Advertisement
To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu
-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
Has Microsoft got it write? Five Tablet PCs tested


November 08, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/laptops/soa/Has-Microsoft-got-it-write-Five-Tablet-PCs-tested/0,2000065761,120269782,00.htm




Microsoft is pushing Tablet PC as the next evolutionary phase of notebooks. We check out the first Tablet PCs available in Australia, as well as looking at the OS that underpins it all.

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but throughout computing history, the keyboard has reigned supreme. Past attempts at creating PCs that you can write on (Apple Newton, anyone?) have gone nowhere fast. But the dream of the pen-based PC is as indelible as India ink. Today, Microsoft and its hardware allies are taking yet another whack at a new generation of pen-based PCs.

Two years after Microsoft first demonstrated Tablet PC technology, the first wave has arrived. These five tablets all run on the new Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition OS and come in one of two basic designs. Each offers an alternative to the traditional notebook, letting you enter handwritten text on your PC. But tablet PCs make sacrifices in the process, too, offering less bang for the buck than notebooks. They also have smaller displays, and many lack integrated keyboards.

These futuristic PCs are clearly first-generation machines. Loose parts, unreliable features, and imperfect handwriting recognition will keep these modules form overtaking the notebook anytime soon. Still, IDC predicts that tablets will grow from 100,000 units this year to 1.5 million units by 2005, and the best is yet to come. A second generation of products and a new wave of applications tuned for tablets will make these front-runners look as modern as Ford's Model T.

Acer TravelMate C100
Small and scrappy, the TravelMate C100 transforms from ultralight notebook to tablet in a flick of your wrist. Alas, it is ultimately undone by its complicated rotating hinge, and it works better as a notebook than a tablet.
Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110
With its docking-station access to an optical drive and a variety of ports, the Stylistic ST4110 does a good imitation of a desktop PC. Uncomplicated and free of a flimsy folding keyboard, the Stylistic ST4110 is the slate to beat.
HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000
The sleek, silver HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000 is the lightest tablet we've tested. Able to transform from a notebook to a slate to a desktop PC, this chameleon unfortunately lags in performance tests.
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500
Write on it, type on it, show it off. The Portégé 3500 convertible tablet is a digital jack-of-all-trades with a screen that swivels and folds flat. It's also the best-equipped tablet we've seen and the performance leader in this new field.
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100
A simple, rugged, and straightforward tablet that sticks to the slate design, the ViewSonic V1100 has no complicated hinges or fragile folding keyboards. Unfortunately, this tablet's ho-hum configuration doesn't quite justify its bulky exterior.
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
This OS offers handwriting recognition, new tablet-specific apps, and minor interface departures from its traditional predecessor. Is it the perfect date for the tablet PC ball?
Tablet PC Benchmark Results
Check out how the different Tablet PCs stack up against each other


CNET's Brian Nadel, John Lui, and Molly Wood, along with ZDNet Australia's Alex Kidman contributed to this report.

Acer TravelMate C100

The Acer TravelMate C100 denotes a careful approach by the Taiwanese firm towards pen computing. Though it incorporates a touchscreen and Microsoft's upcoming Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, underneath it all, it's a normal ultraportable notebook. Acer claims that this design offers users the best of both worlds, but in reality there are a few tradeoffs. For example, the weight could be lowered if the keyboard were detachable. The screen is just 10.4 inches wide, instead of the more usual 12.1 inches, and features a swivel that invites a greater risk of mechanical failure down the road.

Adequate Power

Tablet PCs
Acer TravelMate C100
Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110
HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Benchmark Results

As a 1.4kg ultraportable notebook, the TravelMate C1000 offers a decent set of features, among them an Ultra-Low Voltage Pentium III clocked at 800MHz, a 20GB hard drive, two USB 1.1 ports and one FireWire (IEEE1394) port, integrated LAN and modem, and an option of integrated Wi-Fi. There's also slot for a SmartCard (for functions such as SmartCard Net banking or restricting access to the notebook) and a Type II PC Card slot. As with most superportables, there's no bay for an optical drive, though Acer offers a very slim and light external USB 1.1 CD-ROM reader in the standard package.

