Apple iTablet - where will you use it?

The rumours around Apple's tablet computer/hand-held device still persist and it seems like there is a news item somewhere on the web almost every day. Is Apple working on a tablet or not? The answer is definitely yes. Do I have any inside information then? No.

The thing is that many computer manufacturers have been working on tablet computers for years. They have been around a long time and if you want one a quick search at Google will turn up a supplier and you can order one today. With big companies like HP already having tablet PCs on the market and no doubt new models under development, it would be surprising if Apple didn't also have a tablet computer, at least in prototype form. I bet there's one at Apple's headquarters or development labs right now.

Many computer manufacturers have experimented with tablet computers and no doubt they would love to create a new market sector, but none has been successful so far. Netbooks have grabbed a large slice of the market and their success has been rapid and surprising.

Tablets have been around much longer than netbooks and they can be found in niche markets, but the wider general public just isn't interested and sales are poor. The question is not whether Apple is working on a tablet, but whether it can make one a compelling purchase. The problem facing Apple is how to coming up with a product that appeals to more than just a tiny market niche. This is probably the reason why it hasn't yet launched the iTablet.

No matter how good the hardware and software, you have to ask where people would use an iTablet. If you are at home then you'll have access to a desktop or laptop computer. If you are at work then you'll have a desktop or laptop computer. So an iTablet would only be useful when you are out of the home and office. However, an iTablet would not be as portable as a smartphone and you wouldn't want to carry a large device around. And if you need more than a smartphone offers, it makes sense to take a netbook or laptop.

It would be very difficult to sell the idea of an iTablet. Microsoft and Intel tried the UMPC and even produced ads showing people walking down the street with them in their hands as they shopped or went to work, but people don't want a device that won't fit their pocket. It's too much of a hassle. Putting a touch screen on a Mac and enabling it to swivel round and sit flat on the keyboard as current tablet PCs do, just won't sell any more than MacBooks or current tablets from HP and others.

It's easy to see why smartphones, netbooks and laptops sell, but it is hard to see a market for a tablet no matter who produces it.

Current rumours suggest it is more like an ebook reader that also has web access to allow newspapers and magazines to be read. That's interesting, but at current prices ebook readers are just an expensive toy for rich people. Prices need to fall by at least 50% before they'll take off in any numbers and Apple really wants to sell high price quality kit, not cheap stuff. Predictions of the end of newspapers and current ebooks readers are wrong. They aren't going to go away even if Apple's iTablet is the best thing since sliced bread. MP3 players haven't been killed off by the iPod and there are plenty of alternatives.