Nobody Wants Tablet PCs (?!)

So claims Mitch Wagner over at InformationWeek. Obviously I completely and totally disagree, but it disturbs me that someone thinks that Tablet PCs are so completely useless. He goes on to claim that Apple would not release a Tablet PC because there is no reason for it – "It’s not a product that makes sense".

He does have one valid point:

The real problem with notebooks isn’t the keyboard, it’s the weight and bulk. A tablet PC is just as bulky and heavy as a notebook, and less usable. There’s no real benefit to ’em.

As we’ve discussed here in the past, the bulk and weight of many Tablet PC designs can be a real turn-off, although I take issue with the "less usable" part of the comment. I’m not sure why adding features would make something less usable, and many convertible Tablet PCs just add a swivel hinge, a digitizer, and a pen and call it good. I’m not saying that is a good design ethic, but these are additions, not subtractions, so they shouldn’t reduce usability.

There’s some active discussion going on over at Information Week, so stop by and add in your $0.02.