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

Every year Engadget puts up their "Year End" Awards.  The list was compiled from over 150 gadgets and technologies that were released during the 2007 calendar year. Two exceptions were made for Vista and the Foleo, because of popular demand, so they could be nominees for worst gadget of the year.  This year, like in years past, Tablet PC's are included in that survey and for 2007 the big winners are:

Tablet PC of the Year
Readers' Choice: Lenovo X61T

Tablet PC of the Year
Editors' Choice: Dell Latitude XT

Head over to Engadget for the full list of results.

Don't get me wrong - I like the x61 eval I've been using, but sometimes I really wish I could have kept that Toshiba M700 I had for a few days....

Why do you say??  Check out the image below, and make sure to note the last line and the time! 1.6 (Lenovo) vs. 2.4 (M700) = I might be able to get this done faster.  That's why I want an M700, it's taken me over 20 hours of the processor running at 100% on the Lenovo to get this done.  With the M700 and the 2.4 ghz dual core, this would have taken less time to complete.

Click image for larger view

This week I’ve been lucky enough to test out several different Tablet PCs during rehearsals for our production of Driving Miss Daisy that starts performances at Wayside Theatre today. Tablet PCs, (and UMPCs for that matter), are all about note taking for me. During rehearsals I am constantly taking notes. I’ll be blogging more about my experiences with the various devices (Lenovo ThinkPad X61, Motion F5, Fujitsu P1620) and note taking software in this next week.

Last night at rehearsal though one of our staff was looking over my shoulder when I had the Motion F5 in my lap and noticed the screen smudges. They asked me if it was broken.

I’ve become accustomed (obviously too accustomed) to the smudges on the Lenovo ThinkPad when I’m in note taking mode and I guess I’ve learned to ignore them. Both the Motion and the Lenovo have a ViewAnywhere technology on their screens. Lenovo calls theirs SuperView and whatever the coating is that supposedly lets you view the screen in bright light conditions leads to the smudgy deposits that fill the screen. It is unsightly, and I’ve found the pen actually starting to drag as it passes through some of the gunk.

Again, I’ve gotten used to this, and thanks to the Shwamee Microfiber cleaning cloth I use, I’ve gotten into a routine of cleaning the screen each night or morning. But my colleague’s “is it broken?” comment drew a new picture for me last night.

Think about this OEMs. Someone sees someone using your product and decides to take a closer look. They see that smudged up screen. That can’t be a favorable impression. The explanations of why the smudges are so apparent also can’t do much to make that first impression go away when the explanation begins with “oh, that’s the technology that lets you view the screen in bright light conditions,” especially when those greasy deposits do nothing but reflect light.

This isn’t just a usability or a technology issue, it is also a marketing issue. OEM’s would be wise to look for a better way if they want potential customers to see a clear path to purchasing their product.

But I cheated....

If you have been following the site, you know I have bee having a HECK of a time trying to get Vista SP1 installed on my Lenovo x61 Tablet PC.  Well, with my last effort this weekend, I have it installed.

I did everything I could to get things to work - I had some e-mails, some forum posts even used my own experience - Nothing worked.  The last step I made was to uninstall everything off my machine - even uninstalled drivers as well - like the video, network...  back to the windows generic/default - Still didn't work.

What did I do?  I gave up!  Friday night I did the almost 3 GIG download of Vista with SP1 included - THAT installed just fine.  Unfortunately after 6-7 tries to do the upgrade I just couldn't take it any more.  So, I am now running SP1 and all is fine, except for the time it's taken me to reinstall everything back on this machine.....

If you are in the market for a new Lenovo ThinkPad X60 or X61 Tablet PC, then check out the discounts at the Lenovo Outlet right now. Standard restrictions apply - these are probably in highly limited quantities, so shop early for best selection. You may also be able to use other Lenovo discounts on these systems, so check around for the current discount codes.

Oh, and they also sell systems that aren't Tablet PC.

via jkOnTheRun

Don't go to the bank on this one, but....

I've been hearing some rumblings around the tabletscape that Lenovo's next Tablet PC will be dubbed the X200, and is set to release around the 4th quarter of this year.

If true, I wonder what we might could look forward to in an X200? What features of the X300 could we hope to see in an X200?

Some items I think are a given:

• SSD
• I see them sticking with the 12 inch screen. X300 for 13", X200 for 12"; not sure what they'll do with resolution given the 1400 x 1050 issues.
• Definitely going thinner in the fashion of the X300
• Multi-Touch improvements
• Wireless USB
• LED screen

What do you think?

