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Dec 1 - Dec 8,2002 |
The next evolution of mobile computing?
Microsoft and some OEM partners release portable Tablet PCs at recent launch in New York City
By Alessandro Cancian
Originally Published: 2002-11-17
In New York last week Microsoft and some OEM partners officially launched what, in their opinion, should be the next evolution in mobile computing: Tablet PCs.
After at least two years of discussions and prototypes, the new generation of portable devices is finally ready to hit the market in a wide range of models produced by several companies, including HP, Toshiba, Acer, Fujitsu, Viewsonic, NEC and more.
Ten vendors shipped designs at the event, while Matsushita announced it would be building a tablet under its Panasonic brand. The designs were powered by chips from Intel, Transmeta and VIA Technologies.
Judging from the quite uninspiring future prospects for Tablet PCs, at least in its first years, the rather high number of manufacturers supporting this product is unusual.
Based on research from Gartner group, the tablet shipments next year will amount to 425,000 units, just 1.2 percent of total PC shipments, and only by 2007 it will account for 37 percent of the notebooks.
The general impression is that Microsoft & Co. has deep faith in the success of this project, enough to develop an entire series of applications based on Windows XP Tablet edition.
There will be two different types of Tablet PCs: a "traditional" one, composed just by a LCD display and a frame bearing a few buttons and controls; and a "convertible" variant, much more similar to a notebook and equipped with a keyboard. In the latter case, generally users can rotate the keyboard or the display 180 or 360 degrees and use the device like a traditional Tablet PC.
Most of the Tablet PCs that will be marketed until the end of this year are convertible models, a choice probably dictated by the similarity in design with today's notebooks.
A typical configuration for one of these mobile devices has a LCD display ranging in size from 8 to 12 inches, a 1-GHz or more low-consumption processor, two or more USB ports for the keyboard and other peripherals, support for wireless (Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth) connections, and a mid-size hard disk. A Tablet PC weighs between 1.5 and 2.5 kilograms and can use a docking station.
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