Apple Tablet versus Apple Tablet PC

I love words. Words help us understand. Words allow us to express our views. Words let us describe our intentions. Words, though, can also mislead. And misleading consumers is what some people in the industry must avoid.

Years ago, I was a proponent of Apple producing a Tablet Personal Computer. I believed then – and still do to this day – that Apple could improve on the design and quality of the Tablet PC.

This is not going to happen. Apple will not produce a Tablet PC. Instead, Apple will produce a Tablet.

What is the difference?

A Tablet PC is a fully-functional computer. The owner can operate commercial and open source software. The owner is free from the confines of the desk. Feature sets provide portability and increased productivity. In contrast, a Tablet is a niche product. A Tablet is designed for one function – it’s a device and not a computer system.

Apple is poised to release a Tablet “Pad” to the world. We already have these “reading devices.” We have the Kindle, Nook, CrunchPad, and many others already on the market. We don’t need a device locking us into reading the New York Times subscriptions.

Here is the important clip:

“I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that.”

Bill Keller speaks to the digital group at The New York Times from Nieman Journalism Lab on Vimeo.

If Apple decides to release a Tablet and not a Tablet PC – are you still excited? I’m not.

Tagged as: Product marketing