

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /nfs/c06/h07/mnt/89472/domains/ipadwatcher.com/html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 405



Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /nfs/c06/h07/mnt/89472/domains/ipadwatcher.com/html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 405

0 comments on Apr 30th, 2010 |: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable inon line

Over the last couple of months several devices have been touted as iPad competitors, some even as iPad killers. It would seem that nothing could be furthest from the truth then those first comments about several different devices. In just a couple of days we have had news that HP has moved to acquire Palm, a maker of smartphones which has put a lot of effort into creating its own mobile operating system and that Microsoft has canceled its internal development project on the dual screen mobile device that was being called Courier.

Why are these two fact so significant? Let’s start by looking at the HP acquisition of Palm… From the beginning it has been clear to me that Windows 7 just isn’t going to cut it as tablet operating system to compete with the iPad’s iPhone OS. It would seem that some people at HP recognized this fact and moved to secure a promising OS from a team with great experience in working in the mobile world and with touch interfaces, but from a company that lacked HP’s deeper pockets to be able to push harder.

This is a smart move by HP and one that may provide the missing element for HP to compete with Apple: an OS it has total control over and that can be tailored to HP’s devices. As a consequence of the move to acquire Palm and its intellectual property HP seems to have delayed the release of its Slate tablet.

Delaying the Slate makes good sense as (running Windows 7) it would be a poor competitor for the iPad and it might tarnish the brand as it moves to produce and release a device running a properly developed (from the ground up) touch-based mobile operating system. So, while it is possible that HP might still release the Windows powered Slate tablet, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for it.

Then we have Microsoft’s Courier project. This has never been more than a leaked story or rumor, a rumor that seemed to be true in essence but not in detail. It would seem that Microsoft never intended to released the Courier as a product but was instead using it as a testbed for new technologies. This is a common practice of Microsoft’s research branch. So it would seem that the Courier that some considered to be a worthy response from Microsoft to the iPad is, in the end, nothing of the sort. A pity. A company with Microsoft’s history deserves better than to just dwindle away, but that is what is going to happen if they don’t get their act together pretty soon.

There were several other devices that caught the attention of the technology media and blogs or at least a lot of rumors. One other tablet to have figured prominently in the news recently was the JooJoo, from a Singapore based company named Fusion Garage. This device which looks very good in theory got bad reviews from those that tried, as you can see if you follow the link to Engadget. There was a lot of talk about the device up till about a month ago but there was also a lot of talk about a lot of pre-orders for the device being canceled before it actually shipped. These are, however, rumors as far as I know. The JooJoo though now a shipping product doesn’t seem to have a snowball’s chance in hell of threatening the iPad as a direct competitor.

Right now the iPad seems to have been given free rein to grow and expand into the Market.

Share this: Email

Print

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

More

Google

Reddit





Related Posts: