I am debating on waiting a little while before p

[ZeroDefects]

I am debating on waiting a little while before purchasing a tablet to wait and see what the next generation has to offer. Personally, I'd love to see a TC1000 design with the guts closer to the Toshiba. Anybody have any info or at least some good theories as to when will we see the next generation of tablets?

[Varun Shoor]

I am in the same boat, CeBit is like just 10 days from now, I will be attending it and obviously sending in pics of the new tablet pcs on display.

I have decided to wait, I really dont want to get a tablet pc now and see a new one in CeBit and be disappointed. I know things get better with time but if you look at it, its like just 10 days for some big announcements and another month at max for them to come into market. I think this is the time to hold of purchase and wait, but thats just me ;)

HP has said that they will stay with Transmeta, Transmeta said that Astro will be in production by March-Mid to April-Start, so there are very good chances the next HP tablet pc will be based around that.

Or...

It will be a convertable, the prototype pics leaked clearly show HP's interest in making a convertable. But I really dont think that will be the case, I think HP will stick with the current hybrid design which IMO is perfect.

I predict its gonna be a new tablet based around Astro, bigger screen and pressure sensitive.. Thats the only thing I see lacking in TC1k, other than that its like the best designed tablet out there.

almost 10 days to go, start counting... and of course its not going to be just HP, other manufacturers will announce new tablets too. I think Toshiba will announce a Slate as they have ramped up production of 3500 and from the news it seems they are taking this thing really seriously.

Time will tell..

[InnaFire]

quote:almost 10 days to go, start counting...


CeBit starts here in hannover on March 12th, so this is another 15 days from today. Correct me if I missed something?!
Another thing is that I don´t expect HP nor Toshiba to show any new tablets on CeBit because they´re still advertising their current product line for it.

[Varun Shoor]

I stand corrected ;)

That doesnt matter really, I really think they will announce new tablets, this is the perfect time to do it. But as I said, time will tell ;)

[MooseMaster]

Of course they're still advertising their current product line. That doesn't mean anything about future devices, it means they're trying to sell their stuff.

I seriously hope that HP changes NOTHING about their current design, including screen size. The only thing I want from HP is the Transmeta Astro and a Geforce 2 Go 200, a pressure sensitive digitizer would be alright as well. If they change one thing about their design then they've lost everything that made their Tablet more successful than others. Their price is inconsequential when you add RAM, HD, and wireless to match it's specs to other's. It's 30 extra minutes of battery life is not substantial. It's 1/2 a pound decrease in weight over other Tablets is not compelling. And the performance it suffers from having all of these small things (which add to be significant, but are not important on their own) has turned quite a few off. Compaq's iPaq PocketPC is the ugliest thing out there, that's one product they SHOULD redesign. But their Tablet, it's perfection and they'd have to be blind not to see how popular it is. Although Compaq has a bad habit of fixing things that aren't broken.

I am currently waiting to see what comes from CeBit. If nothing I like shows up, or if HP changes their design, then I'll purchase the TC1000 before the new one is released. If the new one is better then I can wait a bit for it, secure my finances, and then have a top of the line device when it's released.

[zipmail]

I agree that the form factor for the TC1000 is "almost" perfect and all they need is to improve on a few things.

I have only seen pictures of the NEC LitePad and it may be lightest and thinnest but I am not so sure about the way the battery sticks out at the bottom. It's almost like how Fujitsu went with theirs and it is quite awkward trying to balance a heavy end on the horizontal plane.

I guess at the end of the day it is how you work and what work you do that begs the question whether a TabletPC is for you. The TC1000 is a cross between a super-iPaq and a notebook. I find that a iPaq is handy but I can't do much serious work with it and whipping out my notebook was not much better than sitting at my desk.

So HP/Compaq - I hope you keep the form-factor but keep improving the insides!

[ZeroDefects]

Keep us updated on your opinions on what you see at CeBit, that should be intersesting. Also, I have not yet heard of the Transmeta Astro, how does it differ from the 5800? Is it faster?

[MooseMaster]

Transmeta Astro, AKA TM8000
http://www.transmetazone.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1276