One might hear the words “clamshell” or “tablet” and think of beaches or cavemen.
But for Mark Miller and his associates at Intel Corp., they mean access to the Internet, taking notes with ease or doing business at a computer that can nearly fit in your coat pocket.
While many Intel Corp. devices have been on the market for three years, with others yet to be released, Miller, the company’s director of communications, said that despite the immense popularity of the iPad, there are plenty of reasons to buy Intel's products. Such devices include clamshells — mobile PCs that fold via a hinge — and tablets, which operate primarily by touch screen. And tablets are not expected to go away anytime soon: 53.5 million units are expected to be sold this year, a number that should reach 121 million by 2015, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), a global provider of market intelligence and advisory services.
Devices like the Acer Aspire, now in its third generation since the first version was released on the market in the summer of 2008, are a “great option to load apps, with a range of categories,” including online browsing, watching a movie or playing music, Miller said. These PCs are approximately three-quarters the size of a normal laptop and sell for approximately $269.
“There’s been improvements in the software and design, but the atom processor has been constant,” Miller said.
There’s options on the horizon like the Evolve III, a tablet with a screen that is separate from the keyboard and comes with a kickstand. The screen and the keyboard compact as they magnetically connect. Also significantly smaller than many typical PCs, for $500 the purchaser will be introduced to three different operating systems, including android capabilities.
Some clamshells like the classmate PC, which can convert into a tablet, have seen success on the international market, with 4 million sold in the past year. It has been sold in an estimated half-dozen U.S. states and has a presence in countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Malaysia, with a price of $400 to $500. If purchased in bulk, they can cost as low as $300, Miller said. A waterproof keyboard and screen, along with a mechanical pen to digitally draw or write notes, are some of the features for a device designed specially for children between kindergarten and junior high school.
“We try to make products like these very targeted and tailored for that audience,” Miller said.
The Open Peak tablet provides the luxury of opening multiple accounts and providing a firewall that keeps the user’s accounts from being accessed by others, such as their children. Its apps include video conferencing, and they sell for about $400. They have been used by health care companies, restaurants and law enforcement, said Agnes Kwan, Intel press relations manager.
Miller said he read an article about McDonald’s considering using products like Open Peak to help handle orders in the near future, which would dramatically reduce the need for employees.
“There’s perhaps more use than our content consumption model included that will happen in the next few years,” Miller said about the prognosis of the Open Peak product.
Clamshell or tablet, it’s the hybrid nature of these devices that makes them competitive with what the iPad has to offer, Miller said.
“We’re in the very early stages of development, particularly with the tablets moving from traditional slates,” Miller said. “But playing games, doing Facebook or whatever, you often can’t do both.
“We think how we can get to, say, 200 million units (sold),” he added. “Right now, there are very affluent Western cultures with tablets. But to get to those units, you’re paying $700 or $800. There will likely be waterfall pricing, so we see a lot of opportunity there.”
Miller said Intel can seize such opportunity as its product development rushes as fast as the waterfall.
“What’s kind of fun, you laugh at some early concepts, with people experimenting with a lot of different things to see how it evolves,” Miller said. “There’s lots of innovation still coming. It all starts with just a design of a device from a slate of glass or a traditional notebook.”
Email: rwilkinson@desnews.com