[mar2k]

The best news about the Panasonic Tablet PC other than Centrino is that it is using a transflective display so it is usable outside. Also, because it has some reflective qualities in the sun, this means if you are using it outside you could turn the backlight way down, preserving power. Why haven't these Tablet PC OEMs figured out what all the PDA manufacturers have learned. You can't buy a PDA now that does not have either a reflective or transflective TFT screen. But the price of the Panasonic Tablet with its rugged form factor is $3200 [cry]

[MooseMaster]

The price may be a hint as to why other TabletPCs don't have the same features.

I noticed on the previous poll that price was the main problem that people had with TabletPCs, yet you don't want to pay for the expensive features that you want... I'm confused :/

[mar2k]

I would be willing to pay more for a transflective screen, just not $1000 more. I don't think the screen itself is the sole reason the Panasonic is priced so high - it is advertised as a "rugged" Tablet PC, so that is what you are paying more for as well. I wouldn't think the transflective screen alone would demand such a premium...three of the cheapest Pocket PCs (iPaq H1910, Dell Axim, and Viewsonic V35) all have transflective screens - there is no price premium for this type of display. For a 10.4" display there may be more of a premium, but I would not think $1000 worth.

[InnaFire]

These features sound very interesting, but please tell me that we´re not talking about this unit: http://www.panasonic.com/computer/notebook/images/01a_t18.jpg

Not exactly what I would call thin and good looking. [xx(]

[winno]

Yeah, they meant that unit(the panasonic TOUGHbook)

I saw the estimated price in tabletpctalk.com also...don't think they are going to get good reaction with that kind of price and looks(i mean, the people with money always want professional/stylish looks).

Anyways, I won't consider it nice and thin either... I mean, it's thicker than my textbooks.

cheers.

[Big Lar]

This tablet is most likely targeting vertical markets. I could see a ruggedized tablet like this one being very popular in applications like trucking, or other commercial venues. For dedicated solutions like this, the additional cost can be absorbed. I think they'll do fine.

--Lar

[InnaFire]

@BigLar: Yes, you´re probably right. Looks very sturdy, maybe a unit for somebody working at a construction site. Definately some vertical market segment.

[robertgmullen]

Big Lar hit the nail on the head. I am an Director for a firm which is looking at TabletPC's for field work. Our work is very rough and exposed to weather at times. We currently use Teklogix handheld devices for some of our processing and these are priced at $2K-$3K and are of limited functionality. TabletPCs open up new possibilites for us that make even a $4K+ price palatable. This sort of device is obviously not intended for the consumer market. With that said, I bet you will see devices for consumers with transflective displays within a year or so. They will come to vertical markets first and then trickle down to the consumer market like most other hardware.