The Anything Interface

I have to admit I’m one of the few people who have been a devotee of the tablet PC interface since almost the beginning. I had one of the first Compaq units that was powered by the software-based Transmeta CPU. It was small and light, had a bunch of accessories, was really slow to boot and couldn’t handle more than a few apps at a time. I used a Fujitsu model for a period of time too. It had a larger screen, faster processor and had decent battery life. Then in the middle of a member conference the Fujitsu died...ugh! But then I stumbled on Motion Computing’s tablets, which I’m using to this day.

What I’ve always liked about the tablet is the same thing I love in any touch interface - the ability for software to make the device anything you want it to be. The iPhone has been the most versatile example of this on a large scale. It’s a phone, it’s a compass, it does GPS and on and on. If the processor can run it and the programmer can develop it, a device like the iPhone can become anything. So here comes the iPad and a ton of other devices like it. But will they stick this time? Are we really reintroducing something new? The answers to these questions depend on what you plan to do with it.

If you’re running business productivity applications that require a lot of input and editing, like writing this post, a touch-based interface isn’t really all that practical and is probably productivity reducing. But if you’re talking about the need to browse content, communicate or run apps that have heavy visual aspects to them and require very little if any textual input, it’s not hard to imagine devices like the iPad showing up in all kinds of fields. Think of the realtor showing homes, an architect reviewing drawings, a waitress taking an order, a doctor in a clinic or even a soldier on the battlefield. They would all be using the same device but for completely different purposes.

One device to rule them all! But only if it can do the things you want and need to do.