Buehler said tablets, even at such a large size as the Excite 13, are not ideal for fine detail work when a person uses a finger on a touchscreen. And if a tablet is paired with a keyboard and mouse, the result is still not as effective as using a PC, he added.

"Only time will tell whether users adopt the [Excite 13] form factor, but to me it seems too big to be a good tablet and too tablet-like to be a good PC," Buehler said.

covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to . His email address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.

See .