It's not the fastest ultraportable around--notebooks such as the IBM ThinkPad X30, Dell Latitude C400 offer 1GHz or faster CPUs--but it should handle office, email and Internet software with no drama. However, don't expect any speed in gaming or video and 3D rendering.

Where it offers less is in the LCD display, where a smaller 10.1-inch unit is used instead of the more common 12.1-inch screen. This size reduction aids in pen-based usage, by making it easier to cradle in one's arms, and by lowering battery power consumption.

No Speed Demon
Our standard MobileMark 2002 benchmarks failed to run due to an installation problem, so we could not test the rated battery life of 3 hours. But from experience with other ultralights, it is safe to say that a rating of 3 hours is highly possible, given the use of a low voltage CPU and the small 10.1-inch screen. A three-hour battery life is slightly above average for a notebook.

As a tablet computer, the C100 performed well. The innovative swiveling hinge made it easy to unlatch, rotate and fold the display over the keyboard, LCD-side facing out. Two spring-loaded catches on either side of the screen's base hold the display in place. The engineering is clever, and while Acer states that the swivel design has been tested for durability, it still presents a potential structural weakness. But when used in either notebook or tablet position, the screen felt securely held in place; nothing rattled. Useful shortcut buttons along the edge of the screen allow the screen orientation to be rotated from portrait to landscape mode.

The hardened, glassy surface the LCD made it easy to run a stylus across, and it felt durable too. Forget about the spongy touchscreens you may have come across on PDAs or public terminals--the new active technology in Tablet PC devices is much more responsive and therefore pleasant to use.

A Safe Approach
Acer's approach to tablet computing contrasts with the likes of ViewSonic, which is going to sell a pure, keyboardless slate, the ViewSonic PC V1100 as will Fujitsu. HP's device may have a keyboard, but will use a power-sipping Transmeta Crusoe chip instead of an Intel Pentium.

Acer's conservative approach will appeal primarily to notebook users willing to overlook a few compromises for a taste of pen-based computing. Firms needing to pilot tablet applications, but requiring backward compatibility will also be interested in the C100.

Acer Travemate C100
Company: Acer Australia
Price: AU$4499, $4999 with Office XP SBE
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1300 366 567

Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110

The company with the most experience building, selling, and supporting pen-based PCs, Fujitsu could've easily succumbed to the temptation to make a splash with a complicated, expensive tablet PC. Instead, it stuck with what works for the Stylistic ST4110, a simple slate design that does nearly everything right. Although it comes with a separate mini keyboard, the Stylistic ST4110 really excels at pen-based operations--and at hitting performance and battery- life heights. If a compact, simple, and capable slate is what you're after, look no further than the Stylistic ST4110, the mighty mite of the tablet world.

The Plain Jane?

Tablet PCs
Acer TravelMate C100
Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110
HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Benchmark Results

The plain-Jane tablet of the group, the gray-and-black Stylistic ST4110 has neither the sleek, silver finish of the Compaq T1000 Tablet nor the technological good looks of the Toshiba Portégé 3500. Make no mistake, this is a basic slate pad that has no hidden features, such as a keyboard that pops out of nowhere, but the Stylistic ST4110 doesn't need to resort to trickery. Although it is one of the smallest and lightest tablets, it offers excellent performance and long battery life. It's also the most comfortable to hold because of the ultrasuede surface on the back, but the tablet does get warm when used for a while.

This basic slate design features a 10.4-inch screen. Rather than being recessed, the display is actually slightly higher than the surrounding frame, which makes writing on the screen as close to the paper-and-pen experience as is possible today. The penlike stylus stows securely at the top of the tablet and does a good job of writing on the screen, although we encountered strange ghost remnants of old writing on at least two occasions.

Fujitsu has made a virtue out of smallness with the petite Stylistic ST4110, which measures 30 x 22 x 2 cm. That's nearly 40 percent smaller than the Portégé 3500, a convertible tablet. At 1.4 kg, the Stylistic ST4110 is only a few grams heavier than the Compaq, the lightweight of the group. The power adapter, which is also used on Fujitsu's LifeBook S-series notebooks, and the keyboard bring the Stylistic ST4110's travel weight to 1.9 kg, a few grams less than the Portégé 3500 on its own.

Along the right side of the tablet is a row of six buttons. The top one is the equivalent of the Alt key. Next down is an instant-launch button for Outlook, followed by the screen-rotation key, Escape, Enter, and Function. The only downside is the unit's lack of a four-way navigation pad, which seems to be on all PDAs and phones these days. With it, the user could have easily controlled the cursor without resorting to the pen. Near the bottom are right-left control pads, which are oddly oriented up and down, leading to a visual mismatch.

Around its edge is the tablet-standard assortment of ports, including one each for FireWire, modem, LAN, audio, and external display and a pair for USB. There's a slot for a Type II PC Card but not CompactFlash or Secure Digital. Except for the external-display port, all connections are open to the elements.

When you come back to your desk with a Stylistic ST4110 in hand, lock it into the docking station/monitor stand for the equivalent of a desktop PC. Whether the tablet is rotated right or left, the screen automatically reorients itself. Hinged at the bottom, the screen can also be tilted to a comfortable viewing angle, but don't go too far or it'll fall over flat.

Although we liked the design overall, we had a few minor complaints. First, aside from the VGA port, all other ports are open to the elements, an especially poor choice for a slate-style tablet that is likely to be toted all over. Second, without a charge gauge on the battery, there's no way to see how much power the cells have without starting the system. But the Stylistic ST4110 is hardly alone here.

Finger-Friendly
Despite being saddled with the slowest Intel processor of this initial group of tablets, an 800MHz Pentium III-M, the Stylistic ST4110 is an efficient worker and never flagged on a task or kept us waiting. The tablet's other specs include 256MB of memory (expandable to 768MB), a 20GB hard drive (upgradable to 40GB), and a 10.4-inch display.

The slate design comes with a separate, mini keyboard that features 19mm keys and a finger-friendly 2.6mm of travel. A snap to get accustomed to, the keyboard lacks a pointing stick or a touchpad, so you have to use the stylus to move the cursor around. In addition to standard infrared communications, the Stylistic ST4110 has a second IR window that works with only the company's wireless keyboard.

Fujitsu found room on the Stylistic ST4110 for many of the standard ports, including USB, FireWire, modem, LAN, audio, and external display connectors. There's a slot for a Type II PC Card but not CompactFlash or Secure Digital.

The optional docking station, which is also a monitor stand, includes a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive. Lock it in place to get the equivalent of a desktop PC, complete with FireWire, Ethernet, and external monitor ports. On the side of the dock is a trio of USB plugs, one of which can be used with the USB mini keyboard.

Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110
Company: Fujitsu PC Australia
Price: From AU$4495
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1800 288 284

HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000

Say hello to the chameleon of tablet computing, the HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000, which squeezes three computers into one ingenious design. It starts as an extremely small, light, slate-style tablet PC, with a superior stylus compared to those of other tablets we've seen. Snap on the keyboard for a thin-and-light notebook with a superb three-hour battery runtime. Then dock it, and voilà--a desktop unit. Unfortunately, this tablet's 1GHz Transmeta processor can't keep up with those in the faster Pentium III tablets. If you're willing to trade performance for style, however, the TC1000 ranks as a rakish, multipurpose standout in the Tablet PC race.

As if the sleek look of the Compaq TC1000 Tablet PC weren't cool enough, the silver "lazy Susan" hinge will take your breath away. Located on the back of the tablet's snap-on keyboard, it rotates 180

Tablet PCs
Acer TravelMate C100
Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110
HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Benchmark Results

degrees and lets you fold the screen flat or, with the flick of a latch, separate the two completely; it's a perfect medley of slate and convertible tablet design. You can also snap the Compaq into its accompanying docking station (sold separately), which sports a modular bay for an optical drive, making it nearly as capable as a desktop PC. The pieces fit together well; transitioning from one configuration to another is fun and easy--akin to playing with a child's Transformer toy.

Although the hinge is handy, it also feels unbalanced; the screen tends to fall flat when you leave it up, and the latch that should lock the slate and the keyboard together occasionally springs open, making for awkward moments while docking and undocking. We attribute the loose parts to early-production jitters, and we're hoping for more hardware stability in future releases.

