Debating convertible against a slate

[bok]

1. What is your budget?
Generally, I would like to spend as little money as possible (<$800), but I'd be willing to pay more if the tablet/slate would be expected to last the rest of my undergraduate career and through grad. school.

2. Would you consider purchasing used/refurbished?
Of course!

3. Do you prefer a Slate, Convertible or Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)?
A slate or a convertible (see below); I have barely even considered a UMPC, and unless suggested I won't start researching them.

This is my main reason for posting. I'm note sure a slate will have the smooth performance I want.

4. What size Tablet PC would you prefer?
I don't care one way of the other. It would be replacing an "analogue"/paper notebook, so there's plenty of room for it.

5. Which country do you intend to purchase from?
The U.S.A

6. Do you have any preferences to brand loyalty or dislikes?
Nope

7. How many hours battery life do you require?
Theoretically none; my school has plenty of outlets in the classrooms for student use.

8. What will be the primary usage scenario of this tablet? (Email/Web Surfing/Drawing/Word Processing/Entertainment/Notetaking etc)

The tablet would be used solely for notetaking. Light websurfing and drawing (schematics, graphs, rough sketches...nothing fancy) would be nice, but are not required.

9. Do you have an OS preference?
No, and I'm good with linux and can get through a gentoo install...

10. What software and tasks do you intend to run? (Microsoft Office or other Word Processing Suite/Photoshop/3D Studio Max/Autocad etc)
Onenote!

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


Screen Specifics

1. What resolution do you prefer?
I have no preference here.


2. Do you require the screen to be readable in sunlight?
No, the tablet will be used indoors.
3. Do you prefer your display to be glossy or matte?
No preference. .

4. Do you require Touch? (without pressure sensitivity) (Which one: resistive or capacitive)
It would be nice, but accuracy with the pen is the most important feature.

5. Do you require a Pen? (with pressure sensitivity) (Which one: Wacom or N-Trig)
Yes, and the wacom sounds better, but feel free to dissuade me.

Component Specifics

1. What size Hard Drive and Memory do you require?
2gB+. I have no problem dumping data into an external hard drive at the end of the semester.

2. Do you require an Optical (CD/DVD) Drive to be built in?
No.
3. Do you require ability to add a second Battery or Hard Drive (Modular Bay technology)?

As long as the tablet has a charging cable, then no..
Misc
1. Other non specific items ~ please add other items you require not covered above? A built-in microphone (or at least a port for one). Also, if the slate had an optional, wireless (or USB) keyboard, that would be useful.

2. Additional requests ~ anything other you wish to take into consideration?

I'm really just trying to find out if a slate will work well with onenote, or if I should get a full convertible. Also, I'd rather like a cheaper model to see if I like digital, handwritten notes in the longterm (I've only played with friends tablet). If it goes well I can just replace it later.

[E1000]

If you want a new one have a look into the tm2 - its a wacom convertible with optional discrete graphics starting from $890 but there are several discounts, maybe more for US students and of course you lucky guys can get bing cashback too, which should bring it below $800 (note double check bing cashback as it doesn't play nice with certain discounts). Personally I would always go for a convertible since they give you the best of both worlds. I use the pen for diagrams and the keyboard for actual notes since the pen whilst nice cannot compete in terms of speed. It also has dual array microphones and a dual headphone/microphone socket. Best of all its brand new with a warrenty!

[LaoTan]

bok,

I would go with a slate! the only damages I have heard of from users of tablets are the Screen swivels (other than dropping them & cracking the Screen -Both suseptible.)

what you want it for is what I use it for- Notetaking with Onenote. Not only is it great in class but it allows holding the book in one hand and writing with the other while reading.

an external keyboard allows for writing the term papers and other tasks where use of keyboard is easier. I opted for a compact keyboard but desired all the important keys to be in the correct places (same as full size) and could not find one like that cheaper than the one Motion sold.

All the below bought on Ebay except the keyboard.


Motion 1600 -$300
120 GB HD (ZIF)-$105 (original was a 30GB mini ATA)
ZIF cable-$ 45
win7 -$70
USB keyboard -$55 (from motion not Ebay)
USB DVD Drive/CD Burner -$35
3 extended Batteries- $60
Leather folio case- $20
Battery charger- $30
Office Beta- (free for now)

Total Just over $700 for one Awesome note taking machine! and web browsing, and
blogging, and Word processing and Anime viewing and...

The reason I went with a slate rather than convertible is that the screen twisting around like that is the weak link and I just don't trust Murphy.

Hope this helps and Good luck.

Lao Tan

[kirin]

Purchased a Fujitsu ST6012 off of the Fujitsu eBay store for ~$1000 (includes tax & shipping).

I absolutely love it and do not need a keyboard unless I am typing a term paper (using the OEM infrared keyboard). You may want a usb wireless (radio or bluetooth) keyboard instead since you will not experience line of sight issues.

It works as a perfect digital notepad since it has a 12.1 inch screen (roughly 6.5inches by 10.5inches)

One thing I do not like about this slate and all the other tablet PCs on the market is the wide spread adoption of the widescreen format. If it was a standard screen, the dimensions would have more resemblance to a 8.5inch width of a notebook (I value width over height in portrait mode).

I have often thought I should have purchased the ST5112 (~$600 on eBay) which has a standard 12.1 inch screen before they switched to widescreen for the ST6012. What made my decision was that the ST6012 has an integrated GMA4500 video chip while the ST5112 has the GMA945. If you don't do graphics then it wont matter.

Both models have built-in mics.

If you wanna go cheap to test, look for ST5020 on eBay. There are a ton going for $300 (maybe less).

I would have given more thought to the motion models if the had more wide scale adoption of the sata interface for their hard drives (I had a sata SSD laying around). Also, motion's design was more for landscape use while fujitsu stylistic is more for portrait.

kirin