What is a Tablet Computer

Posted by Zeeshan Mehmood on March 13th, 2021

Tablet computer, a computer that is intermediate in size between a laptop computer and a smartphone. Early tablet computers used keyboards or stylus to input information, but these methods were later replaced by touch screens.

The pioneers of tablet computers were devices such as the Stelter (1957) and the Rand tablet (1961) which used input styles in large computers. In 1968, Alan Key, a graduate student at the University of Utah, developed his vision of a small, powerful tablet-style computer, which he later called the Dinebook. However, Kaye never really made a witch book. The first true tablet computers were Cambridge Research's Z88 and Lens Technologies 'Right Top', introduced in 1987.

The Z88 accepted input via a tablet with keyboard that was part of the main tablet unit, while the Stylus accepted right-top input. Weighing 0.9 kg (2 lb), the Z88 was much more portable than the Wright Top, which weighed 4 kg (9 lb) as it came with an internal floppy disk drive.

Many other models followed the Z88 and Wright Top, but tablet computers remained on sale until 2010, when Apple Inc. unveiled the iPad, which was 24.6 centimeters (9.7 inches) wide. It was 1.2 cm (0.5 in) long and weighed 0.7 kg (1.5 lb). The iPad was operated with the same set of finger gestures used on Apple's iPhone.

The touch screen was capable of displaying high definition video. The iPad also had applications like iTunes built-in and could run all the applications that were available for the iPhone. In partnership with several major publishers, Apple has developed its own eBook application for the iPad, the iBook, as well as the Internet-accessible iBook Store.

Other tablet computers such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Zoom, and HP TouchPad invented the iPad. The tablet computer market exploded from just 2 million worldwide sales in 2009 to 20 million in 2010. Smaller devices such as the Apple iPad mini and the Amazon Kindle Fire also appeared, as well as "phablets", such as the Samsung Galaxy Note, between a small tablet and a smartphone. Sales of tablet computers fell to 233 million in 2014 and have since declined, with consumers blaming the decline on the fact that they often do not replace tablets with smartphones.