Microsoft: No Tablets Until It's Distinctive 203
BogenDorpher pointed us in the direction of a pocket-lint story saying
"Microsoft’s UK managing director and ex-BBC man Ashley Highfield has exclusively told Pocket-lint that the company won’t produce a tablet device, and therefore follow in the footsteps of Apple and Google, until it's got something to shout about. 'We won't do anything in the tablet market unless we can be distinctive,' he told us." Have you considered making it light enough that your arm doesn't ache after 5 minutes?
Re:In other words... (Score:5, Informative)
They already released their "slate" with HP [engadget.com] with Balmer being on stage to introduce it:
"press images of the HP Slate just hit the web, right as Ballmer showed it off during his CES keynote. The prototype device is said to be coming later this year, and it's running Windows -- Ballmer showed it running the PC Kindle app."
Fortunately for them it has bombed so badly they actaully have a chance of people buying this shit about them not wanting in the tablet market yet.
Re:Wow (Score:4, Informative)
Mod parent up. The exact quote, and source:
"The tablet takes cutting-edge PC technology and makes it available whenever you want it, which is why I'm already using a tablet as my everyday computer," Gates said. "It's a PC that is virtually without limits -- and within five years I predict it will be the most popular form of PC sold in America."
- Bill Gates, November 12, 2001 [cnn.com] when Microsoft was introducing Windows XP for Tablet PCs. [wikipedia.org]
Alan Kay said The best way to predict the future is to invent it. [wikiquote.org] I think it's clear that the current Apple under Steve Jobs is better than MS under Gates and Ballmer at delivering in this particular area.