$600-$1200 Tablet PC or Laptop?

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Prose

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 18, 2004
Messages
110
Hey guys. I'm looking for a laptop in the 600-1200$ range. Preferably a Tablet PC, but thats not a MUST... I wouldnt MIND being able to play WoW on this laptop, but gaming wouldnt be its first priority.

Any suggestions?
 
A tablet is really nice, but what do you plan to do with the tablet features?

I've a tablet, and I use it to take notes at school, but in my opinion, if you're not doing graphic design, or note-taking, tablets are not worth the extra money; put the money on better specs. I love my tablet, though :p
 
Thanks for the reply.
There are a few reasons why I'm interested in a Tablet. The main reason I'm getting a laptop is because I will be traveling this late winter/spring and I'll be needing something to keep me connected while I'm on the road. I do photography and graphic design so the tablet aspect would be able to come in handy while traveling and also back at home. Another reason I'm interested in the Tablet is that when I AM back at home, I see it as being a very comfortable way to do the basic internet browsing and more simple graphic design while still in my house... drawing while sitting in a comfortable chair etc. etc..
While I realize that Tablets are more expensive to get comparable specs in a laptop, I'm still interested in paying that extra if the specs are decent enough...
I have not been in the laptop market for a LONG time and really have no idea what to look for in value/price, or who is making the better builds in quality, etc. etc.
Suggestions in all ranges are greatly appreciated.
Thanks again!
 
The reason why I'm asking is because before I bought my tablet, I thought it'd be a dream being able to use a natural interface such as the active digitizer and the passive one (fingers), but later realized that they're not as comfortable as a mouse and a keyboard when doing anything but writing or drawing.

Just to give you an idea, my X61 was about $2k and it's a really great machine. Not a gaming machine, but it has no problems with anything else (unless you're doing video encoding and the like, which is still fast thanks to it being a dual core).

There ARE some issues I've had with it, such as the bluetooth getting disconected when moving the screen (some loose wire, I guess) but IBM fixed it relatively quickly.

Before this machine, I had a PowerBook G4, which was a very good machine, but I had to sell it because I needed a more natural way to take notes in most of my classes (physics, calculus, chemistry, etc..). Sometimes, I wish I still had it (when Windows gives me trouble).

So, in essence, I think Thinkpads and Macs are good machines and I'd recommend then in a heartbeat. I'd also recommend dells if you're on a budget, but I don't think dell released a tablet yet.

Let me know if you've any specific questions.
 
tablets aside, what would be a good laptop for general usage with the ability to do some mild gaming (WoW, CS Source, etc..) that is in the <2000$ range?
light and portable would be nice, but isnt a must.
 
Proze

Get a laptop.

I run a park of about 50 hybrid penpcs and they are really great for our sales team because my sales team have to use their PC while standing up (to do inventory checks) and therefore must use the touch pad as opposed to keyboard and mouse.

Based from what you are saying I don't see any real benefit from a penpc to you and the performance loss would be considerable. Photoshop, Internet, WOW, in all those cases a pure laptop is a better investment.

You could get a hybrid penpc (we use the Lifebook 4210/4220) but they are much more expensive. I paid 1500€ per unit and with accessories it came close to 1800€, and that was a bulk price I got from Fujitsu-Siemens.
 
I'd suggest you ask them to allow you to play with the tablet as well as writing on the screen abit to get a feel. The TX isn't much of a good tablet as opposed to the Fujitsu's, IBM x61t, or the Toshiba which feels like writing on paper. The TX series by HP uses a passive digitizer, not the active wacom that others use. So, writing or drawing, you've got to use a bit of pressure and maintain it otherwise you'll end up with scribbles.

I suggest looking at TabletPcReview on a model before purchasing.
If you want, Laptop Authority ships to Canada for $69 Fedex air. No brokerage fees, just 14% tax if you're in Ontario, no duties either.
 
I just recently sold my dell Latitude and got a Gateway E-295 convertible tablet, and I love it. I got it off of Gateway's eBay store for ~$800, so it is possible. I've been playing Portal on it, so I have to figure you could manage WoW. Feel free to PM me any questions!


Specs:
Intel C2D T7500 2.2 Ghz
2 GB RAM
100 GB 7200 RPM hard drive
Intel GMA x3100
XP Tablet
DVD-RW
etc, etc.
 
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I would look at the Gateway E-295C/C140X. It is Wacom Penabled, so inking wise, it will be the best option.
 
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