The Exhaustive Tablet PC FAQ. All you ever wanted to know about Tablet PC's

Our Super Moderator Extraordinaire,Frank, had been hard at work, updating and molding this thread, to give all Tablet PC users much needed advice and info, in the process of choosing a tablet pc, that exactly fits your needs. Below is the update guide and FAQ. We hope that it's useful to you as you choose your machine.
(and don't forget to let Frank know how much you appreciate his hard work!)

 

Tablet PC Guide​

This thread is far from perfect, which is why we need you to help out with the formatting, content, and validity of information.
If you have any new items to add or suggestions, please post it the linked thread:

Tablet PC FAQ General Index Suggestions/Discussion Thread​

Thanks!



Tablet PC selection guide

• List of Tablet PCs
• Tablet PCs with dedicated graphics
• Tablet PCs with ExpressCard slots

New to tablet PCs?

• Models
  • Convertible
  • Slate
    
• Pen/Finger Input Technology
  • Active digitizer
    • WACOM
    • N-Trig
  • Touchscreens
    • Resistive
    • Capacitive
    • Optical
      
• Displays
  • Coating
    • Indoor
    • Indoor\Outdoor
    • Outdoor
  • Panels
  • Resolution
    
• CPU/Chipset/Platform
  • Intel
  • AMD

Tablet PC Resellers

• Online and International orders
• Retail stores
• OEM Outlets & Refurb Stores

Frequently Asked Questions

• Hotkeys in Slate mode
• Screen Protectors?
• Tablet stands?
• Alternative Pens
• Alternative Pen nibs
• Pressure sensitivity, are 256 levels enough?
• Pen drivers
  • Wacom
  • N-Trig
• Pen calibration
• Customize all tablet PC buttons
• When do manufacturers update their Tablet PCs?
• Can I upgrade my graphics card?

Battery Guide

• Battery life
• Battery wear

Tablet PC software

• Operating System
• Note Taking
• PDF Annotators
• Drawing
• Miscellaneous
• Browser
• Tools
• On Screen Keyboards
• OneNote Addins

Tablet PC Games

• Games perfect for Tablet PCs
• Games that work flawlessly with a Tablet PC
• Online Games
• Further links

This thread is meant to be a reference for the community to quickly find answers to frequently asked questions for those new to Tablet PCs. Granted, there may be some material that is not listed here, for that there's the Search function of the forums.

 

Tablet PC selection guide​

If you can’t find the right tablet PC and need further help then create a new thread in the What Tablet PC Should I Buy? forum but make sure that you copy, paste, and answer the questions found in the

What Tablet PC Should I Buy FAQ​

in your new thread!


Before you do this, check this list of tablet PCs to narrow down your choices:

List of Tablet PCs
This is not a largely comprehensive list of all available Tablet PCs. Most Tablet PCs here are directed at the consumer market (sans a few).

• 14.1" (Large)
  • SXGA+
    • Toshiba Tecra M4 (Discontinued)
  • WXGA+
    • Toshiba Tecra M7 (Discontinued)
  • WXGA
    • Gateway C200X (Discontinued), C210X (Discontinued), C-140X/XL (Discontinued), C-141X/XL (Discontinued), C-142XL (Discontinued), C-143X/XL (Discontinued)
  
  
• 13.3"
  • WXGA
    • Asus R1F (Discontinued), R1E (Discontinued)
    • Axiotron ModBook (Mac OSX)
    • Fujitsu LifeBook T1010 (Discontinued)
    • Fujitsu LifeBook T5010 (Discontinued), T900/TH900
  
  
• 12.1" (Mainstream)
  • SXGA+
    • Convertible
      • Fujitsu LifeBook T4215 (Discontinued), T4220 (Discontinued)
      • Lenovo ThinkPad X60t (Discontinued), X61t (Discontinued)
      • Toshiba Portege M205 (Discontinued), M400 (Discontinued)
    • Slate
      • Motion Computing LE1700 (Discontinued)
  • WXGA
    • Convertible
      • Dell Latitude XT (CCFL/LED Backlit) (Discontinued), XT2 (LED Backlit)
      • Fujitsu LifeBook T2010 (LED Backlit) (Discontinued), T2020 (LED Backlit) (Discontinued)
      • Fujitsu LifeBook T4310 (LED Backlit) (Discontinued)
      • Fujitsu LifeBook T4410 (LED Backlit)
      • Fujitsu LifeBook T730 (LED Backlit)
      • HP Pavilion tx1000 (Entertainment Notebook) (Discontinued), tx2000 (Discontinued), tx2500 (Discontinued)
      • HP TouchSmart TX2 (LED Backlit)(Discontinued)
      • HP TouchSmart TM2 (LED Backlit)
      • HP Compaq 2710p (LED Backlit) (Discontinued), 2730p (Discontinued), 2740p
      • Lenovo ThinkPad X200T (LED Backlit)(Discontinued), X201T
      • Toshiba Portege M700 (LED Backlit) (Discontinued), M750 (Discontinued), M780
      • Toshiba Portege R400 (LED Backlit) (Discontinued)
      • Toshiba Satellite R20/R25 (Discontinued)
    • Slate
      • Electrovaya Scribbler 4000
      • Fujitsu Stylistic ST6012 (Discontinued)
      • Motion Computing J3400 (Discontinued), J3500
        
  • XGA
    • Convertible
      • Fujitsu LifeBook T4210 (Discontinued), T4215 (Discontinued), T4220 (Discontinued)
      • Fujitsu LifeBook B6230 Notebook (Discontinued)
      • HP Compaq tc4200 (Discontinued), tc4400 (Discontinued)
      • Lenovo ThinkPad X60t (Discontinued), X61t (Discontinued)
      • Toshiba Portege M200 (Discontinued), M400 (Discontinued)
    • Slate
      • Fujitsu Stylistic ST5112 (Discontinued)
      • Motion Computing LE1600 (Discontinued), LE1700 (Discontinued)
      • TabletKiosk Sahara i440
  
  
• 10.4"
  • XGA
    • Fujitsu Stylistic ST5111 (Discontinued)
    • Compaq tc1000 (Discontinued)
    • Motion Computing C5 (Discontinued), F5 (Discontinued), C5v, F5v
    • HP Compaq tc1100 (Discontinued)
  
  
• 8.9" (Small)
  • WXGA
    • Fujitsu LifeBook P1510 (Discontinued), P1610 (Discontinued), P1620 (Discontinued), P1630
  
  
• Other
  • Fujitsu Lifebook U810 (Discontinued), U820 (5.6" WSVGA) (Discontinued), UH900
  • LG C1 (10.6" WXGA) (Discontinued)
  • LG P100 (10.6" WXGA)
  • OQO model 01 (5" WVGA) (Discontinued), model 02 (5" WVGA) (never released)

Tablet PCs with dedicated graphics

The majority of Tablet PCs come configured with Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 graphics chipset, very few Tablet PCs that have dedicated graphics card (or chipset) are listed below:

