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Tablet PCs: the first wave

Charles Mclellan ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 11 Nov 2002

Conventional computer technology never managed to deliver the much-predicted ‘paperless office’, but the latest development might just have something going for it: simulating the pen and paper experience on the computer, with added intelligence.

Of course, pen computing has been tried several times before (remember Windows for Pen Computing, or the GRiDpad?), but Microsoft’s Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is surely the best effort yet.

That’s not to say that everything’s perfect in the pen computing world all of a sudden: handwriting recognition with XP Tablet PC Edition can be a hit-and-miss affair, and manufacturers of the first generation of Tablet PCs have issues to address in terms of system weight, battery life, ergonomics and performance.

But there’s little doubt that pen computing, in the guise of the Tablet PC, is now here to stay. Check out the reviews below to see what we think of the OS, and which of the first wave of devices we rate the highest.

Product	Date	Editors' Rating	Readers' Rating
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100	[07 Nov 2002]	6.8
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition	[07 Nov 2002]	7.2	7.2
Toshiba Portégé 3500	[11 Nov 2002]	7.8	8.5
Fujitsu Siemens Stylistic ST4110	[11 Nov 2002]	7.6
NEC Versa T400	[01 Apr 2003]	7.7	7.7
Product	Date	Editors' Rating	Readers' Rating

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Put simply, what is the compelling reason to pay ~$200 extra for an Eee with Windows XP? A Windows Eee won't come with any useful applications and you'll have to buy anti-virus software to boot. The truth about low cost computing is that nobody really cares whether the machine is running Windows or Linux as long as its cheap, its easy to use and it works.