I arrived home today from our St. Louis trip to find a nice surprise - an evaluation Lenovo X300 Ultra-Portable Notebook.

Being the true geek that I am, I stopped dead in my tracks to take pictures, comparing it to the Lenovo X61 Tablet PC. You can expect a lot more over the coming weeks on the X300. We've got it for several months.

My first impressions:

• Very light and thin. Feels almost 25% lighter than the X61. It is much thinner, especially along the front.
• It doesn't have the same "sexiness" as the MacBook Air, but the extra USB ports, integrated WWAN, integrated CD drive, and user replaceable battery make up for it. I played with a MacBook Air this week at an Apple store and would have bought one had I had the money. Honestly, I'd likely go for the X300 instead due to extra flexibility - but, that MacBook felt sooooo nice to hold.
• It boots up really fast. Sorry, no times yet.
• No slot for dock on the bottom
• 1440 x 900 resolution is really nice and bright
• Lenovo has done a fantastic job with the X300. Feels good.
• When can we expect something similar for the X61? I'd love to see something just like this with Tablet PC functionality

More later. Enjoy the pictures below ( after the read more link ), which are of the X300 and the X61. Click them to view higher res shots.

The battle over the thin ultra-portables has heated up a bit and Walt Mossberg’s full review of the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 will just keep the flames flickering. Mossberg seems to be sideing with those who like functionality over pretty design as he likes the ThinkPad X300’s connectivity, array of ports, and user replaceable and multiple battery options. He does point out some otherinteresting comparative features including that the battery life of the X300 is not as good as the MacBook Air, its higher price, and the fact that it only comes with an SSD. He also mentions that the X300 has a higher screen res.

So how about your, ultra-portable shoppers? What do you choose, functionality or design? Pretty over practical? Or does it matter if you can get your work done?

Fascinating article in Business Week offering a behind the scenes look at the development of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300. The article goes through some of the bumps and grinds and decision processes along the way to creating the newly ballyhooed competitor to the MacBook Air. From the looks of it, it is going to be difficult in the future to release an ultra-light ultra-portable if it doesn’t fit in a manilla interoffice envelope.

While I certainly understand the desire for having a very light mobile computer I truly wonder if that feature is a true selling point over other features. If the X300 succeeds I will bet it has more to do with the other features it will contain (ports, optical drive) versus the weight factor. What do you think?

Walt Mossberg is running a sneak peak look at Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300, which will obviously be compared to Apple’s MacBook Air in the war of the ultra portables. Like the Air it comes with a 13 inch screen (This still amazes me. I would think a 12 inch screen is perfect for these devices, but that’s just me.) Unlike the Air, it comes with a built in optical drive, removable battery, a bevy of ports-including Ethernet. It can also be ordered with an built in cellphone modem or GPS. Other differences include the starting price (betwen $2500 and $2800) and that it will only be available with a 64GB SSD. No hard drive options here.

Interesting.

A few weeks ago on my way home from CES I was confronted with a "Error 2100 - Hard drive initialization error" on my Lenovo X61 Tablet PC.  It was not good and there was NO way to access the drive - it would not boot. There was no external access to the drive. Booting into Linux didn't show the drive either.   Nothing worked!  It wasn't too big of a deal because I do frequent backups so the only thing I lost was a few GBM e-mails  because they were POP and on my drive since the last backup.

The guys at Lenovo worked with me and I was able to get a new drive...  Not fun, but I was up and running in short order.

Then comes last night...  I started up my computer and guess what???  Another "Error 2100" - so much for watching the Super Bowl over SlingBox...  I went back to another computer and started to do some searching - I found that a little over a week ago there was a firmware update for the drives used in the x60/x61 that will solve this problem - from the fix page:

Notes:
- This firmware update includes the fix for the case on a system with Microsoft Windows Vista, that the system may become to display the following error message at each power on, and then cannot boot from the hard drive. "2100: Initialization error on HDD0 (Main hard disk drive)"

Perfect I say!!  I did  the download, created the bootable ISO, put the drive in and PRESTO!!  I am booting again!!!

Moral of the story?  1. Check the link and see if you need to do the Hard Drive firmware update 2. It's a good example of how regular backups are not just beneficial, but critical!

Here comes a crazy mobile week. The big trip this week is to head to Memphis for auditions at the UPTA conference. That’s a 5 day conference where we will audition over 600 actors and then interview about 200 or so for possible jobs in our next season which begins in June. More on that later. (Note some of the links in this post are affiliate.)

