Tablet PCs
Tablet PCs are slate type notebook PCs or laptops which have a touch screen controlled by either a stylus or by physical touch. There are a large variety of of tablet PCs on the market.
Some tablet PCs are fitted with keyboards as an alternative input method but others have no keyboard and are screen input only. Hybrid versions have a detachable keyboard and so can be used in slate mode if desired, HP Compaq manufacture a number of hybrid versions.
Most tablet PCs use the Windows tablet specific operating system, this is still currently the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition although there are modified versions of Apple Macbooks which use the Apple OS. These Modbooks are manufactured by a company call Axiotron and are not directly supported by Apple.
Tablet PCs offer handwriting recognition through the stylus or digital pen and therefore provide a very natural form of input which makes them popular with users who take notes on the move and with artists or designers who can sketch freehand directly onto the screen.