Ask Engadget: What's the best Tablet PC?
By Darren Murph 
posted June 5th 2008 9:15PM
posted June 5th 2008 9:15PM
With the subnote revolution in full swing, one may wonder why anyone in their right mind would even consider opting for a Tablet PC. There's no denying that tablets cater to a narrowing niche, but the ability to doodle, write and detail your next home project (or similar) right on the screen still has its place in universities and certain on-the-go professions. "I know I'll get tons of people suggesting that I just buy an Eee PC or similar, but I'm looking for some solid advice on a new Tablet PC. I'm primarily interested in taking notes in a few courses that I'm in, and I'm not planning on using this as my primary machine. I'm looking to spend the least amount of cash as possible, and I'm not looking for anything really powerful. I'm also down with any convertible suggestions -- anything I can sketch schematics out on will do."
Come on out of the woodwork, Tablet PC users. We know you're out there. Give this fellow a bit of advice, and make sure you don't lead him astray, alright? If you think you've got a question worthy of posting, shoot it on over to ask at engadget dawt com.
Toshiba Portege M700 FTW
I'm using a Fujitsu T2010. It's got good bright screen, good battery life (with the big battery), very light and portable, it's plenty powerful enough for what I need, although it can occasionally be a bit too noisy on the fan. I think vista drives it a bit hard. (But vista has adaptive handwriting recognition,whereas XP tablet does not). I really enjoy it. The keyboard isn't very good though. Particularlythe spacebar.
Forgot to mention, you shouldcheck the DELL latitude Xt, it came out shortly after I gotmine. I like the idea of a tablet that I can use proper stylus (with the accuracy that brings) or fingers (fantastic for buttons) on.
I got a toshibe m200 of ebay a couple of months ago too, even runs vista without a problem. Good battery life, tough enough to drop of a desk, and good features. Replacement stylus's are still available on amazon...
Tablets were great for annoying the mac fanboys. I got a few of them into a strop for taking my tablet out and messing around with it... but stupid rumourmil has it that they're getting one.Steve Jobs always has to ruin my fun.
HP tx2000z is solid w/ Vista 64. I'm diggin' it...
I have a HP TC4400 - bought it for the following reasons:
- cheaper than the ibm x60
- svideo out
- pointing stick
- long battery lifetime (4hours in constant standart usage)
after using it for 1 1/2years (1year as my only computer now) - i would take the x60 for following reasons:
- optionen for a sxga+ display (i need just more space! - a fellow student bought this one my suggestion - it is great!)
- weight (before the hp TC4400 i had a hp omnibook 900 which was lighter and thiner. i carry around my laptop alot - and these extra 400grams - even if i take almost never paper with me - are a lot!)
- even longer battery life
But for the moment i am ok. i would like a lenovo with an external graphic card to play games at home...
My brother has a Fujitsu Siemens T4010 - its ok but the build quality is not as nearly as good as the HP! But with the multibay you can have either less weight, a cd rom drive (never miss it then i am out nowaydays) or an extra battery.
After all I have to test vista on my device - if it the tblet experience is realy that better...
Anyone know of a decent large-ish tablet? Tried the Lenovo X61 but found the screen too small... am ideally looking for something with an A4-sized display and a decent resolution (i.e. more than 1024x768!).
the lenovo is also available with a sxga+ (1400x1050) 12" screen - very tiny but looks great - have seen one (or two) - would like to have one!
I go for the Toshiba portege M200.
It is a fantastic tablet PC and it has the highest resolution of all tablets untill now (as far as i know) the centrino chip is nice and a downside is that it can only be expended to 2GB ram.
I had a gateway CX210X and even though it might be a bit heavy and bigger, it was a really nice tablet. dedicated graphics, and 2GB out of the box. the digitizer was a special one... not all pens worked - in fact, the pen costs like 30-50$ to replace.. but the tablet itself is relatively cheap at 600 or less.
I have a Gateway (Motion Computing) tablet. It is a very well made machine and has been a tireless kitchen computer for over 3 years. I like the fact that I can take it to the bathroom when I have to poop. I want to install Vista on it but I am scared that I'll get a hiccup and then wont be able to load my authorized XP back on because I lost the disc.
Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT. Latitude XT.
who needs a tablet when there is the eee and the macbook
no need for a tablet here
Motion LE1700 - full sized slate
OQO 02 - UMPC with active digitizer
If you need a full sized screen for schematics, I'd go with the LE1700. I used to have a previous version from Motion and was very happy with it.
If you can put up with a tiny screen (about 3x5 index card size), the OQO is my current machine and I love it. It's small enough (one pound and it fits in a front pants pocket) to take anywhere and powerful enough that it can run most applications.
Toshiba?
I have the Portege M105, pretty old now, but I really like the size and it's lasted this long....that's saying something. Check out the R500.
You are going to pay for quality.
LG C1 (or it's replacement the P100)
I love my Fujitsu T2010 and I'm a mac guy! I use it mainly as a digital sketchbook, which if you are looking for one look into the Fujitsus for the #1 reason that the bezel is flat with the lcd so drawing on it is very nice.
a fujitsu stylistic. used on ebay between $250 and $700 depending on how fast you actually need it. it won't be your primary and pretty much experimental for you so try it out on cheap and used.
i have a 4120 which runs autocad, photoshop and more... has a little lag on heavy programs but for a cheap slate tablet i can't complain.
battery life is kinda low. but my battery is older too... i couldn't say how well it would work new.
I'm using my X61 in tablet mode sitting on the crapper right Now. I love it.I picked it up through the Lenovo outlet store fully loaded for $1400
http://stores.channeladvisor.com/LenovoOutlet/Notebook/New/ThinkPad%20X%20Series%20Tablet/
Do not buy a tablet for this usage. A tablet is much to high tech and expensive for making notes . Also the Tablet will be out of power half way through class or a meeting, it will crash, run out of space, etc.
I take with me a Digimemo from Acecad. This allows me to use any paper (notepad e.g.) to write on. Everything I write is stored on a SD card by the Digimemo.
After a meeting I connect the Digimemo to my laptop and insert all my notes. (I usually do this once every few weeks) The cheap MyScript Notes program recognizes my handwriting so I store my notes as text. That way I can enter my notes into the digital domain if I want to. There I can elaborate on them or search them.
I have it all, my handwritten notes on paper to flip through and all text on my laptop to work with and search through.
This works very well. Drawback is that you do not have a computer to look things up while writing.
Great plus: Cheap, lowtech, reliable (needs batteries once a year(!) and low key.
Check out www.alltp.com and you can go ahead and there is a selection of tablets you can demo. I work for Allegiance Technology Partners and we're the only one that really has a try before you buy kind of deal.
The problem with this is that there are two types of tablets: Convertibles (there is a keyboard, but you can also use it as a slate), and a slate (which has no physical keyboard). Not everyone is going to want to go for the slate.
To further muddy the waters, you can get Tablet PCs with screens as small as 5.6" diagonal all the way to 12.1". (There may be bigger screens out there, but I haven't heard of any of them.)
So what Tablet PC is going to be "best" depends on 2 things: Your expectations, and your anticipated usage.
With all of that in mind, there is no one "best" Tablet PC out there.
I have a Samsung Q1 (the original Celeron 900MHz model). I have upgraded the HDD from 40 GB to 80 GB, and twice have upgraded the RAM (the first time from 512MB to 1024, and the second from 1024MB to 2048.) It serves for lightbrowsing/email and media viewing when I am away from home. I also have used it to record meetings and taking notes. It isn't a workhorse, despite the upgrades. But I knew that going into it, so no disappointments there.
About battery life: I had an Alienware laptop knock-off that would last for an hour on battery power. If you want all-day battery power, you aren't in the market for a laptop of any size, you're in the market for a PDA.
I'm always amazed that people point to battery life as an issue, when everybody knows battery tech hasn't gotten us, yet, to an all-day solution. There is no reason to expect it. Go into it knowing that, and even if grudgingly, accept it.
Woadan
If you dont mind buying a used tablet off ebay or something, a HP TC1100 is an awesome convertable. I loved that little machine and I've seen it sell for around $400. Im not a fan of full on convertables as they are typically too bulky. If the 104" screen on the TC1100 is too small the Fujitsu ST5022D I have is also an amazing machine although you'll have to give up the removable keyboard as it's a pure slate. You can however buy a wireless IR keyboard to go with it. For something new, I like the Toshiba R100 and HP 2710p, the dell machine is nice too but far too over priced...
