Gates stakes reputation on Tablet PC
October 13, 2005 by Mike Wendland
My column on my interview with Bill Gates is in the Freep today. I was part of a group of five reporters who met him after he appeared at the University of Michigan. As Gates walked into the room he quickly spotted me and the Tablet PC I was using. The last time we met, back in the spring during a previous visit, he was so taken by my use of the Tablet that he mentioned it and me by name during a speech in Seattle to the effect that I “got it” when it came to tech.
“You’re my favorite reporter,” he said with a smile yesterday, nodding towards the new Motion LS800 Tablet PC I had in front of me. He was referring to my strong enthusiasm for the Tablet platform and, in particular, an absolutely amazing piece of Microsoft software called OneNote.
OneNote lets you take handwritten notes on a Tablet PC and simultanelously record an interview or event. Afterwards, when you want to hear what was said, tap the screen next to the totation or mark you made in your note taking and it plays back what was being recorded at that precise time.
Anyway, way down in my column is this quote from the interview:
Specifically, he touted the slow-selling Microsoft Tablet PC, which lets users take notes and enter data by writing on the screen much as they would with a paper pad. “Most people still don’t think the tablet will pay off, but I’m staking my reputation on it in a very big way.”
The quote is dead-on accurate, recorded by OneNote, after all. That’s about the strongest endorsement I’ve yet seen from Gates for the platform. So you’d think that with all those MBAs at Microsoft, that someone would have figured out by now how to market these amazing Tablet PCs and the awesome OneNote program. Every time people see me using it they are amazed. Microsoft needs to show how this combo can transform information processing by businesspeople, doctors, attorneys, students, journalists and anyone who regularly takes notes and needs to process, store and retreive information in an organized, easy-to-access way.
The new LS800 Motion Computing Tablet PC I was using is about the size of a paperback book. It runs a complete Windows XP operating system, has wi-fi and Bluetooth and can take an external keyboard. I’ll have a review on it in a few days.
I’ve never seen an ad for the Tablet PC. Maybe Billy should advertise it if he thinks it is such a great product.
The marketing for the Tablet PC is horrible. Most people I have talked to have never heard of it, and are completely blown away when they see mine. I did see one company (Fujitsu or Toshiba, I think) advertised towards home users. Get the name out there more and maybe sales will increase as expected.
I do wish they would advertise the Tablet PC to really get the word out. I was at the National Association of Realtors Conference this weekend and was happy to see that they had a class or two on the subject. But I was disappointed in that few Tablet vendors were there. I was hoping to purchase one while there.
Upon returning home empty handed I have been amazed at how few Realtors even know about the Tablet PC or it’s capabilities. It was very exciting to see how the Tablet PC is going to change our industry tremendously, so please help advertise to my field so that we will be that much closer to a paperless transaction.
P.S. Even the computer stores have very little to choose from in the Tablet PC’s. It is very hard to find one to look at before buying.