For many consumers, tomorrow’s launch of an Apple Tablet represents the birth of a new category of computing. But, what we known today as the Tablet PC has been making waves for a long time now.

Microsoft loyalists may think of the 2001 launch of Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition as the beginning of the Tablet PC while many apple fans will point to the “before its time” Apple Newton of the early ‘90s.

But in his recent article in Information Week, Dr Conrad Blickenstorfer of RuggedPCReview.com points out that Tablet PCs have been around much longer than you think and gives us a lesson in Tablet PC history.

…current coverage has been in creating the impression that Microsoft invented tablet computers in 2001, rewriting history in the process. Fact is, slate and tablet computers have been around for a good 20 years, and in 1991, there was as much hype about slates as we have today.

As it turns out, pen computing has been around for a long time and this isn’t the first time it’s hit the news either. But with the runaway success of the iPhone, tomorrow (our time) could be the birth of a Tablet PC for the masses – courtesy of Apple.

It would be hard to believe that there has ever been a more anticipated computer product release… We’ll wait and see exactly what Apple will have for us, and we’ll be especially relieved if it is actually a Tablet PC! Whatever it is we hope that Apple release the product in Australia within a reasonable timeframe.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introduced a new HP slate Tablet PC at this weeks CES Show in Las Vegas USA. HP have published a little teaser video, but not much more information just yet:

Welcome HP and others back into the real Tablet PC market! This year you will be spoilt for choice in buying a Tablet PC.

The HP TC1100 was the carrot that got us into Tablet PCs. In fact, the first Tablet PC that we had was the woeful HP TC1000. It was terribly underpowered with a Transmeta Crusoe Processor. It left a bad taste for many.

Fortunately, HP quickly got their act together and fixed the TC1000 by putting a decent Intel Centrino processor in it. The result was the TC1100, which is still today a very capable and sought after Tablet PC.

What was so good about the HP TC 1100 you might wonder? Well, it was the only Tablet PC to come in a Hybrid form factor. It could be both a convertible tablet (With a keyboard attached) and a slate.

In slate mode, you had a powerful and lightweight portable device weighing just over 1 kg. With the keyboard attached, you had a Tablet PC that also functioned like a laptop. 

Unfortunately HP decided that the TC1100 wasn’t important enough in the scheme of things. They continue to develop Tablet PCs, but have taken the safe road of laptop style convertibles like the HP 2710P.

Enter Motion Computing. To be honest, Motion have been around in Tablet PCs since the very early days. So we may be a little slow in reporting this, but we think that Motion have had an alternative to the TC1100 form factor for quite a while. It’s the LE1700 with convertible keyboard.

We put together the following video to demonstrate the similarities.

To see the Motion LE1700 Tablet PC in more detail, visit the LE1700 page on our online shop.