The PDA market surged from 1996 to 1999, culminating in $3.25 billion of sales in 2000, according to Dutch investment bank ABN AMRO. But the market stalled in 2001, only incrementally expanding. A down economy and glut of device makers has not held out high hopes for a return to the halcyon days of the late 90s. Now, Microsoft is set to unveil its Tablet PC on Nov. 7, aiming to capture the mass market with a tablet boasting a notebook-sized screen and Microsoft's much-hyped pen technology. "I'm already using a Tablet as my everyday computer," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said at last year's Comdex show. "Within five years it will be the most popular form of PC sold in America."
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