OT anyone use a Tablet PC?

[flfirefighter13]

Im in the market for a laptop and figured since prices are comprable Id like to get a tablet or convertible instead, just wondering if anyone has a tablet, do you like it and any chance I can swing by and check it out some day? It seesm they havent hit mainstream enough yet to be available in many stores for a test run. Thanks!

 

[chrisstie]

From my experience with them which is very limited, there isn't much about a tablet that makes it any better or worse than a laptop- it seems to be more useful for a profession or hobby that would require its moveable function - artist, surveyor something like that?

IMO a normal laptop has less parts to break I have one that is relatively new and weighs only 4lbs - they do get heavy after carryign them for a while if you're on the go a lot.. it fits in my schoolbag and is really great.

Good luck with whichever you decide!

 

[seth16]

ok Brian, i am the whiz at electronics and modern gadgets.... Tablet PC are great if you have a particular use for them, i.e a graphic artist or architect, or an art student....you know, other than for the sheer purpose of having the ability to use the scrren as an input device, it it nothign more thant a normal laptop. Now, as laptops go, rather than what people say the best brands are, you need to look for brands that are easily fixable, , and easily repaired, becasue the top two electronics that the consumer should always get a warranty for are laptops, and large TV's...becasue they sem to need more repairs thatn other electronics, and the repairs will cost you an arm and a leg. HP, COMPAQ, EMACHINE, GATEWAY....are the best to go with.....DO NOT GO WITH DELL!!!!!!!!!! they rip the crap right off of you, and their service sucks, the charge you the shipping if somethign goes wrong with your electronic......you can go wrong with a compaq, they have been around for years, they have had a very lucrative life and still continie to, even thouhg under HP's wing...... hundreds of parts are made for them, but fewer are made for HP laptops, why? IDK........Not if you DO decide to go with a tablet, GATEWAY tablets are top rated and have the easiet and best customer ease with using them, very easy interfaces and very good computers...i wish i had one you could play with, i wish i had one period, but i hope this advice helped you in a nyway..... let me know if you need ANY advice on ANY electronic...i love tat stuff too

 

[cstires]

I would have to disagree with your Dell comment. We only use Dells at my office, and that's for one reason, reliability. I've only owned Dell at home as well and have never had to pay shipping for any replacement parts that have been under warranty. If you need a part, they send it out very quickly, usually overnighted to you the next day.

Now there is a huge difference in customer service between regular consumers and business consumers. Business consumers actually speak to americans when you call for service/support, while everyone else ends up speaking to a rep in India!

That is the only downside that I can think of, however more and more top companies are going that route.

I've never owned or used a tablet PC personally, but we've had multiple people use them at work and ask to go back to a standard Laptop. They didn't like having to have all their devices as peripherals, small screen sizes, small keypads, etc...

I guess it really comes down to the use you have for it and your personal preference.

 

[flfirefighter13]

Yeah I have to give dell a thumbs up, Ive dealt both as a business and as home client and had nothing but good exp. Gateway screwed me years ago, since then its been all dell with no issues that werent easily fixed. Granted their lower end laptops arent perfect but the XPS line has treated me well. but the real issue is dell doesnt make a convertible tablet and im not sure I want to make the jump to full on slate just yet, especially with IBM makeing a thinkpad tablet in the 2000 range that would be just as upgradeable as their thinkpad laptops.

As far as usability I think I will use it often as a tablet. For photography I will be using it at times for touchups, but most likely use my desktop for the majority. My main use for the tablet will be notetaking for classes I am takeing. Most of my online classes use PDFs and websites quite often, It would be great to be able to have the pdf on top and handwrite quick notes below. Im fast at typeing but it requires my attention, I find myself able to handwrite without thought while reading. That and the fact that I can get a ton of software that I can use in the field for medical/ fire related stuff that a tablet would be usabel fro, but often times a laptop would be very inconvient, kind of hard to use a laptop standing up Thanks for all the advice guys, anyone seen one in a store lately?

 

[jay24k]

I would say HP, Dell, and Gateway last. 6 years ago I did work for Gateway and Dell and I can honestly say Gateway uses the worst parts.

The problem with Dell is they do not engineer their own equipment. Their testing is very poor and they have more problems then most competitors.

HP is really nice. They have their own engineering team. They consistently use the same parts so if there is an issue down the road, it isn't discontinued for that model. I've also been to their factory and it is amazing on their quality control and how they stress test each machine. Not to mention, no one tops their servers.

