At WinHEC 2002 in April 2002, I got my third up-close look at the Tablet PC, Microsoft's attempt to advance the state of the art for mobile computing. The Tablet PC started out rather inauspiciously, with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announcing the original slab-like Tablet PC design during his Fall Comdex 2000 keynote address. That device, which I spent a few minutes with after the keynote, was basically just a laptop sans keyboard and mouse, and I could see that the novelty of interacting with a 15" flat-panel screen with a stylus would wear off quickly. However, the Tablet PC later morphed into a more useful design, the so-called convertible laptop, which can be used like a laptop or a tablet.

Here is an extensive collection of prototype shots, Microsoft promotional photos, and my own photos of this exciting new laptop-like device.

Microsoft prototype hardware
       


Microsoft Tablet PC promotional photos
   


My WinHEC 2002 photos
           


My Tablet PC photos
             

--Paul Thurrott
June 25, 2002