As reported on vnunet.com (http://www.vnunet.com/news/1162725) Microsoft have found the Tablet PC a bitter pill to swallow. After nearly four years on the market "the pen-controlled portable computers made up just 1.3 per cent of overall notebook sales, according to data from analyst firm IDC."
There is no doubt that tablets tend to be more expensive then a laptop of similar spec. But they also have features and flexibility that a laptop cannot match.
**Rant On** In my view we - as IT professionals - need to look long and hard at ourselves and ask our selves if we have failed here. We have failed to analyse the business requirements of our customers. We have failed to determine how the additional flexibility of the Tablet PC platform can better meet these business requirements thus adding business value. Above all we have failed to communicate this business value to our customers.
For the sake of argument lets say that a Tablet PC and a laptop are being considered for a particular job role. Regardless of which option is selected it will be used for 3 years and retired. If the tablet PC option is $1000 more than the laptop option then the extra cost per device is $333 per year. Assuming that there are 49 working weeks in a year (because even busy people that have tablets take some time off) and the tablet costs just $6.80/wk more than the laptop over the life of the unit. I will never declare that a tablet is the ideal device for every job role - but I am willing to bet that more than 1.3% of the people in the market could derive $6.80 worth of benefit per week from the additional flexibility that a tablet offers.
Come on guys. The onus is on us to evaluate business requirements and communicate the benefits of the technology. **Rant Off**