• Dedicated
  • (12.1" WXGA) HP Touchsmart TM2: Intel GMA4500MHD + switchable ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4550 Graphics
  • (12.1" WXGA) HP Touchsmart TM2: Intel GMA HD + switchable ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5450 Graphics
  • (14.1" WXGA) Gateway C-143XL: ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 ~ Discontinued
  • (14.1" WXGA) Gateway C-142XL: ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 ~ Discontinued
  • (14.1" WXGA) Gateway C-141XL: ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 ~ Discontinued
  • (10.6" WXGA) LG C1: nVidia GeForce Go 7300 ~ Discontinued
  • (10.6" WXGA) LG P100: nVidia GeForce Go 8400M
  • (14.1" WXGA) Gateway C-140X(CTO)/XL: ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 HD ~ Discontinued
  • (14.1" WXGA) Gateway C210X: ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 ~ Discontinued
  • (14.1" WXGA) Gateway C200X: ATI Mobility Radeon X600 ~ Discontinued
  • (14.1" WXGA) Toshiba Tecra M7: nVida Quadro NVS110M ~ Discontinued
  • (14.1" SXGA+) Toshiba Tecra M4: nVidia GeForce Go 6200TE/6600TE ~ Discontinued
  
  
• Integrated (other than Intel GMA)
  • (12.1" WXGA) Dell Latitude XT: ATI Mobility Radeon X1250 (Based on the X700) (Discontinued)
  • (12.1" WXGA) HP tx1000 (Entertainment Notebook) (Discontinued), tx2000: nVidia GeForce Go 6150, tx2500: ATI HD 3200 (Discontinued)
  • (12.1" WXGA) HP TouchSmart TX2z: ATI HD 3200 (Discontinued)
  • (12.1" XGA/SXGA+) Toshiba Portege M200: nVidia GeForce FX Go5200 (Discontinued)

Tablet PCs with ExpressCard slots

Most Tablet PCs available have the older PCMCIA (Type I/II) card slot, the Tablet PCs listed (not an entirely comprehensive list) below have the newer ExpressCard Slot:

• Asus R1F, R1E (ExpressCard/54)
• Dell Latitude XT (ExpressCard/54)
• Fujitsu LifeBook T900 (ExpressCard/54)
• Fujitsu LifeBook T4310 (ExpressCard/54)
• Fujitsu LifeBook T4410 (ExpressCard/54)
• Fujitsu-Siemens LifeBook T5010 (European models only)
• HP Compaq 2710p (ExpressCard/54)
• HP Compaq EliteBook 2730p (ExpressCard/54)
• HP Compaq EliteBook 2740p (ExpressCard/54)
• HP Pavilion tx1000 (Entertainment Notebook), tx2000 (ExpressCard/34), tx2500 (ExpressCard/34), tx2 (ExpressCard/34)
• Lenovo Thinkpad X200t/X201t (ExpressCard/54)
• Motion Computing J3400/J3500 (ExpressCard/34)

 

New to tablet PCs?​

What’s so special about tablet PCs, what are the differences between a tablet PC and a notebook, what kind of tablet PCs exist and how do they work at all?

In general is a tablet PC a full mobile computer with a display on which you can write with a very sensitive pen on top of it. This allows you to draw sketches, paint images, take handwritten notes, sign documents, comfortably read e-Books, ….
Because you look from the side on the display while you write on it a tablet PC also needs more expensive display panels with 180 degree viewing angles. Additionally they are often brighter to make it possible to use the tablet PC in brighter environments.
A Tablet PC is meant to be used mobile and used daily. So most of the tablet PCs are very rugged built, the case made out of magnesium, the display specially protected and the battery life much longer than comparable notebooks. All this, together with special hardware which allows you to write on the display with a pen and the fact that they don’t get produced in such a high number as the more popular notebooks do, makes tablet PCs often more expensive than a comparable or even faster notebook.



Models

Tablet PCs can get split in two major subclasses, the convertible and the slate.

• The convertible looks like a regular notebook with a keyboard but its display can be rotated 180 degree, so you can use a convertible as a regular notebook, or if you rotate the display use it as a notepad.
  
  
  • Advantages
    You can use it as a notebook with a keyboard
    Allows fast text entry with the QWERTY keyboard
  • Disadvantages
    Thicker and heavier than slates
    More fragile because of moveable parts (hinge)
  
  
• The slate does not have a keyboard and also not a rotatable display.
  
  • Advantages
    It’s thinner than convertibles, thus more comfortable to write on it
    More robust
  • Disadvantages
    Often less powerful
    More expensive
    Only input device is the pen, no integrated keyboard

Pen/Finger Input Technology

But how do they work? How can you write on top of the screen with the pen?

Active digitizer
Behind or in front of the display is placed a so called (active) digitizer. This digitizer produces an EM-Field which powers a special battery less pen and also, with the help of the EM-Field, locates the position of the pen. It’s also called active digitizer because it needs a special pen and does not work with anything else.
This pen often has one or two addition buttons, the pen tip and an eraser on the backside of the pen. The pen is also pressure sensitive, so if you write with the pen in a program which supports pressure sensitivity then the stroke gets thicker if you press harder. The location of the pen position is very precise and higher than the display resolution, allowing you to write and draw naturally.
The main producers of active digitizers are WACOM and N-Trig, some really old tablet PCs also used digitizers produced by FinePoint.

• Wacom
  This is the most popular digitizer, used in the majority of tablet PCs. The pen supports 256 pressure levels and several alternative, different sized, pens are available. Not every Wacom enabled tablet PC has an additional touch screen, the touch screen is an optional feature. The digitizer is placed behind the display, causing no reduction in display quality.
  
  For more information about this technology visit
  http://www.wacom-components.com/english/technology/emr.html
  
• N-Trig
  This is a fairly new company which pen digitizers always contain an additional capacitive touch screen. The pen also supports 256 pressure levels but has no pressure sensitivity support in Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter because of driver issues.
  
  For more information about this technology visit:
  http://www.n-trig.com/Content.aspx?Page=DuoSensePenSolutions
  
• FinePoint Innovations
  Only legacy/discontinued Tablet PCs like the HP Compaq tc1000 and the Gateway CX200/M280 series used this type of digitizers. In contrast to WACOM and N-Trig does their pen need a separate battery.

Touchscreen
Additionally to the active digitizer do some older and most of the latest tablet PCs include an additional touchscreen. The Tablet PC will switch between either digitizer through the use of manually setting it by pressing a hardware button or by automatically sensing for the stylus pen within a 1" range vertically from the display to switch to the active digitizer, when the stylus pen is not sensed within that range it switches to the passive (touchscreen) digitizer. Other names and derivatives: MultiTouch (Lenovo), active+passive, active/passive, active and touch, active digitizer and passive (touchscreen) digitizer, active digitizer and touchscreen.
Some Tablet PCs, most often ruggedized or cheaper models, can also only have a touchscreen and don’t have an additional active digitizer.

