Nokia Tablet?
by Horace Dediu
"Getting a strong Intel backing here could be an important advantage," says MKM Partners analyst Tero Kuittinen, who sees the Nokia tablet as part of an array of mobile computers.
No doubt Nokia's tablet plans preceded the launch of the iPad--product cycles being what they are. And the relationship with Intel is certainly a big part of this push (vs. on the handset side where Intel has no cards to play).
However, the elephant in the room is what software will run on this Tablet. Any discussion on competitive potential of iPad competitors must include a view on the software/platform and ecosystem that tablet will rest on.
This is not a hardware business. In fact, the hardware is designed to get out of the way.
The hardware is so understated — it’s just a screen, really — and because you manipulate objects and interface elements so smoothly and directly on the screen, the fact that you’re using an iPad falls away. You’re using the app, whatever it may be, and while you’re doing so, the iPad is that app. Switch to another app and the iPad becomes that app. If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is.
Comments