Well, what do you expact? I'd even choose a macbook over the gateway tablet any day. This is a case of marketing and branding, 100%. The sales people probably have a bias towards Apple, the put it front and center, probably sell all its fine points, and then do a spec by spec comparison with the gateway. I'd wager they don't even try to sell the students on exactly how useful it is as a tablet.

Here in New York, studying in Columbia, I find a similar trend that students prefer Apple Computer more than Tablet PC. Based on my experiences alone, I had two interesting events related to tablet PC.

My department chair is a strong proponent of tablet PC and he has persuaded many of his faculties using tablet pcs and particularly older model, TC1100 HP. One of his more talented child enter Columbia as well and the child was given a brand new HP tablet. However, right at the start of the school year, she wanted a MacBook and think very little for the use of tablet PC. By talking to her, I find out one common theme that why student prefer more of Mac than tablet: Students do not use computer to study. They use them for downloading musics and videos, typing paper, and taking notes by typing and of course access to coursework and emails. Even if they are given a tablet pc, they are afraid of the technology because no one if anyone can teach them how to use it and teach them to help them study. By the way, not everybody is reading GOTTABEMOBILE or studenttabletpc. Students use a computer more so as an entertainment device than as a tablet pc. Now if you think of this way, will you prefer a Mac or a tablet?

However, my girlfriend owned a Mac. She uses it to type her papers, internet, and occasionally take notes on the computer. But it is simply inflexible to carry computers and books with her. She says all the weights make her ugly. To make it short, she begins to find my device, tablet pc, interesting. She then realizes, I can annotate my handwritings on the powerpoint (she cannot tell the difference b/w PDF annotator and Powerpoint) and can take all the notes on Journal and Onenote and record the audio lectures. This concept immediately makes her fall in love with this technology. So just last week, I bought her a the tablet T2010 and she sold her MacBook. She now cautiously transfers all notes in the beautiful T2010. So far, she carries only her textbooks, tablet, a pen and a pocket size notebook. Neat! What makes me happy is that I convert at least one person. This is an accomplishment my friend!!!

Based on these two experiences, many students do not know what a tablet pc is and more importantly, they don't realize the potential of tablet pc. No one is pushing it and no one it talking about it. Immediately, the tablet pc becomes of alien product in my campus. So far, I only saw a Chinese student using X60 in the library. That's it. I am the only few who uses a tablet pc and damn proud of it. Can you believe that!?

PS: My younger brother in High School thinks he is a computer geek and know everything about computer. When I introduced him to tablet PC. He thinks very little about it and find the device very unintersting. Then I realize that people who buy computers usually have different purpose in mind than people like us who use tablet pc. We simply have different mindset. Now the trick is: How to close the gap or the generation gap : )

Yeah, it must be the Apple marketing juggernaut at work! If only plucky little Microsoft could use its Yankee ingenuity to turn the competition to merit, instead of glitz and glamour. After all, Mac is too expensive, only for artists and hippies, and has the dreaded one-button mouse.

Oh, wait, no. Here we are on Earth, where Apple carefully designs each product so users get something out of it, while Microsoft just tries to shoehorn Windows into every conceivable form factor to improve lock-in.

Yes, if Apple made a tablet, I would probably get it. That could happen.

If Microsoft made a version of OneNote with an open API so that I could export and import and not worry about the lock-in, I would probably get it. That could never happen.

The difference between these two scenarios is that Apple is focused on delivering a customer experience. Microsoft would have to either focus or open up to get me. As it is, I expect the next great tablet to come from Nokia or an Intel MID partner.

Um, Apple's been doing the same thing MS has done! This year has been all about Apple's sticking OSX into a phone (something MS has been doing with WinCE since 2003 and Palm has been doing with their OS even earlier). That's what made the iPhone hackable; it's Apple's UNIX (some say NeXT). What's making those iPods tick? I don't really know, but I doubt it's Symbian! So maybe MacOS isn't in cars and cash registers, yet, like Windows, but give Jobso time. Did Apple do it better? I don't know; they should have, since they could learn from and build upon the experiences of the other three companies mentioned in my comments (just as Microsoft should have learned something from the Newton).