With a touchscreen the screen can be controlled with the finger and does not require a dedicated pen.
Drawbacks: does not support any Pressure Sensitivity, unable to hover cursor above screen ~ you click and select, touch panel sits in front of the display which worsens the display quality and can cause sparkling.
There are different technologies used in current touch screens:

• Resistive
  Simply said does this touchscreen consist of two layers with a small gap between them. If you touch them they contact each other.
  (popular products which use resistive touch screens: Nokia mobile phones)
  
  • Advantages
    You can use any object to control it (finger, pen, pencil, gloves) and it can deliver accurate results if you use a pointed tool, like a pencil.
  • Disadvantages
    Requires some pressure and often does not work that great with your finger and low pressure. Instead it's better to use the fingernail or press a little harder
    
• Capacitive
  Detects a touch by measuring the capacitance on the surface, which changes if a conductive device, like a finger approaches and touches it.
  (popular products which use capacitive touch screens: Apple iPhone)
  
  • Advantages
    It does not require any pressure, supports the detection of several fingers
  • Disadvantages
    Does not work with gloves, does not work with pencil or alternative tools, you need special tools designed for capacitive touch screens and it is not that accurate, because you can't use your finger nail, but have to use the much larger plain finger.
    
• Optical
  The most often used optical system consists of a few cameras mounted to the edge of the display which detect the fingers.
  (popular products which use optical touch screens: HP TouchSmart and other larger >23" external monitors)
  
  • Advantages
    Cheap for larger displays, does not reduce display quality
  • Disadvantages
    Only on larger external monitors useful, because the display can't be flush with the edges.
    

The most popular companies producing touch screens for tablet PCs are, again, Wacom and N-Trig, both produce capacitive touch screens.
Resistive touch screens can only be found in older tablet PC's or tablet PCs with no additional active digitizer.
For more informations about touch screens and their technologies visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen#Technologies

For informations about the touch technology used by Wacom and N-Trig visit:
Wacom: http://www.wacom-components.com/english/technology/touch.html
N-Trig: http://www.n-trig.com/Content.aspx?Page=CapacitiveTouch


Displays

Display coating
Each manufacturer uses a different naming scheme for their display types, uses different LCD panels and has a different meaning for outdoor, indoor, ..., so make sure you refer to the correct displays and compare equivalent types.

• Indoor
  Usable for indoors. Often an Anti Glare coat is applied to the display to spread reflections across the display and reduce bright spots caused by lamps behind or above the tablet.
  The displays have a normal bright back light, and aren't that visible outdoors in direct sunlight or in a vehicle.
  
• Indoor/Outdoor
  The display often has an expensive Anti Reflective coating, which does not spread the reflections but absorbs most of them. So it's like a dark mirror, the better the AR coating the darker the reflected image.
  Those displays also have a brighter back light which makes them usable outdoors. One with a great outdoor display is the Motion Computing J3400 slate tablet PC.
  
• Other
  There are also other display options possible. Some displays are clear as the indoor/outdoor screen but suffer an AR coating which makes them a perfect mirror.

Display panel
Tablet PCs require really good panels because you sit closely in front of them, often look tilted on them. So the used panel is really important for a tablet PC

If you want to get more information about some available display panel technology and their advantages and disadvantages follow this link:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/panel_technologies.htm

A well-known panel manufacturer for tablet PC displays is BoeHydis. BoeHydis produces panels based on the AFFS+ technology which is the best panel a tablet PC can have.

Resolution
Most tablet PCs use those three resolutions:

1. XGA (1024x768, 4:3 aspect ratio)
2. WXGA (1280x800, 16:9 aspect ratio)
3. SXGA+ (1400:1050, 4:3 aspect ratio)

whereas all newly produced mainstream tablet PCs use WXGA at display sizes of 12" and 13".

If you buy an older tablet then you might find some with a SXGA+ resolution, too. However, not always is a higher resolution better, as long as the operating system isn't fully scalable. So it's important to understand the differences:
Which is better, XGA or SXGA+?



CPU/Chipset/Platform

• Intel Mobile Processor/Platform Future Roadmap: (Affects majority of consumer Tablet PC market)
  
  Core micro-architecture (2006) - Released, Current, Phasing Out January 2006
  Successor to Intel's NetBurst micro-architecture.
  
  
  Napa (Centrino Duo) platform (2006) - Released, Legacy January 2006 (mainstream), June 2006 (tablet)
  Third-generation Centrino platform. Intel GMA 950, DDR2-667 MHZ RAM support. Supported Yonah and Merom processors.
  Socket: M
  

  
  Yonah (Intel Core) processor (2006) - Released, Legacy January 2006 (mainstream), June 2006 (tablet)
  First mobile dual core processor based on the Core micro-architecture. 667 MHz FSB support, 2MB L2 cache, 1st-gen 65nm die process.
  Socket: M (Napa)
  ​
  
  Santa Rosa platform (2007) - Released, Legacy May 2007 (mainstream), July 2007 (tablet)
  Fourth-generation Centrino platform. Intel GMA X3100, Intel TurboMemory (Robson), Wireless-N support.
  Tablet PCs available: Fujitsu LifeBook T2010, T4220; Lenovo ThinkPad X61t; Asus R1E; Gateway C-140X/XL, C-141X/XL; Toshiba M700; HP 2710p
  Socket: P
  

  
  Merom (Intel Core 2) processor (2007) - Released, Legacy July 2007 (mainstream, tablet)
  Supported on Montevina, Santa Rosa, and Napa platforms, 2MB/4MB L2 cache, 2nd-gen 65nm die process.
  Socket: P (Santa Rosa, Montevina), M (Napa)
  
  
  Penryn processor (2008) - Released, Current, Mainstream, Phasing Out January 6th, 2008 (mainstream), February 2008 (tablet)
  Supported on Santa Rosa platform and Montevina platforms, 3MB/6MB L2 cache, first-gen 45nm die process.
  Tablet PCs available: Gateway C-141X/XL, C-142XL; Toshiba Portege M700; Fujitsu LifeBook T4220, T1010, T5010; HP EliteBook 2730p; Lenovo ThinkPad X200t
  Socket: P (Santa Rosa, Montevina)
  ​
  
  Montevina (Centrino 2) platform (2008) - Released, Current, Mainstream, Phasing Out July 15th, 2008 (mainstream) July 16th, 2008 (tablet)
  Fifth-generation Centrino platform. Support for 800 MHz and 1066 MHz DDR2/DDR3 RAM, Intel GMA X4500, Intel TurboMemory (Robson 2), WiMAX support.
  Tablet PCs available: Fujitsu LifeBook T1010, T5010; HP EliteBook 2730p; Lenovo ThinkPad X200t
  Socket: P
  ​
  Westmere (Core i5/i7) micro-architecture (2009) - Released, Current, Mainstream
  Enhanced Core micro-architecture, successor to Core micro-architecture with Hyper-Threading. Mobile variant of the Nehalem micro-architecture (desktops) at a 32nm architecture.
  Socket: mPGA-989
  
