Tablet laptops

[Barrak]

Anyone have experience with the newer tablet type laptops, with the backfolding touchscreen displays? I am looking at getting a new laptop at work, and the idea of the tablets appeals to me.

How are they to use, is the overall speed comparable to a regular laptop? Duribility? Which is your favorite model?

 

[fatpat268]

Anyone have experience with the newer tablet type laptops, with the backfolding touchscreen displays? I am looking at getting a new laptop at work, and the idea of the tablets appeals to me.

How are they to use, is the overall speed comparable to a regular laptop? Duribility? Which is your favorite model?

What do you mean, the tablets where the screen rotates 180 degrees and folds down?

If so, they're really not that new, they've been around for 6+ years. They never were really that popular, only popular among some students (including me) and some professions. They were generally pen driven, although some of the newer ones are finger and pen driven.

There's really only two players in this market nowadays: Lenovo and Toshiba.
The laptops are usually 12" and are generally pretty light, however, you will start to notice the weight if you're carrying them around all day.

It appears the Lenovo X200 series starts at a minimum of $2k, and the Toshiba M780 starts at $1300 or so. The tablets are generally durable, as they're more of a business class of laptop.


If you're looking for a tablet that's iPad-esque... well forget everything I just said.

 

[hiddensniper11]

http://www.netbookreviews.net/asus/eee-pc-t91mt/

 

[Hacp]

Get the HP Tm2T. Its the best bang for your buck.

 

[Emulex]

2740p

 

[gorobei]

the established makers are:
Lenovo, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Toshiba, and Panasonic (if you count the Toughbook line)

Msi, Acer, and a few of the newer names are putting out netbook convertibles.

The TM2 is the current recommended tablet at http://www.mobiletechreview.com/tablet.htm
http://www.tabletpcreview.com/ (hasn't done a ranking in a while but i recall reading a top 10 article that had the TX2 or the TM2 as top.)

I have a HP tx2500. I'm waiting to see what the next version of the TM2 brings(not sure if i can live without a dvd drive). The performance is about the same as any other laptop, durability varies as much as other portables as well.

the current TM2 has been on sale for around $700 direct from HP, as they clear out stock for the new coreI3/I5 versions.

 

[yhelothar]

I love my $300 tablet off ebay
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2063961&highlight=

 

[fatpat268]

I love my $300 tablet off ebay
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2063961&highlight=

You would've been better off getting a toshiba portege m200. Both the m200 and the x41 tablet were the kings back in their day, but I always prefered the m200 (which is the one I owned). Better resolution (1400x1050 vs 1024x768), better hard drive (it was 2.5in ide), had nvidia graphics, and generally had faster processors. Battery life was worse though, IIRC
()

In all seriousness, getting one of these older tablets is the way to go if you want something to write notes on for school, draw/mess around, etc. You don't need all that much power to do a lot of those things. Ebay prices on a lot these laptops hover at $150 or less nowadays. And if you were in the market for a wacom tablet, why not get one with a screen too

 

[mazzarin]

I would definitely recommend a multitouch / pen-enabled tablet to anyone, corporate or consumer, who has the funds and sees value beyond bottom dollar sticker price. Convertible and slate tablets have been around for a LONG time, but as fatpat mentioned, they have always been rather niche primarily because of their price, but also the lack of capacitive touch held things back. Tablets range from slow-but-efficient ULV models to just-as-powerful as anything else models.

The caveats for a tablet purchase: Are you fine with a 1280x800 resolution, a 12-13" form factor, and an integrated graphics card?

Despite what was written twice above, do NOT go for a HP consumer-line tablet (TM2/TM2T), or HP consumer-line anything for that matter. They are subpar and have been for many years now.

If you're looking for good touch, your choices are limited to recent releases. I wouldn't recommend the older devices despite their claims since either it was at the expense of the pen, or the entire system was just wonky.

Since you're looking for a convertible, and I'd wager a guess that you don't want to sacrifice much computing power but still want battery life and mobility, you're looking at:
Lenovo X201T
HP Elitebook 2740p
Toshiba M780
Fujitsu T900
Panasonic Toughbook C1

They tend to start decently equipped with i5s around $1800 - you might need more ram though - and max out with boatloads of options (dock, battery, more ram, faster hdd, etc.) around $3000. Some might balk at spending $2000+ on a laptop when you can run to newegg and pick up something that "works" from Newegg for $699, however, the added functionality from the pen/touch, coupled with the superior business-class build quality and extended warranties make them worth it.

If you want additional thoughts:
Lenovo: The thinkpad motto of continual blandness is just ridiculous so I cut it out immediately - despite that, it's an extremely attractive device functionally.

Fujitsu: I've heard their support is pretty lacking and their build quality has been dropping. They used to make REALLY good products, so lower than really good is still good... right?

Panasonic: I couldn't stand that cheesy rubber strap on the Panasonic C1 - I think I could have grown to love the odd styling. I loved the dual-battery-bays.

Toshiba: Best-priced with a fully equipped pre-config i7 and 4GB ram, and 7200rpm hdd @ $1800 msrp. Touch support, but not multi-touch. 4.5lbs and 2-3hrs battery life (6-7 with poorly designed thin-slice.) I've had a M200, M400, and M7 in the past - all Toshiba convertible tablets. They were always great workhorses once they got past their first warranty call If this was styled like the M200 I probably would have leaned in this direction.

