The future of the tablet computer

Not written in stone

The iPad is a success, but other tablets may not be

See article

Readers' comments



Just making it bigger isn't enough, as my peers have stated, you must add features, because the primary thing is functionality gains. I see only functionality losses so far.

Maybe if they made it have sharp edges or something so we could use it as a ninja star or if it inflated into an electric car, i might buy one.

That said, I do think it is better to use as a "newspaper" than a netbook because it doesn't have a hinge.


"On June 2nd AT&T ditched its all-you-can-eat plan for iPads"
- 'The Economist'

The heart of this story deals not with hardware, or even software, but in communication. Those familiar with Apple's iPad soon realize its inherent limitations vis a vis ordinary laptops, while still loving the more intuitive interface. There is no contradiction, and these devices need never approximate the power of a 'real' computer, but only if able to communicate effectively.

If presently a few design flaws, there is no reason the iPad and its ilk could not handle the most complex computing tasks. With cloud computing it is possible. But this requires lots of bandwidth, the very thing the US government and complicit corporations are so parsimonious with. They do not encourage such innovation, rather thwart it in discouraging such use.

The real future of such devices will be within societies which embrace liberal use of bandwidth. If the home of the iPad is Cupertino, California, sadly its future may not reside there.


I'd hedge my bets too if I was a hardware maker, but I don't get their market niche. The netbook, a cheap laptop, makes perfect sense to me and always has. I think the reason hardware makers had a hard time with them was because they could only focus on a netbook's profit killing potential. From a consumer standpoint they made a lot of sense.

But, beyond the obvious 'I'm a cool member of the Apple cult,' reason why buy a tablet? Smart phones are a better platform for mobile e-mail. e-Ink based readers are superior, and cheaper, solutions for electronic publishing of books and periodicals. If the tablet relies on wifi for connectivity it isn't a mobile Internet device: your smart phone is superior because it can be used more places. If it has a 3G connection for connectivity it is a really large smart phone and large usually isn't a winner unless it's a TV. Since you'll probably already have a smart phone, why pay twice for 3G data service? It may be great as a photo album, but is the photo album and electronic scrap booking market that large? There may be thousands of apps, but someone please post which one makes a tablet so crucial? You can type on its screen and you can do some regular computing, but a netbook would seem a superior platform for real work at an equivalent cost. Without an integrated 2D bar code scanner it is useless in the logistics and medical fields. If I was Apple's competitor that is what I'd be looking at, logistics and medical. But you need to integrate a 2D scanner and a RFID reader. The ability to wander around a warehouse or hospital with a tablet linked into the network would be valuable.


Eventually they will replace lap tops.Students may download all reference books and carry them all the while.Professors too will carry all study materials in such pads.Where are those office goers carrying the ubiquitous diaries? They have retired ! Their successors will carry these pads.And corporates instead of gifting diaries and calendars,will gift pads,whole lots of them.

Ramon Insua

Well I can see the guys in Finnland saying: "But didn't we come up with Internet tablet's like 5 or 6 years ago??" "Yes! and it even had web cam!!!" I guess something is wrong with our marketing division then?" Truth is, if you got to give credit to Steve Jobs you must do so specially for knowing when the time is right for something and when the technollogy is mature enough. Nokia did come up with internet tablets long before than Apple. They ran Maemo (Linux) and even though battery life was an issue I understand they worked pretty well. They did have webcam, and even a physical keyboard in some models. The screen though was just a little bigger than the iphone. Many chose those Nokia Internet tablets instead of, for instance, an Apple Ipod Touch. But come on... Let's look at the Ipad: The thing is amazing. Even though it lacks in many aspects (multi-tasking and the absence of a webcam amongst other annoyances) we are looking at a portable device with a huge screen, batt life of 8hrs, a wonderful browser (Nokia tablets lacked somewhat in this aspect) and a je n'est ce quoi.. a sex appeal if you will. Was the Nokia Internet Tablet a sexy product? Well... No. Apple has become the biggest IT company by market capitalisation for building (well rather designing) SEXY stuff. People love sexy things and with the exception of technology enthusiasts, most don't mind if a device lacks in some very important aspects IF it manages to be a sexy thing to own. Will the Ipad ever meet it's Nemesis? Mmm, that depends... Is there a company that can be as sexy as Apple? HP? Sorry, not sexy. Dell? Come on!!! How about Sony?? Well Sony CAN be sexy when it wants to... BUT right now, the sexy creature out there is HTC. Surely they will launch their Internet Tablet, give it a Sexy name and have it run on Chrome or Android OS. And it will be sexier! I bet a tad longer and thinner. It will have a webcam surely. At least that's my fantasy... Hope it comes truth.


