The tablet PC hasn’t been around as long as people think. Apple was the first to release a modern tablet PC to the public with the iPad. Before, tablet PCs usually required styluses and were extensions of laptops.
The iPad proved the modern tablet is not an extension of the PC, but a computer on its own.
Taking the words out of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ mouth, a tablet PC is a device that is more sophisticated than a smartphone and does certain tasks better than a computer. Viewing photos and videos, browsing the web and reading books are much better on a tablet.
The hardware is handheld, allowing you to hold your internet browser up to your face as you would when reading a book.
A 10 inch screen is the perfect size to differentiate itself from a smartphone and allows for interfaces developers only dreamed of.
As soon as competitors saw the iPad, they quickly rushed to create their own tablets. Most of them have at least 10- inch screens and are working to compete against the iPad for a piece of the market.
HP also saw an opportunity and in just months created the HP TouchPad. It would be the first tablet to run WebOS, one of HP’s greatest assets which they got when acquiring Palm last year.
While the many Android Honeycomb tablets to have launched this year remain on shelves, HP discontinued the TouchPad after extremely poor sales.
The state of the tablet market is incredibly sad. We are looking at chances of a monopoly. Only competitors were upset with the iPod dominating its market, simply because it truly was the superior product. The design, the interface and iTunes made it impossible to beat. The iPod was designed to do one task, allow you to listen to your music. The iPad and other tablets are designed to do multiple tasks. Android and WebOS do things a little differently than iOS, the iPad’s operating system.
The modern tablet has only been around for a little more than two years and sales of them are proving that they could one day replace the PC.
Tablets are changing the way we learn, the way we work, and the way we play. It seems as though getting a piece of market share will be tough but hopefully cheaper, full featured tablets will arrive and hopefully Honeycomb tablets and WebOS tablets stay alive for years to come.