What is your input on Tablet PC's?

[Sparky]

Hello Villuns,

I need help from all the tech savy folks out there to help me make an informed decision. I am looking for a real small portable notebook PC, and so far, what I've liked the most is an HP Pavilion tx2120us. I believe it balances out quite nicely with the features it has (250 GB HD, 4MB SDRAM, Tablet PC funtionality, size and weight (4.5lbs) requirements). Many years ago, I had a Toshiba sub-notebook which was great, but I do know the limitations of small notebooks.

My main concerns about this PC revolve around the following:
1) Tablet PC functionality. What has been everyone's experience with it? The principle is really appealing.
2) Performance wise. I know it has Vista. For general office / study work, is it solid enough?
3) Would you recomend something different? Budget is around $1,250 + tax

I have to make a decision within the next couple of weeks so please don't be shy to tell me what you think.

Thanks for your input.
Sparky

[MrBlah]

The question is, are you actually gunna use the Tablet functionality of it? I know the swivel type screen is a very nice thing to have, but are you actually gunna use the Stylus and whatnot? Do keep in mind, today's tablets are lot better than yesterday's tablets.

Thats the big thing about tablets, i know many people that have em here at the Colorado School of Mines and i only sometimes see people using them. In a business application(swivel screen has so many uses), tablets can have some good versatility, same goes for education applications (taking notes in Chemistry/Calculus)

If you just want a small very portable notebook pc, weight and power are all your should worry about.

[Sparky]

To answer, I believe so. Never used it, so I do not know how well it will work or not. As with most gizmos, you only use some of the functionality, not all of it, so I am not surprised at your comment from your peers at the Colorado School of Mines.

Sometimes I type faster than I write, other times, I write faster than I type (i used to have a proficiency of about 50wpm typing). With a tablet, I've read that I can start writing and it will convert to word; this would save me ton of time when the particular task is more of a note taking event (such as a lecture to training session). I remember that it caught my attention when they first came out back around 2000, but not knowing anybody who has one, I do not know how practical/usefull it becomes at the end.

My main focus is ultra portable, but the ultra portables in the price range I've found are pretty much tablet PC's. I do a lot of tender offers, so I do have multiple screens open (Word/Excel/Acrobat and Explorer with about 4 or 5 tabs open at once), so I'm also concerned about the performance side of things.

I hope this helps narrow down what I will be using this PC for.

Thanks

[Mad-Hammer]

I bought a Toshiba Satellite R 15 about 3 years ago and my only complaint is a fault in the registry causing wonky behavior when you press the backspace key one too many times.

If you're into graphic arts, I would highly recommend a tablet pc. Mine has probably saved a tree or two with wasted paper.

The function of writing your notes on the tablet are nice, but I never could get mine to identify my handwriting.

In short, if you're a graphic artist or a serious doodler, get one. If not, save yourself some bucks and get a regular lap top.

[gator]

[quote="Sparky";p="82624"]
1) Tablet PC functionality. What has been everyone's experience with it? The principle is really appealing.
[/quote]
Haven't used it, but my suspicion is it's much more useful for diagrams/sketches than writing documents.

I know you said that you sometimes write faster than you type, but I couldn't see myself writing for extended periods of time.

2) Performance wise. I know it has Vista. For general office / study work, is it solid enough?

Yep, should be.

3) Would you recomend something different? Budget is around $1,250 + tax

I'm surprised at the specs/form factor of that HP for that price point, seems like a great price for a Tablet PC.

Others ultraportables you may want to consider, but with similar specs to the HP (memory, HD) would probably price you out of your target range.

- Dell M1330
- Vaio SZ series
- Lenovo X61 (No trackpad, may or may not be a problem)

[MrBlah]

Yeah on the same price i looked at other Toshibas and they were starting at like $1700

[Gen.Ben]

you can check dell outlet for great deals on refurbished ultra-portables.

http://www.dell.com/content/segmenter.a ... l=en&s=dfo

http://www.dell.com/content/products/co ... l=en&s=dfb

[Buzzy Beetle]

I'd like a tablet PC for drawing on the go. That'd be awesome! Too bad they're so expensive... Awwell...

[Richter]

We have the Gateway tablet here at the University where I work. All incoming students get one as part of the technology fee. I use it and unless you are honestly gonna be using the table function for taking your own handwritten notes, then I would suggest another route. It is good for students who want to use if for class. If you have half way decent handwriting then your notes can be converted into word or one note. Down side 7.5 lbs for the Gateway. Toshiba makes a 5 lb model with a smaller screen.

[gator]

[quote="Gen.Ben";p="82773"]you can check dell outlet for great deals on refurbished ultra-portables.

http://www.dell.com/content/segmenter.a ... l=en&s=dfo

http://www.dell.com/content/products/co ... l=en&s=dfb[/quote]

I probably wouldn't recommend the D420/D430 series since they use the ULV Core 2's that max at 1.2 GHz. Great for battery life though!