Why consumers won't buy tablets

Rumors have it Apple is a month away from announcing a tablet computer. Another tablet, the Crunchpad, is also due for imminent release. These and other fine keyboardless computers get great play on gadget blogs (including our own Crave), but in the real world, I believe this whole category is a nonstarter. Why we keep waiting for the killer tablet computer is beyond me. Few people really want one, especially at the prices that they will have to sell for.

Tablet computers--elegant slates that you operate with a touch screen--are attractive if you're a sci-fi fan. There's something functionally beautiful about a computer that's all screen and nothing else, and where your interaction is directly through that screen, not an intermediary like a keyboard or mouse. And the concept works great on smartphones.

Not really the Apple tablet.

But what you can do with a screen-only computer gets really limited when you expand the device beyond pocket size. There are two big limitations. First, you need a keyboard for doing real work. At least most people do. Perhaps a generation of kids will grow up that are as speedy on a virtual keyboard as they are on a real one, but until then anyone who does more than write quick e-mails and Twitter messages on a computer will want to take a keyboard with them. And typing on the screen, even if you can do it, is an ergo disaster. Either you have to keep your hands up in the air (if the computer is mounted vertically in front of you) or you have to hunch over your screen to see it. Maybe it's the national chiropractors association that's pushing this form factor. See also: Jeremy Toeman at Live Digitally.

While a tablet may be great for browsing the Web and viewing media, it's too big to replace a phone and too limited to carry around as a work computer. People will need their keyboarded Netbooks and notebooks for real work. Tablets, like other tweener devices, ultramobile PCs and Netbooks, are accessories to real computers. You can't do enough on them to justify the price, although they're sure nice to have if you have extra money for a gizmo that sits between your big computer and your phone, both in size and function.

So as an accessory, tablets are too expensive. If Apple releases a tablet in the rumored $700 to $800 price range, it will die. Not because people won't love it and lust for it, but because they won't be able to justify it.

I actually have higher hopes for the Crunchpad due to its Web focus and its lower price. But even then, at the rumored $400 price point, I still believe it's too dear for real human beings on a real budget, and it will reportedly lack local resources (storage) to make it a workable solution in a world of spotty connectivity (see also: Silicon Alley Insider). Geeks might like it, and buy them as living room couch Web-surfing computers, but for families looking to address real technology needs, a Netbook like a $200 Acer Aspire One offers a better bet: it has a real keyboard, its own storage, and you can take it on the road and do real work on it, like a notebook computer or a Netbook.

Of course, you'll probably be able to plug a keyboard into any of these yet-to-be-released tablets (see the Always Innovating tablet Netbook), but you'll pay extra for the hardware and it'll mean more gear to keep track of and prop up on your desk.

For specialized applications, tablet computers can and do work. The Aeryon spybot uses a tablet computer to control it. And in the consumer space, Amazon's Kindle, a tablet by form factor even though it has a vestigial keyboard, works because it but does things no other device can do at all: it can buy books instantly, almost anywhere, and display them on a screen nearly as easy to read as a printed page.

I love beautiful and elegant tech toys as much as any other geek, but geek love isn't enough to make a real market. Tablets need to cost a lot less and do a lot more before they establish a foothold in the consumer market.

More:
Anaylst views Apple tablet
Our Apple table wish list
Name that netbook
CrunchPad tablet allegedly revealed

[jasonaorr]

Thank you for your very sensible thoughts, Rafe. With all the hype over an Apple tablet, you'd think there would be some obvious use for it -- but there isn't! For a tablet computer to work, it's not enough to simply create an elegant and functional slate-like computer. They would have to create an entirely different use for such a computer, some use that justifies its limitations and price. I cannot conceive of such a use, but this might be on account of my lack of imagination. Best of luck to Apple and the rest of the tablet manufacturers, but it will take a lot to convince me to buy such a product.

[devindotcom]

Hello, they're not for work! Tablets are for sitting on the couch browsing wikipedia articles, checking facebook, and playing bejeweled!

[Random_Walk]

On the one hand, I agree with you perfectly - adding in the fingerprint factor, and the hands-in-your-way factor, etc...

OTOH, Nobody thought a $700 touchscreen-only smartphone would get anywhere either.

To Apple's credit, the form factor would eliminate the gorilla-arm problem, but not so sure about the fingerprints and such.

