A few questions on some cheap tablets (long!)

[joe123]

Hi, I am thinking about getting a cheap used tablet for drawing and other art projects, such as scanning my pencil drawings and inking and/or coloring/painting them. I've been doing some research and see that the most popular recommendations for my low budget range are the HP TC1100, Toshiba M200/400, and the Fujitsu Stylistic series, which all seem good, except maybe the M200, since I have read that it can only boot from an expensive specific Toshiba brand CD-ROM drive..

At this point I am kind of leaning towards the Fujitsu ST5000 series. They seem very nice and I have read that they are all Wacom penabled, which is the main feature that I am looking for, as well as the ability to run the programs that I will use. I guess I prefer the slate design since I already have a small USB keyboard and they are lightweight and portable to take outside to practice etc, however I am thinking a convertible that includes a built-in CD/DVD drive may be better in case there are any problems and I need to restore, installing software, etc.

So if I get a Fujitsu slate type and happen to have a problem and need to restore or even if I just want to replace the hard drive, would it be a pain to do so? I have seen some tablets on ebay that include restore discs, but most don't and the ones that do don't always include an external disk drive, and I don't want to end up having to pay some ridiculous amount for a specific drive or a new OS. After looking around I have seen some people with problems restoring the OS, certain models that will only boot from floppy or specific drives. Would a Fujitsu ST5000 series boot from any USB external disk drive? And just to double-check, are all of the ST5000 series Wacom penabled? I see that some of them on ebay have a D (ST5011D), is that of any importance? What about the ST4000's? And with both the Fujitsu's and the HP TC1100, if I get one that includes the docking station. would it boot from that?

I just worry since the last laptop that I bought was a refurbished netbook that had a faulty HDD that I had to change out as well as purchase an external disk drive just to restore it, so I would like to avoid any major problems like this if I decide to take the plunge on of of these, especially a used one off of ebay. So basically, just looking for a recommendation on a cheap tablet(around $2-300 or less) that will be reliable for a good while, since hopefully I will be going to school for art soon and maybe trying some small freelance jobs in the meantime, and would like to avoid any hardware/OS-related nightmares. And just one other question about the fingerprint scanners, if I happen to buy a used tablet, is there anything to worry about with not being able to log in since it could be locked to somebody else?

Sorry for all of the noob questions, it's just that when you don't have much money to work with, you have to be careful! I would just go with a regular Wacom tablet and/or a normal laptop, but I think it would be much better to be right on the screen with the pen(I have owned a Wacom Intuos, and had a little trouble drawing as well as I do on paper). I also don't currently have a PC, just a PS3 with linux. It has some decent art programs available, but in this HD resolution the menus and tools in the programs are too tiny to see even on the large screen, and have also heard that the scanner support is iffy as to how well individual models function in linux.

[John Hill]

I think you are headed down the right path. I have never experienced or heard from others that any tablet except the aforementioned Toshiba requires a specific DVD to boot from. As far as changing the hard drive that would be easy because the Fujitsu uses a standard 2.5" notebook hard drive. Regarding recovery media, that is more of a challenge. Try hard to get a unit that has it. I believe with HP you can purchase it from them directly but I think Fujitsu is harder if it is even possible. The only Fujitsu to stay away from is the ST5111 since that is a special backlit display which is great for outdoor viewing but not very good indoors.

[tpope]

As an additional option to add to the set, the Motion Computing M1400 is a fantastic slate tablet in that price range.

The hand-me-down I got about 9 months ago had a bad hard drive, so I replaced that with one I had lying around (another 40GB notebook drive) and upgraded the RAM to 2GB. I didn't have the original disks so I installed Windows 7 (3 times, beta, RC and final) and have absolutely loved it. I can also confirm that any random brand of USB DVD drive will work fine both to install software and boot the device (for the Windows 7 clean installs).

I haven't used the others, so I don't have much of a basis for comparison, but I have nothing but good things to say about the M1400 based on my experiences.

[TedRx]

For me it is a no-brainer .... for a cheap art sketchpad get a M1400.

After almost 2 years (and i bought it used) I still have no problems with it and the screen is great with viewing angles.

I also have a M200 for my 11 year old and it is ok, but I just love my M1400 (as you can tell if you have read my LONG WINDED post here).

The best news is that all the things Iposted here beginning 2 years ago are still relevant and the M1400 (or any other GOOD tablet from that generation) is still just as functional today as the hardware from then still runs the software now ... and even though i havent used it yet, Windows Vista and Windows 7 make it even better from what my cohorts here on the 'Buzz forums say.

If I only wanted to get my feet wet I'd spend $200-$350 for a M1400, or if i had $500 I'd get a LE1600 (next gen up).

And the M1400 is perfect for taking scanned pencils and inking them digitally ... something i have spent years researching and doing.

Prsonally I recommend SKetchbook Pro 2010 to do the inks in , then color in what ever program you are used to. Even though it is called "Sketchbook" professional level ink are easily attained and more "naturally" done in Sketchbook Pro than most any other program. Any question about this just read my Workprocess post OR email me thru the forum account ... I'd be glad to send you examples.


Let us know how it goes!

[joe123]

Thanks for the advice guys, good stuff. It might be a while before I have enough money but am thinking about saving up for a newer tablet, maybe brand new so that I have a warranty and the recovery discs etc. Also, how would you compare the tablet experience to say, a normal latop and graphics tablet?

I'll tell you one thing though, I can not wait to get back on Windows! I just had my linux crash out on me and can't find the installation disc, and am stuck with the PS3 browser for now. I am also interested in trying out the new Windows 7, although personally I never had any qualms with Vista. For those that have experience with the different OS versions, how does the tablet experience vary from XP through to Windows 7?

Linux is neat and all, but I only just two nights ago(before the failure) started looking into the security and intrusion detection after a suspicious system alert, and it all seemed like so much work just to get a secure system, like you really have to know what you're doing! Which I obviously I don't, or I would not be fumbling around with my game controller just now to fix a typo.