Google's Android is the best-selling tablet OS the 6.0 Marshmallow version is featured on such devices as the Lenovo Pro 12 tablet, and 5.1 Lollipop is included in the Samsung's Galaxy Tab E tablet PC.Īpple is largely responsible for igniting tablets' current popularity, having released its first-generation iPad in April 2010. The Surface Pro 4 has a 12.3-inch screen and includes a stylus for drawing and writing on the touchscreen. Microsoft's Surface and Surface Pro tablet PCs are configured for a 64-bit Windows operating system. Collectively, tablets have made numerous technological advances and gained increasing popularity in enterprise BYOD environments.

The new 9.7-inch Apple iPad Pro supports the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil.Ĭonsumers and businesses have a range of tablet devices and operating systems from which to choose. Rugged tablets are usually encased in a thick protective shell and have shock-protected hard drives. A slate-like model that is designed to withstand rough handling and extreme conditions. Sometimes referred to as convertible or hybrid notebooks, a hybrid is like a regular notebook, but has a removable display that functions independently as a slate. Convertible models may allow user input through a variety of methods in addition to the hardware keyboard, including natural handwriting with a stylus or digital pen and typing through a screen-based software keyboard. These typically have a display that rotates 180 degrees and can be folded to close, screen up, over an integrated hardware keyboard. External keyboards are available for most slate-style tablets, and some keyboards also function as docking stations for the devices. Today, the most common type of tablet is the slate style, like Apple's iPad, Microsoft's Surface or Amazon's Kindle Fire.

Technological advances in battery life, display resolution, handwriting recognition software, memory and wireless internet access have since made tablets a viable computing option. The first widely sold tablet computer was Apple Computer's Newton, which was not a commercial success. The idea of tablet computing is generally credited to Alan Kay of Xerox, who sketched out the idea in 1971. The tablet form factor is typically smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a smartphone. A tablet is a wireless, portable personal computer with a touchscreen interface.

Best tablet for handwriting notes 2016