Every iPad killer has a wooden play?

It's not easy to spell out a world on a tablet, not only because consumers are not sure if they really need to buy it, but because the shelves are too crowded, it's hard to stand out. At this year's CES, Android tablet computers seem to have to reserve booths, and there are few big companies that have not launched related product plans.

I think they all think that they are rushing for a gold rush. However, the same products, so many consumers are too lazy to visit Best Buy. It's no wonder that they ended up choosing the iPad because the others were pitifully emphasizing the nuances of the hardware, vague product improvements, and they had no real control.

At the same time, some companies have boldly left this model and can distinguish their products without blinking. But can these non-traditional designs really impress this unmoving market? Or they changed too much. Is it too early?

Dual-use Tablet PCs (Convertible Tablets)

I recently read a fairly sensible article that said that these dual-use tablet PCs, such as ASUS's Transformer, will be sold. Its main features: those children shoes that did not have time to look, it is really slim worth looking at you, the software is also quite mature, not a bit unexpected, and more and more people are not sure whether to buy a tablet computer or a laptop. They will naturally choose a mixture of the two.

Although it is a bit problematic, it will not be too influential. If you carefully observe the use of the iPad, you can find just a lot of browsing, video viewing, casual games. Of course, there is e-mail, but typing on the tablet's touch screen is a real pain. If you just check it, it's fine. The problem is that even early adopters (and not even the first 20 million iPad users) are only interested in content consumption, not creation. Tablet is a window of content, but it is one-way.

Admittedly, dual-use tablets are easier to type. However, compared to any $500 laptop, tablets can handle no more than they do, making the keyboard necessary. You can better handle e-mails and enter site addresses faster, but is it possible to install enterprise software, financial management, and formal word processing and editing on the above? Not yet, but not in the short term.

Windows 8 will be the pioneer of this force. A large part of the reason is that Microsoft can turn these very good ideas into what people really want to use. Not only is it necessary to have a rich, easy-to-use interface like a tablet computer, but it can also be an easy task to use as an ordinary computer, but Microsoft realizes that they have turned it into a hot spot and stood out from the competition in tablet computers. If dual-use tablets become popular, not because of the above suggestions, but because Microsoft makes them a reality. Since Apple, Google, Asus, Acer, and other vendors have no intention of doing so.

Dual-screen Tablets

Before the arrival of the iPad, it used to be the most promising device. As you read this article, you may still remember Microsoft’s Crosshair “Courier” project, which was an early project of Microsoft’s incubator and has been the darling of the blogging world for months. It shows great imagination, good design, and willingness to take risks. But it was buried by Ballmer. Since then, we have not seen an exciting dual-screen tablet - but that does not mean that this form is worthless.

Kno's feeling is that it has something to do well. Instead of bulky, bulky, and expensive textbooks, Kno himself is a bulky, bulky, expensive tablet. But I don't see it this way: It's really a cleverly crafted product, and although its size and cost may eventually ruin it, its revolutionary model and its unique brand can make a miracle in product recognition. The demo on TechCrunch Disrupt is also helpful. But even if it succeeds, it can only sell tens of thousands, not millions.

Recently, we have also seen some strange designs, such as the Iconia Touchbook. This product ultimately gives people the impression that they are thankless on both sides. Sony’s S2, which we just started today, seems to be more promising, and we will do more in-depth discussion in the next “game tablet” chapter.

The current problem seems to be only a technical issue, not a design issue. The width, weight, and cost of two separate displays mean that the tablet will not be able to compete on price. In addition, the lack of a dual-screen optimization program means that the benefits it can obtain are extremely limited. When technical problems are solved, thin and light, and collapsible devices are no longer so expensive, then software will follow. Before that, it was impossible.

Gaming Tablets

Manufacturers companies have always boasted in their own way the strength of their particular brand of games. It does not matter, they are just for NVIDIA's Tegra team (Apple exception, its A5 processor and conventional different) hawkers. In fact, in the last two years, these low-power chips used in mobile phones and tablets have changed from weak anemia to true modern 3D powerhouses. Typical examples are Unreal Engine and Infinity Blade.

But can tablets really focus on the gaming experience? Sony put its bets on the PlayStation-branded S1 and S2 tablets, and both of them can have exclusive access to certain Sony content, although the quality of these content is far from being guaranteed (think PS1). The real players - the target customers of this tablet, are hard to attract from the platforms they choose. In their hearts, Vita and 3DS components are heavier.

The problem of control immediately appeared. Although tablet computers are very good for certain types of games, they are really bad for others. Now the most popular "real-life" game is shooting, even if the real game player will tell you that controlling the tablet is terrible. Joysticks and the like may help a little, but it doesn't have the relevant standards, and the control settings for different games vary greatly.

