Thanks a lot Apple. With the announcement that Cupertino's holiday product line-up is set, the rest of the computing industry seems content to do the same. Sure; if I peeled the onion back from the consumer level view, I am sure there are dozens of neat things just preparing to hatch. But I am talking about actual new product launches between now and Saint Nick taking his annual ride. The only cool thing I see hitting the street that is not already on a shelf somewhere is the Barnes and Noble Nook. A product which I am already a supporter of before its impending launch.
If I were in my less mature and frivolous youth, I would have already purchased a Viliv something or other, and maybe another netbook. Maybe. I did just complete a major sell-off of all of the extra workstations in the 'WERKz because so many of them went unused. But the sheer lack of anything interesting and new on the market is making me downright antsy.
For those feeling the same way, and in better financial times than I am, some companies have the answer. That is to pick up something not new, but previously out of your price reach. Verizon is one such vendor. They are subsidizing the Sony Vaio P for a mere $199 with a 2 year contract.
The Vaio P is a respectable piece of kit. Over-priced, as is the case with the majority of Sony's product lines, the Vaio P is a hard sell at its normal price of $850 or more; $300 more than the most expensive NetBook, and more expensive than the new trend of razer-books. Being able to buy one at less than 50% of its stand-alone street price should be tickling more than one techno-nerd looking to score a piece of self-funded gadgetry before the holidays hit.
Having one of these to cart home would be an enjoyable capture. While it is true that you have to invest in a 2-year data plan with Verizon, that seems almost a commodity these days. A 2-year plan, at least in the US, is the norm, so it should not hit the average buyer as anything uncomfortable.
Truth be told that if I had not just switched to Sprint, this is a deal that would definitely have had me jumping. The Vaio P, at least in design and aesthetics, is a far step and away from the rest of the bargain basement fodder typical of the netbook strata.
Oh well. I'll have to leave this to some other lucky sucker and be satisfied with my other gadgets. Still. Black Friday is just around the corner, and I think eTailers have finally figured it out. They need to offer competitive prices online that encourage users to stay at home instead of getting in line at a brick-and-mortar shop at 5 AM.
While I am supposed to be abstaining, if something absolutely incredible goes live on an online Black Friday sale, I am not certain how I am supposed to resist. I might need to go camping and leave all gadgets at home so I can not possibly even look at a BF website out of curiosity (or fear).
So I wonder how much more a second data line with Verizon would really cost me?
- Vr/Z
I have been a proponent of the TabletPC platform since its inception. Maybe I am one of the few; the outlyers. To me, the platform and what it does just makes sense. And I do not qualify it with that questionable statement that it has a place in vertical markets or for niche uses. That is just crazy talk. How people can not see the common sense in simply writing, in working in the paradigm that has dominated human culture since the arrival of the written word, and creating that in a persistent digital environment, I just can not fathom. As it is, I frequently find myself alone in looking at a device and seeing the sense in it not having a keyboard.
What I have not done is presented a step-by-step guide to doing the initial configuration and then managing the life-cycle of a TabletPC and integrating it into your work and personal life. And I am not going to have time to that today either.
But one day a few months ago, 5 months into my Motion LE1600's tour of duty as my primary work laptop and the PIM Workstation in the 'WERKZ, it seemed like a good time to take this on as a writing project. Unfortunately, shortly after I startewd that article, I decided that the LE1600 was not cutting it and that I needed more oomph at work. So I upgraded to an HP 2730p Elitebook. The HP is serving with aplomb, and eventually, I will get back the original concept behind this post. We'll do a complete walk-through of how one should expect to employ a TabletPC in every-day life, we'll wrap up with a quick review of what is currently on the market, and some of the more prudent means of going about attaining one.
Until I get back to that original intent, I did want to post what I had written those months ago, as it may be of some use to someone in the market for a slate-****TabletPC:
"First, let's start off with a description of the capabilities and limitations of the LE1600 and why I specifically chose to go with this model over other choices. The LE1600 is a slate-****TabletPC released circa mid-year 2005. The manufacturer is still going today, although I do not know that I could say going strong. A spin-off of Gateway, Motion now operates as a sole corporate entity, continuing to produce high-end TabletPCs for the professional and consumer markets. I say high-end because, despite not having keyboards or screens with high resolutions, slate-****TabletPCs are the more expensive of the genre. With no keyboard included, in order to utilize the LE11600 as a standard notebook, you have to pair it with a USB keyboard or a proprietary board from Motion.
The LE1600 has a 12" screen. My specific unit is equipped with the View Anywhere Screen, which reduces glare on the screen and enables a user to employ the tablet outdoors. It has only two USB ports, both on the left-hand side of the tablet. It also has a fingerprint reader (which I find invaluable on a laptop that does not have a keyboard for you to enter a password every time). There are indicator lights for the HDD use, power, power source, and the status of the wireless antenna. Finally there are shortcut buttons down the right-hand front face to enable customized shortcuts to features as best benefits the individual user.
The full specs are as follows: Motion LE1600 TabletPC: Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005, Intel Pentium M 1.5 GHz CPU (400MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache), 12" 1024 x 768 ( XGA ) LCD, 1.5GB DDR2 400MHz, 60GB Hard Drive, Intel 915GM integrated GPU, LAN, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi antenna, Bluetooth, 1 PCMCIA Card Slot, OnBoard Audio Chip/Sound Processor, SD Card Reader, 2 x USB 2.0 Ports,VGA Out"
While the LE1600 sits in a corner, awaiting shipment to Dell for recycling, I continue to use the HP 2730p, as well as a Fujitsu U820 UMPC, whch has core TabletPC characteristics. I do not think I could ever continue my computing hobby without utilizing at least one TabletPC in my arsenal. I also see the point in the recent slew of Tablets that are emerging. If I was not currently pursuing other financial interests, I would certainly lay out the money for a Viiv X70.
There are some key themes that run throughout this blog. Most can note my interest in gaming, which is where my whole online content pursuit began. After that initial venture, I grew into a strong interest in multi-media. Today, my passion is with ultra-mobile computing on the go. A key pillar supporting that is my in-tranisit use of TabletPCs. I get it. I think a lot of other people do, too. Here's to hoping that Microsoft and hardware vendors understand that a lot of us do get it.That despite the naysayers and negative nancy's in the media, that there is sense in continuing to meet the consumer demand for better and better TabletPC devices.
- Vr/Z..>>
Laptop Magazine: I am all for as much CULV "my razer-book kicks your netbook's butt" love as can be spread around. In that vein is this review of the HP dm3, even more timely because I have a buddy in the market for a razer-book. If you are, too, peep this review. Oh, and remember to stay away from MSI. Their X-340 (which I owned) broke, they're customer service support was horrible. So bad that it was less stressful for me to simply throw the thing away. There are better razer-books on the market, as this shootout shows.
Liliputing: May as well keep going with the general theme, as Liliputing has posted a review of Asus's latest razer-book, the UL30A. So if you are really in the market for something in this stratum, which of these two do you pick?
Gizmodo: ...annnnddddd....this is why it's called the Trifecta. In another coincidental twist, Gizmodo just recently ran a shootout between the top razer-books on the market. So now you know the answer to my question above. At least according to Gizmodo. Peep the feed.