In the State Capitol

But before we head off to UPTA, I am spending a day doing some political lobbying on behalf of the Arts in our state (and my theatre in particular.) I, and other members of my team, leave this afternoon to head to Richmond. (We’re leaving early enough so we can get into our hotel and watch the Super Bowl.) Early tomorrow morning, we’re off to the state capitol and a day full of appointments. We’ll be using our mobile phones (both voice and text messaging) to keep in touch throughout the day, as appointments often change due to the legislators’ schedules. I’ve planned out the day in MindManager and will be using my Tablet PC to keep track of our progress throughout the day. It will be a fast moving day and interestingly enough most of the work will come in the follow up that we have to do the next day, so keeping accurate records of conversations is a must.

On to the Auditions

Mid-week we head off to the UPTA conference. For this conference (and another one in March) we basically carry a small office with us. The tools I’ll be using will be the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC, the HTC Mogul, the Canon Pixma i90 Printer, a LogiTech webcam, and, for brief bits of relaxation, the iPod Touch. I’ll also be carrying a video camera to tape some auditions. I primarily use OneNote 2007 in keeping track of interviews and auditions. I’ve chronicled how I do that in the past, but it has been awhile, so I’ll be updating my process some this year. It has been a successful method of keeping track of actors and interviewees.

Twitter: A Different Communication Method?

Not only do we audition and interview at the conference, but I also do much of my ongoing work for the theatre there as well. In essence a big portion of our office moves to Memphis for the week. Communication is the key as we have a number of big pressing issues (we’re in the middle of renovating the theatre) and there are some issues coming up that we know in advance are going to require relatively immediate responses by me. Auditions are like attending a public event. Cell phones are turned off for courtesy (if an auditor’s cell phone goes off during the audition he/she pays the fee for that actor’s audition!) but the WiFi is plentiful. We are going to try something different this trip as far as a communication method. In the past we’ve used SMS messaging at these events when the folks back home have to reach me. But the buzz of a cell phone in stun mode can still distract. So, I’m going to be using the iPod Touch to follow direct messages from the home office on Twitter. I could just as easily use the HTC Mogul for that, but I’m experimenting, and I want to see if the Touch will do the trick here. We’ll see how that works.

It should be an interesting, but exhausting period of time. As a side note, my participation here on GBM will be light during the auditions. I’m also trying out a couple of new (to me) gadgets and accessories and if all goes well, I’ll be reporting about that either from the road, or after I return.

We came to see the Intel MIDs (and other things) and we got a good start at The Digital Experience with a quick look at five of the devices. In this video, Intel’s Marketing Director for the Mobile platform walks us through Menlow and Silverthorne and the devices, including a second generation prototype. You’ll see the Lenovo MID, the Aigo MID, and much more. Early impressions? Nice looking small mobile devices with nice touch screens. Aimed at those who want quick mobile media access, email, GPS, and some document work while on the go.

Catch this. While we’ve all been hearing that the MID platform will run Red Hat Linux, the Toshiba MID, that’s right-Toshiba is in the MID space-will be running Vista. That ought to shake a few things up. We’ll be seeing more MIDs today at the Intel booth. Here’s a link to the press release info on Intel’s MID release.

Another bit of interesting news. We’re looking at a $499 price point here. Sound familiar? We’ll see in six months or so if that will happen. One thing for sure, it will be interesting to see if the MID platform will drive prices down or up on the UMPC platform. Either way, UMPC is not what we knew it as yesterday.

Click To Play

The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 while not a UMPC or a Tablet PC is certainly an intriguing little small device. It is tiny and shiny and with that red cover will certainly stand out in a crowd. And guess what, for security how would you like to try Facial Recognition on for size? Well, that’s what you will be able to do if you get your hands on this small device.

 Download the High Res Version here.

Click To Play

With a focus on the consumer market, Lenovo has announced their new IdeaPad line of notebooks, featuring touch sensitive controls, Dolby Home Theatre Systems, frameless screens, VeriFace for facial recognition, and unique paint textures. Of particular interest to GottaBeMobile readers is the new IdeaPad U110, an 11 inch widescreen ultra-portable weighing 2.3 pounds, SSD support, and utilizing Intel’s low voltage Santa Rosa platform and Merom processors. Unfortunately, no pen or touch support.

Pricing on the IdeaPad Y510 (15.4 inch) is $799 and will be available in January at BestBuy.com, MicroCenter, NewEgg.com, Office Depot, and Tiger Direct. The IdeaPad Y710 ( 17 inch ) is $1199 and will be available in January at Tiger Direct. Pricing on the IdeaPad U110 has not been set yet, but will be available in April.

