The Romance Begins

In November 2001, I heard the first newsbytes about the Tablet PC concept being prepared by Microsoft. The idea that you would be able to interact with normal laptops in the same way that you do with a Pocket PC was fairly intriguing. A notebook of three pounds or lighter, running a superset of Windows XP Professional, with built-in wired and wireless communication devices, and ability to use a stylus on the screen to record handwritten notes was something like computing nirvana to me at the time. So I kept following the press releases, the rumors, and anything Paul Thurrott posted on WinSuperSite.com and WinInformant.com.

The first prototype images that I saw for a Tablet PC device came from Acer, a company I never held in high regard. The small form-factor and rotating screen made caused me to decide that this was the model I should buy when it became publicly available.

So, did the Acer TravelMate C100 live up to my absurdly high expectations? Take a look at TabletPCBuzz.com’s exclusive review and find out.

Product Overview

The Acer TravelMate C100 is the first Tablet PC device to be publicly available, and thus will be the standard upon which future devices shall measure. The two models available as of October 19, 2024 are the TMC102T and the TMC102Ti. Both models feature an Intel Pentium III-M Ultra-Low-Voltage processor running at 800 megahertz, 256 megabytes of RAM, a 10.4 inch TFT screen with stylus input capabilities, an external USB (version 1.1) 24X CD-ROM, 10/100 Fast Ethernet and 56k V.90 data/fax modem, a Smart Card reader, and the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system.

The TMC102Ti adds a few extra features over the TMC102T (including a $100 higher price-point), such as a built-in 802.11b compliant wireless device, a 30 gigabyte hard drive (versus the 102T’s 20 gigabyte drive), and two Lithium-Ion battery packs (versus the 102T’s single battery) which are tested to last up to 3.5 hours under minimal workload (my experience runs 2.5 to 3 hours per charge). For an extra $100, the TMC102Ti is a virtual steal.

Both models weigh 3.2 pounds (with battery installed) and are identical externally, save for one function key above the keyboard that operates the wireless connection. Both feature two USB 1.1 ports and a four-pin IEEE 1394 port (also called FireWire, SB1394, and i.Link) in the middle of the right edge of the device. Directly south of those ports are the Line In and Line Out connectors, and even further down lies the Smart Card/PCMCIA reader. The left side is blank, save for the power button and the hard drive access cover. The bottom edge features a built-in microphone and a Fast Infra-Red port (both located in a silver TravelMate bevel). The rear edge includes the standard VGA port, separate RJ-11 (data/fax) and RJ-45 (10/100 Fast Ethernet) ports, the power adapter input, and a security lock insert.

The keyboard is standard QWERTY layout, built at 90% of average size. The Shift keys are both oversized, similar to standard desktop keyboards (and unlike more notebook keyboards), and features a wide range of blue secondary Function keys. Such properties include speaker volume (and mute), screen lock, Sleep mode, Windows Help, soft-power and reboot, screen brightness and contrast. Directly above the keyboard are 4 (or 5) special white oval keys, which serve as the wireless operation key (only on model TMC102Ti), two user-definable keys (to open any program or perform any function you program), default E-Mail and default Internet browser. Below the keyboard is a standard track-pad with left- and right-click buttons, and a four-direction scroll button.

Both models also come with a standard size stylus device with a single button and eraser function, a backup/emergency stylus with only a single button located in the top of the monitor, and two Smart Cards (capable of storing confidential information and securing the computer).

Hardware Features

The very first thing that strikes you when you play with the TravelMate C100 is the screen. Its crisp 10.4 inch display displays the Windows interface in gorgeous 24-bit color at a standard resolution of 1024x768 pixels. On the right side of the screen-case face lays the Acer Information Panel. The LED icons showcase the status (in descending order) of Num Lock, Caps Lock, battery charging, hard drive access, Sleep mode, Power, and an orange radar signifying wireless access. (The backside of the screen-case, viewable when the screen is closed, has three LED icons indicating wireless access, Power, and Sleep mode.)

A number of special function keys are located just below the Acer Information Panel. They include task/security (if Smart Card security is not enabled, it acts as if you just pressed Ctrl-Alt-Del and brings up the Windows XP Task Manager), Tablet Function (brings up an on-screen context menu allowing you to change certain device functions, such as screen rotation, device properties, energy management, etc), a scroll-bar (which scrolls up or down a screen and acts in conjunction with the Tablet Function key to rotate the screen), and Enter (which acts like the Enter key, useful when using only the stylus).

But the most intriguing aspect of the screen is the two little push-buttons in the bottom corners of the monitor. When the user pushes them both in at the same time, two lock-bars retreat from the LCD, allowing the screen to be rotated 180 degrees clockwise. When full rotation is achieved, the push-buttons can be used to lock the screen in place backwards, allowing the user to lay the screen flat over the keyboard. Then the TravelMate is in Tablet Mode, where the stylus is used as the primary form of input (note that you can use the stylus on the screen at any position; this ability never turns off).

Software Features

And the entire usage of the stylus is built in the special Windows XP operating system developed by Microsoft, called Tablet PC Edition. A character (standard letter-by-letter), line (entire sentence input), and block (similar to Palm’s preferred input method) recognizer are now built directly into the operating system, along with a virtual keyboard and the ability to write anywhere on the screen and have it translated into text.