  
  Calpella platform (2009) - Released, Current, Mainstream Jan 2010 (mainstream) Feb 2010 (tablet)
  Sixth-generation Centrino platform. QuickPath Interconnect (integrated memory controller), DDR3-1600 RAM support.
  Tablet PCs available: Fujitsu LifeBook T900, HP EliteBook 2740p
  Socket: mPGA-989
  

  
  Arrandale processor (2009) - Released, Current, Mainstream Jan 2010 (mainstream) Feb 2010 (tablet)
  First-gen 32nm die process dual core processor, supported on Calpella platform. Quad-core variant codenamed Clarksfield.
  Socket: mPGA-989
  ​
  Sandy Bridge micro-architecture (2011) - Forthcoming, Q1 2011
  Second-gen 32nm die process.
  Socket: H2 (LGA1155)
  
  Huron River platform (2011) - Forthcoming, Q1 2011
  Seventh-generation Centrino platform.
  ​
  Ivy Bridge micro-architecture (2011) - Under development
  First-gen 22nm die shrink based off of the Sandy Bridge micro-architecture. Quad-core processors as entry-level.
  Socket: H2 (LGA115)
  
  Haswell micro-architecture (2013) - Under development
  Second-gen 22nm die process micro-architecture. 8-core processors as entry level.
  
  Rockwell micro-architecture (2014) - Under development
  First-gen 16nm die shrink based off of the Haswell micro-architecture.

• AMD Mobile Processor/Platform Future Roadmap: (Affects HP Pavilion tx1000/tx2000/tx2500 and tx2 series)
  
  
  Kite Refresh platform (2007) - Released, Legacy Feb. 2007
  Includes AMD Turion 64 X2 @65nm (Codename Tyler), TPM, 802.11a/b/g/n, DDR2-800MHz RAM support.
  Tablet PCs available: HP Pavilion tx1000 Entertainment Notebook series, tx2000 series
  Socket: S1g1 * Note: Socket S1g1 and S1g2 have similar names, but different pinouts. In brief: they are not pin compatible.
  
  
  Puma platform (2008) - Released, Legacy June 3rd, 2008
  Includes AMD Turion Ultra (Codename Giffin) on a 65nm die process, PCI-Express 2.0, Mobility Radeon HD 3000 Series.
  Tablet PCs available: HP Pavilion tx2500 series, tx2 series
  Socket: S1g2 * Note: Socket S1g1 and S1g2 have similar names, but different pinouts. In brief: they are not pin compatible.
  
  
  VISION Technology initiative
  Both the Tigris and Congo platforms are a part of AMD's 2009 VISION Technology platform initiative.
  
  
  Tigris platform (2009) - Released, Legacy September 10th, 2009 (mainstream)
  Includes AMD Turion II Ultra and AMD Turion II (Codename Caspian) processors on a 45nm die process along with ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics. This platform is AMD's 3rd generation mainstream notebook platform.
  Socket: S1
  
  
  Congo platform (2009) - Released, Legacy September 10th, 2009 (mainstream)
  Includes AMD Neo X2 (Codename Huron) on a 65nm die process and ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics. This platform is AMD's 2nd generation ultra-portable notebook platform.
  Socket: ASB1​
  
  Danube platform (2010) - Released, Current, Mainstream May 12th, 2010 (mainstream)
  Utilizes AMD Athlon II, Turion II, and Phenom II codenamed "Champlain" dual/tri/quad core processors and AMD V120 single core processor @ 45nm die process, DDR3/DDR3L (low voltage) memory native support. This is AMD's 4th generation mainstream notebook platform.
  
  Nile platform (2010) - Released, Current, Mainstream May 12th, 2010 (mainstream)
  Utilizes AMD Neo X2 codenamed "Geneva" dual core processors @ 45nm processors. This is AMD's 3rd generation ultra-portable notebook platform.​
  
  Sabine/Fusion platform (2011) - Forthcoming
  AMD Fusion codenamed "Llano" APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) 4-core processor with integrated DX11 graphic core on a 32nm die process. DDR3-1066 memory and USB 3.0 support. This is AMD's 5th generation mainstream notebook platform.
  
  Brazos/Fusion platform (2011) - Forthcoming, H1 2011
  AMD Fusion Neo X2 codenamed "Ontario" APU 2-core processor with codenamed "Bobcat" DX11 graphic core. This is AMD's 4th generation ultra-portable notebook platform.​

 

Tablet PC Resellers​

Other than buying direct through the manufacturer, there are online and retail stores that sell Tablet PCs.

Online

• Allegience Technology Partners - has a 48hr hour demo available even if you're not purchasing from them
• CDW
• Laptop Authority - Accepts international orders
• PortableOne - Accepts international orders
• Newegg - U.S only
• MPC Computers - Sells MPC-branded Gateway Tablet PCs and Notebooks

Retail Store

• USA:
  • MicroCenter
  • Fry's Electronic Store
  • Office Depot
  • Best Buy

OEM Outlets & Refurb Stores
Some manufacturers sell refurbished tablet PCs in their eBay stores. Those units are much cheaper but still in perfect conditions. Use the forum search to find some opinions and experiences with refurbished units

• Fujitsu eBay Outlet
• Dell Outlet (Filter by Latitude XT or XT2 under family)
• HP Outlet
• Lenovo Outlet
• Other Companies that sell Refurbished Tablets
  Eritech as well as their eBay store

List of possible questions to ask a seller before buying a used tablet

• What have you been using the tablet pc for? (Note taking, gaming, outside)
• Are the pictures on the ebay listing of the actual unit? If not, are there any blemishes or scratches or damage to any part of the case?
• What kind of screen? Is it an indoor/outdoor screen? Reflective/Matte? Are there any bad pixes? With the display turned on are there any visible scratches on the screen? With the display turned off?
• Did you use a screen protector? Still installed?
• Does it come with a pen?
• Does it come with an A/C power adapter?
• How long does the current installed battery last
• Does it come with a legal license for the Microsoft Windows operating system? Is there a windows C.O.A. label attached to the pc?
• Are the original restore cds included?
• Any additional accessories included like screen protector, case, additional battery/pen

 

Frequently Asked Questions​

Hotkeys in Slate mode

Many people ask what other tablet PC users use as physical hotkeys when they work and draw in slate mode.
There are many possible options available.

Physical solution

• customize the pen buttons in the Wacom properties
• use the Tablet PC buttons and unlock all buttons
• normal sized QWERTY keyboard
• smaller QWERTY keyboard
  • Brando Keyboards like Super Tiny Keyboard
  • Logitech diNovo mini
  • Apple wireless keyboard
  • Freedom mini BT keyboard
• one handed keyboard
  • FrogPad
  • Matias HalfKeyboard
  • Twiddler
• other keyboards
  • Homemade Cintiq-like tabletpc stand with extra keys
  • reprogram a NUM Pad
  • Belkin Nostromo
  • Z-Fang gamepad
  • button line X-Keys
  • Optimus keyboard

Software solutions

• On Screen Keyboards
  • StrokeIt
  • ModLock
  • MiniScroller
  • AutoHotkey (How to create programmable Virtual Buttons!)
  • software specific solutions (Adobe commands)
  • gMote
  • Touch-it Virtual Keyboard

​

Screen protectors?

