The first few weeks into 2012 and the web seems to be already buzzing with tablet PC fever! It seems the business professionals are leaving their laptops at home and instead, giving the thumbs up to ultra portability and fast net access while their fingers are on the pulse of mobile apps and instant large screen display!

By the closing months of 2011, sales of tablet PCs had jumped by an impressive 261 per cent to just over 63 million units according to Gartner, IT industry advisors, who forecast that by 2016 sales will reach 900 million!

Handheld computers are no longer seen simply as a way of watching videos or playing games on a device “larger than a mobile phone screen without the hassle of carrying a laptop”. In 2012, an UMPC is brought to the workplace to be used on mission critical business applications, from client-facing meetings and distribution of marketing materials.

Latest figures from a survey, which included UK executives and IT managers, found that just over 20 per cent of senior executives are given a tablet PC to use at in their place of work.

Gartner list the following top business applications for the tablet PC :

Business Data: Analytical and performance intelligence, with management dashboards.
Sales: Customer and ordering automation systems and sales presentations.
Collaboration Tools: Applications for meetings and events.
Files and Utilities: Sharing and document distribution.
Business Processes: General corporate /government / enterprise applications for CRM, ERP, SCM and messaging.
Email: Filtered email separating corporate messaging environments from personal email.
Healthcare: Medical support systems for doctors, nurses, and physical therapists.
Virtualisation: Hosted virtual desktop providing secure remote function of traditional desktop applications and environments.
Social Networking: Applications with intelligent business insight.
Documentation: Board books for secure document and report distribution.

Undoubtedly, a  much larger lightweight, portable screen providing the more immersive experience is a key benefit to wider areas of enterprise and service in the field. In both private and public sectors, the durability of a rugged tablet PC is crucial to industries such as manufacturing, retail distribution and construction.

Cisco Systems, the global communications technology multinational state "Mobile workers and virtual workspaces are here to stay. But so are the demands on IT to continue to ensure enterprise-grade security, manageability and interoperability”.

Companies who are progressive in continuing to explore and invest in the benefits of mobile technologies are best placed to take advantage of the next wave of business growth and opportunity. Currently, around 74 per cent of IT managers consider email and document-sharing as essential in a mobile device, such as a tablet PC.

While the handheld PC may be seen as adding another device to the diverse mobile internet market, all running different operating systems, Google recently claimed that over 40 per cent of users spend more time with their tablet PC than with their desktop or laptop. Furthermore, Forrester Research predicts that during  2012, tablet PC sales will begin to overtake notebooks.
 

The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held last week in Las Vegas clearly highlighted tablet PCs as really bringing something new to the table! In the next 12 months, some 5 per cent of households are likely to become multi-tablet PC. Estimated sales of 100 million handheld computers are predicted to be more than double the 2011 total of 47 million, according to a newly published report on technology, media and telecom trends by Deloitte & Touche LLP.

As with most technology choices, a prospective user will identify the device that will most answer their particular need or preference for a given set of tasks. Undoubtedly, the rising success of the tablet PC, which has not been confined to just one or two of the most well-known global brands, has led to the appearance of the ultrabook, which seeks to compete as a superthin, lightweight laptop alternative.

While some users will look to an ultrabook to serve their more office-based applications, current pricing can compare unfavourably against an ultramobile handheld PC.  In the commercial workplace, of course, only a rugged tablet PC will do. An IP rated 7-13 inch antiglare Gorilla glass screen and a body, moisture-resistant and drop -proof from six feet is more the kind of basic spec demanded on-site, where environment and weather conditions are a daily factor.

Field and mobile working environments are intrinsic to the success of the handheld PC, where the key tasks most often required on the move is not data entry, complex photo or document editing but long battery life and constant access to the web, mobile apps, file data display /sharing, email and social networking communication.

In the past, this has been achieved by dragging a heavy laptop around, opening the lid and trying to balance on a flat surface, or on the knee, squinting at a screen too dark to see clearly under an open sky and losing connection at a crucial point! Bluetooth connection, Wi-Fi, USB and integrated GPS, all provide the tablet PC user access to internet, cloud services, and intranet files.

Enterprise and industry are recognising that a touch screen tablet PC is the ideal tool for mobile tasks where compact, robust but lightweight technology with a screen at least twice the size of a smartphone means vital on the move operations can be instantly deployed.

Tablet PCs have sometimes been referred to as belonging to a niche market, as their application centres on specific mobile tasks rather than detailed in-office document processing. While surveys tends to show that nearly half of users believe the tablet PC will overtake the laptop, the likelihood is that they will co-exist. 

