No seriously. Stop laughing.
Mobile PC markets continue to expand despite uncreative digs against Tablet PCs (read paragraphs 2+3 and skip the rest of the crap).
Dell enters the market after 5 years and some people are still smashing the technology. What will it take to convince people that digital ink is far superior to no ink?
Linux acceptance
Even the Linux enthusiasts have Mobile PC envy. Why else do we see the Nokia tablet and Asus Eee touted? These PCs are not fully functional but cheap. It is the envy and ego that propels someone to buy half a machine.
Mass appeal
Most people see my slate and immediately want one. As I sit in Barnes and Noble and work on my dissertation - some people wonder quietly why I am writing on the screen - other people come over and ask. Yes, there is mass appeal.
What's next?
The real strength of the Tablet PC and UMPC is the fact they represent the future. These Mobile PCs are the future.
Now, what will be the headlines when Dell starts showing off a slate?
PS. I have not touched a keyboard in 5 days because everything is done through the Vista TIP. My hope is to not use the keyboard in my personal life for the next year (the work machine is not a tablet - grrr.). I challenge all Mobile PC enthusiasts to give up the keyboard. Can it be done?
Comments
Re: Mobile PC Markets Keep Expanding
How does the world primarily input letters/numbers into FULL desktop operating systems and softwares? the answer is a touch type keyboard. What is the most popular mobile computer that sells over 113 Million new units a year? the laptop.
So it seems pretty silly to expect the mainstream to want a thumb input computer and or a pen input computer. Face the facts mainstream users will not want to buy them period. Thumb input was / and is a band aid solution for palm size PDA's as people just did not like using a stylus or pen input. That does not mean that just because they band aided PDA's with a thumb keyboard that anyone in their right mind would want one on a computer that is larger?
What would enable UMPC's to hit mainstream accceptance is for them to create a jacket pocket, touch type keyboard clamshell computer form factor. Somthing like the great Psion 5mx or HP Jornada 720 hpc's of the 1990's. UMPC's have even after more than a year had weak sales with the worldwide 2007 sales only 350k. Both Psion and HP Jornada's sold more than that each year; in fact the jacket size clamshells in the 90's sold over 2.3 million per year! Now that we have the technology to stuff full windows into even smaller devices, the technology is now available to use that great form factor for huge mainstream adoption.
The OQO is about 33% smaller in volume to a Psion 5mx and a Psion is a fair amount smaller than a Jornada 720. Both had nice touch type keyboards and would fit into a jacket pocket. That is what the UMPC market needs a computer designed around functionality mainstream users already enjoy but in a jacket pocket version so we can be more mobile.