Tablet PCs: would you rather write than type?

Tablet PCs give users several data-entry options: handwriting recognition, electronic "ink" (the ability to capture handwriting as images inside documents), voice annotation, and voice recognition. The Windows Tablet PC may flourish where others have failed, according to a META Group report. There have been many attempts at pen-based computing, but hard-to-use handwriting recognition programs and hefty price tags have hindered the popularity of these devices. But, later this year, Microsoft and its partners--Hewlett-Packard, Fujitsu, Acer, Toshiba, Legend, and Motion--plan to release slimmed-down notebook computers running a special version of Microsoft Windows XP.

"A significant number of users aren't adept on keyboards and prefer to write or dictate material," says META Group analyst Jack Gold. "And some activities are easier, quicker, and more natural to do with a stylus or microphone than a keyboard."

Manufacturers are taking two approaches to designing the tablets, according to META Group. One is to add a hinge to an existing laptop model to let the screen fold completely over the keyboard and base to create a tablet. The other is to create a tablet with most of the hardware of a standard laptop, minus the keyboard, in an electronic clipboard format. This eliminates the hinge, which may prove to be a weak point in some tablet designs. But, this approach also requires the user to go without a keyboard, or purchase either a keyboard that attaches or one that connects via short-range wireless technology.

Noticeably absent from the list of Tablet PC manufacturers are IBM and Dell. Big Blue says it has developed prototype Tablet PCs and can come to market quickly, should there be a demand. For now, it's content to let Microsoft fight the buyer awareness battle. Expect IBM to introduce a Tablet PC in mid 2003, says META. Dell doesn't plan to enter the Tablet PC market until 2005.

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