Microsoft believes in the future of tablet computing because it combines all the benefits of portability with the richness of ink and the ability to read off the screen directly, says chairman and chief architect Bill Gates.
"This has been a major investment for us. It`s something we totally believe in," Gates told delegates at the opening of this year`s Windows hardware engineering conference (WinHEC) in Seattle earlier this week.
Gates reiterated his view of the past few years that tablet PCs extend portable PC functionality by enabling users to take handwritten notes and annotate documents with digital ink.
However, Gates emphasised the need for lower prices, sleeker form factors and improved capabilities. "We`ve done a lot ourselves. Last year, we had a new version of the software, and obviously we`ll have a major new version that comes in with the Longhorn as well."
Longhorn is the code-name for the next version of the Windows operating system, which is expected to be available commercially in the second half of 2006, although Gates was vague in this regard.
Gates demonstrated design features of several soon to be released tablets, but said really ultra-mobile devices would require a lot of innovation in all the different kinds of components, such as the hinge technology Microsoft helped develop for an ultra-mobile prototype on display at WinHEC.
"There`s a lot we need to do in the software to make this something that`s very easy to work with, and probably having a touch-screen," said Gates, showing off the Ultra Mobile 2007 prototype.
Gates said ultra-mobile devices would need to be light, have all-day battery life and would probably be a camera, a phone, video display and music player.
"The new experiences that Longhorn is bringing in will start to make these different activities far more mainstream than they`ve ever been, so it`s really in the spirit of partnership that we`re sitting here looking at what can we do together," Gates said in conclusion to his message to representatives of the hardware manufacturing industry.
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