News Week of June 29, 2008

Motion F5 & C5 Tablet PCs get SSD, EV-DO and accessory updates

Tablet PC manufacturer Motion has updated its handle-blessed range of C5 and F5 slates with new storage options, accessories and mobile broadband.  The C5, which Motion describe as a Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA) intended primarily for health workers, now has a choice of 80GB traditional hard-drive or a 32GB SSD, together with optional EV-DO. (Source: Chris Davies, SlashGear)
Posted Thursday, July 3, 2008 by ChrisD
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Active Ink: Tablet PC Sales Expectations Never Realized

Any venture capitalists out there paying attention?

As a tablet PC software developer, I feel your pain. We created an electronic form data entry application for the tablet PC five years ago and continue to have a loyal customer base but our expectations regarding tablet PC sales have never been realized. 

Steve Hoffman
Active Ink Software

(Source: Rob Bushway, GottaBeMobile)

Aware 7-inch convertible Tablet PC promised for $300

There are a couple of 7-inch ultraportables rocking the convertible tablet PC form-factor - Kohjinsha’s SC3 being the most recent - but it’s less usual to find them in the budget aisles.  That’s what Aware Electronics are promising in the shape of the A-Book : a bargain netbook with a 7-inch swivelling touchscreen display, WiFi, Bluetooth and an Aday5G 800MHz X86 processor with 512MB RAM.  All that, in fact, for just $300.  (Source: Chris Davies, SlashGear)
Posted Wednesday, July 2, 2008 by ChrisD
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Hands-On with the HP Pavilion tx2500

You heard right, we just got our HP tx2500 Tablet PC in house today. It was dropped off by FedEx this morning and brought smiles to our faces. The new AMD Puma processor and ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics are the main updates to the tx2500, so we went ahead and ran some benchmarks to give you a feel for the performance this 12.1" tablet puts out.

Getac E100 rugged UMPC

This UMPC has been specifically designed for use in in the field - conditions where you'd never normally take a laptop. So if you're an engineer, an architect - or perhaps a sniper - this PC's for you.

The Getac E100 meets military and ruggedisation standards MIL-STD-810F and IP54, which basically means it's resistant to dust, water spray, humidity, shock and vibration, and can operate in temperatures from -20°C to 60°C. This device even has an optional hard disk heater just in case it's going to be booted up at temperatures below 4.4°C.  (Source: Barry Schertel, Register Hardware)

HP Pavilion tx2500 User Review

HP recently refreshed the tx Tablet PC line, replacing the half-year-old tx2000 with the new tx2500. The refresh brings many improvements over its predecessor, the most important being AMD's new Puma architecture. As one of the first tablets to use Puma,expectations were high for improved performance, battery life and heat output. While not perfect, the tx2500 is a big step in the right direction in the world of multipurpose tablets. 

(Source: Jeffrey Schramm, TabletPCReview.com)

So - why don't Microsoft market Tablet PC?

I have often wished that Microsoft would get out there and really promote the Tablet PC.  It has never happened.  The best the tablet seems to get is cameo appearances in MS advertising. 

Have you ever wondered why that is?  (Source: Craig Pringle, GottaBeMobile)