One of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s vice presidents doesn’t see a future in 10-inch tablets. Of course, there has been a lot of concern about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad Mini cannibalizing the 10-inch size, and it may not entirely be about price. Some users may simply not want to carry something that’s a full 10 inches around with them.
ZDNet reports that Kirk Skaugen, who’s a vice president in the company’s PC Client Group, said at this year’s Intel Solutions Summit that this will be the year when the future of 10-inch tablets will “rapidly erode.” He predicts that users will prefer the smaller sized tablets.
Skaugen also believes that hybrid laptops will begin to replace larger sized tablets for high-end users. He expects that we will begin to see a variety of hybrid laptops with various tablet features like a detachable screen. It would make sense that hybrid laptops like the ones he describes would be powered by Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s processors.
Of course right now Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is pretty much the leader in the hybrid laptop market with its Surface Pro tablets. There’s been a debate about the Surface Pro tablets and exactly what they are. Some experts classify it as an ultrabook, but it really is one of the earliest hybrid laptops, and it won’t be the last.
In fact, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is said to be working on a touch screen laptop that would run on its Chrome Pixel operating system and compete head to head with the Surface Pro. However, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) doesn’t seem to have a hybrid laptop in the works at this point, although it’s rumored to have plenty of other products in the pipeline.
Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) rose 1 percent in Friday afternoon trades.
