With the launch of the iPadon April 3 in the U.S., Apple gives a new chance to terminals in the form of slate, this time with Internet usage and digital tactile as serious advantages. Has the era of digital tablets really come? It’s possible. In any case, by introducing the iPad, Apple is seriously relaunching the concept . The product is not revolutionary. It merely reproduces the innovations of the iPhone, the famous brand of phone, on a large 9.6 inch screen and enhances playback features of digital books . It aims to extend the home tactile use experience , the Internet and digital mobile situation created by Smartphones. Being 20 years old, the concept of digital pad failed twice.
One of the first products, the GridPad, was marketed in 1990 by the company Grid Systems. Apple also assisted in this first wave in bringing on the market the Newton. Too expensive with recognition for poor handwriting, lack of application software … These products, although revolutionary for their time, have not brought the expected success. Just as the TabletPC launched to great fanfare by Microsoft in 2001. At the time, Bill Gates believes that the PC in its traditional format is close to completion, ready to give make room on shelves for other products.
The TabletPC is then designed as a versatile device capable of being transformed into slate or laptop as needed. All computer manufacturers are continuing with several other generations of products. But the market remains stubborn, always impervious to the concept. According to the research firm IDC, the TabletPC in 2009 represents only 1% of the total amount of products found on the PC market. She is now confined to niche applications for input data while standing on rugged terminals built by specialists such as Intermec and Motion Computing. The deal changes today. The Internet has invaded our lives. Electronic communication to e-commerce, through the consultation of information, the consumption of music, viewing photos or watching videos on demand, digital uses have all become common things. Many people want to access the Internet easily and conveniently at home.
The iPad has something magical: the ergonomics of its interface, making its technology painless. I am convinced of its success. It will ramp up digital domestic uses, like the iPhone did for the mobile Internet, “predicts Xavier Paulik, CEO Tiki’labs, a start-up in Paris working on the ergonomics of tactile interfaces. Moreover, the iPad is presented by Steve Jobs, not as a variation of the micro-computer, but as a simple terminal access to digital services at home. It benefits the entire ecosystem that has made the success of iPods and the iPhone phone. It already provides access to 140,000 online applications available today on Apple Store AppStore.
If all the attention is not paid to the iPad, other products will be discovered on market shelves. The products fall into three families. Built with owners of key technologies, including the processor, which is new for Apple, the iPad has a special place. The retail version on April 3 for 499 to $ 699 depending on memory capacity (from 16 to 64 GB) has only a Wi-Fi connection with 3G version will arrive in late April for $ 130 extra. The second family uses the PC architecture, with an Intel or AMD processor and Windows operating system from Microsoft. The Slate HP unveiled at the last CES, the big electronics show in Las Vegas general public at the beginning of the year, is a good representative. The third family inaugurates the SmartBook format, driven especially by Freescale and Qualcomm.
It relies on an ARM processor architecture and an operating system based on Linux as Andoid. It is illustrated by the Mini5 Dell which has also been introduced at CES. All these products aspire to fill the void between Smartphones and laptops.
