Later this year we'll see a new, slate-type wireless Internet computer from TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. Next year there's a possibility we'll see a slate computer-sized device from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL). I don't want those. I want a wireless Internet notepad for home and corporate use that will be less -- and more -- than what Arrington and Apple might offer.
Let’s define our terms: A slate computer is, in essence, a computer that's primarily a big screen, typically with a virtual keyboard. Slates are part of the overall category of tablet PCs that have been championed by Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), beginning with then-chairman Bill Gates's Comdex/Fall keynote address in 2000.
Tablets can be either slates or "convertibles," which look like traditional laptops but with a swivel screen (like mine), to resemble a slate. Neither convertibles nor slates have become mass-market products.
But what if you want to sit in a comfortable chair and spend time "consuming" content -- perusing Web pages, listening to music, viewing videos, and engaging in two-way video calls -- without doing heavy-duty typing? If you'd like that, you might like Arrington's CrunchPad slate computer.
Although it's still a prototype, the latest specifications have it with a 12-inch capacitive touch screen; a resolution of 1024 x 768; an Intel Atom microprocessor; 1 Gbyte of RAM; an accelerometer to view information in landscape or portrait mode; WiFi; and a camera. It won't be crammed with processor-intensive applications. The prototype incorporates a Linux operating system combined with a Webkit-based browser for accessing apps in the cloud. After seeing leaked designs and a video of it in action, many tech bloggers are lusting for it.
Arrington previously said he hoped to price the CrunchPad at about $300, but it could be higher. I believe that even at that hoped-for price, it will be a non-starter for all but the techies. Consumers will continue to favor desktops, laptops, netbooks, and smartphones. We'll have a better idea of the product in July, when Arrington is supposed to make a big announcement.
Consumers might prefer an Apple Tablet, which is rumored to be "slated" for next year, but no one except Apple insiders knows whether it's real.
Well, I don't want the CrunchPad or an Apple Tablet, and I don't like Steve Jobs's attitude. When Apple's chairman introduced the first iPhone, he said, "Who wants a stylus? ...Yuck, nobody wants a stylus!"
I want a stylus! I want it for the ReiterPad -- an 8.5-inch-by-11-inch slate computer without a physical keyboard, to replace my letter-ruled paper notepads. I'll use a stylus on the slate just as I use my pen on paper.
The ReiterPad will include a note-taking program, an office suite (like Microsoft Office or the cheaper StarOffice), and a Web browser.
Just as important, the slate will include Bluetooth, WiFi, and a USB port to automatically sync with my desktop computer every five minutes or so. It will always be up-to-date with important files. Just as I now keep paper notepads to scribble notes and take to meetings, so will I keep the ReiterPad and ditch paper.
The device must be lightweight and cheap -- weighing no more than 1.5 pounds, preferably less than a pound, and costing $99.95 in single quantities.
Today's slate computers are too fancy, heavy, and expensive. Everything I want can be achieved today, except for the price.
Forget the CrunchPad and Apple Tablet. I want the ReiterPad, and corporations will want it, too.
It's like saying you don't have anything against using a landline phone (without yet having seen cordless phones and cellular phones). Paper notes are fine....until you realize the value of manipulating electrons! Just the ability to completely delete a word or sentence with the "eraser" of a stylus (as I can do on my tablet PC) is a great feature.
Then you can move around paragraphs, search for words, sync the words with speech (such as notes + speakers at a conference), etc., and the value of paper pales in comparison to electronics. (Yeah, yeah, I know all the problems with electrons, too!)
I'd like to see cellular phones become more note-taking devices. It's available now, especially in Asia, where cellular phones have resistive screens for people to write with a stylus. In fact, it's a major reason (perhaps the major reason) why Nokia's N97 handset and its upcoming N900 phone/tablet have resistive screens.
Why not carry a pen + stylus that writes easily on a phone's screen? Seems to make a lot of sense to me. I'd like to see a pen/stylus bundled with cellular phones.
I don't have anything against paper notes per se, but I seldom seem to have the paper with me when I need it thereafter. That is what makes me such a proponent of electon notes.
I hope your development is ready soon, at least in prototype. (remember my offer)
What would justify Apple charging $800 for a Tablet? Are you crazy?! It's from The Apple God and His Servant on Earth, Steve Jobs!
Like pigs racing to the trough, Apple fans would run over each other trying to be the first in line to purchase it! (Actually, pigs are rather smart. They won't purchase MacBook Airs or Tablets. They purchase netbooks.)
I'd be stupified if any Apple Tablet was less than $500. I assume it would be $600 - $800. Some estimates have placed it at $900, but that seems pretty high. Of course, it's all speculation.
An Apple Tablet could include all sorts of interesting capabilities, including a "Cocktail" of extra features (as I wrote this week) if you purchase music albums, rather than individual songs.
