I currently have a Dell Latitude x300 (which is less than 4 pounds) and I would ideally like to get a tablet just as small and light but a lot faster and with a better screen, since this will be my main system. If I were not interested in getting a tablet, I would probably get a Dell Latitude D420 ... but I believe that I would benefit from the additional tablet functionality.
The Gateway e155c (or c120x), the Lenovo x60/x61 tablet, the Fujitsu T4220 and the Asus R1F probably come closest to this (although I wish they were all smaller/lighter with an external optical drive like the Dell x300).
The benefit of the Gateway is the dual use screen touchscreen/digitizer in my opinion. And the metal case can be a big plus.
I have a great dislike for laptops/tablets without a touchpad and I doubt the tablet functionality can forego the touchpad, so the Lenovo x60 - which otherwise would fit my ideal tablet best - has that strike against it.
I also played around with a brand new x60 (non tablet) that a coworker just bought (against my advice) and it confirmed my dislike for the brand although I have to laud the tech specs on the inside, since they are closest to what I want. And don't get me started on the design ... ugly, ugly, ugly!
The Asus R1F seems faster than the Gateway but the same weight . Very nice design. The plastic casing is ... not ideal but my Dell was plastic too. The biggest problem is the max RAM limit at 2GB ... that seems very limiting since laptop RAM has been dropping fast. And of course no multitouch ...
The Fujitsu T4220 is nice because it will be based on the Santa Rosa plattform. But it doesn't have the multitouch screen, the placement of the pen seems awkward and I really dislike the white coloring (I will use this baby a lot and I can already see the palm rest looking really ugly from abuse ... even with a dark case the palm rest does not look pretty after 1-2 years).
My dream specs are:
- 12 inch screen (good for outdoor use) - dual touchscreen/digitizer
- convertible tablet
- external optical drive (I probably wouldn't even get it since I have an external USB2 DVD Writer)
- less than 4 lbs.
- aluminum/metal exterior
- at least up to 4GB of RAM (min. 2 slots)
- SD Card slot (why not also an internal SD or CF slot to use for as a cheap readyboost?)
- nice design ... I like the gateway and the hp ... the Lenovo design is horrible and ugly.
- fast CPU and GPU (I game very little but it is frustrating to see that almost all modern games would not run on my curent laptop)
I really can't understand why there are no (or very few) true thin and light convertible tablets.
Recap:
Gateway e155c: ($1662)
Pros: available now, aluminum case, multitouch, one of the brightest screens available, beautiful design
Cons: not exactly thin and light (4.3lbs), appears slow in comparison to the others
Lenovo x60: ($2095)
Pros: available now, one of the fastest this gen centrino tablets, multitouch, solid case, lightest (3.7lbs)
Cons: pointerstick (no touchpad), ugly design
Lenovo x61: ($ ... $2100+??)
Pros: Santa Rosa, multitouch, solid case, lightest (3.7lbs)
Cons: not available until July, pointerstick, ugly design
Asus R1F:
Pros: Speed, available now, nice design
Cons: not thin and light (4.3lbs), a little too big with 13" screen, only up to 2GB of RAM??
Fujitsu T4220
Pros: Speed, Santa Rosa
Con: not available until june/july, weight 4.5lbs., color (white = smudged wristpad), placement of stylus, no multitouch
Any thoughts?
Am I missing any other thin and light tablets that come close to my ideal specs?
Any other tablets with a ~12 inch screen that have a multitouch screen (touch and digitizer)?
Should I wait until more Santa Rosa tablets come out and hope for a miracle that a company will finally built a tablet with my dream specs?
Will Santa Rosa and the GMA x3100 allow me to play more games compared to the GMA950 in most of the current tablets? Is it worth waiting for the Santa Rosa tablets?
The Gateway e155c (or c120x), the Lenovo x60/x61 tablet, the Fujitsu T4220 and the Asus R1F probably come closest to this (although I wish they were all smaller/lighter with an external optical drive like the Dell x300).
The benefit of the Gateway is the dual use screen touchscreen/digitizer in my opinion. And the metal case can be a big plus.
I have a great dislike for laptops/tablets without a touchpad and I doubt the tablet functionality can forego the touchpad, so the Lenovo x60 - which otherwise would fit my ideal tablet best - has that strike against it.
I also played around with a brand new x60 (non tablet) that a coworker just bought (against my advice) and it confirmed my dislike for the brand although I have to laud the tech specs on the inside, since they are closest to what I want. And don't get me started on the design ... ugly, ugly, ugly!
The Asus R1F seems faster than the Gateway but the same weight . Very nice design. The plastic casing is ... not ideal but my Dell was plastic too. The biggest problem is the max RAM limit at 2GB ... that seems very limiting since laptop RAM has been dropping fast. And of course no multitouch ...
The Fujitsu T4220 is nice because it will be based on the Santa Rosa plattform. But it doesn't have the multitouch screen, the placement of the pen seems awkward and I really dislike the white coloring (I will use this baby a lot and I can already see the palm rest looking really ugly from abuse ... even with a dark case the palm rest does not look pretty after 1-2 years).
My dream specs are:
- 12 inch screen (good for outdoor use) - dual touchscreen/digitizer
- convertible tablet
- external optical drive (I probably wouldn't even get it since I have an external USB2 DVD Writer)
- less than 4 lbs.
- aluminum/metal exterior
- at least up to 4GB of RAM (min. 2 slots)
- SD Card slot (why not also an internal SD or CF slot to use for as a cheap readyboost?)
- nice design ... I like the gateway and the hp ... the Lenovo design is horrible and ugly.
- fast CPU and GPU (I game very little but it is frustrating to see that almost all modern games would not run on my curent laptop)
I really can't understand why there are no (or very few) true thin and light convertible tablets.
Recap:
Gateway e155c: ($1662)
Pros: available now, aluminum case, multitouch, one of the brightest screens available, beautiful design
Cons: not exactly thin and light (4.3lbs), appears slow in comparison to the others
Lenovo x60: ($2095)
Pros: available now, one of the fastest this gen centrino tablets, multitouch, solid case, lightest (3.7lbs)
Cons: pointerstick (no touchpad), ugly design
Lenovo x61: ($ ... $2100+??)
Pros: Santa Rosa, multitouch, solid case, lightest (3.7lbs)
Cons: not available until July, pointerstick, ugly design
Asus R1F:
Pros: Speed, available now, nice design
Cons: not thin and light (4.3lbs), a little too big with 13" screen, only up to 2GB of RAM??
Fujitsu T4220
Pros: Speed, Santa Rosa
Con: not available until june/july, weight 4.5lbs., color (white = smudged wristpad), placement of stylus, no multitouch
Any thoughts?
Am I missing any other thin and light tablets that come close to my ideal specs?
Any other tablets with a ~12 inch screen that have a multitouch screen (touch and digitizer)?
Should I wait until more Santa Rosa tablets come out and hope for a miracle that a company will finally built a tablet with my dream specs?
Will Santa Rosa and the GMA x3100 allow me to play more games compared to the GMA950 in most of the current tablets? Is it worth waiting for the Santa Rosa tablets?
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