Microsoft Tablet PC

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HP Compaq tablet PC with rotating/removable keyboard HP Tablet PC running Windows XP (Tablet PC edition) (2006).jpg
HP Compaq tablet PC with rotating/removable keyboard

Microsoft Tablet PC is a term coined by Microsoft for tablet computers conforming to a set of specifications announced in 2001 by Microsoft, for a pen-enabled personal computer, conforming to hardware specifications devised by Microsoft and running a licensed copy of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system or a derivative thereof. [1]

Contents

Hundreds of such tablet personal computers have come onto the market since then. [2]

History

In 2003, original equipment manufacturers released the first tablet PCs designed to the Microsoft Tablet PC specification. This generation of Microsoft Tablet PCs were designed to run Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, the Tablet PC version of Windows XP. [3] This version of Microsoft Windows superseded Microsoft's earlier pen computing operating environment, Windows for Pen Computing 2.0. After releasing Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Microsoft designed the successive desktop computer versions of Windows, Windows Vista and Windows 7, to support pen computing intrinsically. The Tablet PC with Windows XP released in 2001 had 128 megabytes of RAM and a 600 megahertz processor, with a storage capacity of 10 GB. [4]

Following Windows for Pen Computing, Microsoft has been developing for tablets running Windows under the Microsoft Tablet PC name. [5] According to a 2001 Microsoft definition [6] of the term, "Microsoft Tablet PCs" are pen-based, fully functional x86 PCs with handwriting and voice recognition functionality. Tablet PCs use the same hardware as normal laptops but add support for pen input. For specialized support for pen input, Microsoft released Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Today there is no tablet specific version of Windows but instead support is built into both Home and Business versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. Tablets running Windows get the added functionality of using the touchscreen for mouse input, hand writing recognition, and gesture support. Following Tablet PC, Microsoft announced the UMPC initiative in 2006 which brought Windows tablets to a smaller, touch-centric configuration. This was relaunched in 2010 as Slate PC, to promote tablets running Windows 7 [7] Slate PCs are expected to benefit from mobile hardware advances derived from the success of the netbooks.

Many tablet manufacturers are moving to the ARM architecture with lighter operating systems, Microsoft followed suit in 2012 with Surface and Windows RT. Though Microsoft has Windows RT for ARM support it has kept its target market for the smartphone industry with Windows Phone 8. Some manufacturers, however, still have shown prototypes of Windows CE-based tablets running a custom shell.

Recent developments of tablet computers with Windows featured Microsoft's Surface line, which ran the windows RT operating system, and later Windows 8.1 and x86 and ARM versions of Windows 10.

Configurations

Booklet

Booklet PCs are dual screen tablet computers that fold like a book. Typical booklet PCs are equipped with multi-touch screens and pen writing recognition abilities. They are designed to be used as digital day planners, internet surfing devices, project planners, music players, and displays for video, live TV, and e-reading.

Slate

Slate computers, which resemble writing slates, are tablet computers without a dedicated keyboard. For text input, users rely on handwriting recognition via an active digitizer, touching an on-screen keyboard using fingertips or a stylus, or using an external keyboard that can usually be attached via a wireless or USB connection.

Tablet PCs typically incorporate small (8.4–14.1 in or 21–36 cm) LCD screens and have been popular in vertical markets such as health care, education, hospitality and field work. Applications for field work often need a tablet PC that has rugged specifications that ensure long life by resisting heat, humidity, and drop/vibration damage. This added focus on mobility and/or ruggedness often leads to eliminating moving parts that could raise vulnerability.

Convertible

A Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet in slate mode Lenovo-X61-Tablet-Mode.jpg
A Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet in slate mode

Also known as Netvertible; Convertible notebooks have a base body with an attached keyboard. They more closely resemble modern laptops, and are usually heavier and larger than slates.

Typically, the base of a convertible attaches to the display at one joint called a swivel hinge or rotating hinge. The joint allows the screen to rotate through 180° and fold down on top of the keyboard to provide a flat writing surface. This design, although the most common, creates a physical point of weakness on the notebook.

Some manufacturers have attempted to overcome these weak points. The Panasonic Toughbook CF-19, for example, is advertised as a more durable convertible notebook. One model by Acer (the TravelMate C210) has a sliding design in which the screen slides up from the slate-like position and locks into place to provide the laptop mode.

Convertibles are by far the most popular configuration of tablet PCs, because they still offer the keyboard and pointing device (usually a touchpad) of older notebooks, for users who do not use the touchscreen display as the primary input method.

