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Newsletter Archive
TabletPCBuzz Newsletter - April 4th, 2004
(April
4th, 2004)
Traveling
with the Tablet PC By Spencer Goad, Executive
Editor
Well,
since I am headed out of town to Seattle this week… I thought it
would be a good time to do a quick article on traveling with the
Tablet PC. I'm driving to Seattle, but I'll look at traveling from
both the road and air trip perspectives. Obviously the Tablet PC
can be a powerful tool for business travelers, but it can also quite
fun useful for someone traveling for vacation or recreation. Here
are a few of the most important things I have come across while
traveling -
Get
good protection. This is one of the first things I tell people when
they ask me about traveling with their Tablet PC. Nothing can ruin
a business trip or vacation like a smashed Tablet PC. : Ok, so there
might be a few things that could be worse… but not very many. Getting
a good case is an essential step before taking your Tablet PC out
on the road with you. I personally like the slipcase style, as it
keeps the mobility factor while providing good protection. With
so much going on around you when you are traveling, accidents are
more likely to happen, and in those cases (no pun intended) having
a good case can save a lot of greif. I know there have been numerous
times I was quite happy that my Tablet PC was in its case when it
decided to fall to the ground.
Another
tip I like to give to people is for traveling with your Tablet PC
in an airplane. Lots of people use their laptops in planes now days,
but Tablet PC users have a special advantage over these laptop users.
With the convertible Tablet PCs, a quick switch into tablet mode
makes the use of your computer on a plane much easier. In this position
it is also almost impossible for your screen to be smashed by the
person in front of you moving his seat back. I've seen laptop screens
that have been victims of this… and it isn't pretty.
Now
what all should you take to make the most of the Tablet PC on your
trip? Obviously the Tablet PC charger is a must. And like I said
earlier, a good case is also almost a requirement. For me though,
I also like to take along several other accessories. I always like
to have an extra tablet pen with me, just in case I happen to lose
my first one. I'll also usually take my Sony external CD-RW/DVD
drive with me, along with its charger and USB cable. The drive I
have is powered by rechargeable batteries, so I can watch DVD movies
with it from just about anywhere (including on the plane). This
is usually about the extent of my Tablet PC specific luggage, although
I always pack quite a few of my other gadgets as well.
Now
you maybe saying that this is all well and good for the business
traveler, but you want to get away from work when you are on vacation,
not take it with you. Good point… and I do have to agree with you
there. With the Tablet PC though, you can do much more than just
take work with you. When I'm taking a trip I often use my Tablet
PC to download pictures off my digital camera, listen to my music
collection, watch DVD movies, and of course play games. On occasion
I'll also use my Tablet PC to upload pictures to our family web-site,
and provide grandparents with a step by step view of our vacation.
(One thing I have learned… Grandparents can never see enough pictures
of their grandchildren.)
Anyway,
I could ramble on for a long while about all the things I use my
Tablet PC for while traveling. One thing I'm certain of though…
it is often one of the most useful pieces of luggage I take with
me.
How
about you? Do you have a tips or stories about how you use your
Tablet PC while traveling? If you do and happen to want to share
that (hint, hint) send me an e-mail at spg@tabletpcbuzz.com
and I will try and get them published in next week's newsletter!
By
the time you read this, I'll likely be on my way to Seattle for
the annual Microsoft MVP Summit. This is an annual event that Microsoft
holds for all the folks who have been given their MVP award. I'll
have 3 packed days of information sessions and meetings with folks
from various Windows product teams there. Also joining me there
will be Contributing Editor Dennis Rice, who wrote his weekly newsletter
piece from his Seattle hotel room. More information about this can
be found in my front
page news post!
The
two biggest news items this week turned out to be April Fools jokes,
but that doesn't mean we didn't have some good stuff going on this
week in the Tablet PC world. :-) On Friday, the winners of the first
annual Tablet PC Awards were announced. (See
news post) My news post about the awards marked the first time
I have ever quoted myself in my own press release. I'm actually
still slightly confused about who was quoting who there.
Also
this week, our own forum member "Mr. H" has an article
about Tablet PCs that are in use in his classroom. NEC announced
a new tablet-type
device. And we added some new
avatars to the forum. Also, if you missed our April Fools posts,
check them out here,
here,
here
and here!
This
has been a hot topic on more than one occasion, and has surfaced
again. Those of us who have and enjoy the benefits of the Tablet
PC, still scratch our heads in collective wonder on this one. The
debate usually ranges from whether it is cost, marketing, etc.,
but the real truth is that no one really knows a solid answer.
If
your experience was like mine when you first decided to get a Tablet,
stating that Tablet sales are "sluggish" does not make sense. I
could not get my hands on one anywhere! Of course that was a year
and a half ago, but even then there were reports along these same
lines, that sales were "slow". And of course not long ago there
was the story of Acer being upset with Microsoft because they had
not sold a couple zillion Tablets.
