There is a trend emerging in the streets of China where tablet cases with keyboards are taking over the accessories tables. The folks over at Shanzai.com have raised a pretty good question: When is a Tablet not a Tablet? The question rose to mind for them while walking the isles of Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei market. And as we all know if it starts to pop up over there, we are going to start seeing it in the Western Markets soon enough.
What I’ve noticed talking to people who have taken the plunge to this case keyboard tablet form factor that its the its the slim profile that people are drawn to, and rightful so, its Sexy! But what happens when Canoe Lake comes out in March? Right around the time that an abundance of tablets will be on the market? Incase you have forgotten below is a picture of the Canoe Lake Netbook, which begs the question, if you need a keyboard with your tablet, why not get a netbook? The obvious answer is because you have the option to do both. Granted this is a very fair response. But the processing power of Canoe Lake will shadow the tablet in the same way the Core i series outshines the Atom.
Another action item to consider is if we look outside of the english language and realize that Chinese characters are actually easier and faster to input a keyboard then it is to write text. There is alot more shifting involved with Chinese characters then in English. Which is very inconvenient to do when trying to touch type. (I know this first hand since I am learning to type Chinese)
Its going to be an interesting 2011 since these cases are running around $10. The folk over at Shenzai.com think that this is going to cannibalize the netbook market, but so far the number indicate that its eReaders that are suffering. If you don’t believe me, take a look for yourself, I cover it in the article “NPD: The iPad has its Sights set on eReaders Not Netbooks” Netbook sales are leveling out after 3 years of 300% growth. Again, if you choose to believe the parroting about Netbook sales numbers and their Death, here is another interesting read: Display Search: Overall Portablet PC Sales on the Upswing. When the slew of tablets enter the market next year, will their number decline? Probably a bit, but this is just a new product finding its happy place in the market. Tablets are the next new mobile computing device to enter the market, so everything is going to shift, not only netbooks, but smartphones, ereaders and even subnotebooks. Its actually getting a little tiresome hearing everyone parrot the cannibalization of netbooks, the numbers are steady if not still on the slight incline and stats are showing that eReaders are suffering.
Once Canoe Lake comes out the tablet + keyboard combination will be shadowed by a netbook with an identical profile and the debate will carry on. I think its time people just took a realistic look at the playing field and the secondary device category will emerge with tablets, netbooks and superphones all playing a supporting role to the work or home PC. But until then, let the sensational headlines continue!
