Hi all, Eventhough i dont own one yet (poor s

jojo4u · 03-13-2003, 01:16 AM

Hi all,

Eventhough i dont own one yet (poor student), I have been reading most of the discussions posted here about TPCs specially the Compaq TC1000.
I am a computer engineering student at University of Western Ontario. I am plannig to buy one of these bad boys soon. I just started this thread to hear about your personal experience with the tablet pc and how it changed the way you live , atleast in school .....[8D]....u know ur cramming, note taking, listening Mp3s, watching movies , reading notes (PPTs and PDFs) .... this year 80 % of my courses had either their notes or some other content online...
Peronally, i think that Microsft and HP and all the other companies outthere should focus on students specially in universities for this line of products and should have incentives n price cuts.... i mean think of it this way , We are the ones that are carying a 20lb bag, we are mobile that most people are.

Big Lar · 03-13-2003, 04:06 AM

Jojo4u,

The only thing standing in the way of rapid adoption of the Tablet PC in the education sector is cost. You said it yourself, you are a "poor student" and Tablet PCs (at least right now) are at the high end of the Notebook market which in itself is higher than the desktop market. This cost factor places the Tablet PC out of the reach of the average college student.

I agree with you that the Tablet seems like the perfect student platform. I envision the entire classroom experience (even at the high-school or junior high level) centered around the Tablet. Textbooks could be delivered as eBooks you could annotate. Tests could be delivered electronically. Homework could be "turned-in" over the network (Wi-Fi of course). The 20lb bag would be gone forever because the only thing you would need would be your Tablet.

It will take some time for the infrastructure to make this dream a reality to materialize. The hardware will have to be cheap enough that students can afford it. The 802.11 network infrastructure components are getting cheaper, but the schools will need to see the need / benefit before rapid adoption begins. So, a larger percentage of students will need Tablets to make this "worth" their time.

This market is extremely exciting and interesting. I for one hope this dream comes true,

--Lar

James Sonne · 03-13-2003, 05:03 AM

And I just found the 10% discount for students on HP.com's website :D

afcool83 · 03-13-2003, 05:26 AM

where was that 10% discount? can you get me a specific link to the site? I'm probably gonna send off for one on the 22mar03 and I'd love to have that student discount (since I'm a freshman at LSU).

James Sonne · 03-13-2003, 11:21 AM

www.hp.com and then click on "government or educational," select student in the drop down box on the next page then "go" and then select the college you're currently at or plan to attend soon if you're a graduating highschool senior or similar. Quite an awesome deal if you ask me, that's $200 or more off, which basically equates to a free extended warranty, or a free docking station... or the all important extra two month's worth of gas for the car :D

PhilL · 03-13-2003, 07:09 PM

Being a college student myself I disagree that college students are not a major "targetable" audience due to the price of the machines. If you're looking for people using the latest and greatest computer technology, look to college students!

Over 90% of all college students own a computer. (Verifiable statistic.) Visit a college library or study area... it will be riddled with students working on their laptops. And most of them obtained their computers fairly recently. An informal (unverified) survey/observation of computers owned by my fellow classmates and dormmates reveals that my 500 MHZ P3 machine and 17" CRT monitor are ancient clunkers.

Now cost factor... I know that tablets cost more than regular PCs, but the challenge is not convincing college students/parents to shell out $2500, it's convincing them to pay whatever the difference would be between that and another PC. Given the added utility of tablets in the classroom, I think this is highly viable.

The only significant challenge that I see is that some students may not want their tablet to be their only PC. (Those who do a lot of work on the computer; gamers...).

Kupe · 03-13-2003, 10:59 PM

Back in MY day, we had wooden sliderules with nice leather cases with a loop that hooked to our belts so we could run around to classes all day looking like King Arthur wannabes - and we liked to too! :D

I agree - although generally cash limited, the educational community is quick to embrace the newer technology - I believe that 90% figure.

Kupe

afcool83 · 03-14-2003, 02:54 AM

I'm a college freshman, and I personally agree with what PhilL said about the laptops. I'm in a program down here at LSU that makes having a laptop computer a requirement, so I see ALL different types of laptops sitting on the desk of every friend I have. Note that I said 'sitting on the desk'. We had 2 classes last semester that were designed around having a laptop in the classroom, but after that, students have pretty much figured out that it's disadvantagious to bring a clunker of a 6-lb laptop into a typical classroom. 1)lecturer's don't like it, 2)it's brutally hard to take notes on, and 3) it only lasts for about 2 back-to-back class period, if that. Once everyone realizes that the tablets have overcome all three of these hurdles, I think students everywhere will be buying tablets instead of laptops. I can't say the same thing for professors/instructors, though, because many of them can barely use their desktop computer.

I'm ordering a TC1k on the 22mar03, and I'll keep ya'll informed as to the impact the first tablet has on the students around me.

quote:Originally posted by PhilL

Being a college student myself I disagree that college students are not a major "targetable" audience due to the price of the machines. If you're looking for people using the latest and greatest computer technology, look to college students!

Over 90% of all college students own a computer. (Verifiable statistic.) Visit a college library or study area... it will be riddled with students working on their laptops. And most of them obtained their computers fairly recently. An informal (unverified) survey/observation of computers owned by my fellow classmates and dormmates reveals that my 500 MHZ P3 machine and 17" CRT monitor are ancient clunkers.

Now cost factor... I know that tablets cost more than regular PCs, but the challenge is not convincing college students/parents to shell out $2500, it's convincing them to pay whatever the difference would be between that and another PC. Given the added utility of tablets in the classroom, I think this is highly viable.

The only significant challenge that I see is that some students may not want their tablet to be their only PC. (Those who do a lot of work on the computer; gamers...).

paradoxicalcat · 03-14-2003, 03:12 AM

quote:Originally posted by Big Lar

Jojo4u,
It will take some time for the infrastructure to make this dream a reality to materialize. The hardware will have to be cheap enough that students can afford it. The 802.11 network infrastructure components are getting cheaper, but the schools will need to see the need / benefit before rapid adoption begins. So, a larger percentage of students will need Tablets to make this "worth" their time.

This market is extremely exciting and interesting. I for one hope this dream comes true,

--Lar

I have to disagree. I'm a student and got the TC1000 in december. I'm not wealthy, I go to a public university. I used my Stafford Student loan to pay for it, and it's the BEST investment ANY STUDENT could make. I've shown it to countless students, and they all think it is the coolest thing in the world. A few of them are even going to buy the TC1000 instead of thinkpads (which cost MORE).
HP has shown that tablet pc's are in the same price range as laptops, and I don't think that anybody is going to say that students can't afford laptops! It's a shame that marketers only think business sector, business, business...
I haven't found a student yet that knew what a tablet pc was before I showed mine off.