News 

The prototype device is reckoned to be around 8in by 14in and weigh 2.2 pounds. The machine is screen-based but will have all the features of a notebook PC, as well as pen and voice-based input options. Voice recognition is an area that Microsoft is keen to expand into with its latest version of Office 10 offering such a feature. The early prototypes will probably feature the power-busting Transmeta chip.

The Tablet PC has been in development by Microsoft for quite a while and has been taken under Gates' wing. The first prototypes are expected to appear sometime next year, but the final commercial Tablet PCs aren't expected to ship until 2003 - so that gives all you next-generation technology fans plenty of time for saving up.