forgiven realtor: A turning point for mobile computers

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

A turning point for mobile computers - A Physician's Perspective ...

Jul 30 2012 ? 9:20PM GMT

Posted by: DrJosephKim
mobile, windows 8, tablet pc

We?re about to experience what I will call a major ?turning point? in the mobile computing industry. Some would say that the iPad revolutionized the tablet PC market, but I would argue that the iPad started a monumental shift and we?re about to witness a major turning point as we see a major flood of new and emerging mobile computers enter the marketplace. This is what I mean:

When the iPad launched, it did not sell with an integrated keyboard or a digital pen. It was mainly designed for information consumption and it did this beautifully. We say a number of third party vendors create capacitive pens and keyboards for the iPad.

Then, we saw a flood of Android tablets come in all sorts of shapes and sizes ranging from 7? to 10? screens. At that time, Apple said they were not planning on releasing a 7? model of the iPad.

Now, we?re about to see Microsoft make a major attempt at disrupting the tablet PC industry with Windows 8 this fall. Business and enterprise users (like those working in healthcare) will now have access to a nice mobile tablet that will be battery-efficient and that will blend the nice features of touch computing along with enterprise level functionality and productivity. If Microsoft and tablet PC manufacturers position devices and prices appropriately, we?ll see a significant disruption in the tablet PC market as enterprise users see the value of using Windows on a mobile device. Many of these Windows tablet PCs will come with integrated or removable keyboards so they will appeal to the masses.

So, the key questions at this point are:

Will these Windows tablets running Windows 8 be as touch-friendly as their iOS and Android counterparts?

How will these Windows 8 mobile devices be priced? Will they be outrageous, or competitively priced against iOS and Android?

I don?t think most consumers will see the value behind Windows 8, but enterprise users working in the healthcare industry will immediately see the value of running full EHRs and CPOE systems on their mobile devices.