At 1.36kg and 27.5 by 21.08 by 2.3cm, the Compaq TC1000 is the lightest and smallest of the Tablet PC bunch, beating out the Acer by a whisker. With the keyboard in place, the TC1000 measures 3.05cm and 1.8kg. Unfortunately, Compaq makes some design concessions for this slim size. The keyboard is laden with skimpy 18.2mm keys (with just 2.33mm between them), and the central pointing stick lacks a scroll button.

Finished in sleek silver, the Compaq's optional AU$495 docking station lets you tilt the tablet for better viewing and provides a LAN, audio, an external monitor, and four USB ports--more than any other tablet we've seen. The monitor hookup is especially nice if you want to use the TC1000 as both a traveling and a desktop PC. Rotate the screen on its handy hinge, and the display orients itself automatically between portrait and landscape mode. In a rare design miscue, though, the dock's large handle (for unlocking the tablet) looks more like a piece of exercise equipment than part of a computer. Also, for some reason, you must have the keyboard attached to the tablet in order to dock it--an awkward requirement. Worse, Compaq charges extra for the dock; only one other tablet maker does this.

Along the top of the tablet lies the Compaq TC1000's secret weapon: a sophisticated and easy-to-operate jog-dial control, similar to one you'd find on a phone, a PDA, or some Sony notebooks. You can nudge it right or left, or you can push it to activate an onscreen selection. Other tablets feature comparable controls but usually via a button.

Speaking of input, the Compaq's black-and-silver, cylindrical pen-style stylus shows the others how to do it right. Stored in a spring-loaded holder, the TC1000's stylus is thicker, better weighted, and more comfortable to use than the standard styli used by its competitors. Unfortunately, it's not very sturdy; we broke the tip off one. It also requires a AAAA battery, whereas others require none at all.

The sleek Compaq TC1000 case would have you believe otherwise, but inside, this tablet is filled with run-of-the-mill components. Our test model ran off a 1GHz Transmeta Crusoe TM5800 processor, which struggled to keep up, even with slower Intel competition in our Labs' tests. During our month-long evaluation, it often stumbled and took a few seconds to perform tasks that other tablets performed instantaneously. Our system also shipped with 256MB of RAM; a 30GB hard drive; an average-sized 10.4-inch screen; and an Nvidia GeForce2 Go graphics card with 16MB of video memory. It's an adequate system, but look to the Fujitsu Stylistic ST4000 or the Toshiba Portégé 3505 for truly blazing tablet performance.

The TC1000 package includes the best and loudest speakers of the Tablet PC group, as well as a solid assortment of ports. Connections for an external monitor, modem, LAN, and a pair of USB plugs live behind a door on the top of the unit. In addition, the TC1000 can accommodate a Type II PC Card, as well as CompactFlash, which can be used with IBM's larger Microdrives. While there are plugs for audio, the Compaq has neither a FireWire connection nor an infrared window for wireless communications. The tablet came with a cheap, unpadded, vinyl zippered case that holds the tablet, but there's no room for papers. If you care about protecting this tablet, buy a new carrying case pronto.

Beyond its operating system, extra programs are few and far between on the TC1000, with little other than Windows XP Tablet PC Edition preinstalled. In fact, as with the Portégé 3505, we had to load Microsoft Word to do our speech-recognition tests. There are several apps available for the Tablet PC OS already; we'd like it if Compaq could at least include, say, the Franklin Covey planner program.

The Compaq TC1000 does include one proprietary application we like: its QMenu software. Accessible from either the task tray or a button on the right side of the tablet, the QMenu shows up on the right side and offers configuration choices for all the major settings, from volume to wireless networking to screen brightness (similar to the Motion M1200's Dashboard).

In application performance, the Compaq TC1000's Transmeta Crusoe TM5800 processor crippled the system. While this processor clocks in at 1GHz, it still can't compare to the Pentium III-M-800MHz processor of the Fujitsu Stylistic ST4000 and especially not the 1.3GHz Pentium III-M processor of the Toshiba Portégé 3505. Indeed, the Compaq's Crusoe processor turned in the worst times of all the tablets we tested.

While the Crusoe processor was the main culprit behind the Compaq's lackluster performance, it also preserves the Compaq's long battery life. Thanks to the Crusoe's design, it uses much less power than a traditionally designed CPU such as the Pentium III-M. Even with the Compaq's rather average 11V, 3,600mAh battery, it was still able to post a score well in excess of three hours.

In the Compaq's favour -- at least at this stage -- is that it's the cheapest Tablet PC on the market. Unless Viewsonic alters its pricing when its Tablet is launched, it will retain that spot, at least until the next round of Tablet PCs is released.

HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000
Company: HP Australia
Price: AU$3,795, Dock AU$495
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 13 13 47

Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500

Easily the best-equipped tablet, the Toshiba Portégé 3500 does it all with style and technological flair. With a weight of 1.8 kg and a thickness of 3 cm, the Toshiba is slightly bigger and heavier than some of the competition. Still, the Portégé 3500 sets the pace for convertible tablets with its flexible design, category-leading performance, and extras such as USB 2.0 ports, as well as CompactFlash and Secure Digital slots not found on other tablets. In spite of a few first-generation snags, the Portégé 3500 is ready for the rigors of business or the home.

Rotating Screen

Tablet PCs
Acer TravelMate C100
Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110
HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Benchmark Results

Looking at the black Toshiba Portégé 3500, your eye is immediately drawn to the silver hinge in the back, which sticks out like a big, shiny button. Like the Acer TravelMate C100, the Portégé 3500 is a convertible tablet. The hinge allows the screen to not only open and close but rotate a full 180 degrees side to side so that it can face toward or away from you. Need a standard notebook layout with the keyboard below the screen? No problem. Want a tablet to draw or write on? Just swivel the screen, then lay it flat. A small but well-designed lock keeps the screen in one position or another, so the display feels surprisingly sturdy.

Think of the Portégé 3500 as the schizophrenic of the computer world. You can scribble notes with the screen folded flat, open it up to type some details and description, then finally swivel the screen around to show a group what you've been working on. The more we used the Portégé 3500, the more we grew to appreciate this flexible design.

All those abilities translate, unfortunately, to a system that is the largest of the bunch. At 29.6 cm by 23.4 cm by 3 cm, the Portégé is one-third bigger than the Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110 and more in line with a standard ultraportable notebook than a tablet. It also weighs more than the Stylistic ST4110, but because it uses a tiny AC adapter, the total travel weight is only 1.85 kg, 200 gm less than the smaller, slower, and less capable ViewSonic V1100.

Good Stylus Slot
Compared to this group of six tablets, the Portégé 3500 has the best place to stash the writing stylus. Its handy storage place is next to the screen--not around the system's periphery. When you press the bottom of the pen, it pops out. Unfortunately, to keep the pen flush with the screen frame, it's flat on one side and doesn't feel as nice in your hand as a regular pen.

Thoughtful touches abound in this design, with a volume thumbwheel and five activity LEDs that show the system's status with a series of icons. There's even a switch to quickly turn off the tablet's Wi-Fi radio for use in sensitive areas and during flights.

If you expected that the keyboard would be hard to use, you'd be wrong. With 19mm keys, the system is easy to type on, although the 1.5mm of key travel is a bit skimpy, and the spacebar is anemic. The silver touchpad has smooth action but lacks a scroll key.

As good as the design is, there are some first-round glitches that mar an otherwise superior effort. First, the screen is 1.8mm below the surrounding bezel, so the writing experience is awkward at times compared to those that place the screen and frame at roughly the same level. In addition, aside from the LAN, modem, and external monitor ports, the other slots aren't covered, and the pen occasionally skips when writing quickly. Finally, the Portégé 3500's speaker sounds pretty good when the system is in notebook mode, but as a tablet, the speaker is covered and muffled.

Fast Processor
It's what's inside that counts, and the Portégé 3500 puts its competitors to shame with a 1.3GHz Pentium III-M processor (a third faster than most), 256MB of RAM, and a 40GB hard drive (double the capacity of its competitors). With a 12.1-inch XGA screen, there's plenty of room to work, and the system effortlessly rotates its orientation at the touch of a button. A Trident CyberAlladdin-T graphics accelerator with 16MB of RAM controls the screen, which was lightning fast and smooth.

