In the past year it seems that everyone is coming out with their own mobile platform to get a slice of the mobile device market. The release of iPhone in 2007 has certainly reinvigorated the space long dominated by Symbol (Now Motorola), Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS and RIM’s Blackberry.
Hardware manufacturers have been keen to find the next evolution beyond the phone and PDA. It’s ironic that it took Apple’s iPhone to renew interest in a segment that was hyped as far back as 2004 by Bill Gates who famously evangelized the platform. You might recall a variety of hardware partners such as HP and Toshiba launching tablet PCs. Unfortunately, reception was lukewarm at best due. Whether it was due to an OS that wasn’t optimized for tablets or the high prices, the segment never took off. Today, it’s a different story.
The rumor mill is abuzz about Apple coming out with their own tablet and each day there are more fantastic rumors which are creating such a frenzy that mainstream media has picked up on them. The iPad / iTablet is joining the ranks of the Lock Ness Monster and Bigfoot.
Whereas in 2004 Bill Gates had to educate and promote the tablet concept, five years later, people are fascinated with the platform and its potential. Let’s take a collective deep breath however and get past the quest for gadget nirvana. What is the use case for a tablet beyond?
Where the Smartphone or PDA is the digital equivalent of a Post-it note, the tablet replaces the paper-forms of a field-worker. Big enough to show relevant information in a convenient lay-out; mobile enough to carry around.
Important questions of course are how the devices will deal with Battery life, connectivity, if they offer instant–on, cost, etc… If this all is better than the Phones that we currently use, tablets might have a future. It is good to know that Navara not only works on all important PDA platforms, it also runs on tablets.
Tags: hardware, hardware Navara, tablets, tablets Navara