People will take their touch-screen tablets with them to have a computer while on the move (in planes, trains, etc, or even camping). When they arrive to their home it will be used as a clever remote-control to the sound system, TV, refrigerator, washing-machine and dog food dispenser. On their car it will be their i-pad and GPS, and in the office, their computer with screen (you will only need a wireless keyboard and a mouse - and perhaps another bigger screen - to have a very comfortable working set-up automatically in few seconds after your arrive).

On the park people will play chest with it (while receiving warnings about the weather and calls from friends), and they will check the temperature of the baby bottle by putting on the top of the it. After that, the baby can calm down by banging figures on the screen while the parents can relax.

Worried about carrying your personal information? the thing will only activate with your biometrics (iris pattern, voice, etc) and will discretely send a distress alarm to the police (with your geographic position, and live image of the scene) if you say some key sentence.

As in the past IT turning points, the key of success of the tablets will be to know how to create protocols for interoperability and therefore unleash all the potential of bridging people, programs and stuff. Apple gave the right steps on the touch-screen and friendly technology, but they are still locked in their (i-tune kind) world. So there are plenty of room for other companies to take advantage of this IT revolution that is around the corner. Openness, friendliness and interoperability are the key words.


I think the netbook is currently the more practical device in this size range and relative form factor. For handling output the form factor is good, but it will be handicapped when having to deal with input. When compared with smart phones, I don't think users will be as accommodating on input. This will increase the need for such things as holographic keyboards and better speech recognition for input. Advances in holographic keyboards and speech recognition could make these devices run-away successes.


Opinions on future technology are usually not worth much, but I will chip in with mine. I see tablets as more of a specialist mobile tool, rather than something that would replace the laptop/desktop. Think of applications like sales, education, healthcare and mobile entertainment; in general mobile work where you are not required to write much and use large screens. For gaming at home, I'd rather use a huge screen with great audio and visual capabilities. For work, I'd rather have a desktop with a large screen and a keyboard. Even for reading books, Kindle's e-ink technology isn't matched by tablets. Still, the opportunity is quite attractive.

Alan McCrindle

I was at a 2 presentation in Sydney yesterday where they were promoting their new Chatter application which gives their product facebook like social networking capabilities. These capabilities have the potential to massively enhance collaboration. And because this functionality is in the cloud it can be accessed by anyone anywhere who has a device that has wifi access to the internet.

In their demo's they were using iphones and ipads. So I am with Ohio on his views about convergence and apps. My guess is that for the mobile workforce tablets - or smart phones with bigger screens - will become the must have item.


Let's wait for alternative tablet devices, shall we? Actually, I believe there IS a market for this "curated" kind of computing. If the other manufacturers could provide products that are as easy as the iPad and fill all the features that Apple's product is currently missing.

I'll be putting my money on MeeGo. It's backed by giants and has many interesting capabilities, including the amazing Qt development toolkit, a boon for coders who don't want to be creatively limited by Apple's thousand little rules!


The tablet occupies a space between the cellphone/Blackberry/Ipod and the PC/laptop/netbook/TV/game console. As those devices all converge, the natural convergence point is tablet computers of various screen sizes. A big tablet that sits on a stand at your desk, fits in a briefcase or carry-on, a mid-size tablet that works as a personal entertainment center, and a small tablet that fits in a pocket or purse (different people will want one or more sizes). We'll shake out to 2-3 viable operating systems, and there will be millions of different apps and hundreds of apps stores. The apps are the key -- Your standalone laptop, game console, or cellphone will only have a tiny fraction of the available apps, and that is why they will fall to the tablet. When software counts for all, the standard hardware platforms will look like tablets with tablet operating systems. Even when if replace screens with semi-transparent viewer glasses or lasers projecting onto your cornea, the operating system will be the tablet OS that anyone can write an app for.


Latest blog posts - All times are GMT
Graphic detail 1 hrs 17 mins ago
The World Cup: Vorsprung durch Technik
Game theory July 14th, 1:58
The Economist explains: The meaning of Manhattanhenge
The Economist explains July 13th, 23:50
Alibaba's IPO: Shocked, shocked!
Schumpeter July 13th, 18:10
World Cup predictions: Scoring ourselves
Graphic detail July 12th, 19:03


Products and events



