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Tablet computer

A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers, have similar capabilities, but lack some input/output (I/O) abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble modern smartphones, the only differences being that tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally,[1][2][3][4] and may not support access to a cellular network. Unlike laptops (which have traditionally run off operating systems usually designed for desktops), tablets usually run mobile operating systems, alongside smartphones.

For the computer input device, see graphics tablet. For other uses, see tablet.

The touchscreen display is operated by gestures executed by finger or digital pen (stylus), instead of the mouse, touchpad, and keyboard of larger computers. Portable computers can be classified according to the presence and appearance of physical keyboards. Two species of tablet, the slate and booklet, do not have physical keyboards and usually accept text and other input by use of a virtual keyboard shown on their touchscreen displays. To compensate for their lack of a physical keyboard, most tablets can connect to independent physical keyboards by Bluetooth or USB; 2-in-1 PCs have keyboards, distinct from tablets.


The form of the tablet was conceptualized in the middle of the 20th century (Stanley Kubrick depicted fictional tablets in the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey) and prototyped and developed in the last two decades of that century. In 2010, Apple released the iPad, the first mass-market tablet to achieve widespread popularity.[5] Thereafter, tablets rapidly rose in ubiquity and soon became a large product category used for personal, educational and workplace applications.[6] Popular uses for a tablet PC include viewing presentations, video-conferencing, reading e-books, watching movies, sharing photos and more.[7] As of 2021 there are 1.28 billion tablet users worldwide according to data provided by Statista,[8] while Apple holds the largest manufacturer market share followed by Samsung and Lenovo.[9]

described a Calculator Pad in his novel Foundation (1951)

Isaac Asimov

described the Opton in his novel Return from the Stars (1961)

Stanisław Lem

Numerous similar devices were depicted in 's Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)

Gene Roddenberry

Educator Balan holds a tablet which he hold and inputs data into using swipe gestures.(1967)[13]

Dr Who: The Dominators

's newspad[14] was depicted in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Arthur C. Clarke

described a tablet computer in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the associated comedy of the same name (1978)

Douglas Adams

The science fiction TV series featured tablet computers which were designated as PADDs, notable for (as with most computers in the show) using a touchscreen interface, both with and without a stylus (1987)[15]

Star Trek: The Next Generation

A device more powerful than today's tablets appeared briefly in (1974)[16]

The Mote in God's Eye

The franchise features datapads, first described in print in the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, and depicted on screen in the 1999 feature film, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

Star Wars

Convertibles have a design by which their physical keyboard may be concealed by flipping/folding the keyboard behind the chassis. Examples include 2-in-1 PCs of the Lenovo Yoga series.

chassis

Detachables or Hybrids have physical keyboards that may be detached from their , even while the 2-in-1 is operating. Examples include 2-in-1 PCs of the Asus Transformer Pad and Book series, the iPad Pro, and the Microsoft Surface Book and Surface Pro.

chassis

are passive and respond to pressure on the screen. They allow a high level of precision, useful in emulating a pointer (as is common in tablet computers) but may require calibration. Because of the high resolution, a stylus or fingernail is often used. Stylus-oriented systems are less suited to multi-touch.

Resistive touchscreens

tend to be less accurate, but more responsive than resistive devices. Because they require a conductive material, such as a fingertip, for input, they are not common among stylus-oriented devices but are prominent on consumer devices. Most finger-driven capacitive screens do not currently support pressure input (except for the iPhone 6S and later models), but some tablets use a pressure-sensitive stylus or active pen.[120]

Capacitive touchscreens

Some tablets can recognize individual palms, while some professional-grade tablets use pressure-sensitive films, such as those on . Some capacitive touch-screens can detect the size of the touched area and the pressure used.[121]

graphics tablets

Software[edit]

Current tablet operating systems[edit]

Tablets, like conventional PCs, use several different operating systems, though dual-booting is rare. Tablet operating systems come in two classes:

Comparison of tablet computers

History of tablet computers

Lists of mobile computers

Mobile device

Media related to Tablet computers at Wikimedia Commons