Jerry Falls for the Tablet PC
Published: November 18, 2002
By Jerry Honeycutt, Windows XP Expert Zone Community Columnist
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Microsoft asked me to try out an Acer TravelMate C100 running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. After using it for a week, I've fallen head over heels for the Tablet PC.
The Tablet PC is available in two different styles: a slate tablet or a convertible style. They both use the same software, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Both models have the same Tablet PC features, which let you write on the screen with a stylus and on-screen keyboard. The Acer TravelMate C100 that I'm using is a convertible tablet. It weighs only a few pounds. When converted to a laptop, it has a keyboard and a mouse pad. When converted to a tablet, the pen is the primary input device.
The slate tablet is thinner and lighter than the convertible. It doesn't have a built-in keyboard, relying on the pen as its primary input device. The Motion Computing M1200 is a slate tablet model.
This column isn't about the Tablet PC's bells and whistles. It's not about the software. You can read about its cool features in Charlie Russel's column, Getting Started with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, and in the list of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Features. This column is about how I use the natural interface of the Tablet PC in new and different ways on a daily basis.
Jacuzzi Surfing
Every time I jump in to the Jacuzzi, I take my Tablet PC with me. No longer do I feel as if I'm wasting time in the water, since I can surf the Web and check mail at the same time. Of course, I convert it to a tablet before getting into the hot water. I use the pen to browse the Internet and even answer my messages. I also rotate the screen vertically to view Web pages. The combination of the pen and portrait display is definitely the way you're meant to view a Web page.
The Acer TravelMate C100 is a full-featured computer, so it feels substantial in my hands. It's not like a lightweight Pocket PC, weighing just a few ounces. Instead, it feels more like a thin college textbook—too heavy to toss around like a magazine but light enough to make it convenient.
However, I've come close to dropping the tablet in the rolling water more than a few times, so I'm not advising that you try this in your own home. I've definitely lost the pen in the water on more occasions than I can count. The pen is somewhat indestructible though, and a quick dry with a towel restores it to working order.
Traveling in Style
Traveling with the Tablet PC makes me the coolest kid on the plane. Everywhere I went with my little traveling companion, people did double takes. I usually converted the Tablet PC to tablet form in order to increase the wow factor.
Speaking of carrying the Tablet PC, what it does for my plane-hopping attitude is amazing. Rather than packing a computer bag with 15 pounds of cables and gadgets, I throw the tablet's power cord in my suit case, slip the tablet into its case, which resembles a small leather portfolio, and carry it like a text book. No computer bag makes me a friendlier fellow at the airport:
| • | I have 20 fewer things for screeners to paw through when going through security. |
| • | I don't have to find a place to stash my computer bag on the airplane, since I don't carry one when I use the tablet. |
| • | It's a great icebreaker and usually leads to interesting conversations with my airplane seat mate. |
On the plane, I usually answer messages and do some light editing. Of course, I do all this with the computer converted to a tablet. If I need to do anything more intense, I convert the tablet back to a laptop and use the keyboard.
Battery life is reasonable. I get a couple of hours if I'm lucky, but it would be great to get an extra hour. The tablet lasts the duration of a reasonable flight, but flying from Dallas to either coast leaves me wanting more. This isn't the tablet's fault, though. Even the best laptops suffer from battery limitations.
Comfort of Couch Computing
Battery life doesn't bug me much when I'm home, because I leave the power adapter plugged in next to the couch while I'm watching a good movie or getting embarrassed by the latest Cowboys game.
I get the most use out of my Tablet PC when watching TV. With my tablet sitting in my lap, I use its built-in wireless capability to connect to the Internet. With the tablet converted to tablet form, I use the browser with the pen. Something about tapping a link feels more natural than clicking links with a mouse.
When I'm watching a ball game, I use the tablet to look up statistics on the Web. While watching the news, particularly MSNBC, which has a great Web site to back up its news channel, I use the tablet to read more in-depth information about the story of the hour, looking up maps, statistics, and opinion polls. As you can see in the photo below, I'm also completely comfortable while researching.
Completely comfortable
Only occasionally do I convert the tablet to a laptop, and that's when using it for more intense writing. For example, to write this column I converted the computer to a laptop, because I can type faster than I can write.
Pen as Input Device
Speaking of pen versus keyboard, I prefer the pen, instead of the keyboard (the pen is mightier than the keyboard?). In fact, I prefer the slate form factor, which only gives you a keyboard when used with a docking station. I like the Tablet PC specifically because I can whip it out like a Big Chief tablet and just start writing on it. For me, the Tablet PC isn't just a laptop replacement, it's a whole different way of working, especially when I'm on the go.
That means that I don't keep the tablet on my desk. I don't even keep it in my office. That defeats the purpose in my opinion. Instead, I keep the Tablet PC where it's convenient to grab it and run. I keep it next to my cell phone or in the living room on the coffee table.
That also means that you won't catch me plugging an external mouse or keyboard in to the Tablet PC. Then it becomes the laptop that I hate lugging from city to city. In other words, the point of the tablet is that it makes computing more mobile for me, and treating it like a laptop is like wrapping a ball and chain around it.
I very quickly got used to using the pen instead of the mouse. I took a little longer to get used to using the pen instead of the keyboard, however. It feels odd at first but becomes more natural after a little while.
With the choice of an on-screen keyboard or handwriting recognition, input became very comfortable even though a bit slow. The handwriting recognition was surprisingly accurate, and not because I have good handwriting!
Which Style to Buy?
Should you buy a slate tablet or a convertible style? Think long and hard about how you're going to use your Tablet PC before spending any money. If you can live with the pen and want the ultimate in portability, get the slate tablet. If you don't think that you can live without a traditional keyboard and mouse, get the convertible.
Which one you choose depends on what you want from it. If you want the convenience of a tablet with the flexibility to use it as a laptop, then you're going to want the convertible. If you're like me and you want a lightweight, full-power Tablet PC that you use like an electronic Big Chief tablet, then you're after a slate tablet model. Either way—you can't lose.
Expert Zone Columnist Jerry Honeycutt is a writer, speaker, and technologist who has written over 25 books, including Microsoft Windows XP Registry Guide (Microsoft Press, 2002). He frequently writes about customizing and deploying Windows XP.
