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SALT LAKE CITY -- Why is the iPad selling well while other tablet computers haven't really caught on? Some techies say the other computers were more like regular laptops with a tablet feature, and they weren't really designed specifically as a tablet.
Tech analyst Gregg Stebben says, "Microsoft basically took a version of Windows, made some modifications so you can do things on the screen and said, ‘Oh, now it's a tablet.'"
Stebben says this led to one big problem. "You ended up never using the tablet feature and you just used it as a normal notebook computer," he explains.
But the upcoming Slate from HP could be a healthy competitor for the iPad. Stebben says the Slate has things the iPad doesn't.
"It has a camera. It has video capability. It will enable you to go to websites with Adobe Flash [player] and actually see the stuff there in Flash that is there for you to see," he says.
The Slate also has USB ports so users can plug in external memory.
"These are all things that are not in the iPad and the kind of things that a lot of people look at and say, ‘Well, without these, the iPad is a nonstarter for me," Stebben says.
But Apple is way ahead in the apps market, and that may be what drives people to the iPad. Stebben says apps are, in many cases, easier to make and cheaper to buy than regular computer programs.
However, there is one thing you should think of before you buy an iPad or any other tablet computer. Stebben says these devices really don't have the hard drive capabilities that regular notebooks have. They may not give you what you're looking for if you plan to use them as a replacement for your regular computer.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