Is a screen protector necessary? No
Is a screen protector recommendable? Yes
You'll scratch the display, for sure. Most of those scratches are small ones, which are only visible when the display is turned off. However, if you're unlucky you may also create a deeper scratch in the surface resulting in a small visible line, which gets even more noticeable when the display is turned on.
How easy it is to scratch your display depends on the surface. Some tablet PCs use chemical hardened glass, some others a plastic cover, others also have a factory installed screen protector on top of the glass or plastic cover.
So using a screen protector is a personal matter. Using one will reduce the display quality. Clear ones will make the display a bit more reflective, matte one will add a little grain.
My personal recommendations is to use a screen protector for the first year, especially if you're new to tablet PCs. Then you don't care if you scratch your display or others use your tablet and add scratches.
Later you can remove it and add a new one or use the tablet without one.


Screen Protector Reviews/Comparison
GottaBeMobile made a nice Screen Protector Shootout in which they tested all often used screen protectors. This should make your decision to select the right one easier:
(alphabetical ordered)

• 3M Vikuiti
• BoxWave Anti-Glare Screen Protector
• BoxWave Crystal Screen Protector
• Clarivue Clear
• InvisibleShield
• NuShield
• Photodon Anti-Glare
• Photodon Crystal View
• ProtecT
• Strong Engineering
• WriteShield
  
  
• Screen Protector Shootout Results
  
  
• Screen Protector Installation Tips

Some tablet PCs have an additional capacitive touchscreen installed. Those tablet PCs are a bit picky regarding screen protectors. With a 'wrong' one the touchscreen can stop working or the accuracy and responsiveness of the touchscreen can get reduced as long as you have the screen protector installed.
If you have further informations about a screen protector, then keep us updated by posting in the thread mentioned at the beginning of this guide, creating a new thread, or writing us a Private message.

N-Trig touchscreen (Dell XT, XT2, HP TX2):
(see this thread on GBM for more details about each screen protector and N-Trig)

• not working
  • 3-M Vikuiti
  • NuShield with adhesive edges
  
  
• working
  • WriteSHIELD
  • Strong Engineering
  • Photodon
  • Clarivue
  • Dantotec
  • NuShield's DayVue

Wacom touchscreen (Lenovo X200t, Fujitsu T4310, 4410, 5010

• not working
  • Photodon
  
  
• working
  • non tested so far

​

Tablet stands?

A tablet PC can be used to take notes or draw pictures. In both cases a slight tilt improves the comfort.
Many user published different solutions to tilt the tablet or bring it in a more comfortable position.
Use the following posts, images and links as an inspiration and make sure that you report back with your own solutions.

• http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=21149
• How to use a tablet comfortably?
• Notebook Cooler
• Cricket Laptop stand
• Any Book/note stand

​

Alternative Pens

Any Wacom Penabled compatible stylus pen listed below is compatible with a Tablet PC with a Wacom Penabled active digitizer. Please note that the styli/styluses listed below may not fit in your tablet's pen garage or pen slot. Also, a Tablet PC that has a different active digitizer, e.g. N-Trig or Finepoint, are *not* compatible with the stylus pens listed below.
Note: The Wacom eStore updates product links continuously or remove products when they are not in-stock. You can see a full listing of available and in-stock pens from the Wacom eStore at this page.


Officially sold

• Penabled Tablet PC Clip Pen SKU# UP712
  
  
• Penabled Tablet PC Eraser Pen SKU# UP710E
  
  
• Penabled Tablet PC Slim Pen SKU# MP200
  
  
• Penabled Tablet PC Clip Pen with Eraser SKU# UP714E
  
• Penabled Tablet PC Splash Proof Pen SKU# UP714W
  
• Penabled Tablet PC Pen SKU# UP110
  
• Widebody UltraPen for ArtZ/ArtZ II tablets SKU# UP401
  

Discontinued

• Penabled Tablet PC Eraser Pen (UP-703E)
  
  
• Penabled Tablet PC Pen with Dual Side Switches and Eraser (UP811E)
  
  
• Cross Executive Pen (UPCROSS2)
  
  
• Cross Executive Pen with Cap (UPCROSS1)
  
  
• PenPartner Pen FP-100V
  
  
• PenPartner PL-510
  
  
• DTU710
  
  
• Cintiq 18SX
  
  
• DTU1931a
  
  
• Cintiq 15x/PL500
  
  
• PL300/400
  
  
• UD Series
  
  

If you have a Wacom Tablet (or another brand tablet), then you may be wondering if your stylus may work.
Shogmaster has a very useful post that has been quoted many times here!

Alternative Pen nibs

Wacom
Wacom sells different kind of pen nibs for their professional graphic tablet lines. Luckily do they also fit in our tablet PC pens, the used pen nibs are the same.
This means that you don’t have to use the default standard plastic white or black pen nibs included with your tablet PC pen but can buy and use the pen nibs sold for the Intuos 3 or Intuos 4 line instead.

This allows you to choose between 4 different kinds of pen nibs:

• Standard nib
• (Hard) felt nib
• Stroke nib
• Flex nib
  
  
  
• Intuos3 Grip Pen Accessory Kit
• Intuos4 Professional Accessory Kit

So has the hard felt nib a softer touch, is quieter and has more grip than the standard nib. The stroke nib increases the nib travel making it easier to draw smooth strokes. The flex nib is made out of some rubber, giving the pen a super grip, which makes it hard to write with it.

​

Pressure sensitivity, are 256 levels enough?

Artists: Tablet PC's 256 pressure sensitivity levels vs. the Cintiq's 1024 pressure sensitivity levels

Check out this YouTube video by Shogmaster comparing the Toshiba Satellite R25 with its Wacom Penabled active digitizer (UD series) versus the Wacom Cintiq 21UX pen display. (Discussion thread)​

Pen drivers

• Wacom
  You can use the pen drivers supplied by your tablet PC manufacturer. They should work and support both the active digitizer and the, if available, additional multi-touch screen.
  The drawback is that those drivers don’t support pressure sensitivity in Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter. If you need pressure sensitivity there, together with more advanced pen features then you have to install the latest Wacom driver for Graphire & Bamboo
  But before you install this driver make sure that you've removed any other installed pen driver prior. Also note, that this driver does not support multi-touchscreens.
  
  
• N-trig

Pen calibration

To do this, load up the Control Panel. To make it easier to find the utility, switch from Category view to Classic View, this option is found in the sidebar.

If you installed the Wacom Enhanced Graphics Driver — You have two options, you can use the Wacom utility or the Windows Utility:
1.) Find "Pen Tablet Properties", double click to open it, click the "Calibrate" tab, then click the "Calibrate" button.
2.) Find "Tablet PC Settings", double click to open it, under the "General" tab, click the "Calibrate" button.

