PT Score one more for Transmeta. The company initially hoped to launch a consumer version of the Linux-based tablet but is instead pitching the machine at hospitals and other niche markets.
Cost is a big reason.
Ward Williams, director of product marketing for Sonicblue subsidiary Frontpath, said in an interview that he and his colleagues spent about a month trying to find a business model that would appeal to consumers, but to no avail. These are going to be expensive just by their nature. Williams said the company still hopes to bring the Web tablet to homes later in the year, but for now ProGear is aimed at business users. For example, the company has started supplying the units to hotels in New York and Chicago, which are renting them to guests. The Web tablet is one of a slew of new Transmeta-based products announced in recent weeks.