First and foremost, the Tablet PC is a pure superset of today’s laptop PCs. In fact many Tablet PCs will look exactly like today’s traditional clam shell designs complete with a full keyboard but will have a mechanism that converts the hardware into a slate form. Others will have a pure slate form factor. Regardless of the design, Tablet PCs will be among the most mobile PC ever made, with exceptionally long battery life, light weight, and many with built in wireless capability. But the Tablet is more than just a great laptop. It also enables users to run Windows and Windows applications using a pen, annotate documents, create handwritten documents using “digital ink” for later reference or even conversion into text. Just like today’s portable PCs, Tablet PCs can be put into a docking station at a desk to support a large screen monitor, mouse and full size keyboard. Either as a pure slate or as a convertible model the Tablet PC is the evolution of the laptop – all the functionality of a laptop with added Tablet functionality.
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