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Tablet PC
Tablet PCs are best for field workers or mobile professionals who want to employ the benefits of this type of laptop for taking notes and saving them in their own handwriting, and having the ability to brainstorm, collaborate, scribble e-mails, and sign faxes with a digital pen.
Relying on an update to the operating system, Microsoft has improved the Tablet Input Panel by making it more flexible, enhancing handwriting recognition accuracy, and has done an excellent job with making the whole pen computing experience more accurate. Improved hardware performance, thanks to the Pentium M processor and better integrated graphics, makes inking feel more natural.
These laptops have displays that range From 10.4 to 14.1 inches, a good thing for Tablets, though, especially when using them in pen mode. It can be quite difficult to hold a larger display in the crook of your arm for more than a few minutes at a time. If you know you’ll be on the road more often than not, get a tablet with a 10 to 12 inch screen; a 14-inch convertible is more appropriate for office workers or for those who don’t travel very often.
When in notebook mode, Tablets operate similarly to their laptop kin. But when in Tablet mode, you should look for a system that includes buttons to help you do things like switch the screen’s orientation From landscape to portrait mode and access settings. When it comes to navigating forms as well as Web pages, having a joystick or scroll wheel of some sort will also be of indispensable use.
A key feature for Tablets is the digital pen. This device should be large enough to make writing in digital ink easy and smooth. A useful feature is, also, the ability to erase your scribbles with the back of the pen. When you’re done writing, your Tablet of choice should have a holster that’s both easy to access yet secure enough to keep your pen From falling out.
Up until recently, optical drives were often provided as external peripherals for Tablet PCs. But 14-inch models like Acer's TravelMate C300 and Gateway's M275 both include a DVD/CD-RW drive for loading software, watching a DVD, or burning data to disc. Averatec’s C3500 is the first 12-inch convertible to feature an optical drive, hopefully turning into a trend-setter.
The pros:
• incredibly useful platform for taking notes, marking up documents, and filling out forms in the field.
• better hardware performance and software
• ergonomic Lightweight, designs
• navigating/opening and closing applications with a pen may seem easier to some than a pointing stick or touchpad
The cons:
• pricy, compared to other notebooks
• not very compelling Tablet software for consumers
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