The Tablet Device Rush
There has been a deluge of tablet devices recently, so much so that the iPad feels ever more late to the game by the day.
Lesser known brands such as Archos have 5″, 7″ and even 9″ parts these days, while the major manufacturers are just jumping into the game (HP Slate?). Microsoft has it’s various incarnations, which may or may not ever see the light of day, as does Dell. There is no shortage of options for a person in the market for a 5″-9″ tablet.
Taking a step back, the common theme among them seems to be the level of abstraction provided by the operating system. iPad is a glorified iPhone/iTouch. Most of Archos’ fare, and many others, are Android based and suffer the same fate. We’re approaching a time where these internet connected tablet devices could become as ubiquitous as smart phones, but based on contrived iPhone-like operating systems. Personally, I prefer a full fledged PC-like device, and had high hopes for the iPad only to watch them dashed upon its announcement when I learned what the OS would be. For most consumers, these interfaces are fine, and they probably won’t realize what they’re missing out on. I however can’t help but feeling they’ll be nothing more than toys. I want a full fledged device like the Axiotron ModBook, in a smaller iPad-esque tablet form factor, at a reasonable price (I’d part with $800-$1000 depending on specs). Sadly, none of the near term devices will be anything I’m interested in beyond a toy. Which brings me to the zenPad. A friend pointed out the zenPad recently, and my initial surprise at the low price point has begun to fade in light of the many negative comments and potential shadiness of the seller. If the zenPad does pan out (I’m happy to let others test those waters… too good to be true = too good to be true), that would be a good thing, but I’m not holding my breath. At $155, it’s even in the price range of a tech toy, in contrast to the roughly $300 price range of similar sized devices. At the higher price point, it’s a hard sell as a play device, but at $155 ? you betcha! play on! It’d even make for an awesome Android development platform.