[joelasaro]

There is ABSOLUTELY a use for these devices. 90% of what I do online involves reading web pages, following links, searching, and entering minimal amounts of text. A cool, light, easy to handle device that allows me to do this from the couch or wherever is a BRILIANT idea.

This argument about the keyboard is even more of a non-starter than it was on the iPhone. As even the author mentions, after droning on and on about it, adding one via usb or even wirelessly would be trivial. More than that lets see what kind of innovative input mechanism will be developed around the multi touch and larger screen.

Now there is one valid point in all this, it may be expensive and that will probably slow acceptance of these devices at first, but that is how new techology releases work! They start expensive, bleeding edgers buy them, prices drop, general acceptance and mass production follow. SERIOUSLY, this isn't news! And by the way, has anyone looked at retail prices of iPhones before subsidies recently?

The real question for me is will this be OPEN? Or will content be controlled by vendor like Amazon's kindle and apps restricted like Apple's App Store?

[mattumanu]

$800... Well, I've seen what happens when you drop a tablet PC, it's not pretty. Let's see someone consider replacing the faceplate after dropping an 800 dollar piece of tech on a hard floor.

[empirestatebuddy]

I agree with the author. Tablets are a cool device, but there's not really a need for them. I think Apple would have better luck just releasing a netbook of their own. Even if it cost more than regular netbooks, the Apple fanboys would probably still buy them. But these tablets, it just seems like people would buy them, and then try to find uses for them... but they might end up just being expensive paperweights.

[noe616]

A physical "keybored" is just an adaptation of the old type writer. The manor by which people naturally communicate and express thought is how devices will interact. Do you communicate with your dog with keyboard. Visual, audible, and tactile cues are a more natural way of communication. Tablet style devices are not purely touch based, but will interface through these innovative software technologies.

[toosday]

@ joelasaro:

I agree that a tablet may be nice to easily browse the web from the couch. However, a tablet still seems like a niche product - no matter who makes it. Also, doesn't a notebook computer serve the same purpose, plus have the benefit of tactile feedback (keyboard) which makes it easier to use? Notebooks are also easier to take outside of your home, especially considering you don't often need much else to prop your notebook on in order to use it: Just sit it on your lap; the screen tilts up at you at a much more comfortable viewing angle than a tablet, which is lying flat like a piece of paper (that is unless you hold the tablet with one hand and type on it with the other hand, which seems incredibly uncomfortable).

[mad1661]

I think there is a use for this device.. What if whatever store you walk into your tablet becomes your dinner menu/ clothing expert/ buy your coffee/ Check out for anything.. Yes, the iphone could most likely do this but the experience could be much better with just a little larger screen.. I see you dock your tablet next to your TV to become and AppleTV, then you take your AppleTV anywhere you want after that. Apple (of the last few years) has been the one to think of things that no one else thinks about.. I tend not to like articles that say "Why consumers won't buy tablets", how the hell do you know.. Instead, why don't you think of things that would make you crave a tablet. If you can't think of anything maybe you should not be writing a Tech blog. I just hope you think about it a little before your next blog.

[spamho]

Why are you writing as if Apple is already producing a tablet? Until this is confirmed it doesn't make sense to scowl at Apple and have a foul face, if you know what I mean. In other words, you're forming an opinion about Apple over the supposedly in existance tablet. Makes no sense until you know that the tablet actually exists.

[dannosliwcd]

@mad1661: "Sorry, sir. We only serve breakfast to those who own the [insert arbitrary brand name here] Internet tablet." I guess it would be another excuse to get exclusive business through a proprietary exchange format. "Choice of payments include: Cash, Visa, Mastercard, iTunes credit, Microsoft Live Points."

@empirestatebuddy: Didn't they already release a netbook? I think the MacBook Air is essentially a super-powered netbook (dual-core processor, useable SSD size, 2BG RAM, price-tag on steroids).

[monkeyfun14]

The thing your forgetting is that these are not marketed at people who want to do real work they're being marketed at people who want to just have something that's fun to use and can be used for photoshop , email , etc they may not be the best for someone writing a novel but can you just imagine the possibilities for artists? Not sure if you tried doing photoshop work with a mouse or a trackpad but its hardly a precision instrument with a pen these can be used like paper.

[Random_Walk]

Well, there are Wacom tablets and the like that do a fair job of it. The pen/brush factor would be hella cool if the precision were high enough.

