[NTLK] OT: Mossberg gives thumbs up to iPad

Matt Howe matthowe at comcast.net
Fri Apr 2 21:23:47 EDT 2010


I try to stay out of the Apple vs. Microsoft discussions as my views are a
bit heretical for this group but I repeatedly see the same comment here that
is inaccurate. It appears to be the opinion of some people in the group here
that MS tablets are not in demand. That is simply not true. Granted the
casual user does not run down to the big box store and buy one but there is
a large amount of commercial and technical software designed around tablet
PC's. Ever taken a survey at Disney? What are they carrying in their hands?
Years ago it was a MP2000 now days it is a tablet PC. The company that I
work for makes software for the alarm industry. One of our add ons is
software that allows a service technician to access the database in the
field and collect signatures from the customer. We had built this add on
around the Pocket PC/Windows Mobile devices. But at the last show we brought
out our tablet PC version due in part to user demand. It was the star of the
show. Many alarm companies already equip their technicians with tablets for
field work and programming alarm systems. Now they need only carry one
device. New companies were fascinated by the larger size and expandability
over the Pocket PC's. And although I know it is fiction, every procedural
show out there has a geek walking around with a handheld touch screen
computer controlling the office screens and databases, that handheld is a
tablet PC.

Also as a side note, every tablet PC we have in the office for testing and
development has a camera built in.

And finally, I spent all of today working on a portal allowing iPhone users
with our App to access data from our database. So it seems to be coming down
to managerial types want iPhone access. Technicians in the field want and
need tablet PC's.

Matt (Ducky) Howe
Owner of a MP2000U and an Emate
SantaMatt at Gmail.com (Nokia N770)
matthowe at comcast.net (Desktop)
http://home.comcast.net/~mhowe41/
http://SantaMatt.blogspot.com

Ryan wrote:
<snip>
Microsoft has flat out failed in the tablet PC market.  Everything they have
done in that space has failed to take root with consumers.  Therefore, I
wouldn't be too concerned if I were you about what they are doing with what
still is an imaginary product: the courier.

Like I said, I wouldn't say no to a camera, but you won't see people walking
around taking pictures and video with a giant pancake that is the iPad when
they can do it with much smaller devices like a digital camera or a
smartphone.
<snip>




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