How long have tablets been around

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List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. By Tuan C. Updated January 29, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Nguyen, Tuan C. The History of Tablet Compters. Stay tuned as we briefly detail the history of these small PCs and the technological advancements that made them what they are today.

In , Alan Kay, an American Computer scientist, came up with the concept of a tablet named Dynabook , which he detailed in his writings that he later published.

Kay envisioned a personal computing device for children that works pretty much like a PC. The Dynabook consisted of a stylus pen and featured a thin body with a display that boasted at least a million pixels. Various computer engineers suggested parts of hardware that would work to make the idea a success. However, it was still not yet time—since even laptops had not been invented. The first tablet computer debuted the market in under the name of GRidPad, a name coined from the Grid System.

However, before that, there were Graphic Tablets that connected to computer workstations. These Graphic Tablets enabled the creation of different user interfaces such as animation, drawing, and graphics. They were mostly used in factories, by the military and by other field workers.

The LS was the smallest tablet ever with an 8. In , the iPad arrived, with a gorgeous touchscreen that people had grown to love from the iPhone and iPod touch. A lot of people said it would fail. It didn't. As of last October, Apple had sold at least million total and is expected to sell 33 million more in , plus another 55 million iPad Minis. But eventually the prices dropped and the free-and-open-source Android operating system led to more variety and lower-priced devices.

By , Microsoft was back in the tablet game, recognizing hat tablets were not only a threat to its PC empire, but were the future of PCs. It also admitted that Apple's model of producing the hardware and the operating system was superior and dove in with its first-ever Microsoft PC, the Surface. It was a dangerous move to compete with its PC partners like that. The jury is still out on if that gamble will pay off for it. The Padfone 2 is the second generation of the device, released this spring to Europe and Asia but not to the U.

Though if it proves popular, we'll see. You agree to receive updates, promotions, and alerts from ZDNet. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to receive the selected newsletter s which you may unsubscribe from at any time.

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