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IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC Reviewed
JR writes "CoolTechZone.com has reviewed IBM's ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC that works as a standard notebook computer as well as a tablet PC. Generally with hybrid products, there are quite a few limitations attached, is that the case with X41? According to the article, "The notebook has a lot of drawbacks, lacks important features and tries to make up all that with its lightweight and a fingerprint reader that works like a charm. If you are looking for a small lightweight tablet and won't do much more than e-mail and note taking, along with basic office stuff, we would seriously recommend this one for it's battery life, the extreme lightweight design and the brilliant IBM support, but be ready to pay anywhere from $1800 to upwards of $2000 for a common purpose machine."
I used a tablet PC for several years while at Microsoft, partly because I wanted to understand what or if there was an application and partly because it was the politically-correct thing to do. I was not impressed. It really has nothing to do with the form-factor, although performance is a key factor. It has more to do with the software, specifically Windows for Tablet, and the whole human interaction thing.
I took notes on it for about 9 months, and then finally had to stop when I realized I couldn't find anything for later review. The files were all there, my notes were in them, but to open and close hundreds of files looking for the meeting where that guy said that thing about that stuff? Forget it. There was no way I could be more efficient than the notebook and pen. True, you can't search your notebook electronically, but you can't search your written notes either. Convert handwriting to text? Forget about it, the error correction you have to go through eliminates ANY potential savings.
My old-fashion father, now an 80 year-old CPA, used to laugh when I would bring home the latest PDA/calendar/phone thingy. He would smile, take out his daytimer and set it on the table. We would race to see who could look up a personal schedule for a specific date. I never won the race. I was never even close. I still cannot win that race, and I still cannot even come close.
The Tablet does have some unique applications, such as the Doctor doing their rounds and updating charts on the fly. Inventory perhaps. There are others. But as a general purpose note-taking computing platform, forget about it. It the latest technology cannot outperform the oldest known writing standard in the world, pen and paper, and can't make general office functions any better, it is just technology looking for a solution.
A most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is if they foul up there's no law against wacking them around a bit.
I often wonder which, in 5 years, will be the more practical tablet type of solution. Will devices like this continue to evolve into that elusive "paper notebook replacement" or will Windows Mobile devices expand in functionality? The part that really seems odd is that, if Microsoft keeps developing both XPTablet and WindowsMobile, won't they begin completing with themselves for usage?
http://www.tomandemily.com
Lenovo Thinkpad x41 Unreviewx 41.ars
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/thinkpad-
-theGreater.
I will never use an electronic device that forces me to write on it in my own handwriting or any other PDAish grafitti like trash. Never. Maybe this is a niche machine for people who need to lug around electronic forms, blueprints, contracts and whatnot.
And please don't get me wrong I have a 12x12 Acecad digitizer tablet. I'm pretty familiar with using a stylus - - for things that it makes sense to use a stylus for. Like drawing.
How long until these thinkpads are labeled Lenovo? As far as I'm concerned, there is no IBM Thinkpad any more....doesn't make Lenovo any better/worse; I'd just rather call a spade a spade.
from the title of the article: "Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC: Closing the Mobile Gap"
Slashdot just got it wrong, this is definitely a Lenovo.