Vendors ready tablet devices

GIVEN THE FAILINGS of the cappuccino firm's latest toy, it's not surprising to see a hive of activity around tablet devices, all offering substance to fill the void left by the Ipad.

With industry sales figures reporting netbook sales, after their extra ordinary growth over the past two years, having started to taper off, the industry is looking for a new, hot device to generate sales. That expectation has fallen on tablet devices with HP, Dell and Toshiba all piling in for a piece of the pie.

HP was first out of the blocks with its Slate. Given a glowing endorsement by that pall bearer of good taste, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and shown prior to Steve Jobs unveiling his latest Apple creation, the Slate looked like everything the Ipad isn't, that is, a competent computing device. But once the specifications of the device were published, it became rather clear that HP just cocked things up.

The Slate might have USB ports, an Intel Atom processor and two cameras, but disappointing battery life, a questionable screen and uncompetitive pricing will make the device a tough sell. It's not a big surprise that interest in the Slate has been displaced in favour of attention to a possible Google tablet.

The feverish rumours surrounding the possibility of a Google tablet are partly down to the realisation that HP's device is likely to be disappointing, and partly down to the success of the Nexus One. Ignorant Apple fanbois will point to Nexus One sales figures falling below their own misguided expectations, but according to Google the device is turning in a modest profit. Those Apple fanbois eager to point to sales as a barometer of quality would do well to remember the Apple Newton. The Nexus One succeeded in not only showcasing what the Android platform is capable of but it generated immense publicity for the other handset manufacturers to build upon.

Google's tablet device will most likely be born out of a partnership with HTC, much like the Nexus One. Whether the device will run Android or Google's Chrome operating system has yet to be confirmed, however at this point the smart money is on the Chrome OS. For Google, it might be smarter to merge both its Chrome OS and Android and use the growing brand of its nearly ubiquitous smartphone OS.

The web is awash with renderings of a Google tablet design that show an Ipad-esque design with the screen displaying Google's web search page, an image that hardly makes one salivate. The question for Google is whether, like with the Nexus One, the firm will market its tablet as merely a technological showcase or will actually get serious about flogging the devices to customers. After realising what the firm has achieved with the Nexus One, it's likely to be the former.

Since its launch in January, the Nexus One has revitalised the Android platform. The device brought the extra two per cent that was needed to really push Android over the top. Google may look to a tablet bearing the firm's name to do the same for its Chrome OS.

Given the volumes of newsprint covering Apple's and Google's tablets, it's easy to forget that industry old boys Dell and Toshiba have also announced their intention of joining the party. Tin box flogger Dell showed off an early pre-release of its Mini 5 tablet at a private gathering at CES in January.

That device sported only a five-inch screen and ran Google's Android. At the time the firm's spokesman wasn't willing to announce a launch date, however given that its fierce rival, HP, has announced that its Slate will appear in June, don't expect Dell to lag far behind.

The Dell Mini 5 gets uncomfortably close to having its headline specifications eclipsed by the current crop of smartphones. The device's five-inch screen, with a mooted resolution of 800x480, is effectively identical to a number of smartphones. Given that all those devices run the same operating system, one fails to see how the Dell Mini 5 will be able to compete favourably.

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba, on the back of a 50 per cent sales increase, announced that the firm will be embracing tablet devices. The very next day it showed off a number of traditional 'convertible' tablets featuring twist screens. Forthcoming tablet devices from the company will run both Microsoft Windows and Android, with the latter option lowering unit prices. Those prices will be similar to those of netbooks, according to a spokesman for the firm.

Most interesting of all was the admission by the Toshiba spokesman that loading the Vole's operating system would negatively affect the price of its devices. Though that in itself is far from breaking news, the fact that Microsoft is still willing to charge over the odds to get its name on devices which, frankly, the company has no right to do given the quality of the alternatives available, is astounding.

A number of other big names are yet to show their hands in the battle to shrink the Apple Ipod's claim to be the most exciting tablet on the Internet. We have yet to hear what industry giants Lenovo and Acer have up in their sleeves. One would assume that price conscious tablet devices will be right up Acer's street, especially given the success the firm has enjoyed with its budget oriented netbooks and laptops.

At CES, Microstar International (MSI) showed off a number of interesting tablet concepts, including a dual screen device. But the biggest surprise comes from Asustek, the firm that kicked off the netbook revolution. And, while familiar names are fighting it out, a newcomer, Notion Ink showed off its device, christened Adam, also at CES. Since then, the firm hasn't done much to help its standing as a credible competitor.

The device itself sounds interesting enough, being based on Nvidia's Tegra ARM chipset and having a 10-inch Pixel Qi display. A resolution of 1024x600 is somewhat disappointing, given that the firm makes such a big deal about, and rightly so, the Pixel Qi display.

Like many start-ups before it with good ideas and products, Notion Ink's lack of execution looks set to be its downfall. In a blog post published on the same day as the Ipad hit the shelves, it announced that the firm will wait a full two months after a "stable" version of Flash is available before shipping the Adam. The firm wasn't willing to elaborate on its definition of stable.

Reading through the post it's easy to get the feeling the firm is a rudderless ship. Mentions of "innovation on email", collaborating with universities and aligning itself with the "marketing strategies of our partners" defined as "telecom firms" sound like pipe dreams from a company that has yet to launch a single device. Ambition is no bad thing but in this case MSI might lose sight of the ultimate goal, which is flogging devices, because it might be too busy keeping too many pots from boiling over.

Therein lies the rub. New companies with exciting products get too wrapped up in micro-managing every detail of their new products. Dell's Mini 5 might not set the pulse racing but, you know, with a high degree of certainty, that the device will end up on the shelves. What punters need is a firm with the enthusiasm of a start-up and the cash of blue-chip firm. Currently that mantle has been assumed by Google. Ironically, Google doesn't really need to make a tablet device, judging by its latest earnings the firm is doing perfectly fine flogging adverts. For hardware vendors though, having Google splash the cash on promoting a platform that has lower licensing costs is something they won't mind at all.

Unlike with the Iphone, Apple won't have the best part of three years to run roughshod over consumers with the Ipad. Competitors, in particular Google, have learnt their lessons and are better placed to put up a fight against Jobs' Mob. The question is which vendor will equip itself suitably for the tablet battle ahead. µ