I think Tablet Lover is on to something. When people tell me they can't understand why I, a lover of shiny tech, don't want an iPhone, I tell them it's a lovely toy, but not a tool. I love to play with my technology, but, in order to justify the purchase, it has to go to work with me. Apple products are indeed hip and fun. There are some who will look on in approval when I finally get my MacBook; I can't wait to start playing with it, but when I get it, I will stick Parallels on it, because there is one Windows app I will need for work.

Zorg,

OneNote notes can be saved as a Word doc, a Word XML doc, an XPS file, a .mht file, a PDF file, or sent in the body of an e-mail. From Word or another word processor (most open Word docs) you can save your text as ASCII or RTF or whatever else your program supports. All of these export options are simple to use -- just a click or two away -- so I'm not real sure what your concern is. It's actually incredibly flexible.

As for the issue at hand, yeah, I agree with those folks who feel that the public hasn't been well-educated on how a tablet can enhance their lives. How ink and the pen don't replace the keyboard (in most scenarios), but offer an alternative. I'm amazed at how many people still ask me about it, having never seen one before. The other day, a woman, using her brand new Macbook saw me working with my tablet and exclaimed that that was exactly what she wanted. She said that she didn't even know they existed and was sad that she had just purchased a Macbook instead. I was a little suprised at her strong response, but hey, I'd just demo'd OneNote for her and even I was impressed!

Hi All,
Well, I'm not really surprised. I've been around computers since 300 baud text was considered the heights of online living. I've used DOS, Linux, OS2, Mac and Windows, and I have to admit that Apple provides the best user experience, by far. I really want to live my life off my Tablet, but the word that comes to mind with Windows is "cranky". On my Mac, open the lid, it's on. I can't remember the last lock up or crash. My tablet, even with a 4 week old fresh install of XP, and nothing unusual or exotic on it, still has to be "finessed". Just last night, I had to reboot it twice to get it running correctly. The Mac is far from perfect, but in my world it's the best around, from a non-techie, user's viewpoint. I haven't used Vista yet (my three year old tablet won't run it - grrrrr) but was impressed with the demo I saw, so perhaps this is changing. However, I would LOVE a Mac Tablet!

MiniMage, I'm usually right on track with you, but I have to disagree with you on OS X. OS X on the iPhone and iPod Touch may have the same core as Mac OS X, but they were clearly designed for their respective devices. They are not merely mobile interfaces laid over the desktop-designed Mac OS X.

Microsoft, however, has five SKUs for Windows Vista, not one of them tailored for mobile PCs. Windows Mobile is so desktop-inspired that the phrase "familiar start menu" is used as a selling point. Tablet functionality and the Origami interface enable mobility, but they are add-ons over what is essentially an interface designed for desktops.

IMO, Microsoft's unwillingness to tailor Windows for mobile computing is hindering UMPC and Tablet PC adoption and pushing Intel to Linux for the MID form factor, and that's why so many enthusiasts are hopeful that Apple will jump in and launch mobile computing into the mainstream.

Personally, I think the trend is caused by more than marketing, although that's part of it.

In terms of on the go mobility, Mac notebooks do a great job even when the job is to do nothing: go to sleep. On a Mac notebook, just close the lid. Open it up and you're exactly where you left off. I don't trust any of my Windows machines to do the same. I watch them closely when they shut down, hibernate, or sleep. I don't just toss them into my backpack. Just in case. This is a big stickler with Tablets.

Likewise, how many times have you seen someone use a Tablet PC and then it goes blank? What do they do? Start tapping? Slide the power switch? You can see the panic set in. Not a good experience. You can configure things to work better, but who does? The default isn't right or the tech isn't savvy enough. Take your pick. Either way, you want the user to be relaxed and happy when using a Tablet PC.

The Shell is another issue. It's tons better in Vista, but do I really want to navigate a tree control on a UMPC or my Tablet desktop when I'm rushing to get things done when setting up for a class? The Origami Experience was going the right direction. It just needs to be integrated better and more expandable.

