One of the questions I have been pondering lately is whether or not tablets really are the future of computing. With the release of Apple's iPad 2 we are, according to Steve Jobs, now living in a Post PC era.
While I don't agree with the idea that an iPad can replace a PC, I do think we are heading down a path where the line between PC and tablet is blurring. With the release of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer I think we have been given an example of how the future of computing could look.
I envision having a tablet with enough processing power for media consumption, day to day computing tasks and that can dock to a keyboard and larger screen when required. With the next generation Transformer we may have this. It is rumoured to be coming out in Q4 of 2011 with a next gen Tegra 3 Kal-El 1.5 GHz quad core processor. Not only will this be far more powerful than the Tegra 2, it is also supposedly more power efficient to boot. Imagine one of these devices with 10+ hrs standalone battery life and then another 15+ hrs when docked; all I can say is that I can't wait.
While some will argue that tablets will never have the same processing power as a PC, I argue whether you need all of that power. If I can have a hybrid device that allows me to consume media and browse the web on the go, but can then perform routine business tasks, I'm all in. Do I really need a Core i7 processor for my Excel spreadsheet calculations?
With the advent of cloud computing and HTML5 web applications I can see no real limitation for potential activities I could perform on this hybrid device. If I want to draw a process or network diagram do I need to use Visio? Well, no, I could just browse to diagram.ly where I get nearly all of the same functionality in a web browser.
What about more bandwidth and processor intensive applications? OnLive is a great example of the potential of cloud computing. In this case, OnLive allows you to play graphically intensive games that require low latency through the cloud. For the average business task you do not need to have even remotely near this much computing power and could easily use web applications to fulfil the average business's requirements.
Currently Microsoft have around 90% of the desktop computer market share but have almost no market share in the mobile space. With Windows 8 they are trying to buy into the rapidly growing mobile device market. Windows 8 is supposed to unify the tablet and PC user experience. If Microsoft manage to pull off a hybrid device that gets accepted in the corporate world, then I can see the future of the workplace changing. Whether they are successful or not, I think technology is going to continue in this same direction.
While hybrid devices will not fit all use cases and are unlikely to entirely replace the PC, I do think the future of computing involves devices like this. We may be several years away from fully realising this technology but I for one am looking forward to our hybrid tablet/PC overlords.
This post is based on my biased observations of technology development, so feel free to leave your opinion in the comments.
