How does the Tablet PC know where the stylus is? How can it tell when the user presses down harder? Why can't you check off a box with a pencil instead of a stylus? Use a Tablet PC for just a few hours and these questions will naturally come to mind. Because the technology tends to be unfamiliar, there is no widely understood body of knowledge to lean on nor, as it turns out, are there many engineers who understand how these devices work. This article, based on interviews with several manufacturers of Tablet PCs, explains how these devices deliver their magic.
For purposes of this discussion, I will focus on convertible models. These are the devices that look and behave like notebooks, but when the screen is bent back over itself, become Tablet devices. This illustration from my review of the Fujitsu LifeBook shows just such a notebook converting into a Tablet PC. The other kind of Tablet, called a Slate, lacks the notebook aspect. It resembles an Etch-a-Sketch pad and is always in Tablet PC mode (though consumer versions usually have some form of keyboard available). It is frequently employed in niche markets such as delivery--the devices used by the drivers of UPS and Federal Express, for example, are customized Slates. I will refer to these as Slates whenever my explanations are unique to them.
07-16-2004, 05:46 AM
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