This year, while waiting for my flight to be called at JFK on my way to CES 2011, I amused myself by trying to count the number of iPads that I saw being poked at by my fellow passengers. I only counted five -- I thought on a flight to CES, I'd count at least 10 -- but it was still pretty much an indication of the popularity of the form.
What I haven't seen, though, now that I've sat in on two or three press conferences, is anyone sitting typing on their iPad. Poking at it, yes -- checking notes, checking e-mail, going to the vendor's Web site in order to try to get a five-minute lead on the info. But most of the journalists who are sitting with devices on their laps taking notes -- some of whom, I suspect, have iPads in their backpacks -- are doing it on keyboards.
(I did see one person tapping with her index finger on an iPad onscreen keyboard during an Audiovox press conference, but it didn't look like she was getting very far.)
There is a reason for this. People who are actively doing work -- writing letters, taking notes, composing documents -- need to do it in print. Literacy means both reading and writing, and the faster you can do the latter, the more information you can impart.
Which is why I sat up during the Asus press conference yesterday, when company representatives introduced their contributions to the 100 or so tablets that are being presented at CES this year. Of the four tablets that ASUS introduced, at least one -- the ASUS Eee Pad Slider -- comes with an attached keyboard; the others were described with strong emphasis on either their ability to accept written input via a stylus or offer a connection to a Bluetooth keyboard. Samsung also has a keyboard-equipped tablet coming out: the Sliding PC 7 series, whose introduction garnered the first round of applause from a full room of tired journalists and bloggers.
Even smartphones are getting full-sized keyboards. Motorola's upcoming Atrix 4G will pair with a laptop-like docking station with a display and a keyboard.
Now, tablets with keyboards are nothing new. Certainly, there have been combined notebook/tablets out for years; I remember seeing a couple during a Microsoft workshop on their upcoming Windows Vista OS back when Vista was the Next Big Thing. But those tablets were bigger, heavier, and largely pushed at a business crowd (or graphics professionals). Today's tablets are built for the consumer market --they are lighter, more stylish, and are more concentrated on entertainment. But now, the companies that are so eagerly trying to complete with the iPad are doing so partially by adding more keyboard capability.
Because of that, for the first time, I may actually start listening to those who say that tablets may one day take the space that notebooks hold now. As long as some of those tablets offer the capability to input text quickly, efficiently, and easily.
In other words -- as long as they have convenient, attachable keyboards.
[Note: My colleague Robert Mitchell has described the possible disappearance of the keyboard in his current article
What I haven't seen, though, now that I've sat in on two or three press conferences, is anyone sitting typing on their iPad. Poking at it, yes -- checking notes, checking e-mail, going to the vendor's Web site in order to try to get a five-minute lead on the info. But most of the journalists who are sitting with devices on their laps taking notes -- some of whom, I suspect, have iPads in their backpacks -- are doing it on keyboards.
(I did see one person tapping with her index finger on an iPad onscreen keyboard during an Audiovox press conference, but it didn't look like she was getting very far.)
There is a reason for this. People who are actively doing work -- writing letters, taking notes, composing documents -- need to do it in print. Literacy means both reading and writing, and the faster you can do the latter, the more information you can impart.
Which is why I sat up during the Asus press conference yesterday, when company representatives introduced their contributions to the 100 or so tablets that are being presented at CES this year. Of the four tablets that ASUS introduced, at least one -- the ASUS Eee Pad Slider -- comes with an attached keyboard; the others were described with strong emphasis on either their ability to accept written input via a stylus or offer a connection to a Bluetooth keyboard. Samsung also has a keyboard-equipped tablet coming out: the Sliding PC 7 series, whose introduction garnered the first round of applause from a full room of tired journalists and bloggers.
Even smartphones are getting full-sized keyboards. Motorola's upcoming Atrix 4G will pair with a laptop-like docking station with a display and a keyboard.
Now, tablets with keyboards are nothing new. Certainly, there have been combined notebook/tablets out for years; I remember seeing a couple during a Microsoft workshop on their upcoming Windows Vista OS back when Vista was the Next Big Thing. But those tablets were bigger, heavier, and largely pushed at a business crowd (or graphics professionals). Today's tablets are built for the consumer market --they are lighter, more stylish, and are more concentrated on entertainment. But now, the companies that are so eagerly trying to complete with the iPad are doing so partially by adding more keyboard capability.
Because of that, for the first time, I may actually start listening to those who say that tablets may one day take the space that notebooks hold now. As long as some of those tablets offer the capability to input text quickly, efficiently, and easily.
In other words -- as long as they have convenient, attachable keyboards.
[Note: My colleague Robert Mitchell has described the possible disappearance of the keyboard in his current article
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