AFTER TWO YEARS of previews and sneak peeks, Microsoft and partners this week unveiled the Tablet PC, heralding what some observers believe is a new platform the software giant can control.

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Other than the tablet design, the salient feature in all of the devices is Microsoft Ink, a technology that will allow users to incorporate handwritten notes as a data type in the operating system.

The Ink technology, some analysts said, is the key to understanding Microsoft's strategic thinking.

"Gates is giving us a transitionary product," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies in San Jose, Calif.

By carefully introducing the concept of a pen married to a traditional laptop design, Microsoft is not only creating a platform but is hoping software developers will start getting creative and slowly introduce it into the device and application layer, according to Bajarin.

"They could own that platform for a long time. I don't see Apple going in this way, and I would be very surprised if we see a Linux tablet. [Microsoft is] trying to drive the next generation of mobile computing," Bajarin said.

But to do that, ISVs need to buy in to the technology, which may take some time given the current economic climate, said Randy Matamoros, CEO of Bear River Associates in Oakland, Calif. Bear River is an ISV that specializes in Pocket PC-and Palm-based mobile applications.

"Three years ago there was a lot of spec work going on, and now I just don't see that," Matamoros said.

At the time of its launch, about two dozen applications are specifically targeted for use on a Tablet PC, including MySAP CRM from SAP, Autodesk, CAD/CAM application with inking capabilities, a Corel drawing program, contact calendar application from FranklinCovey, and a collaborative application from Groove Networks.

The great debate among industry watchers is now whether tablet PCs will be relegated to vertical markets or a standard tool of corporate life.

One corporate executive evaluating beta units from Acer said the Microsoft Ink capability, called Journal, is a broad solution for the "corridor warriors" on its corporate campus.

"Avid note takers liked the Journal product. They could search on huge pages of notes," said Dave Severson, product and capability manager at Best Buy in Eden Prairie, Minn.

Although Severson was pleased with the Acer units, he is not ready to commit until he evaluates other competitive units.

Although Microsoft does not manufacture a tablet PC itself, it does specify what hardware components are required within a device bearing the Tablet PC logo. Form factors available the likes of Acer, Fujitsu, Motient, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Toshiba, and ViewSonic are either a single flat-screen panel or a tilt-and-swivel panel plus keyboard, two of which are reviewed in this issue (see "New faces for PCs").