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This story was printed from Anchordesk,
located at http://review.zdnet.com/AnchorDesk/.
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Tablet PC: Why I'm (still) not ready to switch
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| By David Coursey: Executive Editor, AnchorDesk |
| Wednesday, June 18, 2003 |
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Today, I want to address a number of issues--the Tablet PC, Logitech's io Digital Pen, and handwriting recognition (or the lack thereof) in general. Each topic merits a whole column by itself. But taken together, I think they offer a snapshot of where we are with what used to be called pen computing, and how far we have yet to go.
For the past month, I've been testing Toshiba's Portege 3505, to see what it's like to use a Tablet PC as an everyday computer. The ZDNet review of the Portege gives it a "highly recommended" rating. I'd concur: This is a very nice machine.
OF COURSE, with pricing currently ranging from about $2,100 to $2,500, it had better be. Toshiba has been in the laptop business for as long as there's been a business, and that experience shows. The built-in 802.11b wireless works fine, and the USB 2.0 ports are state-of-the-art. The slots for CompactFlash and Secure Digital media become more useful every day, as my digital photography projects increase. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of a built-in CD drive.
But, as I've said before and now believe even more firmly, the Tablet PC puts the "personal" back in personal computing. Your experience with a tablet would probably be very different from mine or anybody else's. This is because, while keyboards treat everyone pretty much the same, pen-based interfaces respond to users as individuals.
My friend Terri Stratton, who runs a volunteer, non-commercial Web site devoted to tablets, says she's seen the handwriting recognition engine inside the Tablet PC OS read handwriting that she couldn't. Conversely, there's no guarantee that the Tablet PC will understand handwriting that you could read easily.
"You can't train it," Stratton tells me, explaining that the Tablet PC recognition engine comes preconfigured and can't be changed to understand a specific user's input. Dedicated users will adjust their handwriting to achieve better results.
Microsoft makes no claim that the recognition is perfect and generally downplays the idea of turning handwriting into text. Nevertheless, since Tablet PC indexes handwritten documents in the background, in order to make them searchable, "readable" handwriting is a big plus.
I can't predict whether or not Tablet PC will understand your handwriting. Being left-handed isn't supposed to be a problem; I've been told that the designers worked hard to be sure that southpaw Bill Gates's handwriting would be understood. As an "upside-down" left-hander with particularly messy handwriting, I never expect recognition and am only rarely disappointed.
NEVERTHELESS, I appreciate the need to store handwritten notes electronically. That's why, as part of my Tablet PC test, I also spent time using the Logitech io pen, which I've written about previously.
If all I want is handwritten notes converted into graphics files, I think the Logitech pen is a better choice than a Tablet PC. This is partly because Logitech uses a specialized, oversized ballpoint pen and specially imprinted paper. By preserving the pen-and-paper interface, the Logitech overcomes some significant limitations of the Tablet PC's stylus and screen.
Specifically, stylus-to-screen doesn't feel anything like the friction of pen-to-paper. Paper doesn't suffer from the screen glare than can hamper use of Tablet PCs inside a building and make it completely impossible outside.
Then there's the issue of hand position. You can write "normally" with a Logitech paper tablet, while writing on a Tablet PC requires you to raise your hand well off the writing surface. And there are the styli. On the Tablet PC platform, the pens aren't widely available in the same variety of sizes as regular pens; they tend to be much smaller. The Logitech pen is available in only one size--extremely large. Maybe if I had such a large stylus, I'd find Tablet PC easier to use.
WHICH IS NOT TO SAY I have nothing good to say about the Tablet PC. I spent several hours making handwritten corrections to documents using the beta of Word 2003 and the Tablet PC, and found the process more than merely acceptable. For marking up paper documents, the combination of a Tablet PC and Office 2003 may be just the thing for you.
It helped to set the document to double-space; once I'd done that, marking up a document on-screen was very much like doing so on paper. There was the added benefit that I could immediately e-mail the marked-up document to colleagues, who could view it from within Outlook XP. Overall, on-screen document mark-up was a win.
I also liked the Franklin Covey planner application, a good choice for someone who'd like to replace the paper planner they already use with something electronic. I've also seen some vertical applications developed by or for corporate Tablet PC users that seemed quite ingenious.
My friend Terri Stratton says today's Tablet PC is "almost perfect." I certainly wouldn't go that far, and I'm not sure Microsoft would. But there is no doubt the machines have a certain and not inconsiderable appeal.
I HAVE TWO bits of purchasing advice. You could look for a Tablet PC--such as this Toshiba--that you'd be happy to use in keyboard-only mode. Sure, you'll pay a premium for the tablet features, but even if you don't use them, you'll still have a machine you like.
The other approach is to shop very carefully and try before you buy. Having played with several now, it's clear to me that all Tablet PCs are not created equal. I can't emphasize the "try" part enough as the differences can be considerable.
Meanwhile, I'm sticking with my prediction that, before too long, Tablet PC features will come standard in most mid- to upper-end notebook computers. I think this will occur over the next 24 to 36 months and will be helped along by the release of the pen-enabled Office 2003.
What do you think? Would you buy a Tablet PC? Why? Why not? TalkBack to me!
