Forrester

Why Read This Report

The iPad is a new kind of PC. It ushers in a new era of Curated Computing — a mode of computing in which choice is constrained to deliver more relevant, less complex experiences. Curated Computing is necessary to empower alternative form factors, such as touchscreen tablets, wearable and ambient devices, game consoles, and connected TVs. The iPad's Curated Computing experience makes the tablet form factor viable for the first time since it was introduced commercially more than two decades ago. The time is right to promote tablets as a fourth form factor for the multiple-PC-owning consumer, but the tablet's success beyond the iPad is not a given. Product strategists hoping to build a market for tablets will have to reshape consumers' expectations of what a PC can be and how it fits into their lives alongside desktops, laptops, and smartphones.