Saturday, June 29, 2002
Microsoft Promotes Dueling Tablets
Posted by Jason Dunn in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 07:00 AM
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,102336,tk,dn062702X,00.asp
The Tablet PC is starting to interest me more and more. I've heard some really positive things about the software (the inking features), and the hardware designs the OEMs are coming up with are very impressive. A big factor here is cost: would I shell out $1500 US for a Tablet PC? No. But would I consider paying a few hundred more for my next laptop if it had Tablet PC functionality? You bet.
"Microsoft sees the Tablet PC, highlighted at the show, as being primarily for business use. Microsoft executives like to say the company designed the Windows XP Professional variant for "corridor warriors"--people who spend much of their days going from meeting to meeting taking handwritten notes, but who would also like to check e-mail or send the occasional instant message. Vendors here are offering several types of Tablet PCs. Viewsonic, for example, showed a prototype of its Tablet PC 1100, a Windows XP Tablet PC-based slate that will include many of the features in its existing ViewPod 1000. Based on a design by chip maker Via Technologies, the Tablet PC 1100 will have built-in 802.11b wireless connectivity and an optional keyboard."
I found myself swooning the most over this design from Toshiba:
"Fujitsu's Tablet PC prototype, the Stylistic ST4000 Tablet PC, is also a 3-pound slate, but an optional Tablet Dock provides an upright easel that allows the unit to look more like a desktop when docked. The base accepts modular optical drives as well as a full complement of ports, some of which are duplicated on the tablet itself. Fujitsu will also offer an optional wireless keyboard."
The Tablet PC is starting to interest me more and more. I've heard some really positive things about the software (the inking features), and the hardware designs the OEMs are coming up with are very impressive. A big factor here is cost: would I shell out $1500 US for a Tablet PC? No. But would I consider paying a few hundred more for my next laptop if it had Tablet PC functionality? You bet.
"Microsoft sees the Tablet PC, highlighted at the show, as being primarily for business use. Microsoft executives like to say the company designed the Windows XP Professional variant for "corridor warriors"--people who spend much of their days going from meeting to meeting taking handwritten notes, but who would also like to check e-mail or send the occasional instant message. Vendors here are offering several types of Tablet PCs. Viewsonic, for example, showed a prototype of its Tablet PC 1100, a Windows XP Tablet PC-based slate that will include many of the features in its existing ViewPod 1000. Based on a design by chip maker Via Technologies, the Tablet PC 1100 will have built-in 802.11b wireless connectivity and an optional keyboard."
I found myself swooning the most over this design from Toshiba:
"Fujitsu's Tablet PC prototype, the Stylistic ST4000 Tablet PC, is also a 3-pound slate, but an optional Tablet Dock provides an upright easel that allows the unit to look more like a desktop when docked. The base accepts modular optical drives as well as a full complement of ports, some of which are duplicated on the tablet itself. Fujitsu will also offer an optional wireless keyboard."
