Hello there. As stated a long time ago, here is
Hello there. As stated a long time ago, here is my much belated review. I hope it helps out someone looking to get a m200.
This review from the perspective of a student, and a (seriously tiny) business owner, as well as a first time tablet (and laptop) owner. Oh, also, as most of the ... traditional... aspects have been reviewed to death already, so I've tried to use some new and different reviewing criteria instead.
A (brief?) background...
About a year ago, due to ridiculous (2-3 hours) waiting periods to get access to spe******t software-laden computers at my university, I decided to purchase a portable computer. At this time, I had not heard about tablet pc's, so I was just in the market for a laptop. I wasnt really too fussed on the model - the only requirements that I had was that it should have some oomph, and that it should be portable enough for the label "laptop" to be justified (as opposed to Hernia inducing "Portable" computers). Anyway, to cut out the long, and not particularly interesting bits, I found myself introduced to Tablet pc's via the Acer website, found tablet pc buzz via a Google search, and then entered the obligatory holding pattern for about six months ("I'm sure that the next generation of tablet pc's will be much better, and released any second now!"), before finally settling on a machine, namely, the Toshiba Protégé m200, which I acquired in late January this year.
Anyway, on with the review (All on scales of 0-10, 0 = bad, 10 = good):
Oomph (Power): 8
[Machine Specs: Centrino 1.5M, 512 ram, 5.2k 40gig HDD, et al.]
Had I done this review about 2 months ago, the oomph score would have been somewhere around 5, or 6. The machine kept pausing for a few seconds every once in a while, especially when the start menu was involved. However, after getting rid of all those random visual effects that Windows XP is an affectionate fan of, I am pleased to report that this problem has vanished back into whatever infernal abyss that it spawned from. Other various slowdowns have also disappeared, after optimising Windows XP for performance. The various applications that I need to use (MS Office 2003, graphing software, Minitab, Invoicing software) all run perfectly, apart from (I think) a slightly longer loading time than my desktop box.
Unfortunately, I haven’t really had much time to play any computer games since January, but Warcraft III ran more or less perfectly on the machine, as did Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Actually, another thing I forgot to check out was if games accepted the pen as an input, because that would be pretty cool for Warcraft III, methinks. Hmm.
It’s a work of art. Art, I tell you! (Form Factor): 9.5
The m200 looks tres snazzy. Its got a stylish metallic exterior, a demure black interior, cleverly positioned external buttons and an external volume control... heck, even the holographic-esque Toshiba logo looks very nice. Just about the only garish thing that I can point to are the various stickers on interior of the machine, but they too can be removed via the usage of a blunt nail, a slightly wet towel, and various profanities when the bloody things refuse to budge (to taste).
Make no mistake, if you use this sleek little number in public, you will get stares from passers-by, even when its in laptop mode. Aesthetics aside, The machine weighs in at approximately 2.8 kgs (I think), but it is quite obvious that a lot of thought has gone into weight distribution, because when you are carrying the machine around, it really doesn’t feel like it weighs that much (I would guess it to feel like its about 1.5-2kgs).
Overall, the machine screams "quality". After using the hinge for a while, you get the idea that its got a much higher likelihood of surviving any impending nuclear holocausts than you do. The keys make a slight clicky noise, of which I approve. I know a lot of people don't like it however, so I guess thats a personal taste thing. The one decidedly minor quibble I have over the positioning of the keys and touchpad is that the touchpad could be slightly more separate from the keys. Every once in a while when I press the spacebar, I accidentally activate the touchpad, meaning that the mouse "clicks" wherever it is, and the cursor goes there. It is only a quibble, because all that was required to rectify the problem was a slight adjustment in how I type.
One other thing I will mention is that it sports a very small footprint (how much space it takes when in contact with the floor). Indeed, many times after using my laptop, or seeing it, people have commented on how bulky their laptops now seem to be, which is quite funny really, because most of these people are always harping on about how good a 15.1" LCD screen is.
Q: How can you tell if a blondes been using a word processor on your computer?
A: By all the whiteout on the screen. (Tablet usefulness): 7
In all honesty, a large factor regarding my decision to purchase the tablet was the "cool" factor. The idea was very interesting, and appealed to me on many levels. I do computer engineering at uni, which means that there is a large degree of diagrams and formulae present within any notes that I make. Initially, I wanted to get a palm or something similar, but was dissuaded from the idea when I learnt that they do not recognize any mathematical notation anyway, and did not really come a size that was conducive towards lengthy writing sessions. So, instead I had to settle on a laptop.
The tablet seemed to be a happy medium between the two. My plan was simple: to write all the notes in a single lecture pad at uni, and then go home and convert it into the digital domain. Of course, that didn’t eventuate, and what I ended up doing was making cheat sheets (concise summarizations of each subject) on the laptop using OneNote. Unfortunately, the major hitch in all of this was its very poor success rate in recognizing my abysmal handwriting. My handwriting, a.k.a illegible scrawl, even when printing, has very poor recognition by the software, and its even worse when I use my left hand. I have to also say that I am a bit miffed over the lack of learning input, especially considering thats its been around since what... the Apple Newton?
