Tablet for artist with LONG battery life?

[sboling]

I'm copying the Q&A part below, but as an introduction, I am an artist (digital and non-digital) who also does web and print designing. I'd like a tablet PC that is very light/portable, easy to use, is good for digital art and web design, and has a LONG battery life. 10-12 hours minimum.

General Questions.

1. What is your budget? Maximum $1600

2. Do you prefer a Slate, Convertible or Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)? Not sure...

3. What size Tablet PC would you prefer?
Small and light ~ 5" to 8.9"
Compact ~ 10"
Mainstream ~ 12.1"
Large ~ 14"

Compact is ok, I prefer Mainstream

4. Which country do you intent to purchase from?
USA

5. Do you have any preferences to brand loyalty or dislikes?
I like HP and don't particulary like Gateway. Everything else is in the middle.

6. How many hours battery life do you require?
10-12 minimum. Ok, 12 minimum

7. What do you intend to use the Tablet for?
Digital art, design for web and print, watch movies/videos and listen to music, email and other basics including writing (keyboard and handwriting).

8. Do you have an OS preference?
Vista

9. What software and tasks do you intend to run?
Imaging software, internet, MS Office, Windows Media Player for DVDs, messaging/webcam.

10. Do you intend playing Games. If so please list.
No


Screen Specifics

1. Do you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen

2. What resolution do you prefer?
XGA - 1024x768 ~ Large and easy to read text and graphic icons but you fit less on the screen.
SXGA - 1400x1050 ~ Small text and graphic icons which require good vision but the gain is a much larger screen.
WXGA - 1280x768 ~ Wider viewing angle of XGA but ideal for viewing Spreadsheets and other programs that require desktop space.

SXGA or WXGA

3. Do you require an Indoor only or Indoor/Outdoor screen option?
Indoor/outdoor

4. Do you require a Passive or Active Digitizer?
Active

5. Do you require Wacom or Finepoint Technology?
Maybe Wacom? Not sure.


Component Specifics

1. What size Hard Drive and Memory do you require?
100GB hard drive, 2+GB memory

2. Do you require an Optical Drive?
Yes, but can be part of an expansion or external.

3. Do you require ability to add a second Battery or Hard Drive (Modular Bay technology)?
YES, lots of batteries



Thanks for your help, I'm looking forward to the replies!
Susan

[Chocobo]

Fujitsu Lifebook T2010. 9 hours of battery life, 11 with extended battery, $1599 or less. I don't think anything can equal its battery longevity on a single charge.

[sboling]

Thanks Chocobo!

I wonder if there is a tablet out there for less than $1600 with at least 2GB memory and a faster processor (plus long battery life, wacom, etc). Does anyone know?

I found the HP Compaq 2710p which I really like, but it seems a bit expensive. Has anyone tried this one out? They say with the expansion battery it gets 11-12 hours.

Thanks for your help,
Susan

[Triple A Studios]

Thats a good question....

9 hours of batt,
Wacom Active,
2+ Gig of mem,
12.1+ wxga screen,
and a cpu that moves faster then a alley cat on an eight ball and a shot of tequila,

all for under $1600....

CAN IT BE DONE!?!

The experts say?

[pibach]

No. Light weight, long battery life and high performance requires a tradeoff. The best performance per Watt is obtained by the core solo. Then it decreases quite quickly with more speed.

[sboling]

I like the Fijitsu T2010, but then I started looking at the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet, and I really like that one. (my target price is slowly increasing, much to the dismay of my budget! LOL)

Does anyone know if a USB DVD device will work well with this laptop? I've seen them advertised, but read somewhere that they are not compatible with everything.

[dabidos]

I got an x61t and I have no problems booting and loading cds/dvds from this usb to ide cable and an internal dvd drive. Cost a whole 30$ all together. Installed ubuntu and osx with this thing with no hassle.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812232002