Summary: Beyond specific verticals and specialized jobs,
tablets are facing a usage problem with business professionals. They
aren't winning as companion devices or convertibles, as we discuss in
this week's Monday Morning Opener.
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| Image: iStockphoto |
I'm packing for a business trip and once again the game of "do I pack
the tablet?" starts anew. I need the laptop for work, need the
smartphone because it's the one thing you can't leave home without and
add the Kindle because the screen is easy on the eyes for reading. Does
the tablet go along for the ride?
Increasingly, the answer is no.
The tablet is fun for consumption and that may work for many folks. But
it's hard to argue the tablet—the 7-inch to 10-inch variety—is a tweener
device. Tablets aren't quite mobile enough and not quite productive
enough. Tablets are companion devices when I increasingly want to vote a
device or two off the island.
To date, I haven't quite found that convergence device, but it's pretty
clear the tablet isn't it. For a tablet to be a convergence device you
may need a keyboard, a smartcover of some sort, and maybe a few
adapters. Add it up and all you've done is cobble together an ultrabook
or MacBook Air.
I recently sat through an overview of the HP ElitePad 1000, which is
billed as a total business solution. The ElitePad has a bunch of
accessories—smart jackets, battery, adapters, covers, docking stations
and other goodies to turn this tablet into an enterprise IT powerhouse.
Derek Everett, director of worldwide product management for commercial
Windows tablets at HP, was explaining to me how "not one size fits all
with tablets." ElitePad is certainly flexible. But I had to interrupt
him with: "At what point do you say screw all of this and just buy a
laptop?"
Everett explained that certainly some people see tablets as a companion
device. Others see tablets as notebook replacements. However, I'd argue
most of us don't see them as either.
And that's the problem. For some business cases—sales, marketing, and
customer service come to mind—a tablet is fine. For the rest of us,
tablets have a few issues.
The larger issue is that the so-called convertible movement—tweener
laptops and tablets—hasn't delivered that business home run yet. So for
now, the tablet is voted out of the backpack. You can only lug around so
much.
~ Larry Dignan
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