This video from HP Education Solutions was put up on YouTube a couple of days ago and I thought it did a good job of describing a Tablet PC.  It might be a nice video to point people to if they would like to know what can be done with a Tablet PC.  Well, all but the pouring the coffee on the keyboard part  don't have them test that one...

Head over to Digital Lifestyle, where the fire is hot and they are ready to giveaway an HP HDX Dragon.

Warner, Matt, Sierra, and I had the pleasure of meeting Ian Dixon, the site owner, this past year at CES and highly recommend his site to you!

If you’ve been interested in the HP 2133 Mini-Note but have been waiting for pricing on a version with XP pre-installed, some pricing is now available, although some of what you’ll find in this post may change. Remember this is mini-notebook from HP can be had with a range of options depending on what you are looking for so there are a range of prices from $729 all the way up to $829 depending on how much RAM and hard drive size. That said, the post at HP 2133 Guide.com also contains info that these are stock prices without no user configurable options.

Yesterday, James Kendrick noted that drivers for XP were available, which is a nother sign that the XP versions might be available soon.

Word is that we’re looking at May 15^th for a release on this, so if there are any changes, I’m guessing we’ll see then.

via Engadget

Head over to The-Gadgeteer.com to begin Day 6 of 31 Days Of The Dragon.

All you have to do is display The Gadgeteer's URL (use the-gadgeteer.com) in a public place, take a picture and email it to them. The more creative, the better your chances are of winning the HP HDX Dragon Entertainment Notebook. Head over there and learn more!

Another day and another chance to win an HP HDX Pavilion. This time BostonPocketPC.com enters the picture with their own contest. No treasure hunt on this fella - just send in a description about what is in your gear bag and maybe a picture of your kit, and your entry is in. Pretty simple.

Not only is BostonPocketPC.com giving away a $5000+ Entertainment Notebook PC, they've also sweetened the deal with some other cool prizes for those who don't end up coming in first place. Their contest runs through May 13th, so head over and get to work!

Day 5 of HP's HDX grand giveaway takes us to Barb Bowman's DigitalMediaPhile.

Head over there now to begin day 1 of that contest.

I'm curious to know - how many of our readers have entered the contests so far? Which have you liked the most?

Don't forget to hit up the previously launched contests, too. Some are just about to wrap up while others just started a day or two ago!

HP is running a very nice special on their tx2000z Tablet PC:

Save $374 on the HP Pavilion tx2000z Customizable Notebook, includes  $150 instant savings, FREE upgrade to 2GB memory,and upgrade to Bluetooth, Free Printer with Mail in Rebate. Ends 5/7

JkOnTheRun has unleashed their 31 Days of The Dragon contest! Knowing James and Kevin, I bet they have quite the contest cooked up.

Head over to JkOnTheRun.com to find out how you can win one of 31 HP HDX Entertainment Notebooks valued at over $5000 each! Remember, their contest runs for seven days. In addition, checkout the other sites running contests so you can get your hat in the ring, too. 31 chances to win one of 31 HP HDX systems. What could be better?

Rob’s away with his kids on a camping trip this weekend, and I’m guessing when he gets back he’ll discover that he’s received one of the evaluation units of Lenovo’s IdeaPad U110, seeing that the tech blogging world seems to be unboxing and giving first looks at the new device from Lenovo. (See jkOnTheRun and Engadget to name two.) From what I’ve seen so far in terms of early reports around the web, it appears a distrubing (at least for me) trend is continuing. That trend is to make glossy screens and glossy cases ubiquitous, it seems. Apparently even the keys on the IdeaPad are glossy. I’m anxious to hear Rob’s reports about this.

Ok, folks, gloss belongs on lips not on computers, OK? I’m sure some like glossy screens. I don’t. I don’t like glossy cases either. The HP tx2051 I’m evaluating has a glosssy screen that reflects so much I can comb my hair in the reflection. The case, while not quite what I would call glossy, is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. So, it seems, is the fate of the IdeaPad U110, from what I’m reading.

What the heck is this move towards glossy everything? Is there some marketing survey out there that says customers want messy cases and unreadable screens? 

Stop with the glossy. Now.

Well, it's the third day of this massive HP giveaway.  This time it's over on OSNN.  The post you really need to be concerned about is found within the forums.

Don't forget we are part of this contest - we're the last ones, so you'll have plenty of time to enter on other sites during the contest.

We saw this HDX at CES, and I can tell you that it's an impressive machine.  I'l love to have one of these things sitting on my desk!

And so it begins....The 31 Days of The Dragon Giveaway is live!!!

The first site is AbsoluteVista.com. Their contest begins today and runs through May 8. Their rules are quite simple: "I need a story". Tell them a good story and an HP Pavilion HDX could be yours. Head over there to learn more.

By the way, several people have asked about the tax implications of winning an item worth so much. HP and Buzz Corps are stepping up to the plate in this area, too:

From HP and BuzzCorps in regards to taxes:

For US winners, we will be providing a check to the winner as well to offset the taxes. Depending on the winner's tax bracket this may be more than or slightly less than enough. For international winners, we will be paying the duties to get it into the country.

The HP tx2051 Entertainment PC has captured quite a bit of attention because of its very good dual digitizer and its comparatively low price point. Steve Seto is evaluating the HP  tx2051 Entertainment Notebook as I am. He's written up another very thorough user review of the device for GBM that covers quite a bit of territory. (Note: I'll be shooting video of the HP tx2051 this weekend).

tx2000 / tx2051 Pavilion Notebook PC

A User Review

29 April 2008

Bottom line first: The tx2051 is a competent convertible tablet with many nice features including a pretty reasonable street price. Perhaps in line with this price, I find that this convertible delivers only a slightly-above average tablet experience to the user and that there are a few design choices that seemingly could have been better integrated together. Note that I’m not saying that the tx2051 is poorly done…. I’m saying that it could have, and probably should have, been much better! The story here can’t be summarized in just a couple of sentences, so I invite you to read on…

It's not often that a chance comes around to see something of this kind of exciting magnitude. Today HP issued a press release announcing the proof of existence of memristors.

HP today announced that researchers from HP Labs, the company’s central research facility, have proven the existence of what had previously been only theorized as the fourth fundamental circuit element in electrical engineering. (...)

In a paper published in today’s edition of Nature, four researchers at HP Labs’ Information and Quantum Systems Lab, led by R. Stanley Williams, presented the mathematical model and a physical example of a “memristor” – a blend of “memory resistor” – which has the unique property of retaining a history of the information it has acquired.

While we are undoubtedly years away from commercial application of this discovery, this could completely change the landscape of computing. From personal computing through enterprise applications, memory usage is growing by leaps and bounds. Fast access to memory that retains its stored data is an enormous leap, far more than what we have with today's flash memory.

One application for this research could be the development of a new kind of computer memory that would supplement and eventually replace today’s commonly used dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Computers using conventional DRAM lack the ability to retain information once they lose power. When power is restored to a DRAM-based computer, a slow, energy-consuming “boot-up” process is necessary to retrieve data from a magnetic disk required to run the system.

In contrast, a memristor-based computer would retain its information after losing power and would not require the boot-up process, resulting in the consumption of less power and wasted time.

I'm extremely excited about this new discovery. Although the existence of the memristor has been theorized since 1971 in a paper by Professor Leon Chua, no one had been able to prove its existence until now. Given the advances in nanotechnology over the last several years, we've finally reached the point of being about to build memristors. This could fundamentally change computers by nearly eliminating boot times, reducing power consumption, and reducing in general the time we wait on computers. In my mind, that is at least as exciting as a new battery technology.

This research comes from HP Labs, the scary-smart people who dream up new technological advances well before we know we need them. If you want to see some fascinating research, browse around HP Labs technical reports. They can get quite in-depth, but they're interesting reading.

Read more about memristors on the HP Labs website.

Look what just arrived for our HP 31 Days of Dragon Giveaway? Do you think I should open it up and test it / play with it, or keep it pure for the eventual winner?

Anyone want to see an InkShow on this beast / baby?

This time coming from HP for the HP Pavilion tx2000z. Mike Rowe, known from the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs, takes on the tx2000z and comes clean with usages. There are five videos in the series, each one showcasing Tablet PC features. Each video is around 3-5 minutes. They're a lot like the series - funny and kinda silly.

