Posted on 02/18/2008 9:09:04 AM PST by SoftballMominVA
Need advice on which tablet PC to purchase
PLEASE do not tell me to not purchase one, or to buy a Mac. Because my child is going to be majoring in Chem, and notebooks cannot accept Chem formulas, this is the way she wants to go. I've already warned her that tablets don't have the best reputation and be ready to keep her info backed up onto her desktop regularly.
The PC does not need to be souped up for games, video, etc. Mostly I am looking for advice on how much RAM, which OS, reliability, customer service. We have no customer loyalty to any one brand, just one that meets the requirements.
Thanks for your help
take two and call your doctor in the morning.
Dell just got into tablets. Don’t get it with Vista. Dell backs their stuff up.
Its not cheap.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=blcwxfg&s=bsd
You might want to look into electronic clipboards. They generally allow you to take notes and store them in image formats easily readable by any computer. Some also have the added feature that you can use normal paper and pen as well, so you have an electronic copy and a hardcopy of the note. Most either use an SD card (same as a digital camera) or have internal memory, and connect via USB.
Just a thought.
Oh.. don’t get vista... it stinks.
Find out what academic discounts she gets on stuff like ms office, etc.
Oh, thanks, that’s a great idea. Then she could take notes, transfer them to a more stable desktop - and I wouldn’t have the fear that the laptop will get stolen. BTW, did you know that computers can have a version of Lo-Jack installed for something like $120 or so for 4 years? From a parent’s point of view, sounds like a deal!
We’ve resigned ourselves to the expense - If I get out of them for under 4K, I’ll consider myself lucky
My daughter bought an HP tablet, I just saw it on sale for I think $999 after rebates. It’s 12.1 inches, and has a decent processor, memory, and hard drive.
If you get one, I recommend getting accident protection. The replacement cost of a tablet itself is hundreds of dollars, and they tend to be glass which WILL break, and render the tablet less than useful.
I’m not recommending this one, because I don’t “recommend”, just telling you which one we ended up with. My daughter likes it.
There are of course REAL tablet PCs, that are ruggedized and made for the tablet market, but they are generally much more expensive (you get to use them in the sun though).
We looked at getting the add-on tablets, where you have an input screen, and can watch what you are doing on the PC screen. The downside is you have to carry this extra part, the upside is it’s cheaper if you break it.
btw, ours came with vista and I didn’t bother going back to XP. I’m not particularly thrilled with Vista, but it hasn’t caused too much trouble once I figured out how to get it to play with my network.
Honestly, the only thing that can keep a laptop safe (like much anything else) is constant vigilance and a good steel cable. Take it from a university student, tell her to never take her eyes off of her computer, and when she’s in her dorm/house to have it chained to the desk using a good solid steel laptop security cable.
That being said, for a student, I suggest a laptop as opposed to a desktop. Desktops can be stolen just as easily if left in a dorm room.
“Notebooks cannot accept chem formulas”?
What do you mean, “can’t accept”? Is there some sort of special software chemistry majors need to use that only runs on a tablet?
I can type a formula into Word on my desktop, my husband’s laptop, our buddy’s iPhone, and what I type displays right there. Heck, it works in Outlook also - I just tried. To do it in Excel, I need to format the cell for text, but even that works.
She wants to be able to write formulas and symbols. What I meant by “not accept” is that the standard keyboard doesn’t include all of the symbols. In addition, One Note converts handwriting to text, with the formulas and symbols imbedded, and then allows the user to organize, search by word, create study documents, pretty useful stuff.
That makes perfect sense! Thanks!
You already know about One Note. Good.
I am a developer and have the d901c which is the fastest laptop on the market today. You don’t get dell level support, but here is another very nice tablet with a great config for college (Extra battery for a lot better run time and fast cpu, etc)
EUROCOM TN120R Convertible-X $2,675 USD
Summary
Base
System and Display EUROCOM TN120R Convertible-X; 12.1-inch Widescreen; WXGA 1024-by-768 pixels; with Touch Sensor Screen $1,363
Built-in WebCam for Video Conferencing, Skype Ready 1.3 Megapixels; WebCam; internal USB interface
Biometric Security Device - Log on to your PC or Web sites with the touch of your finger Integrated Fingerprint Reader for Secure Data Access and Easy Management of Passwords
Optical Drive - to Backup large capacity HDDs and to Store data-rich digital content 8x Multi DVD +-RW/-RAM Burner; Dual-Layer; Tray-based; w/ Software
Upgradeable Processor Intel Core 2 Duo® T9300: 2.50GHz; FSB800; 6MB L2; 35W; PENRYN 45nm; Micro-FCPGA $300
VGA Technology Intel® GM965 Express Chipset with integrated 3D Graphics Media Accelerator X3100; up to 256MB of Dynamic Video Memory
Memory Configuration 2GB; 1x 2GB; DDR2-667; 200pin; PC2-5300 - 1 SODIMM $132
Turbo Memory - Breakaway performance meets energy conservation None; Choose from the options below
Hard Drive 200GB; SATA-150; 7,200rpm; 1.5Gb/s; 16MB cache; 2.5-inch; Hitachi 7K200 $64
External Hard Drive for Data Backup None - Choose from the options below
Operating System(s) English; Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2B; OEM Edition $173
Choose Your Keyboard (Language) English; US & Canada
Wireless LAN 802.11n; up to 300Mbps; Intel® Wireless WiFi 4965AGN; Mini PCIe; 2.4 and 5GHz $105
Bluetooth for Wireless Devices Internal Bluetooth V2.0 + EDR module $72
Office and Business Productivity Software None - Choose from the options below
AntiVirus, Security and Utilities Software None - Choose from the options below
Internal Card Reader 7-in-1 Card Reader; MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini-SD/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo
Standard Battery (internal) 8-cells Smart Li-lon Battery $36
Standard AC Adapter 65W AC Adapter; 100-250V Auto-Switching
Standard Power Cord - included US / Canada Power Cord
Carrying Case TARGUS 15.4-inch Lappac 5 Deluxe Case; Ballastic Nylon; Black; CL-55 $63
Choose Your Warranty Plan 3 Years Return to Factory Depot with 3 Years of Tech Support $223
Options
Choose Extra Battery 8-cells Smart Li-Ion battery
Thanks so much! I’m looking it up right now.
Oh and forget the case that comes with it.
A student needs something like one of these:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2906666&CatId=1786
Thats the one I would have wanted for college.
RAM: install as much as the machine will support up front. This is generally the best advice for any computer you buy. If you don’t need it today, you will tomorrow and in general RAM makes a big difference in how well, reliably, and smoothly hardware performs.
OS: Don’t get anything with Vista on it.
Customer Service: Dead, so don’t worry about it.
Reliability: In general, if your machine escapes the first few months of its existence without a problem it should last for years, and this applies to most electronics.
If she is going to be getting a tablet PC, then she should just get an external drive and back up onto there. There’s no reason to send her off to school with two computers. Dorm rooms aren’t known for their size.
My advice would be to get (and yes, I know you said no Macs, but there is a good reason why Apple is selling the heck out of their products) an iPad and a Macbook and send her off to school with those two items.
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