What is a tablet pc?

What is a tablet pc?

A tablet PC is a wireless, transportable personal computer with a touch screen interface. The tablet form factor is usually smaller than a laptop computer but larger than a clever phone.

There several styles of tablets:

• A convertible tablet usually has a display that rotates 180 degrees & can be folded to close, screen up, over the integrated keyboard. Convertible models may permit user input through a variety of methods in addition to the hardware keyboard, including natural handwriting with a stylus or digital pen & typing through a screen-based application keyboard.

• A hybrid tablet, sometimes known as a convertible or hybrid laptop, is like a regular laptop but with a removable display that functions independently as a slate.

• A slate tablet, such as an iPad, has electronics integrated in to the touch screen unit & lacks a hardware keyboard. However, outside keyboards are available for slate tablets, a number of which function as docks for the devices.

• A rugged tablet is a slate-like model that is designed to resist rough handling & extreme conditions. Rugged tablets are usually encased in a protective shell & have shock-protected hard drives.

The idea of tablet computing is usually credited to Alan Kay of Xerox, who sketched out the idea in 1971. The first widely-sold tablet computer was Apple Computer's Newton, which was not a commercial success. Technological advances in battery life, display resolution, handwriting recognition application, larger memory, & wireless Net access have since made tablets a viable computing option.