Cost of personal genome sequencing plummeting: currently $48k (down from $2mil) and expected to be $5k soon http://bit.ly/CGP3r
Five Reasons Cheap Tablets will be 2009-2010’s Netbook
by Eric Sheline - March 24th, 2009. Filed under: feature.
Tablet computers (or Mobile Internet Devices - MID - etc.) will probably be the next hot device in tech. Here are five reasons why:
- The price is right. Tablet computers are definitely nothing new. However, they have usually come in one of two forms: affordable, but without full computer functionality (such as the Nokia N800 series), or fully functional computers that are also fully priced (such as the IBM/Lenovo X-Series convertibles). Netbooks have recently proven that computers powerful enough for everyday tasks can now be small and cheap (<$300). All that is needed for a good “Internet Tablet” style device is a touchscreen — preferably a nicer capacitive model like the iPhone uses (no styluses, please).
- Data is in the cloud. Previously, users who had a second computing device like a tablet may have had to carry data on physical media, such as a USB flash drive. The dual-device user would also have to be sure their documents and bookmarks were constantly in sync across their devices. Now, using services like IMAP with mail, Google Docs for documents, and Foxmarks for bookmarks, users can seamlessly use whatever device they want while maintaining continuity.
- Phones aren’t quite there yet. Though there is little doubt that eventually phones will fill this niche as well as all the other ones they are beginning to dominate (GPS, camera, etc.), for the time being they can’t. The main reason is screen size. To have a fully satisfactory web browsing experience, you need a bare minimum 800 pixel horizontal resolution, with 1024 horizontal pixels being the preferred minimum. Mobile phones won’t get that without pixel packing (ruining readability), larger screen size (ruining pocketability) or experimental technology like fold-out or roll-out screens (not available yet).
- Netbooks aren’t made for the couch (or bed). Netbooks are great, and have proven very popular in the marketplace. However, they are still laptops, and a laptop is an imperfect form factor for the casual web browsing these upcoming tablets are made for. For someone who already owns a laptop, all a netbook would do is provide a smaller, lighter option for computing. A net tablet could provide many consumers a whole new form factor for information consumption, allowing activities like online shopping and RSS feed reading to be less cumbersome when not seated at a desk.
- The iPhone provided the gateway drug. Nearly two years ago, the iPhone’s launch created a tremendous beachhead for other touch interface devices to follow. Though touchscreens are actually quite old, the technology seems to have finally reached maturation with refinements like capacitive screens and multitouch interfaces. The combination of that maturation with a popular device like the iPhone has led to a critical mass that will increase the demand for all touch interface devices.
If this prediction proves to be correct, it will be very interesting to see the outcome! Devices like Amazon’s Kindle will certainly be given some stiff competition. Even though its e-ink display is superior for reading, consumers will not want to buy two $300 tablet-style devices, and will simply choose the more functional one.
Another interesting outcome will be the ongoing rise of the touchscreen. Even though the touchscreen is already completely dominating the mobile phone market, there is still significant room for the interface’s expansion into other device categories.
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