You'll find ports aplenty, with connections for audio, an external monitor, a LAN, and a modem. In a move that shows Toshiba's engineering prowess, the Portégé 3500 has a pair of USB 2.0 ports; the rest of the Tablet PCs so far use the slower USB 1.1.

For those who use a digital camera or portable MP3 player, the Portégé 3500 may be a godsend. Like the other tablets, it has a PC Card slot. But unlike the others, it can use CompactFlash and postage-stamp-sized Secure Digital cards.

To say the least, software is scant on this system. All that comes with the Portégé 3500 is Windows XP Tablet Edition and a few Toshiba utilities, including the potentially useful Symbol Commander, which allows you to launch utilities with pen gestures.

Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500
Company: Toshiba Australia
Price: AU$4840
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 13 30 70

ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100

You may know ViewSonic for its computer monitors, but the company is branching out with a new line of handhelds and tablet PCs intended to do more computing for less cash. But unfortunately, the company's new V1100 Tablet PC doesn't weigh less. In fact, the ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100's "slate" design is thicker and heavier than that of the Motion Computing M1200, which provides a larger screen and a few more amenities. At less than US$2,000 (Viewsonic have yet to decide on local Australian pricing), the ViewSonic spars nicely in the low-cost tablet playground, but its clunky size, middle-of-the-pack performance, and short battery life disappoint.

The ViewSonic V1100's AC adapter adds nearly 500 grams to the already porky total. Include the 280 gram keyboard and the 280 gram leatherette portfolio case, and the travel weight climbs to more than 2.2Kg.

Tablet PCs
Acer TravelMate C100
Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110
HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Benchmark Results

Clothed in basic black with silver accents, the new ViewSonic V1100 looks like the ViewPad 1000 (another ViewSonic Tablet PC) but all grown up, thanks to its larger screen. Housed in a flat, unhinged case, the V1100 boasts a true slate design, with a separate keyboard and a face dominated by an oversized bezel around its 10.4-inch screen. The ViewSonic V1100 feels solid and easy to handle in either horizontal or vertical mode.

At 28.7 by 25.15 by 2.8cm and 1.55kg, however, the ViewSonic V1100 is surprisingly large, thick, and heavy for its screen size. Without its keyboard, the V1100 is about the size of the hybrid Toshiba Portégé 3505 tablet, which includes a built-in keyboard. The ViewSonic is positively huge compared to the similarly equipped Fujitsu Stylistic ST4000, another slate-style tablet.

Unfortunately, the rest of the ViewSonic V1100's design doesn't justify its size. We were disappointed to note that some ports have rubber covers to protect the electronics from moisture and dust, while others are left open to the elements. And though the V1100's pair of speakers play at a decent volume, they create a buzzing noise so that spoken material seems otherworldly. Listening to music on the V1100, you'd think it's coming from a cheap AM radio.

Along the right side of the screen, a row of buttons controls the machine's major functions. One of the most useful is a four-way navigation pad to scroll through pages vertically and horizontally.

In case of a system emergency, tap the Security button (marked with a key), which emulates the three-finger salute of Control-Alt-Delete. The Windows Task Manager then appears so that you can tweak settings, show system status, and shut down unruly programs. Instant-launch keys lead to Journal (a new program in the Windows XP Tablet Edition), the Start menu, and the input panel, which is part of the handwriting-recognition technology in the new OS.

The V1100's thin, penlike stylus is a gem. Its smooth, even response makes writing on the screen easy. (Improved handwriting recognition is a big part of the specialized Windows XP Tablet Edition OS.) But you might want to wear a glove; in addition to picking up a lot of stray reflections, the screen gets hot to the touch after about 30 minutes of use.

With its 866MHz Pentium III-M processor, 256MB of RAM, and 20GB hard drive, the ViewSonicV1100 is truly a midrange tablet, but you can add another 256MB of RAM. An Intel 82830 graphics accelerator that can use up to 48MB of the system's memory feeds the 10.4-inch XGA screen.

The ViewSonic V1100 packs its case with all you'll need for general computing and connecting with most peripherals, including ports for a LAN, an external modem, audio, an external monitor, and FireWire. The tablet also includes a pair of USB slots, conveniently located on the top and the right of the tablet; that way, you can connect the included keyboard to one and a mouse to the other. When back at your desk, just snap the ViewSonic V1100 into its optional black desktop-docking station for access to a CD-ROM drive, a LAN, and USB outlets (there's no floppy drive).

