MS Global Strategy Chief: Tablets Are a Fad 643
jfruhlinger writes "Wondering why Microsoft isn't jumping into the red-hot tablet market? Well, maybe it's because Craig Mundie, the man in charge of the company's global strategy, isn't sure if the 'big screen tablet pad category' has staying power. Of course, it's possible that tablets will go the way of the netbook, but blogger Chris Nerney calls Microsoft's seeming total inaction in the face of a hot market 'mind-boggling.'"
Re:Wait wait... "go the way of the netbook" (Score:4, Informative)
I think that "go the way of the netbook" might also refer to the razor thin margins on netbooks. Not a very profitable market to be in.
Fighting for the scraps in a race to the bottom is unlikely to be a winning strategy.
Too late to patent, many to buy (Score:3, Informative)
What I would like to see is a tablet with an attached keyboard. Let's say, a device where the tablet and keyboard are joined by a hinge, so that it can be closed while not in use.
Too late to patent since you can already buy any number [tcgeeks.com] of keyboard cases for the iPad.
What do they all have in common? They join the tablet with a keyboard in a case you can close.
Only with these you have the option to take just the screen with you if you like, unlike the ancient inflexible devices known as "laptops".
Re:Improved tablets (Score:5, Informative)
The trick is to moderate "Underrated" if the comment already has a Funny moderation. Then they get karma but keep the Funny moderation.
Wait. What? (Score:5, Informative)
Netbooks are fad?
I still use mine all the time.
Or maybe just MS netbooks were fads? Mine runs Linux.
[enjoy warm, smug glow]
Re:Possibly correct (Score:5, Informative)
Well if Mundie is correct, then his company spent the last ten years or so blowing their money on making a fad product. People seem to forget that Bill Gates himself championed their use. You can get a Windows tablet today probably. What Mundie really means to say is that Apple's vision of a tablet (which is different than MS) is a fad.
Really it sounds like sour grapes. Since 2001, MS has been trying to sell tablets. Tablets were slightly modified laptops with a stylus pen and a touch screen instead of a mouse. They never sold very well due to many factors. They were more expensive than laptops. MS never really optimized their OS for touch. They just swapped out the mouse for the stylus and called it done. They however would run Windows apps but offered few advantages over a cheaper laptop.
So here comes Apple with their tablet. Really, the iPad is just a giant iPod Touch. What MS never understood is that is what consumers wanted in a tablet. If consumers wanted laptop functionality they would have bought a laptop. What consumers wanted was a portable way of web surfing, email, etc. The laptop or MS tablet or smart phone were the only devices available. When Apple gives them another option, consumers responded and in 6 months, Apple sold more tablets than MS did in 9 years. That must burn MS.
Re:My "improved tablet" (Score:4, Informative)
The new paywall-enabled New York Times site for one. It charges differentially depend on how it's being accessed. Tablet access costs $5 more per month than does access from a mobile phone.
Bigger screen = Easier to read = Costs more