There is a bit more from Microsoft today on its rumored design for a mini-tablet, Origami. Okay, it will run Windows XP. But the picture is far from clear what will make it stand out.
Let's say for a moment that Origami is what people say it is: an $800-$500 mini-tablet, running Microsoft applications with a 5-inch to 7-inch screen, and weighing about one pound with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi built in.
For more details see the Forbes site.
The question is if there is a market for it?
Perhaps as vertical solutions, such as in health care where doctors and nurses can use a small mobile device with Wi-Fi to access and read patient records, enter notes from a patient visit and order up meds, but in the great race to capture the mass market I don't see it being successful, unless there are a few surprises in store.
On the minus side.
Handheld sales were down for the last two years and will continue to decline as cell phones gain in power and performance.
But you can't run and you wouldn't want to run a major application on a cell phone or on a handheld for that matter. For quick in and out queries they are ideal but beyond that is a tablet a better solution?
Light, easy to store, powerful enough to work on my CRM application off or online, perhaps there is a niche for a mini-notebook, except?can it replace my regular notebook?
Not if it doesn't have a built-in keyboard. Not if the screen isn't big enough so that I can comfortably view all of the application I use every day in a single view without having to scroll down.
No, I'll still need to buy a notebook.
But there is a plus side as well.
What could save the rumored Origami design from the trash heap of failed devices is if it had enough power to become your desktop.
In other words, when you get back to your desk, if you could plug in a large keyboard, a flat screen monitor, decent storage and an Ethernet cable, to be used until the office network goes wireless, and it had the processing and graphics power to run all of my regular apps then I'd buy one.
Or if the world goes to streaming applications and I would be able to use it as my terminal, again with the same connections, that also has appeal. Then I would imagine a lot of people would buy want one.
Of course, there's always IT to get around. Let's face it, the last thing IT needs or wants is yet another hardware profile to support.
Well, we'll have to wait until next week to see how this thing plays out.
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