N-trigs not all the same?

[docg]

Okay, I know many have tauted the n-trig, but my latest look at a used computer the fujitsu t580 with n-trig duo sense seemed to trip me into thinking about other than my favorite old time wacom active digitizer.

So those that use the duo sense that has 4 settings pen only, touch only, and auto detect, and auto switch; do you find writing on it as easy as on a wacom? especially if you have it set on pen only?

And is the fujitsu t580 a good unit for a used tablet pc- keep in mind I'm not an artist, just using it for notes and highlighting mainly.

[Michelle Mastin]

For just notes and highlighting I think the Fujitsu t580 is a good choice if you can get a good deal on one. The main thing is to make sure you get the higher capacity battery or you won't be able to stray far from a plug.

The biggest difference I've found between Wacom a the n-trig battery pen in the context of note-taking is that the hover distance on the n-trig pen in much lower. That means you have to be more deliberate about bringing the pen down before you let your palm rest on the screen. Pen and touch together in One Note is pretty awesome - you write with the pen and pan with your finger - just like moving a piece of paper around on a desk and then writing on it with a pen.

[docg]

Thanks Michelle. I'm kind of tired of the battery life of my tc1100 it is only lasting 1.5 now instead of the 2 hours needed to not carry an extra battery when I'm out. I hate lugging around the extra weight. I do have a car adapter, but not all situations are feasible with that. This problem only occurs once a week so it is still workable. So the t580 might have a similar problem with battery life?

[Michelle Mastin]

Ha, yeah, the one I tested with the smaller battery didn't even make it two hours. Which means the high capacity battery will likely come up just short of 4. Are you just looking for better battery life, or do you also want to add the attached keyboard and faster processor?

You can get a slate with much better battery life if you can live with Atom performance of something like the Fujitsu q550.

If you don't mind some extra bulk, the HP 27xx series is great for the extra battery life. After selling my 2730p in favor of the higher resolution screen of the Lenovo x61t, I miss the slimmer profile and better battery life of the 2730p (at least until I look at a 1280x800 screen again, but I'm a pixel junky).

Alternatively, you could pick up a "new" battery for the TC1100. I know some people have had mixed results with third party ebay batteries, but mine did alright. I can squeeze almost 4 hours out of my tc1100 with the wifi off and brightness down. Although, I haven't used it in a while, so I'm not sure how it's still doing.

[docg]

I'm not a fan of Keyboards, but for used units most in my price range are with keyboard. I might just try Some power savings on the 1100
I just enjoy browsing ad if something looks good & in range it's worth checking


Ebay browsing can be dangerous