But, I am happy to note that this singular lack of functionality is, in the long run, more or less inconsequential. Believe it or not, there are so many other benefits of owning a tablet PC, and using a stylus, that I can quite happily wait for learning input recognition in the next iteration of Windows. (Although lately, I find that its picking up my handwriting a bit better, probably because I am learning to use it). What are these functions?
1) The wonderful world of art. Multilayered drawings using a stylus? Simply brilliant.
2) Certain ... design intensive... applications such as Visio are much simpler and better when the stylus is used as the input.
3) Portrait mode + Stylus makes reading excessively long documents on the computer to be much more palatable. Also it allows me to save paper, as I no longer print out large documents to read, unless there is some specific need to. As a massive added bonus, I can import these documents, and make layered comments.
Recipe: Take one booklet, fill it up with generic information about standards and the safety of wi-fi, and garnish with random references to the M200, to taste. (Documentation: 2)
Cripes. The documentation for this machine is simply abysmal. I have seriously seen electric toothbrushes with more concise and relevant manuals than the absolute piece of junk provided with the m200. Bluntly, the manual is not worth the paper its printed on, and the Quick Start Guide is about fifteen times more useful. This is -not- an idle exagerration. Many key features are completely ignored (the accelerometer, the fact that its a Tablet PC, and oh... just about everything else), and the features that do get a mention are handled so poorly that they may as well not have been. The only reason why the m200 scores a 2 in this category is the quick start guide.
Also, although this isn’t really a documentation gripe, I can't be bothered making a separate category for this, so I’ll lump it in here as well. Included on the Tablet PC are many bits of software pre-installed by Toshiba, some useful, most not. No mention is made of their inclusion in the documentation, mind you, and apparently they exist on the recovery CD as well. Unfortunately, the impression I got when I saw the software they included (Zinio Reader, Franklin Covey Tablet PC Planner, Alias Sketchbook Pro, Symbol Commander, etc, all trial versions), was that of Toshiba sanctioned advertising. Perhaps in this sense, I am odd, but I would much rather a clean install with no extra garbage, and I will hunt down any relevant programs to install, instead of getting a bloated installation of WinXP, an already bloated Operating System, or at the very least, a clean recovery DVD.
I did buy my m200 when it was relatively new though, so maybe they have gotten their act together by now. But seriously, if it weren’t for a thorough reading of tabletpcbuzz I most probably would have caused some serious damage to my tablet by now, and also wouldn't have had a clue about quite a few features of the m200.
If I could turn back time... (Repurchasability & Overall score: 8)
Would I buy this laptop again? Well, this is a very hard question to answer, merely due to extraneous circumstances - after purchasing the laptop, I stopped working in two jobs with guaranteed, stable incomes, and shifted to one job with a very unstable income... End result being that I now find myself frequently staring at a single digit bank balance. In my current circumstances, I most probably would not have purchased the laptop when I did, instead opting to wait it out for a while, until the units started dropping in price (not that they have dropped in price yet, in Australia...). However, If I had kept the same level of income as I had before, then I would re-purchase the laptop in a heartbeat.
Wonderful review. I'll be sure to add my own when the time comes. Only 11 days until I get a check with which I can purchase my very own cuddly warm Banias M200, plus 2 day shipping & handling. I'll be able to order on a Tuesday and maybe have it by Thursday, or certainly Friday.
Your review helps me know what to expect, and that is a wonderful thing.
Nicely done. Great input and nice style.
copiae,
Thanks for this, and the different slant on things. The PC police would have your head for the blonde reference.
Your review is now in the
Toshiba M200/M205 Frequently Asked Questions page.
I was wondering what visual tweaks you turned off to make your tablet more responsive? Thanks
- Awperator
thank you all for your kind words. Hehe, actually, I forgot about the non PC-ness of that comment. Oh well, heres hoping that I dont get sued by a blonde activist group or somesuch. =)
Hey. Go to System (Control Panel - System, or right click on My Computer - Properties), then go into the advanced tab, and click on Performance settings or something like that. In there, theres a list of all the fancy XP visual effects you can have on. Either click on optimize for performance, or manually remove whichever effects you don't want. If you optimize for performance, superficially the OS looks exactly like windows 2000 (not a bad thing in my books), and all of those annoying pauses completely vanish.quote:Originally posted by Awperator
I was wondering what visual tweaks you turned off to make your tablet more responsive? Thanks
- Awperator
Thanks for that visual effects tip. Amazing difference in the responsiveness of the machine! Talk about bloatware.
quote:Originally posted by copiae
thank you all for your kind words. Hehe, actually, I forgot about the non PC-ness of that comment. Oh well, heres hoping that I dont get sued by a blonde activist group or somesuch. =)
Hey. Go to System (Control Panel - System, or right click on My Computer - Properties), then go into the advanced tab, and click on Performance settings or something like that. In there, theres a list of all the fancy XP visual effects you can have on. Either click on optimize for performance, or manually remove whichever effects you don't want. If you optimize for performance, superficially the OS looks exactly like windows 2000 (not a bad thing in my books), and all of those annoying pauses completely vanish.quote:Originally posted by Awperator
I was wondering what visual tweaks you turned off to make your tablet more responsive? Thanks
- Awperator
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