Acidus wrote:
...
1) MS is making sure that the devices which cause any market share gain for Tablets at the expense of PDAs or cell phones are running some Windows OS. The percentages of the licensing pie may change, but the overall pie stays the same.

2) Tablets are just a marketing campaign. MS throws enough resources at them to look cool and hip and trendy.

I agree with your analysis of MS's relationship with tablets.

I think the tablet pc is the platform with the most *potential* i've seen in a long time. The degree to which that potential is delivered up front depends a lot on what you do day to day. For most people, it's got very little appeal.

I've said before, and I'll repeat, I'd *love* a well designed tablet to take to meetings, so I can take notes that are as versatile as paper, but easier to manage. I'd love a device that can go from effectively off to online in about 3.5 seconds (anywhere) and provide a web experience that doesn't make me want to murder everyone around me. I'd like it to recieve phone calls via GSM or VOIP over WiFi, WiBRO, WiMax (transparently). I'd like to be able to read text on it for long periods of time, in a comfortable position (even laptops don't do so well for that).

That being said, no device does those things. Partially that's the fault of lacking infrastructure -- the wireless network(s) in this country leave much to be desired. Much of the technology hasn't matured -- convertables are too thick and bulky and try to be too much, the batteries don't last near long enough and sceen quality on more pure tablets is barely adequate.

Still, I don't think the problems are insurmountable, and I think the payoff will be great, once tablets are really ready. Say what you will about a RAZR fitting into a pair of (admittedly sexy) jeans... it doesn't do any of the things above, and can't. I'm resigned to my man-purse. Granted, I'm so anti things-in-my-pockets that even a razr would piss me off, but even so, I think a lot of people could justify the tradeoff of convenience for real utility. The utility just hasn't made it yet.

Oh well, in the meantime, maybe someone will make an e-ink based digital reader / ebook that doesn't look fucking retarded. That would tide me over for a good long time.

RE: The truth about tablets