For a cheap home machine that works fine and usually not too many problems, I would say a Dell. However, if you want a good machine with excellent support, I'd choose a HP. Any issues I have ever had with any product gets resolved immediately.

 

[flfirefighter13]

Thanks Jay, any experience with IBM? So far the running is IBM or HP, they both have a convertible tablet that has good review in a reasonable price range.

 

[cozart]

wow i must have dealt w/ dell's alter ego all these years. dell was great in the late 90's - early 00's (btw that still seem's weird, 00's) but the past 3-5 years has seriously gone down hill. both business and residential - customer support, customer service, sales, basically every person i've had to deal with in the dell family has been horrible!!!! i personally will never buy another dell product as long as i live.

 

[chrisstie]

Clearly some machines can be used longer than others and there are also lemons.

If you really wanna go the tablet route, i'd check up on epinions.com on the models you're looking at (o rsomething similar) and make sure you get something with a screen that wont turn to crap using it on a regular basis (*cough cough that one model of the ipod that was crap*) since it seems like you'd get a fair amount of use out of it.

I'm not a big fan of sony and their practices but at the same time i am using one fo their laptops and really like it. Dell monitors are great as well as their cheap refurbished stuff if you're looking for a deal.

I wonder if apple offers anything? I use more PC applications and apple is pricey as hell but they usually put out somethign decent

 

[seth16]

Well, i knew this would happen..lol....eveyone has their ups and downs, and one persons good pc, is another bad one...i am goign by my RESAERCH, not personal use...... I have LAPTOP magazine, COMputer SHopper, POcket PC magazine, ect... i read them all, and gateways are almost always on or right next to the top... And yes, for businiess use, they give good prices and good service, but when you have a family and just want a comp[uter for the kids, dells have the WORST prices, the worst upgrades and the service you cannot understand... anywho Brian, it is reeally up to you, we can all shed out advice about them , but it really doenst matter what we think......so, yeah, try to work with one and see if that is really what you want, and if it is, then go with whatever you want to go with, that is the better route : )

 

[chrisstie]

I wish I had all that time to read magazines but I am so busy trying to get my degree in computer engineering ><

 

[flfirefighter13]

ewwww any degree with engineering in it sounds like way to much math for me

I appreciate all the help, looks like I am gonna end up with an IBM unit, the thinkpads just seem to be a beefy machine all around for the money...... then again I may look into toughbooks as well now, This would be so much easier to decide if there was a tablet pc store out there

 

[waterfaller1]

Re: OT anyone use a Tablet PC?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9117420#post9117420 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flfirefighter13
Im in the market for a laptop and figured since prices are comprable Id like to get a tablet or convertible instead, just wondering if anyone has a tablet, do you like it and any chance I can swing by and check it out some day? It seesm they havent hit mainstream enough yet to be available in many stores for a test run. Thanks!

Troy just got one of those toughbooks for the truck. You can come by on a sunday sometime & see it.

 

[flfirefighter13]

Thanks Carol, I will try to line that up in the next few weeks

 

[Brazengrrl]

Just my .02. When I was shopping for a laptop, if thats what you decide to go with, in all of the stores I visited (and it was alot) every salesperson told me I could not go wrong with a Toshiba. My sister has one, and I purchased one as well, going on the advice and couldnt be happier.
Good luck

 

[waterfaller1]

Troy & Marcye have a Toshiba also..they are great!

 

[cschweitzer]

My best advice is to build your own...you get everything cheaper, you get exactly what you want, and when something blows up, you only have yourself to blame...

I built my own desktop server for my home network and it was a blast. Now I need to get on top of two projects(barring $$ issues) which are the rackmount server and the laptop. Should be a lot of fun!!

 

[flfirefighter13]

Interestin thought, Ill DIY a lot of things but I fear my sanity wouldnt take me trying to build a tablet PC....... by the end of it Id end up with a legal pad and a pen, or in the looney bin

 

[cschweitzer]

I think Bill Gates was talking about using a tablet PC for presentations, probably even to announce Vista...he seems to like his. Of course, he probably has the Terahertz model...

 

[cristhiam]

IMO Dells are good computers, they must be doing something good since my company switch all of them for dells company wide, probably more than 10,000 or more and most if not all the servers are Dells, at home my dad has two dells with no problems at all for a few years and they are easy to upgrade.
The best thing that happend to compaq computers is they are under HP, I had 3 compaqs but when I had to upgrade it was a pain and not very friendly specific parts and expensive. That's when I stopped buying brand computers and build my own desktops. Now for a laptop I own a sony vio no problems and very happy with it, you can't dyi a laptop, at least not very easy just my .02