HP: Actually a classy-looking machine, great build, 3.8lbs and 3-4hrs battery (9-10 with well-designed thin-slice.) Slightly less powerful pre-config models (i5, 5400rpm drive) but a SSD fixed that all up!

//Bit too obsessed with the form factor, sorry. HTH!

 

[aceO07]

I actually like the 'bland' Thinkpad design. However their x201t changed an important feature that I liked about their x61t, the 1400x1050 screen changed to 1280x800. That's a HUGE difference..

1280x800 = 1024000
1400x1050 = 1470000

 

[Griffinhart]

I'm currently typing this on a HP Touchsmart TM2T tablet. So far, I'm liking it a lot. I just arrived this week.

HP is about to refresh the TM2 line any day now, so you may be able to find some nice deals on the tablet. I got mine for less than $900 with 8GB and the faster GPU. I like the graphics switching too. When I'm on battery it swaps from the ATI GPU to the low power Intel.

This Tablet is replacing my Touchsmart TX2, which was an AMD based tablet. I loved that machine. It was a very decent performer and worked really well. My only problem with it was the grany display and the short battery life. 2.5 hours on average.

So far, I like the TM2's Wacom digitizer over the TX2's N-Trig. Writing is smoother and just seems to work better. Plus having the "eraser" on the back of the pen is nice.

The TM2 is much quieter and cooler too. I like that. But what I really love is the improved battery life. I've been on battery for about two and a half hours, and I'm still at 70% on the charge. I haven't even started playing with the power savings features yet. I should be able to get some very nice life out of it when I'm done.

The fit and finish of the TM2 is really nice too. The aluminum deck and cover are a nice touch. When in tablet mode, the screen is solid and stable too. My TX2 always had some wiggle to it when folded over. Not enough to be a problem, but enough to be noticable.

If you're looking for a very decent tablet with long battery life without breaking the bank, it's worth taking a look at.

 

[Griffinhart]

Despite what was written twice above, do NOT go for a HP consumer-line tablet (TM2/TM2T), or HP consumer-line anything for that matter. They are subpar and have been for many years now.

Any reason in particular? I would agree over the TX2, but the TM2T's are really nice. And extremely well reviewed. Mobletechreview gave the TM2 it's editors choice. The Thinkpad is clearly a better tablet, better screen and processor, but the TM2 is no slouch and has touch that is as good or better and pen that is everybit as good.

Of course, the price difference is massive. The X201t is over $1600 more than my TM2 when you upgrade the HD to 500GB and RAM to 8GB to match my Touchsmart, and I am getting better graphics options than the X201t with the Switchable ATI GPU.

For me, I opted for the HP since it was reviewed very well and it was much cheaper than the Thinkpad. So far, it seems like it was a good choice. My TX2 has been extremely reliable, and I have no reason to suspect that this machine will be any different.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/HP-TouchSmart-TM2.htm

 

[Emulex]

get an older 2730p at hp business outlet or other places - there is a special model 80gb (intel x18-m G1) - it is freakin fast and most people don't know the value; just see 80gb and "meh".

 

[mazzarin]

Any reason in particular? I would agree over the TX2, but the TM2T's are really nice. And extremely well reviewed. Mobletechreview gave the TM2 it's editors choice. The Thinkpad is clearly a better tablet, better screen and processor, but the TM2 is no slouch and has touch that is as good or better and pen that is everybit as good.

Of course, the price difference is massive. The X201t is over $1600 more than my TM2 when you upgrade the HD to 500GB and RAM to 8GB to match my Touchsmart, and I am getting better graphics options than the X201t with the Switchable ATI GPU.

For me, I opted for the HP since it was reviewed very well and it was much cheaper than the Thinkpad. So far, it seems like it was a good choice. My TX2 has been extremely reliable, and I have no reason to suspect that this machine will be any different.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/HP-TouchSmart-TM2.htm

You bring up a good point. I'm biased against most HP consumer products after negative experiences with their tx tablet series and brief encounters with their other products. I still carry that opinion against the TM2 even though they've fixed it up quite a bit. Strangely enough, my last three computing purchases have been HP products, prosumer/enterprise lines though.

Yes, the TM2 is a nice machine. If you look at the specs, it even has a leg up on the business machines in several ways: has a graphics card, decent battery life in stock config, etc. I'd be concerned about long-term resilience and its ability to take a bump here or there. I wish it had a higher res screen too!

The pros in favor of the Elitebook are subtle at face value (IPS vs. TN display panels, SV i5 or i7 CPU, etc.) but I think it's the combination of those plus the minor cons against the tm2 like a glossy screen, 1lb add'l weight, and (if you're really picky) the etched design that make the difference if you travel a lot or just want a great device for work.

Is it enough to justify the $500+ differential for i5 tm2 vs. i5 2740? Maybe, maybe not. I won't be one of those crazies that says the IPS alone is worth it, but the viewing angle is really nice

 

[Emulex]

2730/2740 also have outdoor screens - if you've ever needed to use one outdoors you'd understand its value. elitebooks are really the top of the line hp laptops period. I have yet to see a bad pixel on one but i know i can return a new open box unit with 1 bad pixel no problems. The lower end lines do not afford some luxuries.