Tablet PCs

[Tyr]

I'm looking to buy a Tablet PC, and I really don't know where to start. BG gives medical and legal advice, so why not tablet pc advice.

I'm looking for one I'd use mainly for school, although I wouldn't mind one that has some multimedia features.

I basically want to know what the good brands are, and as well how much I should be looking to shell out for a good computer.

And is there any point to buying one used? Or should I just buy new?

Thanks for the help in advance.

[Tajin]

My previous job had two HP tablet, they worked ok. That model had no CD-ROMN drive though, but worked nice.

[Tyr]

I don't mind no CD-drive. My only other experience with a tablet was a Toshiba my brother had, i think it's about 2-3 years old. Toshiba seemed pretty solid, but that's the only brand I know. Which HP models have you had, how much did you have to pay?

[Tajin]

Were the grand grand dad of this series I think:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp ... 00z_series

And like 2,300USD back in the day. The best advice I can give you is buy whichever tablet that comes with windowsXP.

[Shade]

What kind of school?

I don't know much about tablet PCs except that they still don't really cut it for art/illustration. Mmm Cintiq. :d~~

My suggestion is that once you have the names of some current models, go and look up reviews for them (amazon, computer hardware review sites, etc).

[Tyr]

Thanks for the replies -- I just dislike writing on paper relative to writing on a computer screen, mainly for storage purposes, which is probably the foremost reason i want a tablet pc. Other than that, my current laptop is a behemoth, it's too heavy to constantly take to and fro, and i want a pc that's extremely lightweight.

It's not for art at all, I just do most of my textual reading and note-taking on the computer, and I would prefer that I write it instead of typing (spec. writing on screen).

[Jefe]

Well I was going to recommend the HP Compaq TC4200 tables which we use in my engineering classes... Till I checked the actual price, it's $1,600 bucks lol. Those really save my ass when drawing fuking logical gates, circuits, complex calculus problems and the such.

Iirc, there was like an add on for your laptop for about 100 bucks or so. But yeah, I guess it won't do you good since it seems you have a heavy laptop. I kinda wanna get the add on since mine it's light. The only problem I have is that my handwriting is ugly as sin...

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5049/99599665kr0.jpg

[Bunnykillah]

I have a Gateway E-295c that I use for college. The school I go to rents them out for cheap. Its not a bad computer. Its crazy going from tablet to regular laptop, I always try and turn the screen on friends laptops. A couple semesters ago I had an older Gateway tablet and it was a piece of shit, would write notes and all of a sudden it would look like someone scribbled on my screen. But the one I have now has been great!
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/28/g...let-announced/

[Myst]

If you want an XP solution for under a thousand bucks, go for the Gateway M-285. we got these about a year ago for about 150 of our field staff. they work great under a minimal XP environment (i'm assuming you wont have much on there since it's your school laptop.) however, if you want something more heavy duty, Gateway makes some of the best work-class laptops in the world.

just a side note, for ANY tablet pc, get the accidental warranty after opening and closing it 500+ times, the bezel starts to crack, hinges wear. i've sent in 60+ laptops for hinge/bezel repair in the last year out of 150. it's a problem with all tablet pc's from what i can tell.

another side note, if you're installing your own OS, you need the tablet edition of windows, xp or otherwise. :D

[Bardicrune]

I work for a reseller that specializes in doctor's offices. We have sold many different types of tablet pc's, however the current series that we really recommend is the HP p2710 (HP Part#: RM272UT#ABA). We have had very few problems with them (primarily user issues).

It is a bit pricey at $1749 msrp, but if you truly need to be able to digitally write on a screen, and carry it around easily like most doctor's do for charting purposes then it is worth it.

Edit: I agree with the above poster, definitely get the accidental damage protection(3yr onsite w/ acc. dmg. prot. = HP#: UF778E) on whatever tablet you buy. As you will be carrying this around a lot, if you drop it they will replace/repair it.

[Tyr]

Thanks guys for the replies. I just have a few questions:

1) Why Vista over XP?
2) Should I consider brand first, or a particular model? (I.e. HP Compaq TC4200 v. Gateway E-295c, or Gateway v. HP, then work from there)
3) Are there things I should avoid, like a certain type of processor, some certain feature that's worthless long-term but costs money that I could otherwise save?

If #2 is to look at brand first, I guess I'm looking at HP in a close race with Gateway, and at third Toshiba.

I should explain this perhaps better -- I plan on using it for school, but eventually (and inevitably...this inspiron 6000 has come a long way, but it's so beat) it will probably become all-purpose -- hell, maybe can even run ffxi.