We have two Fujitsu tablets. My daughter's newer model is slimmer and lighter than mine. Battery life was over 6 hours until my main battery died. I have to say I love it and would never go back to a standard laptop. If you teach, this is what you need. Great for meetings too!
I'll add my approval for the TX2000. Configured with the extra hardware (processor upgrade, 4GB RAM, a/b/g/n WiFi, etc.) and modifying Windows to reduce processor use, you could not ask for a more versitle machine. I eliminated my use of Post-Its and note pads at the office and can watch DVDs and TV recorded on my home server when on the road. $1080 out the door (including tax). There is no better value for the money.
First, if you write comments like this, "I just don't see the point of having a convertible laptop" PLEASE do so in the first line so I can stop reading your short sighted post much more quickly.
x60/61 are awesome...The price, form factor, and driver support are just the tops.
HP Pavillion tx1000/tx2000
durable and nippy
=D
Toshiba Portege M700
- its fast (2.2 GHz) (7200rpm Hard disk)
- runs Vista very well (with 4 GB Ram)
- its VERY light
- its cheap ($1700 Canadian)
I use it as a desktop replacement between work and home; I dock it using Toshiba's Port Replicator and a 24-inch LCD; I use QuarkXPress, Photoshop, CorelDraw, Microsoft Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat Pro, etc and have no complaints.
I never use my finger on the touch-screen but thats just cos I'm so used to pen input; the pen input is very good (the pen itself feels good and inking is very easy).
I have no complaints.
Dell XT - I love it.
Might not be cheap, but not really that more expensive. Its built like cricket bat and warranty is sorted for 3 years as standard.
I've been using an iRex Iliad since January as a reader/notetaker. The e-ink lags a bit, but you quickly get used to it. You also need to use a full size penabled pen since the stylus is just too small for ongoing writing. Notes are fully transferable to a PC, and can be transcribed to type, but I find the software does not recognize my writing very well. No matter as my own written notes are fine for me.
Sure, it is not a fully functional PC, but it is compact/light enough to be extremely portable and you can easily get a full day of battery life without worries. I think that is something that many tablets cannot give you.
I also have an Asus R1F tablet, which is great for when full PC is required, but I will only use the iRex unit for taking notes/reading. With the linux mods, you can have some basic web use PIM functionality as well.
There is great joy in using a Tablet PC for that one purpose which the vast majority of people use PCs... namely, surfing the web.
Imagine sitting back in your sofa or lying in your bed, and just pointing and clicking your way to nirvana, all on a 10" or 12" or larger full resolution screen. And if it's a slate, weighing a mere 2 or 3 lbs, it's just a dream.
How can any subnote compare to this experience? Have we forgotten the "wow" factor? Do we remember our childhood dreams of the ultimate PC form factor? Has anyone actually USED a Tablet?
You can find an older tablet on the used market for 3-500.I'm writing this comment on an HP TC1100, a 10" slate running Vista, that I picked up for $300.
HP TC1100..3+ years and still working out well...OQO Model 1+ was also great..
tc1100
What might be? I have an old trusty Toshiba M200. I need this tablet to sketch! Blog: http://www.walterlogeman.com/art The trouble is that to upgrade I need to spend too much and the new tablets don't have the 1400x1050 resolution. The only other thing I would want rather than a Tablet is a Cintiq.
http://www.tabletpcreview.com/ ;)
The best tablet PC's are made by Motion Computing (personal preference). I use one everyday for taking notes on presentations, capturing meeting minutes and processing email in a corporate environment. They are about the size of a standard notebook and with the extended battery you can get 6 hours of use.
HP TC1100 - one of the very first tablets, and still one of the best.
I have had mine since early 2004 and guess what? It STILL runs great. It STILL impresses clients. Hook it to a projector, and you are money.
I want a new tablet. I wait and wait and wait for something better than the TC1100, and no one has yet to really make a big enough improvement to switch. Yes this is somewhat slow compared to my desktops and some other laptops, but it is by far the best tablet design ever and you can get one now for dirt.
So at this point, we all just have to wait for:
1) Slate tablet with multi-touch
2) Windows 7
For what's out there now, obviously the HP 2710 is best tablet for the money, and the Dell Latitude XT has the most appealing features, but they still don't blow away the TC1100 quite yet, and vista besides the improved recognition is just the crap we get to eat until windows 7 comes out.