[Anjin3515]

Agreed. As an digital artist who owns a Wacom tablet and a Wacom Cintiq for years I have been waiting for a Tablet computer that has the "right stuff" to do real work on. The current crop of Tablets lack the sensitivity, and graphic muscle to push photoshop and painter well enough. I would LOVE for a true digital sketch book, and I am sure there are a number of digital artists out there that would too.

[BogusBasin]

I think they should come out with a type of netbook. It has a large screen, a large battery, a large HDD, a keyboard, front facing camera, and a trackpad. No processor. There's a slot in the side for inserting your iPhone. Your basically extending the functionality, battery life and storage of your iPhone. Priced at $400.

Amen

[ikramerica--2008]

I agree with most of the points, but I find it funny that people were saying for YEARS that Apple needs a tablet, but now that they seem close to releasing one, we hear about how they are just toys.

Next, if Apple ever were to create a NetBook after caving into all the demands that they must do so or perish, we'll all of a sudden be told how limited NetBooks are, too.

[monkeyfun14]

Whats more interesting is that people say netbooks are garbage useless chintzy but as soon as Apple releases theirs they will be considered the best innovation so far in the computing industry.

[ikramerica--2008]

Both ways, I guess. But I don't read much from cnet writers about netbooks being "chintzy" and "useless," only how Apple MUST release one or get left behind...

[Perry_Clease]

"they will be considered the best innovation so far in the computing industry."

If they do come out with one Apple will design something much better than the current netbooks.

[monkeyfun14]

@Perry_Clease

It wouldn't matter if they do or not it still would be considered the best thing to happen.

[Perry_Clease]

"It wouldn't matter if they do or not it still would be considered the best thing to happen.'

Well you are correct about that. It will be considered the best thing to happen by all and sundry, even the Apple bashers, because it will raise the bar for netbooks,

[Cruton502]

I'm no apple fan, but didn't the iPod jump start the MP3 player field?

[tech_crazy]

"Well you are correct about that. It will be considered the best thing to happen by all and sundry, even the Apple bashers, because it will raise the bar for netbooks,"

Apple raising the bar for anything is a big joke. However, if you are referring to ease of use then yes, you may have a point.

[dukeoconnor]

Exactly who is it that you're referring to that's going to "tell us" how limited NetBooks are? I do know that Apple already has on at least two occasions that I can remember. Others disagree with their position, but sometimes a product's limitations aren't obvious until something better comes along.

[Random_Walk]

"Apple raising the bar for anything is a big joke."

So that's why LG and RIM rushed out a touch-screen smartphone after the iPhone came out, and Microsoft is pushing out an iPod Touch clone this month, right? ;)

[Mark_Anderson]

@Random

The LG Prada was out before the iPhone.

[solitare_pax]

Of course, in the 1950s, IBM thought the total world demand for computers might be a few dozen a year. Who are we to say what the demand will be.

Seriously though, it would be aimed at artists and designers to begin with. If it was lightweight enough, and as accurate as a WACOM Cintiq (only $999, not including the computer) artists would go for it and get rid of their paints and pencils. Interior designers would find a use for it to re-arrange furniture and such on a virtual floor plan in front of the clients, and of course, in iPod Touch games are fun, think of the possibilities if they were scaled up.

[Cruton502]

I have a tablet (Lenovo x61 tablet) and use it for school. My school has all of its notes in electronic format and I am responsible for printing them and binding them, so I just use OneNote. I have found that after a year of using it, I prefer to type my notes than hand write them and I only use the stylus to draw diagrams and pictures. Maybe that is because I'm a fast typer and a sloppy hand-writer.

I love my tablet for school, but outside of school I can't see a current use for one.

[CitizenX]

You are thinking of it in the wrong terms. It is not a replacement for a laptop. That is ridiculous.

Make it a touch screen display. With iPhoto, iTunes and the ITMS, I can imagine having a couple of them lying around for viewing photos, listening to music, watching a video or surfing the web. This is at a 300 dollar price point Make it a media access device, price it low enough so that a family could justify the purchase of more than one and you have a winner.

[Vrmithrax]

Your suggestion has merit on the surface, but has a serious flaw: You say make it a touch screen display, yet want it to have media capabilities and web access, which makes it more than a display... So is it a slave interface/display for a computer you already have, or a limited (even more so than netbooks) touchscreen platform with only a few select capabilities? In the first case, it's overkill (and if it's Apple, would only interface to an Apple product, meaning you already paid a bundle for the PC it's talking to). In the latter case, it's just an expensive gadget with no real power or flexibility, so it would never take off.

