Tablet PC for traveler?

[travelcat]

Hi,

I'm traveling around and need a tablet pc that can:

- be lightweight
- accept handwriting
- handle voice dictation with dragon naturally speaking
- surf the web (of course!)
- do a bit of low-power photoshop stuff for my photos (basic raw editing, cropping)
- have an international warranty

Basically, I'm going around taking pictures and want to update my blog and do some reading. It has to be lightweight since everything goes on my back and I'm already carrying too much camera gear. It has to be a tablet that can handle writing and voice recognition since I can no longer type much, but it should have an acceptable keyboard for occasional entry.

I wandered around the shops in Singapore and the closest thing I found was the LG Electronics C1, reviewed here http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3635
This was a really nice machine, lightweight with a good keyboard, nice screen (at least indoors in the store), and seems to have sufficient CPU to handle Dragon. The screen is about 10+ inches, not large but it seemed big enough and it has a few navigation buttons (up/down) which I think are essential when reading in tablet mode. The only drawback is it uses a touchscreen, rather than a digitizer, making handwriting not as reliable. For some reason it is not available in the USA.

I also looked at a similar-sized Fujitsu, but the keyboard was too cramped and the display was much poorer than the LG.

The LG is not available in the US (which I call home), and while I may be able to track one down in Australia (I'll be in NZ/AU for a while) I think I may be able to get a better deal on computers in the US and have it shipped, but if there's a good discount place in NZ/AU that would be good. (It is lame (for me) that the dollar is so weak these days and these babies cost around $2500!)

Any suggestions on suitable computers?

[imported_admin]

The Fujitsu you looked at - was it the P1620? Based on everything you have said, I think that is your best bet. It meets all your requirements and even has array microphones so you wouldn't need a headset to dictate. And with Core 2 Duo and 2Gb RAM, you could have a pretty powerful machine. While the keyboard is a bit cramped, that is the price of small size and weight.

The unit has a passive digitizer screen which makes it a bit more challenging for handwriting but the palm rejection and vectoring is great on this machine. James Kendrick of jkontherun.com has owned several versions and has done some great reviews on his blog.

[Insaa]

Hi, Yeah you're likely to be best to buy it from the USA rather than from New Zealand at least. In NZ, this website gives you an idea of market prices over the various companies. Please note that these prices are in NZ Dollars.

http://www.pricespy.co.nz/cat_22.html#g149

P.S. I'm from NZ. One of my mates bought a Lenovo laptop recently from the US because it was so much cheaper to do it that way... and don't even think of buying Apple computers here. :( Sheesh!!

[csollitt]

Hi,

I have never tried voice dictation but for writing I think motion computing works the best of Tablets that I've tired. I have a Motion Tablet and a HP Touch screen Tablet. The Motion LE Series feels very natural when writing. The HP is lighter though and works nice too but it has a small pen and writing is not natural. One thing that I like about motion over many other makers is the fact that the keyboard is detachable and the computer is on the screen and not the keyboard. So if it is in your lap (flying, on the go, etc) then it does not get hot like other laptops.

Also, I'm the author of a computer program named InfoFind - it's free to download and has features just for Tablet PC Users. I've created a page on my web site that shows pictures of a number of different tablets and has direct links to the vendor’s pages. I created this page to help people learn about and decide which Tablet to choose if buying one. I just joined this site and can't post URL's yet but my site is omnicognic_com and the page I mentioned is support topic #2 in the support section.

Regards,
Conrad

[digishank]

I think Motions New Semmi-rugged slate PC will suit your requirement. But it's bit expensive. I already bought a one and also wrote a review about it.This is My Motion Computing F5 Tablet (http://www.pressdigital.com.au/mobile-laptops-tablets-umpc-invehicle/motion-32gb-semirugged-slate-p-5913.html) bought from Press Digital.

Here is the link for Review (http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/showthread.php?p=314025#post314025) I wrote.