Timing and Spacing

After several years of wanting one and doing a lot of window shopping, I've finally bought a tablet PC. I primarily want it to take notes with (probably using OneNote), for art (probably using Corel Painter), and for animation (Plastic Animation Paper). Maya is a would-be-nice, but not a requirement. I also need to go all day without having to plug it in. Okay, I don't need to, but I prefer to leave the AC adapter at home.

I was considering two different models: a pure tablet from Motion Computing or a convertible from Gateway.

Jason really likes the Motion Computing tablet. Jason seems like a really smart guy. If he likes it, it's probably pretty good. It seems like it runs pretty much everything I need it to run. It appeals to me because it's light. I've been lugging around a seven pound laptop to Siggraph and other conferences for a number of years. It sucks. Seven pounds doesn't seem heavy, but it gets heavy fast.

The Gateway looks pretty powerful. A dual-core processer? Awesome, never had one of those. It probably rivals the least powerful of my two desktop machines (the desktop is has a faster CPU, but it's single-proc, single-core). But it weighs 7.6 pounds. More with the extended battery. However, I don't need a new primary machine; I've got two I use daily and they're plenty fast. I want something that I won't leave at home or in the hotel room because it's too much trouble to lug about. So, the Motion Computing looks like the winner. However, you're not getting much computing power for your dollar. And it's not just that it seems underpowered in general, it's also pretty expensive. By the time you get all the accessories you need (memory, DVD drive, keyboard, etc), the Motion Computing tablet is going to be twice as expensive as the Gateway. If it were the same price or just a little more, it would be an easy decision. But it's half as fast, twice as expensive.

However, I finally decided that if I get the cheap one and then leave it at home because it's too much trouble or too heavy, I may as well have not gotten anything at all. So, I went with the Motion Computing LE1600. I got the Centrino processor with 1Gb of memory and the 30 Gb harddrive. I also ordered the bump case, the DVD drive, the DVD cable, an extended battery and the battery charger with an additional standard battery. I really wanted the View Anywhere screen and the 60 Gb harddrive, but I'm already spending more than I can really afford.

Now, bits and pieces are arriving. I have the extended battery, the bump case, and the dvd drive with accessory cable. I'm still waiting on the unit itself, along with recharging station and additional standard battery. Unfortunately, the unit itself will probably be the last to arrive.

I'll post a review once I've played with it a while.