Wired Magazine has an article written by Brian Chen that pontificates that 2010 will be the Year of the Tablet. As partial proof of this he points out that sources tell him that Dell (and possibly Intel) are working on a forthcoming tablet that’s about 5″ in size and possibly will run Windows 7.
Uhm, since Intel is supposedly involved and considering the size and OS, the rumored device is probably a Mobile Internet Device, more commonly called a MID.
Since the article doesn’t metion the word MID at all, we may be seeing a marketing rebranding going on here in order to leverage some of the successes Apple is having.
For instance, calling the device a “tablet” rather than a “MID” might attract some of the Apple followers since many are awaiting a rumored Apple Tablet.
Also, the supposed Dell device will have multi-touch, like the Apple iPhone, which I guess makes it a “tablet” like a theoretical Apple Tablet with supposed multi-touch, rather than a MID with the more traditional resistive touch.
Anyway, it sounds like this small device will be focus on touch rather than the classic Tablet PC orientation towards inking, which the MIDs were never good at partly because of their size and partly because of the software. However, can you really imagine using Windows 7 on a 5″ device with capacitive touch? I’m wondering if instead there won’t be a custom shell wrapped around an embedded version of Windows.
Why?
Because the article also states that the price of the device will be subsidized by contracts to media publications, somewhat like cell carriers do with cell phones. In the name of selling as many units as possible, I’m guessing that this will be an option, rather than a mandate. But, let’s say the primary purpose of the device will be for reading or viewing content from these publishers, doesn’t it make sense that the OS shell will be optimized for the experience and that there will be a custom viewer? I’d expect this to be the case. So if that’s the case, I’d lean back towards an embedded OS.
Finally, what about the possibility of there being Tablet bits on the device if the OS is from Microsoft? Unlikely. Whether it be the inexpensive embedded OS or a cheap version of Windows 7, there isn’t going to be a full set of Tablet features. I wouldn’t expect to see a Math Input Panel or Tablet Input Panel (TIP) on this kind of device. Nor would I expect to see the smooth touch features in Windows 7’s more expensive versions. These features have yet to work their way down to inexpensive enough versions of the OS.
OK, another finally, let’s not all forget how long some of these rumors take to become reality. The Apple tablet rumors have been going on for much of this decade. And remember how long it was between the first leaks that Dell was working on a Tablet and when they actually released it….and then it turned out to be soooo expensive–and I won’t even bother with the hardware issues.
Sometimes leaks like this are to stall the market. They don’t want you to buy a CrunchPad and Apple Tablet and then have no money left for subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times (I just made that up–I have no idea what subscriptions they might offer) or to buy the product outright (again, no idea if that will be an option). I read rumors like this as pleas for me to save my money 
.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing what Dell is going to produce.
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Dell slate MID to appear in 2010? — Incremental Blogger http://bit.ly/kOfMM
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
“People don’t like MIDs.” Where is your proof in this statement? Claims like this cannot be made without basis in fact.
I think this space will heat up when ubiquitous WiFi/3G/whatever is available to the common man and not tech early adopters. It’s not going to be hard to convince someone to use one if they can:
A) Get their internet anywhere, on the move.
B) Find a remote/”cloud” storage system for all their files that is inexpensive and mimics the use of a hard drive on PCs today.
Hard drive crashes would be a thing of the past, your entire music collection on the go? It’s all awesome, it’s all reality, and it’s all a long ways off.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
A curious article given your affiliation with the vapour ware that is the “crunchpad” … you don’t mention it all in the article at all and I’m srprised given the line “As for other MIDs I doubt there will be any traction.”
I was up for spending a few hundred £ on the CP but hey ho…
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
So called Tapplet should replace also Portable DVD Player which always we carry while outing for kids. Definitely for the higher class consumer.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I’m not sure that either a MID or a tablet fills a niche in my life.
The HTPC needs to stay where it is, because I’m not always at home when my wife wants to watch something.
On the go, I don’t see a time when having a tablet would be better than a laptop or netbook. Besides, unless somebody can make a super light one, tablets are uncomfortable to hold, and uncomfortable to look at if they’re on a flat surface.
Ok, so you know how when you say a word over and over again, it doesn’t seem like a real word anymore?
Between my post and the article, that just happened to me with “tablet”.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I might be missing the boat but I think “convergence” is the thing that jumps out. The iPhone is almost enough to leave a laptop behind completely. But not quite. The demand is there because people are using crappy devices like Netbooks. They’re cheap, you can always have it nearby etc.
I might be wrong but these really are iTouches on steroids or mini laptops that free you from a computer. And yes 2010 will be all about them because the iPod sales are down and the iPhone is mass market.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
Using a company like Archos as the test case?
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I used mine all the time, it has both digitizer and touch screen and dual array microphones so I used it for hands free dictation and talking on Skype too, just need it within a few feet of where I am for Skype.
I used it to work a convention with One Note and was supper efficient as I marked and had all the booths I wanted to visit ahead of time with a page, competitor information, and booth number and some contacts. Ran a quick query in One Note to find competitors based on the show partner list, fast and efficient.