Make sure that your pen tip hits the middle in each of the four targets, do not calibrate the stylus pen with the pen straight up, and you looking down the pen. Calibrate naturally by holding the stylus pen as you would with a notepad and pen. Once done, test your calibration by moving the Control Panel window around to different areas and attempt to minimize, maximize, and close the window. If the calibration result does not satisfy you, re-calibrate until satisfied.

If you are using the stock, default drivers (e.g. you haven't done any driver updates) — Follow step 2.) in the section above.

If you have a touchscreen (or you have a dual digitizer, and want to calibrate the touchscreen) — Find "Touch Screen Properties" or "Touch Screen Settings", double click to open it, and calibrate the touchscreen with a finger or any other object.​

Customize all tablet PC buttons

Most tablet PCs have several physical tablet PC buttons near the display, but only a few are customizable. Buttons like screen rotation can't get changed.
With a registry hack you can unlock those buttons and customize them, too. Additionally this also allows you to modify several unknown switches, too, like the physical Screen Rotation event on Fujitsu tablet PCs.
​

• Short guide:
  Open the Registry editor and search for NoUI in the Registry. Change the value of NoUI to 0. Repeat the search and change until you've found all NoUI keys.
  After that close the registry editor and open the Tablet PC Settings in the Control Panel. In the Tab 'Buttons' should appear a lot more buttons now, which you can customize now.
  
  
• More detailed guide with images
  Customizing Buttons on screen

When do manufacturers update their Tablet PCs?

The exact date of when manufacturers refresh their lines are unknown until new models are publicly announced, thus, generally new Tablet PCs are released before or during the summer (in time for the new school year for students), before the end of the year, and after the new year. In most cases, they are around new processor and platform releases like the Intel Arrandale processors and the upcoming Calpella (Core i7) platform. However, the Tablet PC market is usually the last market to receive new technology upgrades, several months behind desktops and laptops.​

Can I upgrade my graphics card?

On the subject of dedicated graphics, generally no, for a Tablet PC one is unable to upgrade their graphics card. Upgrading an internal graphics card, commonly known as an Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP), is impossible to do as it is soldered directly on to the motherboard. To note, these include the Intel integrated graphics and such IGPs like the nVidia GeForce Go 6150 and ATi Mobility Radeon X1250.

However, upgrading a dedicated graphics card is almost impossible provided that the system in question has a MXM (Mobile PCI EXpress Module) slot. This is generally the case for less than 1% conventional notebooks/laptops available in the market. Tablet PCs, on the other hand, are even more difficult to upgrade as manufacturers usually solder dedicated graphics card to the motherboard. Keep in mind, that in most cases performing such an upgrade may void your warranty -- especially for Tablet PCs. Certain Dell notebooks with MXM slots and dedicated graphics card (not IGPs like the ATi MR X1250) do not void the warranty, however.

Case: Gateway C-140/141/142/143 Series
The C-140X CTO, C-140XL, C-141XL, and C-142XL have the ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 HD dedicated graphics card. In turn, as shown in the component image of the motherboard for both the series, the ATI M-71S graphics chipset/controller is clearly soldered into the motherboard (above the half-circle cut in the motherboard and to the left ~ green chip with silver center) and not held within a MXM slot. For any further clarification (for any skeptics), go to the Gateway Support site, select Notebooks, select the C-140 series, then choose either the C-140XL or C-141XL, select Components, then under the Motherboard category click "4006213R - Systemboard with 128 MB Graphics 965PM Chipset and 1394 (FRU)", then click Main View.

For reference and example, this nVidia dedicated graphics card for the Gateway M680 notebook is held by an MXM slot thus allowing an upgrade. For any further clarification (for any skeptics), go to the Gateway Support site, select Notebooks, select the M600 Series, choose the M680, select Components, then look under "Video Card".

Comparing the C-140 series and the M600 series, one can tell whether the graphics card is upgradeable if there is a Video Card category with component(s) listed compared to a system that does not have an upgradeable graphics card (soldered) which generally has graphics listed under the Motherboard category.

Resources
Upgrading Mobile Graphics Cards - NBR
List of MXM-capable Laptops​

 

Battery Guide​

Battery life

Software options to increase battery life
To improve battery life or detect failures like wrong drivers or background processes which cause an increased power draw, you can do following things:

• Open the task manager and take a look at the CPU load and the process list. When the PC is idle the CPU load should be around 0%-2% most of the time. If it is higher something is wrong. You have to find the process which causes the higher CPU load and fix it.
• Run the in Win7 integrated power tool, to see what devices or other things can cause increased power consumption. This tool will also give you tips regarding the windows integrated power plans and what you can change to increase battery life
  powercfg –ENERGY - Windows 7 – Power Management Reports
• Windows 7 has a new feature which automatically dims the screen after a specified time, sadly the shortest time you can set is 1 minute. If you want a shorter time you have to follow this guide:
  http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showpost.php?p=164646&postcount=4
• Run RMClock and watch the power consumption and also the CPU load while deactivating one device after another in the device manager. The higher the CPU load the lower the power consumption! Yes, it’s opposite to the OS load.
  You can deactivate things like Bluetooth, Wireless Lan, LAN controller, Fingerprint reader, card reader, modem, PC-Card slot, Smart card reader, Firewire, …. After each deactivation wait a minute and check if the power consumption dropped or if the CPU load in RMClock increased. If yes, then note the device and continue with other devices. In the end, keep the devices deactivated or search for newer drivers which may solve the increased power draw.
• Run ProcessExplorer and show the IO Delta Bytes column. When the tablet PC is idle then no process should consume any IO Delta Bytes, else this process or service does not let the CPU enter different sleep modes, e.g. if you move your mouse or use the pen you’ll see that the process managing those input devises, like a Wacom or Synaptics processes consumes some IO Delta Bytes. That’s fine, but it’s not ok if a process consumes some IO Delta Bytes when you do nothing with your PC, like the TrueCrypt Tray icon, which should be hidden if you need battery life.
• Another great trick to reduce power consumption and heat output is to reduce the CPU voltage. This won’t decrease the CPU performance, just the power consumption. Note that not every CPU is same, some CPU are more tolerant regarding lower voltages, some not. So you have to find the correct voltages for each frequency setting of your CPU. A detailed thread about this process can be found here:
  The "Undervolting" Guide

Some general things about power consumption
As said above try to keep as many devices deactivated as possible. If you take notes, often you don’t need the wireless lan card, so deactivate it and later activate it if you need it.
The same with the Bluetooth device. If you use it only rarely keep it deactivated in the device manager.
All in all is Bluetooth a power consumption hog. Not because the module needs that much power but because the Bluetooth stack gets handled by the software using the CPU. Because of this the CPU can’t enter any sleep mode when a BT device is connected, consumes a lot more power than usual when it’s idle. So if you think about using a Bluetooth mouse while abroad and need every minute of your battery then better get a wireless mouse, which does not hinder the CPU from entering different power saving modes.

