My latest Tablet PC tip

As many of you know, I go through a lot of tablet pcs. I’ve picked quite a few tips over the past several years that help me get up and running quickly on a new tablet. Here is one of those tips:

I’m testing out an M400 for a client of mine, and I’ve been struggling with some performance issues: windows closing slow, slow screen paints, programs opening slowly, etc. Being a Core Duo 2.0 ghz, I shouldn’t have any performance issues. Welll, I went to the Toshiba Power Saver properites to examine the cpu settings: the default AC profile (AC Optimized) had the cpu running at 60%, and on battery, it was sitting less than 50%.

I changed default AC power settings to use Full Power with cpu cranked up where I wanted up and boom – this thing is smoking! I modified the battery settings as to be full cpu. So, here is my tip: be sure to examine your tablet pcs power management settings and make sure the cpu is throttled the way you want it. By the way, this is not a problem unique to the M400 – my X41 tablet pc had its cpu settings throttled back on AC and on battery.

Now, I’ve found some other issues with this M400 that are concerning me – like the color calibration on the LCD seems way off. Some greens are looking grey, and like the M200, there is a graining look to the screen. Unfortunately, unlike the M200, there is not a film to remove that takes the grainey look away.

If anyone is using an M400 that has any experience with adjusting the color calibration on this thing, I’d appreciate any input. When I view sites on my X41, the colors look really crisp and truer to the real color. Not so with this M400.

UPDATE: If any of you are wondering what I really think of the M400, here is my brief synopsis: too bulky, the screen quality stinks ( even at high res ), and it is not near as thin as the X41. My next Tablet PC will be the rumored Lenovo X61. The latest speculation I see floated about in the Tablet PC scape is sometime in the fall.