Realistically, it would NEVER sell for something like $300 (the screen and touch components alone would come close to that cost, without even considering the guts and power system). And seriously, even if it could, Apple would never sell it that low - they sell their Mac equipment for twice what the same stuff with the same specs costs for a PC equivalent. They like niche markets that will pay more for the quality and branding, and I can see this tablet being very popular with artist/creative types (especially with their interface and the wealth of existing software that caters to that crowd).

[bildan2]

Looking at tablets from within the current paradigm, one doesn't see the need. But, I don't think they are aimed at the current computer user.

For example, I'm a pilot with a great need for information but, in a cockpit, at the controls of an airplane, there's no room for a keyboard and mouse. In that environment, a laptop is the clumsiest thing imaginable. A slate velcro'd to a kneepad would be perfect. A slate would be great as a car navigation device with a GPS dongle. The key to all these applications is a knockout sunlight readable screen - without that, it's doubtful they will succeed.

Note, these applications are for inputting small amounts of "computable" information, and reading large amounts of it. There are many other "niche" markets that need essentially the same device - taken together, they are an under served and perhaps significant market.

[jstevej49]

Got to agree with Solitare and CitizenX. William Buckley, who was famously brilliant, once said in the 1980s that a personal computer was a wonderful solution looking for a problem to solve. That made sense in the 1980s before the Web, Photoshop, etc. The iPhone was unimaginable until Apple invented it. But if you use one, you quickly realize that its screen size is a serious limit. Maps, photos, video, magazine and book pages, virtual musical keyboards, medical and legal and business forms all need a larger screen. Yep, it's hard to type on a virtual keyboard. But a mouse ain't the easiest thing to use for a novice, nor a trackpad or even a Wacom tablet, and yet many of us have conquered them all and now I sometimes find myself driving on the Garden State Parkway typing an e-mail on an iPhone. The keyboard is not a deal-breaker. One more point - don't underestimate the power of flipping the screen vertically. When accountants discovered Visicalc in the 1980s, they insisted on turning a computer screen sideways so they could see 12 columns across, and the rest of us have been hobbled ever since. How do you save newspapers and magazines? Turn the screen upright so all of the wonderful graphic design that already goes into papers and magazines can show up unaltered on your tablet. And that $800 price point will drop to around $299 in a couple of years.

[clamenza]

// and now I sometimes find myself driving on the Garden State Parkway typing an e-mail on an iPhone //

That's the big problem with all this new technology.

[subsider34]

What would be really useful is a semitransparent touchscreen with real world analysis tools (eg. geology analyzers, Automatic CAD drawers, etc.).

[michaelportent]

I totally disagree. It's a compromise by Apple to make something in between their insanely successful iPhone and a Netbook. It'll sell like hotcakes to Apple nerds. It just will. It doesn't need a target market or a rationalization.

I don't make the rules, people. Cult of Mac just latches on to anything Jobs will crap out. And the sad thing is, the thing will probably be pretty cool - and all of us skeptics will want one too.

[Vrmithrax]

Yah, don't you hate that? heh

I actually think it will have a solid niche market, and could sell very well... Think of it as an entry-level Macbook, great little toy that will hook a whole new wave of users into the "Cult of Mac" as you so aptly put it.

[drfrost]

It's perfectly acceptable to make money by manufacturing toys. If Apple has cultivated the right audience for such a device and they can sell enough at the right price point to make a tidy sum, then more power to them.

I'm more of a mind to agree with Mr. Needleman. A keyboard and a mouse works so well, it's a hard sell (to me anyway) to market a "fully functional" computer without them.

We'll see what the market as a whole thinks. They've certainly surprised me before.

[dscottbuch]

While this article, and most of the comments, are correct, they miss the point entirely - Apple agrees with all of these comments therefore whatever the Apple tablet is it will address these issues in a way no one here has put forth. This is the proverbial skating to where the 'puck WILL be'.

[camp88]

Exactly right.

Apple will NOT come out with a product that simply reinforces these objections; they will address them head on them.

Moreover, v.1 of an Apple product, like the iPhone or iPod, will be just the first step of their technology roadmap. By the time they get to v.3 they will certainly have changed the rules, and made obvious why people would care. And with mass adoption the pricing will make perfect sense to millions.

