Dell vets get behind tablet PC
C|Net | at | by Mike
A group of former Dell Computer executives is putting in motion a new company to tackle the tablet PC market. Motion Computing, launched Monday, will manufacture tablet PC devices starting later this year. The tablet PC is a next-generation notebook computer that resembles a laptop screen and uses a stylus as the primary input device. Tablet PC software, developed by Microsoft, seeks to provide a new take on an old idea: How to combine a Windows-based "pen tablet" and a notebook computer. With few exceptions, such devices have so far met with little success.
Microsoft hopes to counter skeptics with a version of its Windows XP operating system that sports a pen interface and handwriting-recognition software. The OS--Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition--will be combined with special displays but otherwise use standard notebook processors and other PC components, which will help to cut down on costs.