It has been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. But, in 2006, is there anything mightier than the pen? One answer might be the radio-enabled stylus, which is a key piece of equipment when using a tablet PC. It enables you to draw or write on the screen using a stylus, and have your pen strokes appear on the screen.

What makes the stylus possible is software — the Windows XP Tablet PC edition operating system, first announced in late 2002 and updated in 2004. Although it is much like the conventional Windows XP operating system, the Tablet PC version has the addition of what Microsoft Corp. calls “digital ink” technology.

The Tablet PC system is intended for use with specially designed notebook computers. The computers use a conventional LCD screen, with one significant enhancement: a radio-sensitive transparent tablet sits just beneath the display and senses a radio signal transmitted by the specially designed stylus.

These computers come in two formats: the most popular is a clamshell design, in which the lid opens to reveal a keyboard like a regular notebook computer. The difference here is that, when opened, the computer’s lid can spin around and be closed again, so the display lies flat but facing outward. The alternative design, which is like a slate, dispenses with the keyboard altogether, leaving just the display.

The advantages of using a tablet PC-based system are twofold: it makes data entry easier and it reduces manual rekeying. For financial advisors, the tablet system can make it easier to work with clients. A tablet PC can lie flat on the desk, and one can write on it like on a piece of paper, making computer use less intrusive and more intuitive, eliminating the barrier that a conventional notebook can create between the advisor and the client.

The Windows XP Tablet PC operating system comes with some built-in software applications — notably, Windows Journal, which serves as a digital notebook, complete with electronic ink. But applications have to be specially written to take advantage of the digital ink function, and there are relatively few of these as yet.

For conventional software applications, Microsoft provides an input panel — a small strip either at the bottom of the screen or floating near the point on the screen on which you are holding the stylus. Handwriting on the input panel is converted to typed text and inserted in the software application. This makes it useful when entering data into a spreadsheet or into a Web form, for example.

The handwriting recognition can be surprisingly good, even with my cursive scrawl, but the downside is that for specific vertical sectors such as finance, which may have their own terms, you may have to resort to entering the words using the built-in software keyboard, by hunting and pecking with the stylus.

Unlike the handwriting recognition function, which is designed to recognize anyone’s handwriting, the speech recognition function in the Tablet PC operating system is designed to be trained to bring it more closely in line with a speaker’s accent and intonation. But I found it annoying and difficult to use, and instead resorted to a separate speech recognition system — ScanSoft’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

Using the operating system, Windows Journal or the input panel on their own will be a pleasurable experience. But for the Tablet PC to really shine, third-party applications may be worth considering.

For example, KeyPrep, listed on Microsoft’s Tablet PC Web site, uses digital ink in the tablet PC version of its software, designed to help produce more professional presentations or prepare for meetings. FranklinCovey also sells a tablet PC-tailored version of its day-planner software.

Microsoft and its hardware partners have worked together to ensure that the Windows XP Tablet PCs recognize ink strokes instantly and at a high resolution, providing a very paper-like experience when writing on the screen. Users will rarely, if ever, have to wait for the screen to catch up as they scribble on it.

A tablet PC can be very useful in a variety of situations — at client meetings out of the office, for checking e-mail while on the road or for reading a book on the back deck in the summer.

A tablet PC operating system is only available with tablet PC hardware, which you buy from PC vendors. Generally, tablet PCs cost a few hundred dollars more than their equivalent-performance non-tablet counterparts, which helps explain why they have not sold in huge numbers despite their usefulness. Expect to pay from $1,500 for a thin and light LG notebook to about $2,800 for a high-end Toshiba tablet PC, depending on the specifications. More information about the Windows XP Tablet PC operating system is available at www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc. IE

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