Tablet PC Decision Time: Hybrid, Convertible or Slate?
Posted by Olga Kits under Tablet PC , Tablet PC Hardware
Tablet PC Decision Time: Hybrid, Convertible or Slate?
Do you see the poll on the right? Why don’t you make your choice and leave us a comment justifying yourself.
I’ll go first.
Hybrid (shocking eh?)
Why?
Choice. Choice. Choice. I can have it as a convertible or as a slate, pending needs. And when I have it as a slate it’s a pound lighter.
Ok, your turn.
January 5th, 2006 00:58
Great poll ladies… er, gals…
No what was it James finally settled on calling you two?
Hee hee!
January 5th, 2006 10:07
Hey Congrats Marc!!
January 5th, 2006 13:33
I’m a fellow tc1100 addict and really appreciate the fact that it feels so “intended” in both laptop and slate modes. Convertibles always strike me as looking unwieldy and too chunky when their screens are flipped round, while slates with optional keyboards (like the Motions) look a bit ‘Heath Robinson’!
January 6th, 2006 07:10
I prefer the convertible form.
Why?
As a owner of my own company, do consulting, university teacher and studante, using it for leisure (reading mostly) and other more “hat’s” it’s the form that does it all in such I prefer the convertible form.
Best success with your site.
Fernando
January 7th, 2006 10:41
If you need a notebook, get a notebook. The convertibles I’ve used suffer from too many tradeoffs to make them a good bang-for-the-buck value either as a notebook or a tablet PC.
And I’ve been particularly underwhelmed with the keyboards on the ‘verts I’ve used - which is their whole raison d’etre! The media darling IBM Thinkpad X41’s overly-praised keyboard, for example, doesn’t even feature a Windows key (now that’s a dealbreaker on *any* keyboard for me, post circa-1995) and the Function key is exactly where the Control key should be.
Embrace the tablet UI and avoid a convertible - you can always hook up a compact USB keyboard (and even a nice optical mouse) if you’re in a pinch to do some hardcore data entry. Slates are a better bang-for-buck investment.
January 7th, 2006 13:26
Hybrid. Definitely. The more I use it, the more I appreciate being able to remove the keyboard when I want a slate. Doesn’t get any better.
January 9th, 2006 13:21
I voted for the convertible. I love my X41. All the convenience of a slate (including a comparable weight to most of them) and I can never forget my keyboard. It does everything I need to do for school.
Honestly, I hadn’t noticed that it doesn’t have a Windows key…I really don’t use it.
Peace,
Cathie
January 25th, 2006 21:23
Definitely hybrid. TC1000 and TC1100 for me. I was stunned when HP/Compaq canned the TC line; hybrids offer the best of both worlds. Most of the time I just use the slate when teaching, reading, or jotting notes, and it’s light. When I need the keyboard however, snap and click–there it is.
TPC manufacturers take heed!