It looks like the price range for a good tablet is $1400-1700, given the fickleness of the computer world, should I invest for a high-end tablet (1700-2000) or just get one that is better than mediocre, but not necessarily "top of the line?"

Danke Schoen

[Thoronas]

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Modbook

Just wanted to share another option with you. Never tried one though.

[Myst]

1.) there's a few reasons not to get vista on a mobile. personally, i'm a desktop vista user. on a mobile computer, even top of the line model laptops are going to choke due to the massive resources vista requires. also, especially if you're going to run ffxi, directx 8.0 (which is what FFXI uses) runs horridly on vista. unfortunately, Nvidia has done a poor job supporting their mobile GPU products. there's no guarantee that your laptop will run FFXI proficiently. you could drop $2,000 and find that the hotfix they released months ago wont work for your GPU and thus you're fucked out of playing FFXI. (unless you like 2.4 FPS in whitegate, bard songs locking up your computer, and overall failures of your video card.)

here's a thread for the FFXI hotfix from Nvidia. NOTE: this only applies if you have A.) Vista, B.) on of the cards listed.

in conclusion: get vista if you're A.) dropping 1,700-2,000 on this computer, B.) 2GB MINIMUM of ram, 3-4 recommended for mobile C.) ATI video card or Nvidia card listed on that list.

if you dont meet one of those requirements, i'd say go with XP.

2.) i would totally go with gateway over anything else. so far Gateways have been much better handling the vista cross over than HP and (ESPECIALLY) toshiba.

3.) <$1400~ XP, >$1700~ Vista

few other things to note. if you're using the stylist for the tablet, there's a little battery in the pen that allows it to point the cursor on the screen. wherever you're getting it, make sure you have information on where to get a replacement stylist/battery when yours runs out. when our customer's lose theirs, it's a painful 65$ to replace it. (if you use the stylist everyday, expect 1 year out of it.)

[Bunnykillah]

The Gateway C-141XL actually comes standard with the 3GB or ram. Still makes me laugh when someone buys a Dell pc and it is only sporting 512mb of ram running vista.
http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529667902.php
If you un-check the lolnorton and office boxes its only a $1400 machine. Only downfall is the weight, about 6lbs.

[Isiolia]

If you want an XP solution for under a thousand bucks, go for the Gateway M-285. we got these about a year ago for about 150 of our field staff. they work great under a minimal XP environment (i'm assuming you wont have much on there since it's your school laptop.) however, if you want something more heavy duty, Gateway makes some of the best work-class laptops in the world.

I haven't been blown away by the base of M-285Es that we gave to scholarship athletes a year and a half ago or so. They're rather big, heavy, etc. Users are generally not super impressed with 'em either, but most don't need/use the tablet portion either so I dunno. Batteries have been a real pain, most are dead/dying after about a year.

Gateway is a rather iffy buy atm I say anyway. They've been recently bought out and split. Acer, I think, bought the manufacturing side, and MPC the service side. I dunno, I've only been dealing with MPC and in turn Prismpoint for M-285E repairs...the transition has been a little rocky.

In contrast, Fujitsu makes a nice product I think. At least in terms of form factor. They're pricey though, and don't give the impression of particularly damage resistant design. Lotta little drivers n' crap too for sensors and the like.

I've only seen one model of Toshiba tablet up close. Seem solid enough, though again, big n' bulky.

[aru]

is there any difference between a tablet pc and a laptop + wacom tablet? i figure it'd be cheaper to go that route if there isnt a signifigant difference

[Bardicrune]

Only insofar as having to carry two different pieces of equipment around. Also most tablets come with Microsoft TabletPC which includes a lot of handwriting recognition components.

[Khamsin]

is there any difference between a tablet pc and a laptop + wacom tablet? i figure it'd be cheaper to go that route if there isnt a signifigant difference

A tablet PC is like a giant Nintendo DS. You write directly on the screen and hold it like a writing pad, with no keyboard. Though some have detachable/rotatable keyboards that you can rotate and slide behind it when not in use.

[Tyr]

Again, thanks for the help.

I saw someone with a Gateway tablet on campus yesterday, they seemed very content with it, and it seemed to be as good as advertised.

Any suggestions on which medium I should use to buy the tablet? Retail? Online?

And how do improvements to tablet PCs compare to other computers? As in, if you buy a top-of-the-line PC, within a week it's like outdated. Is the same true for tablets, or is the market generally slower at jumping from like x amount of ram to double that amount?

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Modbook

Just wanted to share another option with you. Never tried one though.

Goddamn that looks real nice. Never had a mac, but from what I've seen the macbook is pretty shweet. Only thing deterring me from pursuing that is the steep price and the lack of being an official apple product (apple doesn't have an official tablet, right?)