It`s been a long time coming, but today is the official launch of the Tablet PC. It is also a day that I predict will go down in history along with other paradigm-shifting days such as the day Windows was first unveiled, or the 1984 launch of the Apple Mac, or even the day Linus Torvalds announced his plans to build a Unix-like operating system called Linux.
The launch of the Tablet PC is one of those days. Having had a chance to play around with some early models of the Tablet PC, I am fairly sure that everyone who has the money is going to want one.
The Tablet recognises even the worst of writing styles.
Scribblings
What is a Tablet PC? In truth it is many things. Some resemble traditional notebooks except that their screens fold back on the keyboard to turn the machine into a tablet shape. Others may resemble tablets already, except come equipped with a plug-in keyboard and mouse.
Ironically, what makes the Tablet PC special is its similarity to a piece of paper. The design principles behind the Tablet are to make it as like a paper-based notebook as possible. With a supercharged version of Windows XP installed on the PC, it is possible to write notes and draw diagrams and then convert them to text or line drawings.
Others failed in the quest for a handwriting-based input system because they required a specialised form of handwriting. Take for example the Palm OS Graffiti, which requires learning a new alphabet. It`s not all that hard but most people don`t want to do it, or don`t have the time to learn it.
What makes the Tablet different, through its Windows XP Tablet pack, is that it recognises just about anyone`s handwriting, no matter whether it is cursive or printed, or just plain scribbled. Microsoft likes to tell potential clients that the handwriting application has been tested against a panel of doctors, who are notoriously bad scribblers. Whether this is true is anyone`s guess, but in my brief time with a Tablet, the handwriting recognition appears to hold up admirably in the face of even the worst writing style.
Microsoft has built-in a number of other really clever little features, such as being able to add in extra space between written lines, something you can`t do on a piece of paper. The ability to search handwritten notes also makes the Tablet infinitely desirable to the likes of journalists, executives, field workers, factory managers, and a host of others.
The spread of the Tablet PC in the coming months is going to be interesting to watch and I suspect that many companies are going to standardise on these within the coming year, as the Tablet is the same price as a high-end notebook.
In short, expect the Tablet PC to rocket to the top of the hardware pops within the next year.
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