The First 5 Things You'll Want to Know About Tablet Computers

The First 5 Things You'll Want to Know About Tablet Computers

If you're new here, or to Tablet PC's, there's a few things you should know. A few bits of information we should get out of the way first...

1. The Tablet I use is a PC, Not a Mac
Everything but the iPad is Windows based. Mac's tablet the iPad is more like a giant iPod Touch, it wasn't designed to have a stylus/pen input, but there are several apps for that now, but you can either type (using the virtual keyboard) or use your finger to write. Also, the only way you can get anything on the computer is through email, there are no input ports, but i understand on the iPad 3 that might have changed. But don't dispare, this is only the third version of the Mac tablet, and only the first since Steve Jobs passed, so there's bound to be a bit of a shake down cruise since he's gone, and they'll probably come out with one that has a few more input choices. In the mean time, there is an after market/third party 'upgrade' you can get that will turn a MacBookPro into a tablet computer, but I'm not sure of the cost. (If you're interested in that, leave a message here, or better yet email me at tmoodyca@roadrunner.com and I'll hook you up with people in the know about such things), i will tell you that from what i have seen it partitions the harddrive so that you can run both Mac & Windows. So you'd still be running Windows programs just on a Mac machine.

2. What Kind of Tablet is Right for Me?
There's two different types of Tablet PC's. A slate tablet, and a convertible. The slate does NOT come with a keyboard but is usually lighter in weight, but a bit more expensive. The convertible allows the screen to swivel all the way around and lay flat on top of the keyboard. These are a bit heavier (although not by an enormous amount), but they cost less. Poke about in this blog to find some of the manufactures of both types of computer, or contact me via email at the above address.

3. Using Tablet PC's On-Set
Every Tablet PC comes with the program - Windows Journal, Journal Note Writer, or something like that, in it. The name varies, but it's exactly the same program & Script Supervisor's can use this program to take their notes AND line their pages. It does NOT turn your handwriting into text. You can enter text in this program, it just takes a few more menu scrolls and pen clicks, but it can be done. You'll have to decide if it's worth the effort. Other programs I know Script Supers to use are Excel, Filemaker Pro, Access, Adobe Acrobat, & Bluebeam Revu (more about those last two in section 4.)

4. PDF Readers & Printers
You may not know what it is, but you're going to need it. It's a program (or programs) that will allow you to read and print your pages and forms into PDF. PDF is a universal format that every computer, both PC and Mac, can view. There's a couple of different ways to achieve this, some more expensive than others, but all viable ways to go. The Acrobat Reader is free and easy to download, but that's just about all it does. And there are several programs out there that are just PDF printer drivers and those are either free or at a nominal cost. Or you can go with a couple of different PDF Editors. These allow you to read, print and manipulate PDF files. The two most well known are Adobe Acrobat, and Bluebeam Revu. I believe both have a 30 day free trial that can be downloaded from their websites. (There are other PDF Editors out there, just Google for a list.) These can be used to take your notes and to line your pages as well. However there is a little bit more of a learning curve involved with all of them.

5. eBay - A cheaper way to shop
Ok, you've decided to jump in and do the deed, but you're a little tight on cash. Or you're still a bit skittish about the whole thing because you're a Mac and it's a PC. Here's my recommendation: go eBay. First you're gonna want to do a bit of research. Find the make and model of computer you like (HP, Lenovo, Motion Computing, Dell, Tablet Kiosk, etc.), then I suggest going to Fry's or Best Buy, or Sears, and basically fondling the merchandise. Find something that you like the feel of, the weight of. You like the way the pen writes on the screen. See what software it comes with (Microsoft Word, or Excel, etc.), what hardware (external hard drive, or keyboard, etc.). Find the one that's right for you. Do NOT skip this step, I know the research is often the boring part, but in this case it's important. You are going to have to spend at least 12 1/2 hours a day with this machine, and a fairly large chunk of money, so it should be something you like. After you've researched it and found the machine of your dreams, then head to eBay. First just see what they have to offer in tablets, you might find something you didn't know about. Then get down to business, and look for that one computer that will make your life complete. Now you might have to settle for last years model (so make sure you get the name and numbers correct), but if it comes at a significant discount (on the order of one half the price or so) you'll have a decision to make.