Unfortunately, the writing translator is classified as a “simple” program in that it does not learn over time from your writing and correction styles, but only allows you to modify the general character recognition parameters in the setup utility (such as what kind of A’s and a’s you write). However, this is not as bad as would be expected, as having had the other three members of my family try it out, it easily understood all of our writing styles without any extra configuration (rated at 98% error-free computation by our calculations).

But the majority of your stylus activities will not center on having the system translate your written words into text, but rather storing everything you write in original form in the included program called Windows Journal. Called ‘Digital Ink’ by Microsoft, your original pen strokes are stored in a file-format readable by Windows Journal (and eventually all Office programs and applications by other third-party vendors). Windows Journal also includes numerous annotation devices, such as single click access to turning the stylus point into a highlighter (of any color and size), a pen (of various intensities, sizes, and colors), and an eraser (in the same way that a pencil works; turn the stylus around and use the rounded top on the screen, and the digitizer realizes that it should be erasing instead of writing).

Journal really comes into its own with its text modification abilities. You can easily highlight any amount of text and doodles (by holding down the only button on the stylus, which also acts as a right-click in Windows) and convert the size or color; copy, cut and past the writing; translate it to standard text for other applications; or move it to another area of the screen by simply dragging it there. You can also insert space into a document, simply by dragging a horizontal line between two points: the space is automatically inserted into that area, and all other information that was there is simply moved down. (Extremely useful in meetings where you go back to earlier subjects or cover previous ground; no more having to guess how much paper-space to conserve for secondary comments.)

The other included application is called Sticky Notes, which does exactly what you would think. It is a little yellow pad that can be resized or relocated to anywhere on the screen (and modified to “Keep on Top,” if necessary). As anyone in an office environment easily understands, the edges of your desktop monitor can be consumed by Post-It Notes within only a few short hours. Now you can have them simply pop-up on your desktop every time your computer turns on, and know that one wont fall or blow off (or get nabbed by a child or the practical joker next cubical down).

The last piece of special software is called InkBall, a game that utilizes the stylus. As numerous balls bounce around the container area, you need to draw instant walls and reflection surfaces to direct the balls into their respective holes.

Microsoft Reader 2.0 is also preinstalled, which displays electronic books with annotation capabilities. (A personal favorite of mine, as the most accessed program on my Pocket PC other than Agenda Fusion.)

The TravelMate C100 also comes with PlatinumSuite software, capable of reading and writing to Smart Cards. You can use them to secure the computer in times of high-opportunity events and locations (such as a tradeshow or an airport), save website password information for instant logon, and other security-conscious information (such as a secret list of competitor research informants). The cards can also be used to access the PlatinumSecure application, which is capable of encrypting and decrypting selected files on the hard-drive (in military-grade 128-bit encryption).

Conclusion

The Tablet PC is the kind of multipurpose device that I have been yearning for a long time. As a college student, I will be able to have all of my notes in a single location at all times, easily replicated (printing) and shared (text conversion, e-mail). After a single week of use in my courses, I have around 80 virtual pages of notes (which is the equivalent of a normal paper spiral notebook). However, unlike all of my previous used spiral notebooks, this is full of colored text and highlighting, making it far more useful in studying and preparation for exams; something I cannot do on normal paper unless I have a whole canister of writing utensils with me. Along with its light weight and small-form factor, it easily goes with me across campus, and lasts the whole day (since all of my classes are two hours at a time, I trade batteries between the first and second classes, charge one during my lunch-hour, and then use it during the afternoon). After about two hours of note taking in each class, I usually have between 25% and 35% battery power left, and am able to charge a fully depleted battery in 52 minutes.

While at work (as a part-time ISP contractor/consultant, technician, and salesman), it does turn me into Microsoft’s appropriately-named ‘Corridor Warrior.’ All of my data goes with me to any area of the building, be it Accounting, Operations, or the Farm (the holy storage and hosting cluster Mecca for geeks like me), and I stay wirelessly connected to our local Intranet the entire time. Something my Pocket PC can do to a far lesser degree, but never so easily and with everything I could possibly need for more than one trip away from the desk.

However, the Acer TravelMate C100 is not without its faults. The primary concern I have is the location of the speakers. Both grills are placed directly underneath the middle of the screen case, meaning that it is muffled in every degree that the screen is rotated, save when it is standing up perpendicular to its normal point of operation (which is a fairly useless position anyway). Perhaps it was a money saving ‘feature’ that prompted Acer to locate the speakers in such an odd location, but the fifteen bucks they saved per production unit would have been better used moving the grills to the top of the LCD.

Also, the shell is made up of the industry standard plastic body, but I am not completely convinced that its length of life will be comparable to previous notebooks. With the entire screen rotating on a single pivot and all of the conduits rotating back and forth day-in and day-out, a critical accident is just waiting to occur. And after a single week of use, the plastic clasp that locks the screen down (in power-save clamshell-mode) has already broken off, meaning I am unable to secure the computer in transit (thankfully the case Acer supplies fits like a glove). While it is not critical, it does give light to a somewhat glum possibility of future problems: Tablet PCs are manhandled far more than their contemporary counterparts, and thus more likely to succumb to the constant case stress.

But even with these two faults, the Acer TravelMate C100 is an innovative product that deserves accolades for bringing the paper and digital worlds together successfully. Truth be told, it is something I would have a hard time parting with if that whole desert island scenario came into play.

Thus, in our world exclusive review, TabletPCBuzz.com is able to award the Acer TravelMate C100 a NINE out of TEN.

TabletPCBuzz.com Rating: 9 out of 10

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