Hybrid

Hybrids, coined by users of the HP/Compaq TC1000 and TC1100 series, share the features of the slate and convertible by using a detachable keyboard that operates similarly to a convertible when attached. Hybrids are not the same as slate models with detachable keyboards. Detachable keyboards for pure slate models do not rotate to allow the tablet to rest on it like a convertible. An examples of hybrids are Microsoft Surface (10.6 or 12) or Fujitsu Stylistic (11.6 with an Intel-i5-vPro processor). [8]

System software

Windows 7 touch capability is similar to Microsoft PixelSense technologies (formerly known as Microsoft Surface). This is a gesture and touch-centric UI enhancement that works with most current touch computers. Windows has a history of tablet technology including Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. [9] [10] Tablet PC Edition is a superset of Windows XP Professional, the difference being tablet functionality, including alternate text input (Tablet PC Input Panel) and basic drivers for support of tablet PC specific hardware. Requirements to install Tablet PC Edition include a tablet digitizer or touchscreen device, and hardware control buttons including a Ctrl-Alt-Delete shortcut button, scrolling buttons, and at least one user-configurable application button.

Service Pack 2 for Windows XP includes Tablet PC Edition 2005 and is a free upgrade. This version brought improved handwriting recognition and improved the Input Panel, allowing it to be used in almost every application. The Input Panel was also revised to extend speech recognition services (input and correction) to other applications.

With the succession of Windows Vista, the Tablet PC functionality no longer needed a separate edition. Tablet PC support is built into all editions of Windows Vista with the exception of Home Basic and Starter editions. This extends the handwriting recognition, ink collection, [11] and additional input methods to any computer running Vista even if the input device is an external digitizer, a touch screen, or even a regular mouse. Vista also supports multi-touch functions and gestures (originally developed for the Microsoft PixelSense version of Vista) and is now usable by the public with the release of multi-touch tablets. Windows Vista also significantly improved handwriting recognition functionality with the introduction of a handwriting recognition personalization tool as well as an automatic handwriting learning tool.

Tablet functionality is available in all editions of Windows 7 except the Starter edition. It introduces a new Math Input Panel that recognizes handwritten math expressions and formulas, and integrates with other programs. Windows 7 also significantly improved pen input and handwriting recognition by becoming faster, more accurate, and supportive of more languages, including East Asian writing systems. Personalized custom dictionaries help with the recognition of specialized vocabulary (like medical and technical terms), and text prediction speeds up the input process to make note-taking faster. Multi-touch technology is also available on some Tablet PCs, enabling more advanced interaction using touch gestures with your fingers the same way a mouse is used. [12] Despite such advances, problems may arise with tablet functions of the OS, when, for instance, touch screen drivers are recognized as PS/2 mouse input rather than a touch input device. In such instances tablet functions may be unavailable or severely restricted in functionality.

Windows applications

Applications developed for the tablet PC cater to the configuration and functionality available on the platform. Many forms of applications incorporate a pen-friendly user interface and/or the ability to hand write directly in the document or interface.

A brief description of the applications included follows:

Experience Pack
Education Pack
Touch Pack

The Touch Pack for Windows 7 is a free package of games and programs optimized for multitouch input.

Application software

Microsoft Tablet PCs vs. traditional notebooks

The advantages and disadvantages of tablet PCs are highly subjective measures. What appeals to one user may be exactly what disappoints another. The following are commonly cited opinions of the tablet PC platform:

Advantages

Disadvantages

Features

In addition to the host of features found on regular laptops, tablet PCs may also possess:

See also

Similar devices
Related components

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphics tablet</span> Computer input device

A graphics tablet is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a special pen-like stylus, similar to the way a person draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets may also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures. It can also be used to trace an image from a piece of paper that is taped or otherwise secured to the tablet surface. Capturing data in this way, by tracing or entering the corners of linear polylines or shapes, is called digitizing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handwriting recognition</span> Ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input

Handwriting recognition (HWR), also known as handwritten text recognition (HTR), is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens and other devices. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning or intelligent word recognition. Alternatively, the movements of the pen tip may be sensed "on line", for example by a pen-based computer screen surface, a generally easier task as there are more clues available. A handwriting recognition system handles formatting, performs correct segmentation into characters, and finds the most possible words.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fujitsu Lifebook</span>

Lifebook is a line of laptop computers made by Fujitsu, which also offers a range of notebooks and tablet PCs within the same Lifebook family.

OQO was a U.S. computer hardware company that was notable for manufacture of handheld computers. Its systems possessed the functionality of a tablet PC in a size slightly larger than a personal digital assistant (PDA). According to Guinness World Records, the "OQO" was the smallest full-powered, full-featured personal computer in 2005. The company's first version of subnotebook computer was the OQO model 01. It had been compared with the Ultra Mobile PC platform, although it was introduced before the UMPC took flight. The company was founded in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows for Pen Computing</span> Software suite for Windows 3.1 for pen compuing

Windows for Pen Computing is a software suite for Windows 3.1x, that Microsoft designed to incorporate pen computing capabilities into the Windows operating environment. Windows for Pen Computing was the second major pen computing platform for x86 tablet PCs; GO Corporation released their operating system, PenPoint OS, shortly before Microsoft published Windows for Pen Computing 1.0 in 1992.

