In Pictures: The evolution of the tablet PC

We live in explosively innovative times for tablet computing and mobile apps. But it didn't all happen overnight. Most attempts to build a tablet-like computer, going back to the '70s, were not successful. Yet every failure was a lesson learned that led us to the iPad. Here's a look back at how the modern tablet came to be.

Fujitsu Stylistic 2300 (1998)

Fujitsu released its first and only production tablet in 1998, and is notable as one of the first tablets with a color touchscreen. It was a pen-based tablet that ran Windows 95 and 98. It also bucked the problem of outdoor light reflection by using a transreflective display to reduce glare. Despite these influential features, the manufacturing costs of building the Stylistic 2300 kept the selling price (a mind-blowing $4,485) too high for most businesses and the production of the device stopped not long after its release.

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