More tablet thoughts Posted 9:35 PM by Nathaniel

My new HP tc1100 just took its first business trip with me. The results are even better than I had hoped.


HP TC1100

First of all, I was able to use it on a coach tray table. And not only in flat "slate" mode, but even with its keyboard. The unusual HP design positions the slate just at the back edge of the keys, making a stable platform--and incidentally creating a spatial envelope that sits in that small space between the tray table and the back of the seat in front of you--even when it's reclining.

Being 6'1", 250 lbs, I haven't been able to use a laptop in a coach seat for quite a while.

With a gig of ram and a 1.1 GHz Centrino, performance is more than adequate. Text recognition is better than "good"--it's downright astonishing, when you look at my cursive scrawl (especially since it's made worse by years of only typing).

In the all-day meetings, I used OneNote. I turned on the voice recording, and didn't use an external mike, but--despite the loud fan on the projector sitting not far away--the recordings are perfectly clear.

And I can't say enough about how powerful it is to have my notes as a time index to the audio! I've recorded meeting before, but finding anything in the audio is very frustrating. This is an incredibly simple and powerful solution...as long as you take enough notes as you go.

The impact of the tablet's form factor on my meeting-mates was palpable. I wasn't a guy with a laptop--a wall and a keyboard. I was like any other senior participant, just taking notes on my tablet. (But mine was the only electronic one there.)

If you haven't tried one--and Lord knows, there aren't many ways to do so, short of buying one--find out what you're missing. I got one for a couple of days from John Hill, of Allegiance Technology Products. He has 48-hour "loaners," Motion 1400 machines.