Flybook: Tablet PC without Tablet PC XP Edition?
Posted by Olga Kits under Tablet PC Hardware
Hello Flybook! All 2.7 pounds of you (Listen up HP, that is what reasonable people call ultra-portable – not the TC4200 which weighs 4.5 lbs). Flybook is a Tablet PC kind a creature without Windows XP Tablet Edition. It features an 8.9 inch display and, oddly, a Transmeta Crusoe (1 GHz). US$2,490.
Flybook comes with 512 MB or RAM and a 40GB hard drive (upgradeable). And lots of pretty colours to choose from.
"The use of Microsoft tablet PC is not needed as Flybook has already preinstalled the parascript rite-pen software, which is able to recognize one’s writing and automatically convert it into text or with a command of the stylus you can send e-mails with the notes that you wrote on the screen."
Parascript spun off its pen and internet subsidiary and merged with EverNote. I know EverNote has Tablet PC related software but I have not tried any of them (go to Evernote’s website to download a freeware version of EverNote 1.1, a note taking application for both Tablet and non-Tablet PCs). I am curious to find out whether and how this particular no-windows-Tablet-PC-parascript-EverNote setup limits or expands Tablet PC features.
Would you consider this to be a Tablet PC?
Check out the Flybook website, Evernote ritePen and an extensive review of Flybook in the NYT.
December 1st, 2005 19:56
Ugh. I just don’t like RitePen at all. Maybe it’s just me and others have had better luck with it, but the times that I have tried it it hasn’t had nearly the success-rate as the Microsoft TIP at recognizing my handwriting. It also seems to do it’s recognition much more slowly, which on my pokey TC1000 is very slow indeed.
Of course it could just be my spectacularly bad handwriting…
December 5th, 2005 22:39
Hi Perry -Truth be told I have never used Ritepen or Evernote so I don’t really know. I don’t really understand why they didn’t design this with the tablet pc XP edition. Do you?
February 20th, 2006 14:04
They didn’t use windows tablet because it sucks! This is a great idea, you can feel like you are using a regular computer with the convenience of being able to write directly on the screen. I havn’t seen this particular tablet, but I can tell you for sure that the idea is there. I just want to know how many ram slots it has and if you can upgrade the proccesor.
August 5th, 2006 03:52
Hi,
The newer V23i and V33i series Flybooks use Intel chipsets. You can upgrade the RAM also from the standard 512MB. The standard OS is XP Home edition with an upgrade to XP Professional available.
hth