Maybe this is the start of actual Tablet PC marketing. Hope springs eternal.

Well - here it is . The HUGE Giveaway that we were talking about last week - The 31 Days of Dragon Giveaway. HP and BuzzCorps have hand-selected 31 "elite" sites to give away not just one, but  31 HP HDX systems - that's right - 31 chances to win a system with a retail value of over $5000! We are proud to have been selected to participate amongst the other fine sites listed to bring you an opportunity to win one of these entertainment beasts.

Here are the details on the prize being given away at each of the sites:

The HP HDX Dragon comes with Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit) and is powered by an Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.80GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB). Other features include 20.1" diagonal WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen (1920x1200) 1080p, 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm), 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS, HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone, Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth, 500GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (250GB x 2), Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer, Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers with HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer, and 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery.

The entertainment notebooks will come with these evaluation software titles: Microsoft Office, Corel PaintShop Pro X2, Corel Painter Essentials, Corel Ulead Video Studio Plus  11.5, Symantec Norton Internet Security.

For the gamers in us the winners will receive the following games: Viva Piñata,Microsoft Flight Sim, Microsoft Flight Sim Expansion Pack, Gears of War.
And since this is an entertainment beast, you will enjoy the following Blu Ray movies out of the box: Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End.

Now, you'll need to visit the following sites during the days listed to learn the details of their particular contest. Each contest runs 7 days. GottaBeMobile's contest is from June 1 - June 8. So you'll want to visit the other sites first and participate in their contests. Each site has some great content, too, so I'm sure you'll enjoy broadening your news reading. Each contest promises to be unique and fun. Each day, we'll remind you to head over to a particular site to begin participating in their contest. The first contest starts May 2 over at AbsoluteVista.com !

02 May - 09 May www.absolutevista.com
03 May - 10 May www.arstechnica.com
04 May - 11 May www.osnn.net
05 May - 12 May www.jkontherun.com
06 May - 13 May digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com
07 May - 14 May www.bostonpocketpc.com
08 May - 15 May www.the-gadgeteer.com
09 May - 16 May www.thedigitallifestyle.com
10 May - 17 May www.digitalhomethoughts.com
11 May - 18 May www.windows-now.com
12 May - 19 May www.windowsconnected.com
13 May - 20 May www.geekstogo.com
14 May - 21 May bink.nu
15 May - 22 May www.mediablab.com
16 May - 23 May www.last100.com
17 May - 24 May www.labnol.org
18 May - 25 May www.notebooks.com
19 May - 26 May www.slashdotreview.com
20 May - 27 May www.neowin.net
21 May - 28 May www.geek.com
22 May - 29 May www.lockergnome.com
23 May - 30 May www.planetx64.com
24 May - 31 May www.thegreenbutton.com
25 May - 01 Jun www.istartedsomething.com
26 May - 02 Jun www.bleepingcomputer.com
27 May - 03 Jun www.hardwaregeeks.com
28 May - 04 Jun www.geeknewscentral.com
29 May - 05 Jun www.geekzone.co.nz
30 May - 06 Jun www.thetabletpc.net
31 May - 07 Jun www.gearlive.com
01 Jun - 08 Jun www.gottabemobile.com

Later today the pre-production evaluation HP 2133 Mini-Note gets packed up and returned to HP, thus ending my evaluation of this intriguing little entry into the ultra-portable or ultra-low cost PC market. Here are some final thoughts I’ve gathered. Keep in mind, I’m evaluating a pre-production model, so some of my experiences may be different from what you might experience with a shipping model.

