平板电脑是个神马玩意儿？

多媒体平板装置(media tablet，通常称平板电脑)到底算不算是PC市场的一个产品类别？还是自成一格？最近市场研究机构IC Insights，把平板电脑归类为PC产品，在新报告中指平板电脑将成为2011年PC市场的主动力。这篇报告挑起了一个核心问题：平板电脑真的适合作为PC领域的一个产品类别，还是完全不同的一种东西？

有些市场分析机构是将平板电脑视为一个独立的产品类别，并认为该装置将会侵蚀PC市场2011年的销售表现；例如IHS iSuppli最近公布第一季全球PC市场业绩表现稍逊于去年同期，部分原因就是消费者兴趣转向多媒体平板电脑。

无论如何，显然所有的业界人士都认同，多媒体平板电脑热潮正对PC市场带来重大冲击；但它到底是拉抬PC市场或是伤害PC市场，各人观点不同。那么，多媒体平板电脑到底算不算是一种PC产品？笔者认为，简单来说它是，但它不是个单纯的PC产品；而如果你问十个人，可能得到的回答是一半一半。

让我们看看万能的维基百科(Wikipedia)怎么说吧…它对于PC的定义如下(编按：以下是译自维基百科英文版的PC解释内文，并非中文版维基百科的内容)：

“个人电脑(PC)是一种尺寸、功能与价格都适用于大众的通用型电脑，并能由终端用户直接操作，不需要中间的电脑操作员；PC包括各种应用于“个人”方式的电脑，不同于可供许多人、而且通常是同时使用的批次或分时模式大型昂贵主机系统，以及需要全职人员进行操作的大型数据处理系统。”

根据以上的定义，平板电脑应该可以算是PC；但那些同样不是大型主机的装置呢(而且现在谁还在用大型主机)？这样说来，iPod也可以算是PC的一种。维基百科又说：

“PC可能是桌上型电脑，或是其他例如笔记本电脑(laptop)、平板PC，或是尺寸较笔记本电脑小的手持式(掌上)PC。”

这些解释似乎又进一步支持了平板电脑是PC的论点；但里面提到的掌上型(palmtop)PC名词，实在稍嫌过时，无论平板电脑到底算不算是PC，也许有人应该出力用现代读者比较能理解的词汇，来把维基百科对于PC的解释内容改版一下(不好意思拉，笔者没那么勤快…)。

下一页：平板电脑开启了新的战局

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维基百科的PC解释页，后来也加入了一条专门讲平板PC的次条目：

“平板PC是一种笔记本电脑，或是平板形状的移动电脑，其触控屏幕或绘图板/屏幕(graphics tablet/screen)混合技术，让使用者能以触控笔或数字笔、手指来操作电脑，不需要通过键盘与鼠标；这种外型设计提供了一种与电脑互动的、更具移动力的方式。平板PC通常应用在笔记型电脑不适用的、或是无法提供所需功能的地方。”

哈！这么说正确吗？笔者认为并不尽然；首先，该解释页上面显示的平板PC图片，用的是一张HP Compaq出产的、配备可旋转/移除键盘的平板PC，而且照片拍摄时间是2006年。很多人用以区别平板PC与多媒体平板电脑的条件，在于前者是执行Windows操作系统，而后者则是iPad或者是采用Android平台的装置。

我们现在所面临的状况，是在科技快速演进，以及行动力不断被强调的趋势下，产品类别的界线越来越模糊；这些日子以来，产业界还算幸运地能够区分出笔记本电脑、小笔电(netbook)、平板电脑，甚至是电子书阅读器(e-reader)之间的不同。

这真的很重要吗？是，也不是；它是很重要，因为平板电脑的出现，一些非常重要的事情正在发生。想当然尔，包括HP、Dell、Acer等等众家PC厂商，会争相推出平板电脑产品，但就连其他非PC产业公司也加入了这场战局，例如做手机的RIM、Motorola，还有消费性电子大厂三星；如果你对平板电脑的定义也包括电子书阅读器，那么Amazon、Barnes and Noble等业者也在其中。

有“一卡车”的公司都在平板电脑市场下了赌注，这里面会有很多输家，而且那些领导级的传统PC厂商不见得都能赢一把。如果平板电脑算是PC，那么PC市场上会突然间多出很多重量级的供应商。

(苹果目前看来是平板电脑领域遥遥领先的厂商，虽然该公司的老本行就是PC──只不过该公司始终拒绝称其产品是PC，以强调自家产品的差异化──还是可以做为一个消费电子供应商开始卖PC产品的例子)

而从另一种角度意义上，平板电脑是否算是PC并不重要；以IC Insights的观点为例，平板电脑就跟传统PC一样，会消耗包括处理器、存储器等等大量芯片，不管你认为平板电脑是不是PC，该类产品的热销对芯片厂商来说都是件好事。

只不过，不同于传统Wintel PC战场的竞争模式，平板电脑在这个非常时刻，开启了一个让众多ARM核心处理器必须为争夺市占率而艰苦奋斗的新战局。

点击参考原文：Is a media tablet a PC, or not?