Here's a simple question: If you believe that all print media will be online/ digital within five years, which device would you want to be using: a) a Kindle b) a Sony Reader, or c) an Apple tablet? My guess is that folks in the medical profession, college students reading textbooks, and a vast number of people who spend time in coffee shops would say: Apple.
Now ask the same question about games, and ask if you think there is a market for a giant Touch iPod for playing games, where everyone has his or her own screen, not just his or her own controller. If the current Touch and app store can be used as a proxy, we already know the answer. I think Apple knows as well. Add stand and a bluetooth controller and the answer becomes even more readily apparent.

Apple made a similar bet with music seven years ago (it would move online), and the created the ecosystem (through iTunes) to help accelerate this future state. If Apple were to introduce a Tablet, they'd very likely work to do the same thing: support it in a way that it's very attractive to readers, gamers, students, and professionals, etc.

Don't be surprised when a Superbowl in the next few years shows a coach on the sidelines with a "chalkboard" that is actually an Apple Tablet, and he's running plays in full motion with his team that have been pre-loaded and last-minute adjusted for the game their in--using real footage from the game that they're in. Extend that to every college coach and highschool coach, and pitching coach, and hockey coach, and you'll see the tip of a very large iceberg.

If folks can't see that future, just wait. It's coming. There's an app for that.

[wayne606]

I want one to carry around the house, take on the bus, to lunch, etc to stay connected, surf the web, read email, watch movies, read ebooks, etc. I definitely see a market for it. I might pay $500 but not $800. Keep in mind this is Apple. Everything they come out with is going to sell a certain amount because it is cool.

[tm_anon]

Also keep in mind, this is a mobile device. Without ATT, the iPhone costs more than many netbooks. I'm betting a similar deal will be arranged here.

Set up a pure data plan for this device with a carrier and the price gets subsidized to a more manageable size or pay extra to not have it tethered to that carrier.

[GKrynen]

Tablets, especially in a network/web application based enviornment make perfect sense. Hospitals can use them with a stylus or finger using web based data forms. Grocery delivery people ditto, most any service based mobile person business. Can we say police forces? Around the house it makes a nice mobile tv control, bathroom reader, IM/Twit/RSS reader, among many other daily household uses. Stand on a desk and show off pics. Hand it to the kids to watch a movie on the trip, or yourself during a flight.
I think a better article would be one where the writer encourages people to buy a simple device that can be so useful in so many situations and thus makes people aware that a full blown system is not needed much of the time.
Also bluetooth devices can add drives,keyboards, printers, etc or imagine wi-fi, wow.

[sting7k]

Guess what else does all that and fits in your pocket. The iPod Touch.

[SactoGuy018]

sting7k, the iPod touch has one BIG problem: the screen is just too small for some applications. A larger screen works better for things like watching video and for accessing the Internet through a web browser.

[BtmnHatesRbn]

Tablets suck.

[Mac User Too]

I didn't read the comments (all 8 of them), so I'll apologize up front if this is a repeat.

The Apple tablet is just a rumor. As we all know, 'confirmed' Apple rumors have a habit of not materializing (iPhone Nano?), so categorizing the Apple Tablet as a non-starter is the height of stating the obvious.
But let's say for the sake of discussion that an Apple Table is on the way and will arrive some time soon. If I were a tech pundit, I'd reserve judgement on any Apple device until I had a chance to use the real thing. Apple has a history of (actually twice before) of taking a market and setting it on its ear. Why not wait to see if that happens again? Or are you hoping no one will remember this particular blog should you be proven wrong?
What if this new hypothetical Apple Tablet is wi-fi and web-capable and can download movies, books, plus Apple's new expanded content music format? Consumers have already shown they are will to part with $600 with a smaller device. If Apple does release a tablet, you can bet your Blackberry that it will be only after considering the very objections you raised in this blog.

[rafe]

That's why I don't think Apple will release such a device.

If I'm wrong, it'll make for a pretty interesting followup post.

[sting7k]

Of course any tablet they release will have Wifi and be web enabled. This is 2009.

[rjh60]

Two Words. Photo Frame.

[lkrupp]

This whole thread reminds me of the head of the patent office at the turn of the twentieth century who said that everything that could be invented had already been invented and that there was no longer any reason for the patent office to exist.

[rjh60]

Photo Frame + Household Control Center + Household Message Center + Internet Media Device + Book Reader..

