In 2001 Microsoft introduced the term tablet PC and outlined the concept of the Microsoft Tablet PC which should be deployed for external work in business.

A Tablet PC is a lightweight computer, similar to a notebook,which allows the user to interact with software using a stylus (digitiser pen) as if writing on a slate.

Tablet computers (or tablet PCs) are a form of mobile personal computer with large, touch-sensitive screens operated using a pen, stylus, or finger; and the ability to recognize a user’s handwriting - a process known as "pen computing".

Generally speaking, a Tablet PC is a type of notebook computer that has an LCD screen on which the user can write or draw using a special pen, or stylus. The two main models of Tablet PCs are (a) the "convertible" which, like a notebook, has a keyboard and a screen, but whose screen can swivel to a flat position over the keyboard when used for writing/"digital inking," and (b) the "slate," which has only a pen and screen and no keyboard.

TabletPCs machen durch die Möglichkeit der Dateneingabe mittels eines Stifts das Annotieren leichter. Im Weg steht noch die wenig entwickelte Software, die den Austausch annotierter Dateien schwer macht.

Tablet PCs are more robust than teachers expected, but add-on ‘rubber bumpers’ are useful in preventing damage due to knocks. Several schools reported problems with the reliability of some (particularly the early) models of Tablet PC.

The Tablet PC concept is not new; the ideas behind pen-based computing hark back to visionaries such as Alan Kay, Butler Lampson, and Chuck Thacker and to innovative companies such as Xerox PARC in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alan Kay’s Dynabook from 1968, shown in Figure 1, looks remarkably similar to today’s machines. But the technology just wasn’t ready - many attempts at pen-based computing failed due to an unsuitable user interface, inaccurate handwriting recognition, and a poor digitizer.

Vor allem die Notizblockfunktion machen den Tablet-PC zum Kandidaten für schulische Anwendungen. Mitschriften, Skizzen, Anmerkungen zu Dokumenten sind sehr häufig gebrauchte Funktionen. Die Verlässlichkeit der Handschrifterkennung vorausgesetzt (eine Herausforderung an Schüler und Softwareentwickler) hat die Digitalisierung der Schrifteingabe enorme Vorteile durch Speicherung, Übertragung, Indizierung (mit Suchmöglichkeit) und auch in der Reduktion des Papieraufkommens. Eine erste Tablet-PC optimierte Anwendung gibt es bereits, die Software „Journal“ soll Handschrifterkennung endlich praxisreif machen.