[mercer]

Perhaps we're in agreement and I'm misreading your comments, but it seems to me that tablets are clearly useful enough to be considered 'successful'. They're just not the kind of thing everybody wants or needs. And I'm not sure tablet makers ever really thought that.

Using the term 'languish' just seems a bit too negative to describe this particular outcome. Tablets are finding (or found) their market, and are doing okay. Smartwatches will probably be a similar kind of thing. Setting the bar for 'success' at smartphone levels seems a bit too high to me.