I Really Like Dell’s Design Philosophy: Resume On Pen Removal

Another feature in which the Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC shows off it edge is with this nifty little feature: Resume On Pen Removal

It works quite simple: when in Stand-By or Hibernate mode, ejecting the pen will wake the system up. I like Dell’s approach a lot: they put the focus on the pen. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is a subtle shift in thinking about how to approach interaction with a Tablet PC.

N-Trig’s Auto-Mode implementation follows the same design philosophy on the XT: to begin using touch, just touch the screen twice, and touch will activate. To begin writing again, just bring the pen to the screen, and the pen will take over again It is instinctive and natural. No hardware button pushes to get in the way of how you interact with the Tablet PC.

Another area in which Dell thought about user experience was the scroll wheel on the side of the screen. It is the perfect location for scrolling pages while in portrait mode.

I really appreciate companies who approach design like that. It means they "get" Tablet and are focused on the whole experience of pen, touch, writing, launching applications, scrolling, and more.

Stay tuned later this week for a series of InkShows on the Latitude XT, as I delve into these areas and more.