Gallery: The Tablets That Paved the Way for the iPad
Paramount01commandments-inline
__~1300 BCE: The Ten Commandments__ The historical tablets of yore were hewn of rock or precious stone, and were generally rectangular in shape, with sharp corners. Perhaps most notably among these non-electronic slates were the Ten Commandments sent to Moses in the Book of Exodus.
02ipad-schematic-inline
__1888: Gray's Tablet Patent__ In the more modern era, electrical engineer Elisha Gray [filed a patent in 1888](http://stag-mantis.wired.com/2009/09/tablet-taxonomy/all/) for an electronic stylus-type device that would capture handwriting. Piggybacking on the development of the telephone, the device would relay handwritten messages using telegraph technology, like a precursor to iMessage.
Rand03rand
__1963: RAND Tablet__ The [RAND tablet](http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM4122.html) was a low-cost graphical computer input device described as having "great potential" in digitizing map information as well as "more esoteric applications of graphical languages for man-machine interaction." It had a 10-inch square writing area that paired with a stylus.
Dynabook04dynabook-inline
__1972: Dynabook__ Developed by [Alan Kay](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay), the Dynabook was designed to act as a lightweight personal computer for children of all ages. Based on the [Smalltalk](http://www.world.st/) platform, the idea led to the development of a prototype Xerox Alto (one of the first general purpose PCs). The Dynabook was never actually built due to the technological limitations of the times.
<a href="http://oldcomputers.net/gridpad.html">oldcomputers.net</a>05gridpad-right
__1989: GRiDPad__ While the idea of the tablet was firmly planted, Samsung was the first to actually execute a consumer-focused touchscreen slate, the [GRiDPad](http://oldcomputers.net/gridpad.html), in 1989. Used by the U.S. Army, the tablet, which had a 640x400 resolution monochrome display operated by stylus, was bigger than a piece of paper, measured 1.4 inches thick, and weighed 4.5 pounds.
Fujitsu America06tablet-pc-poqetpad
__1990: Fujitsu PoqetPad __ The 1.2-pound [PoqetPad](http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/bibuxton/buxtoncollection/a/pdf/PoqetPad%20(1989).pdf), made by Fujitsu, followed the GRiDPad. This was a handheld touchscreen computer with a 7 MHz NEC V20 CPU inside. It ran DOS, and, powered by AA batteries, could achieve 16 to 48 hours of battery life.
<a href="http://oldcomputers.net/ibm-thinkpad.html">oldcomputers.net</a>07ibm-thinkpad
__1992: IBM 2521 ThinkPad__ You've certainly heard of the ThinkPad, IBM's (and now Lenovo's) long-running portable notebook brand. But the ThinkPad actually began as [a pen-based PC](http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:700T) with a 10-inch monochrome display, 20 MB Flash drive, and 2.4K modem. Eventually renamed the 700T, the slate ran PenPoint OS.
Rama/ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MessagePad#mediaviewer/File:Apple_Newton-IMG_0454-cropped.jpg">Wikimedia</a>08newton-pad
__1993: Newton MessagePad__ The iPad was not Apple's first foray into the tablet space. The [Newton MessagePad](http://www.macworld.com/article/2047342/remembering-the-newton-messagepad-20-years-later.html), a two-pound, 20 MHz processor-housing slate, predates it by over a decade. It was operated by pen input; unfortunately, the handwriting recognition was terrible at first, and it never achieved widespread commercial success even after improvements were made.
Jon Snyder/WIRED09palm-1a-snyder-1
__1996: Palm Pilot__ The [Palm Pilot](http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mobile-computing/18/321) successfully picked up where the Newton left off, spawning the popularity of PDAs (personal digital assistants). Smaller and cheaper, with a 160 x 160 resolution display, a 16 MHz Motorola processor and 512kB of memory, it could "HotSync" to computers using a serial cable, and you could take notes using Palm's shorthand [Graffiti alphabet](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/graffiti.htm).
Janto Dreijer/<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tablet.jpg#filelinks">Wikimedia</a>10HP-Microsoft-Tablet-PC-WIkimedia-PD
__2002: HP Microsoft Tablet PC__ In the early 2000s, Microsoft took a stab at the tablet genre with a tablet edition of Windows XP. Microsoft Tablet PCs were full x86 machines with handwriting and voice recognition. Then-CEO Bill Gates predicted they'd become the most popular PC form in America, but in reality, full Windows on a slate was too bloated to work well for most people.
Nokia11Nokia-770-Internet-tablet-handout
__2005: Nokia 770 Internet tablet __ Riding high on its cellphone fame, Nokia released a [Wi-Fi Internet tablet](http://amzn.com/B000CSVZTU) (designed to be an "Internet appliance") in 2005. It had features familiar to today's tablet users, including web browsing, email, an RSS news reader, ebook reader, and media player, which you could launch from its home screen.
The Dumbest Hack of the Year Exposed a Very Real Problem
Last April, a hacker hijacked crosswalk announcements to mimic Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Records obtained by WIRED reveal how unprepared local authorities were.
Paresh Dave
AI Agents Are Coming for Your Dating Life
The developers of Pixel Societies are using AI agents to simulate social interactions. It's an attempt optimize the process of choosing new colleagues, friends, and even romantic partners.
Joel Khalili
The Audacity Is the Broligarchy Takedown You Were Waiting For
AMC’s new black comedy about a manchild tech titan spinning out of control is a skewering Silicon Valley’s billionaire class deserves.
Miles Klee
A Lot of Shops Won't Fix Electric Bikes. Here's Why
Bike shop mechanics have lost fingers and their shirts while repairing ebikes of dubious origins. Make sure yours is repairable and third-party certified.
Stephanie Pearson
It’s a Tablet! It’s a Laptop! After Testing the Best 2-in-1s, Here’s What I Recommend
Whether you want a detachable tablet or a laptop screen that spins, these 2-in-1 devices manage to balance being both a tablet and a laptop.
Luke Larsen
There’s a Secret Ingredient to Making Luxury Ice at Home
Nice ice is big business, but you can get perfectly clear cubes at home without freezing your assets.
Jeremy White
The Screenmaxxers Who Spend Every Waking Hour on Their Phones
As debates over social media addiction rage, people with extreme screen times tell WIRED they have no plans to cut back.
Miles Klee
Mammotion’s Spino E1 Pool Cleaner Isn’t Bad for the Price—It's Just Not That Good
This compact pool robot keeps its price down, but its performance doesn’t match that of more capable cleaners.
Christopher Null
The Best Coffee Mug Warmers Are Smart. But They Don’t Need an App
The first rule of coffee is that it must stay hot. After weeks or even years of testing, these are the three coffee warmers that will best keep it that way.
Matthew Korfhage
Crimson Desert Is a Cat Dad Simulator
Step into the shoes of the strongest, goodest boy in a game that is beautiful, baffling, and impossible to put down.
This At-Home Hair Color Printer Raised My Blood Pressure
This hair dye printer promises hundreds of shades. It couldn't even manage two.
Louryn Strampe
I Tested the MacBook Neo and the MacBook Air. Here's Which One You Should Buy
After conducting long-term testing on both the MacBook Neo and MacBook Air, I have a good idea who should buy which laptop.
Luke Larsen