7. Vendors of tablet PCs have largely failed to market the devices to consumers, focusing instead on vertical markets within the business segment.

"If vendors went after consumers, it would help" sales, Shim said. The value of touch screens, as an intuitive technology, needs to be marketed to consumers as well as mainstream business users, he said. Mininotebooks, such as the OQO, could be marketed to consumers who are also business professionals, possibly expanding the consumer base for tablet PCs.

8. Perceptions that tablet PCs have not done well in the market make it harder to persuade buyers to try them.

"There's a negative stigma about tablet PCs now. People think that once they've failed, they are a failure forever, and that's not necessarily the case," Shim said. "It's true that they haven't lived up to expectations, but that's not everything."

Microsoft was asked why its tablet PC has not reached the mainstream as hoped for five years ago, but a representative did not answer directly. Instead, the representative issued the following statement via e-mail: