Lately we have seen the launch by several computer makers of the first machines to meet the Tablet PC specification laid down by Microsoft which describes a standard design for a Windows notebook with a pen-sensitive screen.
There are two key parts to the new product: the hardware, which at the moment is required by the specification to accept input from the traditional keyboard and mouse and also via a specially designed pen; and the software from Microsoft, which revolves around a new ‘killer app’ called Journal and a new data format called Ink.
The combination allows users to capture, store, and reproduce pen strokes using the Ink format. This lets you treat hand-written notes like documents. You can cut, paste, and insert words, sentences, or paragraphs. It’s easy to add doodles and freehand diagrams to your notes. When you are finished scribbling, you can send those pen strokes to someone else in e-mail. You also can print these documents and file them in folders under searchable keywords.
Microsoft’s software which accompanies the new product promises much, and like all Microsoft products, it looks great during a demo. Whether it will finally convince business users that pen-based computing is as efficient as the traditional keyboard is something only time will tell.
The Journal application is exactly what its name implies: a tool which allows hand-written notes to be input to a computer and saved in a new file format specific to the application. Journal is used with the display in portrait format. The application appears as a notepad with lined paper and margins that one might typically take into a meeting.
The software gives the option of tapping on a software keypad which appears on screen to input standard text, or writing directly on to the pad. Although the facility exists to convert your cursive handwriting directly to text, Microsoft suggests that it is sufficient for many of the tasks for which it might be used to keep the data in cursive format. Journal files are saved in their own .jnt format, but they can also be exported as TIFF files to be viewed by other applications.
The Ink data format can also be used to add hand-written notes to Microsoft’s standard Office XP applications like Word, PowerPoint and Excel, as long as they have been upgraded with the Table service pack, a process which takes just a few seconds. This means that people collaborating on a Word document can add hand-written notes or recommendations for changes and exchange them electronically. Similarly, while giving a PowerPoint presentation, you can use Ink to highlight features on the slides or to add notes.
Companies with shipping Tablet PC products include leading PC makers Acer, Fujitsu Siemens, HP and Toshiba. Notable by its absence is Dell Computer, which as ever, is waiting for a standard to be proved in the marketplace before it attempts to commoditise it.
The specification allows for considerable latitude in design and PC makers have implemented their products in very different ways. The Acer TravelMate 100, of which we were able to test a preproduction version, is a fine example of what is possible with the new features.
It looks from the start like a standard notebook, but can be transformed into a tablet by swivelling the screen outwards and snapping it down over the keyboard. HP’s version comes with a detachable keyboard, making the slate system a little lighter and more manageable.
After carrying the device around for a while, we got a feel for the pluses and minuses of the platform. In general, the Tablet PC is an impressive tablet backed by a somewhat less impressive notebook PC. However, most of the PC limitations are by design. There is also the issue that all currently shipping Tablets are built around the elderly Pentium III mobile processor. Intel is currently working on faster chips designed especially for the Tablet, so hopefully later versions will have a little more grunt.
Acer reduced the weight, thickness, and power requirements of the TravelMate by removing floppy and CD drives (a USB CD-ROM drive is supplied) and by shrinking the display to 10.4in. The unit’s keyboard is a little cramped, but it’s suitable for touch typing. To compensate for the smaller, lighter battery, Acer uses a slower Intel Pentium III 800MHz processor, a move that also substantially reduces heat. The target battery life for this 1.45kg device is about 3hr.
Five programmable buttons line the display to restore features such as scrolling that are lost when the keyboard is covered. A button rotates the Windows XP screen between landscape (standard notebook) and portrait (legal pad) mode.
Users involved with graphics will appreciate that Acer’s design conveys most of the benefits of a stand-alone tablet. In most software, pressing harder on the pen makes a thicker line. The opposite end of the pen holds a pressure-sensitive eraser. The display’s surface is thick and sturdy; you really can press as hard as you like. It’s coated with a fine pebbling that lends a paper-like resistance to the pen tip. It is very comfortable for writing.
The electromagnetic screen is insensitive to anything but the pen, so you can rest your hand on the screen while you write. The pen software is very responsive, displaying pen strokes in real time. Windows smoothes your strokes as you write, so the Tablet PC’s display actually looks better than your regular writing.
Windows is not very easy to use in tablet mode. An electromagnetic pen makes a poor general pointing device. Clicking and double-clicking are difficult because the screen is so sensitive; you can move the cursor quite well with a pen an inch above the display surface. In tablet mode, you also learn how dependent you are on your keyboard. Simple tasks such as Web browsing become excruciating unless you limit surfing to your favourites menu. Users are likely to run Tablet PCs in tablet mode only while writing or drawing.
There is another way, however. A particularly impressive addition is Microsoft’s voice-recognition software which the company says will only be made available for Tablet machines. We were very impressed with its accuracy once it had been trained in, and also with the speed at which one can speak. No. Longer. Does. One. Have. To. Pause. Between. Each. Word.
The only quibble is that the vocabulary on the system we tested was extremely American. Although its knowledge of US geography was excellent, Irish names and places stumped it completely. Fergal comes out as ‘fertile’; Mairead appears as ‘Murray it.’ The machine can recognise Tallahassee but not Tallaght. Clearly it would benefit from some localisation.
The Tablet PC spec leaves two features open that we feel should have been nailed down. First, it makes wireless networking optional. The TravelMate has 802.11 built-in, but we also tested it on Ethernet. It’s utterly impractical to use the unit in tablet mode with a network cable attached.
Acer’s early Tablet PC implementation is suitable for carrying everywhere. At 1.45kg, it’s light by notebook standards but too heavy to hold in one hand for more than several minutes at a time. It’s as small as it can be without shrinking the keyboard and display down too far. The pen tip is quiet so you do not annoy others with the stylus-on-plastic ‘tap tap’ of a handheld. The tablet feels good to write on, and its wireless networking keeps the device connected to remote resources.
Once the prices come down from the EUR2,000 to EUR3,000 range, we think Tablet PCs will convince some users to trade their clipboards and steno pads for smart, wireless tablets.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The first wave of Tablet PCs have a certain ‘Wow’ factor, and the Ink and voice-recognition features offer great potential. However, the processors need to get faster, the chassis’ lighter, the networking entirely wireless and the prices lower if the new machines are to really take off.
In the meantime, vertical applications in industries such as healthcare, where note taking on portable hardware is a definite advantage, would appear to hold out the most hope.
Price: Between EUR2000 and EUR3000.
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