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Computerworld - After months of prelaunch publicity, Microsoft Corp. today unveiled its Windows XP Tablet Edition software, which enables users to write with a pen.
But the question is, Will the product live up to the hype?
At least some users seem to think so.
According to Microsoft, the Tablet PC represents the evolution of the business notebook PC. A number of hardware vendors, including Acer Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., NEC Corp. and PaceBlade Technologies Inc., are set to release Tablet PC devices as early as this week.
Users can write directly on the machine's specialized LCD screen with a digital pen or, in some cases, input information using a traditional keyboard and mouse.
Microsoft has added a program called Microsoft Journal, which enables users to store handwritten notes as graphics -- called digital ink. The machine can also convert and save handwritten notes as ASCII text.

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The tablets, which will cost around $2,000, are designed for users who aren't typically tethered to their desks, such as insurance adjusters, field personnel and knowledge workers.
David Methot, contracts manager at Bechtel National Inc., an engineering firm in Richland, Wash., said his company has been using Acer's TravelMate 100 to reduce contract close time.
Methot said that even though Bechtel has a Web-based contract management system, contract close-out administrators often experienced delays in finalizing contracts because they had to track him down to get his signature on hard-copy contract documents.
But with the Tablet PC, the administrators can save hours or even days by e-mailing the documents to him, which he then signs electronically and e-mails back to them.
In addition, Methot said knowledge workers in the contracts department also use the device to take handwritten notes during meetings, potentially saving them the hour per day it would take them to transcribe those notes into their computers if they had taken hard-copy notes.
Henry King, CIO of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, a New York-based architectural firm, said designers at his firm are currently using Autodesk Inc.'s Architectural Studio, a design creation and communication tool, on the Compaq Tablet PC TC 1000.
King said Architectural Studio on the Tablet PC lets designers sketch out design concepts, mark up drawings and instantly communicate their changes to the entire design team from a remote location.
Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at New York-based Jupiter Media Metrix Inc. and a Computerworld columnist, said that while Microsoft's launch is an important one because it reflects the nature of mobility, it won't be a short-term slam-dunk.
"Five years fromnow, it's likely that tablet functionalities will become part of mainstream computing, and we won't view it as anything special or different," he said.

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