This is a sample of the text version of our weekly News.com
Enterprise Hardware newsletter. A sample of the HTML version is at
http://news.com.com/html/ne/nl/news_ent.html.
To subscribe, visit http://newsletters.cnet.com/.
NEWS.COM ENTERPRISE HARDWARE: Tablet PCs: Is destiny written?
November 6, 2002
Tablet PCs: Is destiny written?
Microsoft and a host of PC makers this week unveiled tablet PCs
while the technology world asked: "Is it a revolutionary new
step, or an Edsel waiting to happen?"
Yet critics are quick to point out that handwriting recognition
has been the "next big thing" for nearly 20 years. Apple Computer
introduced the Newton in the late 1980s and is still ridiculed
for the product's spectacular failure. Handheld sales have
steadily declined, while most manufacturers are looking for ways
to better incorporate keyboards into devices.
Most people also type faster than they write, tablet PC critics
say. What's more, most handwriting recognition programs don't
work well. The handwriting engine inside Microsoft's Windows XP
Tablet PC Edition software--which interprets handwriting through
stroke and pressure rather than bit-map comparisons--still has
some kinks to be worked out. When I took a test drive of the
software, writing down harmless business jargon (for example,
"Verticals incl. healthcare, financial") was translated into
nonsense ("Vare! intro wife financial").
Critics, though, are missing one significant point: Microsoft
doesn't expect anyone to use the handwriting or voice software
that much. Some of these new $2,000-plus machines resemble
notepads, but most come with built-in or attachable keyboards and
docking stations so they can be used just like a laptop PC.
Instead, a tablet PC's pen and voice features are expected to be
used sparingly. For example, the Web can be surfed with a stylus
rather than the cursor keys. With the stylus, users can circle
segments of Internet pages or other documents, insert the segment
into e-mails, and send without having to cut and paste. Early,
informal testing also showed that people used the function to
escape from the boredom of meetings. Instead of taking notes,
they surreptitiously wrote messages. You can't do that as easily
with a keyboard.
My own personal favorite use for the technology came while I
thought about the hour-long drives to Silicon Valley from my
office in San Francisco. During that time, I can dictate my "to
do" lists to my notebook. Once these features are seen as useful,
buyers may emerge. Envy among co-workers could even help spur
sales--the first time a salesman edits a PowerPoint presentation
with a stylus, not a keyboard, others may want to scribble too.
Falling prices and larger screens also could spur demand for
future models.
Don't forget. Even though the Edsel was dismissed in the 1950s,
so were Toyotas and Volkswagens.
Michael Kanellos, News.com Department Editor
mailto:michael.kanellos@cnet.com
Links for other tablet PC stories:
1. Will buyers write off new Tablet PCs?
It's interesting, but IT managers say it will mostly fill a niche
market for now. "I got a C in handwriting in grade school. Having
used the tablet, I understand why I got a C," said Merrill Lynch
CIO John McKinley.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964659.html
2. HP offers three-in-one tablet PC
Some tablets look like an Etch-a-Sketch. Some like notebooks with
pivoting screens. HP came up with a two-piece unit that sort of
functions like both.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964648.html
3. Tablet PC rivalry sets in
Motion Computing, a start-up manned by refugees from Dell
Computer's executive ranks, will aim their tablet at doctors and
insurance claims adjusters. "You (will) use it more spontaneously
than you do an ordinary computer," he said. "This feels like a
new category...It is not just a notebook," said CEO Scott Eckert.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-963131.html
4. Microsoft looks to decipher your scribbling
Handwriting is a lot tougher than you think. The idea is to
ensure that the unlimited variety of T's that human hands can
produce will, in fact, be recognized as T's.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-959581.html
5. Tablet PC speaks in tongues, but not all
Microsoft's new operating system will understand German, English,
Chinese, French and Japanese, but the Spanish and Italians will
have to wait.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-959299.html
6. Gates trots out Tablet PC
It's 2001. The prototype emerges. The year before, Microsoft's
chief software architect was speaking about the same thing.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-275679.html
In other computer hardware news:
Report: Chip market to grow, but slowly
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964818.html
Microchips weigh heavily on environment
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964721.html
AMD plans more layoffs
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964717.html
IBM dusts off new laptop hard drives
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964711.html
Dell tries retail in Singapore
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964694.html
ST builds chips for gene detection
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964616.html
AMD seeks Wi-Fi alchemy with new chips
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964442.html
Full speed ahead for IBM transistor
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964288.html
New chip powers high-end Intel servers
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964329.html
Dell selling PCs at Costco
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964360.html
_________________________________________________________________
The e-mail address for your subscription is <#ACFIELD FORMAT="NORMAL" NAME="CUSTOMER.LOGIN"#>
To Sign up for more CNET newsletters, click here:
NOTRACK http://nl.com.com/servlet/url_login?email=<#ACFIELD FORMAT="NORMAL" NAME="CUSTOMER.LOGIN"#>&brand=cnet
To unsubscribe, click here:
<#ACLIST LISTID="" TYPE="UNSUB"#>
To update your newsletter subscriptions, click here:
NOTRACK http://nl.com.com/servlet/url_login?email=<#ACFIELD FORMAT="NORMAL" NAME="CUSTOMER.LOGIN"#>&brand=cnet
For the CNET Newsletters FAQ, click here:
http://www.cnet.com/subscription/0-16335-7-6770019.html
To learn about advertising opportunities in CNET Newsletters, click here:
http://www.cnet.com/aboutcnet/0-13618.html?tag=ft
Please send any questions, comments, or concerns to mailto:dispatchfeedback@news.com