Tablet Tales Demand for tablet PCs is going up. What are the latest features?

John Hill got so jazzed about using a tablet computer that he started a business to sell them five years ago. "Tablet PCs always get called a niche market," says Hill, 40, founder and president of Allegiance Technology in Horsham, Pennsylvania. "But we sell them to all kinds of people: teachers, construction managers, pilots, someone who inspects yachts, even a cowboy who uses a tablet to write down numbers while sitting on the back of his horse."

Allegiance specializes in both slate tablets, which require a pen for taking notes or choosing menu items, and their convertible cousins, which accept both pen and keyboard input. Hill believes tablets are best for entrepreneurs who spend a lot of time in the field or who take lots of notes during meetings that need to be shared. Convertibles offer the best of both worlds for those who divide their time between the field and a desk.