thinking of buying a tablet pc

Thread Starter

PG1995

Joined Apr 15, 2011
832
Hi

My cousin who is outside of the country has Dell Mini Duo tablet PC. He says that he can sell it to me for almost $400 when he comes back. I can also get a Acer TravelMate in $400. But TravelMate isn't tablet PC; has 14 inches screen though. I want to buy a tablet primarily for learning but would like if it can also function as a normal computer. Dell Mini Duo is a convertible. The only drawback is its short battery life which is 2 hours and TravelMate can give 7 hours. I have heard having tablet can make many things interesting. Dell Due isn't fast enough but it isn't slower than the computer I use these days. I think using AutoCAD and circuit simulation software on the tablet would be fun. You just drag and drop the objects. I know that Dell Due wouldn't let me handwrite but I can still draw simple diagrams using some software and for instance post those diagrams here to make my queries easier to understand. I hope you understand why I want to buy this tablet. Please let me know your opinion. Thanks.

Regards
PG
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,701
I don't have any comments about tablets other than the iPad.

I bought the original Apple iPad for one specific purpose. I am a guitar and bass player and I already had hundreds of song lyrics and chord sheets in printed form as well as thousands of sheet music. I bought the iPad in order to develop my own app to store these on one portable device. As it turned out, other developers had already beaten me to it. Apps are already available to do the two functions, chord sheets and pdf sheet music and they suit my needs to a T.

Anyway, I have been immensely satisfied with my iPad and I use it daily. Since then I have found many other valuable uses for my iPad. The star guide app is amazing. My mother had never used a computer in her whole life. Now she has and uses her own iPad2.

While the iPad has many useful applications, I would not use it to replace a PC. I would not use it for extensive typing, such as this forum message. I cannot imagine how one would use it to draw a circuit schematic or to layout a PCB. There are many tasks for which I would go back to a PC. (For work on the road I use a $200 netbook.)
For $400 I would rather pay the extra $100 and get the iPad2. My iPad is the first thing I pick up in the morning and the last thing I put down before dropping off to sleep.
 

Thread Starter

PG1995

Joined Apr 15, 2011
832

saturation

Joined Dec 21, 2008
22
Nice. Do you read this forum on it? If so, how to you input your posts, typing on the virtual keyboard?

On Android I text to speech and its about 80% accurate, so it partially solves the input problem, the real issue remains the small screens on phones. But its fairly awkward in public places, and with background noise. Also, changing the OS means many of your tools, some of which you paid for, need to be re-bought or licenses.

So I opted for a Win7 netbook, since they are unpopular I got mine new for $200 complete, and it has 7 hour battery life, and third party folks have made 15 hour batteries ... these are consumption rates while web surfing. For reading text alone I get 10-12 hrs on the standard battery, except with pdf, then I get 6 hours from all the background rendering it does.


I don't have any comments about tablets other than the iPad.
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MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,701
Yes, I read this forum (and everything else) on the iPad. Great for relaxing on a couch with a drink in the other hand.

Whenever you are expected to type something in, a virtual touch keyboard pops up. It is usable for typing short messages. For anything more than a few lines I prefer to use a real keyboard on a PC. It is not just about the keyboard. It is about the more precise control you get with a mouse and cursor when you have to edit. (You may not have noticed that I proofread my posts before clicking "save").
 
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Thread Starter

PG1995

Joined Apr 15, 2011
832
Thank you, Mr Chips, Saturation.

@MrChips: What does this mean "they suit my needs to a T"? Please let me know.

Well, I hate virtual keyboard. The Dell Duo has a physical keyboard. iPad is not the thing I need. I need a PC. I haven't used a touch screen PC before. I have a touch screen smart phone, it's great. I think touchscreen tablet can make my life easy. I don't like to read ebooks on a notebook computer. But I love to read stuff on my smartphone because it feels like a books; I can use my hands directly to turn the pages etc. Besides this, I can draw diagram and use application such as AutoCAD with easy. I need to know if I'm thinking right. I know Dell Mini Duo is not a great one but it's one of the cheapest and a convertible one too.
 

tom66

Joined May 9, 2009
2,595
I've never liked the idea of a tablet. I don't like virtual keyboards, or even small phone ones. A real QWERTY keyboard for me.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,701
Nice. Do you read this forum on it? If so, how to you input your posts, typing on the virtual keyboard?
Someone just demonstrated an app to me called "WritePad". It turns the tablet into a handwriting entry device, like the Apple Newton or the PalmPilot. It recognizes hand (finger) written scribbles and turns it into text.
 

saturation

Joined Dec 21, 2008
22
Nice, more options helps. Keyboards are hard to beat: try any of these typing test websites using any input method you have, voice, handwriting or virtual keyboard and compare against a regular keyboard.

This particular site is quick to complete, just one sentence long.

http://www.mrkent.com/kb/kbtest.htm


Someone just demonstrated an app to me called "WritePad". It turns the tablet into a handwriting entry device, like the Apple Newton or the PalmPilot. It recognizes hand (finger) written scribbles and turns it into text.
 

saturation

Joined Dec 21, 2008
22
I'm not sure Acer is a bad brand; I own 4 laptops and one of their LCD desktop screens, decent, trouble free, and low cost since 2007.

However, tabletpcs are such a mix bag in quality right now I'd wait for the dust to settle; it goes from one bug to another. If you want one today, get an iPad2, or go for a well established netbook, at least it will work as designed.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,701
I have an iPad and an Acer netbook running Linux on a solid-state drive. The iPad is great for so many things but I use the Acer as a PDA, for typing long essays, and storing personal reference info. I often take both with me on the road. I also use the Acer for giving presentations since it takes up less space on a lectern or projection table.
 

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
What kind of jokes you mean? Does it have to do anything with the word "Acer"? Please let me know if possible. Thanks.
Acer's just a subpar brand in my mind. I had a ACER laptop for a year at work and it worked fine. I just have a friend with an electronics recycle biz and they get blown ACER lcd's all the time. Theres nothing particularly wrong with the brand but you get what you pay for, and you pay less for an ACER. I personally love ASUS and am horrified the Transformer doesn't do windows or linux. If I go a tablet with android its gonna be something like a HTC flyer. You should be able to grab one for cheap in a couple months since they are over priced.
 
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