The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. (Edward Bulwer-Lytton )

"The Finger is Mightier than the Mouse." cmw

Why tablets are finally ready for prime-time

Tablet devices have a bad reputation, thanks primarily to Microsoft's fuzzy vision for the devices, which resulted in several years of incredibly expensive, slow, clunky, unappealing pen-based tablets from all the usual Microsoft partners.

Seven trends are conspiring as we speak to usher in a tsunami of tablets totally unlike the current generation of tablet PCs. Here's what's new:

1. Touch instead of pen

Microsoft always loved the stylus, but most people hate it. Apple and others understood that actually touching the screen is far more appealing than using some funky pen. And touch requires an entirely different user interface, which Microsoft was unwilling or unable to build into Windows until Windows 7.

The casual observer might believe that the usability difference between pen and touch is small. But using a pen is an unnatural act, one that until very recently only a tiny minority of people ever engaged in. The psychological payoffs for using a pen on paper are the tactile feel of the paper, the instant feedback of the trail of ink and the physicality of stacks and files and binders of paper notes. Pen-based computer systems don't offer any of those payoffs.