Motion's J3400 rugged tablet PC dissected, loved up on video
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted March 16th 2009 5:53PM
posted March 16th 2009 5:53PM
Somebody is really geeked about Motion Computing's J3400 Rugged Slate Tablet PC. Not only have we found it dissected over at Gotta Be Mobile, but the InkShow gang have just released the first of two videos where they give the device their "fine toothed comb" treatment. The verdict? "It feels great," the reviewer enthuses. It's easily the lightest rugged slate he's yet experienced, a joy to write on, with buttons "where they should be," and a host of great features: the convertible keyboard is held in place by magnets (which seem to be more than up to the task), the webcam has a flash, and the accelerometer is nice and responsive, switching things up from landscape to portrait and back with real panache. Of course, the best part is when this one guy states that "we are a mobile computing warrior, ready to do anything that we need to do." Video after the break.
Read: What Does The Inside of Motion Computing's J3400 Rugged Tablet PC Look Like?
Read: GBM InkShow: Motion Computing J3400 Rugged Slate Tablet PC, Part 1
Read: What Does The Inside of Motion Computing's J3400 Rugged Tablet PC Look Like?
Read: GBM InkShow: Motion Computing J3400 Rugged Slate Tablet PC, Part 1
I'm waiting to see the EeePC tablet, the one that Engadget showed the video of.....
ME TO
dude must be from the Midwest with that shirt.
He is - Wisconsin I believe.
They show us so many tablet pc's in this website and yet i haven't seen anyone with one!! is it because they special, expensive, or not good????!!!
The two main reasons Tablet PCs haven't done well is price (which isn't so much an issue anymore) and that nobody knows they exist.
I can think of so many different ways that HP or Dell or Microsoft could advertise tablets. A good start would be focusing on education or art uses for them with a big marketing campaign. I mean, I know so many people who have been amazed as soon as they've seen that I can write on the screen because they had no idea it was possible. I know after using one, I wish I had one when I was in college.
To clarify, I say that price isn't so much an issue anymore because now there are cheaper versions and ways to get them. For example, the tx series is around $1000, and refurbished tablets are usually $500-800, so if you need something on a budget, you have options.
Obviously, price is an issue for everyone during the economy right now, but that's not how I meant it.
well I feel it's a lack of power that really holds them back, since they need to run cooler(in order to not burn your hand) they run at lower speeds which means they lack power, and they're also generally pricey, they're a specialised tool and therefore not very popular with mass consumers.
also they're usually very ugly looking, it's sad that a tool for artists has to look so primitive.
A lack of power is just flat out wrong... or is a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo in this specific tablet (with some brands even having 1.6 and 1.83GHz models) not enough for you? And if not, get a desktop, because laptops don't go much faster than that in general (I think 2.0GHz C2D is the max I've seen).
And as for uglyness, look at the Lenovo x200t, the HP 2730p, the Dell XT2, or hell even the one referred to in this article for ones that look nicer.
@Joe
erm... on my laptop (the latitude E6400), the slowest c2d available clocks at 2.26GHz, and the fastest clocks at 2.93GHz, and this is in a laptop that's meant to be relatively portable. Remember: Laptops != Tablet PCs.
There are some pretty ones out there on the market as well.
This one is meant to be rugged.
Hmm, I have to admit I haven't been paying too much attention to laptops as of late. I just clicked on a random Dell XPS laptop assuming that if it's a 'gaming laptop' it'd have the highest end processor and it showed 2.0GHz.
I stand corrected on that, but I still maintain that if you're doing something that needs a faster than 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo (which is available on tablets) then you're making a mistake by doing it on a laptop and not a desktop.
You have to understand that these are niche computers, meant for industrial applications like warehouses or medical or for notetaking like for students. I am a student with a Lenovo X200T Tablet, it has all the power I need for music and work and that's all that really matters for when I'm actually in class (although I try not to listen to music in class lol). I have a desktop for out of class when I want to play games - but these machines are suited for most peoples needs and after owning the Lenovo tablet I would never buy a mobile computer that wasn't a tablet again - just so much easier to use, which is an important distinction to make from pure raw power.
People just don't know they exist. I got my tablet a few weeks ago (Toshiba M400 - built from parts, around $390 total), and use it regulary during my classes. I've probably heard the comment, "wow, I should get a tablet!" about 10 times since then.
An on Power, I'm running a 2.16 Core duo with 4 gigs of ram and a 320 gig 7200 rpm drive. Graphics card isn't great, but it runs photoshop well enough and I'm not actually gaming on this thing.
lol, if you'd use that outside it'd be gone in a matter of minutes
Sweet system.
Christ! He really loves those cushions.
"I don't want to have kids, please someone help me".
lol.
I cannot wait for Always Innovating to release their netbook/tablet.
Hands down the worst review video I have ever watched.
Seriously, outline your review instead of mentioning the darn pads on the back 100 times.
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Tablets are not going to be mainstream until the following:
1) Windows 7
2) Voice recognition standardization
3) Power (We already have SSD's, but we need more power)
This isn't a review, it's an overview of a tablet PC that nobody had seen in action before.
Yep, it's a preview. This thing hasn't been announced yet or anything, he got an advance copy because GottaBeMobile is one of the few places on the net that Tablet computing lives.
And about your list, I have 1 thing to correct, it should be
1) Marketing
since you have to realize that Tablet means pen, not touch. Ergo:
a) Tablet functionality is wonderful in Vista, the handwriting recognition just works. Windows 7 will improve a bit but not to the revolutionary degree that was XP -> Vista.
b) If you want voice recognition, get Dragon Naturallyspeaking whatever. i) OneNote already has voice-recording capability and ii) the point of a tablet is, again, pen. If you're so dead-set on voice you could get it on a Mac for chrissakes. I personally don't use voice on my tablet.
c) These are powerful enough for office and other industry applications and for notetaking for us students - that's all the power they need. These aren't photoshop machines since the screens are often too grainy for color work. If that's what you want, get a Cintiq - it'll much better fit your needs, even on the go (with the 12" cintiq at least).
"I love these cushions" hahahaha FAIL
Not until you drop it onto concrete and it survives while your pretty MacBook Air cracks into 3 pieces.
wacom model.... what what what!
That was my first impression. I thought it looks very much like one of those Wacom Intuos/Cintiq tablets, which got me thinking that they should totally consider making fully-fledged tablet/slate PCs specifically for the art/design sectors. I'm sure that'd be a huge hit!
I think Tablets will take off with Windows 7. I love my HP Tablet. I thought tablets were okay before 7. but they never worked like I thought a tablet should.
But I think the above comment about them being weaker for heat reasons is incorrect. the reason why the specs are lower is because they have to compensate for the cost of the screen. these screens are active digitizers. if you look up the price for a wacom tablet, you can see the technology is not cheap. but they want to sell the tablets at near regular notebook prices so they cut on minor features. they're not slow anymore though. mine is spec'ed out and my friends love the look of the machine. it's compact, it runs great and has a bunch of features.
the only negative is that it runs hot. really hot. you could probably burn yourself if you hold your hand over the vent.