I have been a proponent of the TabletPC platform since its inception. Maybe I am one of the few; the outlyers. To me, the platform and what it does just makes sense. And I do not qualify it with that questionable statement that it has a place in vertical markets or for niche uses. That is just crazy talk. How people can not see the common sense in simply writing, in working in the paradigm that has dominated human culture since the arrival of the written word, and creating that in a persistent digital environment, I just can not fathom. As it is, I frequently find myself alone in looking at a device and seeing the sense in it not having a keyboard.

What I have not done is presented a step-by-step guide to doing the initial configuration and then managing the life-cycle of a TabletPC and integrating it into your work and personal life. And I am not going to have time to that today either.

But one day a few months ago, 5 months into my Motion LE1600's tour of duty as my primary work laptop and the PIM Workstation in the 'WERKZ, it seemed like a good time to take this on as a writing project. Unfortunately, shortly after I startewd that article, I decided that the LE1600 was not cutting it and that I needed more oomph at work. So I upgraded to an HP 2730p Elitebook. The HP is serving with aplomb, and eventually, I will get back the original concept behind this post. We'll do a complete walk-through of how one should expect to employ a TabletPC in every-day life, we'll wrap up with a quick review of what is currently on the market, and some of the more prudent means of going about attaining one.

Until I get back to that original intent, I did want to post what I had written those months ago, as it may be of some use to someone in the market for a slate-****TabletPC:

"First, let's start off with a description of the capabilities and limitations of the LE1600 and why I specifically chose to go with this model over other choices. The LE1600 is a slate-****TabletPC released circa mid-year 2005. The manufacturer is still going today, although I do not know that I could say going strong. A spin-off of Gateway, Motion now operates as a sole corporate entity, continuing to produce high-end TabletPCs for the professional and consumer markets. I say high-end because, despite not having keyboards or screens with high resolutions, slate-****TabletPCs are the more expensive of the genre. With no keyboard included, in order to utilize the LE11600 as a standard notebook, you have to pair it with a USB keyboard or a proprietary board from Motion.

The LE1600 has a 12" screen. My specific unit is equipped with the View Anywhere Screen, which reduces glare on the screen and enables a user to employ the tablet outdoors. It has only two USB ports, both on the left-hand side of the tablet. It also has a fingerprint reader (which I find invaluable on a laptop that does not have a keyboard for you to enter a password every time). There are indicator lights for the HDD use, power, power source, and the status of the wireless antenna. Finally there are shortcut buttons down the right-hand front face to enable customized shortcuts to features as best benefits the individual user.

The full specs are as follows: Motion LE1600 TabletPC: Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005, Intel Pentium M 1.5 GHz CPU (400MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache), 12" 1024 x 768 ( XGA ) LCD, 1.5GB DDR2 400MHz, 60GB Hard Drive, Intel 915GM integrated GPU, LAN, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi antenna, Bluetooth, 1 PCMCIA Card Slot, OnBoard Audio Chip/Sound Processor, SD Card Reader, 2 x USB 2.0 Ports,VGA Out"

While the LE1600 sits in a corner, awaiting shipment to Dell for recycling, I continue to use the HP 2730p, as well as a Fujitsu U820 UMPC, whch has core TabletPC characteristics. I do not think I could ever continue my computing hobby without utilizing at least one TabletPC in my arsenal. I also see the point in the recent slew of Tablets that are emerging. If I was not currently pursuing other financial interests, I would certainly lay out the money for a Viiv X70.

There are some key themes that run throughout this blog. Most can note my interest in gaming, which is where my whole online content pursuit began. After that initial venture, I grew into a strong interest in multi-media. Today, my passion is with ultra-mobile computing on the go. A key pillar supporting that is my in-tranisit use of TabletPCs. I get it. I think a lot of other people do, too. Here's to hoping that Microsoft and hardware vendors understand that a lot of us do get it.That despite the naysayers and negative nancy's in the media, that there is sense in continuing to meet the consumer demand for better and better TabletPC devices.

- Vr/Z..>>