Tablet PCs

Hey Anthony.  I’m looking into getting a tablet pc or 2 for work.  Our software just came out with an interactive program which would make it  possible to complete alot of work on-site which is normally written and then entered later, including a sketcher.  Do you know any thing about these? I’m hoping to spend about $2,000 or less but I need speed, size, and may even want to consider mobile broadband, if I can offer same day turn around from the field I can charge more and interest more potential clients. Send me an e-mail if you have any wisdom to spew...(on this subject only!!)
Thanks

Posted by Dan on 6 replies

Comments:

01. Nov 21, 2007 at 03:17am by Anthony:

The tablet PC has pretty much been a product in search of a market, despite Bill Gates’ prediction/wish for them to become much more common.  I’ve never seen one in the wild and don’t know of anyone who uses one, so I can’t recommend anything from first-hand experience.

I use Newegg for most of my tech purchases, and they do have a tablet PC section, including links in the sidebar that let you narrow down the section by brand, price, screen size, etc.  They also have a top sellers link which I often use when making purchases, and both of the top sellers in the tablet PC category are HPs, which I know you guys like.

Here’s Microsoft’s Tablet PC hardware page.

Depending on how small you want to go, there’s the OQO; this is more of a UMPC ("ultra mobile PC") than a tablet though.  I’ve always thought the OQO would be cool to get, if I had an extra $1500 laying around, though my iPhone has filled many of the needs that the OQO would have.

The Nokia N810 is similar to the OQO, but is far less expensive: about $500.  It just came out today and is available at places like Best Buy right now.  It runs Linux, though, and I suspect that the software that you need to run is Windows-only.

Regarding mobile broadband: any UMPC is going to have that option, and for any tablet/laptop you can always add it later with an add-on card (PCMCIA or "PC Card" as I believe they’re calling it nowadays).  You can get it through AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon.  They’ll probably try to sell you on the newer faster 3G services (HSPA for AT&T; EVDO for Sprint/Verizon) but 3G coverage is pretty limited right now, mostly only available in metro areas.  The older slower "2.5G" services, like EDGE from AT&T which is what the iPhone uses, have coverage pretty much everywhere you can get a cell signal.  But the 3G coverage areas are expanding all the time, and they’re backwards-compatible with the older networks anyway, so 3G is probably the way to go, especially if you do most of your work in & around Philly.

02. Nov 21, 2007 at 03:35am by Anthony:

Also, congratulations on creating post #1000 on nodivisions.com!  I was trying to think of something extremely interesting or important for the big 1-0-0-0, so this takes the pressure off me, and a good visitor-created post is even better.

03. Nov 21, 2007 at 04:49pm by Dan:

Thanks for the help. I did look at the hp’s and thought they looked good.  There’s one called motion le1600 or 1700 which dell distributes.  They look good, but by the time I got everything I need, I’d be looking at $4,000+. Sorry if I spoiled your milestone post, had I known I would have tried to make it in haiku form or something fun.

04. Nov 21, 2007 at 10:30pm by Anthony:

Yeah, a haiku would have been nice, but you can’t have everything.

05. Nov 23, 2007 at 03:09am by andy:

throughout the luggage,
watermelon car photo.
belgium starts breaking.





(...better late than never)

06. Nov 23, 2007 at 03:15pm by Anthony:

Post #1000, now with more haiku!!

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