OK, here is my situation. I am in sales. I am playing with the idea to get a tablet pc. From what I understand you can write on it. It would work out great if I can use this instead of hauling around a portable printer. I could get my clients to sign necessary paperwork on the tablet, intstead of waiting a short lifetime for something to print. So, I guess my concern is the reliability and life of a tablet. Does anyone have any experience with them? What are your thoughts? I was looking at this one... M400 Series http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?coid=-30603
Wife says the typical life is about 2 years and the Toshibas are big and heavy. Recomends you go Think Pad X41.
Wow, :shock: I'm not worried so much about the weight, but 2 years is not a long time for that kind of money! I may have to rethink this. Anyone else have any thoughts?
Tablets have a notorious problem with the universal hinge connection. Although they are building it tougher now, it's contacts are usually the first thing to go on those units. Also, with the screen exposed like that it is prone to scratches and cracks if you bump it. If you act like your handling a baby everytime you open or rotate it, it will last. Treat it rough and it will wear out. They are great for corporation purchase because they rotate units every 1.5 years anyway. The customers who ask me the same question are given the same answer Ken gave you. If you don't mind a tiny screen, use a PDA. Buy a regular laptop with bluetooth and use the 2 together. One for tablet use the other for general use. In the end you spend the same amount and get 2 tools. Dell makes the best PDA's, in my opinion. I like the Axim X51v. The vesatility, size, weight and the external connections are very good. If you need a keyboard the Axim has bluetooth capabilities but they use the MS Stack which is a poor choice over using the Broadcom for a wide range compatability. Hopefully this will change in the next model.
I dont think a pda would work for me. I was looking for a solution to having clients signing paperwork on a screen instead of printing out everything. But, I'm not going to purchase a tablet if they dont last. Anyone know of any good mobile printers?
When he linked us to the Toshiba M400 I assumed he was looking for a convertible. There are 3 classes of tablets, Convertible, Both and Slate. Convertible means a Tablet PC that includes a built in keyboard, Slate means a Tablet PC without a keyboard and Both means a removeable keyboard. This site has a great comparrison chart for features on most of the models in the market. http://www.tabletpctalk.com/faqs/comparison/2004.php After you review that page click on "home" and this site has a great beginners learning
Here is what I do.... I can run financial illustrations with software that I have.... If the client likes the product...the way I do it now is print out all paperwork and have my clients sign it. I want to eliminate the last part... the printing... I want to run financial illustrations... and have client sign appropriate paperwork on the computer, tablet or whatever... My clients would prefer that... I can save it to their folder and email it to them... paperless. Saves me, paper, ink and TIME. PS... I am a woman
I've got a Toshiba M200 that I've had for over 2 yrs now. I use it for taking notes in class, software development, and some CAD work. I've not had a bit of trouble with it, except for the moron at work smashing the screen on it. The battery life can be squeezed to over 4 hrs with more than adequate power for running applications. If you are concerned with it going out in 2 yrs get the System Guard protection plan that extends replacement to 4 yrs (that is what I got for mine, $199 when purchased from Toshiba's web site). When this one dies, I will definitely be getting another.
Swinkles, When you need to have clients sign the documents on your laptop/tablet/PDA.....are you at their location or does this occur in your office? Or to ask it another way, when the need arises, will you be in a location where you have Internet connectivity? There are a number of services that allow you to capture signatures through an online system. Also, you might want to check out just adding a signature pad to your existing laptop. That may do the trick for you. http://www.topazsystems.com/products/index.htm
In a perfect world I would have them sign the docs. on a laptop or whatever. I wouldnt have internet connectivity. I will look into the link that you provided! Thanks
If you'd be interested in a used one, here's one locally for sale. Looks to be in good condition and it includes the multibay for home use with a keyboard and monitor. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/sys/176294374.html