• If you’re looking for a small device to do light desktop or web work the Mini-Note can fill the bill very well. The VIA processor can handle most of those chores without a hiccup. At least it did for me. Keep in mind the unit I was evaluating was running Vista.
• I was able to pack the Mini-Note in a small over the shoulder bag and carry it with me without any difficulty. It is heavier than the Asus Eee PC and after awhile I noticed the weight a bit, but nothing that would keep me from thinking of this device as very portable.
• Although the extended battery adds some weight and size to the device, I’d definitely add that to the cost of your purchase if you’re going to be mobile for any length of time. With the standard battery I was able to eek out just over 2 hours and 20 minutes of use. With the extended battery I was able to push things to just under 5 hours on average depending on what I was doing.
• I’m disappointed with media playback. I had ripped some movies for my travel time to and from the MVP Summit in order to check out media playback. Playback in Windows Media Player had frequent and random slow downs without anything else of note running. I experienced the same thing with a movie I had previously purchased in iTunes. This is a shame, really, as this size of device would be the perfect travel companion for media playback.
• The optional webcam works, but just like with media playback, I experienced some choppiness when attempting video calls.
• Although it took some getting used to, I really enjoyed using the keyboard and became quite proficient with it. That said, I detest the trackpad. The length that mirrors the widescreen display takes far too long and is too cumbersome to traverse. The wide distance between the buttons is also problematic. If I was going to use this device I’d have to opt for a portable mouse, which I do use on occasion, but prefer not to.

Those are some final thoughts from my limited perspective. Your reactions may be entirely different. Keep in mind that the HP 2133 Mini-Note is highly configurable (or soon will be). You’ll be able to choose operating systems, hard drive size, speed, and type, and other options. HP has created a device that will appeal to many because of its size and price point. That appeal will depend a great deal on the usage model and expectations. While HP’s first market is the education sector, I think we’ll see quite a few of these in the hands of mobile professionals (their declared secondary market) as well. If you’re not looking for good, solid media playback, it could serve very well as a companion device.

Does my wife, Thomasin, want to buy one? I’ve been asked that question quite a bit since she did the InkShow. When I last checked with her, she said she wouldn’t mind it at all, but she’s content to stick with the Asus Eee PC for now. That “for now” part has me thinking we’ll be picking one up for her at some point in the future.

Make sure you check out the GBM InkShows on the HP 2133 Mini-Note.

Thomasin Takes on the HP 2133 Mini-Note

The HP 2133 Mini-Note

This past week proved to be quite the test for how well the Latitude XT was going to hold up to some rigorous mobile usage. I'm pleased to say that it held up quite well and is still proving to be a great Tablet PC. Here are some notes from using it during the MVP summit the past week:

• Many of Microsoft's Tablet PC folks were using the LED version of the Latitude XT. There is a clear difference in thickness and weight between the LED and DLV version. The LED is significantly lighter and thinner. In hindsight, I probably should have purchased the LED version. I dont' think the added viewability was worth the extra weight and thickness.
• The battery life held up pretty well - about 2.5 - 3 hours using Dell's Recommended profile. Under Power Saver, I was getting 4+ hours. I was getting 7 + hours on the extended battery using the Recommended profile. Because of the added weight and thickness, though, I hardly ever used the extended battery.
• The replacement screen has proven to be a very good thing. I hardly ever notice the grid.
• I had my pen replaced due to some accidental discharges when in hover mode. The new pen is working like a charm
• The only bad angle on the DLV screen is when viewed under the Dell logo.
• I only carried the Tom Bihn Ristretto Messenger bag all week. Along with the power adapter, some pouches for my wallet and cables, my phone, the extended battery, and the Latitude XT, I had everything I needed. It is amazing how much can fit in that small bag. Stay tuned for an InkShow on the Ristretto - it is a very, very nice bag and a great solution for the the Latitude XT.
• The low profile 45 watt adapter for the XT is the best mobile ac adapter I've ever used. It is light and takes up very little space in a bag
• Inking and touching continues to be a great experience on the Latitude XT. I'm still using Auto Mode and prefer it as the default touch setting.
• With the great touch experience, I'm learning to use the flick gestures a lot more. I found myself in portrait mode a lot more than usual this past week, and the flick gestures worked great. They could still use some interactive feedback improvement, but are often a much-overlooked feature of Vista.
• Getting the N-Trig / OneNote bug fixed was a very good thing. It helped a lot with my notetaking during meetings. However, I found myself in InkSeine, EverNote, and OneNote periodically throughout the week. My favorite notetaking destination when portrait: InkSeine. My favorite when in landscape: EverNote.
• Keyboarding on the XT is very nice. Not quite as good of an experience as the Lenovo X61, but still quite good.
• When using an SD card in the XT, the card sticks out much further than other tablets I've used, and is prone to accidentally eject when the tablet is placed in a bag with the card still inserted. Other tablets have the card seated flush with the casing, which I prefer.
• I love having USB ports on all three sides of the XT. This allows me to use my EV-DO modem to accommodate any direction I'm holding the Tablet. That flexibility is a huge plus for mobile tablet users.
• Rotating between landscape and portrait is very, very quick. It isn't instant, but it is the quickest rotation I've used on any tablet pc.
• The experience is the smoothest and least troublesome I've used yet. I have yet to experience one of those well known Vista docking / monitor issues. In addition, I have no trouble going in to sleep mode after docking. Like I said, it is smooth, trouble-free, and it just works.
• I have found the pen to be comfortable to write with, and well balanced.
• There are no accidental discharges with this pen, which I really like. HP's 2710p pen is prone to accidental discharge all the time.
• I miss the eraser head on the pen. I think Dell should make that a priority enhancement for current and future XT's. It is just natural to have an eraser head on pens, they are standard on almost all other pens, and Dell's should have one, too.
• I absolutely love the page scroll buttons on the side of the screen. It is the perfect location for web browsing while in portrait mode. Getting a chance to play with the 2710p again this week made me really appreciate the Latitude XT on screen buttons and page scroller on the side of the tablet. Well done.
• Picking up on a comment from my meeting with Ken Hinckley, I'd love to see Dell place some more buttons on the top left and right of the screen. This would allow someone to assign Ctrl actions to the buttons to use while also inking with the other hand in portrait mode - dual hand mode support!

