The Tablet PC, a lightweight portable PC with a special version of Windows XP, a touch-sensitive screen with a pen for input, and wireless networking capabilties, became available worldwide on Nov. 7. Microsoft and Tablet PC OEMs will initially target mobile users in industries such healthcare and manufacturing, but Microsoft views it as an eventual replacement for notebook PCs. More than 40 OEMs and ISVs have signed on as Tablet PC partners, but some big names, such as Dell and IBM, are missing.

(For details on the Tablet PC's history, features, and business strategy, see "Windows XP Tablet Edition Nears Delivery" on page 3 of the Sept. 2002 Update.)

Market: Busy Managers, Verticals

The initial marketing efforts for the Tablet PC will focus on two main markets:

"Corridor warriors." This is Microsoft's name for business people—particularly executives and managers—who spend most of their time at their office (rather than traveling like so-called road warriors), but who are constantly moving between meetings instead of working at a desk all day. Microsoft and its Tablet PC partners believe that these workers will find the Tablet PC attractive because it lets them jot down notes and annotate documents directly on their PCs, rather than rudely typing away during meetings or spending unnecessary effort writing notes on paper and later transcribing them. To increase the device's appeal to these users, Microsoft's Advanced Reading Technologies Group (which created the Reader software for publishing electronic books) is working with publishers such as the Financial Times, Forbes Magazine, and The New Yorker to make these publications available to Tablet PC users in 2003.

Mobile workers. Microsoft and Tablet PC partners will also try to attract other types of workers—particularly those in vertical industries such as healthcare and manufacturing—who could benefit from having a highly portable, full-featured PC, but for whom keyboard entry is difficult or prone to failure. To appeal to these markets, OEMs are building Tablet PCs in special form factors (e.g., Xplore's "ruggedized" versions for field service workers and law enforcement officers) and ISVs are building Tablet-enabled applications for specific industries (e.g., Allscript's applications for physicians). Other target markets include field sales, utilities, and transportation.

Pricing and Partners

Tablet PCs currently cost several hundred dollars more than comparably equipped notebook PCs, with prices ranging from around US$1,800 to US$2,500, and come in two designs: a "convertible" design featuring a fold-out keyboard, and a lighter "slate tablet" design which can be attached to a separate keyboard using USB (cable) or Bluetooth (wireless) connections. Twenty-one companies have signed on to build them, including traditional OEMs such as Acer, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, and Toshiba, as well as companies that specialize in other areas, such as Matsushita-Panasonic (consumer electronics) and ViewSonic (displays); one company, Motion Computing (founded by former Dell executives), sells Tablet PCs exclusively. Notably absent from the list of hardware partners are Dell and IBM, two of the largest notebook manufacturers.

On the software front, users can download an update from Microsoft to Tablet-enable Office XP, and the company will soon make a similar update available for Visio 2002. Twenty-three ISVs have committed to selling Tablet-capable versions of their applications as well, including Adobe (publishing), Corel (graphics), FranklinCovey (planning and scheduling), Groove Networks (collaboration), and Siebel (sales management).

For more information, see www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/.

To download updates that Tablet-enable Office XP and some third-party applications, see www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/downloads/.