Whats everyone think of 12" tablet laptops?

Have noticed several tablet style laptops out that are
reasonably priced.

Curious if everyone thinks they are "fluff"? Or
something really handy say for a student pr typical PC
user?

I'm a bit worried abt that mechanical connection that
allows the screen to swivel around and fold flat. Could
it be a BIG point of failure and weakness over time?

At the risk of incurring Sue's wrath, I'll admit that I have a Toshiba
Tablet. It's a nice machine, Core Duo, reasonably fast and was a pretty
decent bargain.

I bought it intending to take it to class and then haven't taken a class
since I bought it. I haven't found ANY use for the tablet portion
except what I intended, which was class note taking.

Nice little laptop though. I don't think the hinge would be a huge
risk, as it appears better engineered than the cheap dual hinges on most
laptops. The power connector did break though, just like on my Dell.

Tom

> -----Original Message-----
> From: me@privacy.net [mailto:me@privacy.net]
> Posted At: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 11:09 AM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: Whats everyone think of 12" tablet laptops?
> Subject: Whats everyone think of 12" tablet laptops?
>
> Have noticed several tablet style laptops out that are
> reasonably priced.
>
> Curious if everyone thinks they are "fluff"? Or
> something really handy say for a student pr typical PC
> user?
>
> I'm a bit worried abt that mechanical connection that
> allows the screen to swivel around and fold flat. Could
> it be a BIG point of failure and weakness over time?

>I haven't found ANY use for the tablet portion
>except what I intended, which was class note taking.

Hmmm...... that's my fear as well.... that after
actually getting a tablet would not find myself USING
the tablet portion much.

On Tue, 02 Oct 2007 10:08:30 -0500, me@privacy.net wrote:

>Have noticed several tablet style laptops out that are
>reasonably priced.
>
>Curious if everyone thinks they are "fluff"? Or
>something really handy say for a student pr typical PC
>user?
>
>I'm a bit worried abt that mechanical connection that
>allows the screen to swivel around and fold flat. Could
>it be a BIG point of failure and weakness over time?

IMO the tablet PCs image isn't what your reality would likely be.

Usually tablet PC marketing shows a document being marked up with
digital ink circles and arrows, giving the impression that with a
tablet PC you would get a document or e-mail and be able to use
free-hand creativity and eas of use to make changes.

Then what? You send a digitally inked marked up document to the
person who sent you the e-mail, or you print it, or you save it (in
what format?). And what happens when you edit the text -- what will
happen to the digital ink?

The other thing marketed is using digital ink with MS OneNote. I love
OneNote 2007, and it possibly would be able to store a lot of freehand
ink in notebooks that would make them easy enough to find. I can type
faster than I can write though, and would choose typing over writing.

There are probably some business uses for touch-screen laptops that
would make good use of the technology.

For freehand writing, I will stick with some VERY high technology.
Paper and pen. No batteries required, high-resolution, screen size 8
1/2 x 11 but weighs almost nothing and can be folded up and carried in
your pocket or wallet.

"Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:E59BCA29D4EE44219868FA8B61F15C8E@M2010...
> I bought it intending to take it to class and then haven't taken a
> class
> since I bought it. I haven't found ANY use for the tablet portion

I was wondering how it might perform for intricate photo editing

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark [mailtolease_reply@news.group]
> Posted At: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 11:01 PM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: Whats everyone think of 12" tablet laptops?
> Subject: Re: Whats everyone think of 12" tablet laptops?
>
>
> "Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:E59BCA29D4EE44219868FA8B61F15C8E@M2010...
> > I bought it intending to take it to class and then haven't taken a
> > class
> > since I bought it. I haven't found ANY use for the tablet portion
>
> I was wondering how it might perform for intricate photo editing

Interesting thought -- hadn't tried that. Mine is out for repair but I
may try it upon its return.