For industries such as construction, manufacturing and retail distribution, the portable benefits of the tablet PC on-site, on the road or in the warehouse are obvious and their sectors look to be the first to see the tablet as the preferred choice over laptop and PC.

All the bets for 2012 seem to be on the tablet PC as the hot mobile favourite to go gold with the UK user! Despite whisperings about the Ultrabook, their generally hefty price tag is unlikely to stop the stampede for increasingly competitive tablet PCs dominating in the home, workplace and on the move.

Estimates claim that 10 per cent of the UK received a handheld computer over Christmas and it is predicted that tablet ownership could reach 25 per cent by this time next year as sales of tablet PCs are expected to reach 8 million! As many as 45 per cent of those who intend to purchase a handheld PC in the next twelve months say their desktop or laptop will see less use as a direct result.

In 2012, key purchasing of rugged tablet PC and its' ultramobile tablet PC counterpart is set to equal the smartphone and increase across many professional organisations and commercial enterprises including, manufacturing and retail distribution, healthcare and education.

In the age of the online multichannel, some researchers have found that touchscreen tablet PCs are now growing even faster than the mobile commerce market as an online shopping tool. However, the high-end of handheld PC use is increasingly being taken up by the professional user who constantly demands critical data, online access and communication to be constantly available for immediate personal viewing or person to person, whenever required.

Currently, the latest must-have technology is on display at the 2012 CES ( Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas where major tablet PC producers such as Motion Computing are featuring their Motion J3500 Rugged Tablet PC, Motion CL900, and Motion C5v Mobile Clinical Assistant.

Designed and built for 'field service', rugged tablet PCs are fully capable of carrying out valuable tasks simply and easily by touch or digitizer while on the move. Crucial tasks can be carried out at high elevation on a construction site or in a jet engine cockpit, or at a life or death moment at a patients bedside or in the law courts!

It is expected that tablet PCs will continue to dramatically grow in use for online browsing, and shopping and leisure among the general user. However, there is no doubt that key project management applications will become increasingly reliant on the handheld computer as the mobile technology of choice during 2012.

Even before 2012, market analysts were confidently forecasting that global sales of tablet PCs were likely to reach beyond 70 million this year - up from nearly 52 million units in 2011 and the 17 million sold in 2010!  Surveys conducted in Autumn of 2011 found that 90 per cent of companies claimed they would be investing in handheld PCs  for their workforce.

The serious interest being taken in the tablet PC as a strategic mobile workflow solution in the professional and commercial environment signals a radical shift in the perception of handheld computers as simply mass media toys for watching videos and gaming while commuting or browsing online on the TV sofa!

In key areas of both public and private service industries, from healthcare and education to retail distribution, construction and research, there is now a growing belief that a rugged tablet PC could realistically replace the laptop as the mobile device of choice.  Or at the very least, be the ultra portable, lightweight accompaniment in the field where instant access to the web, intranet data and files for person to person display is crucial whatever the terrain!

So it’s worth just reminding ourselves of some of the main practical reasons why the tablet PC is set to be the indispensable digital tool needed when clear scalable touch and display is needed…

Perfect portability
The first big benefit is obviously, portability! With a standard laptop weighing between 2 - 5kg and a tablet PC around 600g, the difference is striking! Even a 7 inch rugged tablet PC comes in approx. 95g - 1.3 kg, half the weight of a laptop normally lugged around for simply web surfing and firing off emails – for which the tablet PC is the convenience king! Whether sitting, standing or on the move …

Longer battery life
For the busy professional on the go there is nothing more irritating than when technology lets you down precisely at the moment when you really need it to be functioning at full gallop! A single charge might not be enough to keep your laptop going all day and can die just at the wrong moment! The battery capacity of a handheld computer is easily up to 8 hours or even more – crucial when required in environments where power is not available for working off the mains supply.

Multiple connectivity
Armed with options of Bluetooth (connection is far easier on a tablet PC than laptop), Wi-Fi, USB and integrated GPS, user access to internet, cloud services, and company intranet should present no problem.

Larger scale Screen
Even the trend for the 7in option over the 10in for total lightweight use, is at least double the dimensions of a standard 2- 4in smartphone screen. With super tough gorilla glass, readable in sunlight, the anti-reflective and anti-glare properties are purpose-built for clear, detailed screen viewing, completely adapted to an outdoor setting under the harshest weather conditions.

Add to the above the key benefits of a rugged tablet PC  - custom built and IP rated to be drop-proof and to withstand harsh working conditions by securely sealing the body against moisture, dust, mud and other impurities, the thousands of mobile applications and social media integration for instant communication, vital to today’s working landscape – it’s not difficult to see why 2012 is the year tablet PCs become the ultimate PC tool.