Notes on the Tablet PC
Thursday, 15 May 2003
Posted by austin in: Technology, trackback
Back in February, I got the Compaq TC1000 Tablet PC. Aside from the initial problem I had with HP/Compaq support, I’ve liked the machine. It’s a good first generation, but it’s still not a perfect platform.
I chose the TC1000 over other versions available in Canada for several reasons. The Compaq is significantly (CDN $900) cheaper than either the Toshiba or Acer versions for similar feature-sets. With a 15% discount available at the time that I purchased it, this was an even better deal. Additionally, it was the Tablet PC form-factor I desired: a “convertible.”
All versions of the TC1000 are equipped with a Transmeta Crusoe 1GHz processor; 10.4” 1024×768 XGA display; 256Mb or 512Mb RAM; a 30Gb, 40Gb, or 60Gb HDD; and a one or three year warranty. All versions can be expanded to 768Mb RAM. As with all laptops, the more RAM present, the more effect on the battery life, but note that the Crusoe requires 24Mb of RAM for its Code Morphing, so more RAM will result in better performance in Windows. All versions except the cheapest come with a mini-PCI 802.11b card. It also has standard VGA, ethernet (RJ45), modem (RJ11), and audio (headphones, microphone, and headset) connectors. For expansion, it has two USB 2.0 ports, a CompactFlash slot, and a PC Card slot. Just for reference, I have the TC1000/470045-149 (30Gb, 256Mb, 802.11b).
The Physical Tablet
Like all Tablet PCs, the TC1000 screen can be oriented in any of four directions (two each portrait [768x1024] and landscape [1024x768]). When in primary portrait mode, the COMPAQ label is at the bottom of the PC. There is a microphone below the A and Q with stereo speakers on the bottom of the PC. On the lower left-hand corner are three LEDs for AC power, battery charging, and WLAN status (solid when a WLAN connection has been made; blinking when seeking). On the top left face of the tablet are three pen hotspots that default to Windows Journal, Entry Panel, and Rotate Screen Orientation. These are backed with LEDs which light up when the hotspot is selected with the pen.
Above these hotspots is a plastic cover covering the USB ports, ethernet and phone connectors, and video connector. The AC connection is to the left of the cover; the PC Card and CF slots are to the right of the cover. The pen is stored in a spring-loaded slot to the right of the card slots. On the top right corner of the tablet is the power button, a sunken button, three raised buttons, and a rocker tab. I’ll deal with these buttons later as I talk about using the system. The power button is backed by an LED which blinks when the tablet is suspended; the button is pushed up to turn the tablet on or suspend; it is held up to turn the device off.
As I noted above, the TC1000 is a “convertible” Tablet PC, but it differs from other convertible tablets significantly. The TC1000 has a detachable keyboard, allowing use as a dedicated slate, much like the Viewsonic and other pure slates. The keyboard itself can be connected to an included pseudoleather zipcover. The connections between the three pieces are solid; they don’t come apart unless you have pulled the unlock mechanism on the back of the keyboard or tablet. The tablet can rotate on the keyboard and lay flat with the keyboard locked against the tablet. It adds about a centimetre in depth and a bit more than half a pound of weight to the tablet PC.
The keyboard is about 90%–95% normal size; only a few things are annoying about the keyboard (the location and size of the function keys, plus the fact that F12 is only accessible with the Fn key). The keyboard also has a joystick pointer in the normal “notebook” position. What is most unusual about using the keyboard with the TC1000 is the same thing that has been noted in various reviews—the tablet screen sits flush with the keyboard, making some of the function keys hard to hit reliably. Annoying, but necessary, as this is the only thing which gives the TC1000 stability in “notebook” mode.
The Tablet Pen
The pen is stored in a spring-loaded silo near the power button. When the pen is inserted into the silo, it sticks out about two or three centimetres. The pen can then be pushed almost fully into the tablet with some resistance as the spring mechanism locks so that only the rounded head of the pen sticks out of the tablet, perhaps a couple of millimetres. Pushing on the pen again pops the pen about halfway out (it’s a strong spring).
