Tablet PCs' Future Uncertain

Iria · Aug 30, 2005, 01:41 AM

Tablet PCs can't catch a break.

The fate of the pen-driven, portable PC category, which got a boost in 2002 when Microsoft Corp. first rolled out its Windows XP Tablet PC Edition software, is uncertain, as some analysts have begun to lower their long-term growth projections for the category and Microsoft remains mum about its future tablet operating system plans.

Despite early expectations—the Tablet PC Edition OS provided an easier method of allowing people to navigate their computers with a pen, make digital annotations and capture handwriting, while a new "convertible" form factor was more like a traditional notebook—tablets have failed to woo mainstream business users and consumers as quickly or as easily as initially expected, market watchers say.

The machines, which have caught on in areas such as health care and education, are thus likely to remain trapped in those niches for some time to come, forecasters now say.
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Read More / Source: eWeek

Aug 30, 2005, 01:41 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Tablet PCs' Future Uncertain Tablet PCs can't catch a break. The fate of the pen-driven, portable PC category, which got a boost in 2002 when Microsoft Corp. first rolled out its Windows XP Tablet PC Edition software, is uncertain, as some analysts have begun to lower their long-term growth projections for the category and Microsoft remains mum about its future tablet operating system plans. Despite early expectations—the Tablet PC Edition OS provided an easier method of allowing people to navigate their computers with a pen, make digital annotations and capture handwriting, while a new "convertible" form factor was more like a traditional notebook—tablets have failed to woo mainstream business users and consumers as quickly or as easily as initially expected, market watchers say. The machines, which have caught on in areas such as health care and education, are thus likely to remain trapped in those niches for some time to come, forecasters now say. __________ Read More / Source: eWeek