OT; Tablets

[Brian K. White]

On 1/17/2011 12:06 PM, Bob Rasmussen wrote:
> Richard's post prompts me to write what I promised to write: a report on
> the HP Slate 500, which I finally received last week (I ordered it in
> October!).
>
> QUICK SUMMARY
>
> This is a *Windows 7 Pro* tablet. That's a very important point. It will
> run any Windows application. Anzio runs on it just fine. The on-screen
> keyboard is kind of clumsy. It will work with a wired or Bluetooth
> external keyboard. It has no cellular modem, but does have WiFi.
>
> EVOLUTION
>
> This unit is clearly evolved from the Windows TabletPC platform. Because
> Windows 7 has all the TabletPC (TPC) software included, a special version
> of Windows is not needed.
>
> It's also evolved from earlier HP dual-mode touch devices, meaning
> TabletPCs that can be activated by finger or by stylus. That's important
> also. Much of Windows' user interface is still too small, and requres a
> stylus to hit the control points accurately.
>
> So if you started with a recent HP touch TPC, removed the keyboard and the
> optical drive; replaced the disk with a solid state drive, and put in a
> new and improved battery, you'd get this unit.
>
> COMPARED TO THE iPAD
>
> * It doesn't have:
>     - GPS
>     - Compass
>     - Cellmodem
>     - Accelerometers (tilt sensors) (except one for screen rotation)
>     - As big a screen
>
> * It ADDS:
>     + An Intel Atom processor
>     + A USB port, and all the connectivity that goes with that
>     + A stylus, and stylus input capability
>     + An included docking station, with 2 more USB ports, HDMI out,
>       and additional 1/8" headset jack
>     + An SD card slot
>     + Front and rear cameras
>     + An on-screen keyboard with ALL the PC keys
>
> * Things I have tried, with success:
>     * A Bluetooth keyboard
>     * A USB thumb drive
>     * A USB CD/DVD drive (loaded software, played a DVD movie)
>     * An external 2TB disk drive
>     * Installing a printer driver and printing, all wirelessly
>     * Signing a document on-screen.
>
> BOTTOM LINE FOR TERMINAL EMULATION
>
> * Connects well over WiFi
> * To connect over cellular, a hotspot or tethering connection would be
> required
> * All operations are possible
> * Popup keyboard has what you need, but it gets in the way. An interesting
> compromise is to use the unit in portrait orienttion, with the onscreen
> keyboard docked at the bottom of the screen.
>
> There are several user reviews available online, including at HP.COM. I
> have intentionally not mentioned some things that are mentioned there.
>
> I hope to post a video review soon. I'll let you know.
>
> IN SUMMARY
>
> It's a nice unit that cuts new ground. It's targetted differently than the
> iPad, and it has some serious potential for use in business applications.


AnzioWin for filepro access and printwizard plus windows print drivers 
plus camera-based document "scanning" (like "scan2pdf" apps on Android) 
plus on-screen signature capture all in a small tablet makes a pretty 
damned powerful and useful little kit all in one handheld unit.

I still don't know about tablets for most uses though.
I was at the apple store and watching the employees all walking around 
using ipads for their own in-store point of sale terminals was pretty 
much a great hands on real world demo of how "kinda crappy" a tablet is 
for that.

It's fine as long as you are using software and web sites that carefully 
and thoroughly and thoughtfully remove all need for a keyboard, and text 
is always readable without zooming, page layouts reduce the need for 
panning, links are easy to finger-stab and difficult to hit neighboring 
links unintentionally, and of course nothing relies on special 
mouse-clicks like right-click, shift-click, etc. So it's not really the 
device but the lack of proper UI's.

The phone apps in all platforms are just starting to finally get good at 
that.

-- 
bkw