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21st June 2004 - The effort put forth by Microsoft
and its hardware partners to introduce the Tablet
PC into horizontal and vertical commercial markets,
has only been partly successful, according to
In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com).
A recent report from the high-tech market research
firm reports that the device, which was designed
to counteract sluggish commercial PC sales, has
been adopted in vertical markets, such as health
care, real estate, and insurance. However, horizontal
commercial markets have been somewhat hesitant
to adopt a new PC form factor in a world of slow-growing
IT budgets.
Table shows the estimated sales result for Tablet
PC according to In-Stat/MDR
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Many vertical markets were accustomed to pen-based
computing, and saw the Tablet PC as giving them the
flexibility of pen-based computing plus access to all
software that runs on Microsoft's XP operating system.
As a result, the vast majority of Tablet PCs that shipped
in 2003 went to vertical applications. Within horizontal
markets, Tablet PCs are particularly targeted at large
enterprises. With limited IT budgets in the early part
of this decade, and forecasts for annual increases in
the 3% range over the next four to five years, enterprise
IT managers have been hesitant to take a chance on a
new PC form factor. However, In-Stat/MDR projects that
as Tablet PC prices come down over the next few years,
and Tablet PC software offerings increase, interest
in horizontal markets will rise. Horizontal markets
should start to make an impact on this market in 2005,
as average selling prices fall below $2,000 for the
first time.
In-Stat/MDR has also found that:
- Additional Tablet PC offerings over the past year
should have a positive impact on the market. In 2003,
Microsoft released Office 2003 with digital ink support,
and this summer they will be releasing the Windows
XP Tablet PC 2005 Edition that will offer a number
of improvements that will enhance the utility of the
Tablet PC.
- Tablet PC vendors have been offering enhancements
and new form factors to increase their popularity.
In late 2003, both Gateway and Acer released Tablet
PCs with 14-inch screens and Acer released the first
true clamshell notebook with the Windows XP Tablet
PC operating system.
There will be very little consumer interest in Tablet
PCs.
This Market Alert is drawn from the In-Stat/MDR report,
"Tablet
PCs - Will Businesses Take a Dose of Portable Computing?"
(#IN0401152ID), which contains five-year unit shipment
and revenue forecasts for Tablet PCs. It also contains
a five-year forecast for the regional breakdown of Tablet
PC shipments. Extensive analysis of Tablet PCs in both
horizontal and vertical markets is included, as well
as the potential of Tablet PCs in the consumer segment.
Also included are profiles of some of the markets' leading
players, including Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Intel,
Toshiba, Acer, Motion Computing, ViewSonic and Fujitsu.
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