Inking is handy although I do not do a full sprawling email with it, short ones are fine, but it’s great to forms and I used it for a general sign in event a few times when doing some large group training at Best Buy, all the employees just signed in on the tablet, no paper and a great way to capture signatures and store number, etc.
That to me is one way where tablets are under used, as a sign in device, why not instead of all those papers that people flip through.
I also wrote an EMR years ago and it worked fine on the tablet for data input too. The tablet goes to meetings with me and I take all notes in either Journal or One Note, no more yellow pads and even a very basic beginner can do that, yellow pad on screen if you will.
I hope tablets keep going, I really like them at lot and they capture a digital signature easily too.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
Don’t forget about Apple having another advantage. ONe app store loaded with on-click installable apps. If they use the iPhone OS for the Tablet developers need to resize and update their programs.
Besides that of course all the other cool features. Move the tablet to play games on it, use it as a steer if you wil.
It won’t be a tablet. It will look like one, but it will be more than i.e. an Archos.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
2010 will be the year of the SmartBook
http://www.MeetSmartBook.com
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
It’s not the fact that people don’t like MID’s, people just can not justify the cost. Why buy a $600 device with an underpowered CPU and a touch screen when you could buy a fully functional laptop for the same price? If these devices were decently priced and had functionality that was comparable to computers in the same price range they could definatly become a huge hit.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
LOL! Way to kill-buzz the four-days-late-for-launch CrunchPad
Waiting for @arrington to chime in here and say, hey, wait a minute–did we just send that one out to press???
Ladies & Gents, Boys & Girls, I present to you the “other” MID that will gain no traction, The CrunchPad!
What gives? Oh, and if Apple builds a tablet–it will sell because sheep follow the heard and Jobs will say it revolutionizes the way people go to the bathroom. Or, it will go the way of the infamous Apple Cube. The only thing you can bet on is that the Tapplet probably will not have Google Voice.
Cheers!
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
naah its not.. that’s why you guys should burry the crunchpad… apple’s gonna rip the crunchpad a new one… fact is they SUCK
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
So what you’re saying, really, is that Apple will define what a tablet is. I agree with you on this. Nobody is more in touch with consumer desires than Apple is.
But wait… CrunchPad… launched in or before 2010… off timing then? Or no mass market ambition? Why do it then? (EgoPad, anybody?
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I always told you the CRUNCHPAD SUCKS… glad you guys realize it yourself…
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
John.. you’re good you have common sense.. you know your shit.. one of the few ones who do!! and glad you speak up for it.
Gotta remember you….if I ever need someone like you
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
Yeah, and no one liked smartphones until Apple started making them. Now they are taking over the cell phone industry.
Maybe “no one” likes tablets because there aren’t any good ones out there yet?
I disagree that the device needs to replace 2 devices. I have an iPhone and a macbook. I still want a tablet, because 99% of the time I am surfing from the couch or the back yard or the toilet. My iPhone is handier but too small and underpowered (but I still use it for this). My laptop is too cumbersome.
I’ll still use both devices, but a tablet would be used for 99% of home surfing.
If it also happens to fill a few other roles (book reader? portable TV streaming from Apple TV? etc…) well then even better.
MGZ
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
You’re almost assuredly right, except that, the thing that keeps nagging an old **rt like me is, how will I recognize the next-gen when it gets here? (What if dirt/dust-immune virtual keyboards become the way to go, someday?)
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
@Matthew: “Why buy a $600 device with an underpowered CPU and a touch screen when you could buy a fully functional laptop for the same price?”
Where are these “fully functional” laptops for $600? Oh you mean a POS netbook… yeah.
To answer your question Matthew, tons of people bought nearly $600 iPhones with “underpowered CPU and touch screen” and love them. Sometimes you need not only function, but form.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
this can replace the tablet & netbook:
http://images.google.com/images?q=olpc+xo-2&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=prN4Su3DL9KYlAelhvSZBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
VIVI LA CRUNCHPAD…
um… why didn’t you mention it in this article?
why is PCWorld and Cnet talking about the CP in the last week and nothing on CrunchGear?
unless…
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
Very good!
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
@MGZ
An iPhone isn’t a laptop a Smart Phone. That’s a compleltly different market. And iPhones (after a 2 year contract) are substantially cheaper. They wouldn’t be nearly as popular if you couldn’t get them for under $600. I hardly see the value with the contract deduction myself.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I agree with John Biggs. Tablets are just too bothersome. I would rather stick with my iphone than a tablet i can’t use while waiting on the dentist’s office.
on the other hand, a wifi-enabled watch might do some nice tricks. prepare for the iWrist
Next stop: brain-computer interfaces, or HUD glasses
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
that’s a weird statement. you only buy what others buy?
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
“The keyboard is an old, tested construct and it will be hard to wean us netheads away from it”
Maybe that’s why they will have a keyboard on them. Just because the keys arent raised, doesnt mean its not a keyboard. after all, apple keyboards have been getting flatter and flatter
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
why resize. instead, use the extra space to display multiple applications side by side. or do both
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
isn’t it awkward to type in a keyboard where you have to look at the keys all the time?
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
“Archos knows this. They’ve been making MIDs since we were all in diapers – at least it seems that way.”