Even with all the above notes on well the Latitude XT is working out for me and how much I appreciate the way Dell designed the XT, I have not found a compelling reason to tell people why they should spend the extra money for a Latitude XT over say HP's 2710p, HP's TX2051z, Fujitsu's T2010, Toshiba's M700, Lenovo's X61, and others. Sure, there are many areas in which the experience is as good or better. For what I do and the areas I'm interested in testing from a natural input perspective, the Latitude XT represents a good purchase for me. However, for monetary reasons vs features / benefits, a person would be wise to look at other choices until Dell brings the price more inline with their competitors. The price needs to be inline with HP's 2710p for me to recommend it to anyone, even with the additional features and touch enhancements.

My thoughts on the above alternative choices:

• Most bang-for-the-buck performance Tablet PC: Toshiba M700
• Best slate-like convertible Tablet PC: HP 2710p.
• Best over-all convertible Tablet PC for the business user: Lenovo X61.
• Best media-centric Tablet PC: HP tx2051z

Lots of videos all around the net of this HP tx2051 - This time it's JK over at jkOnTheRun that is taking his video look at the new offering from HP.  Below is the video that can explain why he says it's 'a powerhouse that is easily the fastest Tablet PC I have used'.  With all these reviews, maybe I should take a look at this unit instead of the Toshiba M700 I've been drooling over.

I’ve been really enjoying both the Inking and the Touch capabilities on the HP TX 2051 that I’m evaluating (when I can keep it out of Rob’s hands). But I do have a few niggles.

The screen is my biggest one niggle. The layering that gives it excellent touch and active digitizter capability makes the screen a bit grainy. Add to that the glossy finish on the screen and you’ve got some pretty severe limitations on viewing angles. If you’re in a room with flourescent lights, you’ll have difficulties viewing the screen. At least I do. If you tilt the screen away from you while in slate mode then you’ll see an immediate degradation of what you’re viewing.

This is a heavy Tablet PC, and that of course is due to everything that is loaded on it, especially the extended battery. With the standard battery it is listed as 4.3lbs, but with the extended battery it feels closer to 5lbs.

The glossy case is pretty and has a nice etched design in it. It does attract quite a few fingerprints and smudges though and it can get pretty dirty relatively quickly.

There are a light of little Blue LED indicators on this device. Several of them are for media playing. The one to repeat a song looks very similar to the rotation button for screen orientation and both Rob and I have hit it unintentionally when we were trying to rotate the screen.

These are just a few thoughts and niggles as I continue to work (and play) with this evaluation of the HP TX 2051.