So there you are, the first five things you need to know. Go forth and compute.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Point by Point Review of the HP TouchSmart TX2 Convertable Tablet PC

very good review of the HP TX2

- Script Witch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A look at the HP TouchSmart TX2

June 14, 2009 at 6:28 am | Craig Pringle |

I’ve been lucky enough to be playing with an HP TouchSmart TX2 Tablet PC for the last couple of weeks.

I will not be doing a full review of the unit as it ships for the simple reason that one of the first things I did was rebuild it with the Windows 7 Release Candidate so I could look check out the new Windows Touch experience on a multi-touch capable machine.

That is not to say that I am not going to review it here – just that I won’t be reviewing the software that ships on the device. I am going to break the review into two parts. In Part 1 – this post – I’ll give you a tour of the TouchSmart TX2 hardware. Part two will drill down into the Windows Touch experience you will find with Windows 7 on a Multi-touch capable machine.

The HP TouchSmart TX2 – or TX2 for short – is a Tablet PC that is firmly aimed at the consumer market. It has been built with media and ease of use in mind. It begs to be touched. It also has a stylish finish that will look more at home in the living room than the board room. Check out the graphic on the lid.

On the front bezel you will find the power switch, IR Receiver, and the usual jacks and a hardware switch for the wireless.

But hang on – on closer inspection the three jacks are not that usual after all. Left-to-right the first 3.5mm jack can be used either as an optical output to hook into your home theatre system or for your headphones. The middle one can be used for a second pair or headphones which is a nice touch on a media notebook. the third jack is a microphone line in.

The keyboard is fairly standard, as is the touchpad in front of it. One nice touch is the hardware button directly above the touchpad, which can be used to disable or enable it. I like the placement. I frequently disable and enable the touchpad when I am typing on my mobile devices because I have a bad habit of tapping the touchpad with my thumbs and this can move the cursor. The placement on the TX2 is excellent and the little picture of the touchpad next to the button glows white when the touchpad is enabled and red when it is disabled.

Above the keyboard on the left side are three hardware buttons for volume down, mute and volume up.

On the right side of the screen there is a fingerprint reader and three hardware buttons. I did not install the button driver in Windows 7 as I don’t know if it is going to be the same as the Vista one or not and I didn’t want to set false expectations.

On the top edge of the screen there is a webcam, flanked on either side by two microphones in an array. Microphone arrays are by far superior to single microphones for voice applications so this should make the TX2 excellent for use with Skype, Live Messenger or other voice applications.

At the base of the screen there are two Altec Lansing speakers and the sound quality is really pretty good for a notebook.

On the right side there is the stylus, one USB port, the network port, a proprietary expansion port, a VGA connector and a vent.

On the back there is a modem jack, two more USBs and the lock port.

On the left side there is the power in, a card reader (SD, Memory Stick and MS Pro, MMC & XD) and a PC Express slot. There is also a CD/DVD burner.

Tucked away in the PC Express slot is one of my favourite features. A little remote for Media Center. Isn’t it cute?

The hinge is very sturdy and the TX2 does not suffer much from the wobbly head that plagues most convertibles. On either side of the keyboard there is a little raised peg. Once the screen is rotated around the magnetic latch clicks into place the two pegs fit into recesses on the lid which gives the device a nice secure feel in slate mode.

There is a lot to like about the TX2. Below are some of the highlights for me.

Great styling
Functional design
Multi-touch – that’s a big one.
Nice active digitiser as well
Great screen and sound for a notebook of this size.
That funky little remote!

On the down side:

There is a fair bit of fan noise.
The battery life is not great. I suspect that this is a side effect of the fairly high-end video processor and CPU. I would give a bit away here to be able to watch a whole movie on battery.
No eraser on the stylus
Volume control buttons are covered when converted to slate mode. When you are in slate mode, that is when you need your hardware buttons!

Over all a good home machine that will handle all the browsing and media that you throw at it with ease and will also not balk at a bit of gaming. The multi-touch experience is great in Windows 7 – but that will be the topic of my next post.