I'll be entering law school this fall at George Mason and I'm looking to buy a portable computer for class and home use. I have a fairly decent desktop machine that I've upgraded fairly regularly so I'll be using both in parallel.

Anyway, I'm really liking the idea of getting a tablet instead of a notebook. I think that a convertible is probably the way to go as I'm not quite ready to give up my beloved keyboard. Before I commit to a tablet I do have a few questions though.

Does it makes sense for me to wait until July before purchasing a tablet? I've heard that several upgrades are likely to be made this summer including the newest windows version and wireless N. Is that true and if so should I wait?

What tablet should I look into? The only first hand experience I have with one is the HP 1100.

Do any of the tablets come with a built in CD drive? I'm not adverse to getting an external, just trying to consider the pros/cons of each.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Sounds like a great idea.

That is what we are here for ...

The Tablet PC XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 is a free upgrade. In fact, many tappers are using the Service Pack 2 release candidate on production machines without many incidents.

Tough question! The HP TC1100 is a great slate whereas the Toshiba M205 is a convertible (notebook and slate mode) with the best resolution. Then don't forget to consider the Acer with the larger screen size and a built in CDR.

Yes, check out our comparison chart for details.

Welcome to the website and let us know if you have any more questions.

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What is the likelihood of any improvements in hardware (ie wireless N) coming out in over the summer. I don't start school until the middle of August so I have a bit of time and I'd like to wait for the best product available. I'm looking to spend 3K or less with peripherals, etc.

Does Compaq make a convertible as well as a tablet? The one I saw had a nice small screen and a little keyboard. I thought it was a convertible, but evidently not.

Any other hardware improvements also likely during this summer? Faster processors, different models, etc?

a quote from another forum, "significant technological improvements will appear approximately 31 days after you have made your purchase, regardless when you actually buy." ;p

the idea is to buy when there's the need, and when there's a machine capable of fulfilling your needs (or comes closest). no point waiting for a new, "perfect" machine to come out and lose out in months of productivity. the newer, better machine will always be available out there.

think of how you would like to use the tablet, and figure out what would be important to you, processing power? weight? battery life? size of screen? that would help you make a better decision, imho.

welcome to the tablet community! once you've had a tablet in your hands, you'll never look back. ;p

raven

New product is on the way but the time frame is not known. The Dothan processors from Intel will make their way into the Tablet PCs. However, I completely agree with Raven - if you have the need now - then now is the time to buy.

Since you are a college student then I completely agree with your caution. However, let me reassure you that all of the Tablet PCs on the market are capable of handling note-taking in college. More important than the processor - I would suggest that you get as much RAM as possible and enjoy !

__________________
Layne P. Heiny / Administrator for Tux Reports Network

Please do not send private messages requesting technical support. Place your request in the proper forum and hopefully someone can help you.

Computer Sites
Tablet PC Blogs | Technology Questions | Tablet PC Post | Windows Vista | What Is New

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