Microsoft’s Tablet PC OS and a bunch of new tablets that support it are among the meager highlights of a Comdex politely described as “sedate” by some and “dead on arrival” by others. Read it at ZDNews.
New tablet PCs: Better–but still not perfect
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Nothing in live is perfect. So why expect that
Microsoft can deliver anything perfect.
There is always something to nag about….
That said i tried Lycoris on a tablet PC and found it
not really working, worse, broken on many fronts.
I never tried MS PC tablet OS but i can almost guess..
Its not that these tablets aren’t perfect… its that they aren;t a good idea at all.
They’re more expensive than a laptop, so they’re not good laptops, their handwriting recognition capabilities are lacking… and slow to keep up with your writing so they’re not good note pads and they’re far too big and heavy to be PDAs. The whole idea leaves one wondering what Microsoft was thinking when they were developing the concept.
Its not a wonder that nobody is buying them.
…. the “dead on arrival”.
The tablet was a product that they invented.
If they throw in the towel they might regret it like Apple did when they got rid of the first PDA Newton.
> The tablet was a product that they invented.
I have a 486SX Thinkpad Tablet from 1992 or so. I don’t think it sold very well, much like this “new” junk.
I agree with the author that the feel of writing on a tablet doesn’t come close to writing on paper. Are there any pens for PDAs etc with a ballpoint?
I cannot wait to try one of these!
And I am really happy with it. I must admit that I do not use the handwriting recognition and the journal that much.
But the tablet form factor, the light weight, the portrait mode and the detachable keyboard make it perfect for reading large documents or just browsing the web on the sofa. There is a nice scroll wheel on the right side of the tablet, so for reading you do not even need the pen. You can just cuddle on the sofa with the tablet in your hand and read large documents just like you would read a book.
Another nice thing about the tablet form factor is that you can use it without keyboard for playing movies and listening to music. This summer I always had the tablet with me when I went to the river with friends to drink beer, listen to music and watch the occasional movie.
The TC1000 with the keyboard folded away is very rugged, so I am not that afraid that it will get damaged accidentally by a stumbling drunk friend of mine 🙂
The display surface is made from hardened glass, so it is almost impossible to get a scratch in it even if you use it in dirty enviroments. And you can clean it with a simple hankerchief.
My roommate has a very nice Acer notebook, but he almost never takes it outside since it is too cumbersome to use under most circumstances, and it is very fragile when the panel is opened.
When I want to do real work, I just attach my logitech cordless desktop and my 17″ TFT panel, and I have a fully functional desktop.
The only thing that is not so great about the TC1000 is the performance. It is sufficient to play DivX movies and I even work with Visual Studio .NET with it, but it could be better. But the TC1100 comes with an intel centrino processor, so that problem has also gone away.
This sounds like an advertising, but I really am that happy with this machine. I will *never again* buy a conventional form factor notebook without detachable keyboard!!!!