As a tablet-toting computer fanatic, I always get a reaction from onlookers when I break out my notebook, with its swiveling screen and stylus-controlled interface.

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I use the HP TC1100, along with a bluetooth barcode gun for inventory checks , updates, etc, with a server side driven, web accessible database at a university campus.

I have a lot of students and staff members ask questions about it and want to 'have a go' at seeing what the experience is like using a tablet in a general sense. Not one person has been disappointed with the ability to write and see what results in legible text, even with chicken scrawl. 8.5 times out of 10 its accurate.

I have a rubberized sling in which it slips into for freeing up my hands while scanning multiple barcodes while I am in another office or lab. My job would be a much bigger pain in the ass without it.

I have been looking at buying a tablet for a while as an upgrade over my inspirion 8600, I have yet to find one with a high resolution screen and non integrated graphics. Obviously most people want tablets so I don't need/want a 20inch screen with 2500x1600, but a 14-15inch screen with wsxga+ or (1600x1024) or better 1900x1200, or at the very least one with 1400x1000 (which a few have) but with something better then intels 2 year old integrated (again I don't need a 8800gtx, but it would be nice to have an upgrade over my nearly 3 year old radeon mobility 9600). The gateway with its x1400 is ok graphics wise (though an x1600 would be better) but with its size and wait it should have better then an xga screen (at least as an option).

Personally I use the Gateway CX210X and love it. I can finally use my notebook for note-taking in classes such as econ where graphs and formulas need be sketched.

Honestly, I wish I would have purchased the Tecra M7 when it was available with Quadro NVS 110 graphics and Core 2 Duo (a two-week window) because its Wacom tablet and hi-res screen are better than mine, I am still satisfied. Nonetheless, tablet technology is still in relative infancy.

Here are my specs:

Core 2 Duo at 2.00 Ghz, 4 MB L2 Cache
2048 MB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
ATI Radeon Mobility X1600 64MB dedicated (perfect for Vista, mild gaming)
Hitachi 100 GB 7200 RPM HD
12-cell main extended battery
6-cell drive bay battery

Very fast even to point of desktop replacement! 6-7 hours of battery life as well.

I'm a huge tablet fan - writing on screen is so much less intrusive in any meeting than looking down and typing. OneNote 2007 really shines on the tablet and you get very good reactions when you hand write email. My next PC will be the Toshiba Portege R400 - it's the tablet I've wanted since I saw the first Acer tablet, or at least since HP dropped the TC1000/1100 line for the clunky tablets they ship today.

Mary Branscombe

One more point to add into the article's content, from my experience:

Playing several non-tablet-specific games when you are on the go is possible with a Tablet PC, particularly, my Toshiba Portege M205-S810 (M200 series).

When I am commuting in the Metrorail, I can flip it into the tablet mode, and play the games without the need for an extra space for a mouse.

In RTS games, I hold the little joystick with my thumb to scroll the map, and program the pen-buttons to grouping units and selecting groups. Works like magic!

Point-and-click adventures is another genre that excels on the Tablet PC (for the obvious reason).

Now, I am playing games that I could not play to finish when it was their time, and finishing them during my commute! I already finished the original Full-Throttle and Sam&Max (and what a timing, new series is just being released), and still going on Sartcraft Protoss Campaign (I only had time to finish Marines when the game came out). I can also go through WarcraftIII replays of our online games that we play on the weekends, to learn from our mistakes

I love my tablet! I'm looking forward to getting a new one (Core2 Duo? ), but M205 is so well designed (or it fits my needs so well), that it looks like no other design will do (even in the new toshiba tablet M400, the changes they made in design, such as moving the joystick to the left (or bottom when folded), don't make any sense to me).

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GT

I tried a few demo tablet PCs in stores and I found that they all had cursor lag with the stylus.
When moving the sylus, the cursor on screen is not directly under the stylus tip and drags a little behind, I found it verry anoying.

You see, I'm a comic artist and I draw alot. I want to buy a tabletPC to eventualy replace my sketchbook and the many pens and papers I carry in with me everyday.
As I draw/sketch, I need to see the line appear under the pen tip. As of yet, I haven't found a tablet where I can draw in "real time".

Is it possible to "get the most" from the input devices to obtain instantanious responce as I draw :?:

are you looking at UMPCs with passive displays? those can have lag, but you really shouldn't be seeing that on a tablet PC with an active digitiser because it's a wacom graphics tablet that samples the screen far more often than a drawing tablet. what app are you trying it in? Journal, OneNote, Painter should all give you a smooth ink experience. Next time you get this, open the tablet PC control panel and do the calibration - demo machines may not be set up properly. I'm writing this on an HP TC4400 and there is no cursor lag at all...

No, UMPCs don't apeal to me much.
The last tabletPC I tried was at Best Buy, The demo was (and still is) a Toshiba Satellite R20-JK2F 14.1" Intel Centrino Duo 2300 1.6GHz. I used the simple painter program that comes with Windows (XP) to try some doodles. Maybe like you said, it wasn't calibrated correctly, I didn't ask. Maybe if I go back and fiddle with the setup. No lag, you say... interresting.

Thank you for the tip Marypcb.