I'm considering buying a tablet PC.

1. The handwriting recognition is really cool. I tried it out and it
worked great. For me, anyway, it works, because my handwriting is
conventional. I wrote a whole sentence and it transcribed it
perfectly.

2. But I type 110 words a minute, so wouldn't want to give up typing.

3. I'd also like to get Dragon (or something equivalent) so I can speak
into the computer as well.

So what I want is a tablet PC which has all the capabilities of my
laptop plus the 2 extra capabilities of handwriting recognition and
voice recognition, without detracting in any way from my laptop
experience as I have it now.

Is this a practical goal? Is there anything I'm not considering?

Thanks. --Matt

Matt, you should also read the current thread in this newsgroup entitled
"Questions before I buy." There is interesting information and additional
links within the discussion which might be useful to you.

Anything you're not considering? I would consider under what conditions
you'll be using the Tablet of your choice. At work? Strictly a home
environment? School? Mixture of the previous three, but including on the
road or away from home? What type of battery life are you expecting? Some
of the Tablets, most recently the new LE1600 from Motion Computing which
boasts nearly a 7-hour battery life, are making tremendous strides.

Not necessarily in any order, what I would look for if I were going out to
purchase a Tablet PC on Tuesday would be (1) can the RAM be upgraded?; (2)
if a Slate model, what attachable keyboard is available; (3) is a long-life
battery available?; (4) does it come with a screen I can use outdoors with
real clarity? and (5) what built-in wireless is available?

My reasons are: (1) I think a machine that comes with 256 MB of RAM and
cannot be expanded is under-powered when you're using Ink. If you can't go
to at least a gig of RAM, running multiple programs with Ink - especially
spreadsheets - may be a bit slow; (2) While you can use a wireless keyboard
and mouse with any Tablet, I'd rather have a light-weight, portable keyboard
(like Motion's) because it would be more handy; (3) If you work in the
field a lot, you may not be near a charger at all; (4) The View Anywhere
screens (again Motion) are a definite MUST if you're in variable sunlight
conditions; and (5) a machine which comes only with 802.11b networking is
behind the times with 802.11g, or even 802.11a, available a lot of places.

I would take a look at the comparison charts (and reviews of recent models)
on Tablet PC MVP Terri Stratton's web site - http://thetabletpc.net .
Follow the links on her site to the manufacturers and ask questions
pertaining to each model.

Ask more here, too. We have a good variety of users in a mixture of Slates
and Convertibles here, and people will offer their opinions quite freely.
While the original "market" for Tablet PCs was targeted to the corporate
section, you don't necessarily need to be a hallway warrior to have an
exception experience with a Tablet PC.

You might also be interested in some case studies regarding Tablets here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/t...s/default.mspx
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone


<beckwith@wchsys.org> wrote in message
news:1120518413.840822.311070@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...
> I'm considering buying a tablet PC.
>
> 1. The handwriting recognition is really cool. I tried it out and it
> worked great. For me, anyway, it works, because my handwriting is
> conventional. I wrote a whole sentence and it transcribed it
> perfectly.
>
> 2. But I type 110 words a minute, so wouldn't want to give up typing.
>
> 3. I'd also like to get Dragon (or something equivalent) so I can speak
> into the computer as well.
>
> So what I want is a tablet PC which has all the capabilities of my
> laptop plus the 2 extra capabilities of handwriting recognition and
> voice recognition, without detracting in any way from my laptop
> experience as I have it now.
>
> Is this a practical goal? Is there anything I'm not considering?
>
> Thanks. --Matt
>

I used to use Dragon Naturally Speaking, but I've found that the built-in
speech recognition is just as good. If you need special words or
dictionaries, they can be added. abletfactory.com (that's not a typo) has
an extensive list of specialized dictionaries as well as other tools for
Tablet users.

Conventional handwriting isn't always better than a scrawl. The recognition
engine looks at strokes rather than letters or words. I've seen people with
undreadable handwriting use a Tablet and have the Tablet transcribe it
perfectly.

Your uses sound like you're a great match for a Tablet PC. Now, it's just a
matter of choosing which features are most important to you and the amount
of money you're willing to spend. :)
--
Terri Stratton
Microsoft Windows MVP - Tablet PC
http://thetabletpc.net
http://themediacenterpc.net
Microsoft Featured Communities


<beckwith@wchsys.org> wrote in message
news:1120518413.840822.311070@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...
> I'm considering buying a tablet PC.
>
> 1. The handwriting recognition is really cool. I tried it out and it
> worked great. For me, anyway, it works, because my handwriting is
> conventional. I wrote a whole sentence and it transcribed it
> perfectly.
>
> 2. But I type 110 words a minute, so wouldn't want to give up typing.
>
> 3. I'd also like to get Dragon (or something equivalent) so I can speak
> into the computer as well.
>
> So what I want is a tablet PC which has all the capabilities of my
> laptop plus the 2 extra capabilities of handwriting recognition and
> voice recognition, without detracting in any way from my laptop
> experience as I have it now.
>
> Is this a practical goal? Is there anything I'm not considering?
>
> Thanks. --Matt
>

<beckwith@wchsys.org> wrote in message
news:1120518413.840822.311070@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...

I'm pretty new to Tablet land so I thought I'd wade on in her and share my
thoughts.

> 1. The handwriting recognition is really cool. I tried it out and it
> worked great. For me, anyway, it works, because my handwriting is
> conventional. I wrote a whole sentence and it transcribed it
> perfectly.

The recogniser is amazing, no human being can read my writing (it got years
of moans from teachers, and nearly got me the sack) the Tablet does it...

> 2. But I type 110 words a minute, so wouldn't want to give up typing.

Might want to narrow it down to a convertible then, or at least a slate with
a decent keyboard add on.

> 3. I'd also like to get Dragon (or something equivalent) so I can speak
> into the computer as well.

The built in voice recognition is very good. Using voice command to get the
machine to do things is nearly flawless, I've only done about 15 minutes of
training and dictation does have its moments, esp when I put on a really
deep southern-US accent - it seems to love that. I've not used Dragon to
compare it with that - but the built in stuff is a lot better then I was
expecting.

> So what I want is a tablet PC which has all the capabilities of my
> laptop plus the 2 extra capabilities of handwriting recognition and
> voice recognition, without detracting in any way from my laptop
> experience as I have it now.

I've got the Toshiba Protégé M200 - very good on the specifications side,
without hammering the battery too much (3-4 hours). The screen isn't good
in the outdoors though, so if that's something you need scratch that one off
your list - there are a couple of models that have outdoor screens (I'm sure
they're listed on http://thetabletpc.net). It's got a good quality
keyboard, although to be honest I've barely used it, sure doing a lot of
serious work using ink is no where near as fast, but I'm finding myself
using the Tablet more for reading and browsing the web and sending little
quick e-mails, and for when I need to bang out some serious work going back
to the desktop, but then I've never been fond of laptops when I need to do
some serious work, especially as most of the web design I do involves a lot
of mouse work too between loads of different windows. What sort of ways
would you be looking to use it for?

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove 'nospam.' to reply by e-mail*

Thanks, everyone, for your very helpful suggestions. I've learned a
lot! --Matt

Good luck, Matt. Let us know when you've decided.
--
Terri Stratton
Editor / Owner
http://thetabletpc.net
http://themediacenterpc.net
Microsoft Featured Communities
Microsoft Windows MVP - Tablet PC

"Matt Beckwith" <beckwith@wchsys.org> wrote in message
news:1120562954.180387.169800@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Thanks, everyone, for your very helpful suggestions. I've learned a
> lot! --Matt
>