There is a huge gap between a laptop and a smart phone. And the gap is getting bigger.
The UMPC is supposed to fill in the gap but it seems very unlikely now. The price point is not right (Sony UMPC or Samsung Q1). It is too slow and the target audience is not clear either. It is like anything can go wrong with the UMPC went wrong.
What is not right about the laptop? Not much actually. It is just a little too big to be carried around all the time, and it costs a little extra outside the comfort zone for every member in a family to own one. For most families, the laptop is used by daddy and mommy to continue working on what is not done in the office or to manage household accounting. It is really used as a workstation. How about a second computer for entertainment and education? A desktop would cost less. But it takes too much space for most homes on this planet, except for those in the North America. Besides, you cannot carry a desktop around. How about a smart phone? No, it just doesn't cut it. The screen and the keyboard are too small. For the foreseeable future, the smart phone will remain as a contingency device.
So we need something cheap with a form factor between a 12-inch-screen laptop and a smart phone. It is a huge gap. It is a product that can have the profit margin falls between that of a laptop PC and a smart phone. This device will be a mobile device for Internet, like a TV set for TV programs and movies. It will be a device for personal email, photo, video, music, instant messaging, learning, and of course, Internet browsing.
Will the TV set become the family Internet device? It is very possible, but it will happen later than the tablet device. It still takes another year or two for the technology to ripe. But it will take a while after that for the price to be palatable. Furthermore, the frequency of replacing TV is slower too.
The UMPC is supposed to fill in the gap but it seems very unlikely now. The price point is not right (Sony UMPC or Samsung Q1). It is too slow and the target audience is not clear either. It is like anything can go wrong with the UMPC went wrong.
What is not right about the laptop? Not much actually. It is just a little too big to be carried around all the time, and it costs a little extra outside the comfort zone for every member in a family to own one. For most families, the laptop is used by daddy and mommy to continue working on what is not done in the office or to manage household accounting. It is really used as a workstation. How about a second computer for entertainment and education? A desktop would cost less. But it takes too much space for most homes on this planet, except for those in the North America. Besides, you cannot carry a desktop around. How about a smart phone? No, it just doesn't cut it. The screen and the keyboard are too small. For the foreseeable future, the smart phone will remain as a contingency device.
So we need something cheap with a form factor between a 12-inch-screen laptop and a smart phone. It is a huge gap. It is a product that can have the profit margin falls between that of a laptop PC and a smart phone. This device will be a mobile device for Internet, like a TV set for TV programs and movies. It will be a device for personal email, photo, video, music, instant messaging, learning, and of course, Internet browsing.
Will the TV set become the family Internet device? It is very possible, but it will happen later than the tablet device. It still takes another year or two for the technology to ripe. But it will take a while after that for the price to be palatable. Furthermore, the frequency of replacing TV is slower too.
There are prototypes and products showing up in the market. Take a look at OLPC XO 2.0 and Asus Eee PC. I wonder when Apple will release its "iTablet". It is just a matter of time.
