Tablet PC Pen Computing Handheld Devices
Mar 23 '01
The Bottom Line The bottom line is: read the epinion. But if you dont do that, answer these questions: Weight? Screen size + visibility:sunlight vs indoors? Ruggedness? I/O options? O/S? Price?
Tablet PCs or Pen Computers are a well kept secret. In part because they are expensive, but also in part because they are used for very specific purposes.
There a quite a few on the market now, by manufacturers such as Hitachi, Aqcess, Fujitsu, and Sony. I have used a number of these devices and have watched them evolve over the past 2 years.
Hitachi had one of the very first, its ePlate. This machine ran Windows CE and offered "instant on" which rarely worked. However, what was unique about it was that it has so many expansion slots: USB, IRDA, PCMCIA, Compact Flash, Serial, etc. The PCMCIA slot allowed for wireless internet access, albeit at only 19.2Kbps with a Novatel Merlin Wireless IP CDPD Modem. Unfortunately, Windows CE was not robust enough to handle complicated tasks. Perhaps the newer versions with Pocket PC OS are more robust, as I know the Compaq IPAQ works fantastically with Richochet's 128Kbps wireless internet.
The Qbe tablet is also a great computer and took advantage of the fact that improvements in portable technology now allowed a full operating system such as Windows 98. Again, all the same I/O features and touchscreen, however the SVGA TFT was much better than the Hitachi and connectivity options were more easily managed under Win98. Unforunately, the Qbe was twice as heavy as the ePlate, weighing in at just over 4lbs. These days, Sony makes laptops that way less than 3lbs, so the Qbe Original is outdated.
Fujitsu makes a huge line of tablet PCs. Im currently using the Stylistic LT C-500 running Windows 2000 with 128MB RAM, 5GB Hard Drive, Wireless keyboard, 7-inch XGA TFT TouchScreen. It is truly amazing! Fast, robust, and high connectivity. I have a D-link 802.11b Wireless 11Mbps Ethernet adapter in it and there is no delay in it over using a hardwired desktop. Unfortunately, Fujitsu needs to work on the "pen" part of computing as the input device is rather difficult to use, especially when doing such simple tasks as entering a weblink. Palm's handwriting recognition works a lot better. Also, it unfortunately, has quite a bit of weight to it (2.2lbs) but the battery life is excellent.
Finally, I would like to mention that Aqcess Technologies is going to be releasing the Qbe Vivo in the next few months and it is going to offer unparalleled tablet/pen computing with built-in wireless ethernet, standard ethernet, modem, pc card slots, usb, and much more. The Qbe Vivo is definitely one to look forward to and will probably be more affordable ($2100) than Fujitsu's tablets ($3200).
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gauldd01
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