The document discusses the history and types of tablets. It begins by discussing the origins of pen computing devices in the late 19th century. It then defines a tablet computer as a mobile computer with a display, circuitry and battery in a single unit that uses touch gestures instead of a mouse and keyboard. Tablets can be categorized based on whether they have physical keyboards or not. The document also discusses touch interface technologies, handwriting recognition support, and specific tablets like the iPad and Android tablets.
2. HISTORY:
The tablet computer and its associated operating system began with the development of pen
computing. Electrical devices with data input and output on a flat information display existed as
early as 1888 with the telautograph, which used a sheet of paper as display and a pen attached to
electromechanical actuators. Throughout the 20th century devices with these characteristics have
been imagined and created whether as blueprints, prototypes, or commercial products. In
addition to many academic and research systems, several companies released commercial
products in the 1980s, with various input/output types tried out.
WHAT IS TABLET?
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a mobile computer with display, circuitry and battery in a
single unit. Tablets come equipped with sensors, including cameras, a microphone, an
accelerometer and a touch screen, with finger or stylus gestures substituting for the use of
3. computer mouse and keyboard. Tablets may include physical buttons (for example: to control
basic features such as speaker volume and power) and ports (for network communications and to
charge the battery). They usually feature on-screen, pop-up virtual keyboards for typing. Tablets
are typically larger than smart phones or personal digital assistants at 7 inches (18 cm) or larger,
measured diagonally. One can classify tablets into several categories according to the presence
and physical appearance of keyboards. Slates and booklets do not have a physical keyboard and
typically feature text input performed through the use of a virtual keyboard projected on a touch
screen-enabled display. Hybrids and convertibles do have physical keyboards, although these
devices typically also make virtual keyboards available.
Touch interface
Samsung Galaxy Tab demonstrating multi-touch
A key component among tablet computers is touch input. This allows the user to navigate easily
and type with a virtual keyboard on the screen. The first tablet to do this was the Grid Pad by
Grid Systems Corporation; the tablet featured both a stylus, a pen-like tool to aid with precision
in a touch screen device as well as an on-screen keyboard.[53]The system must respond to touches
rather than clicks of a keyboard or mouse, which allows integrated hand-eye operation, a natural
use of the somatosensory system. This is even truer of the more recent multi-touch interface,
which often emulates the way objects behave.
Handwriting recognition
Chinese characters like this one meaning "person" can be written by handwriting recognition (
, Mandarin: rén, Korean: in, Japanese: jin, nin; hito, Cantonese: jan4). The character has two
4. strokes, the first shown here in dark, and the second in red. The black area represents the starting
position of the writing instrument.
All versions of the Windows OS since Vista have natively supported advanced handwriting
recognition, including via a digital stylus. Windows XP supported handwriting with optional
downloads from MS. The Windows handwriting recognition routines constantly analyze the
user’s handwriting to improve performance. Handwriting recognition is also supported in many
applications such as Microsoft OneNote, and Windows Journal. Some ARM powered tablets,
such as the Galaxy Note 10, also support a stylus and support handwriting recognition. Wacom
and N-trig digital pens provide very, ≈2500 DPI resolution for handwriting, exceeding the
resolution of capacitive touch screens by more than a factor of 10. These pens also support
pressure sensitivity, allowing for "variable-width stroke-based" characters, such as
Chinese/Japanese/Korean writing, due to their built-in capability of "pressure sensing". Pressure
is also used in digital art applications such as Autodesk Sketchbook.
Touch screen hardware
Touch screens are usually one of two forms;
Resistive touch screens are passive and respond to pressure on the screen. They allow a
high level of precision, useful in emulating a pointer (as is common in tablet computers)
but may require calibration. Because of the high resolution, a stylus or fingernail is often
used. Stylus-oriented systems are less suited to multi-touch.
Capacitive touch screens tend to be less accurate, but more responsive than resistive
devices. Because they require a conductive material, such as a finger tip, for input, they
are not common among stylus-oriented devices, but are prominent on consumer devices.
Finger-driven capacitive screens do not currently support pressure input.
Some tablets can recognize individual palms, while some professional-grade tablets use pressure-
sensitive films, such as those on graphics tablets. Some capacitive touch-screens can detect the
size of the touched area and the pressure used.
IPAD:
What exactly is the iPad? What is the iPad used for?
In basic terms, the iPad is a tablet or "slate" computer. Upon the release of the original iPad,
Apple formally declared that it is a "magical and revolutionary" device for "browsing the web,
reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games,
reading e-books and more."
Although "magical" might be a bit much, the iPad definitely is a new type of product.
5. Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Original iPad)
Software Support & Lineage
Specifically, Apple designed the iPad to occupy a new product category between the iPod
touch/iphone and the Mac, and consequently, it is really neither an iPod or iphone nor a Mac.
However, it does run a version of the same operating system as the iPod touch and iphone.
Likewise, the iPad is compatible with the vast majority of applications written for the iphone and
iPod touch as well, it is not unreasonable to consider it a member of the iphone/iPod touch
"family" of products. The iPad does not run Mac OS X or Mac OS X applications, so it is not
Mac, although the iOS is derived from Mac OS X.
Android Tablets:
Android is an operating system created by Google. It's open to any manufacturer who wants to
use it, and like Apple, it offers its own vast app store. For a company to be allowed to access the
app store, Google Play (formerly known as the Android Market), the tablet must be certified by
Google. When considering an Android tablet, this is the number-one thing you need to look for.
6. The ability to download apps is what gives any tablet the versatility it needs to be viable in
today's competitive market. Android has all of the things iOS has, plus a Back button and better
multitasking. Most Android tablets have two cameras, a micro SD card slot, and some form of
USB connection (mini, micro, or full-size). We're also starting to see business tablets based on
Android. In fact, many Android tablets use "skins" or a UI that sits on top of the OS to give you
a different experience. This is used for business, as well as to help each manufacturer
differentiate its tablet from the competition. In general, the competition among Android tablet
makers is tough, and the beneficiary of that competition is you. With Android tablets, you get
more choices in terms of size, features, ports, and price. If you're not dead-set on an iPad, you
should seriously consider an Android tablet.
