Whether or not you asked for it, the era of the tablet PC could very well be upon us.

Following industry-wide rumors that Apple plans on releasing a tablet computer later in 2009, Wired is now reporting via "a well-connected industry executive" that Dell and Intel "are collaborating on a touch-screen tablet due for release next year." All this comes on the heels of Amazon's ever-expanding Kindle line of eReaders, particularly the large-screen Kindle DX, which Jeff Bezos trumpets as capable of displaying business documents in addition to eBooks.

If companies such as Dell and Intel are entering the tablet PC market, can Microsoft be far behind? Of course not. If a May 2009 report by research firm DisplaySearch proves correct, and the touch-screen market is on the verge of tripling from $3.6 billion to $9 billion over the next six years, it's virtually a sure thing that Microsoft will want a piece of that action.

The upcoming Windows 7 would be the logical choice of operating system for Microsoft to push for any hypothetical (or not-so-hypothetical) tablet PC. Indeed, a recent post on the Windows Team blog indicates that touch capabilities are being integrated into Windows 7. To wit:

"Windows Touch and multi-touch features provide a natural, intuitive way for users to interact with PCs. Companies such as Roxio, Corel and Cegid are all enabling Windows Touch in their applications."

So I asked Microsoft whether the Windows 7 multitouch capabilities indicated that it would run as the OS for future tablet PCs from OEMs, and received the standard-issue response from a spokesperson: "Microsoft has no additional information to share as we do not comment on rumors or speculation."

Well, that wasn't a denial.

The widespread release of tablet PCs - priced at $800, let's say - would fit in neatly with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's prediction, made during his company's Financial Analyst Meeting on July 30, that PC manufacturers will begin rolling out devices that match netbooks' ultra-portability while raising their price-point by a few hundred dollars.

"When a customer says, 'We want a netbook with a bigger screen, we'll say, 'Here's an ultrathin,'" Ballmer said. "We want people to be able to get the advantages of lightweight performance and to spend more money with us."

In the sort term, that means ultrathin PCs along the lines of Dell's Adamo, albeit without that laptop's higher-end processing power. Heading into 2010 and beyond, however, a series of tablet PCs by Dell and other manufacturers could continue to fulfill that mission of flooding the market with higher-priced devices that also, not-so-coincidentally, have enough juice under the proverbial hood to power more expensive versions of Windows 7.

Granted, this is pure speculation - but it also represents one possible strategy for both Microsoft and PC manufacturers to regain their revenue in a post-recessionary environment, while weaning the public off netbooks that have provided a short-term boost in sales but lower margins in the long run.

A tablet PC would provide a fair number of uses - reading eBooks, watching movies or TV shows, surfing the Web, even manipulating photographs. But without a hard keyboard for typing e-mails, IMs or longer business documents, I'm wondering just how much utility tablets will ultimately present to the community. What do you think?