So
what is the issue exactly? I went through the titled thread and
picked just a few of the reasons people *think* sales are sluggish.
Here are some selective comments:
1.
Poor sales / salespeople in retail:
Forum
member joshsf had this to say - "The CompUSA near me finally
put the M205 on display, but it is totally locked down and set
up in laptop mode. A casual shopper would have absolutely no idea
it was even a tablet - it looks identical to all the other rows
and rows of laptops. I'm sure most people walking by just ignore
the sticker saying "Tablet PC" (or don't even know what it means)
and pay close attention to the price tag which is $1000 more than
almost every other "laptop" on display, and at least $200 more
than the similarly equipped, similar form-factor ultralite laptops.
And why not? The way it's displayed, there's no way at all to
know what's special about it. And the sales help for it is atrocious.
The manager refused to unlock it so I could convert it and try
using it as a tablet - and he had no idea where the pen was. He
actually looked confused when I asked him for the pen - as if
he couldn't understand why a laptop would need a pen. Some of
the staff don't even know that the words "Tablet" and "PC" go
together - I have had to repeat myself about three times to several
different salespeople in several different stores (i.e. - "Where
are your Tablet PCs?" "People PC?" "No, Tablet PC." "Tablet what?"
etc.)."
Well
said joshsf - I have had similar experiences! Apparently not all
others have had bad ones.
Here
is what Wnewquay had to say - "Sales staff extremely helpful.
The store actually had stock from two different manufacturers.
When I wanted to see a Panasonic Toughbook Tablet PC (tough to
find - believe me) the store arranged for me to meet with the
local Panasonic Representative so I could see, feel, touch it.
The Panasonic Rep spent over an hour doing his demo with me. Guess
what - I have bought all three of mine from that store. Strangely,
I do my research on the internet, (here of course, and other places)
BUT then I go to the store, let them order it and I buy it from
them. Sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes it takes longer,
sometimes they have what I want in stock. They treat me (very)
well. They get all my business for things they can supply. I refer
anyone who asks where I get my 'puter stuff to them. It is an
excellent relationship."
2.
Fear of new technology
Forum
member blazio stated "I think also, in addition to the above
comments, the everyday consumer is just flat-out afraid to try
a new technology that could very well replace something they are
used to. People are so used to typing and using their laptops,
and something like a tablet pc seems incredibly foreign to them
and because it does cost alot of money (well, comparable to how
much a laptop costs) they're afraid to try the new technology.
When faced with two choices, between getting a tried-and-true
laptop and an untested tablet pc (untested in the sense they haven't
had any experience using them in everyday tasks), the everyday
consumer would probably choose the laptop."
Hmmm. Maybe so. I see lots of people looking at me with my new
"gadget" and shaking their heads!
3.
Price (or not?)
Comments from justjoem2 - "I don't think we will see widespread
availability of tablets until the price drops significantly in
comparison to similarly configured laptops. Prices won't drop
until the volume of sales increases. This conundrum has lead to
sluggish adoption of the platform. The elegance and power of the
tablet pc will overcome this obstacle. Tablet pcs will dominate
personal computing as the platform matures. As the 3rd generation
tablets are released, 2nd generation tablets will drop in price
into the 1200 to 1800 dollar range. At that price tablet sales
will soar."
Good
points, how about some counterpoints as well?
Feelings
from blazio - "I agree with justjoem about pricing being a
difference. However, when looking at what I wanted out of a portable
computer, I gladly paid the extra 200 dollars for the functionality
I wanted. I think it's interesting that Plasma TVs and LCD TVs
are becoming more and more popular even at their high price tags."
Well,
anyway, I could go on and on. There are lots of ideas in this topic
as to why sales are not meeting expectations, but also a number
of good thoughts on how to remedy that problem (hint-hint, that
part is for you OEM's and Microsoft :-)).
Well you may have seen the banners rotating recently on the
site... the 2003 Tablet PC Awards are back, and the winners
have finally be announced. I
had some delays working on the awards, but I'm pleased with
the way it has turned out so far. Here is a quote from the
press release -
"TabletPCBuzz today announced the winners of the first
annual Tablet PC Awards. The awards were created by TabletPCBuzz
to recognize the best Tablet PC hardware and software on the
market. “Thanks to our volunteer judges, I think we have chosen
a great group of winners here.” says TabletPCBuzz Executive
Editor, Spencer Goad. “These software titles and hardware
devices represent the very best of the Tablet PC community.”
All
winners of the 2003 Tablet PC awards were required to be available
for download or purchase by the end of 2003, and were all
nominated by Tablet PC end users. The awards are divided into
14 separate categories, including 2 “Best Of” categories for
both hardware and software. The winners were chosen by the
vote of a panel of 7 judges, made up of TabletPCBuzz staff,
Microsoft Tablet PC MVPs, and other Tablet PC enthusiasts
from around the web.
The
2003 winners are –"
And I'll stop there. You'll have to goto the awards site for
the list of the winners.
(Click read more below.) Congratulations to all the winners!