The Tablet PC Team no longer exists. It is now called the Mobile Division. Is this the end of the Tablet PC?

The importance of the new name for the Tablet PC division is extremely important. Instead of the Tablet PC, there has been a change of focus away from the Tablet PC and into the greater category Mobile Division - a nebulous term that has little or no specific feel to it.

Bluntly, Microsoft has now officially killed the Tablet PC without killing it. First, they stripped the OS uniqueness away by combining the OS into the Service Pack 2. Next, they delayed the OS - month after month - killing sales. Third, they ignored OEMs and resellers. Next, budgets were being focused elsewhere - and not on the promotion of the Tablet PC. Ultimately, any promotion of the Tablet PC has been done poorly and quickly thrown together. Finally, they have put the final nail on the coffin by making a formal announcement that the division has been reorganized, a code-word for good-bye.

Even though this latest announcement doesn't pass the smell test, is this all bad news? Should we all hop on a plane to Redmond and beat down the Gates?

Microsoft claims that the features of the Tablet PC will be added to all notebooks. The claim is that the handwriting recognition and use of the pen will become common place. More important, the claim is that this will occur over the next three years.

Fine. We all knew this before the announcement. However, are we to wait three years for it to happen? In an industry which changes almost twice a month, Microsoft is telling us to wait three years or longer (ie Longhorn)?

I don't think so and I suspect manufacturers are thinking the same thing. They poured tons of money into the platform while Microsoft did little to promote it. Are they going to sit idle while Microsoft asks them to wait three more years?

I have not been asked by Microsoft employees but I'm going to give my best advice.

Step One: Get independent.
Step Two: Get your budget back.
Step Three: Set a clear and defined goal - and tell us the goal.
Step Four: Get to work on the goal.
Step Five: Start promoting the heck out of what you are doing.
Step Six: Focus each and every day on the same goal. And I mean each and every waking moment.

It's that easy. It's management's job. It's their duty and responsibility to the employees, to the company, and to the shareholders.

Enough said. It's time to work.

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Layne P. Heiny / Administrator for Tux Reports Network

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McDonald's would not change their name. Ford would not change their name. You would not see a sign for Kentucky Fried. No, because we all know it by Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC.

Dead on Layne.

I was thinking about this on the drive into work this morning.

First, Ace, you are correct that company branding is very important. Once the brand identity is established then you do your best to keep promoting it. Microsoft decision makers seem to be in flux on the importance of the Tablet PC moniker.

Second, someone in IM reminded me that the opening screen will no longer say Tablet PC on it. Instead it will simply state Windows XP.

While I can imagine someone arguing ineffectively that this is just a stage in the life of the Tablet PC -- my concern is that I'm spending more money than Microsoft in promoting the Tablet PC.

Let me explain. I am a high school biology teacher. I consistently spend $700 per month on the hosting and promoting of this website and several others. I also just devoted an additional $2,500 to a new dedicated server that will go online soon. Specifically, 25% of my discretionary income is spent on this website alone.

Can you imagine if Microsoft spent 25% of its budget on promoting the Tablet PC? WOW. We'd actually see all of the Microsoft employees using one. Heck, we might see all of the manufacturers using one. We might even see them in the hands of all of the students and teachers.

Yes, we are starting to see them in our doctor's hands and a few select other places. But the Tablet PC is NOT a niche product. It should not be promoted as one.

Drats. I posted originally "Enough Said" ... apparently not.

__________________
Layne P. Heiny / Administrator for Tux Reports Network

Please do not send private messages requesting technical support. Place your request in the proper forum and hopefully someone can help you.

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