The pen may be mightier than the sword, but throughout computing history, the keyboard has reigned supreme. Past attempts at creating PCs that you can write on (Apple Newton, anyone?) have gone nowhere fast. But the dream of the pen-based PC is as indelible as India ink. Today, Microsoft and its hardware allies are taking yet another whack at a new generation of pen-based PCs.

Two years after Microsoft first demonstrated Tablet PC technology, the first wave has arrived. These six tablets all run on the new Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition OS and come in one of two basic designs. Each offers an alternative to the traditional notebook, letting you enter handwritten text on your PC. But tablet PCs make sacrifices in the process, too, offering less bang for the buck than notebooks. They also have smaller displays, and many lack integrated keyboards.

These futuristic PCs are clearly first-generation machines. Loose parts, unreliable features, and imperfect handwriting recognition will keep these modules from overtaking the notebook anytime soon. Still, IDC predicts that tablets will grow from 100,000 units this year to 1.5 million units by 2005, and the best is yet to come. A second generation of products and a new wave of applications tuned for tablets will make these front-runners look as modern as Ford's Model T.