Saturday, January 09, 2010

Microsoft's history with the Tablet PC - Network World

A trip down tablet memory lane by John Fontana

Microsoft's demonstration Wednesday of "Slate PCs" made by HP, Pegatron, and Archos is by no means its first attempt to help develop such a form factor. The Slate PC seems to be identical to a Tablet with only the name changed. In fact, the Tablet PC has long been a pet project for Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who showed the first Tablet PC prototype in 2000 at the now-defunct Comdex trade show in Las Vegas.

That night, Gates described the device, which featured input via stylus only, as an evolutionary step in PC functionality and usability. For the next 10 years leading up to CEO Steve Ballmer's introduction of the new "slates", which support Windows 7 touch screen features, the company has tried to make the Tablet catch-on but with little success.

Here is a brief look at the evolution of Microsoft's Tablet offerings.

Microsoft's history with the Tablet PC - Network World

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