Shaith

(Sorry for the stock art, don't have better pics available)



First up, a few specs:

CPU
866MHz Mobile Intel® Pentium® III Processor - M

Operating System
Microsoft Windows ® XP Tablet PC Edition

Memory
SDRAM 256MB (expandable to 512MB)

Storage
20.0GB HDD

Connectivity options
Built-in 802.11b Mini-PCI Wi-Fi ™ LAN, RJ-11 56Kbps V.90 modem Port, RJ-45 Fast Ethernet port

Video
Intel embedded, AGP 4X Video

Video Resolution
Built-in LCD Display: 1024x768 in landscape mode 768x1024 in portrait mode

External Display 640x480 at 60Hz, 75Hz, 85Hz 800x600 at 60Hz, 75Hz, 85Hz 1024x768 at 60Hz, 75Hz, 85Hz

Display
High Luminance XGA 10.4" TFT LCD display

Touch Panel
Electromagnetic Digitizer

Expansion Slots
One Type II PC Card, One Type II Compact Flash

Audio
AC 97 Rev 2.1 Built-in microphone and two speakers

System Ports Firewire, two USB ports, microphone and audio-out jack, Mini VGA port, connector for dock

One-Touch Access Buttons
Start menu, journal, input panel, rotation, security, power, escape, function, enter, cursor

Battery
4-cell Lithium Ion Battery Pack

AC Adapter
100-240VAC 50/60Hz; 12V DC Output Voltage; 4.16A Power Output

Dimensions
9.9" x 11.3" x 1.1"; 252.5mm x 288mm x 28.5mm
Weight
3.4 lbs. / 1.55 kgs.


Let me open by saying WOW. That's right, WOW.

When Microsoft got into the PDA market, it was on the back of WindowsCE, a modified hack of an operating system that required special versions of software to run right. This time, they got smart.

The Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is a superset of Windows XP Professional, meaning you get all of the functionality, security, and remote operating features of Windows XP Pro, with the added functions of a tablet PC.

Tablet PC's aren't a new idea. Microsoft has been developing their end of the Tablet PC market for more than 9 years now. Several entries out there have tried to break into the Tablet PC arena in the past, only to fail miserably. In almost every case, it was not only usability, but the fact that the handwriting recognition software rarely if ever worked as advertised. You couldn't simply write a note to yourself and have it converted into text for you. Instead, your notes were stored as bitmaps or compressed images, and were only usable that way.

Get ready for something different.

The handwriting recognition software with XP Tablet was written from scratch. And not only does it work beautifully, but like many voice dictation products, it has the ability to learn the way you write. I was surprised when I picked up the stylus, and wrote these words:

Then I used the stylus and lasso'd what I had just written and asked it to copy what I had just chickenscratched out as text.

I was stunned when it got every single word. Granted, my block-lettering style was probably easy pickings - but it even got the differences in capitalization, as well as picked up on punctuation marks.

Then I watched as other people came by and wrote things, most of them in cursive, many of them hardly legible to me, yet the tablet was NOT fooled. With an accuracy of better than about 85% it picked them up time and again.

Make a mistake? Not a problem! Simply scratch out the word, and it's gone, even if it's in the middle of a paragraph! Then just write the new one in.

Training it is a snap too, and it can be set for right- or left-handed orientation.

But, this isn't just a software review, and while I could lavish a fair amount of praise for XP Tablet alone, it's time to talk about the nitty gritty: The hardware.

The Viewsonic V1100 is a nice, small, very lightweight form factor tablet. At just under 3.5 lbs, it's very portable, easily usable whether you're sitting or standing, and very responsive. The display only gets slightly warm while you're using it, although it does pick up finger and hand prints quite well.

Unlike the touch-screen units of the past, the V1100 (and all Tablet PC's in fact) utilize an electromagnetic digitizing screen. If you have ever used a drawing tablet, like a Wacom, imagine that type of precision use directly on the screen. Another nice feature is since it's EM and not touch-screen, it won't pick up on rings, watches, pressure from your hand, etc - things that would drive a normal touch-screen or mouse pad insane simply don't affect the V1100.

