Touch Displays

Many people have gotten acquainted with touch-screens on their smartphones. They have found that touch displays make screen navigation in a mobile operating system much easier. Such ease of use translates into greater productivity business applications. So what they like in smartphone interfaces they want to see in tablets and other types of computers. Some notebooks are starting to ship with touch displays, but until they hit critical mass, tablets will win out.

Tablets can be purchased for relatively low prices. For example, those looking to buy an Amazon Kindle Fire can get their hands on the device for as little as $159. There are other tablets available for even less. Considering the economy is still tough and notebooks can cost several hundred dollars, it only makes sense for folks to jump for more affordable tablets.

Apps are a huge selling point for tablets. In Apple’s App Store, Amazon’s Appstore, and the Google Play marketplace, there are hundreds of thousands of programs available for slates. Although Windows 8 now has a digital marketplace and Apple’s Mac App Store is running on OS X, there aren’t nearly as many apps. That’s an issue for some customers.

Unfortunately, many notebooks today don’t come with mobile connectivity. What that means is when users are away from a WiFi signal, they can’t get on the Web. Most tablets today don’t suffer from that issue, thanks to 3G and 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) chips, allowing tablets to connect to mobile phone networks. Tablets deliver the always-connected experience today’s customers want.

Mobility is a huge concern for many of today’s technology customers. And once again, tablets win out. Tablets are easier to fit into a purse or bag, they’re lighter, and they’re much thinner than notebooks. In other words, they’re easy to carry around. Notebooks are easier than ever to carry around, but they still can’t match tablets in overall mobility.

Windows 8 might be the most secure desktop operating system Microsoft has ever launched, but it still can’t match iOS and Android in terms of overall security. So far, cyber-criminals have not been able to put a significant dent in mobile operating systems, making owning a tablet a bit more secure than opting for a notebook.

Let’s face it, computer manufacturers follow where buyers lead them. Right now, buyers are telling them they are spending their money on tablets. Notebooks, in contrast, are starting to wane in importance. The lack of attention and investment in notebooks these days might be contributing to their inability to keep up with tablets.

When deciding which mobile Apple product to buy, it’s hard to choose anything other than the company’s iPad. Granted, MacBook Pros are nice, but they tend to score a bit under iPads in reviews. Plus, the iPad is the clear leader in tablets. The same can’t be said for a MacBook Pro. When deciding which Apple product to buy, the smart pick is the iPad.

It’s hard to find much innovation in the notebook space. Notebooks today all look the same and lack the kind of special feel that customers truly desire. The same can’t be said for tablets, and their sales are reflecting that.

The nice thing about tablets is that they haven’t yet become commoditized. It’s still possible to go to the store and find several tablets that boast many different features. It’s practically impossible to find that now in notebooks. And sales are declining because of it.