Follow the Read More link for the official press release.

Dell's new Tablet PC making is making it out into the the hands of a few people.  Nathan has one and has posted up a few pictures of the x61 and XT sitting right next to each other.  I'm sure if following the blog might be good thing to do for a while so we can get some impressions on the unit.  We're going to be hitting up Dell at CES, so if you don't see the pictures you want we'll have a bunch coming to you next week!!

Here’s my take, hunches, best guesses, and coin flips for 2008.

• Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) will dominate the conversation for the first half of the year. What happens in the 2^nd half is anybody’s guess.
• Call it Ultra-Mobile PC, call it UMPC, call it Origami. Call it what you will, but by the end of 2008 call it in its dying throes. The ultra mobile vision will remain, but in other devices. 
• Unlike Rob, I don’t see Dell re-evaluating their price point on the XT Tablet PC so soon. The high price point is consistent with the markets they have been targeting from the beginning. If the prices drop it will be a year from now at the earliest.
• Apple will not market a Tablet PC in 2008.  Instead it will be a communication device that takes advantage of the iPhone’s features as well as the Back to My Mac features for users to grab their data on the road. Because it will have a touch interface and be able to take advantage of InkWell, Tablet PC aficionados will call it a failure.
• Touch will again be a dominate feature and news story. The real question is will anyone develop an application that makes it more than a fancy way to play media, turn pages, or manipulate photos. Or is that enough?
• Multi-touch is still a ways off. Someone, somewhere, needs to develop a real use for it on the Tablet PC and mobile devices.
• With the exception of the MID and whatever Apple will do in 2008, next year’s headlines will be about technologies that change or provide new content delivery methods, similar to the Amazon Kindle.
• Microsoft’s marketing will continue to be mediocre at best and miss the mark more than it will hit.
• DRM will continue to cripple operating systems and content delivery methods. Most consumers won’t notice. Those that do will root for Amazon, Walmart, and Independent music producers to keep putting the pressure on.
• New releases of new products across the board will slow down in 2008. Some consumers will remember Apple’s iPhone price drop form 2007, companies will try to get a better handle on delivery inadequacies. Consumers are starting to notice that their voices can be heard, and companies will start to slow things down a bit, to hopefully improve on what they eventually release.
• The word “open” will get bandied around a lot. As in Google’s efforts to make mobile devices more open with its Google Android mobile OS. The word open will lose all meaning in the marketing miasma.
• OneNote 2007 will continue to remain a secret.
• The Asus Eee PC story is just getting started. It will have much more impact in 2008.
• The companies to watch in the mobile space who will have the greatest impact will be Apple, Nokia, HTC, Asus, and Google.
• HP, Toshiba, and Lenovo will continue to dominate the consumer Tablet PC space, although we probably won’t see anything really new until 2009. Fujitsu nees to make some noise here.
• Inking on Tablet PCs will continue to remain the ultimate niche in a niche product.
• There will be a major Internet outage or Bot Attack in 2008, prompting all sorts of chaos and howling. This will lead to a renewed interest in client apps vs. the cloud.

Get ready for Silverthorne. Silverthorne? What’s that? Intel will be showing off the postage stamp sized processor that is the core of Intel’s Menlow mobile platform. Silverthorne is a low powered chip that will be the base of the next generation of small mobile devices, powering the next generation of UMPCs and MIDs. In a pre-CES briefing yesterday, Intel laid out some of its plans for CES 2008. And there was some interesting info tossed into the mix. Here’s a quote or two from an eWeek article:

While there were no additional details about Silverthorne, Intel has said that the processor will use 10 times less power than current models and the entire platform can fit onto a 74-milimeter by 143-milimeter motherboard. The types of MIDs and UMPC on display will offer users a combination of Wi-Fi, WiMax and 3G wireless technology.

At the 2008 CES, Pankaj Kedia, Intel's director of mobile Internet and UMPC platforms, said the company plans on showing off at least 10 different MIDs and UMPCs from a range of vendors, including Lenovo, Asus, Quanta, Clarion and several others.

Lenovo is certaintly an intriguing name to see on that list. You can bet we’re going to be taking a very close look at CES in just a few weeks.

Eddie VanDerbeck just let us know that Lenovo's Outlet store has been totally revamped. He was able to pick up a smokin' deal on a "closed box-return" X61 XGA MultiTouch for about $1200 - that is one heck of a price. The best part is that the inventory is real-time, so whatever they show in stock is what they have.

If you are looking for some good deals on a Lenovo Tablet PC, head over and check it out.