Apple may be at the forefront of a renewed effort to bring back the tablet. Electronics manufacturers across the tech landscape are hard at work on their own versions of these flat-screen computers that let users input information via touchscreen rather than keyboard.
“There’s no hotter topic [than tablets] in Asia right now,” says Richard Doherty, a director at market researcher Envisioneering Group, who says Apple has developed prototypes of two different tablet machines — one that resembles a large-sized iPod and boasts a 6-inch screen, and another that features a larger display. Apple may launch one or both devices as early as September, Doherty says. A decision on whether and when Apple takes the tablet plunge lies with Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Doherty says.
Regardless of what Jobs decides, tablets are in the works elsewhere, including at Nokia, the world’s largest maker of cell phones, and TechCrunch, a popular tech blog and information provider. Electronics makers Archos and Asus began selling new tablets earlier this year. And industry analysts say other makers of PCs, cell phones, and consumer electronics are quietly designing tablets aimed at mainstream consumers.
All these tablet hopefuls hope to succeed in an area where many tech titans have stumbled. Tablets have taken off in narrow niches, such as construction and nursing. Motion Computing makes a rugged touchscreen device that can be dropped and sanitized; it goes for more than $2,000 a pop.
But several other tech stalwarts, including Microsoft, have failed to generate widespread enthusiasm for tablets. Sony and Fujitsu released tablets in years past, only to phase them out later. In some cases, the devices were too expensive; in others they were awkward to handle. “Price was part of the story, and it wasn’t quite so elegantly done,” says Roger Kay, founder of consultant Endpoint Technologies Associates. Last…