Fair Winds
Manfred

I used my Newton(s) (three generations of them) on regular basis for almost everything (note taking to multi-criterial decision support, project management, contact management, email, etc.). It was not a multi-media device (early generation of ARM CPU) but a productivity device.

The TC1100 was so nicely designed that it looked like made by Apple.
The OS and application support was, however, far beyond the Newton, but I had no real alternatives. I still prefer using my TC1100 over all tablets I have incl. the Dell XT.
The tablet paradgima started to slowly fade-away as the slate form gradually came under pressure by laptops with a hinged display, the so called convertibles, i.e. the “cannot decide what I am”!
This happened because most people were more productive using the keyboard, since the OS and applications did not really seriously support the tablet user.

As for Apple vs. MS, it is well known that Apple while Apple computers offer less features, they do the important things very well. Apple won and will continue to win users through a better user-computer interaction. They are also in better position than MS since they build OS and apps for their own HW, while MS has to do that for “almost every” HW.

It is about the holistic design of the computer and not the features, Apple used to be better at that than MS+OEMs.

To conclude, MS did not invent the tablet and, in my opinion, it never really supported the tablet form seriously enough to loose it in 2010.

In my opinion, the best initial product Tablet had way back when, was the first stab taken at the TC1000 (Compaq branded no less). Rob and I both eagerly bought a TC1000, and the conception of the idea for GottaBeMobile.com was born. It got better with the TC1100 (which by the way my wife still curls up with every day for many activities). In all our years as Microsoft Tablet MVP’s, we saw so many devices, but none came close to the collection of features the TC series had.

Then it was gone. Poof. An incredible design, which did not make it because the R&D department at HP was short sighted.Now to see HP back in the arena begs the question, “Will HP hang in there and make this thing excel?”

I hope so.

HP Tablet =

Windows 7

Multitouch

Inking (Journal, IkSeine, PDF Annotator, Pencil (2D cartoon), Ebook annotation, ArtRage….)

EBook fiendly

Plenty of games, many free…

OSX (Hackintosh)

Linux

For sure, Apple is the winner with the invisible tablet…

Wait and see…

* Wall Street Journal

Iphone functionality plus windows journal/one note in a 8×11 1/4 inch form factor actually will change the world.

The operating system will cease to be relevant if Apple’s product is a breakthrough.

I think it would be great fun over the next few days for slate owners to put an Apple decal on their tablets and hang out at a coffee shop. Just tell them you’re running windows 7 (or XP/Vista) with boot camp

I think 2010 is going to be the year of the tablet and as others have said it’s going to be Apple taking the cake. IMHO, where MS missed and where Apple will have a home run is simple….CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT.

MS has had the hardware for years, but the third party software support is juvenile at best. Apple will do what they always do which is introduce hardware that for us current tablet users will seem crippled. Hardware we take for granted will be absent from the iSlate, but for the average consumer it won’t missed. Apple will back up the device with unique software features and third party content. Who knows for sure what that will be, but you can be sure content providers will be scrabling to get their wares on it. Unlike MS and tablets the iSlate won’t be left on the back burner.

Who wants crap tablets? Please let 2010 be the year Microsoft drops its insane consumer dreams and go back to what really matters!

But… if you scream in the wilderness and no one is there to hear you, did you actually make a sound?

I am resigned to the fact that MS is not listening, is clueless or it is so bound up in bureaucracy that they could NEVER get anything new to market.

So, I predict that Apple will own the tablet space just like they own the PMP space. To quote Metallica, “Sad but true…”

Using Outlook cached mode I have my contact and calander with me at all times. I have not invested in a mifi yet but that would give me pretty much 24/7 connectivity to to my office (work) and the web (mostly fun).

There are times when I use a digital camera; It would be nice to have photos saved to the computer automatically. What I app would I use?. I have no idea. The better question is what camera would I use? Is 1 mega pixal good enough? 3? 5? 7?. What would you build into a tablet, and at what cost?

FOr me, GPS is a like to have, not need to have. When it becomes so inxpensive that manufactures automatically build them into a tablet I will make use of it. Until then it is a non issue for me.

You said “The desktop OS is loaded with so much stationary legacy that it’s not the place to start anymore for small devices-especially resource limited ones that are meant to be moved…” I absolutly agree. Would I like a small resource limited device? You bet – as a companion to a desktop and/or portable TabletPC and only at a very low price. Perhaps I am just a niche user.

A small low powered easy device will probasbly be great, but it does not eliminate my desire for a larger more powerful device. To each his own. It would be nice to have easch available in the market place.

(It looks like you are in the Phoeinx area. Me to. Perhaps we can dicuss it over a cup of cofee/beer sometime.)

They let Apple steal the thunder with their iphone platform and the same trends have emerged now in this sphere of netbooks, touchbooks and the like. Apples going to release a tablet this year and look like the leaders in forward technology and those of us who have been using the tech for years are going to be sitting here beating our heads on the desk as our collegues with iSlates try and comprehend theirs Windows Tablets?

It boogles my mind that with all the resources and talent at Mirosoft these trends keep slipping them by, do they have no interest in developing other markets beyond Windows/Office/Server.

All Apple has to do is do the same using its flair and fill the niche that Motion could have done years ago. To the degree that Apple cripples the computer but banning Flash and Java it will be a limited machine. To the degree that Apple fails to build in docking it will be a limited machine. Hopefully Apple will avoid these pitfalls, though history suggests it will make these mistakes, giving it a temporary advantage and losing the longer-run game to others.

If Apple produces a computer that you can put in a big pocket or purse and dock at your desktop, Apple will have indeed invented the Tablet by reinventing the LS800, only better and with more flair, and more understanding of the use case.

Microsoft is not an innovator. In all these years, they (and Intel) have not changed the basic PC architecture which invites viruses of all types to read or write anyplace in memory or on the hard disk that they like. Their replication of the initial IBM PC architecture over the years has been profitable for them, and users have not demanded anything else despite the loss of productivity they have suffered because of it. But as Apple demonstrates with their current models, and with the iPhone, they are willing to innovate.

If they go Tablet, then it will have the best chance of succeeding.

A rejuvinated Tablet market would give Kindle and its ilk a run for Amazon’s money. Although the TC1100 is not ideal for reading, I prefer it to my PC screen. Also, of course, it goes where I go, eats what I eat, etc. The combination of the TC1100 and the New York Times Reader can’t be beat for news, IMHO.

These days the TC1100 is so rare that I am constantly approached by people who see me using it at meetings or as I refer to it while giving testimony at the state legislature. I have to tell them, “sorry,” they aren’t made any more. “Don’t you miss a keyboard?” “I have one that I can attach if I want.” “How much is it, where can I get one?” And there the conversation stops.

More power to Apple if they come out with something that can restore interest in these fine machines. The iPhone is actually a new paradigm, let’s see what they can do with an idea that is beyond Microsoft’s ability to innovate so far.

If a market develops and HP sees the $$$ signs, perhaps the TC1100 might be reborn. At least, I can dream. Go Apple!

The sad fact is that without even a product on the market, Apple has already stolen the tablet concept. Game over.

A great statement. This is exactly what Apple has been doing as of late, it seems everyone else is just waiting for them to set the standard.