Tablet shopping: LCD's and graphics cards

[Teffy]

I don't think I can resist buying a Toshiba M200 tablet PC much longer, and welcome your advice:1) My desktop runs Windows 2000 Pro and has MS Office 2000. Can I load Office 2000 on the tablet with WinXP tablet?2) The 12" SVGA+ (1400 x 1050) sounds great for sharp images, but I wonder if text will be too small for my aging eyes. Can I decrease the resolution if I have trouble reading?3) Wireless options are 802.11b, 802.11g (extra $50), or 802.11a/g (extra $150). I plan to use the tablet PC with my desktop and cable modem and will purchase a router - none exists now. What I have read about the various flavors of 802.11 leaves me wondering which way to go. As I said, I am starting from scratch, and will use it in my home which is out in the boondocks away from other networks. Should I go with b, g, or a/b/g?I am drawn to the Toshiba M200 because it seems like it has a great set of features if one has the $$$ to spend. I can justify the $$$ since a tailbone injury prevents me from sitting at the desktop PC for very long. I'll be using a tablet while reclining, lying on my stomach, etc. as opposed to carrying it, so weight is not a big issue. Should I give any of the other brands a second look before I take the plunge?Thanks so much for your help!Teffy

[zox]

It depends on what are you going to use it for.802.11b is the slowest and it is going to give you 11mbit at best throughput.This is just like the older cards 10T instead of 10/100 TX.One good thing with b is it does nice range.802.11a is much higher throughput, I think somewhere in 54Mbit range, half a 100 TX but range goes down rapidly as you go a way from router.It is also running on higher frequency then b version so it has problems with walls and other obstacles.In all combination so far it is the best to pick g as it is the combo that works on same frequency as b, there for has high range and can go through walls nicely, while having throughput of 54 Mbit like a version.If you are going to just browse web or stream music, you'll be fine with b, otherwise go g and don't think about a :)I hope I didn't confuse you, it's 7:00 in the morning here

[Teffy]

I don't think I can resist buying a tablet PC much longer, and welcome your buying advice. The Toshiba M200 seems neat on paper; I was also advised to check out the Acer C300, which certainly looks tempting. +++ Pluses vs M200: bigger screen, optical drive, auto brightness based on ambient light, and scroll button.--- Minuses vs M200: graphics card, screen resolution, only 802.11b.I guess what's most important to me is the ability to see as much as is possible, as clearly as is possible. So, I don't know if the 14" XGA or the 12" SXGA+ (adjustable) wins - what do you think?If I'm not gaming or watching DVD's, would I ever see the difference in graphics capabilities?Since I plan to do alot of reading with it, the Acer 4-way scroll button is really nice, but maybe I could fake it on the Toshiba by creating hotkeys?If I am surfing via a cable modem, would I ever see a speed difference between 802.11b and g? I presume the walls of my log home would be tough for 802.11a?I'll be using a tablet while reclining, lying on my stomach, etc. as opposed to carrying it, so weight is not a big issue. Should I give any of the other brands a second look before I take the plunge?Thanks so much for your help!Teffy

[Guest LilBambi]

Hi Teffy,Welcome!I don't know of anyone who currently owns a Tablet PC. You may have to wait to get feedback till someone who has a Tablet PC can respond.They look cool on the surface, but I personally do not intend to get one.I have not heard very good review feedback on the Tablet PC except when used for specific purposes like inventory management or something like that. But it would really depend on what you need it for.I heard two reviews on TechTV that were not all that favorable when the Tablet PC is used as a multi purpose device.I hope some folks have actually owned one to give their opinions.

[zox]

I can't give you advice regarding TabletPC from the same reason Fran pointed - I don't have TabletPC nor I have ever used it.I can tell you that if you are going to browse the web, 802.11b will be more then enough for such purpose and it is cheaper.For a lot of reading I would always suggest as big monitor as you can get so you can adjust resolution and letters size at your will.Good luck with your purchase

[pc-tecky]

