CONSUMER
HP joins the tablet PC fray
07-11-2002
by Ralph Averbuch
On Thursday, HP officially joined the small band of PC manufacturers who believe there will be high demand for so-called tablet PCs.
HP hopes the new PC TC1000, a mobile PC running a souped up version of XP for tablets, will allow people to work in new ways, HP said. Smaller than the PaceBook Tablet PC available in Europe since March this year, most of the development work for HP's new unit was done before the company's merger with Compaq. In fact, the new computer still carries the Compaq branding.
As HP stresses, used as a tablet, the unit captures, "digital ink as it flows from an electronic pen onto the PC's screen, much like a person would use a pen and paper." Of course, a few industry experts and analysts have questioned whether most consumers, and even business users, will be prepared to leave pen and paper behind for a unit costing in excess of EUR2,000.
However, the Compaq PC TC1000 is also capable of operating as a mobile computer or even a desktop replacement PC, coming with a separate, lightweight keyboard, which, if damaged can be easily replaced.
Measuring approximately 2 cm thick and weighing in at1.36 kg, the box uses a Transmeta Crusoe TM5800 1.0GHz processor. In the past other manufacturers have used Transmeta chips as a substitute to Intel, currently considered a heavy drain on battery life. However this is a compromise, while giving longer battery life the Transmeta does not deliver the same levels of performance as the chips currently used on most laptops.
Other notable facts include its ability to work in landscape or portrait modes, built-in 802.11b wireless LAN capabilities, a 10.4-inch TFT display with wide viewing angle, hardened cover glass, 256MB DDR RAM, up to 60 GB SMART hard drives and USB 2.0 connectivity.
The industry view is that the Compaq tablet PC will most likely find a home for itself with specialist applications, in fields such as design, healthcare, legal, manufacturing and sales. It may open up to consumers at large if production ramps up and unit costs fall.
Compaq Tablet PC TC1000 prices start at EUR2,199.00. More information about it can be found on the Web Site.
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