As you finalize your plans to migrate to Windows 7 (and deploy some new hardware at the same time), you've probably wondered about tablets. After all, you can't swing a cat without hitting yet another "are-iPads-good-for-business?" story.

But we suspect there are few CIOs considering iPads for their organizations. More likely, you're just wondering if you should wait on buying new laptops and/or netbooks to see if tablets prove to be a more economical and/or practical choice.

There's a ton of conflicting information out there. For example, blogger Nick Eaton wrote last week that Microsoft is already losing the tablet battle, stating that "Windows may be too big, too bulky for the tablet of today."

As evidence of that thesis, he cites HP's recent cancellation of the much-ballyhooed Slate, suggesting that perhaps the company decided Windows 7 wasn't the right OS for its tablet PC.

But let's not forget that different versions of Windows have been running on tablets for years. Not iPad-style toy tablets, but full-size, crook-of-the-arm-friendly, pen-powered slates and convertibles. The kind that are actually useful in enterprise and vertical environments. Like for example, the Dell Latitude XT2. It runs Windows 7, by the way, and leverages that OS's touchscreen support.

Even so, tablets as they're evolving today are in their infancy, and it'll likely be at least a few years before a mobile operating system (like the iPhone OS or Palm's Web OS) makes sense for the enterprise. Right now, today, Windows 7 is the only OS that makes sense, be it for laptops, desktops, or convertible tablets.

Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments!