Tablet machines

[bsobel]

Hi,

I'm really thinking of getting one of the new tablet machines running XP for tablets, I was wondering if anyone has already taken the plunge (the Acer's are already available) and had any feedback on the form factor?

Bill

 

[bsobel]

Anyone looked at these, the new Compaq looks good (and might surplant my Acer thoughts...)
Bill

 

[MrBond]

There's a lot of hype about these in the media, especially in PC Magazine. I personally think it's just a tad early to be buying something like that, there's still bound to be bugs that need worked out.

In the mean time, the pocket pc is a proven platform 🙂

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: MrBond
There's a lot of hype about these in the media, especially in PC Magazine. I personally think it's just a tad early to be buying something like that, there's still bound to be bugs that need worked out.
In the mean time, the pocket pc is a proven platform 🙂

Yea, but then again I did own a Newton long before my current PocketPC 😉 I'm mainly looking to replace a bulker laptop I keep in the upstairs with a screen for late night surfing and remote access to the downstairs machines (via XP remote desktop). These would seem to fit the bill fairly well, I'll keep my 'big' laptop for travel as I don't see these replacing it right away.

Bill

 

[vetteguy]

I was at a Microsoft office Friday and got to play with a pre-release HP/Compaq tablet. It's pretty cool, but it had a few things working against it. Keep in mind that this was a beta unit:

Small screen: If you're used to a 15"+ screen, you might have a problem with the 10" or 12" tablet screen
Sluggish perrformance: This particular machine had 240MB RAM and an 866MHz Transmeta Crusoe processor, and it felt VERY slow.
Tablet-specific software: Neither myself nor the MS employee could get the screen to rotate to portrait mode. I couldn't get the Microsoft Journal application to work correctly.
Electrostatic screen: It's basically like one of those Wacom (sp?) tablets. The only thing that the screen will respond to is the pen. While that's good in that you can't accidentally move the mouse with your hand while you're writing, it also means you can't type on the on-screen keyboard with your fingers, and if you lose the pen you're screwed.

I really did like the unit though. I would own one but I can't think of a practical application for it in my job, since I am a programmer and need a keyboard. A tablet really isn't practical for that.

 

[randomlinh]

hrm.. it ONLY responds to the pen? is that a manufacture specific thing? if not, that would suck. but the idea I sure like. A pocket PC is just a tad too small to sit in class and take notes. And a laptop is still too big IMO (unless it's a sony picturebook). Of course, what's the pricetag on these things? Way to much for now I'm sure.. if they could hit the sub 1000 market....

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: lnguyen
hrm.. it ONLY responds to the pen? is that a manufacture specific thing? if not, that would suck. but the idea I sure like. A pocket PC is just a tad too small to sit in class and take notes. And a laptop is still too big IMO (unless it's a sony picturebook). Of course, what's the pricetag on these things? Way to much for now I'm sure.. if they could hit the sub 1000 market....

Yes, the tablet spec calls for the use of a digitizer, and I believe all of them use the special stylus as so they are not 'touch' screens (meaning you can't use your finger, a peice of plastic, etc). Right now looks like the prices are going to be between 1800-2800 depending on features and manufacturer. The sweet spot currently seems to be about 2000, but I agree, these would do much better as the prices fall and they can break the 1k barrier.

Bill

 

[ai42]

I am actually planning on getting a Tablet PC myself but I would not be so hasty.

1. Next year Banais will come out and surely be used in tablets. Will surely give you much more performance than a P3 or Cruose CPU.
2. Windows XP Tablet Edition is not yet officially out, I beleive it is this week? So I we still don't know what every company has to offer.

I have my eye on HP's Tablet offering, we saw some pics of it at IDF etc. Basically it is designed the same as a superslim notebook (which I currently own an Omnibook 500, and have always owned a superslim), then the screen rotates 360 degrees to fold over the keyboard to be used as a tablet as well. When this comes out with a Banais CPU I will bite.

 

[bsobel]

2. Windows XP Tablet Edition is not yet officially out, I beleive it is this week? So I we still don't know what every company has to offer.

True, November 7th is the offical launch. But many sites are starting to disclose specs of what is coming. There are some tablet specific forums/sites which have most of the specs and some pictures.

I have my eye on HP's Tablet offering, we saw some pics of it at IDF etc. Basically it is designed the same as a superslim notebook (which I currently own an Omnibook 500, and have always owned a superslim), then the screen rotates 360 degrees to fold over the keyboard to be used as a tablet as well.

Actually, it looks like that was a prototype (only the Acer and Toshiba appear to be converatble units with the built in keybaord). The HP/Compaq unit appears to look like this and has a removable keyboard. I wish I could see some higher resolution shots of that badboy more than the link offers....

Bill