The much hyped Tablet PC is ready for a November launch and if pre-launch demonstrations are anything to go by, it is likely to be one of the big winners in the coming year.
The heart of the Tablet PC is a supercharged version of Windows XP, which adds handwriting and digital ink capabilities to the standard desktop applications.
"This is not just an embedded OS with reduced functionality," says Tracy McKinon, Microsoft product marketing manager. "It is also not just a techno gadget. We do really believe this is the replacement for the current notebook."
The Tablet PC idea stretches far back into PC history and McKinon says the research and design for the models to be launched globally on 7 November have been underway for more than 10 years.
Microsoft is not moving into hardware manufacturing, but has worked with a range of hardware and software partners to develop the specifications and prototypes for the Tablet PC. Partners that are readying Tablet PCs for the November launch include Acer, Toshiba and HP.
The idea behind the Tablet PC is that it should work in much the same way as a piece of paper and a pen, except better, says Microsoft.
While Table PCs will be shipped in various forms, they will all have some form of keyboard and mouse. Many of them, known as "convertibles", will look exactly like a current notebook PC except their screens will rotate and fold back onto the keyboard and be ready for pen input. Others will ship in standard tablet formats and will include an external docking station with keyboard and mouse attached.
They will all run Windows XP Professional with an additional set of tools to offer pen-based input and digital ink. With these added features, users will be able to write directly onto the tablet, store documents in digital ink format, or convert them to text and even digitally sign documents.
With the ability to rotate the screen, users can rotate the tablet to resemble a notepad similar in size and shape to an A4 notepad.
With the Office XP Pack for Tablet PC, users will be able to extend the use of handwriting into the standard Office applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. An on-screen keyboard is also provided for typing when the hardware keyboard is folded away.
Legacy ports such as serial and parallel ports are not included in the Tablet PC design but they do include a host of other connection options from infrared to wireless. Some also include slots for SD cards.
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