Today's tablet PCs: Better, but still not ideal

AnchorDesk

Today's tablet PCs: Better, but still not ideal

John Morris and Josh Taylor
Contributing Editors, AnchorDesk
Wednesday, June 26, 2002

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Credit Apple for getting tablet computing--and PDAs--on the map with its 1993 introduction of the Newton handheld. But you can probably blame them a bit, too. While the Newton marked the beginning of the PDA era, the handwriting recognition that Apple promised never managed to live up to the hype, and was one of the factors that led to the eventual demise of the product.

Now nine years--and many failed products--later, Microsoft has decided the time is right for the resurrection of pen-based computing. This fall the company will introduce an upgraded version of its flagship operating system, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

WE RECENTLY got our hands on Acer's TravelMate 100, the first of the latest round of tablets made available to reviewers. The system won't hit retail shelves until this October, when a slew of tablet PCs are expected to arrive from the likes of Toshiba, Sony, and HP. As you may recall, we were pretty underwhelmed by our first demo of the unit when we saw it back in March. But this time we've been able to play with the unit for two weeks, as opposed to two minutes last time, which it turns out makes all the difference in the world.

At first glance, the TravelMate 100 appears to be a traditional ultraportable. Weighing in at 3.2 pounds, the system is equipped with an Ultra Low Voltage Pentium III 800MHz processor, a 10.4-inch XGA TFT display, as well as integrated 802.11b, Ethernet, and a 56kbps modem. In addition, the standard system includes two USB ports and an IEEE 1394 port. The system also offers several specialized buttons that allow you to toggle wireless on and off (which extends battery life), and switch the display between landscape and portrait modes. Our evaluation system included 256MB of RAM and a 20GB hard disk.

But the TravelMate is more than meets the eye. By depressing hinges on either side of the display, you're able to rotate the screen a couple of different ways. This means you can reverse the screen so it's facing away from the keyboard, which can prove useful during presentations. More importantly, you can rotate the screen so that it folds down and covers the keyboard, allowing the TravelMate 100 to transform into a true tablet PC. Expect to see two primary form factors as tablet PCs become more prevalent: convertible units, like Acer's, as well as models that ship with external, wireless keyboards.

While the new tablet PCs' form factors are interesting, the ball is ultimately in Microsoft's court, and it's clear they've spent a lot of time fine-tuning the OS, which is a superset of Windows XP. That said, Microsoft's refrain during a recent reviewers' workshop is that people shouldn't buy a tablet PC specifically for handwriting recognition. They argued--and rightly so--that the technology simply isn't there yet for true recognition, though the recognition on the beta version of the software is the best we've ever seen. But it's also highly dependent on your writing style. We've seen some people get nearly all of their words accurately translated, while others hit less than 10 percent.

DESPITE MICROSOFT'S WARNINGS about the serious shortcomings of handwriting recognition, we were still initially disappointed--as were many of our colleagues at the reviewers' workshop--that it wasn't better. Yet after using the TravelMate 100 for a couple of weeks as our primary PC, we actually found ourselves caring less and less.

While it was great being able to store handwritten notes--using so-called "digital ink"--and insert handwritten comments into Word documents and e-mails, it was rare that we really needed to convert our writing into text. This shouldn't have been a big surprise, given that neither of us typically transcribes handwritten notes, either. But it was certainly a pleasure knowing exactly where to look for our notes, as opposed to digging through a handful of different traditional notebooks and pads.

It also takes some getting used to writing on a tablet. Fortunately, unlike handhelds which have pressure-sensitive screens, tablet PCs have digitized screens, which make it possible to lean on the screen while you write--like you would on standard paper--without having to worry about wreaking on-screen havoc. However, despite being able to write in a natural position, the TravelMate 100 has a particularly slick surface, which made for some slippery stylus action. Microsoft officials hinted that other manufacturers may add more friction to their displays, which should help to alleviate that problem.

Windows Journal allows you to select different pen tips--from fine chisel to marker--plus, it simulates ink flow based on the pressure you exert on the screen. The harder you push, the thicker the stroke. You're also able to select text, even if you don't convert it, and apply various types of formatting to it, including bold, italics, and different colors. From Journal, you can copy and paste your writing into a variety of applications, either in their native .jnt file, which would be editable by anyone using a tablet PC, or as TIFFs (viewable by just about anyone), or MSHTML (viewable by anyone running Internet Explorer 5.0 or later). Microsoft will also release an add-on pack this fall, which will make the Office suite digital ink-capable.

SOME OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM'S tweaks are obvious, including a new game, Inkball, in which you guide balls into holes with hand-drawn strokes. Others are less apparent, like a right-handed/left-handed setting that toggles the direction the toolbar menus cascade down, ensuring that your hand doesn't cover them.

While overall we were impressed by the innovative design of the TravelMate 1000, there are some minor annoyances. First, the latch that holds the display in place during tablet operation can be a bit fussy. Our colleague David Coursey managed to break his within a week of receiving his unit. We also were frustrated that when using the system in tablet mode, the screen ends up covering part of the speakers, which muffles the sound somewhat.

Since pricing for the TravelMate 100--and other tablet PCs--has yet to been announced, it's hard to know whether they'll be worth the money. Ultimately, if you're in the market for an ultraportable, we recommend you strongly consider a tablet-style model if the additional functionality costs no more than a $150-$200 premium.

Will you be in the market for a tablet PC? How much extra would you pay for one? TalkBack to us!

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