As the deadlines pass for the WIFI and 3G models of the iPad and the frenzy over these devices continues to mount, one begins to wonder what all the fuss is about. Is the iPad the beginning of a new wave of mobile computing or just a fad? To answer this question, one needs to look at the mobile computing market as a whole.
Currently, netbooks are peaking in the market at about 7% market share. Market analysts believe that the netbook market will level off at this point and will continue to do well. This is a signal of its limited abilities and it’s specific design purpose. I recently purchased a netbook for my wife and she loves it as it is lightweight and portable and makes surfing the web anywhere in the house relatively easy. The drawback to netbooks is that these tasks are about the only thing they are good for. They cannot handle more complex or strenuous programs to run effectively.
Laptops still make up the largest part of the market in terms of mobile computers and also have the widest variety of models, types, and specifications. Laptops provide interested users with a wide variety of price ranges and capabilities. The most volatile part of the laptop market lies in the price range of $500-$900, having a wide variety of capabilities. Still the laptop’s primary drawback is its portability in relationship to other mobile devices. It does serve a purpose in that it can perform a great number of complex tasks and is able to handle most software needs depending on the system configuration, however this power is also the reason for the aforementioned drawback. This leads us to a new segment of mobile technology introduced by Apple.
It’s been called a tablet, slate, pad, and a number of other terms as the new market has developed. For the sake of simplicity, we will refer to touch-screen computers such as the iPad tablets. Apple has long been known to operate at the forefront of technology when it comes to innovation and the creation of new markets. With over a million iPads sold in a little under a month, it seems Apple may have hit gold again and with it, a whole new emergence of a market segment that was previously nonexistent. The tablet PC defies the common thought that people will gravitate towards faster, smaller computers. While the processors are smaller, they are not faster than most laptops. So what makes them so popular? Tablets are configured to deal primarily with media (audio and video) which is increasingly becoming portable. This is because your favorite movies, games, books, audio, and other forms of media are all going digital. Therefore, it only makes sense that people would want a device which brings these digital media formats to their fingertips.
So, once again, we are brought back to the age-old question. Which one should I get? The response remains the same, it always depends on your own personal needs. If you are looking for portable entertainment, you should go with a slate device. If you are looking for a portable workhorse, you should look to a laptop. The iPad is the next step in mobile computing as can be seen by its tremendous sales. While this is the case, I strongly recommend that you wait to purchase new technology for at least 6 months while they works the bugs out and competition can bring more devices to the market.
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