[Bronzit]

The thing I like about Rafe is, he's so short on imagination in his reviews. Think of the Apple Tablet as an Internet/network-connected electronic clipboard, with all of those neat iWork apps builtin! Health care Providers could use such to do rounds, for example, making notes & diagrams as they go, writing prescriptions, sending them to a HIPPA-secure server. Or, how about a networked white board, projected onto a wall via a networked projector? The range of uses is hard to put a limit on!
The problem is, he is thinking from, "What is", NOT from, "What Could Be"!!! Once you get in THAT frame of mind, there's an explosion of possibilities!

[rafe]

No, I'm thinking, "who's gonna pay for it?" Petty, I know.

[Anon E Mus]

" by rafe August 4, 2009 5:25 PM PDT
No, I'm thinking, "who's gonna pay for it?" Petty, I know."

Rafe. How about 3M used in medicine? Another 3M used by UPS or FedEx (whichever is brighter). How about people who want to make, edit, and view video, movies, music, books, magazines, papers? How about GPS? How about games?

Hint: The new PA Risc processor will probably make it a screaming banshee in processing power. Guarantee most coast-to-coast execs would prefer it to your std notebook.

You being a geek, I'm totally surprised at your lack of imagination. Write again when you get it.

[runswithscissorsXX]

god you people are fuggin nuts.

$400 for something to occasionally look at webpages while sitting in front of tv? (and if apple releases one, you know it will be more expensive.) yes, prices will drop, somewhat, eventually. but when one compares the price of a smartphone and the price of a cheap laptop against the price of a tablet, why on earth would one buy a tablet?

people say this will be great for photo and video editing...right, because something with limited storage and a mediocre cpu is just great for those kinds of applications. and considering how abysmal the iphone battery is, how would a larger iphone be able to edit pictures/videos for more than 30 minutes at a time?

as for various industries that may use them - medicine? right, the industry that still keeps 90% of all records in paper format would go for this. ups? spending $350+ to take signatures? really? GPS...because a hard to see screen during daylight hours that sits on your knee (and would be illegal in california) is much better than a small easy to see device sitting on the dashboard in an easy to view area. games? if anyone is willing to pay $400+ for a device with iphone-quality games, they deserve to be swindled. and a game without a proper keyboard or buttons is ridiculously hampered in gameplaying abilities.

stop grasping at straws, anon et all. rafe is on point.

[jokayhn]

Who says it will have iPhone quality games. It will have iTablet quality games. It will have a bigger screen that games will take advantage of. It will have a larger form factor capable of having more horsepower. They are limited with the iTouch just because its so small. I see it used in the medical industry just because it doesnt have a keyboard. Easier to keep clean. Granted they'll have to harden it for that to be perfect. I saw a show the other day on a University hospital that had tablets that could be put in a washer. Again, I dont see that happening on a base model tablet but they are already buying them so no reason to say they wouldn't buy these under the right circumstances. Medical records being on paper now doesn't mean that's where the future is...it isn't. I don't want it for photo editing. I want it for photo viewing on the road to see if I got the shot or not. You cant always tell that on a small digital camera LCD. Its going to have to have the capability of having or hooking up to a hard drive. At a minimum swap out large SD cards. UPS might not get them just for signatures. But maybe warehouse workers would use them to track and view inventory and process orders...with the right App. Need an item at Walmart? Ask a worker and they'll know if its in stock and have a map right to it from where you are standing...with the right App. Will it be a success? who knows. I know that at 400 or 800 Im getting one if its nothing more than a giant iTouch. Im not a Mac fanboy. I cant imagine using a Mac in place of my PC but I like my iTouch and I want a larger one for next to the bed to pick up and quickly view a web page if I want to. Just make sure it plays flash movies.

[runswithscissorsXX]

point 1) as i said, without a proper keyboard and buttons, gameplay is severely hampered. play any of the top 10 games today, and you need at least 5 hotkeys and 3 mouse buttons. when your hand is covering a portion of the screen you can't see that part of the screen. so, yes, iphone quality games, which are a joke.
point 2) think of every bit of paperwork required in a hospital. every patient has a chart, so each hospital needs 500 or so charts. not to mention all the other records. there's no way these will all be replaced by tablets, because each patient would need their own tablet. you may think that one tablet could handle a whole floor's worth of records, but that means if a single nurse/doctor walks down the hall with a tablet, every other patient would no longer have their records available to anyone else. which means one tablet per patient would be required. which is economically infeasible.
point 3) walmart? seriously? why would they invest in a dozen or so tablets per store, rather than say, "check aisle 3, if they aren't there we don't have them at the moment." and warehouses tend to do a good job of managing inventories now, with just a few computers, that won't be dropped and exploded or lost under a bin etc...
point 4) if you'd pay $400-800 to browse a webpage quickly while in bed, you deserve to be swindled.