Archos also made MP3 players since we were all in diapers. Didn’t work either, they’re all called iPod now.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
What’s a DVD? Didn’t stone people use those?
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
MID would be great if mobile internet prices were weren’t a rip-off & the service was dependable. I can afford the device, I can’t afford the service.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
“I used it for hands free dictation and talking on Skype too”
sounds like it comes in handy for those long lonely nights of tech-dorkdom…
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
Mobile is the way to go. As more mobile devices are introduced, the price will go down dramatically.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
What happened to the CrunchPad? Seems kind of strange, bashing a concept that you yourselves are trying to bring to market…
I realize that not all writers agree on everything, but you shouldn’t try to disprove the usefulness of something y’all might just sell.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
No one liked smart phones until apple made them? Have you heard of Blackberry? Or even Treo?
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
He was talking about mass appeal, obviously.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I’d like a cheap device that allows me to browse internet (mostly blogs and newspaper reading) that I can use in the restrooms. It does not need to do anything else except perhaps kindle types of function. Because right now it’s not easy to read techcrunch in the restrooms. Laptop is super hot and difficult to handle …
Hope I’m not too much off subject
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
Obviously… To you, maybe.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
If they would let you make calls with a bluetooth headset (without the SKYPE B.S.) I would have got one a long time ago, but no they want you to carry a phone AND a tablet, totally backwards. Now if Apple made it lets you make calls with it that would be sadly somewhat revolutionary (just sad to say that!) and they might be able to sell more than anyone else has. If they REALLY wanted to screw people they could make it so you could insert the Iphone into it for this functionality and make you buy both.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I can see where you coming from with Archos reference, but for as long as I remember companies that made any kind of respectable attempt at making a tablet have been consistent in missing a mark.
Here’s why.
A tablet calls for a totally different approach at usability. You can’t make screen 5 inches small and have Windows XP cramped in old-school 800 by 480 screen. Anyone who can afford this device is already too old to squirm so hard. You can’t force me to use stylus, because in order to be stylus-precise one need to be so comfortably positioned that they wouldn’t need a tablet in a first place.
Apple hit it right on the nail with iPhone’s interface. Windows 7 has somewhat similar approach with noticeably larger elements of the interface out of the box. We’re getting there, it’s just that this is the industry’s hardest learning curve we’re trying to pass through for gazillionth time.
This spring I was looking for laptop with touch capabilities – they don’t exist beyond 8 inch realm. 12 inch screen, finger-touch oriented interface and price below $1200 would hit it bullseye.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
As a parent, what I’d like ideally is to ditch both the portable DVD player and the DVDs. I’d like for the kids to have a portable little device like a Kindle for movies…just tap a button to download “Superman” immediately and watch it. I have my credit card out…
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
The ONLY reason the iPhone is as big as it is, is because it is basically a MID. Throw a 3g radio in the n8×0 and it would have sold like hotcakes. Internet anywhere? Theres definitely a market for that.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
anything apple will sell. the tapplet sounds like a big iphone lol
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
Swivel screen in notebooks are need of the hour. That will break open the notebook screens free. Currently there is misconception that if screen is swivel’lable then it has to be touchscreen.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I have a desktop, notebook, netbook, tablet, ipod browsing, and smartphone. They each have their place (wherever I am with whichever I have at the moment) The smaller they are though, the more you need to carry a hotplate with you.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
it’s called the iPad, not the tapplet. I have seen it. It is real and you all will buy one. Now shut up and go beat off to engadget.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
Agh, dangit, sorry about that. It kept looking like it didn’t go through.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I use my tablet daily when I’m in school, as a normal laptop is completely useless when you need to take notes in some classes. Ever tried typing math formulas quickly? Not fun.
That said, the Apple tablet will likely be useless for me when it comes out as well. At least if there’s no good note-taking app like OneNote.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
I believe a big touchscreen device would be nice if:
1. Ability to read emails and respond via voice recognition or keyboard.
2. Apps to allow easier controls of programs (skype, games, etc…)
3. GPS navigation system
4. Simple docking solutions for in the car and at home.
5. Definitely a media player, easy hookup to the TV would be nice (or even wireless streaming which probably won’t happen).
6. Note taking program, being able to seamlessly integrate hand drawn objects and typed handwriting (external keyboard or slide out would work best.) That would be amazing for people following classes or lectures, I know I couldn’t take notes on my computer in physics/chem and math because I couldn’t draw easily on a non touchscreen computer.
7. Depending on the size, having 3g would be nice if it really is that portable, or else a 3g usb stick will work just fine.
8. Built in stand, just put in a DVD, put it on the table infront of you and enjoy! This would also be usefull for video chatting.
9. Voice control, this tablet could be a hub for all the music streaming, for the apple tablet, airtunes will work perfectly.
10. A dashboard, use the tablet as your way to see the weather, RSS feeds etc…
11. A Kindle rip off.
Cheers!
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
It is not in the best interest of the TC network to include the crunchpad in this bashing article. Haven’t you learned the way of the Arrington?
This comment was originally posted on http://www.crunchgear.com/)“>CrunchGear
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