HP Tablet PC

The iPad is a large iPod Touch that can run iPhone apps and custom iPad apps.  It comes standard with wifi and can be purchased with 3G from AT&T.  It runs a custom iPhone OS, has no physical keyboard, and employs multi-touch touchscreen for user interaction.  Like the iPod Touch and the iPhone, the iPad does not support Flash, so despite the 1024 x 768 real estate, it won't give you a true web experience like you get on your computer.  By not supporting Flash, Apple continues to exert its dictatorial control over every aspect of the technology experience.  With the iPad, Apple wants to expand its dominance over content distribution as it did with the iPod and iPhone:  first it was music, then proprietary applications, and now magazines, newspapers, and textbooks.   It is more a competitor to Amazon's Kindle than a traditional Tablet PC since it is not a full computer.  Microsoft and the OEMs invented Tablet computing back in 2001 with Windows XP Tablet edition, and they are still produced today with multitouch enabled Windows 7.  These expensive computers never caught on with the general public and are mostly a niche product.

The iPad (I can't stop giggling over this ridiculous name) is a new category of portable electronic device, and Apple's first misstep in a long time.  I'm sure it will initially sell in big numbers due to Apple's marketing genius and their enthusiastic customer base, but I can't imagine this device being a huge success.  The iPad is too big to be carried as a smartphone, and if you're going to carry a device in a case then why not just buy a netbook or light laptop?

I think the iPad  will be a flop in the long-term, but I could be wrong.  Apple hasn't made many mistakes over the past few years.  They have thrived in the Great Recession selling million of iPhones, gaining PC market share, and posting huge profits, so they must know what they're doing, right?  Not this time.  The iPad will be about as successful as Apple TV and the Mac Mini.

Overall, my impression of the iPad: "meh."   It is not the revolutionary product that I have become accustomed to seeing from Apple.  I think Lenovo is closer to being on the right track with the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid Notebook (kinda rolls off the tongue, doesn't it.  Sheesh.)  The U1 is a Windows 7 netbook with a removable 'slate' computer, but even this, while cool, still seems like a answer to a question that nobody asked.

Sony Vaio L-Series

Microsoft is making a big mistake.  They have a great deal of amazing technology, but they are keeping it all a secret from the public.  It's not just Microsoft.  Many tech companies are failing to market their products effectively.  It's not that they don't advertise, but they don't produce the right type of advertising, and in some cases, not enough.

Last week, two friends and I took a trip to the mall for lunch.  After a quick bite at the food court, we strolled the mall and hit the usual spots.  We stopped in the Apple store, browsed the over-priced gadget stores, and popped our heads into SonyStyle.  Among the huge and brilliant LCDs sat an all-in-one Sony Vaio desktop computer, similar in function to an iMac but with a industrial look.

The Sony Vaio L-Series computer is an all-in-one desktop computer with a multi-touch touchscreen display and Windows 7.  Prices range from $1200 to $2000, but the one we played with had these specs:

• 24 inch HD touchscreen monitor
• Quad-core processor
• 6 GBs of RAM
• Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
• 1/2 TB Hard drive
• BluRay
• Windows 7 64-bit
• TV Tuner with Remote

We explored the outstanding Windows 7 multi-touch features and admired the sleek hardware.  Then we happened upon an application called Microsoft Surface Globe.  We were blown away.  We carried on like kids in a candy store as we tilted and rotated the globe, zoomed down to street level, and viewed New York then Orlando then the Mall in which we were standing all in 3D and all without a mouse.  The multi-touch display and software worked effortlessly.  All the while, we kept asking each other why we didn't know about this.  Why didn't Sony and Microsoft produce a simple commercial demonstrating this computer and software?  And then one of said it.  "You know, sort of like Apple does."

Apple will someday release a multi-touch iMac and MacBook, and the world will gasp!  Apple will flood the airwaves with straight-forward advertising in which the super-cool iMac Touch is put through its paces.  The New York Times and CNN.com will run the story on their homepages.  The general public will assume that Apple invented the multi-touch computer.  And God bless them!  Why shouldn't they push their products?

The multi-touch computer is but one example.  Below is a very incomplete list of products that I almost never see advertised.  I guess I'll have to spread the word for Microsoft, et al., since they are too busy making high-concept "I'm a PC" adverts.

• Microsoft Surface
• SanDisk Sansa Clip
• Bing Maps Beta
• Photosynth
• HP TouchSmart PC

This is just a small sampling of products off the top of my head that deserve better marketing.  I have a passion for tech, so I will be on the tech blogs reading about these and other products, but why would major tech firms not want to be  in the public's mind with Apple?  Speaking of Apple, I can't wait for Apple to release its long-rumored 'slate' computer.  I hear they invented a new type of computer called the 'tablet'!  Why didn't Microsoft and the PC OEMs think of something like this years ago?  Kinda makes you wonder...