tablet

A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile PC, typically with a mobile operating system and LCD touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single thin, flat package. Tablets, being computers, do what other personal computers do, but lack some I/O capabilities that others have.
Tablets typically have other I/O capabilites that suit them to their usual tasks. These include front-facing or rear-facing digital cameras, a microphone, GPS receiver, a flashlight, gyroscope and an accelerometer, so images on screens are displayed upright, or to sense velocity. Most tablets can to use WiFi and may also use cellular frequencies for Internet access. Tablets can run various software known as apps; most basic apps (such as camera, photos, web browser, voice/video calls, emails, text messages, maps, weather, calendar, contacts, notes, app store etc) come pre-installed. Others may be installed online from the app store. Tablets have personal digital assistants, and some have a fingerprint sensor.
The touchscreen display uses gestures by finger or stylus to replace the mouse, trackpad and keyboard of larger computers. On the sides of the device, speakers, sound volume buttons (to control the volume of sound emitted by the speakers), a jack port, and a USB port will be present. Devices have touchscreen home buttons at the bottom of the touchscreen interface, or a physical home button or multiple buttons may be included below the touchscreen. Some tablets have a vibration alert feature, which may used in games, or for notifications. Tablets may able to place and receive voice/video telephone calls by Internet, or by cellular frequencies.
Tablets resemble phones, the key difference being tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally.
Portable computers can be classified according to the presence and physical appearance of keyboards. Slates and booklets do not have a physical keyboard, and usually accept text and other input by use of a virtual keyboard shown on a touchscreen-enabled display. Hybrids, convertibles, and 2-in-1s all have physical keyboards (although these are usually concealable or detachable), yet they typically also make use of virtual keyboards. Some 2-in-1s have processors and operating systems like a full laptop, whilst having the flexibility of being used as a tablet. Most tablets can use separate keyboards connected using Bluetooth.
The format was conceptualized in the mid-20th century (Stanley Kubrick depicted fictional tablets in the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey) and prototyped and developed in the last two decades of that century. In April 2010, Apple released the iPad, the first mass-market tablet to achieve widespread popularity. Thereafter in the 2010s, tablets rapidly rose in ubiquity and became a large product category used for personal, educational and workplace applications.

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