Tablets: The next big thing or corporate obsession?

Tablet PC’s or reading devices like the iPad are probably the next corporate obsessions. Since the launch of iPad, there have been several announcements, rumors and buzz trails pointing towards global majors and some innovative startups working on similar devices.

Notion Inc

The first to hit the beeline was Notion Inc’s Adam, which has caught tremendous attention all over the web, since its clandestine introduction at the Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona. CEO of Notion Inc Rohan Shravan recently stated, “After the evolution of desktops, laptops and notebooks, the next innovation is going to be a complete touchscreen you can write on. And, we thought we needed to take the first step. It took us a year to come up with the design, requirements and proposed technologies to make this device a reality.”

Dell

The next buzz was from the stable of Dell and was christened Dell Streak. A hybrid device positioned in the space between a smartphone, tablets or a netbook or may be a convergence of all of them. The device would feature on a Android platform and the launch doesn’t seem to far away.

HP

Now its turn of HP, which has recently applied trademark for ‘Palmpad’. Straight after the acquisition of Palm, Palmpad is speculated to be powered by webOs, which many believe will be the platform of new phones and other mobile devices coming from HP. Palmpad is also expected to feature a front-facing camera, USB ports and other things that are lacking from the Apple iPad.

Samsung

Samsung announced that it is also coming up with a tablet device. As per the little information available, the upcoming Android-powered tablet will sport a 7-inch display. Now this is a smart strategy that places it right between the 5-inch Dell Streak and the almost 10-inch Apple iPad. Looking to snag early adopters, Samsung is getting into the game slightly ahead of its local rival LG by launching its tablet in the third quarter of 2010

The argument

This list is not comprehensive and ignores many other similar initiatives taking place in other parts of the world. But I want to draw your attention to the corporate strategy behind all these developments. It is certain that all these global behemoths have realized potential in this segment and thus are investing into developing revolutionary concepts such as those mentioned above.

But the main question is whether the consumers are willing to indulge into the lure of such devices?

From a pure utility perspective, these products are nothing but a re-bundled combination of features that exist in some product or the other. While convergence is an obvious argument that you may put forward but isn’t it hard to justify so many products into the category plainly on account of convergence? From the looks of it, it seems to be a “Me too” game happening here. I thought those geniuses from Japan would support my argument but Businessweek and PC World have cited a possible launch on Android from Sony too. It seems I am finished saying what I wanted to and now its time to urge you to do the same.

Let’s see what you have to say. Do express your views in the comments… That is what keeps us going.