Amtek intros the iTablet T221 UMPC
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted December 18th 2007 12:08PM
posted December 18th 2007 12:08PM
Update: Price? €1,552, or about $2,237. Ouch.
[Via TodoUMPC, thanks Nicolas]
posted December 18th 2007 12:08PM
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nothing shown about how well hand writing recognition does work?
The Vista handwriting recognition is really good as long as you have good input, and it appears that it has very good input so it would likely work very well.
My HP tx1000's touch screen doesn't work well beyond tapping, so recognition is not very good because it is hard to get it to draw correctly.
My Gateway M285e on the other hand is digitizer based and writing is very smooth and as a result recognition works very well.
That's a controversial name. :-O
None the less it look's pretty cool...
Exactly what I was thinking...
A Vista machine called the iTablet?
Apple wasn't the original user of i(something), you know...
@crisaroz
I know wouldn't that like rip a hole in the universe?
oops
@chrisaroz
too many i- names. Get some originality people. It's not really cool anymore. I understand homages, but just sticking it on there to let people know it's electronic is lame.
Now if only someone can make the iTablet run OSX...
Dose OSX even have tablet capabilities?! :s
Heh. I doubt it but it would be cool nonetheless...
Yes it does as a matter of fact. Here are some links, read up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkwell_(Macintosh)
http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook
Cool. I knew I had heard something about that but never had a machine capable of making use of it. I know there are rumors of a tablet from Apple but putting OS X on something like this (or buying a custom converted MacBook Pro) would be the next best thing.
>Now if only someone can make the iTablet run OSX...
Yeah that would be nice. It would be almost even nicer if someone could save us from the same boring comment every single time a tablet is posted.
@Helio--
Because your comment was SO original and enthralling...
@Shane: Helio's comment was as original and enthralling, as your reply to him was needless and random.
I've never read the other similar comments on other postings. Apparently there is some unwritten set of norms for blog post comments that I never read. Screw it. I give up.
@ Shane
DID YOU HEAR THAT EVERYONE! That would be the sweet, sweet sound of one more tool leaving our internet! HIP HIP...
@Monkfishblahblahblah
Wow...How rude.
Jerk...
It looks quite nice, I wonder what battery life is like.
Looks like an N810 on roids.
Nice but I'm sure it will be out of my price range.. My
guess is $800+ and bad battery life.
A bit of digging led me to this link: http://online.farandsoft.com/shop/detalle.asp?ida=500100372 (8th post down from original link)
Unfortunately it's way out of my league.... 1552,5 € --> $2,238.08 USD
Looks nice though (but I was hoping for sub-500!)
--Jon
aren't we all...
I knew it was bound to happen - model number namespace collision! IBM already had a T221, you thieves.
SO seriously, show us a vid of someone inputting some data and see how practical that is, and I don't mean handwriting recognition because that's just not practical, you don't post/chat/email/enter your taxes with handwriting recognition.
And I notice some lag on the input on the video, which for a scribble on a PR vid doesn't matter but which if you edit something is rather frustrating.
Sure, it's not practical for data entry, or to be used as a primary pc... I could say the same thing about a mobile phone, or a PDA. Some people like writing some notes by hand, and even more notably like to draw. Try hand writing a note using your mouse or the touchpad on a laptop. Try drawing with your cellphone or PDA. Not very practical.
I would use this device as a digital notebook/sketchbook and mobile browser ... if it can run any decent graphics applications. I'm waiting for a device just a bit smaller than this, with excellent battery life, good color reproduction and outdoor visibility, a decent built-in camera, mobile broadband, and enough power to perform basic tasks in photoshop with images of a decent resolution. 5 more years, maybe?
Actually, I own a (real) UMPC - Samsung Q1 Ultra - and I use the handwriting feature all the time. There are two modes for using it - reco and writing. In reco mode, you use the entry pad to write or print and it converts it to text. The Vista reco is VERY good and once you get the hang of it (ie: adjust your writing style a bit to make it easier on the reco), you can get very high accuracy.
The writing mode is more like just writing on paper. I use that mode when I want to jot down little notes or drawings. These can be converted later into text.
