My Tablet PC World (part 2)

So, on to my current Tablet PC setup. I am currently using a Motion Computing LE1600 running Vista Ultimate, Office 2007 (including OneNote) and MindManager Pro 6. I have loved this computer since the day I got it. It is obvious that I have a preference for slate tablets. The work that I do on a tablet is in tablet mode. I also have a laptop for doing development and other high load actvities, so I guess I am spoiled (though it is a pain carrying both around when I travel). The way I use my tablet at work is this:

• In meetings, or when brainstorming, researching, designing, etc., I use my LE1600 as a tablet, and work almost exclusively in OneNote, MindManager, and IE;
• When I am at a desk, I have a stand for my LE1600 (note that the LE1600 does not come with a stand – what I ended up buying was a desktop book stand from a library/bookstore supplier), as well as a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse. Since I have a wireless network, I can just place my tablet on the stand, use it at my desk, and then grab it and take it to a meeting, etc.
• I try very hard to never plug my tablet into anything – to me it sort of defeats the purpose. I have a regular and an extended battery with my LE1600, as well as a second extended battery and a charger. This way, I just keep hot swapping the extended batteries, and keeping the other charging. This also means that when I moving around, I can have 7-9 hoursof battery life. This is one reason I prefer the slate to a convertible – I find convertibles have battery lifetimes more characteristic of a laptop – and I wanted more.

Really the only complaint I have ever had with my LE1600 is with the power connector. Very early on, the connector where the power supply plugs into the tablet developed connection problems, to the point that the unit will not charge or run off AC. This ceased to matter when I got the spare battery and charger, but was part of my reason for doing so. I should point out that I had the exact same problem with my TC1000 – I had it repaired twice by Compaq, and it always came back. it just seems to be an inherent problem with a computer you are moving around like a tablet (I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had similar problems with other brands of tablet).

There are other applications which I have used with the tablet, but OneNote and MindManager are the main ones. What would I like to see? As I said before, better ink support in Office, IE, and in Windows in general would be great (yes, Vista is an improvement, but the ink support still feels like it is pasted on top of the “real” mode of interaction – I do not know what “better” looks like, or I would have written it!). I would also like to see more ink-aware applications. I think there have been two big challenges to this in the past – one being the development support on the tablet, and the second being marketing of the tablet platform in general. I will not get into either of these now, I think both warrant their own posts. I would also like to see improved voice input on the tablet – I would love to be able to just dictate documents into Word or PowerPoint, and have the results be worth the effort. This has come a long way in the last few years, but does not seem to be quite there yet.

There are several very cool tablet accessories out there, some of which I have tried and just never gotten round to buying. One worth mentioning is InkGestures from Jumping Minds. I suspect I will buy a copy of this as soon as there is a version for Word 2007.