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There has been plenty of discussion lately around the question of what exactly is a Tablet Computer. Is it an eReader?Does it have to offer handwriting recognition?What size is too small to be called a tablet?Can it make phone calls?What OS? Windows? Linux? Apple? Android?Pen touch or finger touch? Or both? I received an email the other day from a company that makes rugged tablet computers. What struck me most about the email was a graphic of their products next to each other. Here it is: DLI makes mobile devices for various types of users: The small one is the DLI 8800 Mobile Point of Sale Tablet which can do credit card scanning, barcode reading and contactless payment. The next larger is the DLI 8400, a rather bizarre/futuristic looking thing with an Atom processor and a 7" display. Moving on up the line is the DLI 8300 which has the appearance of what I would call a more "traditional" tablet form factor. The 8.4" display and Windows OS is more typical. The last is a computer that can be mounted in a bulldozer, police car or ambulance. I'm not trying to talk about this specific manufacturer. I am trying to show that a tablet computer can only be broadly defined as a "mobile computer that allows the user to interact with a stylus or finger". It could be an iPad, a Lenovo convertible tablet, a Motion Computing slate, an Asus netbook/convertible or a DLI tablet computer. More important than the name or the form factor is the way it is used. Maybe it can be defined by DLI's website tagline: Computing without boundaries Your thoughts?
What is the point of having multitouch on a standard size tablet computer? I can't ever recall seeing a demonstration of the feature that didn't show someone spinning and resizing photos - AND THAT'S IT! Unless that is part of what you do for a living, like a radiologist customer of mine, I just don't get it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against multitouch. Heck, I've owned an iPhone for 3 years. But multitouch on a smartphone-sized device makes sense. There is no pen to scroll through lists and if you want to see a picture, website or other information in detail you have to make it larger because smartphones have small displays. But a tablet computer has a large display. If I open a photo or a document, I can see it easily. I have no need to make it larger, and if I do, I use the pen/mouse. I am asked all the time by customers about having this feature on their new tablet when the software application they are using isn't compatible. Programs like Electronic Medical Records, Inspection Software, eForms solutions and others are already making use of the full display. Even if the tablet has multitouch, the doctor can't pinch and expand to zoom in on a particular area because the program doesn't support it. For my money, I'd rather have a bright, crisp, outdoor viewable display that reduces reflection and makes 8 hours of computer use a day easier on the eyes. But that's just me. PLEASE TELL ME WHY I AM WRONG! Let me know how multitouch is making your life better. Here are some more photos of people pointlessly using the amazing multitouch feature: To see even more, try this Google image search.
While checking Google News for the latest on Tablet PCs, I saw a sponsored link at the top of the page: Clicking on the link, I was taken to the Sears website here: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/s_10153_1...aptops_Tablets Apparently, Sears defines a tablet computer as being either an eReader or an Apple iPad with a Toshibs M780 thrown in for good measure, at least according to their Page 1 listings. Page 2 saw more traditional tablet computers like the HP Pavilion, Lenovo X201T and Fujitsu 2020. IMHO, it is pointless for us as dedicated tabletphiles to try and define what is and what is not a tablet computer. The is the USA and the marketplace, both of consumers and businesses, will define it for us.
As usual, this debate can be answered easily: it depends. The good news is that the thing it depends on is your software applications. While we all like shiny, new tablet computers, our purchases should be drive by the programs we are running, not just the 'feeds and speeds'. I'll give you one example that occurred recently where two customers in the same industry chose different platforms based on their users needs. Currently, I am working with a large, national moving company that is rolling out a new software application that helps their agents survey a house or business in order to calculate the estimated total for the move. By moving to this system (pun intended), the company will enable their salespeople to provide more accurate and timely quotes to their customers and prospects. This type of application is a natural for a tablet computer because the salespeople need to walk around the residence or office building and click through a list of items like furniture, lighting fixtures, audiovisual equipment, appliances and more. When they have all the information, the program calculates the quote which they can print out in a proposal or email to the client (or both). For one mover, their staff were only going to survey the property and do the proposal. They didn't need the tablets to act as a desktop or laptop. They wanted to use it just for the estimating application. For them, a slate tablet was the best solution because it was the lightest, thinnest and most mobile solution. The other mover wanted their tablet to replace the salesperson's desktop and laptop. Since they wanted to do email, Microsoft Office and other applications, a convertible tablet was a better choice. I know, you slate fanatics are saying "You can connect a mobile keyboard or drop it in a docking station". Very true, but for companies like these moving agencies, they have to deal with issues of support and training as well. If they can give the staff a laptop device that doubles as a pen tablet, they reduce the resistance to a new technology as well as give their employees a computer that can do everything they need. So if you are looking at Slate vs. Convertible, carefully consider how it is going to be used on a daily basis and let your software be your guide.
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