Next Up - Operating System

The Operating System (OS) makes up the nice "graphical wrapper" that allows you to use the computer. Using a mouse - double clicking on an icon to open Firefox or MS Word - saving files to a disk ... the OS facilitates all of this and much more behind the scenes.

I just wanted to touch on this because for a tablet device the OS becomes a hugely important element. Many tablet computers have been offered in the past and all have really failed, and that is primarily because the OS was just Co-Opted from a desktop computer. That works on a laptop, but a tablet device needs a much simpler interface because a mouse or keyboard may not be present or wanted. It needs to be simple - intuitive - and robust.

Here is a recent example: Just after the iPad launch, Hewlett Packard (HP) one of the top 3 PC vendors cancelled its planned tablet PC just weeks prior to launching it. The reason, the version of Windows 7 Microsoft made for tablet devices was found to be too clunky and difficult for a good tablet experience. Think about that, the leading OS product from Microsoft was found to be too clunky for what might be the next wave of mobile devices. Ouch ! HP quickly purchased a company that had developed a OS just for mobile devices - they promise a product in November of 2010.

So far the iPad is the only tablet device to really resonate with consumers and so far be a hit. A big part of that is certainly its OS and ease of use. Which we will evaluate over the Summer. However, the iPad OS is not without issues and the primary reason is DRM (Digital Rights Management). But that is for a future post on this thorny issue,

Lastly, we cannot count out Google and its Android OS which is still getting its kinks worked out.