Perhaps, for example, an Apple Tablet would be promoted as an ebook reader or your "second TV" (third? fourth? fifth?) for watching iTunes TV shows and movies. Until anything is officially announced, it's vaporware.
Well, I certainly agree with you on pricepoint. An $800 Apple would not be worth it to me. If it's priced competitively with the Kindle, then I'd be interested. If iPhones are now $99 and the Apple Tablet is sort of an iPhone on steroids, what would justify an $800 pricetag? I think consumers will only respond if the price is under $400. That would soak up some of the mini netbook market. For $800...I start thinking desktop and of many other places I'd want to put that money.
I know many people would love a full-featured Apple Tablet, although I wonder whether an $800 product (as has been rumored) would be successful when most people want a desktop or laptop computer, a cellular phone, perhaps a netbook and an mp3 player.
If anyone can succeed in the tablet space, it will be Apple.
But I still want a very cheap tablet that will replace a piece of paper. If some company could create an all-singing, all-dancing tablet that would not only enable me to hand-write with a stylus but also perform all sorts of computer actions -- and be under $100 and less than two pounds, preferably less than one pound -- that would be great.
But practically, even the ReiterPad is difficult to produce at the price and weight I want.
By the way, if you're interested in slate computing, check out GottaBeMobile and, to a lesser extent, jkOnTheRun.
My friends and I have longingly talked about the Apple Tablet you talked about. For me, that would be incredible and I'd get one asap. But the features you list for the ReiterPad plus its price point have me thinking. I'm partially sold...can we create a hybrid? Call it the iReiter? ;)
Thanks for sharing this info. This is the most comprehensive review i've seen on the goings on in the world of the slate computer. Looking forward to seeing how things develop.
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
The blogosphere -- especially in the advertising industry -- has gone gaga over Old Spice's brilliant torrent of commercials that answer questions posed on social networking sites. The excitement is actually justified, and these innovative commercials provide lessons for just about any company interested in generating buzz about its product.
Nokia Siemens Networks is buying most of Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT)’s telecommunications infrastructure business for $1.2 billion. The purchase will give Nokia a greater presence in the United States, which it very much wants, while providing Motorola with additional funds to focus on its revitalized cellular phone business.
Like many geeks, I love Hulu for its free streaming television shows and movies. So I was intrigued when it recently debuted Hulu Plus for $9.99 a month to complement -- but not replace -- its existing service.
The Obama Administration is getting more serious about allocating additional spectrum -- some 500MHz -- for mobile broadband. This would almost double the amount of spectrum for mobile. However, it will be a long, tough road, not only to just find that much effectively usable spectrum, but also to fight off private-sector industry lobbyists and politicking government agencies intent on disrupting the process.
Getting to Work on Smart Work: How IT Is Transforming the Implementation of the 'Internet of Things' Organizations in all industry sectors are becoming more instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent -- and that's changing the way they approach virtually every facet of their operations. It's up to IT to help organizations adopt a "Three I's" approach that leverages the emerging Internet of Things and enables them to work smarter. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
Cellular operators, netbook manufacturers, and, of course, techies, have been eagerly awaiting a hands-on experience with Nokia's new netbook, the Booklet 3G. Reiter's got his hands on one, and tells you whether it's worth the wait.
Mobile TV is everywhere, and yet, nowhere. Nobody uses it – because the handsets aren't good, the pricing is too high, and the coverage is not good enough. But Qualcomm's FloTV Personal TV aims to change all of that.
Verizon is making a big noise about making its wireless network open, but how will we measure if they've been successful? Do we count devices? Applications? Or just take their word for it?
Ultraviolet is an industry-wide attempt to standardize video content delivery across multiple platforms. Apart from the fact that it’s based in the cloud, relies on the DRM system, and isn’t backed by Apple… it sounds great!
Once defined by epic journeys, planning, and maps, the phrase "on the road" takes on new meaning in a digital age, where we can make all our decisions using our connected devices en route.
There's more to mobile technology than cellphones and PDAs. The next time you get a package delivered, get your electric/gas meter read, or have a service tech over to service your cable TV, say hullo to the Internet
There's a public-policy war on copyright that nobody is winning, and inconsistencies in viewpoint and interpretation seem to be multiplying. We need to step back and think our policies over again, or we risk having a strategy that fails everyone.
Ultraviolet is an industry-wide attempt to standardize video content delivery across multiple platforms. Apart from the fact that it’s based in the cloud, relies on the DRM system, and isn’t backed by Apple… it sounds great!
The FCC's Sixth Broadband Report has a hidden secret. But here’s a hint: The regulatory body plans to regulate broadband as a telecommunications service.
Once defined by epic journeys, planning, and maps, the phrase "on the road" takes on new meaning in a digital age, where we can make all our decisions using our connected devices en route.
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Email This
TWEET THIS
