Lenovo Says Customers Don't Want Slate-Tablets

I agree, I want my physical keyboard too. No Slate/Tablet for me.

I can see the slate PCs taking over where netbooks are now. Casual couch surfing and media playback.
That is what I would want it for.

I have the x200 tablet and its pretty darn good tablet PC. I couldnt imagine using it without a keyboard/trackpoint though.

There is definitely market for slate. But need more touch friendly apps for big screen.

Lenovo/IBM ThinkPads always had a good reputation for quality keyboards. I imagine that people who are used to Lenovo's portable offerings wouldn't want to lose a strong selling point.

Personally I would love to have a slate PC. I see it as the perfect device for the living room. Good for pictures, media, browsing, and they tend to look slick to boot. Sure, they're not good for everything, but then netbooks aren't good for everything either. With a netbook you have to either use a mouse (and carry it around with you), or use the touchpad. Personally I think it's a heck of a lot easier to just touch the screen.

I don't get why people are so attached to physical Keyboards. I have typed emails on touch
screens and it works perfectly. The digital keys will be nearly the same size and they are as senative
as a real keyboard. I love the idea of not haveing an extra keyboard and haveing it built in is just
awsome. It seems like whenever something different comes along people hesitate for awhile before they
even want to try it. Try it and i assure you it's easy to adapt to.

i would buy a netbook before i bought a tablet. a tablet is kind of like a novelty item. sure the touch technology is cool but its far from the easiest to use. i will stick with my mouse and keyboard thank you. oh and i hope the ipad is a falls flat on its face.

Using multi-keys (shift + key for example) on a keyboard instead of a screen means that your finger has somewhere secure to rest (textured, indented key), whilst the rest of your hand moves about, thus reducing the chance of your finger sliding away and resulting in a error.

Also keyboards are far, far greater for touch typing and speed typing. Not only that, a virtual keyboard doesn't give you the haptic perception you get with a proper physical keyboard. It's this haptic perception which allows people to type 50+wpm (that, and a lot of practice!)

How has no one brought this up? What about keyboards as accessories. Why should having a slate pc mean no physical keyboard? On the go I would use it as a slate PC. If I were in a more comfortable working environment (like on a desk) then I would just connect a physical keyboard to it.

Personally I would rather use a slate pc than a netbook, as long as it had the option to connect a keyboard to it, either via USB or bluetooth.

It would need to be a touch-screen with a stylus, anyone remember Grafitti? It is a great way for me to enter notes, edit etc.
With tha,. t you really don`t need a keyboard. It has to be rugged, I`m a commercial construction contractor.

I want it to do a couple of things well...

1. Fast boot so i can take notes on the fly.

2. rotate to portrait and function as an e-reader. I`m an avid reader,
it's unthinkable not to have some form of novel or reference material nearby.

3. enough horsepower to do multi-media and spreadsheet/word processing efficently.

4. Be about the dimensions of the e-books I`ve been seeing.

5. Bluetooth for the times you do want a keyboard and mouse, and sync-ing with my cell-phone and wire-less stereo/mic headset.

That's what I'm looking for in a portable.

I prefer a convertible.

Yes, unlike the over sized iTouch...er... I mean iPad a slate PC would be a MUCH better option for media and surfing the net.

I prefer a tablet. I can use it as a touchscreen if I want, or as a notebook if I need a keyboard.

Nice self serving poll that essentially goes...
We asked OUR customers who are used to laptops and buy laptops if they would buy something thats not a laptop.

iPad / Slates are for folks who don't have laptops and don't want or don't have the lifestyle spend their time sitting in front of a laptop.

Appears lenovo doesn't care to expand their market to non-laptop users and this is what apple is after. Apple did the same with the iPhone, made a "smartphone" for all the folks who didn't already own smartphones. And this was a vast majority of the market.

For me (a laptop user) I will likely have an iPad floating around.
Instant ON anywhere and anytime I am in the house is compelling. But I also need it to be able to print to a network printer (a recipe, directions, etc). Dunno if this will be available (it isn't on my iTouch).

You're right. We DON'T want a slate-tablet. Not until Apple told us we needed one.

I've been very happy with my x200. As enzo said, I too perfer a convertible. It's a slate when I want it to be and a laptop when I don't.

You can easily type 50 words a minute on a Ipad or other slate device, all you have to do is
try. This perception that a physical keyboard is a must is retarted, it's for those who have mental
blocks about change.

If I want to couchsurf I'll use my phone.

Slates without keyboard is good, if you are not typing too much. If you work in any office all communication is through email and a lot of typing is involved.
Just imagine typing and entering data on a form with no keyboard and answering emails in detail.

Yeah, and i barely use it in slate mode, unless im taking notes in class (rarely, lol)

I can see usage in one. At first I was against it, but now I can see the possibilities. I think it will be great with Microsoft One Note, and My software like Sibelius for notation.

I don't think I would want one. I keep thinking messy fingerprints and smudges all over the screen. The other problem is the small screen size.

I agree, i could see the slate PC fitting in with the Netbook's.

Hmpphhh... Windows has had accessibility mode for how long now? You don't need a keyboard.

A Slate would be good for media some have said. Just how would you watch it while sitting in a comfortable chair? On your lap? One sore neck coming up... Propped on your knee with your hands either side, or one hand on top or behind? That would get annoying watching Titanic. This is where a Netbook or Laptop wins hands down! Pun intended. A slate may be handy as a remote for a media centre or for some light browsing but it's no where near as good as a decent Netbook.

I LOVE my physical keyboard. It gives me instant tactile feedback. Sure I could have a virtual one, but why waste precious screen space?

Without the physical feedback though, it would be much more difficult. Among other things, it would remove the tactile feedback about where your fingers were relative to each key, which is crucial to fast touch typing.

I don't see any slates PC in classroom.
You'll look stupid just take out of your bag a slate.
Take out your slate for a call ?... really uncommon.
AND IT'S THE REASON I HOPE IPAD WILL FAIL.

What you'll do with a slate, perhaps try to half-surf on internet and slideshow picutes..? The fact is you can already do that on your computer and do REALLY MORE STUFF. Without any usb or keyboard, you just can do nothing except "SHOWOFF" your useless gadget.

Its not that we tablet users don't want a slate - its that most people are not manufacturing anything to the specs we want. They think all we want to do is maybe annotate a types word doc like an editor and then send it back, or sign email.

I take notes in class on my tablet PC, I use digital art programs (Corel Painter, Illustrator, etc), browse the web, read books, etc - often in tablet mode. So why do I use a convertible PC? Better specs... oh, and screen protection when in my bag.

So how do you make a good slate? Better specs, especially in the graphics and CPU size. Better screen size/resolution for digital artists and web designers would be a plus. As for a physical keyboard, how about a hard-shell screen cover with a keyboard inside that connects via USB or bluetooth? How hard would that be? Molded plastic, some means of sliding it on/off, and a low-cost keyboard...

Oh, and when in tablet mode is there anything I can't do that a traditional laptop can? I have a virtual keyboard, though I can just write what I want instead. I can more than "half-surf" on the internet or slideshow pics... believe it or not there are several input methods with a tablet. Okay, I can't touch-type... *sniff* Who cares. IF you use the inking capabilities of a laptop, you have one of the most natural ways of entering information.