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GBM InkShow: Motion Computing J3400 vs Fujitsu ST6012 Head to Head

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picture-12You’ve all been waiting for it and here it is – a head to head video review between Motion Computing’s J3400 Tablet PC and Fujitsu’s ST6012 Tablet PC. This has to be the most indepth head to head review I’ve ever done, as I compare pens, batteries, ports, screens, bezels, how to hold the tablet pcs in various modes, software, and much more. Video after the break.

The J3400 and the ST6012 couldn’t be more different in their configurations, port settings, pens, and more. However, between these two machines, a person should be able to find what they are looking for. Both are excellent slate Tablet PCs and neither will disappoint.

MobileDemand is the InkShow sponsor and offers rugged Tablet PC systems for vertical industries.

MobileDemand is the InkShow sponsor and offers rugged Tablet PC systems for vertical industries.

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11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Owen

    07/10/2009 at 7:34 am

    Rob,

    Great inkshow, as usual. One quick note — if you want to use a USB air card with the J3400 is portrait mode, you can just flip it to secondary portrait mode, which orients the USB ports at the top. (Though I have switched to the MiFi and never looked back — unbelievably more convenient.)

    I have used both of these devices, and, from a purely subjective point of view, I think the J3400 wins hands down. It is a drop heavier (though I think it is less than half a pound difference), but it feels like an incredibly solid device. And while the battery on the Fujitsu is a nice handle in landscape mode, I use a tablet in portrait mode much more often, and the battery extension actually gets in the way on the Fujitsu when trying to hold it in portrait mode, whereas the J3400, with the rubberized bumps on the back, feels nice to hold in either orientation.

    I also understand why you did not want to do speed comparisons, because of differences in specs, but in my experience the J3400 blows the Fujitsu out of the water, even when the Fujitsu is in its highest spec configuration.

    Finally, the battery issue is hard to over-emphasize. I bought the docking station for the J3400, which has a standalone slot for charging a third battery. I leave a battery in there all the time, and when I am in the office, I never have to plug the tablet in. As soon as I get down to 50% battery life, I pop out one of the batteries and pop in the fully charged battery from the slot in the dock. It takes two seconds — you don’t even have to put the machine to sleep — and there is no clunky power cord to get in the way while trying to work.

  2. Owen

    07/10/2009 at 7:38 am

    One additional note — I think you are spot on about the displays. The Fujitsu is fine — it is a bit grainy, but otherwise it is a nice display. But the J3400 display really is something special — one of the nicest, sharpest and most vibrant LCD displays I have ever used.

  3. Rob

    07/10/2009 at 7:42 am

    Wonderful comments, Owen, thank you. On rotation, the j3400 does not support secondary portrait due to FCC regs. The Fujitsu st6012 does not either.

  4. Owen

    07/10/2009 at 7:58 am

    Fascinating. I never noticed that they have now disabled that option. Am I losing my mind, or did secondary portrait (and landscape) used to be available back in the good old days (LE1600, LS800, other Fujitsu slates)?

  5. Rob

    07/10/2009 at 8:06 am

    Used to be there, but FCC cranked down due to wireless signals being aimed at the crotch in secondary portrait

  6. Owen

    07/10/2009 at 8:25 am

    Seriously? Well, I very much appreciate the FCC worrying about the effect of a wireless signal on my crotch. But I wonder if anyone at the FCC ever gave any thought to the idea that if we use a tablet like the J3400 in primary portrait mode, and, a result, are forced to put a USB air card in the USB ports at the bottom, then ironically, we are being forced to point a cellular wireless signal directly at the very same crotch they are trying so hard to protect :)

  7. Eve

    07/10/2009 at 5:37 pm

    great inkshow. I think I’ve fallen in love with the j3400, too bad it’s not in the budget rt now. :(

  8. Tamas

    07/11/2009 at 5:34 am

    Really great inshow Rob.

    Do I remember well, that the J3400 has a mobile bradband modem built in (perhaps optional)? If yes, that solves the problem with usb dongles, though pendrives remain a problem.

    I agree with Eve… both with falling in love and out of budget :).

  9. burninorange

    07/11/2009 at 5:55 am

    i like the j3400, but wish they also had a smaller (ls800 size) version…

  10. Rob Bushway

    07/11/2009 at 7:05 am

    thanks Eve and Tamas – yes, there is a slot for a SIM card for mobile broadband

  11. Paul

    07/13/2009 at 10:49 am

    Thanks for your comparison on the Motion Computing J3400 and the Fujitsu ST6012.
    I prefer portrait mode too, but can portrait orientation be achieved (change mode?) on EITHER or BOTH the J3400 and the ST6012?
    The better display and camera on the J3400 are factors to consider.

    Probably I could forego the larger HDD capabilities the J3400 has, since 64Gb will hopefully exceed what I’ll need to carry around on a day-to-day basis (I could transfer excess stuff to a home computer / external hard drive).

    I do like the idea of the one-touch application buttons on the ST6012, what kind of applications would this be for?

    Regarding Handwriting Recognition and note-taking, my primary interest:
    As per RuggedPCreview: “Unfortunately, Microsoft’s recognizer no longer
    lets you freely write all over the screen as was the
    case with the initial Tablet PC Edition (and most
    recognizers prior to that). Instead, you need to write
    into the input panel. Ink goes on smoothly and
    without jaggies, but it lags behind just enough to be
    noticeable. This should not be an issue in this day
    and age, and I suspect it has to do with the serial
    interface between the Wacom digitizer and the
    computer. If it is indeed a Wacom problem, I wish
    Wacom would fix that. Overall, most Windows
    software is simply not optimized for handwriting
    recognition, but recognition itself works very well
    on the J3400. And that includes punctuation and
    editing.”

    To not be able to just write on scanned-in documents/JPEGs/PDFs e.g. using OneNote 2007 or other similar/better programs, this might defeat the purpose I was hoping to use a tablet PC for. So is the J3400 unable to do this?
    What about the ST6012?
    And then what about the Lenovo X200 tablet convertible, can it achieve that purpose?

    I appreciate your experience and expertise with these questions.

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