Convertible Tablet PC's

[Wanderer]

Does anyone do field verifications with a tablet pc? What are your specs? How do you like it? Any pros/cons you can think of? Do you know what the current market rate for your favorite model is? Which version of acad do you run on it?

Viewsonic
Eurocom
Acer

Hardware Guide Comparison

[dg]

Remember that a normal screen is unreadable in bright daylight - you need a 'trans-reflective screen' I think some Fujitsu's have these.

I found CAD work very tedious and slow with pen input. Much faster to use a mouse and keyboard. However MS Visio is an excellent CAD tool, as it is based on predefined shapes which are easily and quickly dragged with the pen.

I mainly use my Viewsonic for collating all relevent documents, and being able to take them with me and read them when out of the office. I also mark up drawings saved as pdfs.

I only really use proper ink-enabled software or use it to fill in predefined forms. MS Onenote is an excellent note gathering program.

The best program on my tablet is Site Journal from http://site-journal.com/
This is based on drop-down lists and is good for recording your site visit. There is a free demo available

I consider my tablet as purely a note taking and document reading tool, for use via pen input. I dont think the convertibles are powerful enough yet, so anything more demanding I leave to my laptop.

Its a nightmare keeping three machines in sync though - especially for my diary and planner!

[mjfarrell]

If I were in the market for such a device this one would be among my top picks

http://naplestech.com/pages/notebooks/_n2885_tablet.htm

[Wanderer]

If I were in the market for such a device this one would be among my top picks

http://naplestech.com/pages/notebooks/_n2885_tablet.htm

Can you just install regular programs on a convertible pc like you could a regular laptop?

[dg]

If I were in the market for such a device this one would be among my top picks

http://naplestech.com/pages/notebooks/_n2885_tablet.htm

That is not a proper TabletPC - it is a normal PC with a touch screen. It uses Win XP home and not the TabletPC edition of windows. It has none of the Tablet PC features

The problem with this type of PC is that is does not support the pen input and handwriting recognition of the TabletPC so the tablet specific programs will not run properly on it. A separate program controls the pen input, but this is slow, a resource hog and not as accurate as the 'real' thing

But the worse thing is that it uses a pressure sensitive screen (like a PDA), so you can't rest your hands on it when writing - trying to use it is a pain. A TabletPC uses an active pen where only the tip of the pen will control the cursor.

The givaway is the price. Many people think it is a bargain, but are disappointed after buying one. You should look for 'TabletPC' and not Tablet PC

Oh, and yes any program that works on Windows will work on a TabletPC