The pen itself is relatively thick, which is strange for those of us who are used to thinner styli from PDAs (unlike most people, I have actually become fond of the thin Sony stylus that came with the T615C and the NR70V). I think that I would have preferred the thinner stylus from the Acer or the Toshiba; those styli are only slightly larger than the AAAA battery that powers the stylus, as this stylus is thicker than the typical sort of pen that I would purchase in any case.
The tip of the stylus is equivalent to the left mouse button; there is a button on the barrel of the stylus that acts as the right mouse button. Unlike some styli, there is no “inverse” operation of the stylus (the Acer stylus works both normally and inverted, where the inverted operation acts as an eraser). The tablet PC is based on an active digitizer, meaning that when the stylus is floated over the screen, the mouse pointer will track with the stylus. The tip of the stylus must be in contact with the screen to “write”, although I have found a bit of stickiness to the tip of the stylus, resulting in a bit of “overwriting” from time to time. I can’t reproduce it reliably, so I haven’t reported it to HP.
Windows XP Tablet Edition
While I agree with most folks about the odiousness of WPA, I also think that Windows XP is an amazingly good operating system, such that it is the only Windows-based operating system that I run anymore. Windows XP Tablet Edition (XPTE) takes XP Pro and improves upon the existing alternative input mechanisms. The pen-based input is reliable and reasonably good at interpreting most of my handwriting. I’ve also enabled and tried the “block recogniser”, but don’t care for it (it always seemed a poor imitation of Graffiti). The voice input mechanism is inconvenient for me, so I haven’t really used it.
I use the tablet PC in “notebook” mode most often because I’m a programmer. However, in my consulting, I have used the Windows Journal to sketch designs and take notes; for this, the tablet PC is perfect. I’ve also used the tablet PC to mark up a book that I have reviewed for a publisher, which was good stuff. I printed to the journal virtual printer and marked up the document just as if I had printed the document out. I can’t emphasize how nice this was.
There are a variety of reasons (aside from programming) I don’t use the TC1000 in tablet mode more often. First, and foremost, the recognition still isn’t quite good enough. I’ve had to rewrite some sentences too often, and the spacing is too aggressive (and not configurable), meaning that I have to correct a number of smaller things. Second, while many Microsoft programs are acceptably modified for XPTE, too many other programs aren’t. Third, the text input area takes up too much space (yes, I know it’s resizable) and the “whole area” isn’t really good enough (and interferes with normal operation). Fourth, there simply aren’t enough buttons available.
That last point, to me, is the killer. There are several customizable buttons and hotspots available on the TC1000. There’s a “mail” button (recessed, immediately below the power buttton); I use it often. There’s a Q button (raised, below the mail button) which by default launches the “Q menu”. This menu is configurable, but by default allows for quick muting, brightness controls, hibernation, and even the wireless controller. Next to the Q button are buttons labeled ESC and Tab (and are by default assigned to those keystrokes). Between these buttons is a hole that the stylus tip will fit through; this brings up the Task Manager (it’s the equivalent of Ctrl-Alt-Del). Below these buttons is the jog rocker (defaulting to up arrow, down arrow, and enter). Additionally, there are the hotspots on the top of the portrait screen noted earlier.
The problem is that the settings for these buttons is system-wide. So while it may be useful in some programs to have an ESC key defined, it is not going to be the case in all programs. In web browsing, I would prefer the jog rocker act as page up and down; in word processing, I might prefer it be left and right (so that I can move by character). It gets worse when you realise that you cannot tap the pen and select the second button at the same time, losing the ability to emulate a third mouse button. My preferred web browser, Mozilla, allows me to affect behaviours by selecting Ctrl, Alt, and Shift versions of both left and right mouse clicks.
Imperfect? Absolutely. Usable? You bet. The TC1000 has become my primary computer, primarily because of its size (just over three pounds with the keyboard attached).
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