Report: Tablet PC sales robust
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Fujitsu's version of the tablet PC has a separate keyboard and holding dock.
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SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- Shipment of Tablet PCs, personal computers that can be operated with a pen, reached 72,000 units in the last three months of 2002 and is expected to keep growing this year, technology industry research IDC said Friday.
"With only six weeks of potential shipments to record (due to the tablet PC's official launch not occurring until mid-November)," IDC said in a report, "and the form factor's relative infancy in the face of other competing, more established devices, IDC believes that initial shipment volume represents a good start at securing a role in the crowded mobile device arena."
Tablet PCs, which Microsoft Corp. launched last November with computer hardware makers, can record handwritten notes and be operated without a keyboard, which Microsoft hopes will make them appealing to a new class of users such as health care workers and lawyers, and sell more software.
More growth expected
The report said that Tablet PC shipments in 2003 were expected to "grow considerably, driven by increased marketing efforts from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and Microsoft, a steady refining of product lines, and the development of new usage models that are attractive to a greater cross section of potential users."
IDC research analyst Alan Promisel said the U.S. market, which made up half of the sales volume, would be the biggest for the Tablet PC, though Asia looks promising, as well.
"In Asia, the form factor's ability to deal with Asian language input more easily than traditional keyboard-equipped notebooks remains a powerful driver," Promisel said in the report.
IDC said corporate adoption of Tablet PCs would be important for their success and that many companies are still testing the Tablet PC, so "widespread tablet adoption is still at least 6 to 12 months away."
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