Tablet PC’s


Tablet PC’s that meet the Microsoft Tablet PC specification will be “officially” released on November 7.  InfoCater received several Acer Convertible Tablet PC’s on August 1, and have been working with them every day.  One is in our office, and the other is at a client site being evaluated to replace notebooks nearing end-of-life used by their sales force. They are evaluating how the Tablet PC’s will improve productivity (and sales) and improve the person-to-person communications during sales visits by eliminating the “notebook barrier.”
 
Tablet PC’s will be available in two form factors, “slate” and “convertible.”  A slate is about the size and shape of an “Etch-a-Sketch.”  The convertibles look like and function like a typical notebook, and can morph into a tablet by rotating the screen.  The Tablet PC model you select will be determined by your application, the situations you will be using your system, and the people who will be using the Tablet PC.
 
I personally find the convertible to be a good solution.  I use it as a tablet when taking notes at meetings (using Microsoft Journal), browsing the web, reading documents, and for short emails.  In the tablet mode I enter data using the Tablet PC “Input Panel.”  The Input Panel offers three methods to enter information
 
·        Writing with the pen
·        Tapping the on-screen keyboard
·        Speaking into the microphone.
 
I use all three methods, I find writing with the pen and converting to text works quite well for short phrases, web sites, filenames, etc.  Sometimes I prefer to tap on the keyboard.  The speech recognition is fantastic!  Seriously, I can’t believe how well it works when I use a USB headset,
 
It takes about 20 minutes to train the system the first time you use it.  You read passages from the screen and the system follows every word. 
 
When it’s time to do extensive writing (like this article or an email more than a few lines) I switch to notebook mode.  It takes less than ten seconds to swing the screen around on the Acer TravelMate 100 Tablet PC.
 
Acer TravelMate 100 Tablet PC     
 
What is unique about the Acer TravelMate 100 Tablet PC is the morphing capability.  The TravelMate functions as both a slate and a notebook, which I find very useful.  Features include a 10 inch active digitizer, built in wireless 802.11b , Smartcard reader, two USB ports, one Firewire port, one available PC-Card slot, headphone and microphone jacks, IR, SVGA, RJ-45 network port, modem, and 10 programmable buttons.  The buttons can launch applications or perform special functions, such as rotating the screen from landscape to portrait mode, blanking the screen, turning off the wireless card to save batteries, etc.  It is an amazing value.  For less than $2500 you get the Tablet PC, 2 Li-Ion batteries (which last at least 3 hours in my experience), an external USB CD, case, and 1-year warranty.  I recommend the $310 three year extended warranty, which covers the system in just about any situation – including drops and spills!  These units are shipping now – please call or email for a complete list of options including rugged cases, external battery chargers, docking station, and more.
 
Several other Tablet PC’s will be shipping in November.  We have worked with several slate models, including the 10-inch Fujitsu Stylistic ST-4000 and ViewSonic ViewPad 1100.   The 12-inch Motion Computing M1200 offers the largest active digitizer screen we have seen, is extremely bright, and has a docking station that automatically changes the screen orientation when you rotate the screen between landscape and portrait.