Tablet PCs Not catching on yet
One year after introduction, the Tablet PC has not made much headway in sales. Only a few hundred thousand have been sold, representing just a tiny part of the overall portable computer market. One of the reasons is thought to be pricing, and some manufacturers are blaming Microsoft. The Tablet PC operating system costs the vendors significantly more than the standard Windows XP operating system, and those higher costs make the tablets more expensive. Sales have actually declined over the previous quarter.
This becomes a chicken-and-egg situation. If the tablets don’t sell better, developers won’t write new software to take advantage of the device. If there isn’t software that integrates specifically into the new technology, then there isn’t much reason to buy it. ZDNET has a report at zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-5103941.html.
I think the tablet format holds great promise for education. It just might not be a
Tablet PC, but perhaps a souped-up personal digital assistant or handheld. Fujitsu just upped the ante in the progress in screen resolution, showing off a demonstration Pocket PC with a full 800×600 resolution screen. If that takes off (and we can read the teeny, weeny print), then who needs a big, bulky tablet? Here’s an article about the Fujitsu device: http://www.brighthand.com/article/Fujitsu_Demos_SVGA_Prototype.