I think there's room for innovation too. I'd really like to see more PC to PC sharing. The Tablet PC should be leading here.

None of these are show stoppers, but these are the little things that add up. On the Mac side there are lots of these little positive things I can point to. Little things that don't cause user distress. On the Tablet side there are likewise a handful, but their value can vary so much. Take the accelerometers, for instance, or the quality of the digitizer, or whether there's touch (which should support multi-touch already!!), and so on. There have been some excellent Tablet PCs, but honestly there have been some losers that have dragged down the respect for the Tablet space.

Microsoft has an advantage and a challenge with its various OEM partners, but for some reason, when it comes to _new technology_, there seems to be more challenge than value. Maybe it's going to take Microsoft to work even more closely with OEMs. Or maybe Microsoft needs to bite the bullet and release its own Tablet. Maybe it could start with the Compaq TC1100 or NEC Versa LitePad as reference designs. Those were killer Tablets.

Sumo, I won't pretend to know a whole lot about the whole OSX/iPhone thing, so I will concede you may be right. I am still not entirely convinced. See, my friend told me how he hacked his iPhone. It involved installing an ssh daemon in the phone's OS. Once he was able to log in remotely, he could install other apps. UNIX desktop apps. We Windows Mobile users can't install Windows desktop apps on our phones; we have to wait until someone ports them. That makes me think the iPhone OS is more mini-desktop and less custom-built than the CE family.

Did Apple do a better job of making the OS fit into and work for the machine? Perhaps; I'll not argue otherwise. I've heard little about stability issues on non-hacked iPhones. I think they do what little they're supposed to do well. I want to give it a little more time; I'm sure I heard a co-worker saying something about experiencing a known problem last week. Of course, stability is easily achieved, when you don't let your users have a say on what kind of services they'll have.

Two thoughts:

1. I wonder if concern about Vista issues have influenced people buying more Macs instead. All of those TV ads where the nerdy PC guy is worried about what is going to happen to him at the next upgrade, while the cool and relaxed Mac guy seems perplexed as to what the fuss is about.

2. Pure speculation coming up:
It sure seems Microsoft wants to perfect the idea of "built in obsolescence". Not only do they put out a new OS that has more features and better functionality in a few aspects, but then they scrap the previous OS to force you over. If the new OS is superior what are they afraid of? XP has been around awhile now, how many new technical problems are still showing up to tax their resources?
Any way around the microsoft monopoly? I guess they have copyright on all Windows versions forever, and no way to "make them use it or sell it"?
Anyone use Unix based stuff? Are there any non-MS handwriting input systems that could be adapted to an active digitizer?

3. More pure speculation:
I know that individuals and small businesses have constructed their own desktops from components for years (isn't that how Dell started?).
I imagine it is rather simple to slide components into a desktop sized case as opposed to engineering a housing for a laptop or Tablet, but with the number of people doing hardware modifications, etc. to their devices I would think some brilliant and talented people could come up with something.

Given the choice between a Mac and a touchscreen, I would take the Mac. With a good active digitizer and some instruction on using One Note in class, the tablet wins hands down in my book.

My son goes to a college that provides a regular laptop for all students. Few take them to class. Some profs actually forbid them, not liking screens for students to hide behind, or the temptation to play games in class. We need better models for students and educators to actually get close to rising to the real potential of a tablet pc in the classroom and for study.

Sharon
SBTablet

Mini, I think your anecdote reveals Microsoft's failing with the UMPC. The Origami interface and Tablet PC functionality are add-ons to the standard Windows desktop interface. Microsoft did nothing to streamline Windows for the mobile environment. In fact, they went the other direction and added more overhead. Microsoft rolled out a heavier version of Windows for TPCs and UMPCs, stripping out nothing so it can still run desktop apps. By contrast, Apple rolled out a streamlined version of OS X for the iPhone that can still run desktop apps. Clearly, there is a flaw with Microsoft's approach.