|
The popularity of tablets can be gauged from its rising sales. According to International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, around 45.1 million units were shipped in the second quarter of 2013, up 59.6 percent from the same quarter in 2012. The popularity of small handheld computers increased after the introduction of iPad by Apple Inc. in 2010. The product was the first successful attempt by any technology major in introducing a digital computer that could recognize handwriting. And it was small enough to hold comfortably in hand. Later, several other technology giants including Microsoft tried their hands at developing a tablet. Introduction and Development of Tablets Linus Write Top, which was launched in 1987, was the first tablet with handwriting-recognition feature. Another prominent launch was that of GRiDPad, which was created by the founder of Palm Computing, and manufactured by Samsung in 1989. While this system ran MS-DOS, it was totally ignored by the consumers because of its high price and large weight. Some other tablets that were launched in the 1990s included Apple’s Newton MessagePad (1993), the Palm Pilot in 1997, Microsoft’s Tablet PC in 2000, the LS800 from Motion Computing and Lenovo’s ThinkPad. These devices were aimed at addressing the business needs of people but issues relating to the weight of the devices and absence of some specific software features and applications restricted their acceptance by the consumers. The launch of iPad by Apple in 2010 was inspired by the success of its iPhones and iPods which were capable of performing a lot of computer-like functions. The computing giant had successfully realized that the key to building a small sized computer that could be held in one’s hands was to develop a larger smart phone rather than building a small computer. iPad’s success opened the doors for the entry of several new players with over 80 similar products launched in the next couple of years. Apple itself has launched several new versions of the tablet with the latest being iPad 5. This was followed by the launch of android based products including the Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tab, The last two years have seen the launch of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet which was reasonably priced at $199, Sony’s S2 and Microsoft’s Surface Tablet. This led to a sharp drop in the prices of other existing tablets. Several manufacturers continue to experiment and launch new models in a bid to beat the popularity of iPad. The evolution of tablets may have taken only a few years, but they are likely to remain popular for a long time due to their low weight and small size. Diya Jain is an experienced author with a keen interest in electronic devices having a number of articles to her credit on topics related to iPad.
Related Articles -
Tablets, iPads, Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet,
| 