A full compliment of ports are available for use, including firewire and USB. It also has a docking station connector. One nice feature about the docking connector is that it is a true hot-dock appliance. You can dock and un-dock without changing settings or rebooting.

On-board ethernet, 56K modem, and WiFi are also included in the package. In my own tests, however, the WiFi did not work well at all, and I heard from several early buyers of the V1100 that they too experienced this issue. Hopefully Viewsonic will get this fixed quickly, as it seriously hampers the functionality of this unit as well as its feasibility for use in several markets.

Another downside is the lack of an included CD or DVD - it's an add-on purchase option. Frankly, for the $2000 price tag, I would expect my "fully-functional PC" to include at the VERY least a working CD reader so I could listen to tunes on the airplane while I worked out sales figures.

The unit does NOT come with a keyboard or mouse pad built-in, unlike some of its competitors. Instead, Viewsonic provides you with a special adapter to allow you to plug these devices in. Rest assured, though, that you can run the tablet completely using the included stylus. In addition to handwriting mode, there is also a virtual keyboard, and you can hunt-and-peck letters with the stylus if you really needed to. With add-on's from Microsoft (free), you can use the entire Office XP suite in handwriting mode via "digital ink" - and can even send digital ink e-mails to your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. You can mark up Word documents in your own handwriting for revisions or commentary, write figures into Excel, make notes in PowerPoint. With the handwriting mode window, any text you write is placed in the active application at the cursor position. This makes it quite easy to write out:

www.hardwareheaven.com

and Internet Explorer will go there!



So, to sum up...

The Pros:
Lightweight
Easily portable
Good battery life
Easy to use

The Cons:
CPU speed (866 versus most competitors running 1.3 GHz)
Cost ($2000 is higher than many higher-powered laptops)
Lack of CD/DVD reader
No keyboard built in

In all, this is really a great unit, but I see it having a very niche market. It will work exceptionally well in situations where keyboard use is a rarity, but I just don't see it as a true laptop replacement at this time.

Too many other Tablet PC entries in the market include keyboards, and use a screen that rotates 180 degrees to switch between Tablet and traditional modes.

Also, Viewsonic has to fix the WiFi and fast - in a truly saturated-coverage environment, I was unable to obtain enough signal to retain a connection, most often getting signal levels below 40%, while other Tablet PC units from other manufacturers were all quite happily pegged at %100 signal levels.

My favorite bits:

Writing stuff down and being able to copy/paste/search as text
Light
Being able to simply scratch out (like with a pen) the word I didn't want - and have it deleted instantly.
Plays a mean game of tic-tac-toe!

My complaints:

Price
WiFi
No Keyboard/No CD included

digitalwanderer

But the 2 grand price tag really does put me off to the idea, I could build a couple of decent rigs for that kind of change.

__________________
WTF is up with the sigs?

Shaith

While you could indeed build a nice rig (or even two) for the price, it's doubtful that they'd weigh in at 3.4 lbs and would be this portable and yet still be full-functioning PC's.


Oh, and dig, just an FYI:

There are no plans to release Windows 98 Tablet PC.

Darksider

I'm kind-of interested to see where this whole market goes. Hopefully, it will do well. Then the prices will go down and I could think about getting one!

One of the Twelve

Some images of the product;
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,667592,00.asp
and
http://www.zdnet.com/supercenter/sto...562468,00.html

This lack of CD/DVD and rather expensive price slow down the willingness to get one - USB's and other this are cool, however. When they release a "tablet Linux" - as "Pocket Linux" is not very suitable for this?

__________________

dicchicora

I'm extremely interested in a Tablet PC. Just doesn't seem to be a lot out there about them. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place. A Tablet PC seems to be perfect for two sets of ppl. One being a college person. An easily portable cpu to take to class. The other group being a teacher (which I am). I think a Tablet PC would be perfect in the classroom. Just have to look into them more...