Evolution of the computer tablet

By wrest171

  • Handwriting captured

    U.S. Patent granted to Elisha Gray on electrical stylus device for capturing handwriting.

  • Handwriting continued

    U.S. Patent on handwriting recognition user interface with a stylus.

  • Touchscreen envisioned

    U.S. Patent on touchscreen for handwriting input.

  • As We May Think

    Vannevar Bush proposes the Memex, a data archiving device including handwriting input, in an essay 'As We May Think'.

  • The Styalator

    Tom Dimond demonstrates the Styalator electronic tablet with pen for computer input and software for recognition of handwritten text in real-time.

  • RAND Tablet invented

    The RAND Tablet is better known than the Styalator, but was invented later.

  • The Dynabook:

    The Dynabook:
    Alan Kay of Xerox PARC proposed a notebook computer, optionally using pen input, called the Dynabook: however the device is never constructed or implemented with pen input.

  • No need for keyboards

    No need for keyboards
    Pencept of Waltham, Massachusetts markets a general-purpose computer terminal using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard and mouse.

  • People and the Pencept

    People and the Pencept
    Pencept and CIC both offer PC computers for the consumer market using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard and mouse. Operating system is MS-DOS.

  • The GRiDPad

    The first commercially available tablet-type portable computer was the GRiDPad from GRiD Systems, released in September. Its operating system was based on MS-DOS.

  • Computers go 'Freestyle'

    Wang Laboratories introduces Freestyle. Freestyle was an application that would do a screen capture from an MS-DOS application, and let the user add voice and handwriting annotations. It was a sophisticated predecessor to later note-taking applications for systems like the Tablet PC.[30] The operating system was MS-DOS

  • The PenPoint OS

    GO Corporation announced a dedicated operating system, called PenPoint OS, featuring control of the operating system desktop via handwritten gesture shapes.

  • IBM: Thinking outside

    IBM: Thinking outside
    The IBM releases the ThinkPad, IBM's first commercialized portable tablet computer product available to the consumer market, as the IBM ThinkPad 750P and 360P

  • The QBE

    The QBE
    The "QBE" pen computer created by Aqcess Technologies wins Comdex Best of Show.[

  • Microsoft prototypes the tablet

    Microsoft prototypes the tablet
    Bill Gates of Microsoft demonstrates the first public prototype of a Tablet PC (defined by Microsoft as a pen-enabled computer conforming to hardware specifications devised by Microsoft and running a licensed copy of the "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition" operating system at Comdex.

  • Read it and Weep

    Read it and Weep
    On Disney Channel Original Movie, Read It and Weep, Jamie uses a tablet pc for her journal.

  • Touchscreen goes to court

    Touchscreen goes to court
    The gesture features of the Windows/Tablet PC operating system and hardware were found to infringe on a patent by GO Corp. concerning user interfaces for pen computer operating systems.

  • Multi-touch is all the rage

    Multi-touch is all the rage
    Asus announces a tablet netbook, the EEE PC T91 and T91MT, the latter which features a multi-touch screen.