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Tablets Try to Move Beyond Niche Markets |
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Source: IT Business Edge | Priority:
Voice & Data Convergence |
Topic: Hardware
Date Published:
9/13/2005
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With Brian O'Rourke, senior analyst with In-Stat [www.instat.com]. O'Rourke recently wrote a report entitled "Tablet PC 2005: Increasing Shipments Amid a Cloudy Future."
Question: Is your take that tablet PCs are disappointing, or were they just over-hyped when they were introduced — or both?
O'Rourke: Tablet PCs are disappointing and have been oversold. When released in fall 2002, Bill Gates said something [such as] in 2007 majority of mobile PCs shipped will be tablets. He meant tablets that run Windows XP Tablet PC Edition [operating system]. It's not going to happen now because... tablet PCs are not competitive with notebook PCs. He's a smart guy but also a salesman. They were launching a new platform they hoped could make them a lot of money. Sure he was hyping it. Essentially at the time of launch, Microsoft was facing declining PC sales and was looking for new markets. They hoped tablets could be a platform that could expand PC sales.
Question: Why have they under-performed?
O'Rourke: In 2004, tablet PCs as a percent of notebooks were 1 percent to 2 percent. There was a significant price premium that is narrowing but still is there. That's been very significant. IT managers, the ones who make the large buying decisions, are more comfortable with notebooks than tablets. Right now tablets are successful in verticals. You see them primarily in insurance — for adjustors who are out in the field. They are gaining some traction in the medical market for nurses who go bed-to-bed in hospitals. They are used in some doctors' offices to fill out forms. Real estate agents are using them to some extent. Professions where people are on the go and are out of the office where a mobile platform is at a premium [use tablets]. In the broader world of middle and upper-level managers, where most portable PCs are sold today, the tablet has not done nearly as well. Some of those verticals I mentioned have previous experience with mobile form factors... so those were the easy markets, the low-hanging fruit. Where [vendors] get a majority of sales, in the broader market, that has not happened yet.
Question: How do tablet vendors plan to turn this around?
O'Rourke: Gateway, Acer and Toshiba have launched larger form factor tablets that have 14-inch screens and are bigger and heavier than tablets usually have been. They are more comparable to traditional notebook PCs in size and weight and have the added advantage of being tablets. They appeal more to the corporate management demographic. [They have appeared] within the last year. It's too early to tell [if they will be successful]. This is a fairly long process. Those companies are among the larger tablet manufacturers. The fact that they made the effort shows they know they need to do something different to reach that corporate market. The big players are HP, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Acer and Motion Computing. I think shipments will continue to grow. They are not going to grow at astronomical rates. It will be steady growth rather than spectacular growth.
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Replicate Sales Success
A successful customer relationship management (CRM) strategy can improve sales effectiveness, especially when it incorporates sales best practices that reflect proven sales success.
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TSA to Allow Laptops to Stay in Cases at Checkpoints
TAKEAWAY: The Transportation Security Administration will allow passengers to keep laptops in their cases as they go through airport checkpoints, according to this article. However, passengers will be required to use cases that allow an unobstructed view of the laptops.
Source: USA Today |
Priority: Fortifying Network Security |
Topic: Hardware
Date Published: 7/6/2008 |
Date Reviewed: 7/8/2008
Pros and Cons of Using Laptops with SSDs
TAKEAWAY: Led by the MacBook Air, laptops with built-in solid-state drives are the cat's pajamas. The drives promise better performance than traditional rotating drives, but they do cost more. This article weights the pros and cons of laptops with solid-state drives.
Source: Datamation |
Priority: Voice & Data Convergence |
Topic: Hardware
Date Published: 7/21/2008 |
Date Reviewed: 7/22/2008
Asustek Predicts Double Eee Sales in 2009
TAKEAWAY: Asustek predicts sales of its low-cost Eee PC will double in 2009. While strongest demand is coming from Europe and Asia, the company hopes to increase its market share in North America.
Source: Reuters |
Priority: Maximizing IT Investments |
Topic: Hardware
Date Published: 6/2/2008 |
Date Reviewed: 6/3/2008
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