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Is a media tablet a PC, or not?

Dylan McGrath

A new report published by market research firm IC Insights Inc. postulates that PC sales will grow by 13 percent in 2011, thanks in part to strong projected growth of Apple Inc.'s iPad and other media tablets.

Among other things, the report calls to the forefront the central question of whether a tablet actually fits into the PC category or is something else entirely.

Some analysts are projecting that PC sales in 2011 will actually be undercut this year by media tablets, which they put in a separate category. Market research firm IHS iSuppli, for example, recently reported that first quarter PC sales slipped slightly compared to the first quarter of 2010, thanks in part to rising interest in media tablets.

Clearly, all comers recognize that the media tablet is a phenomenon that is making a big impact on the PC market. It's either lifting the PC market or hurting the PC market, depending on your point of view.

So, the logical question is: Is a media tablet a PC or not? A simple question, yes, but not an easy one. And if you ask 10 people, you are likely to get a five-to-five split decision.

This being 2011, it might be useful to turn to Wikipedia, the default reservoir of knowledge on all topics. Wikipedia says:

"A personal computer (PC) is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator. PCs include any type of computer that is used in a 'personal' manner. This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive mainframe systems to be used by many people, usually at the same time, or large data processing systems which required a full-time staff to operate efficiently."

Okay. By this definition, a tablet would appear to qualify. But so would a lot of other things that aren't mainframes (do we use mainframes anymore?). An iPod might also qualify as a PC under this definition.

Wikipedia goes on to say:

"A personal computer may be a desktop computer or other mobile types, for example a laptop, tablet PC or a handheld PC (also called a palmtop) that is smaller than a laptop."

This would also appear to support the inclusion of a tablet. But, palmtop? Was this written in 1996? Regardless of whether a tablet is ultimately considered a PC or not, it appears that someone ought to take advantage of the collaborative nature of Wikipedia and go in and update the definition of PC using language recognizable by today's reader (sorry, I'm not really the go-getter type).

Media tablet vs. tablet PC

Later, the Wikipedia entry on the PC includes a sub-section for tablet PCs:

"A tablet PC is a notebook or slate-shaped mobile computer. Its touchscreen or graphics tablet/screen hybrid technology allows the user to operate the computer with a stylus or digital pen, or a fingertip, instead of a keyboard or mouse. The form factor offers a more mobile way to interact with a computer. Tablet PCs are often used where normal notebooks are impractical or unwieldy, or do not provide the needed functionality."

Aha! Right? Well, not exactly. For one thing, the photo used to illustrate the tablet PC is an HP Compaq tablet PC with a rotating/removable keyboard. The photo was taken in 2006. And many people tend to differentiate between a tablet PC—read, runs Windows—and a media tablet like the iPad or Android-based tablets.

What we have here is one of those situations that people have been warning us about. With the rapid evolution of technology and the increased prominence of mobility, the lines between product categories are blurring beyond recognition. Good luck these days drawing distinctions between notebook PCs, netbooks, tablets and even, in some cases, e-readers.

Does it really matter? Yes and no. Yes, because with tablets, something very important is happening. The usual suspect PC vendors—HP, Dell, Acer, etc.—are all scrambling to put out compelling tablets. But so are a lot of other companies—including handset companies like Research in Motion and Motorola, electronics giants like Samsung, and even—depending on your definition of a tablet—book retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. There are literally dozens of companies throwing their hat in the ring, and though many will fail, it's likely that the firms left standing won't be just the leading traditional PC firms. If the tablet is a PC, the PC market suddenly has a lot more meaningful players.

(Apple is obviously far and away the leader in tablets, but though the company has roots in the personal computer—which the company still refuses to call a PC and in fact attempts to distinguish its products from—at this point it's more of a consumer electronics vendor that happens to sell PCs.)

Whether a tablet is a PC or not doesn't matter in another sense. That is, to IC Insights' point, like traditional PCs, tablets consume a lot of chips—processors, memories, etc. Whether you consider them a PC or not, the popularity of tablets is a good thing for chip vendors. Though, of course, unlike the traditional Wintel PC, the tablet has opened the game to a whole host of ARM-based processors that are fighting hard for market share at this very moment.