[fletchb]

Agree on the need to think outside the box: We bought one of the little ASUS tablets for use in a hospital library. I had to build a consumer health kiosk as part of my internship and the tablet worked great for this use. I am told it is used quite a bit. As someone mentioned below you will probably see a lot more of them as informatics becomes common place in hospitals. And that is not that far away in the future. Right now it is not cheap but it will save lives as docs will have instant access to patient records and treatment options .

[lm_nyc]

I think an e-Book reader is really the killer app that will justify a $400 or even $500 price point (but $700 or more is crazy). If the Kindle DX is selling for almost $500 already, then why not just load up a lightweight 9" tablet with some great touchscreen-based e-reader software and sell it for $500? You could market it as a top-notch e-reader in addition to using it for web browsing and media viewing.

I think this will play a part in Apple's marketing since they could easily start offering books on the iTunes store.

I think that unlike the phone market when the iPhone came out, though, Microsoft and the PC makers are more than ready to respond to whatever Apple has in store with its tablet. Windows 7 is fully ready for use on multi-touch tablets, and I'm sure the PC makers already have these products in the pipeline. I think this is a market where Apple will stay a niche premium-priced product and it will actually be the other PC makers (and Microsoft) that reap most of the benefits of Apple creating buzz in the Tablet category.

[rafe]

I don't think Apple can make an e-reader. It doesn't have the interface software to handle a low-speed, black-and-white screen, and the projected tablet-based e-reader (an LED backlit color screen) would be too expensive and without necessary battery life . It would also be starting far behind Amazon on the book store front.

[monkeyfun14]

@rafe

The kindle software is under a open source license.

The only reason why the kindle exists is because Amazon wanted an easier way for people to purchase their books.

[JoeF2]

@monkey:
"The kindle software is under a open source license."

Pointer???
The Kindle uses DRM, so I rather doubt that Amazon open-sourced that.
In fact, the FSF has a petition to Amazon to remove the kill-switch functionality in the Kindle. Hardly necessary to have that if the software was Open Source.

[leftturn]

I totally agree that an eBook reader is the killer app. Especially if they add books to the iTunes store. If this device could be a full color eBook reader, with internet capabilities, with all the other capabilities of an iPod and Mac, it would be a life-changing device that would basically never leave my side. I'm not saying I would throw away my corporate ThinkPad for doing serious work, but it would be amazing to have so much functionality packed into such a tight, small package. I might have to sell an arm or leg to buy it, but I probably would.

[SactoGuy018]

Apple will NOT make the leap to a real e-book reader to compete against the Amazon Kindle until the tablet switches to a true OLED screen--possibly in 2011. Why? Becuase with OLED panels, you no longer need the battery-draining backlighting now needed on LCD panels, which means long enough battery life per charge to be useful as an e-book reader.

[mdurwin]

You think Microsoft and PC makers are ready to respond to an Apple tablet, even though neither they or mobile phone manufacturers could compete (with the exception of Blackberry) with iPhone? Microsoft can't even respond with a new operating system that works in under a decade! Oh, and how about that Zune? Beat the pants off iPods didn't it? Microsoft and PC manufacturers are no longer guided by the out-of-the-box vision they may have had in the beginning. Thank God, Steve Jobs still has his.

[ecotopian--2008]

Look at the buzz. The world is excited about the idea of an Apple tablet or slate computer. Why would the world be this excited if it is useless? Many comments here, including the author's, indicate lack of imagination to me. Steve Jobs is not going to release a flop. An Apple tablet, if released, will redefine some aspect of portable connected computing in a way that seems inevitable in hindsight. It will sell like hotcakes, and drive up the value of my AAPL even more.

[nicmart]

ecotopian gives us a strong hint as to why there are so many ferocious Apple posters. They own stock and are defending their own economic interests. Unlike reporters, anonymous posters aren't required to provide full disclosure.

[S R]

@nicmart,

I don't see any kind of disclosure from the author of this article. The correct disclosure should read: "I have heard very credible rumors from my sources regarding the apple tablet. So, I wrote this piece attacking the very need for such a market, so that I will get hit. I know I will get even more hits when I write the follow-up article after the product is released. I just took a page out of Dvorak's playbook."