The V1100 includes a PC Card slot, but the tablet can use CompactFlash as well--perfect for, say, importing images from a digital camera.

Software is a mild bright spot for the ViewSonic V1100. Along with the new Windows XP Tablet Edition OS and Acrobat Reader, you'll also get a 30-day demo version of Franklin Covey's surprisingly nifty Tablet Planner; not only does the program mimic the paper organizer's format, you can use it horizontally or vertically.

Unfortunately, the ViewSonic V1100 isn't the consummate clotheshorse. Sure, its included black leatherette portfolio protects the tablet while you're on the road, but it doesn't make room for papers, and the cover blocks the slot for stashing the stylus.

The ViewSonic V1100 is a strong performer that, for the most part, keeps up with its tablet peers. Compared to similarly configured tablets such as the Fujitsu Stylistic ST4000, with its 800MHz Pentium III-M processor the ViewSonic held its own in our mix of productivity applications. Although it couldn't match the Fujitsu, which scored five points higher, the difference adds up to very little in real-world performance.

Performance is a strong point for the ViewSonic V1100, but its battery life left us wanting more. Battery size made all the difference; the ViewSonic's small, 7.4V, 3,900mAh battery prevents it from getting significantly long battery life. It conked out after 129 minutes. Thanks to the the Fujitsu's 10.8V, 4,000mAh cell, the ViewSonic didn't come close to the Fujitsu's 180 minutes.

Viewsonic expects the V1100 to be available locally in mid-december.

Viewsonic Tablet PC V1100
Company: Viewsonic Australia
Price: Est US$1,999
Release Date: December 2003
Phone: 

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

An all-new PC form factor such as the tablet PC needs an all-new OS, too--an operating system that can make new hardware features easy to use and quick to learn. Enter Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. This OS, which now comes preinstalled on all or most new tablets, is a modified version of Windows XP Professional, with a few extras. The OS includes new utilities-- namely, Journal, Sticky Notes, and Ink--that let you handwrite notes anywhere, as well as support for a variety of applications written specifically for tablets. While Microsoft's new OS is perfectly suited for tablet PCs, we're not sure the tablet PC itself is perfectly suited to everyday use. If you're willing to take on a learning curve, though, Microsoft's new OS is the app that makes the tablet usable.

New interface; new Office

Tablet PCs
Acer TravelMate C100
Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110
HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1000
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Benchmark Results

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition looks just like Windows XP--almost. A few minor differences make it slightly easier to use with a tablet. For example, to get started, visit Windows' new control panel, called "Tablet and pen settings," to specify whether you're right- or left-handed, move menus to accommodate your writing style (to the left or right side of the interface), and calibrate your tablet pen, just as you would with a new handheld device. You can also change your desktop layout to either portrait or landscape (most tablet PCs also have a button that switches orientation on the fly).

In addition, Microsoft has released a free expansion pack for Office XP that takes advantage of the OS's Ink utility. You can write by hand in Microsoft Word comments, respond to Outlook e- mail with written notes, and jot notes on PowerPoint presentations. Unfortunately, Word and Outlook don't yet support handwriting recognition from Windows Tablet Edition, so you can't convert those comments to editable text, and nontablet e-mail recipients must view your scrawled responses as GIFs or attached HTML files. In addition, the XP expansion pack lets you convert notes into contacts, appointments, and tasks--again, only in handwritten form.

Annoyingly, the Windows Tablet Edition interface lacks a desktop button to minimize all open applications, as other versions of Windows do; it's been replaced by an icon in the taskbar that spawns Tablet Edition's handwriting input pad (more on this later). The missing desktop button is a major lapse since there's no way to quickly switch between open programs. There's no pen-based equivalent to Alt-Tab, so you'll have to click each individual window. We'd like to see a desktop button and a detachable application switcher, similar to the one in Mac OS 9 and its predecessors.