Yes, the unique gaming experience of any tablet is not likely to be the unique experience of gaming tablets. Games like Plants vs. Zombies or Angry Birds: They're great on a tablet, but it's not limited to a particular game setting. But as the game type expands beyond casual games, this situation may change in the future, and we see more and more mainstream players playing on the tablet, but at the same time, the benefits of the so-called gaming tablet are still unrealistic. Ethereal.

Industrial/Forest Tablets (Rugged/Field Tablets)

We have written several times about how the iPad has been used in medical and educational institutions. This is mainly due to taking the lead in the market, and a large number of dedicated applications. But the market has always had room for industrial equipment. The Matsushita Toughbook product line may be the most familiar. The military has recently been clamoring for standard smart phones or tablets that need to be easy to use, and you have to believe that they need to be more than just ordinary. My Otterbox is fine, but it has no bulletproof vest.

Once things have stabilized, I estimate that iOS will lose favor, especially in these circumstances - Google promotes scalability on Android for this purpose, and Windows 8 incorporates Microsoft's famous / notorious compatibility. When your hospital has a record as far back as Windows 3.1, you just want to be able to modernize it without asking a team. At this point, Windows looks more attractive.

Unfortunately, toughness comes at the expense of cost. Although consumers may like a waterproof phone like Defy, they will never pay extra for MIL-SPEC hardening for home-use tablets.

Stylus-powered Tablets

Steve Jobs is wise in handwriting disdain on a finger-optimized mobile operating system. But the benefits of easily repelling pen input are less clever. Without them, it will feel awkward. But they can provide greater precision, they support fast and complex gestures, multiple "click" types, and other things are also facts - these things, admittedly, are completely unsuitable for the iPhone.

I recently observed the HTC Flyer. To be honest: I don't like it. Or, I think it is like a very interesting progress, but it is only suitable for the laboratory. I think it has potential, but I think it's too difficult to design a touch and pen interface. However, "Courier" (at least in its demo video) seems to indicate that if you do enough work, you can make it work.

Tablets may require stylus support if they are used on innovative or enterprise-level (as opposed to consumer) hands. Fingertips are great for touching icons, but not so good for writing words, editing photos, and videos. A large and complex compilation system is needed to determine where your thumb touches the screen, and the stylus needs to change the entire interface.

I expect to see a well-made niche product - a tablet for creation - before the breakthrough in consumer products, perhaps through cooperation between Wacom, Sony and even Adobe. You can relax the surface of the stylus to another computer (such as Bamboo), but you can also run it independently and provide some powerful tools that support standard MIDI, video, data sharing, and drawing program interfaces.

At this time, Window 8 appeared again: if the interface is good enough, the stylus can be a mouse replacement. Windows 7 has integrated some touch controls, but they are only a compromise, not a real tool. Microsoft's handwriting recognition is excellent, but if they can successfully integrate their Surface, Metro and Windows IP, you can see a real multi-function module in mid-2012.

The conclusion that the time has not yet arrived here seems to be that large-scale market penetration and hardware limitations are the most serious obstacles for special tablet computers. The demand cannot be large enough to be a successful niche product. This is a question of "chicken or egg first" because if there is no niche you can't produce a niche product, but if you don't produce it there's no niche at all - but the solution to this contradiction is Little time.

Once the tablet sales volume has grown from 2 million to 3 million units to 10 million units, you will naturally start to see user-based product alienation, not just in 3G or 64G.

The difference will also be similar to the difference between a desktop computer and a laptop computer: someone who wants a laptop computer and a person who only wants to use a laptop computer to do X things and does not need to do Y things. The market stratification will be very obvious, and the price zone is basically locked at 500 US dollars, 750 US dollars, 1,000 US dollars and 1600-2000 US dollars each file.

Tablet PC pricing range will not be great, but in a year or two, you can buy a basic Android tablet for $250, a luxury version or an iPad for $500, and $750 for To a special tablet with stylus, dual screen, high resolution screen. Professionals will be happy to pay for full-HD screens, real pen-pin interfaces, and the ability to do a live photo or video editing device.

Time is not the will of the individual, it depends on many things. Will Amazon launch Android's e-reader? Will Apple release an ultra-high resolution iPad Pro? Or Samsung? Will OEMs stop producing tablets of the same specifications for a little dignity? Or will Apple diversify and expand?

In any case, as long as people do not think about what the tablet can do, how it adapts to the existing ecosystem, you will not see these interesting things happen. Instead, you will only see something immature lying on the shelf, and gaining false praise from technology writers. As time permits, you can expect quite a few final weapon launches, but you may also see (if you are) that companies such as HTC and Sony may learn something and reuse it.