The Write Stuff?
Tablet PCs let you scribble on their screens. How well do they work? Our expert fights writer's cramp to find out.Eric Bender
Winston Churchill once remarked, "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." In computing, the same could be said of typing: It can be painful, but the alternatives have always been worse.
For years, visionaries have dreamed of computers that could be operated with the handiest of tools--a pen. Good-bye to keyboards; simply pick up a pen and touch the computer screen to move text around, write letters, or do anything else you would normally use a keyboard and mouse to accomplish. What could be more natural?
After fits and starts (and the success of the Palm Pilot, which is more an electronic organizer than a computer), computer companies have come up with the Tablet PC. The question is, should you buy one?
What's on the Tablet?
In most respects, Tablet PCs are like any other notebook computer, with notebook-caliber processors and a special version of the industrial-strength Microsoft Windows XP operating system. Tablet PCs incorporate full-size screens along with mobile features like wireless networking. Except for the fact that you use a special pen to input information, what you see on a Tablet PC's screen looks and works just as it does on other Windows XP computers. So you already know most of what you need to know to use a Tablet PC.
Tablet PCs are roughly the size and weight of notebooks. Some, such as the Acer TravelMate C110 and Toshiba Portege 3500, are fairly conventional notebooks with design touches that turn them into Tablet PCs: Their displays swivel and fold down on top of the keyboard (screen side up) so you can write on them.
Others, such as Motion Computing's M1300, are true tablets--or "slates" as PC makers like to call them. They have no built-in keyboard, just a pen and a screen. You probably wouldn't use one for day-to-day computing, but for specialized work--like for doctors doing their hospital rounds, or for taking extensive notes in meetings--these 3-pound, electronic clipboards make sense. And as with handheld PCs, you can attach a keyboard when you're sitting at a desk to turn your slate into a more traditional computer when the occasion requires.
What's it like using one of these jazzy portable devices? My experience has been mixed.
Desperately Seeking Recognition
You start by plucking the pen from its slot inside the top of the screen. Unlike a Palm or Pocket PC, a Tablet PC works only with a special tool--but the pen used with a Tablet PC works very much like a Palm's stylus. Tap once to click; tap twice to double-click; tap and hold for a right-mouse-click; and drag the pen to drag an object. This all works very nicely, although you may need to calibrate the pen position to correspond more accurately with what happens on the screen. And remember to watch the cursor rather than the tip of the pen to see where you're dragging files, inserting text, and so on.
Writing on a Tablet PC so it recognizes your handwriting can be tricky. To write in a program like Microsoft Word, you tap where you want the text to go, then bring up the Tablet PC's Input Panel utility. The Input Panel is a separate on-screen writing pad with a digital keyboard you can resort to if you find yourself struggling.
As you scrawl away, you can preview how your handwriting has been decoded before it goes into Word, or just let it zip straight in. How well the computer recognizes your particular brand of chicken scratch will vary. Microsoft says it fed more than a million writing samples into the recognition program to help it learn different handwriting styles. Unfortunately, mine was not among them. Even if I write carefully and follow Microsoft's many hints, the results aren't great--I keep finding myself switching to the on-screen keyboard. That said, I know other people have much better results. If you're considering a Tablet PC, make sure you test one to see if it recognizes your handwriting.
In addition to handwriting, Tablet PCs understand certain gestures you make with the pen--although again, these can be hit or miss. For instance, there's one that quickly opens the Input Panel so you can start writing. I confess, though, that I haven't been able to master it.
Take This Down
For instant gratification, try Windows Journal, the note-taking program that comes with all Tablet PCs. You can scrawl away in "digital ink," which is simply your raw handwriting displayed on the screen. If you wish, you can then run it through the recognition program and convert it to typed text. You can also grab material from a Web browser or another program, make cute little notes or symbols next to interesting points, and generally enjoy yourself. Once my kids discovered this application, I had to wrestle the Tablet PC back from them.
Tablet PCs also come with a simple Sticky Notes program that lets you create, well, electronic sticky notes. So instead of sticking a yellow piece of paper to your computer screen that reads "Dr. appt. at 3pm," you can jot down the appointment on an electronic note that sits in the middle of your screen until you move it. Of course, if you're already working with your Tablet PC, you might as well put the appointment in your Outlook calendar and program it so a reminder pops up at the appropriate time. Moreover, you don't need to buy a Tablet PC to get this feature: 3M Post-it Software Notes come in three different versions, one of them free.
If you grow fed up with the pen, you can try the Tablet PC's speech recognition system. With a good microphone and a little effort, you can tell the computer what to do. For instance, you can utter commands like "Open Microsoft Word" and the Tablet PC will do it. Or you can add verbal annotations to documents. In fact, I was surprised to find that speech recognition (another one of those visionary dreams) works about as well as handwriting recognition. But you probably won't use regularly it unless your handwriting is as tortured as mine, your company has customized applications that need it, or you find typing or writing difficult.
Duly Noted
Overall, the pen is a clear winner for navigating a computer screen. A notebook PC's touchpad grows clumsier as screen resolutions rise, and the time-tested mouse (the source of so many repetitive-stress injuries) will reduce our great-grandchildren to helpless giggles one day. But for now the pen is a clear loser versus keyboards when it comes to entering text, which is still the main way most of us work and communicate.
Computer users will have reasons to love or hate Tablet PCs based on personal idiosyncrasies in how they work and play. Certain industries have embraced the Tablet PC, and people like graphic artists like Tablet PCc better than traditional notebooks. And all of us will find them more compelling when upcoming applications such as Microsoft Office 2003 start to exploit the pen more fully. This tool is great for quick number-juggling in Excel, for instance, but ideally you want to work directly in worksheet cells rather than in a separate Input Panel.
But Tablet PCs can't get a free pass simply for being innovative; they should be held to a high standard. They are roughly seven times the weight and cost of Palm or Pocket PC handhelds, which people have been using successfully for years. And with a Tablet PC you pay more for what you get than you do with a notebook. Tablet PCs can run well over $2000 even before you add the options, and they don't come with the ultra-fast processors you find in newer notebooks.
The Tablet PC technology itself needs to keep improving. Despite best efforts, battery life is still a problem. If a Tablet PC lasts only two hours, it turns into a Pet Rock during an all-day meeting--not unlike a notebook PC. This is a problem in particular because of the Wi-Fi wireless networking that's built into these devices. Wi-Fi, an invaluable feature, can be a power drain if not well managed. The first time I used Wi-Fi with a Tablet PC, it drained my battery in less than an hour. Turning off the Wi-Fi feature conserves some battery life, but that's like turning off the air conditioner during a heat wave to save electricity.
Still, technology evolves--and today's Tablet PCs are a far cry from the doomed pen computers of a decade ago. If you want a full-size portable computer but need an easier way to get information into it than opening the lid and typing, Tablet PCs are worth a look.
In the long run, computer companies will fix the glitches. Heck, Microsoft sees Tablet PCs as the future of mobile computing and is making a long-term wager on the technology. When all is said and done, Microsoft will probably win the bet--and I'm working on my handwriting.
Former PC World executive editor Eric Bender has spent probably about a year of his life typing up his almost illegible notes.