Custom-written apps
When it comes to everyday use, the Office expansion pack and Journal are the most likable Tablet Edition apps. If you take notes, Journal proves excellent and easy to use; you can choose different pen types (say, from a bright-red marker to a fine black chisel), colors, and styles; highlight and erase text; and even search your notes, as Journal uses handwriting recognition to log certain words and find them later. Journal also includes a text-correction tool that can find and replace misspelled words in your own handwriting--nice.

Journal works better than even traditional pen-and-paper note-taking, too, since you can use the stylus to rearrange written text, insert spaces, and export notes to e-mail. You can also send notes to nontablet users as MHTML documents (an Internet Explorer-compatible format) or as a TIFF image, and Microsoft says it will release a Journal viewer as a free download for desktop-bound folks. All that means no more transcribing handwritten notes to send out minutes, as long as you trust your handwriting. Journal also lets you convert your notes to text, but its handwriting-recognition quality depends strongly on your writing style, and it's not very reliable.

As for note-taking, it's alternately thrilling and irritating. The slick surface of most tablets deteriorates your handwriting, and with both of our test tablets, Windows' stroke recognition is slow. For example, with cursive, Windows often can't keep up but fills in parts of letters later--a disconcerting practice. Overall, however, it's liberating to use a notebook PC like a true paper notebook, especially if you prefer to avoid clattery typing noises in meetings or on the phone.

Shortcuts and long cuts
For faster operation, Windows Tablet PC Edition supports movements called Gestures that are the pen-based equivalent of keyboard shortcuts and mouse actions. For example, tap once to simulate a mouse click, twice to double-click, tap and hold to bring up the right-click menu, or hover your pen to show rollover effects and tool tips. You can also scribble over a word you've just written to make it disappear or use Gestures for Tab and Enter. Once you get the hang of Gestures, writing and navigation are much easier. Gestures are far from perfect, however; the hardest task to perform throughout Tablet Edition, in fact, is a simple double-tap.

Of course, you can't write everything--at some point, you'll need to enter a text URL or a login and a password, which is where the Tablet PC's input panel comes in. Bring up the input panel by clicking its corresponding system tray button or by wagging your pen over an area of your tablet screen (a Gesture called the in-air shake). The panel includes an onscreen keyboard, a free-form writing area that lets you scribble words while Windows converts them to text, and a character recognizer reminiscent of a handheld text-entry screen and that uses a hybridized form of Palm's Graffiti, according to Microsoft. You can also choose the Write Anywhere panel, which uses handwriting recognition to convert writing anywhere on the tablet screen into text.

The Write Anywhere feature works well, but the rest of the input panel will stop you cold. The handwriting recognition in the free-form writing area, while excellent, isn't up to par for truly speedy operation; the letter-by-letter keyboard tapping is agonizingly slow; and Windows' recognition of its hybrid Graffiti is abysmal. There's no way you'd want to use freehand writing or character recognition to enter, say, a password, which must be accurate. That leaves you with the slow tapping of the onscreen keyboard or forces you to use your tablet PC's keyboard (whether attached via cable or part of a convertible system).

In our tests, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition didn't crash on either the Acer TravelMate Tablet or the ViewSonic, but some operations did take a while. Microsoft plans to support Tablet Edition with its standard complement of Web resources and costly per-incident calls, which normally prove sufficient, if ridiculously expensive.

The tablet-computing road has been wandered before but never with such an advanced OS at its core. Windows XP Tablet Edition, with the accompanying Office expansion pack, needs a few more features and tricks before it's perfect, including a way to convert notes to textual Outlook tasks. Also, its handwriting recognition will likely never be perfect, but it's the best complement for the current batch of tablets. If you're not afraid of the learning curve and are looking for a paperless life, write it down Tablet-style.

Tablet PC Benchmark Results
BAPCo MobileMark 2002 Performance Rating
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500 92
Fujitsu PC Stylistic ST4000 Tablet PC 91
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100 86
Compaq Tablet PC TC1000T 59
Acer TravelMate C100 Did not run
BAPCo MobileMark 2002 Battery Life Rating (mins)
Compaq Tablet PC TC1000T 198
Fujitsu PC Stylistic ST4000 Tablet PC 180
Toshiba Portégé Tablet 3500 166
ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100 129
Acer TravelMate C100 Did not run

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, a CBS Company. All Rights Reserved.
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CBS Interactive. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CBS Interactive.