Hardware options to increase battery life
Many tablet PC have additional batteries as an accessory available, like a second battery you insert in the optical drive bay (modular bay batteries called) or slice batteries which are as large as the whole tablet, just thinner, which you can attach to the bottom of the tablet PC. If you’re tablet PC does not offer such options or you already use them and it’s not enough then you can buy external third party batteries which you connect to your power plug of your tablet PC.
​

Battery wear

Many people don’t know how to use a Li-Ion battery properly. So here’s a short guide what to do and what not to do.
First of all: A Li-Ion battery has no memory effect as other batteries have!

• So it’s not necessary and not recommendable to deeply discharge a Li-Ion battery, instead this can damage your Li-Ion battery. Your Li-Ion battery is built out of several cells, like 6 cells. Each cell is slightly different, resulting in different wear per cell. So let’s say you have a 1 year old battery, which you discharge. One of those 6 cells is a bit more damaged than the others, this means the cell can only hold a smaller capacity and is faster empty. If you now discharge your battery to let’s say 20% then is this cell empty, while the others are still 20% full or more. If you continue to discharge your battery to 0%, until your PC shuts off, then does this particular cell get even more damaged because it gets discharged below its minimum voltage. So avoid deep discharges if you can.
  If you still hear such a suggestion then only because you can do a deep discharge to calibrate the charge controller, to tell the charge circuit the real capacity of the battery if it changed over time. Normally you don’t have to calibrate it, but sometimes the battery acts strange, then you can consider calibrating it.
• Highe temperature is the battery killer number one. Avoid too high temperatures. That’s why some recommend removing the battery if you don’t need it. If you also have to do it depends on how your tablet PC is designed, how your tablet heats the battery if it does at all. You can also use a notebook cooler to reduce the overall temperature and keep the battery cooler.
  While the battery gets charged it heats itself, if you now have your tablet PC turned on or stress it, then does the temperature go even higher.
  Most tablet PCs have the battery located at a place which does not get heated by the CPU or GPU. So often it’s not really necessary to remove the battery if you don’t use it.
  I personally also don’t know if it’s not better for the integrated charge controller to leave the battery connected to the tablet PC?! It’s possible that if you remove the battery often the charge controller can get wrong capacity values over a longer time, forcing you to calibrate it again, which also isn’t that great for the battery again.
• Charging: Professional tablet PCs and notebooks don’t charge the battery as long as the capacity hasn’t dropped below a specified percentage level, Fujitsu set it to 90%, Lenovo allows it to customize this setting. This is good and you should use this feature.
  There’s no charge controller available which is able to detect precisely when the battery is full, especially when you have discharged it only a percent or so. Instead, each time the battery gets charged, it gets overcharged a small amount. Each time it gets overcharged does it get damaged, too. So if you remove your tablet PC and use it for a minute on battery and then connect it to the AC adapter again, then recharging the lost 1 minute would just damage the battery.
• Many say that the ideal charge level, at which the battery does get harmed the least, is at 40%. So if you have to store your battery for a longer period then keep it at 40% at a cool place. But also recheck every few months and recharge it to 40% again, else it will deeply discharge and get damaged.

A battery is a very sensitive part of your computer, probably the most sensitive. There are some tricks to extend the battery life. What you do is a personal matter. So find the best methods for you to use the battery as long as possible.

Other guides regarding Li-Ion batteries can be found here
NotebookReview: Notebook Battery Guide
Battery University​

 

Tablet PC software​

Full Operating Systems (x86 - Intel/AMD based)
(full-blown operating systems, running on netbooks, notebooks, desktops and server computer)

• Windows 7
  The best OS for a tablet PC with the most advanced handwriting recognition and an intuitive to use Tablet Input Panel. And thanks to the improved taskbar and other design changes it’s better to use with a pen or finger than Vista or XP.
• Windows Vista
  Something between XP and 7. Not as good as 7 but better than XP, because of a trainable handwriting recognition and the introduction of pen flicks.
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
  Requires a special Tablet PC Edition which contains the tablet PC features, like handwriting recognition and Tablet Input Panel. It’s a great OS and good for slower tablet PCs as long as you don’t rely on handwriting recognition which isn’t trainable.
• Mac OSX
  Contains no tablet PC specific tools. Requires third party tools to get usable on a tablet PC. However, compared to Windows does Mac OSX only offer basic tablet PC features, also because most of the tablet PC software is written for Windows only.
• Linux
  There are many open source programs which implement handwriting recognition and other tablet specific features.
  Most major Linux distributions have tablet device drivers included by default. This includes Fedora 12, Ubuntu 9.04, and OpenSUSE, and all variations of them. If the device drivers are not loaded after an update on a distro other then the listed ones, you may have to edit the xorg.conf file to make your own driver.
  For an explanation how to install and configure Linux on a Tablet PC visit:
  Linux on Tablet PC Forum

Mobile Operating Systems (ARM - Qualcomm/Samsung/Apple)
(mobile operating systems, mostly optimized for touch-screens but with limited features)

• Android
  Android is an open source operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance, managed by Google. Mostly high-end Smartphones produced by HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, ... and tablets use this operating system.
  Its apps get coded in Java and run in Java Virtual Machine.
  
• iOS
  iOS gets developed by Apple only and is installed on the iPhone and iPad only.
  Its apps get developed in C derivates.
  
• WebOS
  WebOS was created by Palm, now HP. Most noteable device which uses WebOS is the Palm Pre.
  
• Symbian
  Symbian is an open-source platform, developed by Nokia. Nokia uses this OS on their low to semi-high-end phones.
  
• MeeGo
  Nokia with Maemo and Intel with Moblin joined each other and created Meego. It's an open-source mobile operating system and its primary use will be high-end Smartphones, Tablets, Netbooks and automotive solutions.
  The apps get developed in C derivates.
  
• BlackBerry OS
  Developed by RIM (Reasearch in Motion) and only installed on BlackBerry devices.
  
• Windows Mobile
  An older mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, with its main focus on business use. It became difficult to use With upcoming capacitive touchscreens.
  
• Windows Phone 7
  Microsofts current mobile operating system, whereas its main focus is young people, playing games, social networks, ...
  
• Windows Embedded Compact 7
  A striped down Windows 7, which runs on ARM processors.
  

