Though tablet PCs have been around for a decade or so (yes, really) they've never caught on. That could mean that either the time or technology wasn't right yet, and between the eBook revolution, which had its own false starts until Amazon made the Kindle, and the iPhone, which is really just a miniature version of the tablet, the time may well have come.

No doubt Steve Jobs is betting on all that.

Apture™

I hope he's right, because I'd like one myself, and have since I first saw the QBE (right) slate from Aqcess Technologies at the 1999 Comdex. While both Comdex and 1999 are both things we'll never see again, slate tablets, that is tablets without an attached keyboard, have never really gone away, nor ever really arrived.

The QBE was a big heavy tablet that would tire you out just holding it, but fortunately would run its batteries down before that happened anyway. It didn't stop it from winning lots of awards (Comdex Best of Show) and praise, and like many other early products it no doubt had much to do with the evolution of the concept. Contributor David Em got one, and I don't think he ever gave it back.

The QBE's specs are worth noting for comparison with Apple's device when it's released. A touchscreen (pen based) PC tablet with a PII-400 processor, 96MB of RAM, a 12GB HD, CD-ROM, and built in camera. It was big enough to handle a full page at 14"x10"x1.6", and its 13.3" 1024x768 display used an "active matrix TFT (Thin Film Transistor)."

Pretty ancient stuff...except for that active matrix TFT display. That's actually still pretty radical, since it was both lower power than a classic LCD display and looked terrific...though it couldn't handle bright lighting conditions. Apple's device may use some exotic technology for its display, possibly OLED, the super colorful brother to plain old LED, and that will put it a leg up on Lenovo's U1, which was released at CES to steal a bit of the imminent thunder from Cupertino. 

There are two real reasons that I'm not eager to see the Apple device, the first being price. It's hard to imagine them letting it out of the gate for less than $750 or so, and if they do, it will no doubt be because it's locked into some cellular carrier (most likely AT&T again, for the GSM connection), which is just another deal breaker for me. As usual, the overly-hip computer company reveals itself to be a closed cult corporation.

So, I expect I'll just have to wait a year so I can buy an Android version with an open OS.

Ernest Lilley