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Gates Reiterates Support for Tablet PCs
Elizabeth Millard, newsfactor.com
Tue Jun 28, 1:16 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20050628/bs_nf/36867

Despite sluggish adoption rates and indifference from mainstream consumers, the tablet PC still has a chance to succeed, noted Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) chairman Bill Gates.



In a joint press conference with Toshiba (PNK: TOSBF.BK), Gates said that there should be continued investment in both the hardware and software sides of tablet computing.

Microsoft and Toshiba are collaborating on several projects, including tablet PC platforms that are based on the upcoming release of Longhorn.

"I totally believe in the tablet," Gates said at the conference.

Continued Devotion

Gates first showed off a prototype of a tablet PC in 2001, a year before its official launch, and predicted then that it would be the most popular form of PC sold in the U.S.

Although there was a flurry of interest following the tablet's launch, that interest did not translate into sales.

Tablets accounted for only about 2 percent of the global portable PC market in 2004, according to IDC, which noted that adoption of the technology will continue to be slower than anticipated.

Tablet PCs are the same as regular PCs in most respects, except their screens are touch-sensitive and they sometimes don't have keyboards, requiring instead that their users rely on a stylus for text input.

New Spark

Interest in tablet PCs was rekindled somewhat in early June when Lenovo announced it would be releasing the Thinkpad X41 Tablet.

Microsoft immediately declared its support, and noted that it would provide the machine's operating system.

The X41 will include the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, which has an enhanced security infrastructure and increased manageability, according to Microsoft.

Broad Appeal

In rolling out the X41, Lenovo and Microsoft expressed optimism that the tablet platform could be broadened to appeal to more users.

It is a sentiment that has been expressed many times in the past by various manufacturers and software providers, as tablet PC vendors look to expand the hardware's reach.

Currently, tablet PCs tend to be used only in vertical markets like real estate and health care, which have particular emphasis on workforce mobility. Whether a renewed focus from Microsoft will change its market presence remains to be seen.

"Tablet PCs have gone through many iterations, but many mainstream consumers still aren't interested," said IDC analyst Roger Kay. "There are some great models out there, but for now the technology will stay with its niche buyers."

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