Is it the next big thing in PCs? Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. The launch day is November 7th for a new generation of tablet PCs that will use a specially tailored version of Windows XP. Fujitsu is one of five major manufacturers that will introduce new models on that date... .and it's the one with the most experience in building previous generations of tablet PCs. Product marketing director Jon Kies...

"The issue is is that tablet PCs have never been seen by the masses as something they would use. But with the new features incorporated by the Tablet PC edition of Microsoft XP all the features and functionality of a tablet PC is brought out to users beyond the vertical market. So, general business users who need to run Office applications can all use the tablet PC and be more productive in their day to day business activities."

Microsoft sees big potential markets in the corporate and education environments. Senior product manager Kelly Berschnauer...

"Students are very excited about the tablet primarily because of its free form note taking capability. It's something that they do every single day. Plus it's lightweight so you can take it with you to class. The other great thing about the tablet is as you're writing on the screen, it's really less obtrusive using in both classroom environments and in meetings."

But usability will have a lot to do with handwriting recognition accuracy... sturdiness and battery life. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.