The march of the tablets PCs has finally led to the corridors of power at the ‘mother of all parliaments’, the House of Commons! The latest news at the turn of what has essentially been the year of the tablet, is that 17 handheld computers from one of the major global brands, have been brought in to provide support to the work of government and its’ ministers.
The news swiftly follows the recent Crown Prosecution Service announcement that they hope to soon allow the handheld PC and laptop to be used by lawyers during courtroom trials. The acceptance of the tablet PC as a vital tool for portable key data file access in professional institutions as well as the commercial workplace, is set to change the perception of the tablet PC as only a media consumption toy.
Even greater things are expected of the mobile tablet PC in 2012, with the take up of high specification rugged tablet PCs at competitive prices from key tablet PC suppliers, aimed at critical high end applications in construction, manufacturing and retail distribution. According to some market analysts, tablet PC sales could reach over 99 million in 2012, a rise of well over 50 per cent on 2011, passing 100 million to hit over 132 million in 2013!
The touchscreen PC is - with it’s larger than smartphone, glare free screen of at least 7in - the ultra portable viewing device of choice for the busy professional. The forecast is that tablet PCs are likely to be quickly and easily pressed into service as ‘control and information’ devices to access the web and display data in all areas of public and private enterprise, including vehicles.
Ultra mobility, lighter weight, bigger screen, more robust build and speed and ease of use over the bulky heavy laptop have already proven to be the key attractions for the media consumer. Both the pen tablet PC and dual mode PC, which supplies a keyboard function to the touchscreen, is more than a match for the laptop in overall spread sheet and document processing, editing, and other office applications.
The combination of multi-touch capability with a pen or virtual keyboard input is radically transforming preconceptions about the viability of a handheld PC for active content creation and genuine productivity in a business environment. Literally, a hands-on experience, the digitizer or dual mode tablet PC enables not the only the manipulation of items directly on the screen but also to write or type on the screen as well. Key applications include collaborative display, note taking, mark up, document editing, reviewing PDF annotation, diary/calendar entry, etc.
An October 2011 survey found that at least nine out of ten organisations say they are planning to invest in tablet PCs for company use in 2012. Just in time for the arrival of Microsoft’s Windows 8 OS, specifically aimed for tablet PC browsing and the clearest signal yet that the tablet has seriously arrived at the professional workplace.