JeffKirvin.net

jkOnTheRun: Death of the Tablet PC: “At some point in the Tablet’s short history we’ve lost a very critical point and that is that the Tablet PC must be very mobile. You MUST have it with you when you need it or it is useless to you. But we have gone the other route, and instead we’ve taken the svelte Tablet PC and stuck a full keyboard on it, and in some instances an optical drive. That means it’s much bulkier and heavier than the original slate form. ‘But it’s more useful with a keyboard.’ That point of view is just so WRONG that it shows people really don’t get it. And the Tablet is something you must GET to want one. Having the convertibles around clouds the purpose of using a Tablet and guarantees it is less mobile than it should be. And the message that sends out to prospective owners who WANT to get a Tablet but are sitting on the fence is counter-productive. ‘OK, it’s a laptop that happens to be a Tablet. So why do I need both. Oh, I see, true Tablets aren’t useful by themselves, you have to have a keyboard.’ No wonder sales of Tablets are so low. The target market is CONFUSED about what a Tablet is and who can blame them. What’s wrong with a nice slim Tablet PC with a small portable wireless keyboard for those times when you need it. That correctly relegates the keyboard to its proper role with the Tablet. ‘Don’t use it much but it’s easy to carry if I do.’ Once it’s permanently attached it becomes a necessity, and it’s much harder to convince the prospective customer that he really doesn’t need it. And that is a very mixed message.”