Compared with previous versions of Microsoft Windows, features new to Windows Vista are very numerous, covering most aspects of the operating system, including additional management features, new aspects of security and safety, new I/O technologies, new networking features, and new technical features. Windows Vista also removed some others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tablet computer</span> Mobile computer with integrated display, circuitry and battery

A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet or pad, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers, have similar capabilities, but lack some input/output (I/O) abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble modern smartphones, the only differences being that tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally, and may not support access to a cellular network. Unlike laptops, tablets usually run mobile operating systems, alongside smartphones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultra-mobile PC</span> Obsolete type of handheld computer

An ultra-mobile PC, or ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), is a miniature version of a pen computer, a class of laptop whose specifications were launched by Microsoft and Intel in Spring 2006. Sony had already made a first attempt in this direction in 2004 with its Vaio U series, which was only sold in Asia. UMPCs are generally smaller than subnotebooks, have a TFT display measuring (diagonally) about 12.7 to 17.8 centimetres, are operated like tablet PCs using a touchscreen or a stylus, and can also have a physical keyboard. There is no clear boundary between subnotebooks and ultra-mobile PCs, but UMPCs commonly have major features not found in the common clamshell laptop design, such as small keys on either side of the screen, or a slide-out keyboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HP Compaq tc1100</span> 2004 tablet computer by Hewlett-Packard

The HP Compaq TC1100 is a tablet PC sold by Hewlett-Packard that was the follow-up to the Compaq TC1000. The TC1100 had either an Intel Celeron or an Intel Pentium M chip set and could be upgraded up to 2 gigabytes of memory. The switch from Transmeta Crusoe processors to the Pentium M and the ability to add memory was welcomed after numerous complaints about the poor performance of the TC1000. The TC1100 was the last version from HP in this style of tablet. It was replaced by the HP Compaq TC4200, which featured a more traditional one-piece design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Text Services Framework</span> Software framework and API for input method in Microsoft Windows

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pen computing</span> Uses a stylus and tablet/touchscreen

Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using a pen or stylus and tablet, over input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Speech Recognition</span> Speech recognition software

Windows Speech Recognition (WSR) is speech recognition developed by Microsoft for Windows Vista that enables voice commands to control the desktop user interface, dictate text in electronic documents and email, navigate websites, perform keyboard shortcuts, and operate the mouse cursor. It supports custom macros to perform additional or supplementary tasks.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal computer</span> Computer intended for use by an individual person

A personal computer, often referred to as a PC, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as word processing, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and gaming. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or technician. Unlike large, costly minicomputers and mainframes, time-sharing by many people at the same time is not used with personal computers. The term home computer has also been used, primarily in the late 1970s and 1980s. The advent of personal computers and the concurrent Digital Revolution have significantly affected the lives of people in all countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HP TouchSmart</span> Range of tablet PC laptops

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Input device</span> Device that provides data and signals to a computer

In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system, such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, computer mice, scanners, cameras, joysticks, and microphones.

The history of tablet computers and the associated special operating software is an example of pen computing technology, and thus the development of tablets has deep historical roots. The first patent for a system that recognized handwritten characters by analyzing the handwriting motion was granted in 1914. The first publicly demonstrated system using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard for working with a modern digital computer dates to 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-in-1 laptop</span> Mobile device combining laptop and tablet characteristics

A 2-in-1 laptop, also known as 2-in-1 PC, 2-in-1 tablet, laplet, tabtop, laptop tablet, or simply 2-in-1, is a portable computer that has features of both tablets and laptops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Active pen</span> Type of input device

An active pen is an input device that includes electronic components and allows users to write directly onto the display of a computing device such as a smartphone, tablet computer or ultrabook. The active pen marketplace has long been dominated by N-trig and Wacom, but newer firms Atmel and Synaptics also offer active pen designs.

References

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  2. List of Tablet PC since 2002 (Italian)
  3. Microsoft (2005). "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 Hardware Requirements". www.microsoft.com. Archived from the original on 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-01-01.
  4. Hume, Samuel. "Pen-Based Computing" (PDF). Applied Clinical Trials. Retrieved Nov 16, 2015.
  5. "Microsoft Tablet PC". 16 October 2006.
  6. "Tablet PC Brings the Simplicity of Pen and Paper to Computing". Microsoft .
  7. "Live from Steve Ballmer's CES 2010 keynote". Engadget. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  8. www.fujitsu.com/uk/products/computing/pc/tablets/stylistic-q702/ Archived 2014-09-03 at the Wayback Machine (August 2014)
  9. "MSDN: Windows XP Tablet PC Edition: Tablet PC: An Overview". Microsoft. 2004-08-24. Retrieved 2008-09-04.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition: Tablet PC: An Overview" (PDF). Microsoft. 2002-06-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2008-09-04.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. MSDN Ink collection
  12. "Tablet PC - Windows 7 features". Microsoft.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  13. Convertibles: The new laptop bling? - CNET News.com
  14. 1 2 Tablet PC offers capacitive touch sensing capability., Dell, Inc
  15. jkOnTheRun:So what is multi-touch?