In In its new report, Gartner states that lack of keyboard in a tablet PC is not a barrier at all. Rather the absence of keyboard and mouse are liberating factors. Majority of the users are content consumers, they are not content creators, so they dont really need keyboard and mouse. Titled, iPad and Beyond: What the Future of Computing Holds, the Gartner report is devoted to examining, how the iPad has impacted the hardware industry, and how media tablets are changing what users will expect out of their computing devices.
Many modern users have developed preference for multitouch user interfaces, which are often more convenient and simple, as compared to traditional keyboard and mouse. Gartner states that most PC makers will be forced to incorporate tablet and smartphone like multitouch interface in their devices. Such interfaces might also find their way to a range of other devices.
Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, says, During the next five to 10 years, media tablets will instigate change in computing form factors; modular designs will enable tablets to take on new functions, becoming the cross-platform controller and brain for hybrid consumer electronics and computers. Tablets will be substitutes for several of the consumer electronics consumers often carry with them. Thin-and-light mobile PCs with tablet-like features will become mainstream, pushing out some bulkier PC styles that have been the norm.
In fact, the makers of PCs and consumer electronics are already taking notice of the shift in consumer expectations. They have started incorporating features that have been popularised by the iPad into the new products they are developing. Multitouch technology has become the de facto interface of high-end smartphones and media tablets, and will extend to additional consumer electronic devices and to PCs.
Angela McIntyre is of the opinion that a single tablet is capable of replacing multiple dedicated electronics devices by connecting with different peripherals. She states, Tablets docked in the dashboards of cars can replace dedicated navigation devices and in-car entertainment, and environmental controls. Wirelessly connect a blood pressure cuff, a bathroom scale and an oximeter to a tablet to create a home health monitor that can plot personal health trends and send the data to a doctor. Mount a tablet into a projector, and it becomes digital signage in a retail store or a device for streaming media via the Internet.
There is no doubt that the iPad has created a transformational change in how people interact with computers. In countries like India smartphones, tablets and tablet hybrids are expected to become the first pathway to the Internet for many. Angela McIntyre says, The keyboard on PCs is a major barrier for those who have had no reason or opportunity to become facile with QWERTY. Once a vast majority of people used to access Internet through PC keyboards. The rapid rise in smartphones and tablets has led to a situation where majority of Internet users are armed with handheld devices.
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