This January I almost bought a Tablet PC. For those who don't know, Tablet PCs are like laptops you can write on. I really wanted a Tablet PC too, ever since I finally got to really try out the functionality. I love to sketch and annotate, and Microsoft got that functionality dead on. But, in the end I bought a nice HP zt3000 traditional laptop. The short answer? I want a desktop replacement Tablet PC, but the only option for Tablet PCs today are ultra-lights.
By desktop replacement I mostly mean a large, high resolution screen. I crave screen real-estate and for me SXGA is the bare minimum for productive work. For laptops there are now many options for the pixel hungry consumer. Dell and HP in particular have done an amazing job of adding affordable SXGA and even UXGA screens to their lineups. For instance, my zt3000 has a great 15.4" widescreen at 1680 by 1050 pixels. When I was looking (and I think still today) every Tablet PC had only an XGA resolution (1024 x 768) except one, the Toshiba M200. It's SXGA screen is 1440 x 1050, which is good, but at only 12" it's overall a bit small. I tried it out and decided I could live with it, but then I came to the second problem, cost.
For my needs, Tablet PCs are too expensive. That M200 was twice as much as my more powerful laptop, and the M200 didn't even come with an optical drive. OK, the price premium isn't so bad when you compare a Tablet PC to a more similar laptop, but since all Tablet PCs are tiny and light that means comparing to a tiny and light laptop, and tiny and light means expensive. All other things equal, shaving a few pounds off a laptop means increasing the price. To make matters worse, all things aren't equal - lighter laptops typically have both less powerful hardware and the higher price. Back to the M200, I'm comparing that expensive tablet PC to a more powerful laptop with a better screen that is half the price. Sure it's not quite "fair" since the Tablet PC is smaller and lighter, but I don't need that. I understand Tablet PCs are trying to replace the notepad, and that's cool, but they're missing a market that includes, well, at least me.
Finally, I would like to mention the bad experience of trying to shop for a Tablet PC. I started with the list of M200 resellers on Toshiba Canada's website. There was just over 30 stores listed, although that's counting different locations of the same chain separately. Many of those were Staples and London Drugs locations. I visited one of each and at both was told they've never carried the M200. *sigh*. OK next, Compusmart, they actually have one in store. However, I can't try the pen functionality (kind of the point of Tablet PCs) because someone stole the pen (you think they'd keep that locked up somewhere. Also, I can't try out the transforming functionality (the M200 twists from a laptop to a "slate" tablet PC) because the security lock on the back is in the way. They can't unlock it because, get this, some manager tool home the only set of keys. *sigh*. Would I ever get to try a Tablet PC? Thankfully blogstar Robert Scoble put the word out I was looking for a demo of an M200. A Microsoft employee in my town for the holidays replied and invited me to his home to see it in person. Wow. Thanks again guys, that's going above and beyond. Finally getting to actually experience the Tablet PC, I left that demo wanting to buy an M200. Unfortunately, in the end the numbers just didn't work out. Now here I sit, no Tablet, but living in WSXGA+ nirvana.
Notes:
An external monitor is not an option. For me the main benefit of a laptop is I don't have to be at a desk to be productive. Plus, you lose the Tablet PC functionality when on an external monitor.
I do expect to pay more for the extra functionality of a Tablet PC, but not THAT much more (about $1500 CDN).Labels: Hardware
