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Steve Ballmer's keynote address
at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) did not unveil
the rumored Microsoft Courier tablet PC. Ballmer did take the
opportunity, though, to reveal an HP tablet PC dubbed the "Slate".
HP
Slate Lowers the Bar for Apple's Tablet PCThe HP Slate was
underwhelming, to say the least. Hailed by Ballmer as "something that's
almost as portable as a phone and that's as powerful as a PC running
Windows 7", the demonstration showed a flat panel computing device that
seemed more equivalent to a color Kindle than to a Windows 7
wonder-tablet.
Dell
followed in HP's tracks, revealing details of its own slate device.
Apparently the PC world has decided to co-opt the rumored name of the
Apple tablet PC, "iSlate", by adopting the term "slate" to replace
"tablet" as the default name for the flat-panel form factor. Of course,
HP took it a step farther by actually naming its device the Slate to
further confuse things.
The
legions of Apple faithful are quick to speculate that Ballmer and HP
called an audible at the line of scrimmage and rushed out the HP tablet
primarily to try and preempt the rumored unveiling of the Apple "iSlate"
allegedly scheduled for later this month. With hype and speculation
over the Apple tablet at a fever pitch, and Apple stock going up
accordingly, perhaps Microsoft and HP thought they could steal its
thunder by beating it to the punch with a tablet of their own?
If
revealing the HP Slate at Ballmer's keynote was, in fact, a scramble to
try and steal Apple's thunder and be the first out of the gate with a
hot new tablet...I mean slate PC, it backfired. Exploiting such a high
profile event as Ballmer's keynote speech at CES for an underwhelming
presentation of a mediocre device just lowers the bar for Apple.
When
January 27 rolls around and Apple holds its rumored press conference
about its alleged tablet...I mean slate PC, which may or may not be
called the "iSlate", it won't have to do much to impress and awe. If the
mythic "iSlate" is half of what it is rumored to be, it will still be
twice what Microsoft and HP unveiled.
It
certainly seems that 2010 will be filled with entries in the tablet PC
market, though, providing users with a variety of options for
flat-panel, touch-screen, Web-enabled devices to replace more cumbersome
netbooks and notebooks.
It
remains to be seen if the Apple "iSlate" or Microsoft "Courier" will
actually materialize, but HP, Dell, Lenovo, Fusion Garage, and a
plethora of other manufacturers are all lining up a diverse array of
tablet PC's to release this year.
The
challenge will be to clearly define to consumers and businesses why
they should invest in tablets vs. netbooks or notebooks, differentiate
the devices from glorified Kindle or iPod Touch devices, and deliver
them at a reasonable price in relation to the functionality they
provide.