first impression

[youngmicroserf]

Hi, after getting so much input from this site concerning my possible purchase of an R1F I just thought I'd share my first impressions of the computer. I did not buy it yet, but I found a notebook retailer with a showroom worthy of the name, so I could have a look and play around a bit; although I could neither use the pen nor insert it into the pen housing, the pen was absent from the tablet in the showroom and, and I did not ask to look for it as I was in a little hurry myself.

I was really looking forward to the R1F as the closest thing to what I saw on a Toshiba ad in May 1996, a "powersheet", supposedly available in 2006. It was a slate tablet with built in camera, handwriting recognition, with A4 size, and, despite hard drive and everything, only about 0.5 cm high.

I have never used a tablet before, except the very first Acer on the day Tablets were released to the public in 2002. Back then, I did not jump. This time, I think I will - even though the R1F is not exactly like the powersheet (with keyboard) I was hoping for.

It's heavier than I thought it would be, and it's a little high with about 35mm. Not too high or too heavy for truly portable "lap" use, but not as good as I hoped for - remember I'm not a tablet expert who knows what the technology is able to deliver, I'm a guy with some idea to which a particular product conforms or not (exactly) conforms.

I could not check the static issue on the computer in the showroom, but my questions in this regard were greeted with disbelief by the shop assistant. Then I had a close look at the screen. The 13.3'' size is fine, it's a little smaller than A4 though. But not knowing exactly what the "graininess" of tablet PCs is like, and by now used to shiny notebook screens, I suppose I was initially a little disappointed, particularly compared to the Macbook screen, which has the same size, a shiny finish, and no grainy coating. I'm pretty sure there a many reasons for this kind of coating - not having used a tablet so far, I just saw the drawbacks. I mean, I know by now that shiny screens are usually working well indoors, as no one uses as much light at home a retailer in their showroom - with this "grainy" screen, I just don't know how I'll adjust to it, if it will keep being annoying, or if I will come around like so many others. I don't know. For that reason I will definitely choose an offer that allows to return the computer within a fortnight. And the backlight wasn't as perfect as I imagined it would be, the lower (right) side seemed brighter than the rest. Viewing angles seemed impressive though, compared to most notebooks I know.

Has anyone tried removing the coating on their ASUS / tablet? Like proposed here
?

Speaking of returning the computer - the retailer wasn't overly happy with ASUS' service propositions in Germany, he mentioned that it might take longer in the case of a service issue than it would be the case for other quality manufacturers (and since he mentioned a European centralisation in their service organisation as possible cause thereof, other European countries might be affected as well).

That said, I think I will probably buy the R1F and become a true tablet convert. But I think I'll also have to realise that no one delievered a "powersheet" by 2006.

[saranya]

although I realize your good intentions about first impressions, I think at least for a tablet...you really have to use it to make a fair comparison as they are pretty different from the run of the mill laptop (use wise that is)

I don't think you want to even try to remove the "coating" on the screen as that will make the tablet unusable (this is what makes the pen work).

as far as the matte vs. glossy screen. it really depends. I tend to think of tablets as being more business/school related use and thus matte is fairly standard (thinkpads come to mind). although, I will agree that glossy is nice to look at.

anyways, I should be getting my sometime next week so will be able to contribute more to my experience with the r1f in a more reliable way other than conjecture.

[Loaf.]

i think most people will be surprised as to how thick tablets generally are. From first glance at the specs u see a 1.3-1.4"ish thickness which one would assume is pretty thin. But when I measured it out and compared it to my z70va i realized they're about the same thickness. Also note that most convertible tablets are around this area for thickness, if you're looking for truly thin then the slates are probably what you need to look at.

[alphaswift]

Loaf....ask the retailer if you can plug in a set of earphones and listen for any static on the audio out port.

[youngmicroserf]

Alphaswift, I will definitely check the machine I'll take home before doing so with a nice CD. They have a couple of machines there, so given the mixed reports about static sound, I may have to check more than one ...

Saranya, you're right about the need to work with it for some time. I still wanted to communicate my truly "first" impressions. I will test it more thoroughly before finally committing myself. And I'll be more thorough in my review then, at the risk of increasing cognitive dissonance .

Of course I'm not sure if ASUS uses the same kidnd of grainy screen coating as Toshiba for the M200 http://tabletpcbuzz.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15427
But as displayed in this post it seems to be possible to remove the grainy layer without damaging the active digitizer technology.

Here's a Channel 9 video with a guy from the MS tablet PC team actually "recommending" the removal because the glare "is really only superstition". I think it's a matter of taste, so I'd really like to know that I could do that in case my taste doesn't adjust to the way it comes out of the box

http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=16966#16966

There are apparently also felt tip pens available so writing on the screen would feel like writing on an overhead transparent.

Loaf, yeah, I think I would like a truly thin tablet, but then I would not want to miss a keyboard until there's some equally useful alternative input device. Still, there are notebooks that are easily about 2.5cm height inluding the screen (when closed), that's 1cm less than the R1F. Would have been great to have that in addition to the convertible screen.

YMS

[Loaf.]

i'll be able to check for static when my tablet gets here, it ships out wednesday :P

those posts on removing the overlay have got me wanting to remove mine when i get it. though i'll probably read through asus' warranty and see if that overlay part is as easily replacable as the toshibas. the other thing is, the asus is the first 13.3" tablet so there may not be any screen protectors out there that will fit the screen.