Would I use a Tablet or UMPC to write a novel or code using handwriting? God no, but that's not the idea behind these devices. They're intended more for accessing data and immediate use - it's hard to use a keyboard while you're standing somewhere where there's no flat surfaces.
And actually, now that I think on it, I've noticed that a lot of writers still handwrite their novels... (hey, it's weird to me too). This would let them write it in, then convert directly to text - saving a step. Of course, you can always connect a keyboard via USB or Bluetooth (I use Apple's wireless keyboard as it's the lightest, thinnest full size keyboard out there) if you want to do heavy duty typing.
There's a yet unreleased software called InkSeine that sounds pretty cool for note taking. Some kind of a mix between Journal and OneNote.
Else I do input text a lot in word using the tablet input. I do use handwriting for emails, post and chat. I do use it for Illustrator, powerpoint, web surfing, etc. It works pretty well.
I still have problems though, when inputing "complex" series of letters and numbers. For example "T64iZ" will often give me a weird series of letters. Maybe I should run the "handwriting personalization", but this takes 2 hours and I didn't make the effort yet.
Well to me it seems silly to spend a lot of money to buy something that works for a few hours until the battery drains instead of getting a 20 cents pencil and some paper, if that's your use. )notes & doodles)
What I mean is that I think a dual core computer is meant for computer use and that although it certainly is nice to have in many circumstances the video isn't exactly honest, even taken into account that it's an ad.
So yes I think people will input text and they will not in general like to use handwriting extensively on computers, they more likely sit at some table or on some couch and then would input text with an onscreen keyboard when it was time to enter something more than 3 words.
The video clearly cut corners representing the experience I think.
I would love to have one of these!
who's the first to run Mac Leopard on this iTablet?
I'm a fan of both slates and UMPCs, but the following is worth pointing out:
active digitizer == !umpc
also
12.1 inch screen == !umpc
It's a nice looking product, but let's call it what it is: a slate form-factor tablet pc.
I was thinking the exact same thing. Why are they calling this thing a UMPC ? It's a slate tablet without a keyboard. I thought to quality (at least from MS's standpoint), a UMPC had to have a 7" or smaller screen. My laptop I use every day has a 12.1" screen. This thing just doesn't happen to have a keyboard, therefore they call it a UMPC ??
apple in gonna sue them , apple invented & own patents on the "i" word & its design. its the best word on the market. check out the link apple.com/iBullshit for more info about this patent
I'm sure you're trying to be sarcastic (or I hope you are)... but you can't patent a word or a style.
You're thinking of 'trademark'.
Jeff, he/she's obviously not thinking.
...so can HP sue Apple's trendy pants off? Compaq (now HP) made the iPaq long before Apple "i"'d anything.
iPaq was introduced in 2000, the first iMac was released in 1998. Who own's who?
At the risk of being pedantic, this isn't a UMPC - it's a tablet PC. UMPCs have to have screens smaller than 10".
But...
Wow.. is this a nice tablet PC. I wish it was WXGA instead of just XGA, but if the price is right, I'll live with that. :)
VGA port instead of DVI? Boo!
Why would you have an active digitizer and a RESISTIVE touchscreen? This makes no sense.
Am I the only one that noticed that the headphone and mic jacks are mis-labelled? They've got green marked as mic and red as headphone.. normally it's the other way around.
Not that it really matters.. it just jumped out at me.
I have two PCs, and both have red for output and green for input
If the price in the comments posted above ($2300) is correct I think I'd prefer a Fujitsu or Motion Slate.
And to reply to a few earlier posters XP Tablet handwriting recognition is quite good if you happen to be someone who prints (instead of cursive).
I own a Fujitsu Slate Tablet and can write faster on it than I can type (I am a hunt-and-peck'r).
I'm not usually a fan of tablets, and for the most part I don't think they're particularly useful to the majority of laptop users, but that iTablet is definitely the sexiest tab let I've ever seen!
Curses, I meant 'tablet' all one word...
Why aren't they useful? No need to haul huge laptop around, check email, view pictures/videos/etc on the bus ride home, also very useful for various professions such as the one I am working with atm.
Where can I actually GET one of these? Or any Amtek product, for that matter?
Well, judging from the website selling them, Europe. Or specifically Spain. Nothing in the US. But the company will be at CES 08 according to their homepage.