Add in the "app only" business that exist now, as an extra layer of frothy foolish frosting on the cake of stupid.
The "touch screen tablet" is the epitome of SciFi user interface and has been since the early 70s or so, I think. The "powers that be" have this in their sights and can't hear any of the reasonable objections raised by engineers and users. One might conclude that the real reasons have less to do with "user experience" and more to do with what the vendors can get away with.
The humble keyboard, despite all the reasons there are to hate it, despite all the flaws and room for improvement; despite the lack of "market support" by manufacturing giants, still continues to be used, valued, and innovated on by users.
So the answer to your question is, I think: because BIG money wants there to be smartphones and apps; in the hope that that minimal functionality will prevent the invention of better functions. Competing is hard, so much easier to manage market expectations.
Comments
Add in the "app only" business that exist now, as an extra layer of frothy foolish frosting on the cake of stupid.
The "touch screen tablet" is the epitome of SciFi user interface and has been since the early 70s or so, I think. The "powers that be" have this in their sights and can't hear any of the reasonable objections raised by engineers and users. One might conclude that the real reasons have less to do with "user experience" and more to do with what the vendors can get away with.
The humble keyboard, despite all the reasons there are to hate it, despite all the flaws and room for improvement; despite the lack of "market support" by manufacturing giants, still continues to be used, valued, and innovated on by users.
So the answer to your question is, I think: because BIG money wants there to be smartphones and apps; in the hope that that minimal functionality will prevent the invention of better functions. Competing is hard, so much easier to manage market expectations.