After Peter gave a thumbs up to "8 reasons to check out a Tablet PC" I thought I better re-read the article. I admit I blew through the bCentral article the first time because it didn't seem to have much meat. However, I chuckled this time through. About what? The analyst comments.
I mumbled my first chuckle when I re-read (admittedly too much) into IDC analyst Alan Promisel's quote:
"I've sat through a number of product demos, and I find it to be quite impressive...It's really pretty cool. And it will make some people's jobs easier."
OK, sounds good right? Well, to me I ask, how come Alan's never had an extended chance to use one? He should be a great candidate. He sits through lots of meetings. He comments on the Tablet PC industry. How come he doesn't live with one?
Alan's not the first analyst or highly-public commentator that needs more than a demo. I've heard of other commentators that would love to try out a Tablet PC for an extended period of time, but they can't seem to be able to get their hands on a loaner. I wonder if Alan is in the same boat.
As a software developer, when I hear things like this I also wonder "What software is Alan missing that would make him jump at the opportunity to have a Tablet PC?" and "What does he think it's missing?"
I think software is the key to the growth of the Tablet PC. (Yeah, is there any wonder that I'm a software developer? :-) )
OK. All this is not too exciting. But Alan's comment got me thinking. So off to Google I went to see what else he has to say about Tablet PCs and this is where my second chuckle came into play.
Here's a 2002 quote from Alan about whether Apple should get into the Tablet PC market:
"I don't think Apple should make a play for the tablet PC market," IDC research analyst Alan Promisel told NewsFactor. "Given the segments Apple focuses upon -- consumer, education and professional graphics/multimedia end users -- the tablet PC usage model doesn't really fit."
I'm not privy to any official numbers, but I wonder how much of the current Tablet PC market is made up of these three segments? To me, the Tablet PC would be a great addition to each of these markets. In fact, my guess is that many of the initial purchasers of Tablet PCs are part of these submarkets. The big corporate purchases come over time. (To his credit, Promisel is quoted later in the Newsgator article saying that the Tablet PC might fit in the higher-education market.) It would be interesting to find out who's buying Tablet PCs. I bet one of the readers of this blog knows. Post a comment if you do.
Posted by Loren at September 29, 2003 09:46 AM