We know that tablet in the context we use in our domain is basically a mobile device that you can write on. Like a tablet of paper. What are other meanings of tablet though? This is what we get from Wikipedia.

A tablet is a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar; colloquially called a "pill".

Tablet may also refer to:

Writing tablets

• Clay tablet, one of the earliest known writing mediums
• Wax tablet, used as far back as ancient Greece
• tabulae ansatae tablets with handles
• Graphics tablet, a modern computer input device, used on a desk surface
• Tablet PC, a modern portable computer, where the screen is also the primary input device

Writings and publications

• Tablet (religious), a traditional term used for any religious text
• Tablet (newspaper), a newspaper published in Seattle, Washington
• The Tablet, a Catholic magazine published in the United Kingdom

Other

• Tablet (confectionery), a medium-hard, sugary dessert from Scotland

So we are going to go with Table PC since it’s the closest to what we are going to be covering here. To be honest, Tablet PC is the bulk for now, but it’s not the only thing I consider a tablet.

When I 1st started this site in August 2003, it was in response to the Microsoft Tablet PC and how it was going to be all the rage. It didn’t go over as well as everyone thought, but the Tablet PC game made it and is still around today. I was unhappy with early Tablet PC and chose not to buy one and thus I closed the site down. Now, the word “tablet” seems to be taking on other forms rather than just being associated with Tablet PC so myself and Chuong decided to see what we could do in this new, more open world surrounding tablets.

In my opinion, a tablet can be anything from the Pepperpad to the Crunchpad to the rumored “iTablet” to what we already know as a Tablet PC powered by Microsoft software. A tablet can be a UMPC or a Mid, hell they can even be Pocket PC or touch screen Smartphones. If you open your mind far enough, the iPhone is really a mini tablet. I don’t care what the text book definition of a tablet is, but I equate the meaning to a device that has a touch screen and accepts input via that touch screen. That’s a whole lot of devices. Don’t worry, we won’t be covering PPC, iPhone, and Smartphones here really, but with my definition of tablet, they can be considered tablets. Also note that my idea of what a tablet is might be a tad off to some, oh well.

• What do you consider a tablet to be?
• Are you excited about something coming that is considered at “tablet”?
• Do you use a Tablet PC?

Thanks for reading. This site will be a work in progress as we see what develops.