After a slow start, tablet personal computers are starting to take off, fueled by Microsoft Corp."s release of its operating system Windows XP Tablet PC and manufacturers rolling out a wider variety of easier-to-use devices.
Since Microsoft"s launch of the Tablet PC in November, the devices have grown in popularity, benefiting from the more user-friendly software and improved hand-writing recognition technology. And Microsoft"s OneNote application that allows Tablet PC users to write notes in digital ink -- either with a keyboard or a pen -- goes on sale next month.
The idea for the tablet PC -- a portable device to allow users to enter data with a pen-like stylus -- had been percolating quietly ever since chipmaker National Semiconductor Corp. announced a design in the dot-com boom years for a simple Web-browsing pad that manufacturers could use to make the devices.
Unlike price-pressured desktops, tablet PCs are able to command premium pricing -- ranging from about $1,000 to about $2,300. They are now sold by major PC manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard Co., Acer Inc., Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu, and Gateway Inc.
And the growing demand for the tablet PC has been helped by faster microprocessors, cheaper memory and the proliferation of wireless Internet connectivity, known as WiFi.
"We"re in the very early stages of what effectively is nascent demand in the tablet market," said Alan Promisel, an analyst with market research firm IDC. "Looking forward, I think the demand potential for tablets is pretty high."