TabletPCs are similar to notebooks, but slightly different. The difference being the functionality of the display being able to twist around and the touch sensative nature of the display with the use of a stylus (pen-like pointing device). I don't have a TabletPC, but I do have a few laptops. The big thing is how you're going to use it. Gaming or multimedia desktop replacement, I don't think is what you're looking for. So any system will do, even 450MHz which is a bit weak by todays standards will work just fine for most web browsing and word processing needs.You get what you pay for. Portable systems, laptops, notebooks, and TabletPCs, have at least three things in common: battery life, storage, and display. The battery life varies with capacity, use, and installed componets in operation (the CPU, the amount of ram, the wireless WiFi-NIC, hard drive, and/or DVD/CD drive). Storage (hard drives and CD-RW/DVD±RW drives) which may or may not be user upgradable or swap-able are pretty much fixed. Laptops are generally not thought of as being upgradable. Perhaps you can upgrade the CD for a DVD±RW drive and the hard drive from 40GB to 80GB, but generally speaking, you pretty much buy a new unit when you want to upgrade to a newer faster unit. The display is pretty much what you see is what you get. Bigger displays are typically thought to be better and easier to read if not giving you more screen real-estate. Other lower resolutions should be able to, but may not, stretch to fill the screen making small text easier to read (should test before you buy if possible). If the display doesn't stretch, the view will be about the same or harder to read with a thick black/blank border.Just for mere web surfing, WiFi-b (802.11b) is just fine. The only reason for getting WiFi-G (802.11g) would be for heavy file sharing traffic. Heavy traffic might be 5-20MB a week or more which might include MP3s, word documents, and (network) software downloads like Internet Explorer, etc. - where you download once and use it on multiple computers in the home on the network (wired and/or wireless).Longer life away from the wall can be expected from systems with newer technology.Intel Units: A Pentium II 450MHz is unheard of any more unless you're in the used market. Pentium III around 800MHz to 1.4GHz might still be available. Pentium 4, Celeron, or Centrino around 1.4GHz to the top end of 3.0GHz would be expected. A pretty safe bet is a unit 1-2 models below "bleeding edge" which would be around 2.4GHz to 2.6Ghz for Pentium 4 based units.AMD Units: Duron and Athlon XP 1800+ through 3200+ would be reasonable. AMD chips are not as well based as Intel chips when it comes to portable units.Memory: 128MB is absolute minimum, however, 256MB and 512MB is normal any more, and even 2.0GB is now possible for highend laptops (IBM ThinkPad T41).Storage: I have yet to fill-up a 13GB drive will all my pictures, documents, emails, etc. Software and ISO downloads are another story if not managed and moved to other media. So, 20GB to 60GB should be good.Any system out on the market should be sufficient for your needs. What are the specs of the units you are looking at?

[Teffy]

What are the specs of the units you are looking at?

Toshiba Protege M200 is 12.1" SXGA+ with 802.11b/g/a optionsorAcer TravelMate C300 is 14.1" XGA with 802.11b onlyTeffy

[RichNRockville]

I don't think I can resist buying a Toshiba M200 tablet PC much longer, and welcome your advice:1) My desktop runs Windows 2000 Pro and has MS Office 2000.  Can I load Office 2000 on the tablet with WinXP tablet?..... Should I give any of the other brands a second look before I take the plunge?Thanks so much for your help!Teffy

Another $0.02 worth:1 A friend who works for a non-profit has been testing tablet pc models andhe came to the conclusion that the battery life is pretty dismal on most of them.Or at least seems to work much better when in a docking station or attached tothe power cable. 2-3 hrs was the norm.2. Regarding loading of Office 2K, that should be no big problem as the OS runningis probably Windows Tablet PC version.3. Never lose the pen..4. Did I say? Never lose the pen? End of $0.02

[jimupnord]

With laptop screens (and I suppose, tablet screens), if you are not using them at the native resolution, they can tend to be fuzzy.(I suppose the discrete pixels are not ikely to be in the exact right position.)That unit with the smaller screen has higher resolution but you have to wonder how it will look with lower resolution. Unless you change font or icon sizes instead of the resolution to make things larger and easier to see.If only our arms wouldn't get too short....Jim

[pc-tecky]

Ok, I think I understand the design behind the higher resolution. You change the screen height and width factors as you rotate between "laptop" and "tablet" modes. In tablet mode, you literally reverse the specs. In laptop mode you would have for example 1280x1024, but in tablet mode you'd have 1024x1280. Follow? This could make a noticatable difference in readability. WindowsXP, afaik in any version (http://grc.com has more detailed info), has ClearType LCD manipulation technology to make reading easier with LCD displays. Toshiba might be the better brand to stick with for quality as I only know Acer for being cheap desktop systems just like PackardBell. But Acer laptops were once a division of Texas Instruments, so the milage may very.Acer has a modular drive bay and a secondary battery is an available option doubling the time from 3 hours to around 6 hours. Toshiba battery time is claimed to be about 4.5 hours and made possible with the lack of the modular bay. As the Toshiba doesn't have a modular bay, you will be required to get an optional USB CD-RW/DVD drive which can be bought online or at any computer shop, or you can piece together hardware for an external drive (firewire or USB2.0). The only need for the drive is for re-installing the OS and other pieces of large sofware - i.e. Office2000. The hard drives I think are about the same. As your intended purpose to for reading and surfing web sites, storage is not an issue and WiFi-B will meet your needs just fine.Final choice comes down to money ($$$), screen size and resolution in reguard to the mode of screen use, WiFi option - if still debating, warranty, and any percieved differences in quality of the two machines.