Tablet Computing



Tablet Computing

Introduction

A handful of organizations are to thank for the giant leaps that tablet computing has taken these past few years. Not only have they worked out the kinks, they have commercialized the product and made it available to the common man. Today, tablet computers are quite literally capable of accomplishing many of the tasks conventional desktop computers complete.

Tablets computers can be traced back to the early 1960s. With an attached stylus that sensed electronic pulses through a very fine grid of conductors, the Rand tablet was sold for a whopping $18,000 (Smith, 2010). With time, science advanced a great deal but unfortunately, tablet computing was not able to take center stage, primarily because developers were unable to make the platform user friendly. Devices quickly become obsolete, but remained quite expensive and out of the reach of large consumer markets. Tablets did not become viable until the 90s when Apple and Microsoft entered the market with their respective products. The purpose of this paper is to take a brief look in to the history of tablet computing while looking at the variety of services and functions that are available today.

History

Unknown to most, Steve Jobs is not the man that introduced the Tablet PC. The tablet PC has a long history and it was not until Steve Jobs made the technology extremely user friendly did it come into the limelight. The term 'Tablet PC' is said to be coined by one of the richest men, and one of the founders of Microsoft, Bill Gates. Gates introduced his tablet in early 2001 and predicted that tablet computing would take over the world's computing needs in the coming 5 years (www.microsoft.com). Though his predictions gradually came true for his competition, the ground work is considered to be laid down by Microsoft; one of the first organizations to work towards popularizing and commercializing tablet computing. Initially, the general public did not seem very interested. The health care industry was one of the first to pick up on the technology and utilized it by giving it to their staff for computing power on the move. Nurses were able to jot down information while maintaining their duties in a timely manner (Smith, 2010).

Microsoft was undoubtedly ahead of its time. Unfortunately, they were unable to come up with the necessary software and hardware configurations that would boost tablet PC sales. Comparatively, Apple struck gold with their tablet PC, the iPad, and quite literally took the world by storm. Fourth quarter sales for 2010, the iPad's debut year, numbered over four million (www.washingtonpost.com). Apple excelled where Microsoft remained limited. Apple simplified the tablet and made it much more enjoyable. They created numerous different applications for the device, combining functionality with entertainment (Holwerda, 2010). The best bit is that the technology is quite affordable and within the reach of most.

Applications Today

Tablet computers have found a place in more than one sector. They are extensively used out in the field as well as in homes ...