In case you’ve missed the Tablet PC media blitz, it is a Windows-based notebook computer ($2,300 for base model) with a touch-sensitive screen that runs Windows XP Tablet Edition. Tablet XP is pretty much the same as regular XP, but it includes a handful of special applications and an always-available on-screen virtual keyboard on which you can tap or scribble if you find yourself using a Tablet PC without a physical keyboard. The screen of the unit, however, is not just touch-sensitive, but (on most models) also pressure-sensitive. This means you can use the supplied stylus to draw right on the screen and even apply varying levels of pressure to achieve light or dark or thick or thin lines. Sounds pretty good for drawing, but for taking notes?
The model I tested is from Gateway, made by Motion Computing. It has a 933 MHz Pentium III processor, 768 MB of RAM, and a 40 GB hard drive. Although the processor is not state-of-the-art—there are newer models shipping now with faster CPUs—processor speed isn’t the issue for bitmap graphics work; however, for digital video or 3D rendering, it is.
There are two basic types of tablets: slate and convertible. Slate Tablet PCs have detachable keyboards and no internal CD or floppy drives, while convertibles are much like contemporary notebooks but have a double-hinge on the screen that allows the screen to flip around and fold back down, completely covering the keyboard. Most models of either kind have built-in WiFi (802.11b) and all the usual ports you’d expect to find on a PC. Certainly, the convertible models can replace your notebook, but they are quite a bit heavier and larger than the slate kind. The slate models aren’t much bigger than an 81/2-by-11-inch pad, and less than one-inch thick; they are great for carrying around and doodling and, well, taking notes in meetings. However, if you use one as a notebook replacement for everyday work, you’ll often wish you had a real keyboard.
07-24-2004, 06:09 PM
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