LEGEND Group is backing Microsoft’s Tablet PC initiative, showing off a prototype device in Beijing that offers a larger screen than similar devices.

　　Microsoft is betting that the Tablet PC will eventually replace most notebook PCs within five years and has invested heavily in the development of a pen-based input system that is a key feature of the Tablet PC version of Windows XP, set for launch Nov. 7.

　　Measuring nine inches (22.5 cm) thick and weighing just under three pounds (1.35 kg), Legend’s Tablet PC incorporates a 12.1-inch thin film transistor LCD screen — slightly larger than that offered on Tablet PCs from companies like Acer and Fujitsu — and is based on an 866-MHz Mobile Pentium III processor from Intel, says Xia Yang, general manager of Legend’s Notebook PC business.

　　The device, which can run for four hours on fully charged battery, will ship with a 20GB hard disk drive, 128MB of RAM, one IEEE.1394 port, and two USB 1.1 ports, he says.

　　Legend’s Tablet PC will be based on the simplified Chinese version of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and will be for sale only on the Chinese mainland, Xia says. Pricing has not been decided yet, he adds.

　　Legend’s Tablet PC is one of around 20 similar devices that will be launched when Microsoft introduces Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Nov. 7, says Alexandra Loeb, vice president of Microsoft’s Tablet PC group.

　　(SD-Agencies)