Rumour has it that Apple is going to introduce a much hyped tablet pc at the end of this month. Perhaps called iSlate. At the same time Microsoft is developing it’s version of a tablet pc, called Courier (actually it’s a booklet pc). Many more hardware companies are expected to follow suit.

The supposed iSlate

The supposed iSlate

We’ve all seen members of the Starship Enterprise use tablets (actually LCARS PADDs) to solve warp space equations, but why is the tablet pc not pure science fiction? Indeed why is it important at all – and not just another gadget? To answer this question it’s important to realize what the tablet pc is not. It’s not just an overgrown iPhone. It’s not meant to be put in your pocket. It’s not another netbook. And I don’t think the tablet pc is a mobile internet device either.

The tablet pc is simply the next big thing in end-user computing. There, I said it.

Like Douglas Engelbart‘s invention of the mouse ultimately opened up computing to the end-user, so will the introduction of the tablet pc change the way we percieve and use a pc. The tablet will replace the mouse and software-base the keyboard. Sure us old-timers – who like the click-clack tactile feedback – will still own a physical mouse and keyboard, but in the end they’ll be fringe products for the few.

The GUI will be a slightly different one. It’s going to be based on touch and come more natural to us. We’re humans who like to touch things and manipulate the world using our hands: Using the tablet you’re literally going to have abstract ideas at your fingertips. More drag and drop. More cut and copy and combine and integrate and collaborate simply by gesturing objects.

To do all of the above the tablet must be very responsive. It must be quick to process. It must be connected to the net. It must be light and slim and easy to carry. And it must be able to function at prolonged periods of time without draining the batteries and without getting too hot.

These are excessive steep demands. And it remains to be seen if the Apple iSlate or Courier by Microsoft will be the One. Maybe the technology is not quite there yet. Maybe we all have to wait a little longer – just like we are going to do with flying cars and domestic robots. But the tablet pc will eventually change things.  Why? Simply because the tablet is technology closer to us.