The Apple iPad and iPad 2 cause a major wave of interest and sales in tablet computers. However, the idea has been around for much longer.
The idea has its roots in the Telautograph, invented in 1888, which transmitted pen writing between two machines.
The first modern tablets were released in the 1960s and 1970s, but the first push for tablet computers came around the late 1980s to the mid 1990s.
Know as Pen computing, the devices were mainly used for data entry for business users, not consumers. Even Apple got into the early boom in 1993 with their delayed and failed Newton — an early version of a P.D.A.
To see just how far tablet computing has come from the early boom to the iPad 2, check out the timeline below. If you’re one of the many having trouble finding an iPad 2 maybe this might put your mind off of it for a little.
(Edits: nothing major but I fixed what the comments said I should. I added dates to the top of the timeline, added a more visual button to get to the timeline, made the first part of the timeline show up when you get there, added a home button and added text to the post.)
