Tablets: The Next Disruptive Computing Technology?

Disruptive technology has a long history in the computing industry. The usual path of innovation in this industry is toward delivering increased computing power on smaller devices. Both architectural and component innovation play an important role in this evolution. Nowadays, it seems that the computing device paradigm is experiencing a transition from notebooks and laptops toward touchscreen tablets. But is this new technology really disruptive? Drawing from the literature on disruptive innovation, the authors answer this question by analyzing the functionalities and performance dimensions of notebooks and tablets.