Windows Desktop Replacements

• Rainmeter with a Touch-optimized skin
• BumpTop (sadly discontinued)
• FrontFace

Browser

• Opera
  With the included mouse gestures, the pan tool and the fully customizable user interface the ideal browser for a tablet PC.
• Firefox
  Easy to expand Open Source browser. Requires those two PlugIns to properly work on a tablet PC: GeckoTip and Grab and Drag
• Google Chrome
  Small, fast, lightweight browser. To add touch scrolling support also install the Chrome Touch extension

Note Taking

• Windows Journal
  A standard note taking program included in Windows XP Tablet PC edition, Windows Vista and Windows 7. It gives you everything you need to take notes with a pen.
• Microsoft Office OneNote
  Similar to Microsoft Journal but with a lot of additional organizational features.
• Microsoft InkSeine
  It’s a research project, mainly used for brainstorming and collecting ideas and information’s. It has intuitive to use and light user interface.
• Evernote
  A note taking and collection tool optimized for cloud computing. Only drawback: You can’t mix ink and text
• Agilix GoBinder
  A tool similar to OneNote with a lot of organizational features specifically designed for students. Discontinued as GoBinder but available as Franklin Covey Plan Plus 5.1.
• xThink MathJournal
  A notetaking tool dedicated for scientific tablet PC users. Allows you to solve equations, plot functions, …
• VisionObjects MyScript
  Alternative handwriting recognition and note taking software

PDF Annotators

• Bluebeam PDF Revu
  A powerful PDF editor and annotator. PDF Revu tries to replace Acrobat regarding the feature set. It has a very tablet PC friendly interface and many tools.
  Additional links: Bluebeam Forum / PDF Insider Blog / Station32 / Twitter
• Grahl PDF Annotator
  A lightweight PDF annotator with a UI similar to MS Journal, but improved tablet PC features, like a great fullscreen mode.
  Often Grahl has some special coupon codes or events in which you can buy the full version for even less money.
• Jarnal
  A free PDF annotating tool with basic ink support. Great is the option to ink together on a document over the web.
• Adobe Acrobat
  The standard regarding PDF creation and viewing. It has basic pen support which is rather poor without the additional expensive plugin AutoInk

Drawing

• Autodesk Sketchbook Pro
  A simple yet powerful application to draw sketches. It has the best user interface of any tablet PC program out there.
• Adobe Photoshop
  The most powerful tool regarding image editing.
• Corel Painter
  A powerful tool to create paintings and sketches, therefore with a more complicated user interface than Sketchbook Pro.
• InkScape
  Free software to draw vector graphics.
• ArtRage
  Similar to Corel Painter, just less powerful but simpler to use.

Miscellaneous

• Mindjet MindManager
  The mind mapping program per se. With pen and ink support perfectly suited for tablet PC users.
• RiteScript ritePen
  advanced handwriting recognition and customizable ink commands
  
  
• SmartDraw
  Just as the word processor makes it possible for anyone to create beautifully formatted written documentation, the visual processor makes it possible for anyone to create presentation-quality visuals just as easily.
  
• SmartTech
  SMART Ideas™ concept-mapping software brings the power of visual learning to your classroom. It helps students visualize and analyze complex ideas by building multilevel interactive maps.
  
• Microsoft Ink FlashCards (this also runs on x64 OS, but needs a small modification: x64 fix)
  A small free tool which allows you to create flashcards with the pen.
  
• InkBuddy
  Alternative to Ink FlashCards
  
• Stellarium
  Great planetarium. Works perfect on a tablet PC.
  
• 3D Journal
  Create 3D objects by drawing them with your pen
  
• PowerToys for Tablet PC
  Huge collection of small little useful tools and games
  
• Ink Blog Plugin
  

Tools

• StrokeIt
  StrokeIt is an advanced mouse gesture recognition engine and command processor.
• AutoHotkey
  Free keyboard macro program. Supports hotkeys for keyboard, mouse, and joystick. Can expand abbreviations as you type them (AutoText).
  • "Hand scrolling" any window
  • How to create programmable Virtual Buttons!
  
  
• Lecture Scribe
  A program for easily producing animated "whiteboard lectures" from a tablet PC or electronic whiteboard.
• ModLock
  Modlock is a tiny windows application designed to make the use of modifer keys such as Alt and Control a lot easier
• ClearType Rotator
  ClearType Rotator responds to changes in screen rotation by resetting the ClearType parameters to match the current screen settings.
• ZoomIt
  ZoomIt is screen zoom and annotation tool, perfect for presentation or lectures
• PenAttention
  highlights your pen cursor for giving presentations
• TEO
  Tablet Enhancements for Outlook is an add-in for Microsoft Outlook® 2003 and 2007 that turns the popular personal information manager into a fully pen-enabled application
• MiniScroller
  Utility for scrolling pages and using modifier keys while you are in slate mode.
• CircleDock
  Just as the name says, a dock, similar to rocket dock to add programs, files and other stuff, except that it is circular.
• BatteryBar
  Adds a new ‘tray icon’ to the task bar in which it shows you the battery status and the real remaining battery life. The important difference to all other battery notification tools is that Batterybar logs the past battery life histories with which it’s then able to give you your real remaining battery life and not just a calculated battery life depend on the current discharge rate as every other battery tool does.
• Flicks²
  Flicks² is utility that extends Windows's built-in pen&touch flicks capabilities and brings more sophisticated gestures to tablet/umpc users. It allows users to make two flicks in a row to execute certain commands.
• AutoWallpaper - Change wallpaper after rotation
• Tablet Pressure Curve Editor witha GUI
• Wacom Tablet Plugin Developer Pack
  The Wacom Tablet Plugin is a browser extension that provides supports for obtaining certain tablet properties, which can be used in web applications.

Other Collections

• MUST-HAVE software for TM2
• List of Art Programs
• Touch-friendly music player?

On Screen Keyboards

• In-Scribe
• Zero Weight Keyboard
• FlowPad
• ShapeWriter
• Comfort On-Screen Keyboard
• SlideIT
• FITALY

OneNote Addins

• ImageTools
• Canvas for OneNote
• Xiipy Search
• Table Sum
• HTML Importer
• Double Hyperlink
• TreeView Beta
• OneNote Printout Manager
• Make Subpage PowerToy
• Merge Pages PowerToy
• Table Of Contents

 

Tablet PC Games​

A game can use two types of mouse input to move the cursor.
Relative or absolute coordinates.

Relative means that the game measures the distance difference and according to this difference it calculates the amount the mouse cursor gets moved in the game.
Absolute means that the games sets one edge of the display as zero. From there it measures the distance of the mouse cursor.

Strategic games like C&C or Starcraft, and also almost all flash based games and simpler games which don't run in fullscreen mode use absolute coordinates. Such games work fine with a tablet PC pen.

However games, like first person shooters use relative coordinates. Such games don't work with a tablet PC pen. Instead the slightest movement of the pen causes a huge movement of the cursor in the game.

Still, there are some tricks to solve this issue.
One trick is to tell the game that it shall use absolute mouse coordinates:
http://www.bit-blot.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=00e5vskttemk3bm2bounocuse5&topic=290.msg12194#msg12194

The other trick is to change the pen mode, in the Wacom properties, to mouse mode. Then the pen acts as a touchpad and works with relative coordinates and not as a graphic tablet with absolute. It's not ideal to play FPS games, but at least makes them playable.



Games perfect for Tablet PCs

• Hexic Deluxe
• World of Goo
• Crayon Physics
• plasmapong
• inkball
• Physics Illustrator
• Phun
• oe cake

Games that work flawlessly with a Tablet PC

• Age of Empires III
• Command & Conquer Series
• Euclidean Crisis
• The Longest Journey
• osu!
• Pocket Tanks Deluxe
• Starcraft
• Warcraft 3

Online Games

• http://www.isketch.net/i2.html
• http://www.iminlikewithyou.com/#/arcade/gamelobby/drawmything

Further links

• Favorite games on your Tablet PC?
• Games that work in slate mode