Good Windows 7 Tablet PC

Discussion in 'Horn Depot' started by Namewithheld, May 30, 2011.

  1. Namewithheld

    Namewithheld 2,500+ Posts

    Is there such a thing? I have software that has to run on Windows and I don't want to drag around a laptop. I see the HP Slate 500 tablet ($800--top of price range for me) is getting OK reviews but not spectacular. The ASUS Eee Slate EP121 32 GB is over $1000 which is out of my price range. The only other Windows tablet I see coming is the Fujitsu STYLISTIC® Q550 Slate PC which comes out in a week or two and the price point is good for me at $730. I just saw the bModo 12g tablet and it looks like it comes BModo a start-up company from California for around $799 but I have never heard of it or the company, but it looks very interesting. Finally a product called Nanocella which has a 10.1" tablet for under $650 but I haven't really seen any reviews on it either. Any others?

    Summary

    HP Slate 500 Tablet $729+
    ASUS Eee Slate EP121 $1000+
    Fujitsu STYLISTIC® Q550 Slate PC $729+
    bModo 12g tablet $799+
    Nanocella 10.1" tablet $599+


    Thanks
     
  2. wherzwaldo

    wherzwaldo 1,000+ Posts

    If you're gonna spend that much on something I would be really careful about choosing any brand that doesn't have an established reputation, at least until more reviews are out there. A cursory Google search turned up a couple of contrasting reviews of the bModo. I saw virtually nothing out there about the Nanocella.

    Then you have the issue of performance. The reason the Asus costs so much more than all the others is because its Core i5 CPU thrashes the Atom CPUs in the rest of the tablets you mentioned. The HP/Fujitsu/bModo/Nanocella tablets are basically thinner, lighter, touchscreen netbooks, which is iffy when you're talking about full-blown Windows with the Aero UI. That's not to necessarily discourage you from buying one of the others, as long as you know what you're getting. I would definitely try to play with one at a store before buying, though. Plus, the Asus is already almost the size of a laptop (2.6 lbs, 0.7" thick) and damn near as expensive anyway.

    Given the options, if you're considering the Asus (even if it's out of your price range), why not save up a little more and get a Thinkpad X220 tablet? Multitouch screen with practically the same system specs, not significantly bulkier (3.5 lbs, ~1" thick), and you've got the best damn laptop brand (and certainly the best tablet laptop brand) on the market. Plus, you have the keyboard and touchpad when you need it or covered up by the screen when you don't.
     
  3. Uninformed

    Uninformed 5,000+ Posts

    The HP TouchSmart tm2t series might work as well. I have an older model with an AMD chip that I don't like because it runs too hot and has a crappy battery life.
     
  4. Namewithheld

    Namewithheld 2,500+ Posts

    Thanks wherzwaldo and Uniformed for the feedback. I also found another tablet that has been out since last fall:

    EXOPC Slate which has a 11.6" screen and costs about $699 and sold in the Microsoft store. I just don't know but I don't believe that my software will have any problem running on Windows 7 with these specs.

    Everything is SOOOOO confusing. [​IMG]
     
  5. longtex

    longtex Guest

    Does it absolutely HAVE to run ON the tablet?

    What I mean is, can you host it on an existing Win 7 PC and access it with the tablet via VNC or LogMeIn, etc?

    That solution is working very well for one of my bros-in-law. His tablet is a 16GB iPad (I think it's like $500) - the 1 not the 2 - and he's using the LogMeIn app, which gives him KVM control of his office PC (well, that and every other PC he owns, as long as it's connected to the 'Net) from anywhere there's a connexion. I think he has the WiFi/3G version because his lake house has no internet, but the 3G works fine there and he uses WiFi pretty much everywhere else. He's ecstatic, because he can also read all his ebooks and subscribe to various news/mags as well, and he uses some app that lets him combine typed/handwritten/voice notes. I've never been an Apple kinda guy, but this one's giving me ideas (played with it a coupla w/e ago while visiting).

    Just a thought...
     
  6. Namewithheld

    Namewithheld 2,500+ Posts

    longtex,

    Yes it does. I needed something that shows the software but is easy to bring into offices. I am on my own in terms of networking etc. The choice is coming down to a bModo 12g tablet (Intel Atom PineView-M N450 + ICH8M/32 bit Windows OS/11.6 " screen, which is looking pretty good via new reviews I have seen lately) and the Asus Eee Slate EP121 (64 bit Windows OS and a 12.1" screen a more powerful processor--Intel Dual-Core i5 470um) although there is a $280 difference which right now I am weighing the "value" of spending the extra money.

    bModo 12g
    [​IMG]

    Asus Eee Slate EP121
    [​IMG]
     
  7. longtex

    longtex Guest


     
  8. Namewithheld

    Namewithheld 2,500+ Posts

    longtex I will be going with the Asus Eee Slate EP121 tablet. After looking at everything I really like the Intel Core i5-470UM processor (1.33 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 1.86 GHz) and Memory ( 4GB DDR3 1333MHz SDRAMRAM) and the 12.1" screen. I am waiting until July/August to see where the price point will end up and if they will increase the SSD from 64GB to 128GB? thoughts?
     
  9. wherzwaldo

    wherzwaldo 1,000+ Posts


     
  10. Namewithheld

    Namewithheld 2,500+ Posts

    I think its going to be $1099 for the 4GB Ram and 64GB SSD (if you can get it) so I will probably buy that unit and maybe getting a 128GB SSD to upgrade later.
     
  11. wherzwaldo

    wherzwaldo 1,000+ Posts

    Too bad they don't offer one with a plain old hard drive. If they offered a, say, 250GB 7200rpm option that was cheaper than the 32GB SSD that would make it a slam dunk for me.

    I am also curious what brand/model SSD they offer. That is going to be a huge factor in terms of performance and reliability. I know my Thinkpad came with a 64GB Samsung SSD and its performance has been somewhat disappointing (sometimes feels slower than a hard drive).
     
  12. Namewithheld

    Namewithheld 2,500+ Posts


     

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