Tablet PC: Buy Now Or Buy Later

TDavid raises an interesting issue in a recent blog entry called Don't buy a new Tablet PC, buy an older model instead or keep waiting.

We've seen a number of new Tablet PC models in 2005. Toshiba, Lenovo, Acer, Motion, HP, Gateway, and Fujitsu have all attracted significant attention with new and innovative Tablet PCs. There are quite a few folk who think the Lenovo X41 Thinkpad helped increase the focus on Tablet PCs considerably. All good things pointing forward.

But will the Tablet PCs we are talking about today be the Tablet PCs we are talking about a year from now?

Simply put, which of today's Tablet PCs will be able to run Vista satisfactorily? The new Gateway and Toshiba's Tecra M4 maybe. But the list narrows considerably after that.

Where does that leave someone in the market for a Tablet PC today? One of the many advice axioms on Tablet PC Buzz is that waiting for the next great Tablet PC will only leave you waiting when you could be inking. That axiom is of course true of any computer purchase.

But things are different with Vista on the horizon, especially in the Tabletscape (all due credit to James Kendrick who coined that phrase on a recent podcast.) While that view may not be the clearest of Vistas at the moment, we've seen enough hints of what Vista will offer and what the hardware demands will be, that I think we can reasonably surmise that waiting, or purchasing an older, perhaps used model, as TDavid suggests, is becoming an increasingly viable option.

My hunch is that we'll see quite a few new additions to the Tabletscape as Vista gets closer, all announcing in big bold letters that they are Vista ready. And while we've heard talk about different options of running Vista for different (read lesser) hardware specs, all the hype is certainly going to be clearly focused on Glass. I've said it before, if it won't run Glass, it won't be able to compete. That's just marketing 101 as everyone will want to follow the hype.

So the waiting game becomes a very viable option, in my opinion. In my own thinking, I've been tempted several times this year to take another Tablet PC plunge. As it is, I'll be sticking with my M200 until the Vistas become clearer, or those price points drop considerably. Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent Tablet PCs on the market right now and if the price/length of use factor makes sense in your scenario you can really enjoy a quality experience right now. But on my budget, I'm looking for at least a two year life cycle on my next purchase. That dictates a bit of a wait.