

Hope or Hype: Would You Even Want a Tablet Computer? - cwan
http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/surveys/hope-or-hype-would-you-even-want-a-tablet-computer-092005

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rosser
I have the ThinkPad tablet. (x61; I have two of 'em, actually.) Love it.
Favorite machine ever, warts and all.

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tomkinstinch
I also have the x61 ThinkPad and love it.

During class time, I use it to take notes. Being able to search and organize
notes digitally is fantastic, as is the ability to quickly email them to
someone who has missed a particular lecture.

During my off time--and occasionally at work--I use it, along with Inkseine*
from MS Research, for iterative design of user interfaces.

* [http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/inks...](http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/inkseine/)

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cema
I have an HP tablet laptop (model tx251cl) with a swivel touch screen.

One application I found that fits it perfectly is learning to write Chinese
characters.

Of course drawing is another application (if only I could draw).

I think it could be used in some games, too.

Using it for control operations (moving windows around etc) feels awkward.

Oh, one other thing I forgot. It's a dual boot, and my Ubuntu does not
recognize the pen. Vista does (it came in as a pure Windows box). But it does
not generate a middle mouse click without an external device: pressing both
trackpad buttons does not do it, nor anything else. So I set the pen click as
the middle mouse click and use it mostly for that. (Lame, I know.)

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alanthonyc
It sounds good in theory to me. I'm currently reading/writing this on my
iPhone, in bed. A ten inch version would seem to be pretty awesome to me.
However, you never know until you try it.

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nrr
I already have an HP tx2500-series Tablet PC, and I adore it even given some
of the manufacturing oversights I've noticed.

That said, it's actually a pretty valuable tool for presentations and tutoring
sessions with several people, and reading digital-format maths and physics
texts is not that bad either.

... but that's assuming I have a stylus and a touch panel and the whole nine
yards. Apple's probably going to use only the capacitive touch panel and not
include stylus input capability.

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Mankhool
To me it has to be thin, light, yet robust just like the iPhone/iPod. I want
to be able to read magazines on it, with as close to the same experience as
reading a real magazine - flipping pages, ripping bits out, post-it noting
pages. I hope Conde Nast or other major publishers are listening. Perhaps this
type of device will bring some relief to the magazine industry, but they have
to be early adopters.

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dpnewman
i just have to assume that apple has a plan with this... it'd be shocking for
them to come out with a dud. i suppose it has to happen eventually, but jobs
seems to err on the the far side of sure-ity. the questions really is what
unique attribute is this thing gonna have that makes it unlike all tablets b4
it....?

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derefr
I've always just imagined it as the ultimate concession that Macs are designed
to run Photoshop. Might not be good for a regular user, but I could imagine a
graphics/arts/illustration department buying them by the hundreds to
_complement_ their current tonnage of desktop and notebook Macs.

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yvueywa
I have a toshiba portege tablet/laptop. Screen swivels round to make a tablet.

Pro: Good for reading in bed or on a plane. Auto rotates to show a page of
text.

Cons; Stylus is totally useless , but it has a page up/down button on front.
Too thick - slightly thicker than a modern laptop

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Locke1689
I continue to eschew a mouse in favor of the keyboard (hell, that's why I use
vim), but I am a programmer. Oh, and that doesn't mean that you can still ship
a computer without a good trackpad. (I'm talking to you IBM. That pointer-
thing is not suitable)

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roc
Since when is consumer tech driven by _necessity_?

It seems to me the last few decades have been driven almost entirely by
capacity and convenience.

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Rickasaurus
Once they can make the resolution similar to that of a real life pen I would
be interested.

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dan_the_welder
I have a Fujitsu Stylistic and I love it.

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californiaguy
no

