Tablet Scribbles lists three common Tablet PC form factors: convertible, slate, and hybrid. I bet these form factors are only the beginning of “high-ink” (high resolution ink) enabled computers.
A soon-to-be-released Acer Tablet PC may introduce another form-factor twist–something somewhere between a convertible and a standard notebook. It’ll be interesting to see what it is.
Similarly, Intel presented “Flip-top” and “Portfolio-style” concept Tablet PCs at its Spring 2002 Intel Developer Forum.
I don’t have a “hybrid” Tablet PC, but I’d sure like one. Intel’s widescreen, concept Tablet PC, for instance, is designed so that the screen can detach and be used as a standalone slate–just like the Compaq TC1000. Best of both worlds.
Someday, maybe we’ll even have a choice between “view-only” flat-panel monitors and high-ink-capable displays. Let’s say in a dual-monitor setup I could have one simple, view-only display and the other could be a monitor with a built-in digitizer ready to be pulled off its pedestal and used for rapid editing or sketching in AutoCAD.
To me, the Tablet PC is not simply a platform like a PDA. It’s a user-experience metaphor. Today’s Tablets are impressive as sub-notebooks, but the potential applications of the technology go beyond them.
Comments on this entry are closed.