Microsoft insists tablets are Windows-powered mobile PCs. Even Windows Phone president Andy Lee, who should be pushing for a WP7 tablet, said, “We view a tablet as a PC.”
Since the early days of the Origami project, Microsoft has looked at the tablet as a desktop replacement. Slates ran Windows XP or Windows 7; never Windows Mobile or Windows Phone 7. This desktop strategy >hasn’t worked so well in the past (remember UMPCs?), but the company just won’t let it go.
Microsoft likely thinks it will work out better this time with Windows 8; but the runaway success of the iPad suggests otherwise. The iPad is popular because it is an oversized smartphone and not a notebook replacement. The lightweight OS makes using a tablet fast, easy and enjoyable. Agree? Disagree?[Electronista; Shutterstock/Tom Wang]