Microsoft May Unveil 'Computer-Tablet' Software
Redmond, Washington, Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. may unveil software for a ''computer tablet'' as early as next year as it bets the market for wireless, keyboard-less computers is ripe after almost 30 years.
''We may pull it together in one year,'' said Alex Loeb, Microsoft's research manager for tablet development.
Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, is betting the technology has improved and prices have fallen sufficiently to create demand for tablets that can read handwriting and understand speech. In the market for hand-held computers, Microsoft faces formidable competition from 3Com Corp.'s PalmPilot, the top-selling electronic personal organizer.
''Microsoft wants to respond to the PalmPilot in any way, shape or form,'' said Seamus McAteer, an analyst at Jupiter Communications Inc. ''The PalmPilot has captured everyone's imagination.
Tablet computing has captured people's imaginations since the early 1970s when developers tried to create a portable computer that could recognize handwriting. In the 1980s, Go Corp. spent $75 million trying without success to make a small computer with handwriting-recognition capability.
Apple Computer Inc.'s Newton and Microsoft's Pen Windows followed, with equally dismal results. Today, the technology is much better and PalmPilot is capitalizing on that.
Microsoft is aiming the tablet at consumers, professionals and students.
''A tablet offers a way of capturing the benefits of paper in a computer environment,'' said Dick Brass, Microsoft's vice president in charge of tablet development. ''This is a real PC, not just a large PalmPilot.''
Development Effort
Microsoft is investing ''a lot'' in tablet development, Brass said, declining to be more specific. Dozens of employees are working on the project, he said.
''They are making sure they'll be in the forefront,'' said Emily Meehan, an analyst at the Yankee Group. ''There's greater demand for it now than 10 years ago, given the right pricing point.''
The development team includes Chuck Thacker and Butler Lampson, who worked on the so-called Dynabook portable computer at Xerox Corp.'s Palo Alto Research Center in California in the 1970s.
''Speech (recognition) is getting quite good,'' said Thacker, a director of advanced systems.
Handwriting recognition is harder, so Microsoft's software will include a backup mechanism in case of failure, Thacker said.
On-screen text has improved with Microsoft's so-called Clear Type technology, which is due to ship next year. It makes type three times easier to read than is possible now.
Physical Features
Microsoft envisions a one-pound, 8 1/2-inch-by-11-inch electronic tablet, though other sizes are possible, Brass said. It will read handwriting, recognize speech, run software applications and connect to the Internet without keyboard or wires.
''The Holy Grail of natural computing is a device that's easier to use than a personal computer, more powerful than a PDA (personal digital assistant) and can read, write and understand speech,'' Loeb said.
The nature of the operating system still is to be decided.
''It might be Windows CE, embedded NT or something else,'' Brass said.
Windows CE runs Internet devices such as hand-held computers, while embedded Windows NT runs dedicated devices such as medical equipment.
Brass is playing down expectations of an early product.
''It could be more'' than 12 to 18 months before a tablet is shipped, he said.
Tablet prices probably would be similar to those for laptop computers in the beginning, and then drop over time, Brass said.
''The lower down you go, the more important price differentials become, especially when you're introducing a new category of device,'' said Lucas Graves, an analyst at Jupiter.
Hardware makers who've used the Windows CE system, such as Casio Computer Co. Ltd., are likely to use the tablet software, Graves said. PC makers such as International Business Machines Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. also may be interested, he said.
Microsoft fell 2 15/16 to 94 5/8.
I see it know, a digtal Moses coming down the mountain, screeming, "But God ,my computer tablet froze". God will answer back, "It's the work of the devil. I told Gates he was possed."
Greg |
