The Sony Reader was the first to get touch screen technology. It set off a big touch screen craze that included all of the major e-readers: Kindle, Nook, and Kobo. The Kindle Touch in turn became Amazon’s bestselling e-ink Kindle.
So, Sony has a some good ideas going as far as e-readers go. I happened upon an article about a foldable tablet that the company is currently preparing for release next week.
The new tablet, called the Tablet P, will have dual screens, one on each side of the foldable hinges. My biggest question in regards to the screens is how they will mesh together for the display. Will they show separate content? Do they somehow come together to create a larger display?
The odd thing is that the Tablet P will feature last year’s Android operating system, Honeycomb. That will be a big drawback right there.
By making this table foldable, it is protecting the screen from scratches and dings, so that is a big plus. Although Apple was onto something when it created a smart cover to protect the iPad’s screen . Sony’s new tablet also includes a camera, which is not currently available on the Kindle Fire.
Obviously, there are some real winners in the e-reader and tablet market, most notably, the Kindle and iPad, but is still fun to explore the other ideas are floating around. Despite the Tablet P’s lack of computing power and poor sales outlook, it sparks an idea that can be developed further to grab the attention of consumers.
I would really like to see the major players in the tablet and e-reader world become powerful enough to handle heavier computing. It would be nice to have the benefits of both in one device. The foldable tablet could emerge as a hybrid laptop/tablet device. The tablet would be hinged to a keyboard, but also removable. Read how to open PST file.
So, we’ll see what happens. It is always fun to speculate on the future of technology.