Submission + - India's $35 tablet reviewed (Link to Video)!!! (ndtv.com)
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/video.aspx?id=157534
Well, I put it in quotation marks because I was using it in the sense that I think the parent was using it -- I agree it's too broad a term to really be of use.
I agree with your point -- to an extent. Most of the tasks you list would be greatly helped if a keyboard and mouse could be used in conjunction with the touch screen with a suitably designed OS.
The products that could really compete IMO are ones that are not just copies. A good example is the Lenovo Ideapad tablet. It isn't the same as an iPad, it's more of a cross between an iPad and a netbook. One of the great things about it IMO is that it switches to a special touch OS when you fold it up as a touch screen device, and back to windows when you open out the keyboard -- I think this solves one of the major drawbacks of other tablet PCs.
It is a bit larger than the iPad at 10", but still very compact. To people who like the idea of an iPad, but can't quite justify buying a device that doesn't have a keyboard etc. it could be quite attractive.
Touch screens are fine if all you want to do with a device is browse the internet etc. As soon as you want to type or control a phone or media device they fail miserably. The lack of tactile feedback prevents fast typing, and means you cannot control a device (like change music tracks or reply to a text message) without looking at it. That's a pretty fundamental problem IMO.
I'm all for touch screens, but most devices will always need good old buttons as well. If the industry ignores this, we'll end up with a whole lot of devices with less functionality than current ones.
Bars on windows will have the same effect of attracting thieves as you state monitoring systems will. Plus who would want to live in a house with barred windows? May as well just go to jail.
If someone really wants to get in to your house, they will find a way.
Truth has always been found to promote the best interests of mankind... - Percy Bysshe Shelley