on. I used one several times but it had a pretty big flaw. It did handwriting and voice recognition - and it worked well- for the one person that trained it. The issue we had was it was so expensive we could not afford to get but one to try and that was it's downfall. You would think you could create a user profile and it would use that person's handwriting and speech - nope. Only the one that set it up initially. So it ended up in the dust bin of technology

Will the IPad be any different? Don't know and really don't care. My iphone does most everything an ipad does and when I am not on it I have a laptop and desktop computer that does what I want - not what apple decides. When the ipad comes out with Photoshop, indesign, microsoft office, including access, then maybe i'll pay attention
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by mkgmkg3 March 6, 2011 5:40 PM PST
For someone who seems technologically saavy, you don't seem to understand the usefulness of the technology. One uses a tool to make a job easier. What your saying is you won't buy a toaster until it can answer your phone and walk your dog.
How many mobile platforms are currently able to run Access? If its a requirement to fulfill your computing needs, more power to you. Only God and Bill Gates can understand Access 2010's usefulness with the multitude of other useful databasing platforms out there. However, that's my personal choice.
An iPhone doesn't have nearly the functionality of an iPad. If you actually tried one out, you would know that. And iPad doesn't come out with software. The names you mentioned are other companies' products and the iPad is an Apple product.
by KilroyRS March 3, 2011 5:44 AM PST
I am still kind of surprised that Apple hasn't married the iPad with the Air yet. Basically have a Macbook Air that runs on OSX and its current "guts" with a removable screen that is an iPad running iOS. I think the difficult part would be handling the docking and undocking with apps/programs running, but they could manage a way to do it.
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