Tablet PCs and Real Estate - a Fit?

Imagine a machine that combines the writing power of a PDA, the mobility of a laptop and the stability of a desktop all in one. That is what manufacturers are hoping the consumer will believe as a wave of new machines called Tablet PC’s begins to enter the market in a big way.

The first theory is that we would accept the replacement of a keyboard with a pen. This has been tried unsuccessfully before with machines such as the Apple Newton and Apple Emate machines. This time it is Microsoft’s turn to find that magical combination in a machine that will have consumers flooding the market to buy.

These first generation machines are not perfect. They are slower then most laptops and desktops; and, the handwriting recognition software takes time for the machines to learn your style and is not 100% accurate. However, new second generation products and applications are already under development and PC manufacturers are predicting a market size of 1.5 million by the year 2005. Fujitsu, HP, Acer and Toshiba currently all have these machines entering the marketplace. These machines offer folding keyboards and docking stations to convert these machines to laptops and desktops. All machines are running on a Tablet PC version of Windows XP. Prices range from $1,600 on up.

The question for real estate professionals is whether these machines offer any new tools that will entice us to buy these machines? The answer today for me is no.

The ultimate mobile product is to have one machine that we can carry with us that serves as our phone and our computer. Phone companies and PDA manufacturers are coming out with new generation machines that are coming close to offering these tools in one machine that can slip into your shirt pocket. So what else can a Tablet PC offer me that would again force me to carry a machine?

My current Palm PDA offers a color screen, handwriting recognition, access to see and edit word, excel, power point, PDF files and even read books. I can receive text and email messages on my phone, which will soon be able to wirelessly send these same email messages to my palm for better viewing. I rarely use my laptop anymore except to make presentations, but in most cases I can bring a CD to a meeting and use my client’s machine for that. I am now accustomed to a large 17-inch flat screen monitor for my desktop so I certainly do not look forward to viewing documents on a smaller screen just to have a Tablet PC.

The idea of showing property on a Tablet in front of my client or reviewing proposals and other documents would be interesting, but I don’t see all of us running out to buy these machines because of it.

The fact of the matter is that size does matter when it comes to mobile machines. They have to be smaller and thinner not bigger and thicker. We shall see what temptations these machines will offer me to change my mind in the future.