Over the last year or so several people have blogged about how a lot of print ads are using the term “convertible” when talking about “Tablet PCs.”
From what I’m seeing most recently it appears that the term has been growing traction.
But I have a question: How does a Tablet-oriented software company promote its software online if people are going to be transitioning from “Lenovo Tablet PC” to talking about it as a “Lenovo Convertible?” Most online advertising is geared one way or another around keyword matching. So the identifiability of the terms is extremely valuable in terms of search quality and ad quality.
It used to be easy. A software ISV could say they develop and produce “Tablet PC Software.” They could purchase context-based ads that appear when “Tablet PC” is searched for, for instance.
What will this morph into though as the Tablet market evolves though? Will ISVs start having to describe their apps as “Convertible Software?” Eh, that doesn’t sound right at all. Or will consumers understand that they have purchased a “Gateway convertible”, but they should look for “Tablet PC Software” to run on it?
Or maybe they will instinctively query for “handwriting-enabled notetaking software” when searching for EverNote? Or maybe “touch-enabled map software” when looking for a map solution that they can draw on? Or maybe we should just return to the term de jure of the 90’s: “pen enabled?”
Point is I see a fragmentation in the terminology which is influencing the rest of the Tablet ecosystem. The transition is inevitable as the market decides where the value is for Tablet features. The important point for the ISVs is to realize that these terms are not etched in stone and they should expect and anticipate change.
The loss of the term “Tablet PC” or “Tablet” as an online-friendly way of identifying software for, uh, convertibles or slates, is going to require some re-thinking in the ISV world.
I would be more worried abt the Vista threat. Is Vista cannibalizing the existing Tablet PC? Well it is not out so no one can buy it but potential Tablet buyers have bought into MS’s grand vision and would rather wait.
Off topic but watch as you see more of this.
It’s a related issue. Either way the market is changing and ISVs need to adapt.
What I’m think is important is for companies to think in terms of the online business experience. What keywords will people use to find your product, if any? What sites will they visit? How will they find those sites?
In today’s market we’re very search oriented so keywords are extremely important. It’s good to have unique terms of phrases that people can use to find things with and companies can use to publish content to.
Right now I’m guessing that the term “Tablet” won’t fade away. People will think in terms of “Tablet features” or “ink-enabled features.” However, will these terms get set aside as new terms gain favor? If so, that’ll lead to a rough road for awhile as the usage of the new terms settles down.